Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday withdrew midway from the third India-England Test at Rajkot and from the national squad effective immediately due to a family emergency. The confirmation of Ashwin’s withdrawal from the India squad was made by BCCI through a statement that was released at 10.49 PM IST. The Indian cricket board refrained from disclosing the emergency but said that the “health and well-being of the players and their loved ones are of utmost importance”.
“In these challenging times, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the team fully supports Ashwin,” BCCI said in a statement. “The BCCI extends its heartfelt support to the champion cricketer and his family. The health and well-being of the players and their loved ones are of utmost importance. The Board requests respect for the privacy of Ashwin and his family as they navigate through this challenging time.”
The BCCI added that it will stay in touch with the ace spinner and will offer any support that may be needed.
“The Board and the team will continue to provide any necessary assistance to Ashwin and will keep the lines of communication open to offer support as needed. Team India appreciates the understanding and empathy of the fans and media during this sensitive period.”
India will have to finish the Rajkot Test with just 10 players. However, they will be allowed to use substitute fielders. After Day 2 of the third Test, England are 207/2 and trail India by 238 runs. Also on Day 2, Ashwin dismissed Zak Crawley to complete 500 Test wickets. He also scored 37 runs to help India post 445 in the first innings.
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Sarfaraz Khan announced his arrival to the international stage in style, with a 66-ball knock of 62 on Day 1 of the third Test against England in Rajkot on Thursday. Sarfaraz was making his senior India debut on Thursday and it was an even memorable occasion for the 26-year-old cricketer who received his Test cap from the legendary Anil Kumble.
Sarfaraz would go onto forge a 77-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja for the fifth wicket before being run-out at the non-strikers’ end.
Former England cricketer Nick Knight termed Sarfaraz’s knock as “special” and said the youngster batted as though if it was just another Ranji Trophy match.
“I thought it was really special. I mean, when you get the chance to go up a level to play test match cricket, you might have played A team cricket. Your nerves are there. You had to sit and wait for four hours with his pads on to get his chance, albeit on a flat surface.”
“To go out there and play as if it is a Ranji Trophy game as if it is just another game which is actually what he’s done. It’s great credit to his character the way he looks about the game,” Knight said on JioCinema.
“It’s also great credit to Ranji Trophy cricket, the player who’s done so well and been promoted from the domestic game to come in and play like this says a lot about the Ranji Trophy, but yeah,” he added.
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa hoped this was just the start of what’s to come in Sarfaraz’s career.
Woah! In a flash, Sarfaraz sprints to a 50 on his debut! 🌟 What an electrifying start to his international career. 🔥 Here's to many more. 🙌🏾#INDvENG
Irfan Pathan felt that Sarfaraz Khan’s fifty was a testament to the fact that rise to the top does not come without grinding it out in domestic cricket. “Keep grinding in domestic cricket, and your chance to shine for Team India will come. Sarfaraz Khan’s standout performance today is a testament to that. A well-deserved half-century! #INDvsENGTest,” wrote Irfan.
Keep grinding in domestic cricket, and your chance to shine for Team India will come. Sarfaraz Khan’s standout performance today is a testament to that. A well-deserved half-century! #INDvsENGTest
Alastair Cook, former England cricketer, was also impressed with Sarfaraz Khan’s knock. “I enjoyed Sarfraz’s batting,” said Cook on TNT Sports. “I was intrigued to see him because you don’t average 70 runs in first-class cricket without being a serious player or run-getter. You sometimes question some of the stats in the Ranji Trophy because they play on some really flat wickets – Jadeja has got a triple hundred there.
“But actually, this guy can bat. It was a real shame he was run out. I liked how positive he was and how late he played the ball to the spinners. It was very different to the modern way of going hard and using the front foot. He really manipulated the ball under his eyes, so I enjoyed that,” he added.
Parthiv Patel, former India wicketkeeper said the day belonged to Sarfaraz Khan despite centuries from Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.
“Without a doubt, it was India’s day, the way Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma batted, but the day will be in Sarfaraz Khan’s name. It was a very long wait. You got a chance to play Test cricket after scoring so many runs, and the way you batted,” Patel said on Colours Cineplex.
India were 326/5 at stumps with Ravindra Jadeja unbeaten on 110 and Kuldeep Yadav not out on 1. Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja set the platform with a 204-run stand for the fourth wicket following a shaky start in Rajkot where India were once down to 33/3.
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India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Thursday admitted that it was his “wrong call” that led to Sarfaraz Khan’s run-out and apologised to the 26-year-old in a message on Instagram. Sarfaraz (62 off 66) was going all guns blazing before Jadeja misjudged a call for a quick single, leading to a run out at the non-striker’s end.
Jadeja went on to score an unbeaten 110 off 212 balls as India reached 326 for five at stumps. Skipper Rohit Sharma, too, scored a fine century, finishing with 131 runs from 196 deliveries.
“Feeling bad for @sarfarazkhan97. It was my wrong call, well played,” Jadeja posted on his Instagram handle.
Ravindra Jadeja’s Instagram story.
A consistent performer on the domestic circuit, Sarfaraz had to wait years for his maiden India call-up, which came ahead of the Vizag Test.
India’s most successful Test bowler, Anil Kumble, presented the Test cap to Sarfaraz in an emotional ceremony witnessed by the latter’s family.
The five-match series is level at 1-1 after two Tests. England clinched a 28-run win in the first Test in Hyderabad before India bounced back to beat the visitors by 106 runs in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
With PTI inputs
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MS Dhoni has been recently spotted training with a bat having a ‘Prime Sports’ sticker on it. Prime Sports, as per reports, is owned by Dhoni’s friend Paramjit Singh and the former India cricketer is trying to promote his childhood friend’s brand. This, however, is not the first instance of Dhoni showing such a heart-warming gesture. Do you know that Dhoni used the BAS (Beat All Sports) stickers on his bats during the 2019 World Cup to promote the company and didn’t event take single penny for it.
Dhoni’s association with BAS is every old as the well-known sports equipment manufacturing company were the first to sponsor his kit in 1999. To return this favour, Dhoni in 2019 World Cup decided to play with BAS stickers on his bat and didn’t accept any money for doing so.
The story has come to the fore after after a video of Somi Kohli, owner of BAS, went viral on social media platforms.
“Dhoni did not mention any money. He just said ‘put your stickers on my bats and send them across’. I tried to convince him, ‘You’re letting go of such a lucrative contract’. He let go crores of rupees worth of contract. I requested his wife Sakshi, his father, mother. Even told his CA and Paramjit from Ranchi. They all went to his home before the World Cup. But he said ‘No… it is my decision’,” Kohli said in a video.
MS Dhoni didn’t take single rupee to promote BAS in 2019 WC. I request him alot even his wife , CA and family .
The former India captain, who led the country to ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy wins, is currently getting ready for the IPL 2024. While it has been speculated that the 2024 edition will be the last season for the Chennai Super Kings captain, the Ranchi player has himself not confirmed anything.
Dhoni led CSK to a record-equalling fifth IPL title last season when they defeated Gujarat Titans in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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Team India just can’t catch a break in ICC events, especially when it comes to facing Australia in knockout matches.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had been knocked out by eventual winners Australia in the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup last year. Pat Cummins’ men would then get the better of Rohit Sharma and Co twice in a space of five months — in the final of the World Test Championship and later in the ICC World Cup.
That curse appears to have made its way to youth cricket now, with the Uday Saharan-led Indian team finishing on the wrong side of the result in the final of the 2024 U-19 World Cup in Benoni on Sunday. Their journey in the tournament was no different from that of the Men in Blue in the home World Cup last year, both teams suffering a comprehensive defeat to Australia in the final after bossing their way to the knockouts.
India did have a narrow escape against a spirited South African team that had reduced them to 32/4 after setting them a challenging 245 to win, thanks primarily to the middle-order pair of Sachin Dhas and skipper Saharan and their 171-run fifth-wicket partnership. The semi-final scare might have been seen by a section of Indian supporters as a timely wake-up call of sorts for the ‘Boys in Blue’ ahead of the biggest game of them all.
India, after all, were up against a team that knows how to rise to the occasion in the big games regardless of the format or age/gender. And it wasn’t just the Indians who had entered the final unbeaten; Australia too had not lost a single match and appeared to be peaking at the right time.
Australia managed to close the gap with India in terms of U-19 world titles, winning their fourth on Sunday with a comprehensive victory over the ‘Boys in Blue’. AP
In the end, Australia did what Australia does best — win the matches that matter to lift the title at the end of the tournament. As for the Indian team, they aren’t quite used to bottling the big games at the U-19 level as they are in the senior men’s and women’s divisions, having reached each of the last five youth World Cup finals and emerged winners on two of those occasions, including against the Aussies in 2018.
Try telling that to the Indian cricket fans though. The reactions and trending hashtags on social media platforms such as X after the latest defeat tells you that quite a few of them are yet to recover from the heartbreak that they suffered on 19 November, with Sunday’s loss further rubbing salt on the wounds for those fans.
Indian batters crumble under pressure
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Indian team from the word go as had been the case in the 2003 World Cup final, incidentally in the same country and against the same team albeit at the senior level.
Raj Limbani did manage to get Sam Konstas out for an eight-ball duck in his second over of the innings and Naman Tiwari bounced back from an expensive first over to remove skipper Hugh Weibgen and well as Harry Dixon in consecutive overs after a solid second-wicket partnership between the two worth 78. Spinners Saumy Pandey and Musheer Khan too pitched in with a wicket each, the former finishing at the second spot on the leading wicket-takers’ list behind South Africa’s Kwena Maphaka in the process.
A sparkling 55 from Harjas Singh, who rose to the occasion in the final after struggling throughout the tournament, as well as an unbeaten 46 off just 43 deliveries from Oliver Peake helped the Aussies post a competitive 253/7 on the board after skipper Weibgen opted to bat. Had it not been for those two, the Aussies might well have struggled to cross 200.
The previous highest target successfully chased in U-19 World Cup history was 242, achieved by England against New Zealand in 1998, and India needed to surpass that record if they were to successfully retain their title and win the tournament for a record-extending sixth consecutive time. After their exploits against the Proteas in a thrilling semi-final at the same venue, Saharan and his teammates would have backed themselves to pull off the job at the Willowmoore Park.
It was in the chase, however, that the Indians ended up getting outplayed by a clinical pace-heavy Australian attack that, combined with Weibgen’s smart bowling changes and field placements, ensured they never really were in the contest save for a couple of phases.
It started with a superb opening spell from Callum Vidler, who began with a maiden and got opener Arshin Kulkarni caught-behind with a beautiful away-swinger in his next over. The early wicket would force the ‘Boys in Blue’ to go into a shell as the pair of Adarsh and Musheer Khan crawled through the remainder of the powerplay, taking India to 28/1 .
Musheer, who had been dropped by Dixon at slip on nought, would begin to shift gears after the conclusion of the powerplay, producing a beautiful straight drive off Vidler in the final over of the seamer’s opening spell before welcoming Mahli Beardman into the attack with a flick in front of square for a boundary.
India certainly were on the rise at this stage with the scorecard reading 40/1 at the start of the 13th over. Musheer had assumed charge in the second-wicket stand and had just entered the 20s with a boundary off Beardman, while Adarsh was providing steady support from the other end.
Beardman, however, would strike in his second delivery of the day, right after getting hit for a boundary, as the in-form Musheer chopping the ball onto the stumps off the bottom-edge while attempting to defend a delivery that stayed a touch low.
India batter Musheer Khan reacts after getting cleaned up by Australia seamer Mahli Beardman. Image credit: ICC
That was the beginning of the procession to the Indian dressing room as Adarsh would stand tall at his end while wickets tumbled at regular intervals at the other, often in clusters. And more often than not, it was some questionable shot-selection that was to blame for the Indian batters losing the plot in the middle overs.
Captain Saharan had not been dismissed for a single-digit score throughout the tournament, and had done a fabulous job of absorbing the pressure and rotating strike with Dhas in the semi-final. He would become the second of Beardman’s three victims in the final, slashing hard at a short-of-length delivery outside off to send the ball straight into the hands of his opposite number at backward point, departing for 9.
Dhas would follow shortly after, poking at a delivery that got some late away-drift to result in an outside edge straight into the hands of the keeper, giving offie Raf MacMillan — the only spinner in the Australian attack — a wicket off his first ball of the day.
It wasn’t over for the Indians though as they still had opener Adarsh at the centre in the company of Priyanshu Moliya, with hard-hitting keeper-batter Aravelly Avanish and Murugan Abhishek to follow. As was the case in the semis, where they were four-down with half as many runs chasing a similar target, they needed one solid partnership to revive their title hopes.
Australia have done it again!
They win their third straight final against India, having won the #WTC23 and #CWC23 last year 🏆
And Adarsh was doing just that in the company of Moliya as the pair cautiously added 22 runs for the fifth wicket before the latter, perhaps in a rush of blood, ended up chipping the ball straight to Vidler at mid-on while attempting to pull Charlie Anderson out of the park. Sure India were collecting runs at a steady rate, and hadn’t breached the 100-mark close to the halfway stage of the chase. That, however, does little to justify such a tame dismissal at a crucial juncture of the innings.
Avanish would then head back to the pavilion almost as soon as he made his way to the centre and took guard, chipping the ball back to MacMillan to give the off-spinner his second wicket and depart for a two-ball duck.
Adarsh would then attempt to put the Aussies under pressure by finally showing some intent, collecting a four and a six off successive deliveries from Vidler. The southpaw, however, would perish shortly after while attempting a similar shot off Beardman’s bowling, getting caught-behind on 47 and giving the seamer his third wicket of the day
At 115/7 with their last set batter gone, the match was as good as over and the remainder of the game appeared a mere formality for the Aussies to complete. Abhishek managed to frustrate the Aussies with a counter-attacking 42 off 46 deliveries that contained five fours and a six, stitching a 46-run ninth-wicket stand with Tiwari.
That partnership, however, didn’t do much as far as bringing India back into the contest was concerned, and only served to delay Australia’s victory just by a little margin and reduce India’s margin of defeat below the 100-run mark.
“We played a few shots and couldn’t spend some time on the surface. We were prepared for it but we couldn’t execute well. That is where we went wrong,” Saharan said during the post-match presentation ceremony after the Indians received their runner-up medals.
It certainly isn’t the end of the world for Saharan and the class of 2024. Some of them might be making their debuts in the Indian Premier League in a couple of months’ time where they will be hoping to produce the kind of performances that gets them noticed by the Ajit Agarkar-led senior selection committee and keeps them in contention for a spot in the senior team. And only a handful might then get to represent the country the senior level, from where they might hope to avenge the U-19 heartbreak with a victory in the World Cup that surely garners a lot more attention if not more glory.
Without taking anything away from the prestige associated with it, the point of organising youth tournaments such as the U-19 World Cup is to give budding cricketers a taste of what lies ahead when it comes to the rigours of playing cricket at the highest level. And win or lose, the tournament is ultimately meant to be a lesson for the cricketers as they prepare for the tough road ahead.
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India were dealt a rude shock in Hyderabad, where they ended up suffering a 28-run defeat despite collecting a 190-run first innings lead, but bounced back in style in Visakhapatnam a week later with a convincing 106-run victory.
Jasprit Bumrah had bowled some quality spells and was able to get six wickets in Hyderabad by making excellent use of reverse swing. The star pacer was even more destructive in Vizag, where he would end up collecting six wickets in one innings — dishing out his best performance at home — and would grab another three in the second innings to help India bowl England out for 292 after setting them an improbable 399 to win.
As for the batters, the trio of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja had scored fifties in the first Test, but none of them were able to convert those fifties into bigger scores and go past the hundred mark. In the second game, not only did Jaiswal slam a maiden double-century, going past his previous best score of 171 on debut, but Shubman Gill too bounced back to form and scored a timely century in the second innings, helping India stay ahead of the curve with Jaiswal’s 209 helping the hosts score nearly 400 after opting to bat.
With more than 10 days to go for the third Test, where Rohit Sharma and Co will have the slight psychological edge even if the series is level at one-all given their morale-boosting victory in Vizag, we take a look at some of the areas where the home team can improve in order to bolster their chances of going 2-1 up:
Batting needs to click as a unit
Since the first innings in Hyderabad, the Indian batting unit hasn’t really clicked as a unit. While three members of the lineup went past fifty to help India post 436 in the series opener, the highest score in the second innings was Rohit’s 39 as the hosts crumbled under sustained pressure from Ben Stokes and Co and fell 28 runs short after being set a challenging 231 to win.
At Vizag, on the other hand, both Jaiswal and Gill scored the lion’s share of runs. Jaiswal collected 209 in an innings where the next-highest score was Shubman Gill’s 34. Gill, similarly, was the only batter to cross fifty in the second innings, collecting 104 off 147 balls with Axar Patel the next-highest scorer at 45.
The Indian batter needs to click as a unit in the upcoming fixtures, starting with the Rajkot Test, if they are to post competitive totals and boost their chances of preserving their home dominance.
Rohit and Iyer need to pick up
Rohit had a tremendous run with the bat in the ICC World Cup, but his form has been mixed ever since. The India skipper has crossed the fifty mark just one — in his unbeaten 121 in the third T20I against Afghanistan in Bengaluru. His highest in Tests since the World Cup is 39 — in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town and in the second innings in Hyderabad.
James Anderson celebrates the dismissal of Rohit Sharma on Day 3 of the second Test in Visakhapatnam. Reuters
Shreyas Iyer did collect a couple of sparkling half-centuries in the T20I series against Australia at home right after the World Cup, but the closest he’s come to scoring a red-ball fifty was in his knock of 48 for Mumbai against Andhra in the Ranji Trophy right before the England series.
Both batters will hope to bounce back to form in Rajkot. Iyer, especially, will have to work hard to retain his place in the XI. The Mumbaikar had batted at Virat Kohli’s position of No 4 in the first two Tests, and will be in a three-way tie with KL Rahul — who missed the Vizag fixture due to injury — and Rajat Patidar for the No 5 position should Kohli be included for the remainder of the series.
Second seamer remains a worry
The India-England series was expected to be one where spinners would dominate, with the veteran duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja feasting on overseas batters who aren’t used to raging turners. Instead, Jasprit Bumrah’s 15 wickets across two Tests as well as quality spells from veteran pacer James Anderson have served to remind us of the importance of seam-bowling, especially making use of the reversing ball, in these conditions.
Bumrah has lived up to his match-winning billing in the last couple of games, but the second seamer — Mohammed Siraj in Hyderabad and Mukesh Kumar in Visakhapatnam — weren’t quite as effective and couldn’t really execute their role — that of lightening the burden on the lead pacer and the spin department. India did miss Mohammed Shami in the first two games, and will be hoping he regains fitness for the remainder of the series. In the meantime, either of Siraj or Mukesh will hope to put up a better show in Rajkot, whoever gets picked.
Indian spinners getting outperformed
Bumrah’s brilliance in the last two Tests has somewhat overshadowed the fact that the famed Indian spin department are getting outperformed by their English counterparts.
The fact might just sound blasphemous to many an Indian cricket fan, especially since English conditions aren’t known for supporting spin and that particular department hasn’t traditionally been the English team’s strength.
Add to that the inexperience among the England spinners; before the India-England series, Jack Leach was the only experienced frontline spinner in the English squad with 35 appearances. Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed had played just one Test, against Pakistan in 2022, while left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir were yet to represent England in red-ball cricket.
Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has collected nine wickets, but at an average and economy of 36.33 and 4.08. PTI
And yet the English spinners managed to collect 33 wickets in the two Tests at a superior average (33.90) and economy (3.48) than their Indian counteparts, who managed just 23 (average: 38.39; economy: 4.18). Part of the reason behind that is Tom Hartley’s match-winning haul of 7/62 that spun England to victory in Hyderabad. The Surrey spinner would collect a four-fer in the subsequent Test in Vizag, where Bashir and Rehan were also among the wickets.
Additionally, the English batters appear to have trained extensively for the spinners and have largely been able to counter them successfully, especially with their sweeps and reverse sweeps and by using their feet to smother the turn on offer.
Ashwin and Axar have bowled in both Tests, while Jadeja and Kuldeep played in Hyderabad and Vizag respectively, with the former likely to return upon regaining fitness. Come Rajkot, the trio will hope to dominate the opposition batters the way they have for some many years now.
More consistency in fielding
India were miles better in terms of fielding on the fourth — and what turned out to be final — day of the second Test. Not only did Rohit pluck a blinder at slip to dismiss Ollie Pope off Ravichandran Ashwin, but Iyer ran Ben Stokes out with a brilliant direct hit at the striker’s end to virtually end England’s hopes of pulling off a miracle late in the game.
India, however, could do with a little more consistency in this department. It wasn’t too long ago when Axar dropped a sitter to hand Pope a reprieve on 110 — the English No 3 would go on to add another 86 runs that would prove crucial in the Hyderabad Test. India have also been guilty of relieving some of the pressure on the Englishmen by conceding overthrows as well as through misfield.
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Australia named a full-strength squad Tuesday for three T20Is in New Zealand this month as they ramp up preparations for the World Cup. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Steve Smith will all return after being rested for their upcoming three-match home series against the West Indies, which starts in Hobart on Friday.
“The next six games will provide us the opportunity to start shaping what we think our World Cup squad will look like and potential roles within that,” said chief selector George Bailey.
“We will also fully utilise the opportunity to monitor and watch the performances of the Australian players in the IPL (Indian Premier League) immediately preceding the World Cup.”
The games in Wellington and Auckland from February 21-25 are the last in the format for Australia before the World Cup, which is co-hosted by the United States and West Indies in June.
Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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England players packed their bags and left India after suffering a 106-run loss in the second Test against India at Visakhapatnam as the hosts levelled the five-match series 1-1 on Sunday. Ben Stokes’ led England will now be spending the break between second and third Test in Abu Dhabi. The third Test at Rajkot only starts on 15 February and with the second Test finishing early, on Day 4, there’s a 10-day break. As per news agency PTI, England team wants to take a break from cricket and will use the Abu Dhabi trip to relax off the field and play some golf.
It has to be noted that England were stationed in Abu Dhabi even before reaching India for the first two Tests. They had setup a pre-series camp in Abu Dhabi where they worked on playing the spinners and adapting to subcontinent weather instead of coming to India for a pre-series preparation.
Coming to the series.
England won the first match at Hyderabad with a stunning 28-run victory as debutant Tom Hartley spun them to a 1-0 lead with eight wickets in the match. After struggling with batting issues in the first Test, India faced the same in Visakhapatnam as they fought to level the series. Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal who made a double ton in the first innings, none of the Indian batters were able to touch the 50-run mark. However, a century from out-of-form Shubman Gill in second innings allowed India to set a record 399-run target.
England gave a good account of themselves and fought back with 292 runs in the fourth innings but an almost 400-run target was always to be a big ask.
England captain Stokes wasn’t an unhappy man after the defeat and lauded his team for showing fight.
“Coming into this last innings, had full belief in ourselves that we’ll chase it down. In moments like that, in games with scoreboard pressure, that’s where we get the best out of ourselves. Another great game to be a part of,” he said after the game.
In Rajkot, a confident England will now try to take lead once again.
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Ollie Pope's magnificent ton on Day 3 breathes life into Hyderabad Test
"England were in danger of getting shot out on the third day itself after restricting India's lead to less than 200. Ollie Pope, however, ended up steering them away from danger with one of the finest knocks witnessed against India in India in recent memory," writes Amit Banerjee.
India vs England Day 4 LIVE: Ollie Poep is unbeaten on 148 and will look to stretch England's 126-run lead further on Day 4 of the Hyderabad Test vs India. The home team had a flat day on Saturday and will look to mount a comeback on Day 4 and wrap up England's innings as soon as possible. We will bring you all the updates here.
India vs England 1st Test Day 4 Updates: Ollie Pope to will take the strike on Day 4 of the Hyderabad Test between India and England with only one hope – to repeat what he did on Day 3. Unbeaten on 148, the batter has brought England back into the game with his sublime batting as Indian bowlers struggled on a slow deck at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
England ended Day 3 on 316/6 and lead India by 126 runs. With four wickets more left in the kitty, England will look to stretch the lead to at least 200 runs before India get into the bat. The second innings have been tough for Indian bowlers on a pitch that didn’t offer much spin. Ravindra Jadeja took one wicket but gave away 101 runs, while Ravichandran Ashwin had two after leaking 93 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah ahs been the pic of the bowlers with two wickets from 12 overs and has only given away 29. Axar Patel has also taken one wicket so far. Indian bowlers will aim to wrap up England’s innings in the first session on Day 4 which will allow them to finish the match today itself.
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New Delhi: Women’s Premier League (WPL) side Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered a jolt on Saturday as their England recruit Heather Knight pulled out of the upcoming second season of the lucrative T20 league beginning on 23 February.
The Bengaluru-based franchise did not give any reason for Knight’s pulling out but England cricketers involved in the WPL were in a dilemma, as staying back for the business end of the T20 League could lead to them missing out on their country’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand.
Knight is the captain of the England team.
🔊 ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊
We welcome South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk to our #ClassOf2024.
She replaces Heather Knight who has pulled out of #WPL2024. 🔄
Nadine was recently featured in the ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year, and we're sure that her skills will be a great… pic.twitter.com/fLwlvIA216
The final of WPL is scheduled for 17 March while the visiting England team’s first T20I against New Zealand will be played in Dunedin on 19 March.
RCB has named South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk as replacement for Knight.
“England captain Heather Knight has pulled out of the upcoming season of the Women’s Premier League 2024. The Royal Challengers Bangalore have named Nadine de Klerk as her replacement,” the WPL said in a statement.
De Klerk, who bowls medium-fast and bats right-handed, has featured in 30 ODIs and 46 T20Is.
According to reports, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have told players involved in the WPL that they will not be considered for the first three T20Is in New Zealand if they stay in India till the end of the T20 league.
The ECB is expected to name the England squad next week.
Besides Knight, other players due to feature in WPL 2024 are: Alice Capsey (Delhi Capitals), Issy Wong and Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians), Kate Cross (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt (UP Warriorz).
Lauren Bell, who was due to play for UP Warriorz, pulled out of the WPL on Friday, saying her priority was preparation for the tour of New Zealand.
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India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey on Saturday said that his team wasn’t worried about the target that the hosts could chase in the ongoing first Test against England in Hyderabad. The hosts conceded a 190-run lead on Saturday, allowing England to claw back in the game on the back of an unbeaten 148 from Ollie Pope. England were 316/6 on Day three, leading the second innings by 126.
“We are not looking at any particular target (to chase) as I said the objective is to come tomorrow morning and get early wickets and limit their total. We are not putting any pressure on ourselves by setting any target. We just want to bowl in the right areas to extract turn and bounce from the wicket,” Mhambrey said during the post-day press conference.
Mhambrey feels the track will be on the slower side but doesn’t expect the turn to be “challenging”.
“If you look at the way the game has progressed over the last few days from the first session, the amount of turn the ball has taken, I think it got better in the second innings. I think it is going to get a bit better on the slower side (tomorrow). There will be some turn but it is not the usual turn you see in the Indian sub-continental wickets, the sharp turn when the game progresses. There is a little turn but not as challenging,” said Mhambrey.
The 51-year-old said the hosts were aware of the Bazball approach that England had taken the last couple of years and were very prepared to take them on. Mhambrey also credited Ollie Pope for his brave approach.
“We knew prior to the series the way England played over the last couple of years and the kind of approach they had to Test cricket. We were expecting them to come here with that aggression and play those kinds of shots.
“But credit goes to them for playing those shots and some of the shots Pope played were very brave, and playing those shots consistently can put the opposition under pressure,” he added.
The former Mumbai pacer also noted the England batters’ bold approach in this Test.
“It does happen as the batsmen start to access different areas. It is going to be a challenge. Pope accessed the square leg area and the reverse sweep as well. They took on the attack when it was really needed.
“Sometimes it happens because someone like him who plays these kinds of shots consistently does get the bowlers under pressure in terms of variations of the line. But we need to be patient with lines and hope to get a wicket,” said Mhambrey.
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Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik got married for the third time to Pakistani actor Sana Javed, prompting a mixed response on social media. Shoaib, who got separated from Sania Mirza, received several reactions from the public. Malik had married Mirza in 2010. Mirza’s father disclosed that she had initiated a ‘khula’ (divorce initiated by the wife) and wished Malik well in his life. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi recently spoke about Malik’s high-profile wedding.
Afridi said, “Shoaib Malik ko bohut bohut mubaraq baat. Allah usi isi life partner ke saath saari zindagi khush rakhe, [Many congratulations to Shoaib Malik. I hope god keeps him happy with this wife for the rest of his life],” Afridi said during an event on Samaa TV.
A journalist from the same Pakistani news channel shared details of Malik and Javed’s love story, revealing that they had started dating several years ago. This began on a TV show where Malik had set a condition to the show’s organizers that he would only participate if Javed was invited as the guest.
“Shoaib Malik and Sana Javed started meeting consecutively on the show. Also, let me tell you, Shoaib Malik used to put conditions before appearing on the shows; he would only come if Sana Javed was invited as the guest. No actor noticed this because Sana Javed was already married to Umair Jaswal. People were curious about Ayesha Omar, but the real reason was something else,” the Pakistani TV journalist said.
In one of the episodes of the duo, sharing a stage during a game segment, Malik’s comments regarding Javed went viral. In a clip, the actor said, “Shoaib just revealed that he’s determined to win but is intentionally losing for my sake.” In a different segment, Malik was seen handling a bike independently instead of taking Javed’s assistance.
A day after Malik shared pictures along with Javed, Mirza issued a statement clarifying their relationship. In the brief message, former tennis player Mirza said they had “been divorced for a few months now.” The statement said, “Sania has always kept her personal life away from the public eye. However, today the need has arisen for her to share that Shoaib and she have been divorced for a few months now. She wishes Shoaib well for his new journey ahead!” Mirza and Malik were seen for their son Izhaan’s fifth birthday in Dubai last year.
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Ahmedabad: Devdutt Padikkal hit a stroke-filled 92 not out after right-arm pacer Akash Deep shone bright with the ball with a four-wicket haul as India A took control of the four-day second unofficial Test against England Lions on the opening day here on Wednesday.
England Lions’ decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired big time as the Indian bowlers skittled the visitors out for 152 in 52.4 overs.
Akash Deep turned out to be the wrecker-in-chief, returning with figures of four for 46, while Yash Dayal (2/14) and off-spinner Washington Sundar (2/25) scalped two wickets apiece.
Oliver Price (48 off 81) was the top-scorer for England Lions, while Brydon Carse made 31.
England Lions’ difficulty against the Indian attack was evident from the fact that as many as seven batters of the visiting side got out for single-digit scores.
Failure to build partnerships was the root cause for England Lions’ downfall with the highest stand coming in between Price and Carse, who stitched together 43 runs for the seventh wicket.
In reply, the Indian opening duo of Padikkal and skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (53 not out off 96) found it easy against the English attack as they scored runs without much trouble to take the hosts to 150 for no loss.
India A now trail England Lions by just two runs to take an upper hand in the match.
Padikkal, in particular, was at his attacking best as he decorated his 96-ball unbeaten knock with 15 boundaries and demolished the English attack in the process.
Easwaran, on the other hand, played the second fiddle, giving Padikkal the perfect support from the other end.
Easwaran scored his runs off 96 balls with the help of six fours as the Indian openers scored at 4.68 runs per over.
Brief Scores:
England Lions: 152 all out in 52.4 overs (Oliver Price 48; Akash Deep 4/46).
India A: 150 for no loss in 32 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 92 not out, Abhimanyu Easwaran 53 not out).
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Cheteshwar Pujara on Sunday became the fourth Indian batter to score 20,000 runs or more in first-class cricket. Pujara achieved the milestone during Saurashtra’s Elite Group A fixture against Vidarbha in Nagpur, which the visitors went onto win by 238 runs.
Pujara joined an elite list comprising of Sunil Gavaskar (25,834 runs), Rahul Dravid (23,794 runs) and Sachin Tendulkar (25,396 runs) as the only other Indian cricketers to score 20,000 runs or more in First Class cricket.
Pujara went onto score 43 and 66 in the two respective innings against Vidarbha. The 35-year-old might have been an out of favour batter as far as the Team India Test side is concerned, but he has been in prolific form in domestic cricket, having scored 444 runs from five innings in the Ranji Trophy this season already. Apart from playing domestic cricket in India, Pujara has also been a vital part of the Sussex setup in English county cricket, having amassed centuries for the team very often.
Pujara last played a Test for India during the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval in June last year. Pujara endured scores of 14 and 27 in that match. Till date, Pujara has played 103 Tests for India, having scored 7195 runs at an average of 43.60. This includes 19 hundreds and 35 fifties.
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Another intriguing Test series beckons as Rohit Sharma-led India host Ben Stokes’ England in a five-match series that starts in Hyderabad on 25 January. England have had more disappointments than fun whenever they have travelled to India for a Test series, but one such exception is when the team led by Alastair Cook in 2012 went all the way to clinch the country’s first Test series on Indian soil in 28 years.
Since then England have failed to replicate the same performance and are once again seen as the underdog in the upcoming assignment. One of the things that worked in England’s favour in 2012 was Kevin Pietersen playing a leading role with the bat and English spinners trumping their Indian counterparts.
How England decimated India on home soil
They had left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who was in the form of his life back then, and offie Graeme Swann who was as equally consistent.
It was a rather clinical display from MS Dhoni-led Team India in the first Test in Ahmedabad. Virender Sehwag (117) and Cheteshwar Pujara (206*) had forged 90 runs between themselves after Sehwag’s century-plus stand with opener Gautam Gambhir. There were early signs of spinners having a say when Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha had combined to take 13 of the 20 England wickets at the Motera.
Monty Panesar is congratulated for his five-wicket haul against India in 2012 by Graeme Swann. Reuters
England were following on after they were dismissed for 191 while replying to India’s first innings total of 521, and it was in that follow on when Alastair Cook (176) led by example, along with Matt Prior’s 91 when England set the blueprint for the rest of the series. The duo’s knocks had led the visitors to 406, still not enough to set India a good target as the hosts chased down 77 with comfort, with Pujara scoring an unbeaten 41.
However, India weren’t prepared for what was to come next. The second Test was at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on what was a pitch that turned sharply, assisting the spinners well. And this is where England took advantage yet again, with Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann taking a whopping 19 out of 20 Indian wickets. India’s spinners, meanwhile, had been completely outperformed with Cook (122) and Kevin Pietersen (186) amassing centuries in the first innings.
In the same Test, Monty Panesar’s turning delivery to clean up Sachin Tendulkar in the first innings caught the eye of many. A delivery that could be compared to the late Shane Warne’s iconic Ball of the Century, but Panesar was in a league of his own back then.
India would then go on to suffer a batting collapse to be dismissed for 142 in the second innings, meaning England needed just 57 runs to win. And, on the fourth day morning, the visitors did it with ease, with Alastair Cook (18*) and Nick Compton (30*) sealing a 10-wicket win.
England take the lead
The caravan then headed to the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Once again, India were undone by the England spinners and this time, Steven Finn also joined the party. This time, however, it wasn’t a turning pitch as much as it was during the third Test in Mumbai. Yet, a majority of India’s batters had no answer to England’s spinners. It was a flat wicket, and despite this, Monty Panesar was able to capitalise and was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings, finishing with figures of 4/90 to dismiss India for 316. Although Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin shared seven wickets between them, it wasn’t enough for the hosts to stop the England top-order led by Cook (190) from stealing the show.
England would go on to put 523 on board. Gautam Gambhir (40) and Virender Sehwag (49) had got off to a solid start but failed to capitalise. Pujara (8) and Sachin (5), who were supposed to establish a strong partnership following the dismissals of the openers, also perished, with Pujara getting involved in a mixup with Gambhir whereas Sachin took an edge off the bat off Swann’s delivery to be caught at slip by Jonathan Trott.
Alastair Cook celebrates scoring his fifty in the second Test against India in Mumbai in 2012. Sportzpics
The only good thing about India’s second innings batting was Ashwin’s resistance. The Chennai man, who had come into bat when India were 122/5, fought hard with an unbeaten 91 to take India to 247. And yet, the task was pretty much easy for England after they were set a target of just 41. They would chase it down with seven wickets to spare on the back of Ian Bell’s unbeaten 28.
The series was 2-1 heading to the fourth and final Test in Nagpur. With India looking to draw level in the series, the Nagpur Test was an even more closely fought contest. Alastair Cook (1) had a rare failure with the bat following England’s decision to bat first, but Trott (44), Pietersen (73), Root (73), Prior (57) and Swann (56) would play pivotal roles in England making 330. It was Day 2 when England ended their innings, and at the end of that day, India were in a precarious position at 87/4, with Kohli and Dhoni unbeaten. This time, however, Kohli (103) and Dhoni (99) would go on to forge a partnership for the ages — a 198-run stand that would eventually take India to 326/9 as they declared on Day 4.
England were equally resistant as India, in their second innings. An unbeaten 66 from Jonathan Trott led them to 161/3 at stumps on Day 4, and with seven wickets still to fall and India’s run chase still remaining, a draw was written all around.
Trott would get to his century off 232 balls after the first drinks break on Day 5, and despite losing Pietersen, fellow centurion Ian Bell (116*) and he would stitch a 208-run stand as England ended the day with a declared total of 352/4. That meant India lost the opportunity to level the series, but on the other hand, a jubilant England team bursted into celebrations.
Why have England failed to win Test series in India since?
England have toured India in 2016/17 and in 2021 since that Test series win in 2012. And in both the subsequent tours, facing spinners have been England’s major problem. In 2016, England were a team in transition with the likes of Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett in the squad, and their lack of experience of never having played in India before showed that the Three Lions had work to do on sub-continent soil. In that series, two of India’s four wins came through innings victories, which meant the England batters struggled.
In the 2021 tour, though, it was once again England’s top-order that was in focus. Chopping and changing of England’s openers hardly helped England with their cause, despite promising performances from Zak Crawley (53 in Ahmedabad) and Dom Sibley (87 in Chennai) Despite their only win in the series in Chennai, it’s that lack of consistency in the top-order that has hurt England in their last two tours to India.
This time around, England come to India with a Bazball approach but that has been criticised by experts, with some noting that it won’t work against India in India. “Well, I don’t know (how Bazball will play in India), because it’s not going to be about the Bazball approach. I played Bazball and I was very successful here,” Kevin Pietersen had told Wisden in December.
Whether Bazball works or not this time around, remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, it’s going to be a neck-to-neck contest with Indian spinners testing the England opposition on subcontinent tracks and how England will approach them.
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Bloemfontein: Left-arm spinners Saumy Kumar Pandey and Musheer Khan headlined a dominant Indian performance as the defending champions outclassed Bangladesh by 84 runs in their opening game of the ICC U-19 World Cup here Saturday. While the total of 251 for 7 didn’t look big, the two Indian spinners choked the run-flow, shooting out ‘Tiger Cubs’ for a meagre 167 in 45.5 overs.
Skipper Uday Saharan (64 off 94 balls) and left-handed opener Adarsh Singh (76 off 96 balls) hit half-centuries after Bangladesh invited the holders to take first strike. Saumy (4/24) was economical and bowled the lethal arm ball with a skiddy action while all-rounder Musheer (2/35) tossed it up and got enough drift to tighten the noose around Bangladeshi batters.
Musheer, younger brother Mumbai’s domestic stalwart Sarfaraz Khan, was a livewire on the field. He also effected a run-out. What was impressive to see was no overt celebrations from either Saumy or Musheer, who carried on their job like thoroughbred professionals.
It was a fairly ill-tempered match with players from both sides indulging in sledging as the two teams have history of tension across senior men, senior women and U-19 level. For Indian team, it was a sweet revenge after losing the Asia Cup semi-final to Bangladesh.
While the Indian batters found it difficult to get boundaries, the target was never below par as average score of teams batting first in Youth ODIs (U-19 ODI) at this ground was 201, and the highest successful chase being 243.
In fact, India’s 251/7 on the day was the third highest score at this ground.
The team’s designated finisher Sachin Dhas showed admirable technique and temperament during death overs with a nice little unbeaten cameo of 26 off 20 balls that took the score past 250-run mark. The pulled six off seamer Rohanat Doullah Borson was a treat for the eyes. This despite allowing Bangladeshi bowlers to bowl dot balls worth 26 overs during their innings.
Left-arm seamer Maruf Mridha (5/43) did damage at the start and during slog overs by bowling in right areas but would be a bit miffed with his skipper, who got his calculations wrong and didn’t let him complete his quota of 10 overs.
Possessing a skiddy action like Mustafizur Rahaman, Maruf varied his lengths, bowled closer to stumps at the start and mixed cutters with wide yorkers at the death to make life difficult for the India colts.
The foundation of the Indian innings was laid by Adarsh (76 off 96 balls) and skipper Saharan (64 off 94 balls), who added 116 runs for the third wicket in nearly 23.5 overs.
The two youngsters didn’t look comfortable against the Bangladesh spinners — offie Sheikh Paevez Jibon (0/39) and left-arm spinner Mahfuzur Rahaman Rabby (1/41).
The two spinners didn’t let the set batters get away as Adarsh had six fours and Saharan only four. In fact, Indian batters got only 14 boundaries and two sixes in 50 overs but it proved to be enough in the end.
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The T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA isn’t by any means the only ICC event that will be taking place this year, with the U-19 World Cup having already commenced in South Africa on Friday, 19 January.
Team India haven’t been winning too many ICC trophies at the senior level, having last won a major event all the way back in 2013, but are every bit a dominant team at the U-19 level, where they have won five World Cups and have reached seven of the last nine finals from 2006.
India enter the current tournament as the defending champions, having won their fifth title with a four-wicket victory over England in the West Indies in 2022. The ‘Colts in Blue’ are placed alongside Bangladesh, Ireland and USA in Group A, and begin their campaign against neighbours Bangladesh on Saturday.
Ahead of their opening fixture, we take a detailed look at the Indian squad:
Uday Saharan
Saharan be leading the Indian team in the 2024 edition, and will be hoping to join an elite club that comprises Mohammad Kaif (2000), Virat Kohli (2008), Unmukt Chand (2012), Prithvi Shaw (2018) and Yash Dhull (2022) — India’s five U-19 World Cup-winning captains. Saharan’s a top-order batter who also bowls right-arm off-spin.
India will be led by Uday Saharan at the 2024 U19 World Cup. Image: Uday Saharan Instagram
Though he hails from Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, he represents Punjab in domestic cricket, having shifted his base to the border town of Fazilka — which incidentally happens to be the hometown of India opener Shubman Gill. He was named captain of the U-19 side after shining in the Challenger Trophy that took place in Guwahati last year.
Adarsh Singh
Adarsh Singh has cemented himself as the first-choice opener for the India U-19 team with his consistent run in recent outings, especially in the triangular series involving World Cup hosts South Africa and Afghanistan right before the mega event. Originally hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur, the left-handed opener, who happens to bowl off-spin, had led his state team at various age groups and has also represented Kanpur Superstars in the UP T20 League.
Aravelly Avanish
Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batter Avanish has made quite a name for himself as an explosive middle-order batter, and it is that reputation that helped him land a contract with the Chennai Super Kings in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) auction that took place in Dubai in December. Avanish, who idolises legendary Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, hails from the Pothugal village in Rajanna Sircilla district, Telangana, and made headlines with a knock of 183 against Chennai at age-level cricket. Along the way, Avanish led Hyderabad’s U-14 and U-19 cricket teams.
Sachin Dhas
Middle-order batter Dhas hails from Beed and had led Maharashtra at the Cooch Behar Trophy. Dhas, who also bowls off spin, has also represented Kolhapur Tuskers in the Maharashtra Premier League. More recently, he had struck a 42-ball 58 against Pakistan in the U-19 Asia Cup, his late charge helping the ‘Colts in Blue’ cross the 250-mark.
Innesh Mahajan
Since his selection for the U-19 Asia Cup as well as the World Cup, Mahajan has become something of a celebrity in the city of Noida where he currently resides with his family, according to The Times of India. Mahajan, who originally hails from Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district and idolises both Alastair Cook and MS Dhoni, is a left-handed batter who is one of India’s top-order options for the World Cup besides being a back-up option for the wicketkeeper’s slot.
Priyanshu Moliya
Moliya is the only other member of the India squad for the U-19 World Cup to have played First-Class cricket besides Khan, having represented Baroda in the 2022-23 edition of Ranji Trophy. And he made an instant impact in the First-Class format by becoming only the second cricketer from Baroda to slam back-to-back tons on Ranji debut since Nari Contractor seven decades ago. Though primarily a middle-order batter, Moliya’s also quite handy with his off-spin.
Rudra Patel
The 18-year-old top-order batter from Gujarat, who is among the many who idolise current all-formats India captain Rohit Sharma, has been in roaring form of late. Not only did he finish the second-highest run-scorer in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy in October, where he collected 513 runs at an outstanding average of 102.60 with three centuries, he managed to carry that form over to the U-19 Quadrangular Series that comprised two Indian teams besides England and Bangladesh.
Though his team, India B, was beaten by the Uday Saharan-led India A in the final, Patel finished the leading run-scorer in the series by a fair distance, collecting 568 runs at an average of 113.60 that included a ton and five half-centuries.
Arshin Kulkarni
Young Arshin Kulkarni has already been making waves as the next Indian cricket star in the making and this is before he has even made his debut for India at the senior level or faced/bowled a delivery in the Indian Premier League. The Maharashtra all-rounder, who hails from Solapur, recently made his debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and had also appeared in the Maharashtra Premier League.
India’s Arshin Kulkarni in action during the opening game of the 2023 ACC U-19 Asia Cup against Afghanistan. Image credit: X/@BCCI
More recently, he was in sparkling form in the U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE, where he collected 138 runs at an average of 69. That included an unbeaten 70 in a match against Afghanistan in which he also collected three wickets for just 29 runs. His all-round heroics in the Asia Cup, combined with his sharp fielding skills, helped him land a deal with the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL Auction.
Musheer Khan
The all-rounder, who happens to be Sarfaraz Khan’s younger brother, is considered by many as one of the up and coming stars in the Mumbai cricketing circuit. Musheer also happens to be one of only two members of the India squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup to have played First-Class cricket, having made his Ranji Trophy debut against Saurastra in 2022-23 and going on to make three appearances for Mumbai that season. Musheer, who bowls left-arm orthodox and bats at No 3, had led Mumbai to the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy last year, where he was named Player of the Tournament.
Murugan Abhishek
Another Hyderabadi making the U-19 World Cup squad alongside Aravelly Avanish, off-spinner Abhishek, who idolises Ravichandran Ashwin, has been enjoying a consistent run both in domestic age-group cricket as well as for the India U-19 team.
He had shown glimpses of his all-round ability with a century in the quarter-finals of the Vijay Merchant Trophy in the 2019-20 season, as well as in the Asia Cup semi-final against Bangladesh in December, top-scoring for his team with a knock of 62 on a day when the top-order batters struggled to get going against Maruf Mridha and the rest of the Bangladesh attack.
Dhanush Gowda
Young Karnataka pacer Gowda had represented India D in the Men’s U-19 One-Day Challenger Trophy in Guwahati as well as India B in the U-19 Quadrangular Trophy that also featured India A, England and Bangladesh. Gowda highlighted his skill in one of those games with a haul of 5/32 that helped the Indian team bowl Bangladesh out for 116 and later chase the target down with seven wickets to spare. Gowda did not get to play a game in the U-19 Asia Cup despite being named in the squad but featured in the subsequent Tri-Nation Tournament in South Africa that seved as a pre-cursor to the World Cup.
Raj Limbani
Right-arm seamer Limbani grabbed headlines and instantly became a talking point in cricketing circles across the country with his stunning haul of 7/13 that helped India bowl Nepal out for a paltry 52 in the U-19 Asia Cup in December and propel the ‘Colts in Blue’ into the semi-finals.
India U-19 seamer Raj Limbai celebrates the fall of a wicket during the ACC U-19 Asia Cup match against Nepal in Dubai. Image credit: X/@ACCMedia1
What was especially impressive about the haul was the fact that it came in a pressure situation, where India needed a win if they were to qualify for the knockouts. It was the kind of performance that might just ensure the 18-year-old seamer from Vadodara gets an extended run in the World Cup.
Saumy Pandey
Left-arm spinner Pandey hails from Madhya Pradesh and, according to The New Indian Express, had taken up cricket at an early age in order to fight various illness due to the fact that he had a premature birth. He would eventually get hooked to the sport, turning it into a career option by shining for his state at the U-16 level before graduating to U-19. Pandey had recently been named vice-captain of the India U-19 team for the Asia Cup. Though he went wicketless in that tournament, he came back firing in the subsequent Triangular Series in South Africa, where he would collect 6/29 in 10 overs against Afghanistan.
Aaradhya Shukla
The 19-year-old right-arm seamer from Ludhiana took up sport primarily to get a height boost, according to Hindustan Times, but has since taken up the sport professionally where he has risen through the ranks and finds himself on the verge of representing India at a World Cup, even if it is a youth event. Shukla, who had finished the leading wicket-taker in the Punjab Cricket Association U-23 State Championship in 2022. He enters the World Cup with some solid performances in recent outings, including a 4/43 against hosts South Africa in the recently-concluded Triangular Series.
Naman Tiwari
Tiwari will be leading the Indian attack in the U-19 World Cup in South Africa, and will hope to thrive in the pace-friendly conditions in the ‘Rainbow Nation’, where the Indian team had finished runners-up in the 2020 edition. Tiwari knows a thing or two about bowling to some of the world’s top batters, having been a net bowler with the Rajasthan Royals.
According to Cricketnext, Tiwari learned a great deal about the art of fast bowling while interacting with icons of the game such as Lasith Malinga and Trent Boult, knowledge that he appears to have put to good use in recent fixtures which includes a haul of 4/11 against Afghanistan in the recent triangular series.
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Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named India A skipper for the second and third unofficial Test matches against England Lions. Easwaran is currently leading the side against Egland Lions in Ahmedabad. The second and third matches will be played at the same venue on 24 January and 1 February respectively.
Kumar Kushagra, who was snapped up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 7.20 crore at the IPL 2024 player auction in Dubai in December, has also made the squad for the two matches. The likes of Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sai Sudharsan and Rajat Patidar, who have all made their senior India debuts over the last few months, also feature in the squad.
On Day three of the first unofficial Test, India A were 159/4 with Sai Sudharsan (53*) and Manav Suthar (1*) unbeaten. They have been set a target of 490 with just one day of play left in the game.
India ‘A’ squad for the 2nd multi-day match: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal
India ‘A’ squad for the 3rd multi-day match: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Washington Sundar, Shams Mulani, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal
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Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn and Andrew Puttick on Thursday resigned from their respective positions at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Arthur had been announced as the Pakistan men’s cricket team director in April 2023, while Bradburn, a former New Zealand cricketer, was named the head coach. Former South Africa cricketer Andrew Puttick had been with the team since April 2023 having been announced as the Pakistan batting coach.
“All three individuals informed the Pakistan Cricket Board of their decision to leave their respective jobs by the end of January 2024,” the PCB stated in a release. “The decision was taken amicably between all the stakeholders,” the release added.
Arthur had previously been the head coach of Pakistan from 2016 to 2019, a period when Pakistan were the No 1 Test side and guided Pakistan to the ICC Champions Trophy title. Following Pakistan’s forgettable run at the ODI World Cup last year, the trio had been dismissed from coaching responsibilities and were assigned new duties at the Pakistan NCA in Lahore.
During Pakistan’s recent Test tour to Australia, Mohammad Hafeez was the team director as well as the head coach, whereas Adam Holioake had been named the batting coach. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal had ben named fast bowling and spin bowling coaches respectively.
Pakistan, however, would go onto lose the Test series to Australia by a margin of 3-0.
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Bengaluru: Arshdeep Singh’s chaotic journey in T20Is will reach its culmination point at the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the third match against Afghanistan on Wednesday, and he is banking on the recent experience of bowling with new-ball to ace the latest test of his skills.
Arshdeep took four wickets from as many matches against the Aussies last year, but in each of those matches he conceded 41, 46, 44 and 40 runs in four overs.
But against South Africa and Afghanistan, the left-arm pacer had relatively better outings four wickets across four matches at an acceptable overall economy of eight.
Those performances offered a microcosm of Arshdeep’s efforts from January 5, 2023 to January 14, 2024 as his economy oscillated between 7.5 and above 10.
The Punjab man accepted that his journey was a mixed bag during the above-mentioned period.
“The last 12 months have been a mixed bag (of experience). There were a few good performances and I got to learn something new. There were a few ups and downs as well, making my performances neutral,” Arshdeep said during the pre-match press meet on Tuesday.
The pacer said experience of bowling with the new ball in the absence of senior pros like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj has helped him develop as a bowler.
“Specifically, I recently started (bowling) with new ball, especially on slow wickets. In the last match, I tried a few variations, especially against left-handers, and it worked and it gave me some confidence. Otherwise, I am trying to sharpen my skills,” he added.
Arshdeep said the role clarity within the team has helped him to gain in experience even when he was struggling a bit with the ball.
“Players’ roles are defined. As a bowler, you know, you have to bowl at the start and middle overs. When there is clarity, you come up with good performances, he added.
The 24-year-old said even though India have already bagged the series 2-0, it won’t stop him and the team to continue seeking improvement.
“Mindset as a team doesn’t work on what the series scoreline and what happened in the last matches. The main motive is to get used to the ground, adapt quickly. We can look at improving and developing match skills,” said Arshdeep.
The Chinnaswamy often tests the skills and endurance of a bowler with its flat deck and short boundaries, but Arshdeep saw it as an advantage.
“We feel there is nothing to lose here. Batsmen are under pressure because of the feeling that they have to score more boundaries and that is where as a bowler you are in the game. You can get more wickets.”
Arshdeep also said he will focus on the World Cup only when the moment arrives, as other matches, including the IPL 2024, are dominating his thought process at the moment.
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