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England’s coach, Andy Flower, has jumped to the defence of the underperforming batsman, Ian Bell

Andrew McGlashan in Durban22-Dec-2009England’s coach, Andy Flower, finds some aspects of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) “illogical” and isn’t a supporter of the ICC initiative that was a focal point of the opening Test against South Africa at Centurion Park.England did not enjoy much success in their use of the system, with all four of their bowling referrals turned down. That disappointment was compounded, however, when Kevin Pietersen was bowled by Morne Morkel off in the first innings, off what appeared to be a no-ball. With that in mind, Flower argued that if technology was going to be used, it should check the foot position of the bowler every time.”I’m not a policy-maker and my ideas don’t count that much, but I don’t really like the questioning of the umpires by the players,” he told reporters in Durban. “I think there are also some illogical things about it. We have the technology to review no-balls every ball and we don’t use it.”The two most controversial moments came when England asked for a review of a caught-behind appeal against AB de Villiers in the first innings, but technology couldn’t detect what the players had believed to be an audible nick, then when Stuart Broad questioned the length of time South Africa had taken to refer JP Duminy’s lbw appeal to the third umpire.Upon being given out, Broad marched over to the on-field umpires, Steve Davis and Aleem Dar, and later went to visit the match referee, Roshan Mahanama, although no charges were brought against him. England have also raised the issue over the time taken between South Africa’s appeal and the TV umpire’s intervention.”We spoke to Roshan Mahanama about it and there is no clear indication over how much time it should take,” Flower said. “It’s not 20 or 30 seconds, but they do just want a brief exchange of views and then a decision made.”I personally don’t like it much to be honest, but it looks as though it’s here to stay and certainly is for this series, so there’s no point us grumbling about it. We just have to get on with it and make sure we deal with it.”While the review system doesn’t have Flower’s backing, the under-pressure pair of Alastair Cook and Ian Bell certainly do. He believes both men can bounce back from their twin failures at Centurion Park. Cook made scores of 15 and 12 having spent a lot of time in the latter part of the 2009 season working on his technique, while Bell managed seven runs in two innings, and was embarrassingly bowled when not offering a shot to Paul Harris.”Belly got some runs in the pre-tour games and I think he is feeling quite confident about the way he is playing,” Flower said. “He had a tough Test, of course. He made a misjudgement in the first innings and got nicked off in the second but he’s a high quality player and we are backing him. I think he will be fine.”Cooky scored runs for the Performance Squad up in Johannesburg then scored some runs in East London,” he added. “He’s had a tough Test and it was a tough Test for anyone against the new ball. He’s remodelled a few things but he is a strong young man, a very fine player and a leader in his own right. I think he is going to do good things for us this series.”Despite the batting problems, including the late collapse of 5 for 13, the series is still all-square and Flower was breathing a sigh of relief after the outcome. “Of course we are relieved that, after losing those wickets against the last new ball, we got out of it,” he said.”We always knew the second new ball was going to be a testing period, although we obviously didn’t think we would lose that many wickets. But we did well to fight back and hang on.”

Mohammad Naim, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam and Hasan Mahmud are the others to be recalled as Bangladesh rebuild following disappointing Champions Trophy campaign

Mohammad Isam23-Jun-2025Bangladesh have brought Litton Das back in the ODI side as one of five changes for next month’s three-match series against Sri Lanka – two of the changes were forced as Mahmudullah has retired from international cricket and Mushfiqur Rahim has retired from ODIs. The two made the announcements a week apart following Bangladesh’s early exit from the Champions Trophy, which was also their last ODI assignment.Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said that Litton was given the opportunity in part because he was recently named the Bangladesh T20I captain. Litton made only 35 runs in eight ODIs between the tour of New Zealand in December 2023 and the tour of the West Indies in December 2024 before being dropped, including for the Champions Trophy.”Litton Das was in a bad patch but time is the best healer. He is the T20 captain, so we can consider him till the next T20 World Cup,” Ashraf said. “If someone has to return to form, it is best to spend a long time in the middle. We feel that Litton can take his form from ODIs to T20Is.”

Bangladesh squad changes

IN – Mohammad Naim, Litton Das, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Hasan Mahmud
OUT – Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed

The selectors have also recalled Mohammad Naim, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam and Hasan Mahmud.”Naim has shown that he can bat with the same intensity as our [recent] white-ball openers,” Ashraf said. “He has done well in the Dhaka Premier League. We also have someone like Soumya Sarkar, who has ten years of international experience. [He has been dropped because] we want to help him recover fully, so that he can come back properly.”Related

• Mehidy wants to bring hope back in ODIs for Bangladesh

Top-order batter Naim played the last of his ODIs way back in September 2023, while this is the first ODI call-up for left-arm spinner Tanvir, whose international experience is restricted to six T20Is.Ashraf added that five fast bowlers have been picked to manage the workload of Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana. “We have included five fast bowlers in the ODI side as we have Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed are returning from injuries. We are also mindful of Nahid Rana’s workload management, so we have kept enough options to choose from.”Elaborating on the axing of Sarkar, one of the two active players to be left out from the side along with Nasum Ahmed, Ashraf said, “Soumya Sarkar has had three injuries in the last 12-15 months. He had an ACL injury against Sri Lanka last year. He had a finger injury in West Indies. Recently, he suffered a back spasm when we were considering him for the UAE series. He didn’t recover in time, so he couldn’t play any matches. We couldn’t keep him in the side against Pakistan. We want him to recover fully, and return to consideration.”The three ODIs will be played on July 2, 5 and 8. The first two ODIs will be held at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo while the third match will be held in Pallekele.

Bangladesh squad for ODI series vs Sri Lanka

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud

The ten franchises have a total of 77 slots to fill at the auction on December 19 in Dubai

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Dec-20231:07

Moody: Langer will want to retain stability around Lucknow Super Giants

Seven of Australia’s ODI World Cup winning squad – Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Steven Smith, Josh Inglis and Sean Abbott – are among 25 players to enter the 2024 IPL player auction with a base price of INR 2 crore (USD 240,000 approximately).The auction will take place on December 19 in Dubai, the first time it has been held outside India.New Zealand batting allrounder Rachin Ravindra, who scored 578 runs at a strike rate of 106 and took five wickets at the World Cup, has listed his base price at INR 50 lakhs (USD 60,000 approximately).Some of the other significant players in the highest base price band are fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, who was South Africa’s highest wicket-taker at the World Cup, and England batter Harry Brook, who was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad, along with Harshal Patel, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Kedar Jadhav.Related

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The ten franchises have a total of 77 slots to fill, of which 30 can be overseas players. Based on skillset and performance at the recent ODI World Cup, Starc, Head and Ravindra are being tipped to spark fierce bidding among the franchises. If Starc gets bought, he will be returning to the IPL after eight years, having last played the 2015 season for RCB. He did enter the 2018 auction, where he was bought for INR 9.4 crore by KKR, but missed the season because of injury. This time, however, Starc is keen to utilise the IPL as preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.Head was the Player of the Match in the semis and finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup last month. He hasn’t played the IPL since 2017, when he was part of RCB and played ten games across two seasons, scoring 205 runs at a strike rate of 138.51.Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc: will they go for big bucks at the 2024 IPL player auction?•ICC/Getty Images

On Friday, the IPL shared with the franchises a long list of 1166 players who had registered for the auction. The final pool, however, will be much smaller after the teams submit the names of players they are interested in to the IPL. The long list includes 45 players from Associate nations, 909 uncapped players of which 812 are Indian, and 18 capped Indian players.The likes of Harshal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Brook, Thakur along with uncapped Indian batter Shahrukh Khan will once again remain confident of attracting strong interest from more than one franchise. Both Harshal and Hasaranga, who were bought for the same price – 10.75 crore – were released by Royal Challengers, mainly because of their weak numbers at M Chinnaswamy stadium, the franchise’s home base.Brook was bought by Sunrisers for INR 13.25 crore, making him the most expensive overseas buy at a mini auction by the franchise. Brook, though, failed to make any impact barring a century early on last IPL, forcing Sunrisers to re-think their investment.Thakur, too, was bought for 10.75 cr in a trade before the 2023 auction from Delhi Capitals. However, Thakur managed just seven wickets in 10 matches at an economy of nearly 11 and an average of 31.42. Thakur failed to make any impact with the bat, too, scoring 113 runs in 10 innings.Shahrukh, who plays for Tamil Nadu, made his IPL debut in 2021 when Punjab bought him for 5.25 cr. A year later he was released ahead of the mega auction but bought back for 9 crore. However, just one Player-of-the-Match award proved disappointing for the player and franchise, who finally released him. Shahrukh has put his base price at 40 lakhs and would be keen to see his hometown franchise, Chennai Super Kings, interested in bagging him.Base Price INR 2 crore (USD 240,000 approximately): Harshal Patel, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, Mustafizur Rahman, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Lockie Ferguson, Gerald Coetzee, Rilee Rossouw, Rassie van der Dussen, Angelo MathewsBase price INR 1.5 CR (USD 180,000 approximately): Mohammad Nabi, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Daniel Worrall, Tom Curran, Marchant de Lange, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Phil Salt, Corey Anderson, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Southee, Colin Ingram, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jason Holder, Sherfane RutherfordBase price INR 1 CR (USD 120,000 approximately): Ashton Agar, Riley Meredith, D’Arcy Short, Ashton Turner, Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings, Michael Bracewell, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Alzarri Joseph, Rovman Powell, David WieseESPNcricinfo Ltd

Dushmantha Chameera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Niroshan Dickwella and Hazratullah Zazai are the other big names in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2022Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Dasun Shanaka and Sikandar Raza are among the 14 overseas players signed by Dubai Capitals, the team owned by the GMR Group in the UAE’s International League T20.Dushmantha Chameera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Niroshan Dickwella, Hazratullah Zazai and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are the other big names, while Scotland’s George Munsey and Netherlands’ Fred Klaassen are the two Associate players. Four domestic (UAE) players will be drafted at a later date.Among the current signees, Powell is the only one who is part of Delhi Capitals, the franchise partly owned by the GMR Group in the IPL.”Being a part of T20 cricket’s most extravagant set-up, the Indian Premier League, for 15 years now – we felt that it was the right time to expand our wings on to the global popularity charts of this format of the sport,” Kiran Kumar Grandhi, the managing director of the GMR group and chairman of Dubai Capitals said.”The International League T20, which is scheduled to be launched in the United Arab Emirates in January 2023, is a perfect stepping-stone for GMR Sports towards building the Capitals universe comprising of a galaxy of cricketing stars from all corners of the world. We are looking forward to making a world-class city like Dubai, our home as Dubai Capitals.”Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders are the other teams who have announced their overseas roster for the ILT20. The six-team league has been sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board and will take place between January 6 and February 12.Dubai Capitals squad so far: Rovman Powell, Dushmantha Chameera, Hazratullah Zazai, Fabian Allen, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sikandar Raza, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dan Lawrence, Blessing Muzarabani, Isuru Udana, George Munsey, Fred Klaassen

India will have to make a tough decision on Rahul in a must-win game for them

Andrew Miller17-Mar-20217:00

How do India find an answer to Wood and Archer’s pace?

Big Picture

The colours red and black are more commonly associated with roulette wheels than soil types, but as is the case with that most deceptive of casino games, the surface on which this T20I series has been played has mattered little in the final analysis. What has really made the difference is the spin at the start, because the banker always wins in the end. Win the toss, bowl first, scoop the spoils irrespective of the action.So it has proven in three consecutive fixtures between England and India at Ahmedabad. Emphatic margins on each occasion – by eight wickets, seven wickets and eight wickets again – with the zippier, dewy conditions for the team batting under lights offering more pace onto the bat, and consequently to the rope, and little wriggle-room for the team that has been asked to post a target.But why let that not-so-hidden truth detract from the fun that’s to be had along the way? After all, you’d struggle to claim that the action to date has been anything other than compelling – with England’s surging pace onslaughts in the first and third games giving way to Ishan Kishan’s precociously composed destruction in match two.And, as Virat Kohli set out to prove in arguably the innings of the series on Tuesday, there’s always the chance of winning big when your numbers come up. Kohli’s outstanding innings of 77 not out from 46 balls gave his team a puncher’s chance – and it required Jos Buttler to step up with a career-best innings of 83 not out to snuff out the prospect of a win against the head.Irrespective of the results, if there is one clear pointer to have emerged from the first three games, it is that England – with just over six months to go until the T20 World Cup – have a far better idea of their best XI than India. When Mark Wood is fit (and the management of his pace-stressed ankles is a full-time job for the support staff), the raucous hostility that he and Jofra Archer can produce in the powerplay is a perfect dovetail for their pedal-to-the-metal batting approach. Full throttle in both disciplines makes for a very compelling sight, and a very compelling affirmation of their No.1 T20I ranking.Related

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But India aren’t so far away from a similarly devastating line-up – their faith in youth has already reaped huge dividends in the Test arena, and with a groundswell of IPL starlets itching to step up into the international spotlight, they are well placed to peak exactly when they’d want to, at the start of that home World Cup campaign in October.And yet, as their selection in the third match revealed, there’s still some unresolved tension between the platform-building team of death-over accelerators that they used to be, and the more fearless, full-frontal outfit that Kohli said, at the start of the series, that he was looking for them to become. The decision to veer away from Kishan at the top of the order for match three, so soon after his extraordinarily carefree debut, looked like an error as soon as it was announced at the toss. Sure enough, it gave England licence to get back on the front foot in that powerplay, with Adil Rashid claiming the first over in a ploy that looks likely to stick, before Morgan was able to burgle some quiet mid-innings overs from an off-colour Ben Stokes while India were still trying to pick up the pieces of their top order.The plus side of that decision, of course, is that at least India now know the error of their ways – and may now be all the better placed to commit more fully to their new forward-looking approach. The absence of the newly married Jasprit Bumrah needs also to be factored into their performances to date. His potential impact at the top and tail of any given innings is immeasurable, and affirms the sense that they are a team on the rise.England, by contrast, are slightly boxed in by the obvious strength of their first XI. The decision to overlook Moeen Ali for match three, on a red-soil surface that ought to have assisted his offspin, was a surprise at the time, but also an indication that England really want to claim the series win before mixing up their methods and discovering how close to his best he truly is. But as they discovered with Tom Curran’s callow showing in match two, if England’s back-up players can’t hit the ground running when their rare opportunities come, the knock-on effect for their whole machine can be significant.Similar issues (if they can be described as such) persist with England’s batting – the wall of noise that Nos.1 to 7 can produce is such that there’s a reluctance to experiment with a proven line-up, and find out whether Sam Billings’ skills as a finisher could add anything to the mix, or even the re-rising star Liam Livingstone (and his handy line in spin bowling). It may be that both will have to keep on watching and waiting a while yet.1:53

Gambhir: Buttler one of the best T20 batters in the world

Form guide

India LWLLW

England WLWWW

In the spotlight

Not that he’s ever really out of the spotlight, but the form of Virat Kohli in the last two games has reinforced his pre-eminence in India’s line-up, after his back-to-back ducks in the fourth Test and first T20I. Against a high-class bowling attack, he’s provided an anchor with a difference for India – a calm second fiddle to Kishan in game two, before marching through the death overs to crush England’s remaining hopes, before serving up a granite-willed performance on Tuesday that, in its brilliant final flourishes against Wood in particular, showed the way for sides batting first in these conditions. With Kohli in this mood, the dashers in India’s line-up – Kishan and Rishabh Pant in particular – have even fuller licence to have a proper go.For all of the awe that England’s pace battery has served up in recent days, there’s still no doubting which of England’s bowlers is Eoin Morgan’s absolute favourite weapon. Adil Rashid has the unwavering faith of his captain, and has justified that backing time and time again in recent months – most recently in an unfamiliar new role at the top of the powerplay in the first and third games. Tellingly, however, he was kept back from the new ball when India opened with Kishan in match two, and then kept out of the young gun’s firing line until it was arguably too late to make a decisive impact on India’s chase. A lot of faith is placed in match-ups in modern T20 cricket, but there’s still room for gut feel too. If England lose the toss and find themselves defending in the dew once again, might Morgan be tempted to give him an earlier spin?Adil Rashid has revelled in his new role as the powerplay spinner•Getty Images

Team news

A tough decision awaits on the fate of KL Rahul, who simply looked burned out by the end of his four-ball stay on Tuesday. The smart money would be on a new Mumbai Indians’ left-hand/right-hand combination at the top, with Rohit Sharma joining forces with his young gun, Kishan, whose style was somewhat cramped by his shunt to No.3 in the last game. Suryakumar Yadav, who didn’t get a chance to bat on debut in the second game, is the obvious choice to slot back in in the middle order.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalStick or twist for England? If everyone is fit, then an unchanged XI makes sense in the short term – a series win in India is not to be sniffed at, after all. But Moeen needs to be road-tested at some stage, surely, and then there’s the thorny issue of Dawid Malan at No. 3. It’s not out of the question that he could become the fastest player to reach 1000 runs before the series is done (see below). But his tempo in this series has been the slowest of his career – 66 runs at 110.00 in three innings, almost 40 points lower than his strike-rate at the end of the South Africa series (149.47). If he’s not the right fit for these conditions at the World Cup, then England could do with finding out sharpish who is. As for the other contenders, Reece Topley among them, their trial runs may have to wait a while yet.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood.

Pitch and conditions

It makes no difference if you’re black or red, as Michael Jackson didn’t quite sing. In theory, a red-soiled pitch ought to offer more bounce and turn for the spinners than its black-soil alternative. However, as in the first three games, the onset of dew as the lights kick in means that batting second is likely to be a major advantage either way.

Stats and trivia

• With 921 runs in 22 T20I innings to date, Dawid Malan needs another 79 runs to become the fastest batsman to reach 1000 in the format. Babar Azam is the current record-holder, having reached the mark in his 26th innings.
• Jason Roy is also on the verge of 1000 T20I runs. He needs another six, having reached 994 in 41 innings. His team-mate, Jonny Bairstow, passed the same landmark in his 43rd innings on Tuesday.
• Defeat for India in either of the next two games would mean only their second T20I series loss on home soil since the World T20 in 2016. Australia beat them 2-0 in 2019, their only loss in ten rubbers.

Quotes

“I was going through a lean patch about two games ago. These things turn around very quickly. For us, he’s been a champion player. If you look at his stats in the last two-three years, they are probably better than anyone in world cricket in T20s. He’ll continue to be one of our main batters along with Rohit at the top of the order.”

Virat Kohli gives his backing to KL Rahul after his run of 1, 0 and 0 in the first three games.“I was just trying to bang into the wicket on a good length as fast as I can, trying to make something happen.”

Mark Wood has an uncomplicated explanation for his uncomplicated method, after starring with three high-octane wickets on Tuesday

The former wicketkeeper, who feels Paine’s future as Test captain is in his own hands, lauded him for helping reshape the team after the ball-tampering scandal

Andrew McGlashan in Perth11-Dec-2019Alex Carey is “nipping at the heels” of Tim Paine but the future of Australia’s Test captain remains in his own hands, according to Adam Gilchrist.It is not beyond the realms that the New Zealand series, which starts in Perth on Thursday, marks Paine’s last home internationals. After the Sydney Test in early January, Australia’s next assignment is a two-match series in Bangladesh in June before the next home summer.Steven Smith’s leadership ban will be completed at the end of March which means he will be eligible for a return to captaincy, and Gilchrist picked out him and Pat Cummins as potential options to replace Paine. The upturn in Australia’s Test form this year has cemented Paine’s position and it appears unlikely he will be pushed out, but having turned 35 a few days ago there may also come a time when he feels it is time to move on.From a batting point of view, Carey has made 143 and 73 in his last two Sheffield Shield outings and is the natural successor to Paine. It is a position Gilchrist has first-hand experience of, having been the man who replaced Ian Healy in 1999.”I reckon while ever he is in the team he should be captain,” Gilchrist, who is a commentator, said. “And then let’s see after these three Tests – that is the summer for him. See how he feels at the end of this summer. I feel it was more of a light-hearted comment when he said it might be his last summer. But like all players that are getting to that age bracket, it’s almost a summer-by-summer analysis.”It’s almost like deja vu – not for him, but for me – when you’ve got a guy like Alex Carey nipping at his heels. He’s starting to show some really promising signs of consistency now in his Sheffield Shield cricket. With his overall game and where the attention gets drawn to is his run-scoring. His wicketkeeping seems to be extremely consistent. As is Paine’s. But Carey is now starting to really accumulate important runs in first-class cricket, so that is going to really put pressure on him.”If he is playing next summer, Paine should be captain of the Australian cricket team. But we will have to see at the end of the summer if he is still in there – whether it’s his own personal judgement or the selectors’. As long as he warrants a spot in the team, he can keep leading the team. I’m amazed at the way he has helped rebuild and reshape the team after the disaster of South Africa.”Tim Paine with Steven Smith at training•AFP

Though Paine’s Test average remains a modest 30.97 (he has barely been needed so far this summer with the prolific returns of Australia’s top order), Gilchrist believes he has a significant innings him should Australia need it.”Tim’s chipped in with some really important innings,” Gilchrist said. “He hasn’t got the breakthrough runs but he plays a decent role with the bat. I’d be surprised if in this series there’s not a time when we’re under pressure whether it’s a 40, 50 or a 70 that he plays his role. He’s so experienced he can fulfill that. The only time the attention is drawn to him is if someone else is breathing down his neck that they may be able to add value.”From Paine’s point of view, he said he had not given his future any more thought since the start of the international season. “In terms of competition, when you are playing for Australia as the wicketkeeper, there’s constant competition,” he said. “We are renowned for having excellent wicketkeeper-batsmen and that’s no different at the moment. As I touched on, it’s a great environment in our set-up and I’m enjoying every minute of it and will continue to do so as long as I can.”

Mohammed Shami was left out of the 15-man squad

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2018India’s frontline pace bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been added to the ODI squad for the remaining three matches against West Indies, after being rested for the first two games. Mohammed Shami was left out of the squad, which had no other changes.Allrounder Kedar Jadhav had missed the first two matches with a hamstring injury he picked up during the Asia Cup; he was expected to be back for the remaining ODIs, according to chief selector MSK Prasad, but wasn’t named in the squad of 15. Jadhav scored an unbeaten 41 off 25 for India A against India C in the Deodhar Trophy on Thursday and bowled a few overs too.Shami played the first two ODIs but was the most expensive India bowler in Guwahati, where he took two top-order wickets in his figures of 2 for 81. He bettered his performance in Visakhapatnam by finishing with 1 for 59 from 10 overs, but could not retain his place for the remainder of the series even though Umesh Yadav has so far conceded 142 runs in the two matches, compared to Shami’s 140, with only one wicket to his name.The remaining three matches will be played in Pune, Mumbai (Brabourne Stadium) and Thiruvananthapuram on October 27, 29 and November 1.Squad: Virat Kohli (cap), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey

Several marquee T20 players who have signed BPL contracts are also part of the T20 Global League draft

Mohammad Isam26-Aug-2017In the lead up to the players’ draft for the inaugural T20 Global League, Cricket South Africa is in a tricky situation involving a few overseas players who have committed to play in the Bangladesh Premier League. With both tournaments set to run simultaneously in November-December, the CSA has stated that players who sign contracts will not be allowed to participate in any other tournament, and that the contracts will be binding.Chris Gayle (Rangpur), Fakhar Zaman (Comilla), Cameron Delport and Shahid Afridi (Dhaka), Darren Sammy (Rajshahi), Carlos Brathwaite, Junaid Khan and Dawid Malan (Khulna) are among several overseas players who are also in the T20 Global League draft. Some of these players have already signed contracts with their BPL franchises. ESPNcricinfo understands Afridi signed his contract with Dhaka in March this year while Delport signed his in July.In what could concern the BCB, a few players like Gayle have made their position clear: he is committed to the T20 Global League, where he is one of the icon players and will only play for Rangpur if the scheduling allows him, although the chances of that happening remain remote. Sammy, Gayle’s West Indies team-mate, has “agreed to play for the Rajshahi Kings”, according to the franchise.In a letter this week, Corrie van Zyl, the CSA general manager, has reminded players that they were entering into a “valid and binding” contract. “Kindly note that the agreement to enter the draft is a valid and binding contract entered into between you and Cricket South Africa, in terms of which you have agreed as follows,” van Zyl wrote on August 21. “[Players should not], directly or indirectly, enter into another agreement and/or arrangement subsequent to entering this agreement which would adversely affect his ability to perform his obligations under this Agreement or the Cricketer’s Playing Contract… [Players must] be available, subject to the provisions of any NOC, to participate in the full league edition period and will report to the team, unless otherwise agreed to in writing, on the commencement date of the league edition period.”Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB CEO, said that the BPL franchises have every right to feel concerned. “We were aware that such an issue may come up since both tournaments are scheduled around the same time,” he said. “We will get in touch with Cricket South Africa soon. We have asked the BPL franchises for the list of cricketers. If the players say that they don’t know how their names went up in that [T20 Global draft] list, I think that’s a valid ground for the BPL franchises who have already signed them. But we will first contact CSA and then, depending on the response, think about the next course of action.”Kazi Inam Ahmed, the managing director of Khulna Titans, confirmed Malan and Junaid Khan’s signing was completed in March. Dhaka Dynamites CEO Obeid Nizam said that their players – Afridi and Delport – signed contracts a while back, and ideally there should not be any confusion. “We are concerned but we also have the legal agreement. They have told us that they have no problem to play for Dhaka in the BPL. I don’t know why this has suddenly come up since we signed them five-six months ago.”Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s chief executive, in a statement reiterated the commitment made by the players through having their names in the T20 Global League’s draft. “We have received signed confirmations from all the players who have availed themselves to participate in the draft and in the tournament later this year. These are binding commitments and therefore we do not wish to speculate on potential conflicts.”It is understood that the BCB is also concerned by the poor regulations in practice currently, with home boards openly directing players to play particular leagues or refusing them NOC for other tournaments. The board is also worried by the layers of agents that franchises have to deal with when signing a player these days.

Sanjay Bangar, India’s interim head coach, has said MS Dhoni went out of his way to share his knowledge and experience with his young team-mates during their tour of Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-20162:37

‘Thought 140 was a good score on this wicket’ – Bangar

On Wednesday, MS Dhoni captained India for the 324th time in international cricket, and joined Ricky Ponting on top of the global list. That is a of experience, and Sanjay Bangar, India’s interim head coach, has said Dhoni went out of the way to share it with his young and inexperienced squad over the course of this Zimbabwe tour.”I definitely felt that he opened up quite a bit,” Bangar said, after India won the third T20I by three runs to wrap up the series 2-1. “He had a lot of interactions with the players. He made that effort to go out and mingle with them, he probably invited them for dinners and they [spent time] over Playstations together.”He went out of the way to make them comfortable, shared his experience with the younger guys, probably emphasised on the value of how to handle pressure, under match situations what are the things that are required to be done. So I think those were enormous learnings.”What he also did fantastically was he passed on the tradition of Indian cricket, because these younger lot are the future of Indian cricket, and the way he shared his experience was very, very similar to how the earlier generation used to pass on the knowledge and the experience and just make a younger player comfortable in the dressing room, so he made all that effort and it was great to see.”India batted first for the first time on the tour, and were tested by Zimbabwe’s bowlers on a slow, low Harare surface. They eventually posted 138, thanks in large part to Kedar Jadhav’s maiden T20I half-century. Bangar was pleased with how Jadhav – who only got to bat twice in six matches on this tour – has grabbed his opportunities, mentioning his ODI century on India’s previous visit in 2015 as another example.”The last time he played for India, probably it was again a year ago, he got a hundred in the series,” Bangar said. “He didn’t get too many opportunities in this series, this was only the second time that he could go out and bat, and he played an amazing innings, because he was having some issues.”As he went in, he wasn’t feeling too good, but he hung in and fought through, and the kind of innings he produced on a difficult wicket, I felt that showed the quality of the player, so he’s doing all that he can in the opportunities that he’s getting.At 31, Jadhav is the second-oldest player in India’s squad behind Dhoni, but Bangar felt that shouldn’t prevent him from having a sizeable international career.”Age doesn’t really matter because, nowadays, most of the guys are keeping themselves very fit, they have fantastic work discipline,” he said. “It’s just a matter of some individual getting a couple of opportunities simultaneously, and consecutively, so that he feels comfortable in match situations. These are quality players and they’re bound to come good.”Bangar made special mention of Axar Patel for his consistency with the ball and also his finishing skills down the order. Axar was India’s most economical bowler in the ODI series, conceding only 2.32 runs an over in three matches, and his left-arm spin was just as frugal in the T20Is, as his economy rate of 4.91 suggested. He only got to bat twice on the tour, both times in the T20I series, and scored 38 runs off just 20 balls. He played a key role in India’s narrow win in the third T20I, scoring an unbeaten 20 off 11 balls and conceding only 18 in his four overs while dismissing Hamilton Masakadza.”I think not only today, but throughout the series, he kept the pressure on,” Bangar said. “Probably, he was our most economical bowler. I don’t really know the exact stat, but he was very, very consistent. He maintained that pressure throughout, and not only his bowling, but generally, the way he fielded, a couple of catches that he took, and the way he finishes the innings. He got an opportunity in two T20s, the first and the third game, and he is proving to be a very good developing player at No. 7 or No. 8, who is capable of hitting the big shots. That’s really encouraging for Indian cricket.”

Umar Akmal scored an unbeaten half-century as Leicestershire put a brake on Birmingham’s NatWest T20 Blast hot streak with a comfortable seven-wicket win at Edgbaston

ECB/PA19-Jun-2015
ScorecardUmar Akmal cracked 52 not out of 38 balls and sealed victory with a four•Getty Images

Umar Akmal scored an unbeaten half-century as Leicestershire put a brake on Birmingham’s NatWest T20 Blast hot streak with a comfortable seven-wicket win at Edgbaston.Birmingham were hunting their fifth successive win in the North Group and posted a solid total of 160 for 5 thanks mainly to Tim Ambrose’s third T20 half-century, a well-judged unbeaten 66 from 54 balls with seven fours and a six. But Leicestershire bounced back from the previous night’s defeat at Derby to reach 164 for three with nine balls to spare.

Insights

Leicestershire’s batting won this match as much as anything. While often perceived to be a small county lacking star quality, Mark Cosgrove is one of those rare and valuable players who despite not being quite good enough for international cricket can dominate domestic circuits; Niall O’Brien (and Kevin, who was on international duty) are also regularly available for domestic cricket despite being international quality players. Umar Akmal is in scintillating T20 form and will be missed. Of course, they cannot continue to rely on three or four batsmen and their local players have to perform as well but Leicestershire needed this win following a match lost to rain and defeat to Derbyshire on Thursday.

Mark Cosgrove laid the platform with a blistering 44 from 23 balls and then Niall O’Brien and Umar Akmal saw them home with an unbroken stand of 93 in 70 balls.After Birmingham chose to bat, Leicestershire struck two big blows early. Varun Chopra lifted Olly Freckingham to cover and Ian Bell’s blistering form in this season’s tournament (128 from 89 balls in two innings) was ended by a brilliant catch by Tom Wells. Bell was looking dangerous again on 19 from 13 balls and hit Clint McKay’s first two balls for four but then drove the next to mid-off where Wells flung himself to his right to make the catch.That was Leicestershire’s last success for a while as William Porterfield and Ambrose built the innings’ only partnership of substance. They added 80 from 58 balls before the former fell to another fine catch by Wells, this time at long-off.Laurie Evans scratched around for 13 and could drop out next week when Brendon McCullum makes his debut. But Ambrose kept working the ball around skilfully, though young left-arm spinner Jamie Sykes distinguished himself with four tight overs for just 23.Leicestershire got off to a flier, reaching 50 in the fourth as Cosgrove fed voraciously on some overpitched bowling. The Australian raced to 44 from with seven fours, one six before falling lbw to Jeetan Patel’s fifth delivery.That was 71 for 3 and Birmingham sensed an opportunity to start a collapse but O’Brien and Akmal played it perfectly. Under no pressure to go for big shots they milked the bowling as the Foxes won at a canter, Akmal notching a half-century on his farewell appearance as stand-in overseas player for Kiwi star Grant Elliott who will return next week.