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Where will Virat Kohli bat for RCB? Have KKR insured well against injuries this time around? Here’s what we know – and wonder – about the teams post-auction

Sreshth Shah18-Dec-20186:57

IPL 2019 auction: Rating the squads

Chennai Super KingsThe IPL Champions filled the only two spots for Indian players that they had available. Mohit Sharma returned to CSK following the franchise’s failure to pick up a left-arm pacer in Jaydev Unadkat after a heated bidding war with Rajasthan Royals. MS Dhoni’s familiarity with the two pacers during their stints at CSK and Rising Pune Supergiant respectively may have influenced the CSK management’s aggressive bidding for those two. Mohit was CSK’s most expensive buy at INR 5 crore, but they failed to secure a left-arm quick and a back-up Indian offspinner for Harbhajan Singh.Total players: 25
Number of overseas players: 8
Openers: Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, M Vijay
Middle-order batsmen: Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Sam Billings, Dhruv Shorey, Ruturaj Gaikwad
Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni, N Jagadeesan
Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Monu Kumar, David Willey
Wristspinners: Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir
Fingerspinners: Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner
Fast bowlers: Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Sharma
Delhi CapitalsThe new-look franchise came with assistant coach Mohammad Kaif, flanked by fresh team owners. They filled the gaps left by allrounders – that have been traded with Sunrisers Hyderabad – by picking up Axar Patel (their most expensive Indian at INR 5 crore), West Indian hard-hitter Sherfane Rutherford and Kerala allrounder Jalaj Saxena. They also backed India’s Test duo of Hanuma Vihari and Ishant Sharma, together with pinch-hitting Guyanese fast bowler Keemo Paul. T20 specialist Colin Ingram, a late buy at 6.40 crore, added variety to their middle order that is primarily composed of young Indian batsmen.Total players: 24
Number of overseas players: 8
Openers: Colin Munro, Prithvi Shaw, Manjot Kalra, Shikhar Dhawan
Middle-order batsmen: Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Colin Ingram
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Ankush Bains
Allrounders: Chris Morris, Jalaj Saxena, Axar Patel, Bandaru Ayyappa, Sherfane Rutherford
Wristspinners: Amit Mishra, Rahul Tewatia, Sandeep Lamichhane
Fast Bowlers: Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, Ishant Sharma, Keemo Paul, Nathu Singh
Kings XI PunjabThey started the auction with the most money to spend and bought 13 players under the watchful eyes of new coach, and former New Zealand coach, Mike Hesson. They beat four other teams to get mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy for INR 8.40 crore, and also snapped up England allrounder Sam Curran for INR 7.20 crore. Apart from these big buys, they picked up Australia’s Moises Henriques, who will be available for the whole tournament, and some young Indian allrounders.They also backed pacers who bowled hard balls. Hardus Viljoen – who finished with the most wickets in the T10 league – and Mohammed Shami were added to their pace battery. Prabhsimran Singh, only 17, went for a whopping INR 4.80 crore, presumably due to his performances with India’s Emerging squad at the U-19 Asia Cup. Harpreet Brar and Agnivesh Ayachi were also among those who were shortlisted by Kings XI’s player scouts. Nicholas Pooran, who gave a solid audition during West Indies’ tour of India, was taken for INR 4.20 crore.Total players: 23
Number of overseas players: 8
Openers: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle
Middle-order batsmen: Karun Nair, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan
Wicketkeepers: Prabhsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran
Allrounders: Agnivesh Ayachi, Varun Chakravarthy, Darshan Nalkande, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Sam Curran
Wristspinners: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, M Ashwin
Fingerspinners: R Ashwin
Fast bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Andrew Tye, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, Mohammed Shami
Kolkata Knight RidersWhat KKR lacked last year – back-ups for their overseas players plus an experienced pace attack – has been sorted, somewhat. They’ve got Carlos Brathwaite at a slightly-inflated INR 5 crore and England’s Joe Denly as possible replacements for an injury-prone Andre Russell. Denly’s addition gives KKR a cushion if Chris Lynn leaves early for Australia’s World Cup prep. That will allow Uthappa to slot in as opener with Denly taking the fourth overseas spot.With Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson discarded, KKR added Anrich Nortje – who bowled 150kph+ in the Mzansi Super League – and New Zealand’s right-arm pacer Lockie Ferguson to their overseas bowling team. From a very thin 18-man squad last year, they’re now at 21. It remains the smallest of all eight squads.Total players: 21
Number of overseas players: 8
Openers: Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa
Middle-order batsmen: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh
Wicketkeepers: Dinesh Karthik, Nikhil Naik
Allrounders: Andre Russell, Joe Denly, Shrikant Mundhe, Carlos Brathwaite
Wristspinners: Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav
Fingerspinners: Sunil Narine
Fast bowlers:: Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Raj, Harry Gurney, Anrich Nortje, Lockie Ferguson
Mumbai IndiansTotal players: 24
Number of overseas players: 8
Mumbai were one of the first teams to stop shopping at the auction in Jaipur. They bought six players, mostly to fill in gaps, and their biggest buys were Lasith Malinga – at a base price of INR 2 crore following a mentoring stint with them last season – and Yuvraj Singh, twice the IPL’s most expensive Indian, after his name came up for a third time following two unsuccessful calls for a bid by the auctioneer.They also added fast bowlers Barinder Sran and Rasikh Salam, in case Jasprit Bumrah is not available for the whole season. Mumbai’s primary XI was already set up with the addition of Quinton de Kock via a trade with Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this year, and they chose to simply plug a few holes in their bench. Mumbai, however, failed to get a back-up wristspinner for IPL 2018 sensation Mayank Markande.Openers: Evin Lewis, Quinton de Kock, Anmolpreet Singh
Middle-order batsmen: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad
Wicketkeepers: Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare
Allrounders: Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting, Yuvraj Singh, Pankaj Jaiswal
Wristspinners: Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar
Fingerspinners: Anukul Roy, Jayant Yadav
Fast bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jason Behrendorff, Rasikh Salam, Lasith Malinga, Barinder Sran
Rajasthan RoyalsComing into the auction, their primary focus was to look at safety-guards due to the limited availability of (upto) three English superstars and Australian Steven Smith, but they weren’t able to fully do that. They moneyballed on Perth Scorchers’ Ashton Turner and former Lancashire captain Liam Livingstone, while West Indies quick Oshane Thomas was bought for INR 1.10 crore.Varun Aaron joined Oshane – and Jofra Archer – to strengthen their pace line-up, while last season’s most expensive Indian Jaydev Unadkat was brought back for INR 8.40 crore – 3.10 crore less than his price tag from last season. With a squad still having some spots available, Royals picked up three youngsters during the third accelerated bidding process. Barring allrounder K Gowtham, however, Royals’ squad has no fingerspinners.Total players: 25
Number of overseas players: 8
Openers: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi
Middle-order batsmen: Steven Smith, Aryaman Birla, Manan Vohra
Wicketkeepers: Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Prashant Chopra
Allrounders: Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Jofra Archer, K Gowtham, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Shashank Singh, Liam Livingstone, Ashton Turner, Shubham Ranjane
Wristspinners: Shreyas Gopal, Midhun S, Ish Sodhi
Fingerspinners: –
Fast bowlers: Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, Varun Aaron, Oshane Thomas
Royal Challengers BangaloreTwo high-profile purchases in Mumbai allrounder Shivam Dube (INR 5 crore) and West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer (INR 4.20 crore) took a large chunk of their purse away. Heinrich Klaasen’s addition solved RCB’s dearth of wicketkeepers after the exit of Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock.They failed to buy any Indian bowlers, opting to instead purchase Milind Kumar – the fastest man to 1,000 Ranji Trophy runs this season – and wicketkeeper Akshdeep Nath. But one problem they failed to solve was that of their opening combination. Parthiv Patel aside, they don’t have a senior opening batsman, and that raises a question on Virat Kohli’s batting position in 2019..Total players: 24
Number of overseas players: 8
Openers: Devdutt Padikkal
Middle-order batsmen: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Milind Kumar, Himmat Singh, Shimron Hetmyer
Wicketkeepers: Parthiv Patel, Heinrich Klaasen
Allrounders: Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme, Marcus Stoinis, Prayas Ray Barman, Akshdeep Nath, Gurkeerat Singh, Shivam Dube
Wristspinners: Yuzvendra Chahal
Fingerspinners: Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi
Fast bowlers: Kulwant Khejroliya, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mohammad Siraj, Tim Southee
Sunrisers HyderabadSunrisers Hyderabad were astute in the auction room. Wriddhiman Saha, released last month after being bought for INR 5 crore, was bought back for INR 1.20 crore. Sunrisers also added wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow and opener Martin Guptill to their roster.With David Warner likely to miss the first and last week of the tournament and Shikhar Dhawan traded to Delhi, Bairstow and Guptill could make up for their lack of openers. Having already procured three players in Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem from Delhi in a swap for Dhawan, the Sunrisers kept their shopping list short, but finished with no overseas replacement for the injury-prone Billy Stanlake.Total players: 23
Number of overseas players: 8
Openers: David Warner, Martin Guptill
Middle-order batsmen: Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Ricky Bhui
Wicketkeepers: Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Jonny Bairstow
Allrounders: Shakib Al Hasan, Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Nabi
Wristspinners: Rashid Khan
Fingerspinners: Shahbaz Nadeem
Fast Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Billy Stanlake

Pakistan’s most defeats in a Test year, Starc collects an MCG record, and other stats highlights from the fifth day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan in Melbourne

Bharath Seervi30-Dec-20165 Instances of a team scoring over 400 batting first, and losing by an innings. Three of those have come in this month, with England losing twice, at Wankhede and Chepauk, and now Pakistan at MCG. Before this, there were only two such defeats in Test history, for England in 1930 and Sri Lanka in 2011.5 Number of consecutive Tests lost by Pakistan – one against West Indies, two to New Zealand and now two to Australia. This is their joint-longest losing streak ever. They had lost five in 1999-00 as well when a 3-0 whitewash in Australia was followed by two losses to Sri Lanka at home.2 Occasions of a team losing by an innings after declaring any of their innings. Australia, under Michael Clarke, lost after declaring on 237 for 9 in Hyderabad in 2012-13, and now, Pakistan after declaring on 443 for 9. Overall, this is the 21st instance of a team losing after declaring their first innings. Four of those have been at the MCG. apart from Adelaide (2), no other venue has had more than one instance. The previous such instance at the MCG also involved Pakistan when they lost after declaring on 574 for 8 in 1972-73.1 Out of the 43 double-centuries scored by Pakistan batsmen, Azhar Ali’s is the first one to have ended in defeat. The previous highest score in a defeat for Pakistan was Mohammad Hafeez’s 197 against New Zealand in Sharjah in 2014-15. Overall, this is the 17th double-century to have come in a losing cause, and only the fourth by an opener. However, only one other double-century has come in an innings defeat, by Len Hutton against West Indies at The Oval in 1950.7 Tests lost by Pakistan this year – their most in any calendar year. They won four of their first six Tests, but ended up losing the next five. Their previous most was six defeats, in 1995 and 2010.Australia put up a record team total at the MCG•ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 for 624 declared The highest total at the MCG in Test cricket. Australia beat their own record of 604 runs that was scored in the 1936-37 Ashes. This is also Australia’s highest total against Pakistan surpassing the 617 in Faisalabad in 1979-80.5.64 Australia’s run rate in the first session on fifth day of this Test; they made 159 runs in 28.1 overs. Steven Smith added 65 to his overnight tally in only 78 balls, while Starc smashed 84 off 91 balls.369* Runs scored by Smith in his last three innings at the MCG without being dismissed. He scored 134* and 70* in last year’s Boxing Day Test against West Indies and has followed it with 165* in this Test. Smith averages 127.60 in five matches at the MCG, the second highest by any player with five or more innings, behind Don Bradman’s 128.53.154 Runs added by Smith and Mitchell Starc – the third highest for the seventh wicket at the MCG. Greg Matthews and Graham Yallop had added 185 against Pakistan in 1983-84, which is the highest. This was Australia’s second 150-plus stand of the innings and both came at run rate of more than five – David Warner and Usman Khawaja had shared 198 at 5.55 per over and Smith and Starc at 5.37.7 Sixes hit by Starc in his 91-ball 84 – the most in an individual innings at the MCG. He bettered Andrew Symonds’ six sixes against South Africa in 2005 Boxing Day Test. This was Starc’s eight fifty of his Test career. For Australia only Mitchell Johnson (12) and Shane Warne (11) have made more fifty-plus scores batting at No. 8 or lower. 14 sixes have been hit in the first two innings of this Test, already the joint most in any MCG Test.60.63 Smith’s average in Tests after his 165 not out – the highest in his career so far. This is the second time his average has passed 60, at the end of a match. The first was in his 41st Test in Christchurch earlier in this year after he made 138 and 53 not out. His average is now the fifth highest among all batsmen who made 2000-plus runs.207 Runs conceded by Yasir Shah from his 41 overs – the second most by any bowler in an innings in Australia. His economy rate of 5.04 is the worst by any bowler to have bowled 25 or more overs at the MCG.

Nasser Hussain was the hapless victim when McGrath bowled six flawless deliveries at the Gabba in 2002

Vijay Subramanya 14-Oct-2015It was Aristotle, who in , wrote, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. More than 23 centuries later, it was Glenn McGrath, who, over the course of six balls, gave one of the best illustrations of the idea on a cricket field. By any measure, the parts, the individual deliveries, were unremarkable: none of them were comparable to Shane Warne’s Gatting ball or Wasim Akram’s double-swing miracle. But the whole, the over, was a poem whose brilliance transcended the beauty of its lines. And as Nasser Hussain trudged off at the end of it, he must have glimpsed his chances of winning the 2002-03 Ashes melting away in the Brisbane sun.That McGrath was accurate is well-known. In case there is doubt, this over provides a conclusive validation, as Hawk-Eye would attest. However, saying McGrath’s effectiveness lay solely in his accuracy is like saying Warne’s magic could be attributed to his ability to generate sharp turn alone. Of course, turning it square was crucial for Warne, but so were his drift and variations in flight and pace. Similarly, McGrath’s subtle lateral movement and extra bounce, combined with his consistency, allowed him to execute a plan like a computer. It is precisely this ability of McGrath’s that elevated the his over to Hussain to greatness.The scene is a late November afternoon at the Gabba. Chasing an improbable 464 against the Australian attack, England had suffered an early setback, losing the openers within the first two overs. Hussain joined Mark Butcher and the duo’s concern was survival, at least till stumps on the fourth day. As their stand grew stubborn, Waugh brought back McGrath for his second spell.McGrath began the over with a good-length delivery on the fifth stump and moving in off the seam. Hussain shouldered arms. McGrath figured it was time for the good old, tried and tested formula: Get the batsman to leave a few innocuous balls before bringing one in off the seam to sneak through his defence. And so, the second ball mimicked the first but held its line. Hussain let it go. The next one pitched on the exact same spot, hardly deviated but bounced slightly higher. Hussain saw it through to the keeper. Fourth ball, same story. Hussain looked assured and must have thought he had it figured out. At least Tony Greig did, who remarked on air, “Hussain here… has got a pretty good idea where his off stump is at the moment.”The set-up was now in motion. The first act was done and the bluff was around the corner. But Hussain, who had seen Vaughan fall for it earlier, knew the strategy. He just needed to watch closely and play anything that threatened to jag back in. The fifth ball was fuller, but it followed its predecessors’ path and Hussain did not care to disturb it.The sixth ball of the over. Both the bowler and the batsman knew what usually came next. Hussain saw McGrath’s delivery stride go a half-foot wider of the crease to generate the angle. He saw the ball land on the fourth stump, closer than the previous deliveries. Seeing that it had followed the script so far, he decided to put bat on ball. However, little did he know that McGrath was a step ahead of the script. Instead of targeting the pads, the ball moved away, lured the bat to follow it and took the edge. Ponting, at second slip, did the rest.Thus ended Hussain’s nightmarish Test. Deciding to bowl first on a belter of a track, seeing his fielders drop dollies, conceding 364 for 2 on the first day and losing Simon Jones to a horrific injury, Hussain was perhaps relieved to get back to the dressing room. However, he still had to bear England’s capitulation as they collapsed to 79 all out.Test matches are won by bowlers and Hussain had seen the genius of the opponent’s strike bowler first-hand. What chance did England have! George Bernard Shaw once derided cricket as a game played by 11 fools. Had he witnessed those six balls, perhaps he would have reduced the number to ten.Do you have any thoughts on ‘The Perfect Over’? You could send your articles to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

Ten cricket people who were heroes off the field: resuscitating spectators, donating blood, and stopping bullets

Alex Odell and Ross Armstrong12-Mar-201410 | Matt Prior and Stuart Broad
Having earlier that evening helped to raise £8,000 for The Broad Appeal – a charity set up by Stuart, his father Chris and sister Gemma to raise money and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease – Prior and Broad performed a dramatic 3am rescue on the Pyrmont Bridge in Sydney on the way back from a Barmy event during this winter’s Ashes. Noticing a man behaving erratically, the England pair intervened and wrestled him back from the edge of the bridge before speaking to him for almost an hour until the cops showed up. A tale to warm the cockles in an otherwise dark, dark winter.9 | Phil Gregory
Like most sensible people, the Podblast does not “have” Latin. However, a quick peek at Wikipedia tells us that the name “Gregory” means “alert”. Which is exactly what Brixham Cricket Club secretary Phil Gregory had to be, as he successfully fought off masked muggers who, cornering him at 9.30pm after a club meeting, were trying to steal his members’ annual subs. Note to muggers: trying to steal subs from a cricket club secretary is like trying to steal a lioness’ cubs.8 | Shoaib Akhtar
In the millennial year, Pakistan super-fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar took a break from his 140-yard run-up to sign a few autographs outside the Gabba after a Pakistan v India match. Seeing a nine-year-old boy dart into traffic, our hero Shoaib sprinted forward and plucked him from the air, inches from an oncoming taxi. Asked afterwards how he felt about saving a young boy’s life, Shoaib admitted he was “pumped”. | Sir Frank Worrell
In 1962 the officiously named Nari Contractor, captain of the Indian touring side to the West Indies, should have known better than to momentarily take his eyes off a Charlie Griffith bouncer when somebody opened a window in the pavilion during a tour match against Barbados. A fractured skull and six days unconscious in hospital later, Contractor’s life was thankfully saved, although he was never to play for India again. Sir Frank Worrell, captain of the Windies, was the first to donate blood to Contractor, at a rate of 8 per cent interest per annum, with a warranty as to damages.6 | Andrew Hall’s left hand
To sort of quote Lady Augusta in The Importance of Being Earnest, to be held up at gun-point once may be regarded as a misfortune, to be held up at gun-point twice looks like carelessness. Andrew Hall of South Africa and latterly Northants must have had Lady Augusta’s words ringing in his ears as he was hijacked for 45 minutes in 2005 and held at gun-point by men who had asked to buy his car. Only a few years before, in 1998, just prior to his Test debut, Hall had been shot six times at point-blank range while taking his money from an ATM machine. What saved him? His left hand, which deflected the first bullet, a little bit like Neo in The Matrix. A film about Andrew Hall’s left hand is in post-production and is scheduled for release this summer.5 | Sachin Tendulkar
Did you really expect anything less? When former Indian under-17 player Dalbir Singh Gill was involved in a road accident, he struggled to raise the money for his operation. Then his mother did what the Indian cricket team has traditionally done every time it’s in dire straits: she called on Sachin. The Littler Master was more than happy to pay the fee, and now the Indian equivalent of 999 also includes a Tendulkar option, officially making him India’s fourth emergency service. Authorities have also considered projecting a giant (cricket) bat sign into the sky to notify Sachin whenever a civilian is in danger.4| Alex Blackwell
Not only a busy and powerful Aussie bat but also a trained medical practitioner, if there are two things Blackwell knows, they are cricket and life-saving. Having trained as a medical student for four years while plying her trade as a cricketer, her two worlds collided when an 80-year-old spectator collapsed during a 2008 league match in Berkshire and the call went out for medical assistance. “We continued CPR for nine minutes and we thought we’d lost him for a minute, but continued until the paramedics arrived,” recalls Blackwell. The man pulled through as Blackwell promptly won the game, saved some children from a burning building, and solved world poverty on the way home. Probably.3 | WG Grace
WG’s feats were so abundant and miraculous it is no surprise he “Graces” this list. This is a man who opened the batting for England at 50 years old, scored 839 runs in eight days during 1876 and scored over 54,000 first-class runs. Ever the multi-tasker (the 1874 tour of Australia doubled as his honeymoon and was largely spent studying medicine and demanding match fees close to £100,000 by today’s standards) he qualified as a doctor in 1879 and his most conspicuous case came on the field of play when an unfortunate Lancashire fielder became impaled on the boundary fence at Old Trafford. A life saved, another paragraph in the memoir and on he went. Phew! He was very busy for a big man.Physio Bernard Thomas (in spectacles) walking alongside Ewen Chatfield on the stretcher•The Cricketer International2 | Bernard Thomas
Test debuts are tricky enough to negotiate at the best of times, but what’s the worst that can happen? It’s not like you’re going to end up flat on your back, unconscious, with a tongue down your throat. Mercifully the tongue in question was the debutant’s own… well, to begin with, at least. Yes, this was the fate that befell New Zealand tail-ender Ewen Chatfield on his debut against England in 1975. After a brave rearguard, the Kiwi No. 11 was struck on the temple by Peter Lever and sunk to the turf at Auckland as his heart briefly stopped. Step forward England physio Bernard Thomas, who administered mouth to mouth and heart massage before getting him off to hospital, where he regained consciousness an hour later.1 | Chris Broad
Heroic acts appear to run in the Broad family, because it was the quick thinking of Stu’s father, Chris, during the 2009 terror attack in Lahore that saved the life of umpire Ahsan Raza after a rain of bullets laid siege to their mini-bus at the gates of the Gaddafi Stadium. In fact, two things saved Raza’s life that day. The first, Broad lying on him to stem the flow of blood. The other? An ICC handbook in Raza’s shirt pocket that partially stopped one of the bullets. That’s right, in a moment reminiscent of a western, the depth of the ICC bible was a good man’s saviour. So take heed and always carry a copy of it with you. One day it may just save your life.

From Nicholas Angel, Australia Ricky Ponting has said that the disappointing form of his opposing captain Anil Kumble could turn into an issue for India at the selection table

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Nicholas Angel, Australia
Ricky Ponting has said that the disappointing form of his opposing captain Anil Kumble could turn into an issue for India at the selection table. Ricky Ponting’s comments may well serve to motivate the Indian skipper. Ponting only has to cast his mind back a week or two when his fallibility in India and batting average of 12.28 were the fulcrum of the pre-series coverage. He went on to post a magnificent century.On the eve of the second Test match in Mohali, the series is still wide open yet it is Kumble who has borne the brunt of this week’s coverage both in India and abroad. He has been criticised for his captaincy and for carrying an injury into the first Test. He has been criticised for being too old. But expect him to take a bagful of wickets, if not on his 38th birthday tomorrow, then at another crucial time during the Test match. The last time Kumble played a Test at this ground he was the man of the match.It’s not too often Kumble has gone wicketless in Tests and the chances of it happening twice in a row are akin to hoping the ‘All Blacks’ crash to consecutive losses. India have not lost to the Australia for three tests in a row now. A solid contribution from their captain will not only galvanise his team, but given the narrow margins of recent contests, just might tip the momentum India’s way decisively. All of the Indian team, and the celebrated Four in particular, recognise the pressure their captain has been under this week and expect them to celebrate extra hard with his every success. It is this unification, this drive, that Ponting has unwittingly handed to the Indians on a silver platter.Seemingly Ponting intended to add more fuel to the fire and contribute to Kumble’s disrupted preparation. But saying a third seamer might be a more penetrative substitution for Kumble betrays a more likely truth: Ponting’s Australians fear Kumble. He is a proven match-winner and although he is in the twilight of his career he has publicly declared that he will graciously depart the arena on his own terms. Better then to have let the sleeping giant lie.

Zaheer Khan talks injuries and comebacks, and frustration and patience involved between the two

Sidharth Monga06-Sep-2010It has been drizzling every day for the last week in Bangalore. The Cubbon Road, separating the peaceful Cubbon Park from the usually peaceful Chinnaswamy Stadium, is full of usual activity. There are protesters outside the Mahatma Gandhi Park, traffic policemen hiding around a bend to catch those jumping signals, and commuters creating a traffic jam around the bus stop outside the stadium. Behind where the policemen lean against their bikes is the wall of the Chinnaswamy B ground, which is used by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). On the other side of the wall rehabilitates India’s best bowler, Zaheer Khan, after yet another injury has cost him yet another Test series, in Sri Lanka this time.The injured body part is the same shoulder that was operated on two years ago. A muscle in that shoulder is strained, and needs strengthening. Braving that niggle is possible but can lead to a major injury. Zaheer is now mature enough to know exactly how much he can get out of his body. His ongoing rehab shows that same sense of awareness of his body.Zaheer has been working at the NCA for close to four weeks, but this is only his ninth or tenth bowling session. Every step on the field is measured. Not one movement is wasted. He has brought himself to bowl six to eight overs in a session now. “When I started bowling here, I was getting really tired after bowling one over,” Zaheer remembers. Now, he manages more than one over at a stretch, but soon sits on his haunches, constantly in conversation with Sudarsan VP, the NCA trainer, who is like his shadow.Zaheer wants the experts by his side. “It’s always tough to get that bowling fitness up,” he says. “You know you have been away from the game, you have damaged a muscle or a joint, so you kind of need to start slowly. That’s why you need these physios and experts around to guide you through the process. It’s important to follow the regime the experts ask you to.”It is a mundane and frustrating process that calls for a lot of patience. Sometimes a bowler in rehab doesn’t even have batsmen to bowl to. Zaheer has been lucky to have Robin Uthappa and Sreesanth, coming back from injuries themselves, for company. Zaheer likens the process of resuming bowling after a long gap to running again.”If you haven’t run for a long time, the first day is tough,” he says. “When you start slowly, and you build the volume of it, that’s exactly how you go about it with the bowling. You build the workload slowly.”Because you are missing cricket, and you are not playing at the highest level, that frustration is there. Once you start getting back, you start bowling, you again start to enjoy the whole thing. It’s a process you need to go through. At the same time you need to be patient. It is important that when you are injured, you take your time. Because you need to start at the level where you left the game.”Those last few words are crucial. In Zaheer’s decade-long career, he has had to take care of injuries as much as he has minded the shine on the ball. After the first of those setbacks, he didn’t quite resume at the level where he had left the game. Everything was bright and sunny for him at the start of the Australian summer of 2003-04. Then struck the first major injury of his career, initially a hamstring and later discovered to be a nerve twitch.The man who returned wasn’t quite the Zaheer that had begun to evoke Wasim Akram. The next year or so was in-and-out. Everything was questioned: his attitude, fitness, hunger. He was criticised for trying to play through pain, he injured himself again during the Pakistan tour later that year, and his stint as an unpaid amateur for Surrey ended prematurely.Zaheer remembers his frustrations well. “The root cause of injuries was not found then,” he says. “I would work on a certain muscle and come back into the game, start playing matches, and some other muscle would go. It took me a while to come out of it.

If you haven’t run for a long time, the first day is tough. When you start slowly, and you build the volume of it, that’s exactly how you go about it with the bowling. You build the workload slowlyZaheer on how returning to bowl is like resuming to run after a long gap

“Every time you go back into the international matches, and you break down, that definitely puts you down in terms of confidence. I am glad the way I responded to it. It was a tough year and a half, but I came out a better bowler from that.”Dion Nash, who faced more injuries than Zaheer, explained that phase of coming back from mystery injuries more articulately. “When you first have a back injury – at least my experience is this – I really didn’t know quite what was wrong. I could run, I could jump, I could dive. The moment I tried to bowl there were problems. It’s hard enough to explain to yourself. To get a coach or manager to understand it is even harder.”Once he understood what the problem was, Zaheer says, it wasn’t much of a bother. “Cutting short my run-up had been on my mind for a long time, I wanted to try that. But because of the hectic international season, I wasn’t finding time. When I was out of the team, I could go back to first-class cricket and shorten my run-up.”The injuries by then had troubled Zaheer for too long to let the fast bowler’s ego interfere with cutting down the run-up. “The run-up I had, even though it was long, I wasn’t getting much out of it. So it was a wise thing to do.” The new, cold, calculating Zaheer was now ready to come back.Ironically the final touches to the comeback came in England, where he had left a county side high and dry not long ago. “I bowled plenty of overs for Worcestershire in that season. There I had a better understanding of my body also, in terms of preparation for the game, in terms of handling the long season and stuff.”It is just the workload in terms of bowling, the travelling, the surroundings, are completely different. You are in completely different environments. Every second day you are on the ground playing matches. You get to bowl in good conditions, and because you are bowling long spells, you tend to learn more.” Ironically, again, his partner-in-rehabilitation, Sreesanth, is one of the few been barred by the BCCI from playing county cricket.Sreesanth was also Zaheer’s partner when the latter completed his comeback in South Africa. Zaheer’s bowling partners changed over the next two years – Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Munaf Patel – but he became the true leader of the attack, bowling well in all conditions and with all three balls – SG, Duke, Kookaburra. The new Zaheer was a more complete bowler. He was almost a bowling captain, standing at mid-on, setting fields for Ishant, and Praveen Kumar in limited-overs games, seeing them through tough spells.In October 2008, when Zaheer and Ishant blew the Aussies away with early reverse-swing, on a pitch that the other team struggled to take wickets, many termed them the best new-ball pair then. An injury could not have been too far away.Duly Zaheer injured his shoulder in the next year’s IPL, and is yet to fully recover, with just six months to go the World Cup. He doesn’t want to talk about those days now. “All I want to do is just focus on my bowling. Regain my bowling fitness. What has happened in the past has happened.”It’s not just him, though. While he has been gone, India’s pace resources have been exposed. Replacements are not to be found. As Zaheer plans another comeback, which should begin in the Champions League in South Africa, he knows it is not just a bowler but also the leader of the pack that India need. And as he tries to get back to “the level where he left the game at”, India know he can’t come back soon enough.

Martin Williamson reviews Fred Titmus’s autobiography

Martin Williamson27-Jul-2005

The two World Wars took their toll on cricketers. In both conflicts, a number of famous names fell, including two of the most recognisable players of their respective generations, who both happened to be slow left-armers. In 1943, Hedley Verity, still remembered for his role in bowling out Australia at Lord’s in 1934, died in Sicily. Twenty-five years earlier, Colin Blythe was killed at Passchendaele. Both men were 38. These days, Blythe is largely forgotten outside Kent, but this is a remarkable story of an outstandingly talented bowler.Legend has it that he hardly touched a ball before he was spotted by Kent aged 18 and recruited into their fledgling academy at Tonbridge. Two years later, he took a wicket with his first ball in first-class cricket, and became a key part of a side which dominated county cricket in the Edwardian era, if not in terms of titles, certainly in the public’s imagination.But Blythe, a talented violinist and a popular figure with colleagues and spectators, was a troubled man, unable to cope with the adulation success brought. How he would have dealt with the all-pervasive modern media is not even worth thinking about. He was generally assumed to have epilepsy, but acute stress appears more likely, and as his breakdowns coincided with England appearances, he played far less than his talent deserved.Blythe was no shrinking violet. He was prepared to take on the autocratic Kent committee over financial matters, and at the outbreak of the Great War he was one of the first to enlist, despite his mental problems. He survived more than three years before being killed, aged 38, by a blast which also left Claud Woolley, his county colleague and Frank’s older brother, seriously injured.Christopher Scoble’s biography is something of a mixed bag. He was faced with a daunting challenge, as Blythe left few traces (even his memorabilia was lost in a burglary) and in the circumstances he has done a good job in knitting together the pieces and presenting a colourful image of the man himself. The paucity of information means that some parts of the text are, inevitably, little more than blow-by-blow accounts of matches.But while his descriptiveness is a plus, the author has a tendency to go off on personal tangents, a few of which do add to the story, some of which just serve as an irritating distraction. Most people who buy a biography want to read about the subject, however heartless that might appear about what was clearly a cathartic exercise for the author.Perhaps those were a degree of padding, as even with these diversions, the book barely passes 200 pages. If so, then the lack of any detailed statistics on Blythe’s remarkable career is even more unforgivable.In his time, Blythe was one of the most famous players in the land, as evidenced by his huge benefit. Perhaps his most lasting legacy is in Albert Chevallier Tayler’s famous painting, commissioned to celebrate Kent’s first Championship title in 1906. Lord Harris, the county’s eminence grise, gave only two instructions to the artist. One was that the setting had to be Canterbury; the other, that the bowler had to be Blythe.

“A great advert for PSL and T20 cricket. This is the sort of stuff that draws the next generation of players [to the game],” he said of the 483-run match

Umar Farooq09-Mar-2023Jason Roy, the Quetta Gladiators opener, described his PSL-record-breaking unbeaten 145 off 63 balls against Peshawar Zalmi as his “best T20 innings”, and the match itself, where 483 runs were scored in 38.2 overs, “a great advert for T20 cricket”.Roy broke Colin Ingram’s record (127*) for the highest individual score in the PSL, and helped Gladiators chase down 241 with eight wickets and ten balls to spare. He brought up his hundred in just 44 balls, the second-fastest century in the league, and scored nearly 76% of his runs in boundaries, smacking 20 fours and five sixes.”This is my best T20 innings, no doubt about it,” Roy said after the match. “Obviously a great wicket and fast outfield, so it’s just a case of trying to hit as many four and sixes and get close to the total [target] and see where we are at. I am sure this will go down for me as one of the greatest, and it will definitely live for a long time in my memory.Related

Jason Roy smashes PSL-record 145* to keep Gladiators' hopes alive

Stats – Jason Roy and Quetta Gladiators rewrite PSL records

“Anytime you are chasing over 200 and you chase that totally – doesn’t matter what the pitch is – it’s still an incredible feeling,” he said when asked about the pitch. “For me, in T20 cricket, this is my favourite-ever innings because I was there till the end. I think a lot of time when I am batting as an opening batsman, I could score a hundred and get out needing 20 runs but tonight I was there till the end, which is an incredible feeling as an opening batsman.”The Rawalpindi pitch on Wednesday night might have been one of the flattest this season – two wickets fell in either innings and huge totals were posted. But for Roy, it was about the intent and throwing the fear out of the window to win such games.”Chasing 240, we knew that was probably out of reach to win convincingly, and by convincingly, I mean in 13 or 14 overs,” Roy said. “In the change room, there is one of those things when you pad up and all the fear of failure goes out of the window, and you go out and have a lot of fun. Batting with Martin Guptill, who has done it all around the world and got thousands of runs… we walked out there very relaxed. We didn’t feel any pressure on our shoulders at all. On that wicket, with that crowd, it was electrifying and had a really good time.”Numerous records were rewritten in the game.”Incredible, that’s the only kind of word that can sum it up,” Roy said about the match. “It’s a great advert for PSL and T20 cricket. Obviously, bowlers don’t want to be turning up and playing on these wickets every single game, but people watching these sorts of games, kids watching this game, this sort of stuff – I remember when I was a kid watching games like this, that really drew me to the game. So this is the sort of stuff that really draws the next generation of players.”;

“It’s the sort of stuff I watch on TV, loads of time the way Babar plays… To watch Babar first-hand was very special but he could have done with getting a little less to make it a little easier for us”Jason Roy on Babar Azam’s hundred

Roy was full of praise for Babar Azam, who scored 115 off 65 balls for Zalmi. “That was incredible to watch; unfortunately, it was against us,” he said. “It’s the sort of stuff I watch on TV, loads of time the way Babar plays. It was his eighth hundred and to watch it first-hand was extremely special. He is a beautiful player to watch, and he was helped extremely well from the other end by his opening partner [Saim Ayub], a youngster coming through. To watch Babar first-hand was very special but he could have done with getting a little less to make it a little easier for us.”It was Roy’s comeback game as he had left the league after five matches to join the England team in Bangladesh for the ODI series. In his first stint, he had scored 27, 0, 14, 48 and 5; Gladiators lost four of those five games and were languishing at the bottom of the points table. Roy found his form in Bangladesh, scoring 132 in the second ODI, and his innings on Wednesday kept Gladiators’ fading hopes just about alive.”We got one more game left,”; Roy said. “I went out for my international duty and left the guys so I am pleased that I am able to come back, put that performance together and put some smiles on our faces. I love this team, they do a lot for me, the staff means a lot to me, so for me to go out and perform for them was a really special feeling. It has been a very tough season for us, we didn’t put together the performances we wanted to but we got a very great group of people so when wins like this come along, it’s special.”Ruing his lack of runs earlier, he said: “I think it’s just a case of playing without any fear. I had no choice but to go out and smack it. Maybe in other games, I was a bit tentative and worrying too much, putting so much pressure on myself as an opening batsman for this franchise. I didn’t feel it from the franchise, they are very supportive all the way through, and I think it’s my sixth game and I take one hundred every sixth game.”

Michael Olise has been tipped as Bayern Munich’s next leader after Thomas Muller compared him to club legend Franck Ribery.

• Muller says Olise can become Bayern’s future leader
• Compared Frenchman to club legend Ribery
• 23-year-old enjoyed stunning first season in Germany

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In an interview with , the German legend hailed Olise as Bayern’s “absolute top performer” and even drew parallels with former team-mate Ribery. Muller, who left Bayern Munich after 25 years with the club, believes the Frenchman has the qualities to become a future leader for the club, pointing to his confidence and ability to take responsibility on the pitch without needing to be vocal. 

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  Olise joined Bayern from Crystal Palace last summer for a fee of around €60 million (£51m/$65m), signing a five-year deal until June 2029. His first season in Munich couldn’t have gone much better, scoring 17 goals, providing 17 assists, and lifting the first team trophy of his career with the Bundesliga title. Muller, who made his MLS debut for Vancouver Whitecaps recently, also insisted Bayern won’t lack leadership after his departure. He highlighted Aleksandar Pavlovic and Josip Stanisic as role models who “absolutely embody FC Bayern.” 

• WHAT THOMAS MULLER SAID

  Muller heaped high praise on former Crystal Palace midfielder, saying: "He can become the player who leads the way for Bayern in the future, as Franck Ribery did in my time.

  “Olise is a guy who clearly signals: ‘Give me the ball, I’ll take care of it!’ That’s how you can lead a team without being a big loudmouth."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MICHAEL OLISE?

  Bayern, who recently won the German Supercup after defeating Stuttgart, will begin their Bundesliga campaign on August 22 against RB Leipzig, with Olise expected to play a central role in their attack. Fans will be eager to see if the 23-year-old can build on his breakout season and live up to Muller’s high praise.

Luzern manager Mario Frick, who worked with Ardon Jashari at the Swiss club, pointed out a flaw in AC Milan's new signing while heaping praise on him.

Milan landed the Swiss midfielder after intense negotiationsJashari's former coach heaped high praise on the 23-year-oldFrick pointed out a flaw in the Rossoneri’s new signingFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Frick, who coached Jashari at Luzern, heaped high praise on the midfielder but pointed out a flaw he feels the 23-year-old could work on. Jashari, who joined Club Brugge from Luzern last summer, is set to complete a €38 million (£33m/$43m) move to AC Milan after refusing to play for Brugge to force the transfer.

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Jashari’s move to Milan marks the end of a tense period at Club Brugge, just a year after joining the Belgian side. Despite interest from Chelsea, Inter and Neom, the 23-year-old had his heart set on AC Milan. He was left out of club's Super Cup win over Union SG, with the team's captain saying he did not want to play for the Belgian side and he was left out for their opening league match. 

Milan initially submitted a bid of €32m (£28m/$37m) plus €6 million in bonuses, but Brugge rejected the offer. Although reluctant to go overboard, Milan eventually returned with an improved offer that finally got the deal across the line.

WHAT MARIO FRICK SAID

Frick praised the midfielder’s maturity and labelled him as a born leader, saying: "From another planet: he'll have a great career, he's already on the pitch like a thirty-year-old. He's a natural-born leader: at twenty, he was already the head of the dressing room." 

However, Frick also pointed out a flaw that Jashari still needs to work on, adding: "Whenever he can, he plays vertically, and I'm sure he would do the same in Italy. The only flaw is that he doesn't score many goals, but he has pace, he's quick, and he's physically strong." 

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARDON JASHARI?

Jashari flew in on a private jet and landed at Linate Airport on Tuesday. He will officially sign his contract after completing medical tests, before joining the team for pre-season training. The Rossoneri have already begun their pre-season campaign and are set to face Leeds United on August 9 at the Aviva Stadium.