Unsure if he will be a part of India’s next Test, Agarwal does what Dravid asked him to: make it big once set

Sidharth Monga03-Dec-20212:11

Mayank Agarwal – ‘I’m happy that I got set and could capitalise’

There is more than one scenario in which Mayank Agarwal might not even have played this Test. Had both KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma been available for selection, they would have opened the innings after having done extremely well in testing conditions in England. They will still likely open in India’s next Test.Even with both of the first-choice openers missing, one of the options to accommodate Virat Kohli was to leave Agarwal because he was not going to be in the first XI in South Africa anyway. It is not known how seriously this option was considered but it never came to pass because Ajinkya Rahane didn’t recover from his hamstring strain.Watch live cricket on ESPN+ in the US

India vs New Zealand is available in the US on ESPN+. You can subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to highlights of day one of the 2nd Test in English or in Hindi.

It is tougher to get into the India Test batting line-up than out of it. To start off, they consistently play five bowlers, leaving only five slots for specialist batters. Post 2018, the team management has not fiddled with the three middle-order batters either. So a whole group of talented batters has been competing for just the two slots in an era where opening outside Asia has arguably been the toughest it has been.It was outside Asia that Agarwal lost his spot at the top after averaging 17 in just four Tests across two series either side of the pandemic-enforced break. It was a ruthless selection call, perhaps unfair on Agarwal. Just the kind of ruthless call newcomers to a successful side have to live with.Before jumping on Rahane, do remember that as he spent more than 13 consecutive Tests on the bench leading up to his debut, he saw Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh come back ahead of him and Ravindra Jadeja get a debut at No. 6 before him. And this was not a winning team. Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement eventually opened up a slot for Rahane, and on his last day, at the Wankhede, Tendulkar “told him he might feel hard done by what had happened in his career so far but he should continue to be the way he is, for I was sure [he] would get another chance”.Whether Rahane has reached such a stage in his career is for the team management to decide even if his injury has saved them from confronting it just yet. Given so much talent is vying for just five spots, it is a tough job for the captain and the coach to keep the players from feeling insecure.”When I was picked here, Rahul came and spoke to me,” Agarwal said. “He told me, ‘Listen just control what is in your hands. You have this opportunity, go out there, give your best, and that’s all we ask of you. And when you get set, make it big.’ I am happy. I am happy that when I got set, I could capitalise. But yeah that was very clear from Rahul .”Mayank Agarwal goes big down the ground•BCCIThe way Agarwal batted on a difficult pitch and in a difficult situation has shown why it would not have been wise to drop this free-scoring dominating batter against spin. As it stands at the end of the first day of this Test, Agarwal averages 116.4 against spin and scores those runs at 4.04 an over. In spin-friendly conditions, so far he has faced South Africa, Bangladesh and now New Zealand.This was perhaps the toughest pitch Agarwal has encountered, with the ball turning and bouncing from the middle on day one. There were also some question marks against him, mainly with his being so late on the ball against the quicks that his toe is still in the motion of coming down when he plays on the front foot. He was nicked off twice, even in Kanpur.”Yes that is something that I have thought of,” Agarwal said of the Kanpur dismissals, “But this innings was more about grit and determination, sticking to a plan, to have the mental discipline to be at that plan, and just be at it. I know there were times when I didn’t look good, but it didn’t make much of a difference as long as the job was getting done.”I didn’t think of that [his front foot fault]. Mid-series you don’t want to be thinking about technique. That’s something that even Rahul spoke to me about. He said don’t worry about your technique. Just rely on your game plans. That’s something I did. This innings was all about grit and determination, and nothing related to technique.”The 120 in Mumbai was a little more than just grit and determination, though. It was about hitting the threatening Ajaz Patel off his lengths because there was a period – especially when he sent back three batters with the score stuck on 80 – when India looked in deep trouble. Ajaz’s figures then read 12-7-14-3, having got Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli for ducks.Agarwal then took it upon himself to not let Ajaz keep pitching the ball wherever he wanted to. In the left-arm spinner’s next over, Agarwal jumped out of the crease and hit his second six. Then he sat back, waiting for the flatter delivery, and pulled Ajaz for four. In an 80-run partnership for the fourth wicket, Shreyas Iyer scored just 18.4:31

Jaffer: ‘Fighter’ Agarwal ‘made the most of a very vital innings’

“Yes it was a conscious decision [to attack Ajaz],” Agarwal said. “It was a plan because I thought he bowled exceedingly well today. He kept bowling in a cluster and he kept putting pressure. Anything that was in our half, the plan was to be a little attacking. Anything that came little towards us in length, I was definitely looking to go. He is somebody who bowled really well, really consistent. He had that phase when he really tied us down, so if we had let him bowl the way he did he would have probably ended with more wickets.”This is the dynamic of Test batting. Outside Asia, the middle order owes a lot to the openers for seeing off the toughest conditions. In Asia, it is on the openers, who start their innings in easier conditions to play the big innings because it is tough to start against the turning ball.In that regard, Agarwal is proving to be just like Rohit, who also dominates and demoralises opposition spinners. Agarwal has already hit 27 sixes in Test cricket. At home he has gone past the rope 20 times in just nine innings. Rohit has done so 38 times in 27.What will happen in South Africa is not for Agarwal to control, but it will be difficult to look past Agarwal when Sri Lanka play in his home town, Bangalore. Just as with bowlers, time might be ripe for India to think of horses for courses in batting too.

He also lends the XI more balance, which will be welcomed by the team management after a lack of batting depth was shown up in South Africa

Shashank Kishore06-Feb-20222:44

Washington: ‘Focusing on what I could do to improve myself as a cricketer’

In 2017, when Hrishikesh Kanitkar, a member of Rising Pune Supergiant’s coaching staff, recommended Washington Sundar as a replacement for the injured R Ashwin, it was assumed a batting allrounder would be replacing a frontline spinner. Until then, Washington was a top-order bat in age-group cricket, and for India too at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. Kanitkar, though, who also coached Tamil Nadu back then, had seen something in Washington’s bowling that he felt was of value in T20 cricket.While Washington wouldn’t take wickets by the truckload, he would keep things tight. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy that Tamil Nadu won that season, Washington managed just four wickets, but his economy of 3.27 across six games showed his value. These traits served him well in his maiden IPL season, where he was one of the key figures in Pune’s run to the final. In 11 innings, he conceded just 6.16 runs per over bowling largely in the powerplay, and took eight wickets.But that is in the past. Now, Washington’s game is in the midst of a transformation that has come about courtesy a lot of awareness of his craft as well as the ability to read situations better. From being an offspinner who bowled flat and fast, looking to largely be restrictive as a new-ball bowler in the powerplay, he is working on conditioning himself to be an all-weather bowler.Related

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In T20s, the restrictive bowler in him takes over. He bowls wicket-to-wicket, attacks the stumps a lot more and looks to keep a lid on the scoring. In the longer formats, he has started looking to use a whole lot of tricks. He varies his pace, slows the ball up a lot more, bowls into the pitch to allow the ball to break, and occasionally tempts batters with flight, like he did on his return to India’s XI after nearly a year, during Sunday’s ODI against West Indies.Incidentally, his previous international fixture prior to Sunday was also in Ahmedabad, in March last year. Then, on a dewy evening where the ball turned into a soap bar every time it went into the outfield, he bowled just one wicketless over for 13. A finger injury in the summer against England set him back by four months, which meant he wasn’t fit enough to be picked for the T20 World Cup in October-November. When he was finally ready to play, he tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the team management to leave him out of the ODIs in South Africa.His absence seemed to have affected India’s team balance. Ashwin, who he has replaced now, made an ODI return for that South Africa series after four years. While he didn’t do too badly, he wasn’t at his most effective either. India collapsed twice in three games, with the lower order’s batting abilities tested to the hilt. This is where the Washington void was amplified even more – because of what he brings to the table as a whole package: neat, no-frills off spin and handy, lower-middle-order batting.On Sunday, Rohit Sharma elected to bowl hoping for dew to make a difference while chasing. This gave the spinners a better opportunity to come into their own. Washington was brought into the attack in the eighth over, and it took him just one delivery to come into the game. By beating Darren Bravo with sharp turn that spun across the bat face, he immediately got the batter thinking. Two balls later in the same over, he beat Bravo again with a teasing, loopy delivery that spun sharply to beat his forward stab. Then he went wider of the crease and bowled middle and off to beat Bravo with a different trajectory.Rohit Sharma congratulates Washington Sundar after a wicket•BCCIBy the time Washington came on for his second over, Bravo was already starting to become edgy. At the first sign of flight, he lashed one through the covers. Not wanting to become overly predictable, Washington went back to length deliveries for the rest of the over. The rewards for all the questions he had asked in the previous two overs were reaped in his third over.He beat Brandon King with the only delivery he would bowl to him in the game. By bowling one into the pitch and getting it to turn and bounce, he had King chip a catch to midwicket. Then after beating Bravo for the nth time with sharp turn, he had his man lbw. Where a length delivery stopped on King, the one to Bravo skidded through a touch to beat the inside edge and crash into the pad. After long deliberations, India reviewed and replays showed the ball would have hit the stumps. Three overs in, Washington had taken out two form batters to have West Indies in trouble.It was those early incisions that helped Yuzvendra Chahal to come into his own at the other end. For the rest of the afternoon, Washington continued to vary his pace nicely, even when he kept hitting good length or thereabouts: 51 of his 54 deliveries landed around this spot. The wickets he got in his first spell were brought about by subtle changes in pace over lengths. It’s one thing to get a surface that aids spin, it’s another to be able to use it to your advantage, as Washington did in picking 3 for 30 upon his return to international cricket. His addition has already lent a better balance to India’s XI.India is yearning for a batter from the top six who can bowl. Washington is by no means a finished product with the bat, but he’s just 22 and has shown enough potential to be able to make the climb up the order. If he can continue to do that while maintaining the same effectiveness with the ball, the possibilities are endless.

The broadcaster describes the sequence of events of stepping in to wield the hammer at the IPL auction after auctioneer Hugh Edmeades fell ill

Saurabh Somani15-Feb-2022Charu Sharma was wrapping up lunch – he hadn’t gotten to dessert yet – between 2pm and 3pm on February 12, Saturday when he got a call from Brijesh Patel, the IPL governing council chairman. The conversation went somewhat like this:

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Sharma had to make a hasty apology to his extended family – his wife’s sister and her family were visiting from Mumbai – at the lunch table, and an even hastier journey to the Gardenia, the hotel where the IPL 2022 mega auction had been dramatically paused two hours into the first day after Hugh Edmeades took ill, collapsing on the rostrum because of “postural hypotension”, which happens if the blood pressure drops when one goes from lying down to sitting up, or from sitting to standing.Familiar to cricket viewers as a television presenter and commentator, Sharma has also been an auctioneer. He was the right man, with the right skill sets, and importantly, at the right place. In Bengaluru, the right place is essential, as anyone who has watched seasons change while waiting at the Silk Board traffic signal can attest to. Sharma lives roughly a ten-minute distance from the hotel.On that Saturday, not being associated with the IPL in any professional capacity, Sharma wasn’t following the auction on television. He knew it was taking place, but that was about it. Ordinarily, he might not even have been home on a Saturday afternoon. He usually plays golf then.

****

The story of how the IPL 2022 auction didn’t get derailed when Edmeades collapsed, begins four months ago in October 2021, during the Everest Premier League played in Kathmandu, Nepal. A tournament that didn’t feature a single player who would go on to get picked up at the IPL 2022 auction ended up being the saviour.”I’ve been doing big-time television since donkey’s years, so I was wondering ‘What’s different here?'”•BCCI”I was there about four months ago in early October, and I was going with some friends late at night and I took a toss and hurt my shoulder really badly. It’s torn in a couple of places,” Sharma tells ESPNcricinfo. “I’m getting it looked at, it’s still not ready yet. But if it ready, I would have been on the golf course on a Saturday afternoon, playing a round of golf with my phone tucked away not to be looked at! But I wasn’t. I was home.”The injury is serious enough that Sharma has taken to playing tennis left-handed. It’s much more difficult to play golf left-handed.Sharma had no accreditation. He was an outsider to the bubble that the hotel had established, where everyone connected with the auction had routes and zones mapped out for where they could go.The accreditation issue was the least of his worries. “I rang up Brijesh when I was a minute away and he said he’s sending someone down to come fetch me up,” Sharma recounts. “I met two or three key people, one was of course Hemang Amin, the CEO of the BCCI and also the IPL COO. Brijesh of course was there.”But while working against a ticking clock, he had forgotten an important piece of equipment back home. It was when meeting the television producer, “an old friend”, that Sharma remembered he had left behind his earpiece – through which producers speak to anchors on live TV to direct the broadcast.”I had forgotten my earpiece at home, because I just ran. Of course they could give me an earpiece but one of the small tools of the trade is to have your own moulded earpiece,” Sharma says. “I’ve had mine ever since I started out in Prime Sports in 1994-95, so it’s like a 27-year-old relic. But it’s my moulded earpiece. It’s made to your ear, custom-built. So I quickly rang up my wife, and she said, ‘As usual you have forgotten something, haven’t you?’ I said I had, and I told her where the earpiece was and she sent it over. It got there in time, just before the telecast, took about ten minutes to come. I had about 20 minutes from the time I entered Gardenia to going into the auction room.”

“The auctioneer is just a (story-teller), just channelling all this together. The auctioneer… I don’t know how people will take this, but there’s a very minimal level of skill involved. You just have to be careful about how much of your personality you infuse in that system”Charu Sharma

Sharma’s entry was an inevitable bubble breach, but as breaches go, it was probably the safest one the organisers could have asked for. Not only was he triple vaccinated – he had taken his booster shot “some time back” – but he had also got a negative RT-PCR test that very week.”Well… they had to take a risk,” Sharma smiles. “But I’d just come back from Pune, where I was doing the ATP Tour’s Tata Open, the only major tennis event that happens in India on the ATP tour [from January 30 to February 6]. And I had to get an RT-PCR to come back to Karnataka. So I was pretty recently tested.”But they (the IPL organisers) also did an RT-PCR test. A lady came in a hazmat suit and said, ‘RT-PCR’. I said, ‘Okay, fair enough’. So they did take precautions. The results would be coming later, but I wasn’t hobnobbing with too many people, who were sitting on the tables. And I didn’t have symptoms, plus I was recently tested… and I am triple vaccinated.”Once Sharma had his earpiece and had been provided with an auctioneer’s booklet, which had details of who was up next, the groups, who would be picking the players’ names and more “basic pieces of information”, he was all set. The IPL organisers were willing to give him more time if he wanted. He didn’t.”I don’t mean to overemphasise this, but the focus really is on the players. Which team are they going to, at what price. The drama of the auction is ,” Sharma says. “The auctioneer is just a (narrator), just channelling all this together. The auctioneer… I don’t know how people will take this, but there’s a very minimal level of skill involved. It’s a system-led thing. You just have to be careful about how much of your personality you infuse in that system. You can’t be too strict, too wild, too funny… too anything. That middle line is important.”Because of his work in cricket and other sports, Sharma was familiar with several people in the auction room at the bidding tables, but greetings were brief, though cordial, and he entered the room focussing more on the job at hand. When the bidding for the first day ended, Sharma still didn’t know whether he would be needed on Sunday, February 13, or whether Edmeades would be well enough to resume.”It wasn’t my call at all. I wasn’t asking any leading questions of what about tomorrow,” Sharma says. “But they were kind enough to say that, ‘frankly, we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow; we believe he’s much better now’. Hemang did tell me that at this point of time he couldn’t tell me for sure, but he would call me by 9am the next morning. And both Brijesh and Hemang did call. They asked me to reach by 11, we could have a session to plan for the second day, which was more complicated because there were more categories. Day 1 was all the big names.”So I went there and they told me, ‘this is the situation, we feel that you begin and take it forward as much as you can – if he [Edmeades] feels up to it and we are happy with the situation, we’ll bring him right at the end, and you can hand it over and let him finish’.”Hugh Edmeades did return, right at the end, to finish the proceedings off•BCCIEdmeades eventually did make it back at the end of Day 2 for the last lot. Both men received a standing ovation from everyone in the hall – Edmeades for coming back fully recovered from a fall that looked scary, and Sharma for having taken up the baton of IPL auctioneer so seamlessly. The only minor sour note was facing some irritation from a franchise representative or two, who suggested Sharma could have closed some bids quicker instead of giving the room the chance to continue bidding.”Frankly, there’s no timer,” Sharma says. “You have to use your judgment. And your judgment is based on the interest you’re seeing. I did prod, more gently than otherwise, because you have to move along. But the essential part is, can you be just and fair to all? And I hope I was that. Nobody was given more than anybody else in terms of time.”They [the franchises] all want the hammer down. But I can’t be biased. One of the criteria for an auctioneer is extreme neutrality. But I’m human, so if there is excess irritation coming from one table, I do feel, ‘I don’t deserve this, and you guys should know better’. Let’s not bully people who are taking the whole project forward. So there’s a certain reciprocal irritation, but I can’t let it show. That would be unprofessional.”You kind of try and laugh it off internally. If someone is being immature, or in some way unprofessional, or not going with the flow appropriately, I can’t respond. I really shouldn’t, and I never have. So why do that now?”Was any residual irritation left by the end of it? “I don’t know about them, but not me. Some of them were very, very nice. They came up and expressed their happiness and gratitude. The one or two people who didn’t come up, didn’t come up.”What Sharma took from the two-day experience, though, was some wonderment and a feeling of appreciation.”I’ve been doing big-time television since donkey’s years, so I was wondering ‘what’s different here?’ Most of the comments were very congratulatory and positive, which was very nice of people. Must have done something right! But for me, it was just about what I do. I am just glad I was at hand and thankful. I’d like to thank everybody who I haven’t been able to, through your medium. I was a little overwhelmed. Never got this kind of outpouring. Maybe the times have changed. I’m grateful for that outpouring.”When asked what happened after Day 1 ended, Sharma laughed and said, “Extreme fatigue!”But he did get a sense that the manner in which he had stepped in and conducted the auctions had been received very positively.”I hadn’t touched my phone, I had left it with one of the staff. I go back home and there is a fair deluge of messages. I said, ‘Oh my god, what happened here!’ And the family said, ‘Okay, now we know what you ran off for, and we forgive you’.”So the television at home did get tuned in to the IPL auction finally?Sharma smiles. “Yes, it did.”

Our XI features four Indians but find out who else made the cut

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1. Teague Wyllie (Australia)
With unbeaten scores of 86 and 101 in Australia’s wins in the group stage, Wyllie was his team’s anchor in chases against West Indies and Scotland. His 97-ball 71 against Pakistan in the quarter-final secured safe passage into the semis. The runs, however, dried up by the time the semi-final and third-place playoff came around, and the early contender for the tournament’s highest run-getter finished joint-fourth.2. Haseebullah Khan (Pakistan, wicketkeeeper)
It was a slow rise to the top for the Pakistan opener who, after scoring 135 against Zimbabwe, could not put on a score for the next three games. However, after Pakistan lost the quarter-final, Haseebullah blossomed again with the bat, making 79 against Bangladesh and 136 against Sri Lanka to eventually finish as the tournament’s second-highest run-getter. A total of eight catches and two stumpings in six games also earns him the gloves.3. Dewald Brevis (South Africa)
The Player of the Tournament slides in at No. 3, having scored 506 runs in six games – the most in the history of a single U-19 World Cup edition. He could’ve finished with four centuries in six innings but missed out on two of them when he was out on 96 and 97 against Ireland and England respectively. Brevis was so dominant that he scored over 120 runs more than the second-placed Haseebullah. His legspin also earned him seven wickets.Dewald Brevis has had a stunning Under-19 World Cup•ICC via Getty4. Shaik Rasheed (India)
The India vice-captain makes the cut even though he missed two games. That’s because of his crucial contributions in key situations. Against South Africa, India were 11 for 2 in their opening fixture, but Rasheed began India’s recovery with 31. Then in the semi-final against Australia, he struck 94 in a similar situation with India losing both openers early. Against England in the final, it was his 50 in the chase that set the foundation for India’s four-wicket win.5. Yash Dhull (India, captain)
Like Rasheed, he also missed two games but was not short of impact. Against South Africa, his 82 dragged India to 232 which proved to be a winning total in the end. He also made an unbeaten 20 in the quarter-final when India suddenly went five down with the target still a few runs away. However, Dhull saved his best for the semi-final against Australia where his 110 was an innings that had composure and aggression in equal measure. He absorbed the pressure of a knock-out when India had lost their openers with not too many on the board. He will also wear the captain’s armband in this team.Yash Dhull and Shaik Rasheed had a big impact despite missing two games because of Covid•ICC via Getty Images6. Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka)
A massive reason behind Sri Lanka’s sixth-place finish in the event was courtesy their captain’s all-round effort. His left-arm spin earned him five-fors in wins against Scotland and Australia, while his three-fors against West Indies and Afghanistan meant he finished as the highest wicket-taker of the competition with 17 wickets. With the bat, he struck 52 to take down Australia, made 113 against South Africa and notched up 40 against Pakistan.7. Raj Bawa (India)
Before his heroics in the final – where he finished with the best bowling figures in the history of the U-19 World Cup finals – Bawa had two more standout games. He took 4 for 47 against South Africa in a game where he returned to take those wickets after being hit all over the ground in the first spell. Against Ireland, he made an important 42 from No. 3 when India were missing their regular captain and vice-captain because of Covid-19. He then posted the tournament’s highest individual score with an unbeaten 162 at a strike rate of 150. But he saved his best for last: 5 for 31 with the ball and 35 important runs with the bat.8. Vicky Ostwal (India)
The left-arm orthodox spinner showed metronomic accuracy and the skills to deceive batters not only off the pitch but also in the air. His economy of 3.63 squeezed his opponents and got important breakthroughs. It was his 5 for 28 against South Africa that ensured India could defend 232, while his 2 for 25 against Bangladesh and 3 for 42 against Australia in the knockouts ensured neither team could go past 200.Dunith Wellalage turned in key performances with both bat and ball•Getty Images9. Awais Ali (Pakistan)
The right-arm seamer was Pakistan’s key wicket-taker through the event, taking 15 wickets – the third-highest in the competition. He also had the second-best figures – 6 for 56 against Zimbabwe. His three-for against Afghanistan was important in Pakistan’s quest to be group toppers. He went on to take 2 for 46 in the quarter-final defeat against Australia and 3 for 52 in the playoff game against Bangladesh.10. Joshua Boyden (England)
With 15 wickets at an average of 9.86, the left-arm swing bowler might have missed out on topping the wickets tally by two, but he was, by far, the most impressive bowler of the tournament. He bowled nine maidens in all, offering control with the new ball. At the death, he had the skills to deliver accurate yorkers. His 4 for 16 against Bangladesh bowled them out for a sub-100 score, and Canada were no match for his skills when he finished with 4 for 44. He rattled South Africa’s openers in the quarter-final from where they could never recover.11. Ripon Mondol (Bangladesh)
In a disappointing event for the 2020 champions, one bright spot was Mondol’s bowling. He started the competition with a fighting unbeaten 33 not out against England, but his primary skill came to the fore in the next two games, where he took 4 for 24 and 3 for 31. He impressed with a four-for against India in the quarter-final that for a brief moment left the eventual champions worried. He ended his tournament with Brevis’ wicket in his final playoff game.12th man: Tom Prest (England)

“There is a bit of sentiment, definitely, but once the game starts you don’t really think about that stuff”

Andrew McGlashan28-Feb-2022Usman Khawaja is aware of the significance of his return to Pakistan as part of the first Australia Test team to visit the country in 24 years, but won’t be treating the opening contest in Rawalpindi, close to where he was born in Islamabad, as any different to the multitude of other matches he has played.Khawaja last visited the country with his family in 2010 and after a sliding doors moment during the recent Ashes, he returns as one of Australia’s incumbent openers, so could walk out on the opening morning of the game on Friday.Related

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Had it not been for Travis Head’s positive Covid-19 result before the Sydney Test in January, Khawaja may well have been carrying the drinks at the start of the series. Instead he scored twin centuries at the SCG which left him undroppable, so the selectors shifted him to open alongside David Warner at the expense of Marcus Harris.He spoke with great eloquence on Monday, Australia’s first full day in the country, and answered a couple of questions in Urdu during a 30-minute press conference that almost became a life story. But, as he said, once the game starts and there’s a bowler running in nothing else matters.”Any game is just a game of cricket,” he said. “I’ve played it for such a long time now, been out of the team, now back in the team, [so] every game for me for Australia is just a bonus. I’m not out here to prove anything…got lot a lot of things in my life which are great that aren’t cricket related so for me it’s not the be-all and end-all. Just love playing cricket, love being competitive.”The fact I’m playing in Pakistan is special, don’t me wrong, it’s very special, something I’ve always want to do. I grew up down the road. There is a bit of sentiment, definitely, but once the game starts you don’t really think about that stuff. More worried about the ball coming down and everything else going on.”Khawaja’s mother and father are unable to travel from Australia for the series and the strict security around the team means he won’t be able to meet the many family and friends he has in the country. He expects a warm response from the crowds – although knows they’ll want Australia to lose – and is grateful how the stars have aligned for his chance at this experience.”I’m sure I’ll look back on it and think that was pretty cool, the first tour of Pakistan after so many years, being born in Pakistan,” he said. “As fate would have it everything has worked out beautifully – touchwood, I don’t hurt myself before the Test match – so things have worked out really well, but it’s hard to become too reminiscent at the time because you’ve still got to play a game of cricket.”Usman Khawaja scored his first Test ton in Asia against Pakistan, in 2018•Getty ImagesAlthough it is a considerable time since Australia have played in Asia (they haven’t toured overseas for a Test series anywhere since 2019), Khawaja produced one of his finest Test performances when these sides met in the UAE in 2018. It was part of an upturn in Khawaja’s record on the subcontinent – which also included ODI success in India – after a difficult start where he did not pass 26 in his first nine Test innings in Asia.”I took the onus on myself that I wasn’t going to listen to anyone else about how I need to bat on the subcontinent,” he said. “I tried that, failed. So I made sure I did learn from it. It wasn’t just a one-off in Dubai, have done it time and time again for different teams. It was a lot of work that went into it. If I didn’t have those experiences I probably wouldn’t be able to develop my game. In Sri Lanka and Bangladesh I probably didn’t understand what I need to do in those conditions.”In terms of preparing for the opening Test, Australia’s lead-in is short even by the standards of modern touring and the impacts of the pandemic. They will have their first training session on Tuesday, just three days before the series begins, although they did tailor their practice in Melbourne to subcontinent conditions with spin nets and a focus on reverse swing.”We’ve been on a lot of subcontinent tours where we’ve had two weeks preparation and still not done great, so maybe this is the way to go,” Khawaja said. “We’ll just have to wait and see. There’s only so much you can train before a Test anyway, so I’m actually quite looking forward to a short build-up this time and seeing how it goes. Could be a blessing in disguise, who knows, or it might not.”

He is probably just keeping the seat warm for Shakib, but can also use the opportunity in Zimbabwe to make a case for himself

Mohammad Isam23-Jul-2022Who is Nurul Hasan?
Nurul, a 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, made his international debut in 2016. It has been an on-again-off-again sort of career, despite being recognised as a technically gifted wicketkeeper. He has had to wait for his turn as Mushfiqur Rahim, first, and then Litton Das have kept a hold on the spot in the various formats.When Nurul has got a chance at the highest level, he has usually shown that he belongs there. He recently tackled the West Indies’ pace attack well in the Test series, while completing two tricky chases in the ODIs. Tamim Iqbal was particularly impressed with Nurul after the West Indies show, saying, “Apart from the bowlers, I have to say [Nurul] was the leading performer. He has put up a very strong case going forward.” Overall, though, his numbers with the bat are modest.What’s his pedigree as captain?

Nurul’s leadership experience is mainly in white-ball cricket at the domestic level. He has led Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in 49 white-ball matches, and occasionally, Khulna Division and South Zone in first-class cricket. He led the Chattogram Challengers in one BPL game in 2019 too. So there is a little experience on that front.Related

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“He has captained in domestic cricket, so he has leadership qualities. He is an aggressive character who can motivate the team,” Jalal Yunus, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman, said on Friday, when announcing Nurul as the Bangladesh T20I captain.But it is a stop-gap arrangement. Nurul is leading only in the three matches in Zimbabwe, for the moment. Mahmudullah is being rested, but there is no clarity on whether Mahmudullah will return to the helm for the Asia Cup in late August. Shakib Al Hasan might be in line to take over, but the BCB is not telling just yet.What! Shakib, really?
Indeed. ESPNcricinfo understands that Nurul is only keeping the seat warm for Shakib. Mahmudullah’s removal has been on the cards for a while, especially after Bangladesh’s campaign in the T20 World Cup last year, where they lost all their Super 12s matches, which was preceded by a knee-bruising qualification round, which included a defeat to Scotland.But the BCB had pointed to a lack of time after the T20 World Cup to find a new captain, which meant Mahmudullah continued for the next three series. Bangladesh won just one out of eight games in that period.Mahmudullah’s own form with the bat has also contributed to the way things have panned out. He hasn’t touched the 30-run mark since October 2021, when he scored 31 not out against West Indies in Sharjah. That’s ten innings with a best of 22.Shakib has already taken charge of the Test side, following Mominul Haque’s resignation before the West Indies tour last month. It proved that the BCB has no reservations about Shakib despite his ICC suspension in 2019 or his frequent run-ins with the bosses over the years.But why not come clean, and say what the plan is?
Oh, well… But, actually, Shakib wanted a break, for personal reasons, which has complicated matters. We are hearing that if Shakib had a change of heart about touring Zimbabwe, he would have been named T20I captain. But, in his absence, the BCB discussed Nurul and Litton as the T20I captains. Litton led the side in a T20I in New Zealand last year, but Nurul’s leadership qualities seem to be more attractive to the BCB at the moment.What are the expectations from Nurul?
Not a lot, to be honest. Three T20Is aren’t many games. But the BCB did mention “a different direction” when announcing Nurul as captain. Bangladesh’s overall T20I cricket has been woeful of late, to put it mildly. They are behind most of the top sides in every statistical, technical and physical parameter.The T20 World Cup last year showed where they stand in the format, and very little is expected of them in the T20 World Cup this year. But the BCB feels that if Nurul’s aggression rubs off on the others, then Shakib can lead a side that’s a little more confident.But Bangladesh need their big guns to fire, don’t they?
It is going to be Bangladesh’s first squad in any format without any of their senior cricketers. Tamim announced his retirement from T20Is earlier this month. They have played only ten T20Is without Mahmudullah in the last 15 years. Mushfiqur too is rested for this T20I series, although no one is certain whether the BCB has given him a break or it’s a sign of a long-term absence from the format.Bangladesh haven’t found an opener who can replace Tamim’s T20 qualities, but the team management has to formulate a new-look middle order that can combine with the lower order effectively, now that they are without Shakib, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur.The BCB is hoping that one of the newcomers or recalled players can step up quickly, so that they can head into the Asia Cup, the New Zealand tri-series and the World Cup with a bit of progress within the T20I side.

Did the game against Sunrisers bring the best out of Warner? Everybody thinks so, except him

Vishal Dikshit06-May-20222:27

Daniel Vettori is all praise for the Delhi Capitals opener

“My thoughts are like every other game,” David Warner said a day before playing for the first time against his former team Sunrisers Hyderabad, “just keep going through your processes till you have to do it, training and just get ready for the game.”Warner made match 50 of IPL 2022 sound like any other game, posted as much on his Instagram handle, and a few days later the match might even get buried in the heap of IPL scorecards. But knowing the magnitude of the occasion, some fans replied saying, “it’s revenge time”, some put up couplets of settling scores with Sunrisers, and one Sunrisers fan club said, “go easy on us, Davey.”It was almost as if Warner scoring big against Sunrisers was inevitable, and the reasons were also out there, except that Warner himself didn’t say as much. Warner scored a scintillating 92 not out off 58 balls to lead Delhi Capitals to their third 200-plus total this IPL and a 21-run win against Sunrisers with a Player-of-the-Match performance.The manner in which Warner was ousted from the Sunrisers camp last season, the way he was left behind in the hotel room for some matches and elbowed out of the team management, it snowballed into a controversy and became “a bitter pill to swallow” for Warner.Only a few weeks later, Warner turned his form around to help Australia lift their maiden T20 World Cup by being the second-highest scorer and took home the Player-of-the-Series award. He went on to say, “When you are dropped from the team you have loved the most for years without any real fault of yours and stripped of captaincy without being given a reason, it hurts.”How can his first game against Sunrisers be just another game then? Have all the scars healed?Broadcaster Harsha Bhogle poked Warner at the presentation on Thursday by asking, “was there something about today’s innings? The fluency, the strokeplay, everything was just perfect.”Warner only referred to the batting-friendly conditions, but nothing about the past.”I think when you rock up here and look at that wicket, it’s a really nice wicket, and it doesn’t matter if you bat or second,” Warner replied. “You know it’s going to be nice and true and I’ve obviously had some success here and played my strokes, didn’t think about hitting gaps and just watch the ball and hit the ball. It was going to come off and fortunate that it did.”Bhogle prodded again. “But there seemed a little bit more today especially when Rovman Powell was batting, he is hitting sixes, you are screaming louder, was there a little bit more today?”Warner this time deflected towards the challenging weather. “Obviously it’s challenging here with the humidity in Mumbai. I was cooked there towards the back end, I’m getting older and having Rovi at the other end, he’s got some serious power to clear the fence, it was amazing strike. I was glad he was at the other end.”Bhogle nudged him once again, and this time more directly. “You didn’t need motivation today. I look at you and I still think Sunrisers sometimes, to be honest.”Warner also replied more directly but didn’t reveal much. “I didn’t need extra motivation. We’ve all seen what’s happened before in the past and it was just to get a win on the board and get back in this contest.”The truth ultimately came out after the presentation when home broadcaster Star Sports got hold of Capitals’ assistant coach and Warner’s former Australia team-mate Shane Watson. He was asked if there was “just a little bit more against his old side?””It was a little bit more than just a little bit more,” Watson said with a laugh. “He was certainly up and about in the team meeting all game, which in the end is the intensity you need to be at your best and Davey certainly brought that tonight. And everyone else fed off that energy as well. You see the way Rovman came in and he sort of thrived off that energy. Dave just drove the train with his energy, with his desperation to really prove a point. He certainly did that tonight.”You could see the intensity he had tonight and he wanted to make sure that he did everything he possibly could, leave no stone unturned for tonight’s game and he stepped up beautifully.””This is a grudge match for David Warner,” Kevin Pietersen said on commentary but Warner didn’t take it too far and ensured the team’s needs were above his. He was on 92 after 19 overs but not on strike for the final over. He could have easily reached a century against his former side had he planned it so with Powell, but when the two batters met mid-pitch before the final over, Warner told Powell to go for the big shots and not think about giving him strike.”At the start of the last over I asked him if he wanted a single to try and hit a hundred but he said, ‘listen, that’s not how cricket is played,’ and that I should try to smack it as hard as I can and I did that,” Powell had said on broadcast after Capitals’ innings.When Warner was asked about not going for a century, he said: “100%. And I said to him I’m running two, no matter what and I don’t care if I get run-out. If we get 200-plus…I thought 190 was a par score but anything over 200 [was good] and I said to him if he was there at the end, we could get 210-220. So I’m just glad he cleared the fence [in the last over].”On a chat for , Watson then teased Warner by asking, “Do you think you’ll have the same fire in your belly for the next couple of games as well?””I’ve always got fire in my belly, you know that Shane,” Warner replied with a grin while scratching his head and Watson had a hearty laugh standing next to him.

Josh Little and Anrich Nortje take the bowling honours, but it was a tournament to forget for Kagiso Rabada

S Rajesh07-Nov-2022In a World Cup Super 12s competition that has been tough on batters, only two have scored 150-plus runs at 150-plus strike rates – Glenn Phillips and Suryakumar Yadav. It’s not surprising, then, that they are also the most impactful batters of this stage of the tournament, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats. Phillips leads the way with a rating of 74.80 impact points per innings, and Suryakumar follows with a score of 71.63.ESPNcricinfo LtdSuryakumar has the higher strike rate in the tournament so far, 194 to 164, but Phillips is marginally ahead on impact rating because Smart Stats takes into account not just the runs scored and strike rate, but also context in terms of match situation and support from other batters. Phillips’ best – a stunning, matchwinning 104 off 64 balls against Sri Lanka – is also the tournament’s best so far, in terms of highest impact points for an innings. That knock fetched him 182.6 impact points, which is 48 points more than the next-best (Rilee Rossouw’s 109 against Bangladesh).How is Total Impact calculated?

Total Impact for a player in a match is a numerical value that is the sum of his Batting and Bowling Impacts. These Impacts are calculated based on the context of a batting/bowling performance.

The context is based on an algorithm that quantifies the pressure on the batter/bowler at every ball of an innings. The factors that go into calculating the pressure index include runs required, overs left, quality of batters at the crease and those to follow, quality of bowlers and number of overs left for each bowler, and pitch/conditions and how easy/tough it is for batters/bowlers.

That’s because Phillips’ innings came when New Zealand had slumped to 15 for 3 after four overs, and the next-best score in a total of 167 was Daryl Mitchell’s 22. The other batters collectively struggled to 53 from 56 balls, while Phillips singlehandedly took New Zealand to a total that they defended with some ease. The fact that Sri Lanka managed only 102 showed that none of the other batters got to grips with the conditions. (In fact, the next four highest scorers in the match collectively couldn’t match Phillips’ score.)Suryakumar’s best was his 68 off 40 against South Africa, which got him 128.6 impact points. Like Phillips’ century, this was a one-man act, as Suryakumar scored 68 out of a total of 133, with the next-highest team score being 15. His 61 off 25 against Zimbabwe fetched 92 points.The top run-scorer in the tournament, Virat Kohli, is in third place in the batting impact list, with a score of 52.1 rating points per innings. His standout performance was the sensational unbeaten 82 off 53 against Pakistan, which fetched him 116.1 points, the fourth-best among all innings in the Super 12.Rilee Rossouw and Colin Ackermann round off the top five. Rossouw’s 109 against Bangladesh remains the highest score of the tournament and is the only other century apart from Phillips’ knock. In terms of impact points it fetched 134.4 – a relatively lower value than Phillips’ century as Rossouw’s knock came in a team total of 205. Ackermann is the fifth-highest run-getter of the Super 12s, and his unbeaten 41 off 26 (63.5 impact points) had a huge role to play in Netherlands’ stunning upset win against South Africa.