The leadership has plotted and planned and pulled off some extraordinary things of late, the enormous weight of the missing trophy evident at every stage of their run

Sidharth Monga19-Mar-20253:33

Aakash Chopra: India have now moved far ahead of other teams

India needed to lose control.It’s not that they were a bad team. They had lost just three matches in the last two ODI World Cups. Two matches in the last two Champions Trophies. Three matches in the last two T20 World Cups.This was an enviable record, but also a record that kept India from pushing the boundaries of what this extremely talented side was capable of achieving. Then came the early exit at the T20 World Cup of 2021. It brought about a reset in the leadership – they perhaps would not have had the freedom to challenge the batters had India made another semi-final.One of the effective tools used by the management to get the point across was control percentages when attacking. They were unusually high. It told the batters two things: they were not attacking enough good balls, and they were not giving the opposition chances when they attacked. There was clear room for more risks.Related

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The intent changed to an extent, India began to put up above-par scores in bilateral series, but as the 2022 T20 World Cup approached, the ideal combination became elusive. Jasprit Bumrah was injured beforehand, and Ravindra Jadeja joined the list as India went to the dress rehearsal, the Asia Cup in the UAE.As Hardik Pandya’s fitness could not always be relied upon, Rohit Sharma, the new captain, wanted to play two spinner-allrounders to provide for contingencies. The injury to Jadeja denied him that experiment. Axar Patel took Jadeja’s place when Rohit wanted him for the slot that they kept trying to fill with Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda. With Kuldeep Yadav still only coming back from injury, they settled on R Ashwin as the spinner for left-hand batters. They didn’t make it to the final of the Asia Cup.By the time India reached Australia, sans Bumrah, their other main death bowler, Harshal Patel, coming back from injury, had completely lost form. In an ideal world, they would have played Harshal at No. 8 and Yuzvendra Chahal, Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh as bowlers who couldn’t bat. Bumrah could be replaced with Mohammed Shami, but Harshal’s replacements couldn’t bat, which meant India had to sacrifice the wristspinner.

The intent had to be initiated by players whose places in the side were certain and not by those who would be disposed if they failed in pursuit of quick runs. Too much of that had happened in the past. It also meant that the combinations and tactics had to be much better

Again, whenever the stakes grew or whenever the conditions were tricky, the batters fell back to the default options. It happened against South Africa in Perth, and it was repeated against England in the semi-final when India fell woefully short. The Adelaide semi-final was stark. England handcuffed them with spin. They just had the wrong guys batting together all through the start and the middle. At the end, did we see Rohit wipe a tear or two?The revival would have to start with Rohit. The feedback the leadership got from the players was that they needed the leaders to first walk the talk. That meant the intent had to be initiated by players whose places in the side were certain and not by those who would be disposed if they failed in pursuit of quick runs. Too much of that had happened in the past. It also meant that the combinations and tactics had to be much better. For example, there was no way Rohit and Virat Kohli should bat together for too long outside the powerplay.With the onus on himself, Rohit doubled down on his need for depth, the 8-6 formula. He wanted to play every game with eight batters and six bowlers so that the batters could be freed, so that they had options to counter match-ups.India have achieved the cheat code of three allrounders in the XI whenever Hardik Pandya is fit•CREIMASA sting operation on the then chairman of selectors brought into the frame Ajit Agarkar. Now the team management included three men who could healthily challenge each other without any mistrust: Agarkar, Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid. Tough calls were now taken and explained properly to the players. Shubman Gill replaced Shikhar Dhawan in ODIs even though the players still rated Dhawan highly. KL Rahul was trusted as the middle-order rock. He and Shreyas Iyer were given until the last possible moment to prove their fitness for the ODI World Cup.The intent began to bleed into the ODIs as well. India were a solid ODI team previously too, but you could close your eyes and predict a score of 51 for 1 in the powerplay, and you wouldn’t be off by more than 2%. It worked great when the top three scored all the runs, but it didn’t give the others any breathing space when they went to bat. Rohit became the intent bunny in ODIs as well.It was a rained-out match where the teams shared points, but in Pallekele in the Asia Cup, the leadership knew the team had turned a corner. In an eerie resemblance to the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, India lost the early wickets of Rohit and Kohli to Shaheen Shah Afridi as the ball moved around in humid conditions. Even at 66 for 4, Ishan Kishan and Hardik counter-attacked. India went on to score 261 for 8. When they came up against Pakistan next, they all went hammer and tongs to end with 356 for 2.Quality was meeting intent in the batting. Kuldeep was back to his best, and Bumrah was fit. Everything was looking great, but then Axar got injured again. Axar as the second allrounder had been in India’s plans for a while as they knew the next two World Cups would be in India and the West Indies, both places where they could afford to play two spinner-allrounders. Kuldeep’s return meant they had a spinner to take the ball away from left-hand batters unlike Chahal earlier.2:43

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This combination of unique circumstances would let India achieve the cheat code of three allrounders in the side whenever Hardik would be fit. They tried to promote Axar in the batting order every now and then, notably against Pakistan in Melbourne and once in an ODI loss to West Indies in July 2023. In Axar’s absence, though, India relied on Shardul Thakur to be the eighth batter.When Hardik went down during the ODI World Cup, India had to leave Thakur out for a more specialised bowler in Shami. Only Rahul and Kohli will know if that lack of depth played a part in their back-to-default conservatism in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad, where, throughout the tournament, there were clear signs that batting becoming much easier under lights.This was only their fourth defeat in the last three ODI World Cups, but one that stung them the most. They had played fearless, attractive and dominant cricket to get to the final. Their narrowest wins were by four wickets and 70 runs. The defeat in the final left everyone too shocked to react, let alone analyse or think of the next World Cup, barely six months away.The T20I captain, Hardik, was injured with no timeline for a return. The ODI captain hadn’t played a T20I since the Adelaide debacle two years ago. The coach’s tenure was over, and he was happy to walk away without a world title. The selectors now had to take the less-than-ideal route of selecting the captain first and then the team. Not least because the captain could convince the coach to come back for one last ride. Had any of the three men been different, the band wouldn’t have come back together.1:21

Is Shreyas now India’s most reliable ODI batter?

Now, finally, the blueprint of eight batters and six bowlers could be put in place. Everyone was fit, and the West Indies pitches always have some grip. Except that the selectors wanted an offspinner-allrounder in the squad because they envisaged the XI would include Jadeja this allrounder. Rohit and Dravid pressed for Axar because they wanted to go with Jadeja Axar.With Shivam Dube’s emergence and the Axar gambit, Rohit and Dravid had enough options to deny oppositions a match-up at both ends. They could split right-hand batters, they could split those who struggled against spin, they had six bowlers plus Dube to choose from. As some of us suspected before, and the rest of us have learned since, this was still not India’s optimal T20I XI. Even if you disregard the belated emergence of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal was clearly the best opener out there at that time, and a left-hand batter to boot.Even at 34 for 3 in the final, India could pair Kohli up with Axar and Dube, and give India a target to bowl to. India were either due some luck or used up a year’s worth in the climax of that match – a six goes out of the ground and the replacement ball reverses, David Miller mistimes a full toss even when hitting downwind – but now they finally had a trophy to show for their processes and their dominance.The enormous weight of the missing trophy became apparent only during the celebrations back in Mumbai. Deep inside, the players and the management knew they were an exceptional side with two exceptional campaigns behind them, but they still felt what they felt: horrible after Ahmedabad, overjoyed after Barbados.In the following months, the Test transition arrived in earnest, but the T20I and the ODI sides remain formidable. The new management not only carried forward the Hardik-Jadeja-Axar cheat code, but they were shrewd enough to change the Champions Trophy squad at the last moment to include another wicket-taking spinner because they knew all their matches would be played on a tired Dubai square that had just hosted a T20 tournament. There is no evidence to suggest India would not have won even if they were playing on 350 pitches, but the Dubai conditions did make their job easier.Now, India are a team that have lost only one match in their last three ICC tournaments. From 2013 Champions Trophy onwards, they have missed out on the knockouts of only one of the 11 ICC tournaments. Of the other ten, only four have been semi-final defeats.Moments after winning this year’s Champions Trophy, Rahul perhaps summed up the reasons behind this dominance best.”It’s just pure skill and the way we’ve all played our cricket growing up,” Rahul said with unusual clarity for such a heady moment. “We’ve had to face a lot of challenges. We’ve had to face pressure from the time we held the bat and from the time we decided to be professional cricketers. I think it’s just the first-class cricket, BCCI, how they’ve groomed every player, every talented player that comes around. They’re giving us opportunities and platforms to showcase our skills and to put ourselves under pressure and keep challenging ourselves and getting better.”The leadership needs to already start thinking of the next two years if they want to continue celebrating•ICC via Getty ImagesThe talent pool is vast and, consequently, the pressure they face at every step on the way to the top is immense. That is also perhaps why they hold onto their places at the top a little too tightly. That is why the leadership constantly needs to keep making them feel secure enough to keep pushing their boundaries.There is still one final step to go to earn comparisons with the best-ever sides. If they can defend their T20 crown next year, India will be regarded as the best T20I side of all time. They will start as the favourites for it, but this dream team with all kinds of cheat codes will not be easy to replicate in the 2027 ODI World Cup, a title only Kohli among the current players has won. Compare this to the Australia of 1999 to 2009: they always had a well-rounded ODI attack to outperform their opposition in conditions as diverse as South Africa in 2003, India in 2006, the West Indies in 2007 and South Africa again in 2009. They also almost always had at least two allrounders who almost never broke down. Even they have never been able to crack both ODIs and T20Is at the same time.India will not magically find a strike bowler with the batting ability of Brett Lee or Andy Bichel. That means at any given point of time only three of Kuldeep, Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj and Shami can play. Axar and Jadeja, if the latter is still around, won’t make for an optimal combination on your usual South African tracks. Hardik’s body is what it is. Gill, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Rahul form a formidable batting core even if Rohit doesn’t make it, but some work will be needed to attain this kind of balance in South Africa.There has been cause aplenty to celebrate over the last two years, but the leadership needs to already start thinking of the next two years if they want to continue celebrating. With all the talent in the country, it won’t take much to remain very good, but excellence is what they want to continue aiming for.

From comebacks to spin questions, Litton Das and Scott Edwards eye answers before bigger competitions around the corner

Abhijato Sensarma29-Aug-2025Litmus test for skipper LittonWhile the T20 World Cup early next year remains a focus for Bangladesh, it is some way down the horizon. They will be looking at this series to tighten their own line-up for the more immediate T20 Asia Cup, set to begin on September 9 in the UAE.That tournament will be the first major assignment for captain Litton Das, in charge of the T20I side since earlier this year. He has already shepherded them to their maiden T20I series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and will be expected to extend the winning streak before the Asia Cup.Nurul Hasan has been in the middle of a purple patch in T20s•GSL/Getty ImagesBangladesh’s comeback menThe series is also a storyof comebacks on both sides. Bangladesh have recalled wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan and top-order batter Saif Hassan, both of whom last played for Bangladesh over two years ago.Nurul has accumulated 514 runs in the 2024-25 season across T20 leagues, and also led Rangpur Riders to the inaugural Global Super League title in 2024. Saif, meanwhile, struck a couple of impressive half-centuries at the recent Top End T20s in Australia. They will be looking to push for spots in the first XI.Scott Edwards will be without two of his key allrounders from the Europe qualifiers•Matthew Lewis/ICC/Getty ImagesUnfamiliar territory for NetherlandsThey won the Europe qualifier for the 2026 T20 World Cup earlier this year, but were set to play in subcontinental conditions only when they landed in India for the World Cup next year. Game time in the region has been rare for them. In Bangladesh, too, they have only ever played once before, way back in the 2014 T20 World Cup.The pitches in Bangladesh have made for lower-scoring encounters than the ones in India in the recent past. Nonetheless, this tour will allow Netherlands to start figuring out their best combination on surfaces quite different to the ones they played on to win the Europe qualifiers.Bas de Leede misses this tour but should be back for the World Cup•AFP/Getty ImagesNetherlands are without their starsA couple of spots in Netherlands’ eventual World Cup squad might be reserved for two of their top allrounders – Bas de Leede and Roelof van der Merwe – who could not make it to this tour because of their County commitments. Both played major roles in the Europe qualifiers. But left-hand opener Vikramjit Singh (dropped for the qualifiers), right-arm quick Sebastiaan Braat (last played in 2021), and allrounder Sikander Zulfiqar (in 2019) will be looking to back up their recent domestic numbers as they fill up the vacant spots.In unfamiliar conditions, a lot of the responsibility for leading the side might fall on the shoulders of their captain and middle-order lynchpin, Scott Edwards.Rishad Hossain’s form has dipped of late•AFP/Getty ImagesSpin headache for BangladeshBangladesh will be less than thrilled with their incumbents in the spin department. While their pacers have been impressive on their way to 51 wickets in T20Is in 2025 – 60.71% of all wickets they have taken this year – their spinners have had uneven returns.After a spell out of the XI, Mahedi Hasan made a comeback in the final T20I against Sri Lanka, and took 4 for 11 to bowl them to victory. His numbers were less remarkable in the series against Pakistan, where he took just three wickets at an average of 32.66 and an economy of 8.90.Rishad Hossain, the legspinner who is also a handy bat, has not been as potent either in 2025 with an average of 32.70 and an economy of 8.75.With the only other bowler who bowls spin in the side being Nasum Ahmed, who hasn’t played T20Is this year, Bangladesh will be hoping the spinners up their game if they are to mount a serious title challenge in the Asia Cup or next year’s T20 World Cup.

Australia’s selectors could be working overtime with some big calls to come

Andrew McGlashan08-Dec-20251:02

Finch: Neser ‘nailed it’ but selection debate remains

Will Khawaja’s back allow him back?Australia’s two victories have come about in no small part because of a pair of positive opening stands between Jake Weatherald and Travis Head. It was an accidental pairing in Perth but they got a second chance in Brisbane when Usman Khawaja was ruled out with his back problems. Khawaja’s form was under scrutiny heading into this series and this enforced absence has come at a bad time.There is a huge decision ahead. George Bailey, the chair of selectors, said during the Brisbane Test that they hadn’t got to the stage of discussing Khawaja’s position because he was never passed fit. Head’s move to the top continues to divide opinion, largely because of the impact he has had at No. 5. He was scratchy early on the second day at the Gabba, getting a life on 3 when dropped by Jamie Smith, but was starting to open up when he got a leading edge to mid-on.Related

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Josh Inglis was Khawaja’s replacement for the second Test. His 23 was a little skittish, with multiple edges through the cordon, before he was bowled by Ben Stokes, although he was batting during the tricky night session. He certainly added to Australia’s fielding. His run out of Stokes on the first day was a critical moment in the game.”I just can’t see how Australia would change that top order right now with Head and Weatherald,” Aaron Finch told ESPN. “They look like a good opening partnership together, that they’ve got the rapport which you need at the top of the order. Josh Inglis played well, he got a good ball in the first innings.”Marnus Labuschagne, who is batting at No. 3, has enjoyed following in the slipstream of the new opening pair. “Weathers has come in for the first time, and the way he’s gone about it has just set the tone at the top,” he said “I just feel like that momentum is sort of dripping through to the rest of the order. It’s been nice to come off the back of momentum and be able to put the bowlers under pressure from the start of my innings. So I’ve really enjoyed that. But once again, it’s each game on its own, trying to read the conditions and read what the team needs.”Nathan Lyon has been left out from two of Australia’s last three Tests•Getty ImagesBig game for LyonEarlier this season, Steve Waugh said that Bailey and his panel hadn’t been willing to make tough calls. They made one in Brisbane with Nathan Lyon’s omission. It was vindicated by Michael Neser’s superb performance, but Bailey has already confirmed Lyon will definitely play in Adelaide.Lyon has been left out from two of Australia’s last three Tests and though they were pink-ball games, this one at the Gabba in particular has shone a light on the changing role he has been able to play. Last season he bowled his fewest overs in a home season and the tempo of matches has meant the game has shifted away from the lengthy holding spells Lyon used to be so important for. However, a day game in Adelaide could change that.”It’s probably just highlighted with Gaz [Lyon], because there’s been years where he has had his ability to bowl long spells, go two an over, do all that sort of stuff and hold things down, and it just hasn’t quite panned out that way,” Bailey said. “But when it suits and the time’s right, that will still be the case, I imagine.”Finch said: “Nathan Lyon absolutely comes straight back in. That’s not even a question. I didn’t think it was a question that we even needed to ask in the lead up to this Test match and I was proven wrong there, but he comes back in and it’s probably Brendan Doggett that goes out.”There’s every indication that Pat Cummins will be ready for the third Test•Getty ImagesCome in, skipperPat Cummins was very close to playing at the Gabba, but the need to manage his overs was the deciding factor. However, every indication is that he will be ready for the third Test, which had always seemed the likely return point.”I should be right for Adelaide,” Cummins said on Kayo Sports. “I’ll have one more bowl [on Sunday] and then we’ll go to Adelaide and have another bowl there. Barring any hiccups, I’ll be good to go and the body feels great.”If Cummins does return as expected, the question will then be how many of the final three matches he is able to play. During the earlier stages of his rehab, he said back-to-back games could be a stretch and from Adelaide onwards, the series becomes much more condensed with just a four-day gap to Melbourne and another four to Sydney if those matches go the distance. Australia could well have wrapped up the Ashes before Christmas, but important World Test Championship points will still be at stake.Cummins will resume the captaincy, but Steven Smith has been tactically very impressive, especially in Adelaide, and will likely remain a key sounding board.Michael Neser picked up his maiden five-for at the Gabba•Getty ImagesOne and done for Neser?If Cummins and Lyon both return, it means two bowlers need to make way. Neser could not have done much more at the Gabba – and there’s long been a hashtag of #NeserMustPlay – but he could shape as the unlucky omission. However, there is potentially a scenario where the selectors rest Scott Boland, with an eye on having him refreshed for Boxing Day at the MCG, although 57 overs in two matches is not a huge workload and the first priority will likely be winning the Ashes at the earliest possible moment.Doggett, meanwhile, has taken seven wickets in his first two Tests and sent down some hardworking spells for short deliveries during the Brisbane Test.”When you look at the Australian side being 2-0 up and you say, is the next team going to be stronger? The answer is probably yes,” Finch said. “So there’s some really good selection headaches for Australia leading into the Adelaide Test.”

Russell was among only two allrounders in IPL history to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets

Shubh Agarwal30-Nov-2025Andre Russell has retired from the IPL as a player, culminating one of the most influential careers in the league, especially for an overseas player. Making his debut in 2012, Russell featured in 140 IPL games – seven for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and 133 for Kolkata Knight Riders – scoring 2,651 runs at a strike rate of 174.17 and picking 123 wickets. Here are some of the statistical highlights from his IPL career.2 – Russell is among only two allrounders in IPL history to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets. Only Ravindra Jadeja (3260 runs and 170 wickets) has matched this feat.174.71 – Russell’s strike rate in the IPL is the highest for any batter with over 1500 runs. The next on the list is Nicholas Pooran, who has a strike rate of 168.97 for his 2293 runs in this league.Related

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204.81 – Russell’s strike rate in the 2019 IPL season. It is the only occasion of a batter amassing over 500 runs in an IPL season with a strike rate in excess of 200. Russell scored 510 runs in IPL 2019 at an average of 56.66 in what was his most productive year with the bat. Only two other batters have achieved the double of averaging above 50 at a strike rate of more than 200 in an IPL season – Brendon McCullum in 2008 and MS Dhoni in 2024.100 – Sixes Russell hit in the death overs (overs 17 to 20), making him one among only four batters with 100 or more sixes in that phase in the IPL.

The crowd favourite hit a rut after a bright start as the promised turn arrived, but it was his team-mates who saved the day for Pakistan

Danyal Rasool12-Oct-2025There were plenty of loud cheers on day one of the first Test between Pakistan and South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium. That is not much of a surprise; it was a good day for Pakistan, one which they may well look back on as the one that secured them a 1-0 lead in this series against South Africa midway into next week. But none of the cheers was quite as boisterous as the one that followed the dismissal of Pakistan captain Shan Masood. Except, perhaps, the one that confirmed his departure upon review. The raucousness of that excitement took even Simon Harmer, South Africa’s lead spinner, by surprise.”I had a good chuckle at that,” he would laugh later.Not because Masood’s continued presence was detrimental to his side’s chances: quite the contrary. The Pakistan captain had seen through a period of pressure early on after Abdullah Shafique’s first over dismissal. Alongside the more conservative Imam-ul-Haq, he had controlled the first session and a half to put on 161 for the second wicket, getting their runs in early before they congeal and calcify as scoring becomes ever more arduous on an already wearing pitch.Related

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But for this Lahore crowd, the partnership between Imam and Masood had delayed their gratification just a touch too long. It was now early afternoon, and the Gaddafi, which threw open its doors to the public free of charge, was busier than it would be all day. For just the second time in his career, Lahore’s golden boy stepped over freshly trimmed afternoon grass in white, steeling himself to face an international red ball on home ground. It was, as ever, all about Babar Azam.Lahore may not have wanted to see such an extended warm-up act before the main event, but the value it held for Pakistan was plain to see. For all the nits that can be picked with Pakistan’s approach to this format, Masood’s Test side is arguably the most honest thing going in Pakistan cricket. They want to take 20 Test wickets and prepare pitches that cannot give them away quick enough. But before anyone is really paying attention, they want to steal a few runs with batters who are finding ways to outmanoeuvre opposition by stealth, having failed to outbat them on more conventional surfaces.Masood set that tone with a pair of boundaries on either side of the wicket inside the first over. In this phase of a career that has seen more stages than there have been French Republics, Masood’s belligerent batting when conditions are easiest ensures time spent at the crease brings maximum possible value. By the tenth over, Pakistan had put on 51; in two games at the recently concluded T20 Asia Cup, they hadn’t managed to get that far by this stage.Imam’s everyman assiduousness, with all the tenacity of a chihuahua panting up a hill, was holding back South Africa’s coterie of spinners who had bought into spooky stories of wild turn perhaps a little too eagerly. He had got his bright start while the seamers still operated; 26 off 29 balls by his standards is a hurtle. Against the spinners, it was a test of patience, and that is one thing Imam has never lacked.Babar Azam came in to bat with limited situational pressure on him, but scored only 23•Getty Images”I got balls I could attack against the fast bowlers. When the spinners came on, I didn’t find as many deliveries to attack,” Imam said after the day’s play. “Shan found he could attack more of them, and was able to get more boundaries against them. They leaked runs in the first session, but you have to respect the bowlers. Things didn’t go their way then, but they came back strongly in the second session, dried out the runs, and got a couple of wickets at the end.”With every run the pair scored, and every South African spin over that went wicketless, there was a feeling of a game slipping by, even as early as day one of a Test. Of the four previous games for which Pakistan have prepared extreme spin tracks, the side batting first have won three, with day-one partnerships ultimately proving decisive.Against England in Multan last year, Kamran Ghulam and Saim Ayub put on 149 for the third wicket in the first innings, using it to secure a 75-run lead that translated into a comfortable victory. Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel amassed 141 for the fifth wicket on a foggy first day against West Indies in Multan earlier this year, and never let go. To suggest Imam and Masood haven’t just done the same thing here in Lahore would be flying in the face of history.Post-match, Harmer wistfully noted that the game, in a sense, had moved to within the fringes of South Africa’s reach.”What you need to understand about the subcontinent is [that] the toss plays a big part,” he said. “The best batting conditions are in the first session. They got the luck of the draw with the toss, and they maxed them out. Full credit to them; I think they played extremely well.”Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha finished the day unbeaten on half-centuries•AFP/Getty ImagesBut the men South Africa – and seemingly so much of Lahore – wanted to see dismissed had ensured that the crowd favourite would come in to bat with limited situational pressure on him. It was around then, just before tea, that the promised turn had begun to arrive. Babar, whom supporters had thronged in to see, had found his innings hitting a rut after a bright start. When Harmer trapped him in front and got the lbw on review, Babar had scored just one run of his previous 26 balls after starting off with 21 in 22 deliveries. It was the first of three wickets to arrive without the scoring moving from 199 to 200, a shot across the bow from a surface already starting to awaken.Masood and Imam were among those to have fallen by now. The stealthy runs early on which they set the game up had been scored; Rizwan and Salman Agha, who finished the day unbeaten on half-centuries, had built upon that foundation to tilt the game further Pakistan’s way. Imam and Masood, meanwhile, had fallen just short of hundreds – not that the Gaddafi faithful seemed to mind too much. And for a side that is learning to eschew flashy individual milestones for gritty collective victories, it was perhaps strangely appropriate.

Will Pat Cummins play the Gabba Test? And if he does, will he be captain? And who will he replace – Nathan Lyon or Brendan Doggett?

Andrew McGlashan03-Dec-20250:54

Clarke: Australia going to a venue where they play well

It was a question that summed up the slightly curious situation that has become the discussion around Australia’s selection for the Gabba Test. Steven Smith, the stand-in captain, was asked if he would still be leading if Pat Cummins made a surprise return: “I wouldn’t have thought so,” Smith said.There have been plenty of chances this week to say that Cummins definitely won’t make his comeback in Brisbane. Adelaide had long seemed the most likely timeline and he has never officially been made part of the squad. But the door has not been slammed shut.At the time Smith spoke on Wednesday, Australia’s hierarchy wanted a further look at the pitch before making a call on their XI. It was due for another cut from the groundstaff, which duly came at around 3pm, although, in truth, it did not seem to change its distinct green tinge much at all – at least from 100 or so metres away.Related

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A short while later, Smith and chair of selectors George Bailey wandered out to the middle for a look and a prod. There were chats with the curator. How much grass was left, how firm was it? Around 15 minutes later another inspection followed, this time including Cummins and head coach Andrew McDonald.There was a hug exchanged between Cummins and McDonald, but that could have meant absolutely nothing, and they will have been well aware that plenty of eyes were watching. Remember when Mitchell Marsh marked out his run at Edgbaston before the opening Test of the 2023 Ashes?Shortly after 5pm, in which time the Gabba had been evacuated due to a smoke alarm, it was confirmed Australia would name their XI at the toss. Yes, that has taken quite a lot of words to say something completely unremarkable. But there’s been 11 days without cricket.

“We’ll look at the surface, as I said, and we’ll sum things up from there. I think here’s a place where Nathan’s done really well in the past. He’s a quality bowler, but we’ll weigh up the options”Steven Smith on Nathan Lyon

On a slightly more serious note, the intrigue around Cummins has been fuelled by how impressive he has looked during his ramp up in bowling over the last two weeks. On Monday in Brisbane, he bowled twice either side of a having a bat. On Tuesday, he went out to Allan Border Field, along with Mitchell Starc, where bowlers are able to get full run-ups unlike in the Gabba nets, although it could not be ascertained what he did there.”He looked in red-hot form the other night, as good as you’ll see [from] a fast bowler charging in in the nets,” Scott Boland said.But, perhaps significantly, Smith made reference to how nets and the middle are different beasts. “He looks pretty good to me,” he said. “The way he’s bowled in the nets, obviously the game’s a different intensity for sure, but he’s tracking really nicely. He knows his body well, and we’ll wait and see.”The other interest in all this comes from who Cummins would replace. It’s understood that a week ago the only realistic way for him to feature in Brisbane would be as part of an all-pace attack so that workloads could be managed, which would mean Nathan Lyon being left out.2:10

England hedging their bets on Will Jacks is ‘worrying’

Lyon didn’t play Australia’s previous pink-ball Test in Jamaica, bowled only two overs in Perth and sent down just one in last season’s day-night Test in Adelaide. But he had an important role to play at the Gabba in the ground’s previous day-night Test against West Indies, and concerns linger about how the harder surface here could make the ball so soft. Overall with the pink ball, Lyon has 43 wickets at 25.62.”We’ll look at the surface, as I said, and we’ll sum things up from there,” Smith said. “I think here’s a place where Nathan’s done really well in the past. He’s a quality bowler, but we’ll weigh up the options.”The other way back for Cummins would be in place of Brendan Doggett, although there may be a risk of having him as one of three frontline quicks without another two weeks of work under his belt, albeit Cameron Green was barely needed in Perth.England captain Ben Stokes acknowledged he didn’t know who he would be walking out with tomorrow afternoon. “Pat’s awesome,” he added. “Has been for a very, very long time. He’s done great things, not only as a player, but he’s been great since he’s been given the responsibility of being captain for Australia.”0:46

McGlashan: An unfortunate end if Khawaja’s Test career is over

The home side has another decision to make, but the replacement for Usman Khawaja feels more certain with Josh Inglis, who made a century on Test debut in Sri Lanka earlier this year, strongly favoured to come into the middle order with Travis Head continuing the opening role he took on with such dramatic effect in the second innings in Perth.It would mean Beau Webster being unfortunate for the second Test in a row, but Inglis’ strength against the short ball, something Australia expect to continue to receive plenty of, is highly rated by the selectors. He was very impressive against Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood (the latter now injured) when he crunched 120 off 86 balls at the Champions Trophy earlier this year.”He’s obviously a pretty attacking batsman,” Smith said. “He did really well on his debut in Sri Lanka. He’s been in really good form… he plays fast bowling really nicely. He’s been a really good player for a long period of time. He’s come up through the system and I think he just continues to get better and better. Every opportunity he’s got at any level, whether it be T20, ODI or Test cricket, he’s put his best foot forward and done a good job for the team.”But tomorrow afternoon, all the interest will be around one man. Is it all a smokescreen? You know, those dastardly Ashes mind games. Or is it a genuine selection discussion? Either way, one of Smith or Cummins will be in their blazers to toss the coin and then this Ashes series can finally resume.

The Maharaja T20 has been moved to Mysuru, after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) failed to obtain clearance from the Bengaluru police to stage their franchise-based T20 competition at the M Chinnaswamy stadium from August 11 to 27.All the franchise owners were notified of the change earlier this week, leaving them with just a few days to finalise logistics. Most teams, barring Mysuru Warriors, have been training at different venues across Bengaluru over the past week.The failure to obtain permission to host games at the Chinnaswamy could potentially be a big blow to the KSCA, given the stadium is slated to host five matches of the Women’s World Cup – including the tournament opener and one semi-final – starting September 30. However, ESPNcricinfo understands the ICC isn’t overly worried just yet about the possibility of moving the games out of Bengaluru.The KSCA has been in the eye of a storm ever since 11 people died and over 50 others were injured around the premises of the Chinnaswamy stadium, during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations on June 4. The stampede also forced two KSCA office bearers to resign, citing moral responsibility.A stampede ensued at Chinnaswamy stadium during RCB’s victory celebrations•AFP/Getty Images

Late last month, a committee tasked by the state government to investigate the stampede deemed the Chinnaswamy “unsafe” for large-scale events. The commission “strongly recommended” that large-scale events be relocated to venues that are “better suited” to handle significant crowds.Initially, the Maharaja T20s were supposed to be held behind closed doors in Bengaluru. But once the committee’s ruling came in, getting permission to play at the Chinnaswamy – with or without a crowd – became untenable. The KSCA’s focus now is on making sure things go smoothly in in Mysuru. They have been putting up makeshift stands, preparing pitches, squares, as well as temporary broadcast facilities at the Wadeyar Stadium.The Maharaja T20 is set to feature a number of high-profile Karnataka stars, including Karun Nair and Prasidh Krishna, who will feature for Mysuru Warriors following their return from India’s Test series in England.Nair is understood to have injured his finger while batting in the second innings of the fifth Test which ended three days ago, and could sit out the first few matches. Prasidh, who picked up eight wickets in India’s series-levelling win at The Oval, has been prescribed rest. The pacer is expected to join the squad mid-tournament.Some of the other big players in the mix include Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, and Devdutt Padikkal, as well as the younger crop, led by R Smaran, Vijaykumar Vyshak, KV Aneesh and Nikin Jose.Elsewhere, the Maharani T20, KSCA’s women’s competition which began on August 4, will continue to be played in Alur, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Sisters Kathryn and Sarah Bryce scored half-centuries to guide The Blaze to a 44-run bonus point victory over Somerset on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in a rain-shortened Metro Bank One Day Cup match at Taunton Vale Sports Ground.Sarah Bryce top-scored with 68 from 54 balls, hit 12 fours and shared in an opening stand of 76 inside 10 overs with Georgie Boyce as The Blaze posted 252 for 6 in a contest reduced to 33 overs-a-side. Kathryn Bryce then made 63 not out from 60 balls with eight fours, staging a partnership of 72 with Orla Prendergast, who weighed in with a forthright 46. Charlie Dean did her best to keep Somerset in contention, returning figures of 3 for 50 from seven overs.Chasing a revised target of 214 in 26 overs, Somerset never recovered from the wreckage of 9 for 4, Cassidy McCarthy taking three wickets in a devastating eight-ball burst that all but settled the outcome during the powerplay. Amanda-Jade Wellington raised a defiant 28-ball 53 and Fran Wilson hit 33, but McCarthy finished with 3 for 12 as the home side were bowled out for 169 in 22.2 overs.Victory cemented The Blaze’s position in the top three and materially improved their prospects of making the final stages of the 50-over competition, but Somerset are now out of contention with two games remaining.Making the most of short boundaries and a quick outfield, Boyce and Sarah Bryce accrued 11 boundaries on their way to 61 without loss from a seven-over powerplay after being put in on a drying surface. When the seamers struggled to contain the flow of runs, Somerset turned to spinners Dean and Wellington in an attempt to turn the tide.England international Dean struck in her second over, persuading Boyce to drive to mid-off and depart for a run-a-ball 31 with the score 76 for 1 in the 10th over. But there was no dislodging Sarah Bryce, who went to an assured half-century from 40 balls with 10 fours, the Blaze wicketkeeper-batter growing in stature all the time.There was a sense of relief within Somerset ranks when offspinner Chloe Skelton bowled Bryce in the act of cutting in the 18th, her dismissal providing the home side with much-needed respite. Thereafter, Prendergast and Kathryn Bryce proved adept at finding the gaps, the pair combining clever placement and forceful running in staging a third-wicket stand of 73 in eight overs.Ireland international Prendergast seized on anything wide or short of a length, pulling Alex Griffiths for the first six of the innings and then driving Skelton for four as returning rain rendered control difficult for the bowlers. She had raised 46 off 31 balls and helped herself to five fours and a six when she skied a catch to backward point off the bowling of Wellington as The Blaze slipped to 195 for 3.Somerset continued to fight back, Dean bowling the dangerous Georgia Elwiss and then pinning Ella Claridge lbw to further reduce their opponents to 212 for 5 in the 29th. But Kathryn Bryce continued to carry the fight to Somerset, raising her 50 via 52 balls with her sixth four and putting on 34 for the sixth wicket with Michaela Kirk, who contributed a useful 17 from nine deliveries.A further downpour caused seven overs to be lost and, when Somerset resumed their innings, they were required to score a further 209 at 8.36 an over. Their task quickly became even more difficult, Bex Odgers pulling McCarthy’s first ball to square leg and fellow opener Niamh Holland nicking a catch behind off the bowling of Grace Ballinger.Generating pace and swing aplenty, McCarthy bowled Sophie Luff and Dani Gibson with successive deliveries, at which point she had taken three wickets in eight balls and the home side were deep in trouble on 9 for 4. Kirstie Gordon then had Dean held by Kirk on the midwicket boundary as Somerset slumped to 22 for 5.Wilson and Wellington did their utmost to make a game of it thereafter, staging a face-saving alliance of 69 in 6.5 overs in the late-afternoon sunshine. Not afraid to play expansive strokes, these two raised a quickfire 50 from 33 balls in a blaze of boundaries, Wellington plundering five consecutive fours off the bowling of Prendergast to put the visitors on the back foot for the first time.Elwiss accounted for Wilson, caught at short fine leg, but the defiant Wellington went on to post a rapid 50 from just 26 balls with 10 fours. She was run out by Kathryn Bryce soon afterwards, her dismissal signaling the end of meaningful West Country resistance.

The RCB left-arm spinner keeps the percentages in his favour even on some of the high-scoring venues, a glimpse of which was seen on the opening night of IPL 2025

Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Mar-20251:48

Why were RCB spinners successful?

You always know what you’re going to get with Krunal Pandya. He’s played nine full seasons of the IPL, and his economy rate each time has been there or thereabouts, ranging from a best of 6.82 in 2017 to a worst of 7.98 in 2021.Ravindra Jadeja has finished three full IPL seasons with eight-plus economy rates (not counting his debut season when he only bowled 2.1 overs). Axar Patel has done this three times too. Krunal, never.This isn’t to say that Krunal is better or more consistent than those two. But it says something about him that he has comparable overall numbers in the IPL to two of international cricket’s most respected left-arm spinners, and that he’s done a difficult and sometimes underappreciated job year after year.Related

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Even so, you wondered what exactly Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), his newest employers, were thinking when they gave Krunal the ball at the start of the fifth over on Saturday night, with Sunil Narine on strike. Narine was enduring one of his rare slow starts in the powerplay, and if you’d asked him which opposition bowler he’d want to face at that moment, he’d quite likely have pointed to Krunal and said, “I’ll have some left-arm spin, please.”The first ball of this match-up, slogged with the turn over the wide long-on boundary, may have made you question RCB’s wisdom again. And then, when Ajinkya Rahane swept and chipped Krunal for back-to-back fours to end that over, you may have asked the same question again, with a wider ambit this time, taking in not just this moment in this match, but RCB’s season in its about-to-enfold entirety.On the eve of this IPL 2025 season-opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), RCB head coach Andy Flower had been asked whether he felt his squad was lacking in the spin department. It was somewhat telling that Flower began his answer with these words: “It’s a really good and apt question to ask.”Flower then backed Krunal – they had worked together at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) – emphatically to lead RCB’s spin attack through the season.Krunal Pandya struck in each of his second, third and fourth overs•Associated Press”Krunal was a significant part of our targeted players in the auction. He’s a smart and courageous cricketer and he’s got leadership experience as well. So having his nous, he’s a streetwise operator and he’s obviously got class as a left-arm spinner, let alone as an allrounder. That is comforting to have in our group and leading the way in the spin department.”By the time Krunal returned to the attack, RCB needed him to show all the qualities Flower had spoken of. Narine had just departed, but another left-hand batter, Venkatesh Iyer, had replaced him, and KKR were 107 for 2 in ten overs.Now, bear in mind that there’s always a certain messiness to the mechanisms of cause and effect in T20s. There are many, many factors behind why a bowler concedes 15 in a wicketless first over and comes back to pick up 3 for 14 in his next three, and one of those factors is, well, randomness. Things just happen sometimes, you know?You could certainly say that about the ball that began the transformation in Krunal’s fortunes: Rahane c Rasikh Salam b Krunal 56. A ball that wasn’t quite there to be pulled, but one the batter had to try and pull anyway, because this is T20 and you can’t keep waiting for bad balls, and it’s always a bigger risk outside the powerplay with all those fielders on the boundary.But if it was a random dismissal, it was also a very Krunal kind of random dismissal. The ball was fired in from left-arm around to finish at an awkward spot for the batter, at around bail height or just above on leg stump, tucking him up for room. At 98.4kph, it was very much at the quicker end of the IPL spinners’ pace spectrum, so the batter didn’t just have a paucity of room to deal with but a paucity of time as well. Add all that up, and you get a ball that’s hard to get more than a single off – almost always a win for the bowler in this format – and hard to hit for four or six without taking a significant risk.The on-song Ajinkya Rahane was one of the three wickets Krunal Pandya picked up•Associated PressThis is the crux of Krunal’s art. It often involves doing predictable things, which could be – depending on the type of batter he’s bowling to, the conditions, and the field setting – keeping the stumps in play, or bowling outside a batter’s hitting arc, or finding a way to get the batter off strike. But because he knows that the batter knows what’s coming, Krunal has also developed a genius for throwing in the unexpected. He routinely delivers the ball from well behind the crease, for example, and in this match, he delivered a nasty surprise bouncer to the bareheaded Iyer. It was called wide – it qualified both on line and height – but Krunal had made his point, and Iyer immediately called for a helmet.Next ball, Krunal was back to bowling what you might call his stock ball. It was quick – this one clocked 101.9kph – delivered from around the wicket, and angled towards the top of the right-hand batter’s leg stump or the left-hand batter’s off stump, with the chance of a little bit of turn to make things unpredictable. Given that pace, line and length, it’s a hard ball to step out to, a risky ball to sweep, and an unnatural ball to play attacking shots against with either a vertical or horizontal bat.Iyer went right back in his crease, and tried to manufacture a whip through the leg side, with his bat somewhere between vertical and horizontal. All he managed was an inside edge into the stumps.”You have to go with the flow, how cricket is evolving, right?” Player-of-the-Match Krunal said at the post-match presentation, when asked about the pace he was bowling at. “The skillset [that] batters have these days, the ability to hit sixes or hit good shots consistently – so you also have to make sure [of] how can you up your game, you know? So that was one of the reasons, where I wanted to bowl quick, I wanted to give [batters] less time.Krunal Pandya finished with figures of 3 for 29 on his RCB debut•MB Media/Getty Images”And once again, my change of pace […] bowling slow also comes in handy when I use that quick ball.”Krunal’s last ball of the day was another of these quick balls – 103kph – and Rinku Singh, going for a pull that couldn’t really be a pull, because of the diagonal angle of his bat, missed entirely, the ball straightening ever so slightly past the inside edge to hit the top of off stump. The transformation from 1-0-15-0 to 4-0-29-3 was complete.”Sometimes when you play in [front of] so much of crowd, you have to narrow down your focus, right?” Krunal said, when asked about the comeback. “So again, when I came in [for my] second over, I made a very conscious effort to just narrow down my focus where I wanted to bowl, and if I [had] to get hit, I’ll get hit on a good ball. So that was the thought process, and glad that I was able to deliver.”Apart from everything else that goes into his bowling, what sets Krunal apart is his ability to keep the percentages in his favour. It’s essential if you have to bowl spin in the IPL and come away without suffering serious punishment. And he’s managed to do this time and again on the toughest proving grounds. He has an economy rate of 6.98 at the Wankhede Stadium – his primary home ground from 2016 to 2021 – and if that ground is notoriously unforgiving for spinners, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, his new home ground, can be even more unforgiving, and he’s gone at 6.58 there, over seven games.Krunal has always been a survivor, and it was this skill, more than any other, that RCB hoped to tap into when they signed him up. No matter what comes next, they have got the start they wanted from this relationship.