Ben Stokes' Leadership Style Similar to that of Virat Kohli, Says Joe Root
England Test captain Joe Root feels that Ben Stokes is more than well equipped to do the job of leading the side. Stokes, who is vice captain of the Test team, will be taking over the reins during their first Test against West Indies that starts on July 8 with Root sitting out due to the birth of his child.
Ben Stokes as Replacement for Joe Root :
Stokes had said earlier that he is “the Scottie Pippen to Joe’s Michael Jordan,” referring to the legendary Chicago Bulls duo that led the transformation of the team in the NBA during the 1990s.
Root said that Stokes is closer to Jordan than he is. “I think Ben would make a better Michael Jordan than me for a start,”he said on Sony Ten Pit Stop that was aired on the network’s Facebook page.
“He leads from the front, just like Michael Jordan did. He goes out there and performs, trains as hard as anybody. I think that is a great quality to have.”
Root compared Stokes’ style of leadership to that of Indian captain Virat Kohli.
“You see some of the great leaders, they do that. Virat (Kohli) being one, performs and expects everyone else to do the same thing.
“I imagine that is how Ben will go about his business. He is already a big leader in the team as the vice captain, there is a huge amount of respect for him. He has achieved so much in the game and in Test cricket and so he is more than well equipped to do the job.”
Ben Stokes and Joe Root
Joe Root Skips West Indies tour of England :
England Test captain Joe Root is in verge of missing West Indies tour next month to attend the birth of his second child.
England and Wales Cricket Board decides to resume International cricket from July. Where the England vs West Indies series 2020 has been scheduled to get underway from July 8 at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, subject to government’s approval. It will then shift Old Trafford in Manchester for the second and third Tests slated to start from July 16 and 24 July respectively.
“It’s evolving. “It’s being discussed with the medical team and we’re trying to stay up to date,” Root said. “At the minute, it’s still open for discussion. How that will finally look, I’m not exactly sure. It will have to come down to government advice, whatever that is. We’ll follow those protocols and do whatever is right.”
Stuart Binny’s brief stint in national colours resulted in a record-breaking performance that helped India register an unlikely win against Bangladesh on June 17, 2014.
Stuart Terence Roger Binny (born 3 June 1984) is an Indian international cricketer, who has played One Day Internationals, Twenty20 Internationals, and Tests. He played for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
During their tour of Bangladesh in 2014, India had taken a 1-0 lead in their three-match ODI series against the hosts. The second match was interrupted by rain and eventually reduced to 41-overs-as-side contest.
India had rested MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli for the series.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim won a good toss and expectedly opted to bowl first to exploit the moisture on the pitch and bowling-friendly conditions. Mashrafe Mortaza struck with the second delivery of the match, trapping Ajinkya Rahane lbw for a first-ball duck.
India then crumbled to Taskin Ahmed’s pace as their innings lasted 25.3 overs for a mere 105. Taskin finished with 5/28 from eight overs while Mortaza took 2/35.
Captain Suresh Raina was their top-scorer with 27 off 23.
Chasing 106 off 246 deliveries wasn’t going to be challenging even on swing-friendly conditions.
However, India pacers responded in kind with Mohit Sharma (4/22) knocking off Bangladesh openers in his first two overs.
Captain Mushfiqur and Mohammad Mithun began rebuilding.
The duo had added 31 runs for the third wicket and Bangladesh seemed to have settled in nicely.
Enter Binny with his military pace.
In the blink of an eye, he ran through the Bangladesh batting order taking six wickets in just 28 deliveries as Bangladesh were shot out for 58.
Binny (6/4) broke legendary Anil Kumble’s record (6/12) for the best bowling figures by an Indian in ODIs.
India took an unassailable 2-0 lead with their 47-run win.
Brief Scores: India 105 in 25.3 overs (Suresh Raina 27; Taskin Ahmed 5/28) beat Bangladesh 58 in 17.4 overs (Mohammad Mithun 26; Stuart Binny 6/12) by 47 runs
India’s leading sportspersons, including cricket captain Virat Kohli, former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and football Sunil Chhetri, have paid tributes to the 20 Army personnel killed during a clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.
The clash at the Galwan valley was the biggest Indo-China military confrontation in over five decades and escalated the volatile border standoff in the region. As per the media reports, India lost 20 of its soldiers in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley region on Monday night. The Chinese side has also suffered heavy casualties of over 40 soldiers.
“Salute and deepest respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our country in the Galwan Valley. NO one is more selfless and brave than a soldier. Sincere condolences to the families. I hope they find peace through our prayers at this difficult time,” Kohli wrote on his twitter page.
Kohli’s white-ball deputy Rohit Sharma also mourned the death of the soldiers.
“Salute to our REAL HEROES who laid their lives protecting and honouring our border. May god give their families utmost strength,”Rohit tweeted.
Salute and deepest respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our country in the Galwan Valley. NO one is more selfless and brave than a soldier. Sincere condolences to the families. I hope they find peace through our prayers at this difficult time. 🙏
Resolve this across a table while you can, not at the border. Act swiftly, for the sake of those army personnel who have died and for those who shouldn’t.
I can only hope that the families of those who have laid down their lives find strength to deal with their losses.
Bhutia, who has also dabbled in politics, termed the attack a “planned one”. While the current India football team skipper Sunil Chhetri urged the top bosses to solve the issue over the table.
“China had asked all its citizens to leave India few weeks back. The killing of our soldiers in LAC was a I think a planned one.
“We completely condemn this cowardly act of China. Indian Govt should take strong necessary action and not bow down to Chinese aggression,”Bhutia wrote on the micro-blogging site.
China had asked all its citizens to leave India few weeks back. The killing of our soldiers in LAC was a I think a planned one. We completely condemn this cowardly act of China. Indian Govt should take strong necessary action and not bow down to Chinese aggression pic.twitter.com/PToDa61mLv
Sachin Tendulkar wanted to give up cricket in 2007 when Gary Kirsten took over as India’s coach, the former South African opener has revealed.
Kirsten said Tendulkar wasn’t enjoying his cricket during that phase as he was batting out of position. Tendulkar was made to bat in the middle order in the lead up to and during the World Cup 2007, which India exited in the group stage. Greg Chappell, the then India coach, was criticised widely from all quarters including senior players.
Tendulkar went on to make a dramatic turnaround from there, scoring as many as 24 international centuries since the start of World Cup 2007 till the end of his career in 2013.
Speaking on Talk sports’ Following On podcast, Kirsten said, “If I think of Sachin Tendulkar at that time, where he was when I arrived in India… he wanted to give up the game. According to him, he was batting out of position, he wasn’t enjoying his cricket at all. Three years later, he scores 18 international hundreds in three years, goes back to batting where he wants to bat, and we win the World Cup.”
Tendulkar finished with 100 international centuries, scoring a whopping 34357 runs across formats. He also bowed out as a World Cup winner, playing a crucial role in India winning the tournament for the first time since 1983, in 2011.
Kirsten explained that the key to his success as a coach was to build an atmosphere where the players were comfortable.
“I ended up having a great coaching journey with him and that, for me, is where the essence of coaching is now, certainly modern coaching. You’re actually facilitating people’s ability to be the best version of themselves. All I did was facilitate an environment for him to thrive. I didn’t tell him (Sachin Tendulkar) anything. He knew the game, but what he did need was an environment – not only him, all of them – an environment set up where they could be the best version of themselves,”Kirsten said.
Former India wicketkeeper batsman Deep Dasgupta has revealed that batting legend Brian Lara enjoyed a conversation while at the crease and during India’s tour to the West Indies in 2002 their ploy was to bore the ace southpaw by not talking to him.
“One of the funniest things that ever happened was when we were playing against the West Indies in 2002. It was the first Test in Guayana and in the team meeting we were talking about how to handle Brian Lara. Some of the things that were said in that meeting were ”don”t talk to him”. I was like, what are you saying? They said ”he would get bored and get out,” recalled Dasgupta in a show called 22 Yarns hosted by Gaurav Kapoor.
Dasgupta, who played eight Test matches and five ODIs for India between 2001 and 2002, added that Lara would want to engage in a conversation with him and Rahul Dravid at first slip but they would stick to the plan and not give in.
In five Test matches, Lara managed only 202 runs at an average of 28.85.
Deep Dasgupta playing with Rahul Dravid
“Whenever a spinner would bowl, I was behind the wicket and Rahul was there in the slips, Brian would play a ball, he would turn around wanting to talk to me or Rahul and we would turn our backs and look the other way. He would want to start a conversation and we would be like, no, nothing happening,”Dasgupta said laughing.
“He just wanted to chat, that’s the kind of batsman he was. He would love to talk about his batting, he would want to talk about everything,” he added.
The Windies won the five-Test series 2-1.
“He would get bored and get out. And that”s exactly what happened right through the series, Brian didn’t get a lot of runs there,” Dasgupta further said.
“We would talk to him every time we met him outside the field but whenever he came out to bat nobody would talk to him,” he added.
West Indies Test skipper Jason Holder agreed with teammate Kemar Roach and stated they will look at Barbados-born Jofra Archer just like any other England cricketer in the upcoming series.
The three-match Test series will mark the resumption of the sport which was suspended in March as a precautionary measure against the spread of the virus.
Holder stated they are friends off the field but when the series begins, it won’t be the case. He also said that even Archer will put their friendship on the backburner and have a go at the visitors.
“Archer is English now. I think Kemar Roach had an interview yesterday and he spoke about the same thing,”Holder said on the show Good Morning Britain.
“You know we are friends off the field but when we cross that line you just see him as another Englishman. I am sure even he must be looking to knock our heads off.”
Archer, who decided to represent England on the international arena, has become a regular for them across format in recent times. He also played a pivotal role in helping them win their maiden World Cup at home last year.
“Jofra made his decision and he’s done a fantastic job for England so far but there will be no friendships during this series,”Roach was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.
“It”s all about winning and playing hard cricket. We will devise a plan for our batsmen to counter him and I”m looking forward to that battle.
“I saw him as a youngster in domestic cricket back home in Barbados and always thought he was talented.
“He has come over here and shown what he can do and I want to wish him all the best in his career. But you will definitely see if we have any words for him on the field when that comes around,” he added.
BCCI will have to cross several hurdles to make IPL a reality in the extraordinary circumstances that have arisen due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the franchises are maintaining a positive outlook and won’t mind even a curtailed season.
The potential window for IPL is from September to November and with Cricket Australia saying the prospect of staging T20 World Cup this year is “unrealistic”, the chances of staging the event have become brighter. Still, a lot of complications will have to be dealt with including zeroing in on venue(s) and ensuring biosecure environment.
No Issues With Curtailed Season
Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia says the venue will be decided based on availability of adequate infrastructure. “Considering the current situation, there are too many complications in hosting the T20 World Cup with 16 teams. Organising the IPL won’t be easy too. It has to be at a place which has adequate infrastructure, both on and off the field,” Wadia told PTI.
While Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore had recently said that he is against tinkering with the IPL format, Wadia has no such issues. “I am sure BCCI is putting all its efforts towards a full IPL but we have no issues even with a curtailed one. We have to be aware of the situation we are in and optimise ourselves,”he said.
No Issues With Shifting IPL Out of India
Wadia stressed on the importance of being flexible including the eventuality of organising the league outside of India. “IPL has also been a very forward looking and flexible tournament and that has to be maintained during the COVID situation. Going back to 2009, within one month we switched from India to South Africa,”he said.
UAE has already offered to host the event while Sri Lanka too has expressed its interest.
It’s a decision, Wadia said, that will be taken after mutual consent of the team owners.
“We would need adequate number of hotels in that place, so that we are able to quarantine players if needed. Whether in India or abroad, there has to be enough infrastructure,” he said.
Sahara Park NewLands
Not Everyone on The Same Page
A unnamed top official of an IPL team wants BCCI to announce the dates as soon as possible and is also against a shortened tournament
“I don’t understand what the BCCI is waiting for. They should have announced the dates by now. Whether August-September or September-October (if the World Cup doesn’t happen). Talk to the UAE board and go ahead. They can even consider Bahrain and Muscat and expand the league’s presence further, ICC delaying the decision has left it in a dilemma and also the BCCI,” the official said.
More Viewership
With the cricket loving public starved of action, Wadia believes there will be a spike in IPL viewership and so attracting sponsors will not be a problem.
“If it is a shorter tournament then automatically it would depend on the number of games. If there are the usual 14 league games, you are getting an X value from a sponsor, it will change if there are lesser number of games,” he said.
“Having said that, a lot of sponsors might be happy to see the IPL happening even if it is shorter. It gives them a lot of publicity. In my humble opinion, the IPL might happen with a larger audience base purely based on the assessment that world has been through so much and the world needs that outlet,” he added.
He also dismissed the fear that due to the financial crisis triggered by coronavirus pandemic, sponsors will stay away. “…I don’t see any difficulty in attracting sponsors. Today there are too many variables but tomorrow if the IPL dates are announced, I don’t see why sponsors won’t come forward, given the viewership might increase,” said Wadia.
A source close to Chennai Super Kings said the COVID-19 though feels the financial crisis will have an impact.
“It will have an impact surely, how much? I am not too sure. In one way, TV will be a great advertisement for sponsors. Basically, it is a question of money available with them at that time. It is not the usual scenario,” he opined.
“Sponsors will come to the teams only after the IPL dates are announced,” he added.
Expanding Brand IPL
However, another team official reckons that that this could be an opportunity to to make IPL even a bigger brand.
“Individual sponsorship is hardly the main part of our revenues, the main revenue comes from the the BCCI’s central pool. Keeping that issue aside, this is the best opportunity for brand IPL. You have an IPL in September-October, then the auction in December-January and then IPL again in April-May. Eight months you will be talking IPL,”he said.
“The BCCI is not seeing that. India is not going to be safe before November, better to take the call now and do it elsewhere,” the official added.
BCCI has reportedly fixed a window for conducting IPL this year as it has began planning for the annual league after it was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
IPL could get underway from September 26 with the final on November 8.
While a formal decision regarding this is yet to be made, the BCCI has held informal discussions with the franchises.
According to Mumbai Mirror, the tournament may be held in limited venues. Mumbai was the board’s first choice because of the infrastructure but since the coronavirus situation in Maharashtra has gotten worse, it has been forced to rethink.
Should the September-November window be final, the likely venues could be in South India viz. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. There won’t be any issue of stadium sizes as the matches are planned to be played behind closed doors.
However, all this depends on whether the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to get underway from October 18 in Australia, gets cancelled this year. Several media reports claim that Cricket Australia isn’t too keen on hosting the global event and is rather more interesting in the bilateral series against India.
Another hurdle that IPL may be to cross is Asia Cup. A decision regarding the biennial event is yet to be made and should it be held this year, the IPL will have to be a truncated event.
While BCCI is against the tournament this year, the daily reports that not everyone inside the board holds that view.
Meanwhile, the Indian cricket board is also taking into account the additional cost of creating a bio-secure environment in its budgeting for IPL 13. The BCCI may have to book an entire hotel rather than rooms apart from implementing strict personal hygiene measures and keeping chartered flights on standby.
The two have been photographed together numerous times and have been known to share banter across social media.
“So, I first met Sachin and Arjun at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Maybe 2009 or 2010 when I was with MCC young cricketers and they were training in the nets. Literally I went to the nets and said hello and introduced myself saying I am Danni etc,” Wyatt told cricket.com.
“Arjun would have been 10 years old back then, he was so small. There is a photo somewhere on Google. I bowled to him that day, he was very good.
“Since then whenever I bump into Sachin or Arjun or whenever they come to Lord’s to train, I go to the nets and ask him (Arjun) to bowl the new ball to me. But he is getting very quick now.
“He always says I will bounce you and knock your head off so I don’t like him bowling to me anymore. He is getting too dangerous to face!
“They are a lovely family. Arjun’s mom is also lovely. Recently, I bumped into Sachin in Australia during the World Cup. It is nice to see them whenever I see them.”
Wyatt also spoke about her social media back and forths with India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the two have never actually met each other but she finds his social media antics funny.
“I have never met Chahal. We follow each other on Instagram and have some good friendly banter towards each other. He is a fantastic bowler and he is absolutely funny on social media too.”
Sachin Tendulkar Recalls First Memory With Yuvraj Singh
One of India’s finest all-rounders, Yuvraj featured in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for India. He donned the India colours for the last time in 2017 as an indifferent form and injury issues forced him out of national reckoning.
”Dafnane Se Pehle, Ek Baar Dekh Lo Kahin Kirdar Mein Toh Nahin Hai, Acha Kalakar Hai” (Please look closely before sending him to the grave, he is a good actor), that is what was being said when Bollywood actor died on Sunday, sending the whole nation – which is already suffering, into mourning – that was the impact 34-year-old Sushant Singh Rajput had on the people of this country.
Sushant – who became an overnight sensation after the success of MS Dhoni – The Untold Story – was found hanging from his house in Bandra on Sunday. It was later revealed that the actor was receiving treatment for depression.
Among all the videos that are circulating on the social space since his demise, there is one video that has caught the attention of the fans and is going viral. It is a clip which shows how perfectly Sushant had picked up the mannerisms of the cricketer – even the touching of the sleeve and wiping off the sweat – Sushant does it frame by frame and that is winning the internet.
“And he got every nuance of the batting so perfectly. Every small detail of Dhoni’s batting he captured. Like that shrug of the left shoulder and the way he pulls the left shirt sleeve, he got that right,” Dhoni’s manager Arun Pandey.
Without a doubt, Sushant was considered to be among the finest actors in the country and hence the piece of news of his death had sent the entire nation into mourning.
Chennai Super Kings Expecting Full-Fledged IPL 2020
Despite frequent discussions around the future of the 13th season of Indian Premier League, the BCCI hasn’t been able to find a confirmed slot for the cash-rich league after it was suspended in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Considering the ongoing unprecedented global crisis and uncertainty regarding the future, planning any kind of live event is no mean task. It is due to the same reason that IPL 2020 is yet to find a new slot in cricket’s busy calendar.
The future of ICC T20 World Cup 2020 and Indian Premier League 2020 continues to play hide and seek as a recent development hints against the former being conducted this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Cricket Australia Chairman Earl Eddings considered hosting a world event amidst a global crisis as “unrealistic”.
It is worth mentioning that IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel had recently opened up on BCCI waiting for an official announcement on the [postponement of the] T20 World Cup before finalizing the schedule for the 13th season of the cash-rich league.
Just play the T20 World Cup in New Zealand
— Dennishahid Afridi (@DennisCricket_) June 9, 2020
With the October-November window being considered to host either of the two spectacular events, a confirmed decision shouldn’t take much time as the global body is likely to meet in the near future.
Cricket Australia consider hosting ICC T20 World Cup 2020
“While it hasn’t been formally called off this year, or postponed, trying to get 16 countries into Australia in the current world, where most countries are still going through COVID spiking, I think it’s unrealistic, or it’s going to be very, very difficult.
“The ICC are having meetings as we speak, it’s a bit of a movable feast at the moment,” Eddings was quoted as saying by the reporters.
As Eddings mentioned, inviting players from 16 countries and hosting them in a bio-secure environment calls for daunting logistical challenges for Cricket Australia.
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison allowing up to 10,000 spectators in venues with a seating capacity of less than 40,000 had given hopes regarding the World Cup being played on its scheduled time. Having said that, CA Chairman’s latest statement speaks of the otherwise.
Earlier, Cricket Australia had sent a letter to the International Cricket Council expressing their interest in hosting the T20 World Cup next year.
Roach rules out on-field friendship with Jofra Archer
West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has pointed out how sweat is a rare phenomenon in England’s “chilly weather”. Having said that, the 31-year old right-arm bowler remained confident of finding ways to shine the ball amidst ban on saliva.
“The atmosphere out here is pretty chilly so there’s not much sweat that you can produce. There’s plenty of other ways to shine the ball. No saliva’s allowed so it’s pretty tough but we’re coming up with some ways that we can probably get a good gloss onto the ball.
“It takes a lot more practice but we’re going to keep working at it and then we’ll see what’s the best way going forward,”Roach was quoted as during a video conference.
Kemar Roach rules out on-field friendship with Jofra Archer
Roach, who is on his third tour of England, has previously picked 19 wickets in five Tests at an average of 31.68, an economy rate of 3.65 and a strike rate of 52.
With this being the first time when West Indies will face England pacer Jofra Archer in Test matches, fans are looking forward to see him playing against his native country.
Roach, who spoke highly of Archer’s skills and his decision of representing England, ruled out any scope of on-field “friendships and stuff”. Laying emphasis on winning, Roach admitted to be looking forward to the intriguing battle with Archer.
“Jofra [Archer] has made his decision and I think he’s done a fantastic job so far in his career but obviously there’s no friendships and stuff in this series. It’s all about winning and playing hard cricket so when we come up against Jofra I think we’ll devise a fantastic plan to counter him. I’m looking forward to that battle and we as a team are doing the same.
“I saw him as a youngster in domestic cricket back home in Barbados. I always thought he was talented and he has shown that over the years. He came over here and he has done a fantastic job and I want to wish him all the best for his career,”Roach said.
