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Sri Lanka were quick to lose six in their second innings, but took their lead past 450

Mohammad Isam01-Apr-2024Asitha Fernando put Bangladesh on the backfoot with a four-wicket haul, as the hosts collapsed to 178 all out on the third day in Chattogram. Sri Lanka themselves slipped to 102 for 6 with debutant Hasan Mahmud picking up four of those wickets. But the visitors’ lead stands at a formidable 455 runs at stumps after they didn’t enforce the follow-on on Bangladesh.The Sri Lankan fast bowlers attacked in pairs and benefited greatly from captain Dhananjaya de Silva’s innovative field placings. Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Prabath Jayasuriya took two wickets each as Bangladesh slipped from 96 for 1 to be bowled out in the next 35.5 overs.It was also their fifth successive sub-200 score in Tests, as their batting crumbled on either side of the lunch break on the third day.Bangladesh started the day confidently. For the first time in the series, two home batters – Zakir Hasan and nightwatcher Taijul Islam – looked in some control. Zakir, unbeaten overnight on 28, struck two confident fours in the first two overs. He reached his fourth Test fifty with a streaky four but looked mostly in control.Sri Lanka had a few whiffs of a wicket but Zakir and Taijul kept them at bay for an hour and 19 minutes in the morning session. That changed spectacularly when Vishwa burst an inswinger through Zakir sending the leg-stump for a cartwheel. Soon after, Prabath got Najmul Hossain Shanto to chip one to short midwicket.Bangladesh lost a third wicket in three overs when the left-arm quick Vishwa got another of his fast in-duckers ripping through Taijul’s defences. The nightwatcher, sent in at No. 3 on the second evening, resisted for an impressive 61 balls.Sri Lanka continued the pressure after lunch when Asitha set up Shakib Al Hasan with a two-card trick. After bowling a series of short balls, he surprised the left-hander with a full ball that struck his front pad plumb. Shakib in his first Test innings in almost 12 months fell for 15.Three balls later, Asitha removed Litton Das. The wicketkeeper-batter, under fire for his careless shot in Sylhet last week, struck a nice cover drive before edging a straight, slightly wide delivery from Asitha. Kumara then got Shahadat Hossain to edge one to second slip.Sri Lanka dropped two catches around this time, while Mominul Haque became the fourth Bangladeshi batter to reach 4,000 Test runs. The experienced left-hander batted confidently on the ground where he has seven Test centuries. But Asitha’s yorker resulted in his lbw dismissal, for 33. Khaled Ahmed fell in Asitha’s next over, another yorker, giving the fast bowler his fourth wicket of the innings.Hasan Mahmud took four Sri Lanka wickets on the third day•AFP/Getty Images

The pacers’ domination continued in Chattogram when Mahmud and Khaled rocked Sri Lanka with six wickets.Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis were cleaned up by Mahmud and Khaled respectively. Mahmud then removed Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya in consecutive overs in his second spell.Madushka struck one to extra cover while Shahadat Hossain finally caught one in the slips, removing Chandimal for 9. De Silva was caught behind for 1, as Mahmud was rewarded for his off-stump channel consistency.Khaled rounded up the day with Kamindu Mendis’ wicket, edging one behind the wicket for 9. Captain Shanto took the timely review which showed the edge. Bangladesh’s fielders enjoyed the wickets; at one stage, five fielders from the slip cordon chased an edge to the boundary much to the tiny crowd’s glee. The players walked off slightly happier than earlier in the day although they have a mountain to climb in the fourth innings.

West Indies batter’s legal team says “he was not properly notified by JADCO” with regards to incident where he did not provide a sample for testing

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2022West Indies batter John Campbell is considering appealing against the four-year ban he was handed on October 7 for an anti-doping violation. The decision to ban Campbell was taken by an independent panel, after he was accused of refusing to provide a blood sample at his home in Kingston in April by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO).Campbell’s legal representatives, Nunes Scholefield Deleon & Co, a Jamaican law firm, said in statement that “he was not properly notified by JADCO” with regards to incident where he did not provide the sample, and that there were “several mitigatory factors supported by evidence which were not challenged by JADCO and which ought to have militated against the imposition of the maximum penalty”. The statement also emphasised that Campbell has “to date never returned an adverse analytical finding for banned substances”.”Mr John Campbell and his legal team are very disappointed with the ruling of the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel,” the statement, which was put up on the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) website, read. “Mr Campbell has been a clean athlete throughout his outstanding career as a batsman and he remains committed to clean sport…”The allegation concerned refusing or failing to submit to sample collection after proper notification pursuant to Article 2.3 of the JADCO Anti-Doping Rules. Our client has, to date, never returned an adverse analytical finding for banned substances…”Mr Campbell’s position was that he was not properly notified by JADCO. There were several breaches by JADCO of the mandatory International Standards for Testing and Investigations in respect of the notification of the athlete which, in our view, were not adequately addressed by the Panel.”Additionally, there were several mitigatory factors supported by evidence which were not challenged by JADCO and which ought to have militated against the imposition of the maximum penalty, even if the Panel found that the athlete committed a violation…”Our client will therefore at this time consider exercising his right of appeal … and will make a decision shortly.”Campbell, 29, has played 20 Tests, six ODIs and two T20Is for West Indies. While he has not played white-ball cricket for them since 2019, he opened in all five Test matches they have played so far this year, scoring 248 runs at 35.42 with one fifty.

Said player and the visiting India squad are staying at different hotels

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2021A Sri Lankan player from the alternative limited-overs squad and bio-bubble in Colombo, which was training as a back-up for the India series, has tested positive for Covid-19. This comes as another setback for the Sri Lankan set-up because the first-choice squad to take on India had already been hit by two Covid-19 cases this week: batting coach Grant Flower and team analyst GT Niroshan.The player who tested positive on Saturday was staying with the alternative group at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo. The visiting India squad is staying at a different hotel.The two back-up squads were training in different bio-bubbles in Colombo and Dambulla, and players from both groups could be called up to play the series against India, which has been pushed back yet again, and is now set to begin on July 18.Related

• Sri Lanka allowed to come out of isolation as players return negative tests

• Sri Lanka-India series to begin on July 18; new fixtures announced

• SL team's data analyst GT Niroshan tests positive for Covid-19

• SL batting coach Grant Flower tests positive for Covid-19

The recent Covid-19 cases in the main Sri Lanka squad, after they arrived from England, where the home limited-overs squad was also hit by seven Covid-19 cases, has forced the ODIs and T20Is against India to be rescheduled. As of now, the ODIs are set to be played on July 18, 20 and 23, followed by the T20Is on July 25, 27 and 29.Both Flower and Niroshan were moved to intermediate care facilities, and both had contracted the Delta variant of the virus, which is particularly contagious as well as dangerous. The Sri Lanka squad was expected to come out of isolation and enter the team’s bio-bubble on Friday, but will now be forced to spend at least two more days in isolation, and face another RT-PCR test, the results of which will determine whether the main squad can viably play the series against India.

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed Netherlands’ international home summer with all sports banned in the country until September 1

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2020Pakistan’s tour to the Netherlands has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was taken in light of the Dutch government’s decision to ban all sports and cultural events in the country till September 1, with KNCB confirming the country will host no international cricket this summer.Pakistan were due to visit Netherlands for a three-match ODI series before a full tour of England, with the games slated to be played in Amstelveen on 4,7 and 9 July. Netherlands were also due to host New Zealand for a one-off T20I on 15 June, but that has also been pushed back indefinitely. A quadrangular series with Namibia, Oman and the USA has also fallen victim to the pandemic.,”It is sad that we have to postpone our July tour to the Netherlands, but in the prevailing circumstances, this is absolutely the right thing to do as human lives are far more precious and valuable than a cricket match or an event,” Wasim Khan, the PCB Chief Executive, said. “Netherlands has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and we offer our heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost their lives. Like any other country, the PCB stands firmly with the KNCB and hope they will be able to overcome this crisis. The Pakistan national cricket teams have always enjoyed touring the Netherlands and as soon as things return to normal, the PCB will engage with the KNCB to reschedule the tour so that we can fulfil our obligation.”KNCB chair Betty Timmer echoed Khan’s sentiments. “It is extremely disappointing that we won’t be able to host any international cricket in the Netherlands this summer,” she said. “However, the health and safety of the players, staff and fans is our main priority, and in that light the ban on events by the Dutch government is understandable. We truly hope that by next season the situation is under control again, so we can host the Super League series against England, Ireland and the West Indies as planned. We would love to welcome back all cricket fans on our grounds in the summer of 2021.”The coronavirus pandemic has shut down all cricket across the world, along with nearly all sporting activities. England’s three-Test tour of Sri Lanka was among the first to be cancelled, with a slew of other series being called off as the virus began to take hold throughout the world. An ODI series between India and South Africa was pushed back indefinitely, and New Zealand’s ODI series in Australia was postponed part-way. While there has been guarded support from some players about the possibility of playing cricket behind closed doors when the time comes, it appears there is still plenty of time before even that becomes a realistic possibility.

The Australia fast bowler, who was omitted from the ODI squad to face India, said his back soreness should not have been enough to leave him out

Andrew McGlashan06-Jan-2019Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has criticised poor communication from the Australia selectors over his omission from the one-day squad to face India, saying the back soreness that was given as the official reason should not have been enough to exclude him.When Australia’s squad was named, Trevor Hohns, the national selector, said Coulter-Nile, who has a history of back problems, could not be risked in the 50-over format. The following day, after the ODI group had been named, a scan cleared him of any problems and he claimed 3 for 25 for Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League.”I didn’t take [the news] the best, to be honest,” Coulter-Nile told ABC Radio. “I think it was communicated to me really poorly.”I won’t go into it, but I don’t think soreness is really any excuse for not playing cricket. In fairness, I hadn’t had a scan yet. I had had back soreness and back history, but I hadn’t had a scan to see what was wrong. I had one when I got home and it was all clear.””They picked the team before I had a scan to know what was wrong with my back, that’s just when the team was picked to come out.”Coulter-Nile played just one of the three ODIs against South Africa last year, sending down a wayward opening over when given the new ball in Perth, and will now have to hope he can earn a recall for the series in India next month in order to push his World-Cup claims.ALSO READ: Chaotic selections put Australia’s World Cup at riskHe understands that there will always be a cautious approach taken to fast bowlers with a history of suffering back problems but said he wanted to be aware of the full picture. It is understood that the selectors maintain their view that it would have been too great a risk for Coulter-Nile to play 50-over matches.”I was getting some mixed messages about what was happening – that’s just the way it is,” he said. “I have no issue with being dropped, I just like to get a clear message about why – I was told it was because I had a sore back.”JL [coach Justin Langer] asked me when they were selecting the team, I said I have a sore back but I haven’t had a scan yet. With my history, it was just better off to check it. I think communication used to be a little bit better – from everyone.”The subject of communication between selectors and players was also highlighted by ACA president Greg Dyer amid the ongoing debate about potential being given more sway than performance.”I think from time to time we hear of disquiet around the logic behind particular selections,” Dyer told SEN Radio. “You hear a lot of disquiet around ‘I just don’t understand what it is that I did or what I didn’t do or what is the basis for what’s happening’.”In a more positive view of how the selectors and players work together Peter Handscomb, who has been in and out of the Test side during this series and has been asked to make technical changes, said he always knew where he stood in discussions.”They’ve all been open and honest conversations, which has actually been really good. I’ve been able to push my case with them with some really, really good conversations and they tell me where I stand whether what I need to improve or how they see me in the Test side.”

Pakistan, on the other hand, are coming into the T20 series with the confidence of a fantastic run in limited-overs matches this year

The Preview by Danyal Rasool25-Oct-2017

Big Picture

At this point of the series, even traditionalists can’t wait for the T20 series. After a one-sided ODI series that seemed to stretch out interminably, the focus now turns to a three-match T20 series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Tests saw a clean sweep for Sri Lanka, while Pakistan avenged the loss in a comprehensive 5-0 whitewash in the ODIs.Sri Lanka have had a dismal ODI record this year, but their T20 record in 2017 has been much more impressive. They began the year with two away series wins – in South Africa and Australia, no less – and boast a winning record over the year, having won five of nine games. They will look to make that count to ensure they bookend the tour with positive memories to dull the pain of the ODI thrashing.Complicating things, however, are the peculiar scheduling arrangements of this series. With the third T20 to be held in Lahore, the Sri Lankan management have decided to only select players willing to travel to Pakistan. That means Sri Lanka will be without Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella and Akila Dananjaya for the T20s.That means a new-look Sri Lanka gear up for the series, while Pakistan have their full squad at their disposal. That, and recent form, makes the Pakistan firm favourites, but with T20 cricket, predictions are a thankless task.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WLWWL

In the spotlight

Babar Azam‘s T20 form is every bit as impressive as in ODIs. Averaging 54, he has never been dismissed in single figures in the format. This ability to feel comfortable in a high-pressure format is part of his growing appeal and reputation. Sri Lanka’s captain this series Thisara Perera will know all about that, given he was part of the World XI that toured Pakistan last month. Babar Azam was the leading run-scorer over the tour and won Man-of-the-series.Thisara Perera takes over the captaincy reins in difficult times for his country. What bodes well for him is his game is most suited to the T20 format. But his experience will be required in more ways than one, especially in the Lahore T20, as he was the only Sri Lankan in the World XI side.

Team news

Usman Khan, after his five-for in the fifth ODI, may had done enough to secure a consistent run, beating off competition from Rumman Raees. Imam-ul-Haq impressed in the ODIs, but Ahmed Shehzad got big runs against the World XI, and could return.Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Usman KhanSri Lanka’s T20 squad was put together hurriedly, and they might not be sure of their best XI yet.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dilshan Munaweera, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 4 Mahela Udawatte, 5 Ashan Priyanjan, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 8 Thisara Perera (capt.), 9 Sachith Pathirana, 10 Jeffrey Vandersay, 11 Lahiru Gamage

Pitch and conditions

Dew could play a role in Abu Dhabi, but as it could impact both teams since it’s a night game. The slow surface is likely to assist spin bowlers.

Stats and trivia

• Thisara Perera has played more T20Is (60) than the rest of the 16-man Sri Lankan squad put together (47). Eleven players in the squad are yet to make their T20I debut
• Abu Dhabi doesn’t have a reputation for particularly high scores, but it does boast one of the highest totals in T20I cricket. That came in a World T20 qualifier in 2013 when Ireland amassed 225 against Afghanistan

Quotes

“We are very happy because we will be playing at home and if we can go on to lift the trophy in front of home fans, then nothing like it”
“I think we can do something special in this series. I believe in my team and think we can give a good challenge for the Pakistan team”

The West Indians opened their tour of the UAE by overcoming a top-order wobble against an Emirates Cricket Board XI to win the T20 warm-up fixture by 22 runs in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2016
ScorecardRovman Powell, on his first tour, helped West Indies recover from a wobble•WICB

The West Indians opened their tour of the UAE by overcoming a top-order wobble against an Emirates Cricket Board XI to win the T20 warm-up fixture by 22 runs in Dubai.Opening batsman Johnson Charles made runs after West Indies chose to bat, but Nos. 2, 3 and 4 failed, leaving the team 48 for 3 in the seventh over. Charles fell in the 11th over, having scored 42 off 32 balls, and the innings was in the hands of two youngsters who were yet to make their international debuts.The Jamaican Rovman Powell, 23, contributed 38 off 31 balls, relatively sedate compared to the 20-year-old Trinidadian Nicholas Pooran, whose unbeaten 47 took only 23 deliveries. Pooran hit four fours and three sixes in his innings, leading the West Indians to 166 for 7 in 20 overs. The more experienced Carlos Brathwaite and Jason Holder were dismissed for 1 and 3 respectively.Charles felt the two newcomers played brilliantly: “Pooran especially at the end there, coming and getting us to a solid total. Rovman also played a good innings, in that he helped us recover. Kudos to them. I would just let them know that they have to carry on and be the building block.”On his own innings, Charles said, “It could have been better, but the pitch was a bit on the slow side, it was very dry. So definitely there will have to be some change in the way I play. We still need to get accustomed to the conditions, there’s still a bit of jet lag. We have to get past that, put in the training sessions and put in a lot of work”The defence was spearheaded by the West Indian spinners. The legspinner Samuel Badree struck in the second and fourth overs, and the offspinner Sunil Narine broke a 73-run partnership for the third wicket between Shaiman Anwar and Mohammad Qasim by striking with successive balls. UAE were 92 for 4 and their challenge fizzled when Badree had Qasim stumped for 46 off 54 balls. The home side was restricted to 144 for 6 in 20 overs.Narine finished with 2 for 21 in four overs, while Badree claimed 3 for 20, the same figures as two ECB XI bowlers – Mohammad Naveed and Ahmed Raza.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has said there is no change in the board’s position on opposing the Decision Review System

Amol Karhadkar20-Aug-2015BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has said there is no change in the board’s position on opposing the Decision Review System (DRS).”BCCI’s (technical committee chairman) Anil Kumble and others had gone to the US to look at the system and see if we can improve it further,” Thakur said. “I think there are areas where we can look at and improve it to the next level. If that is possible, the options are never closed.”Kumble, head of the ICC cricket committee, and Geoff Allardice, the ICC general manager, recently travelled to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and discussed the scheduled testing of the performance of all technologies being used in cricket with engineers from the Field Intelligence Lab.The lack of DRS was a major factor during India’s opening Test in Sri Lanka in Galle, with the on-field umpires struggling to judge bat-pad edges on a turning track. Stressing that the India players play a key role in the board’s position on DRS, Thakur said the new BCCI dispensation had decided to stick with the old regime’s stance for now.”It is not about an individual or an association to be against a system. I think we have to see why we don’t have a 100 per cent system, or we have to make (up) our mind that it is not going to be 100 percent.”If you look at the past few months, you will see that we have lost many matches and then we come back and say ‘Oh, we have lost this match, let’s look at the DRS’. I think it is not only when we lose a match (that) we should look at the system but we need to look at the overall feasibility of it, whether it is practical, whether it is close to 100 per cent, whether it will help the decision to be implemented. If that is there, we have never closed our mind to that.”

Following New Zealand’s practice session on Thursday, which was in preparation for the England Twenty20s, Ross Taylor said he was still working on rebuilding his rapport with coach Mike Hesson

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2013Ross Taylor trained with the New Zealand team in Auckland on Thursday, for the first time since he turned down the Test captaincy and took a break from cricket in early December. Following the practice session, which was in preparation for the England Twenty20s, Taylor said he was still working on rebuilding his rapport with coach Mike Hesson.”The relationship’s a work in progress, but I’ve got friends in the team and I’m looking forward to playing for them, and obviously playing for management and the country as well,” Taylor was quoted as saying by .Taylor had opted out of New Zealand’s tour to South Africa following a contentious captaincy handover to Brendon McCullum, in the lead up to which Hesson had apparently questioned Taylor’s ability to lead the team. However, Taylor maintained that relations between him and McCullum were fine: “I met Brendon this morning, I’m sure we’ll go and meet up over the next couple of days somewhere. I don’t think was anything wrong with our relationship in the first place.”He said he was looking to move on from the controversy as quickly as possible. “I haven’t seen anything untoward [coming from team-mates] towards myself. And I’ve just been acting like my normal self, so I don’t see anything there.”There are probably still people outside of the team that want to stir it up a little bit, but we can’t control that. You’ve just got to get on with it. It is what it is, and I’m sure come Saturday it’ll be all forgotten.”New Zealand will take on England in the first of three T20s on Saturday, and Taylor said he will not refrain from offering McCullum advice on the field: “I did that even when I wasn’t captain, so I don’t see any change in that. Regardless of whether you’re a senior player or a junior player, if you’ve got something to offer the team you’d be stupid not to offer it.”England batsman, Eoin Morgan, however, suggested that the distance between Hesson and Taylor could pose problems. Having witnessed the damaging dressing-room rift which saw Kevin Pietersen excluded from the England set-up last summer, Morgan has first-hand experience of how strained personal relationships can affect a team.”I think I’d find it difficult if I didn’t get along with the coach,” he said. “You spend a lot of time with each other, and your coach is normally someone you seek advice from. For me, it would be crucial to get along with my coach.”A further issue for a New Zealand is how to get the best out of McCullum. Following the T20s, the teams face-off in three ODIs and three Tests and, according to national selection manager Kim Littlejohn, McCullum’s role with the bat could change in that Test series. “There’s every chance McCullum may bat at No. 5,” Littlejohn said. “Mike has some pretty strong views about where he believes Brendon is best suited.”We’ve had some preliminary discussions, nothing is locked and loaded, but it’s definitely under consideration. We do have problems at Nos. 1 and 2, and we’ve got to tidy those up.”New Zealand were handed two innings defeats in the series against South Africa last month, and in those four innings the opening partnership of McCullum and Martin Guptill extended into double digits only once, 48 being their best effort. Since the beginning of 2012, McCullum has opened with Guptill nine times and the pair has crossed a stand of 32 just once – that was a 124-run partnership in a winning effort, but it came against Zimbabwe. In the same period, apart from the innings against Zimbabwe, McCullum has crossed 50 just once as an opener.New Zealand are expected to name their squad for the Test series, which begins on March 6, on February 20.

Wasim Jaffer was proud of having made the semi-final with a team missing so many first-choice players but also felt the toss had an important role to play

Abhishek Purohit at the Holkar Cricket Stadium05-Jan-2012They arrived to play a knockout match without two star batsmen, a key
allrounder and two premier fast bowlers but in the end, Mumbai found
someone to do the job, as they have throughout the season. Not only were
Mumbai missing Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar, their
remaining two important batsmen, Wasim Jaffer and Suryakumar Yadav, also
failed in the quarter-final. They were 60 for 5 in pursuit of 192 on a
pitch that was still doing something on the second morning.But they found a savior in Kaustubh Pawar, who blunted the MP fast bowlers
for eight hours in his debut first-class season. His 160 off 328
deliveries, and later, Ankeet Chavan’s century, were instrumental in
building a big lead for Mumbai. Jaffer was proud of having made the
semi-final with a team missing so many first-choice players but also felt
that the toss had an important role to play. Mumbai were able to make
first use of a fresh wicket to dismiss MP cheaply after which the pitch
eased out for the remainder of the game.Jaffer rated Pawar’s effort as one of the best he had seen in a knockout
match. “Pawar’s innings was tremendous, especially for someone playing in
his debut season. We were in trouble at the end of the first day having
lost five wickets for 60,” Jaffer said. “But to take a massive lead of 242
from that position is a big achievement. If you look at the side we have,
it is creditable that we have come so far [in the tournament].”Mukesh Sahni, the MP coach, said his batsmen had a lot to learn from Pawar’s
unwavering patience and his ability to put away the risky strokes.Jaffer also praised Chavan, saying that he had performed whenever he had
been given the opportunity. Chavan made his maiden first-class hundred
from No. 9, showing the depth in the Mumbai batting line-up. Sulakshan
Kulkarni, the Mumbai coach, said Chavan played like a specialist batsman.
“I do not treat him as a tail-ender. If you see, he was
playing so straight and was comfortable against both pace and spin.”
Chavan’s act has relegated a steady performer like Iqbal Abdulla to the
sidelines for now but Kulkarni said that competition was always healthy
for a side.Whether they are full-strength or not, Mumbai are always expected to win
the Ranji Trophy. Jaffer said that would always be the case and Mumbai
would have to try hard with whatever players were available. “We cannot
sit back and lament that we are missing so many players. The expectations
will always be there. It is up to us to try our best with the squad we
have.”The way his fringe players have been delivering, Jaffer will not be
overly worried ahead of the semi-final against heavyweights Tamil Nadu.