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Given Sri Lanka’s growing injury concerns, the national selectors will pick a squad ahead of each Test for their upcoming three-match series against Australia, which begins on July 26

Sa'adi Thawfeeq17-Jul-2016Given Sri Lanka’s growing injury concerns, the national selectors will pick a squad ahead of each Test for their upcoming three-match series against Australia, which begins on July 26.Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya and co-selectors Romesh Kaluwitharana, Eric Upashantha and Ranjith Madurusinghe face a dearth of fast-bowling options after injuries to several first XI players. Dhammika Prasad’s shoulder injury is likely to keep him out of the Test series, while Dushmantha Chameera and Suranga Lakmal, who will undergo a fitness test on Monday for a hamstring strain, will be assessed later. Shaming Eranga’s suspect action leaves Nuwan Pradeep as the only seamer available for selection from the recent tour of England.”It is very difficult times as a selector to pick a balanced squad with so many injuries,” Jayasuriya, who is in his second stint as chief selector, said. “It’s a bit tough but we will try and pick the best possible team. I hope the players picked also know what is expected of them and that they will do their best.”Whoever is fit and whoever is doing well in the Sri Lanka A team, we’ll have to give them the opportunity. It is the feeding place for the senior side. If we feel there is somebody who is very good in the Sri Lanka A, emerging or Under-19 squads, we will not hesitate to pick them.”I am really happy the way some of the Sri Lanka A players have been performing in England. Fast bowlers Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando, batsmen Dhananjaya de Silva and Roshen Silva are quite a few players.”When we play in Sri Lanka we have a better chance of performing than when you are overseas. I am confident they can do well. But it’s a lot of hard work to come out and show their character.”Jayasuriya said despite the bowling concerns, Sri Lanka’s young batting core is headed in the right direction.”Our main concern is the bowling but this is also a good time for a youngster to put his hand up and perform and show his character,” he said. “The batting line-up is a fairly good one and stable. If you see the way they progressed in the Tests the batting was really good. It’s the one key department we can think that we are on the right direction.”With players like Kusal Mendis, Kaushal Silva, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews, the batting line-up did really well. Some of the innings of 20s and 30s, I would like to see them go and get a big 100 or 200.”The unfortunate thing about the Test series in England was that we had a very good bowling line-up but we started getting injuries from the first Test onwards and before long our main three fast bowlers – Prasad, Chameera and Eranga – were out of the scene. We were basically left with only another two fast bowlers Pradeep and Lakmal to run through the rest of the games. If not for those injures we would have done really well. But injuries are part and parcel of cricket and you have to face them.”Jayasuriya also felt the increased workload of international cricket was responsible for Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling injury crisis.”At the moment, they are playing a lot of cricket – Tests, ODIs and T20Is. In our days, our cricketing life span would have been about 15 years but now it has come down to about eight years.”In the present context if you play for 10 years you will have played more than 150 Tests and almost 300-400 ODIs on top of T20Is. A human body cannot take such a workload. The main thing is how the player manages and rehabs himself. It is easy to come and say ‘I am injured’. To play with the pain is the key. No fast bowler can play without any pain. They have to play with niggles here and there. We are currently working on the players with one of the best trainers, Michael Mann, who has been trying to get them into shape.”Jayasuriya said Chandimal will continue to be Sri Lanka’s designated wicketkeeper during the Test series with Kusal Perera as a middle-order batsman.”At the moment Chandimal is the better keeper, Kusal is a bit out of touch. Chandimal normally bats at No. 4 but because of the conditions in England, we pushed him to No. 6 and it was successful. We will discuss with him what position he is comfortable batting, he is flexible.”Although many Australian players have not played a Test in Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya warned against complacency.”They (Australia) have come early and started practice to get to know our conditions and they have hired (Muttiah) Muralitharan to get information about Sri Lankan conditions and pitches. They are very smartly doing their homework. At the end of the day they are also professionals, their coach has played here. We can’t take things lightly.”

Unmukt Chand will lead India A in the upcoming tri-series against Australia A and South Africa A while Ambati Rayudu has been named as captain for the unofficial Test series against South Africa A

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2015Unmukt Chand, the former Under-19 captain, will lead India A in the upcoming tri-series against Australia A and South Africa A, while Ambati Rayudu has been named as captain for the two-match unofficial Test series that follows against South Africa A.Legspinner Karn Sharma, who missed the recent Zimbabwe tour due to a fractured finger, was picked in both squads and Karnataka batsman Karun Nair was chosen as the vice-captain for both the tri-series as well as the unofficial Tests against South Africa.Himachal Pradesh batsman Ankush Bains, 19, was selected on the back of a strong domestic performance – 568 runs in 11 first-class matches at an average of 47.33, with a highest score of 156. Saurashtra batsman Sheldon Jackson was picked after a stellar 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season, during which he made 819 runs in eight matches.Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra and KL Rahul, who were part of the India A squad for the unofficial Tests against Australia, were not available because of the Test series in Sri Lanka beginning on August 12.Robin Uthappa and Manoj Tiwary, who played in all the ODIs against Zimbabwe, were not picked for the tri-series.All the matches of the tri-series will be played in Chennai between August 5 and August 14. The two-match series against South Africa A begins three days later on August 18 in Wayanad, Kerala.India A squad for tri-series: Unmukt Chand (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Kedar Jadhav, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Parvez Rasool, Karn Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sandeep Sharma, Rush Kalaria, Mandeep Singh, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Rishi Dhawan.India A squad for unofficial Tests: Ambati Rayudu (capt), Karun Nair, Abhinav Mukund, Ankush Bains, Shreyas Iyer, Baba Aparajith, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Axar Patel, Karn Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Shardul Thakur, Ishwar Pandey, Sheldon Jackson, Jiwanjot Singh.

A knee injury has ruled West Indies fast bowler Ravi Rampaul out of the Caribbean Twenty20 starting this weekend

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2013A knee injury has ruled West Indies fast bowler Ravi Rampaul out of the Caribbean Twenty20 starting this weekend. Rampaul is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks, and his place in the Trinidad & Tobago squad has been taken by quick bowler Rayad Emrit.”After a medical assessment and an MRI scan, it was decided that he would not be fully fit for the tournament,” T&T manager Omar Khan said, “and the recommendation is to rest him rather than taking a risk and playing him and he breaks down during the tournament which could put him out for a longer period of time.”T&T are defending champions of the Caribbean T20, and have a squad full of renowned players, including Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine. Still, Khan said the absence of Rampaul will be a big loss. “It is a disappointment because Ravi is a West Indies bowler and he is one of our main bowlers in terms of opening the bowling and bowling at the death. We obviously have to make some adjustments and the technical staff will be looking at different strategies having lost Ravi as an option.”T&T open their campaign on Sunday against Jamaica, another of the frontrunners for the tournament.

Bangladesh had an opportunity to end a losing streak against Pakistan that has lasted 12 years, but the visiting spinners were good enough to put the target of 178 far out of their reach

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran06-Dec-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez overpowered Bangladesh with 3 for 27•AFP

Smart stats

• Pakistan’s win is their 28th in 29 matches against Bangladesh. Their only loss came in the 1999 World Cup game in Northampton.

• This is the 17th time that Pakistan have won all the matches in a bilateral series of three or more matches. This is the fourth such series win against Bangladesh.

• Saeed Ajmal’s economy rate of 0.85 is the third-lowest on the list of lowest economy rates for Pakistani bowlers in an innings where they have bowled a minimum of five overs. Wasim Akram is on top with an economy rate of 0.54 against India in Sharjah.

• The 439 balls bowled by spinners in the game is second on the list of matches where spinners have bowled the most deliveries. The Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe game at the SSC in 1998 is on top with 456 balls bowled by spinners.

• Mohammad Hafeez became only the third player to achieve the double of 1000 runs and 30 wickets in a calendar year. While Sanath Jayasuriya was the first to do so in 1997, Jacques Kallis achieved the feat twice in 2000 and 2002.

• Bangladesh lost their last eight wickets for 50 runs. The aggregate of 50 runs for the last eight wickets is the third-lowest for Bangladesh in ODIs.

• Mushfiqur Rahim became the second Bangladesh wicketkeeper after Khaled Mashud and the 24th overall to aggregate 100 dismissals in ODIs.

• The target of 178 is the lowest ever successfully-defended by Pakistan against Bangladesh. The previous lowest was 203 in Chittagong in 2002.

Bangladesh had an opportunity to end a losing streak against Pakistan that has lasted 12 years, but the visiting spinners were good enough to put the target of 178 far out of their reach. The track was tailored to suit Bangladesh’s strength – spin – but it backfired since they didn’t have the batsmen capable of sticking it out long enough to entertain thoughts of earning a consolation win.Pakistan took the series 3-0, but not without some sweat. Their batsmen too were found wanting against spin, losing nine wickets to the slower men and failing to bat out 50 overs. In the context of the struggles faced by the batsmen from both sides, the stand of 94 between Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal proved the difference. Bangladesh had a similar foundation going between Shahriar Nafees and Mahmudullah, but a floodlight failure disturbed the concentration of the well-set pair and brought about a power-shift towards Pakistan’s spinners. Bangladesh crumbled quickly from then, losing their last nine wickets for 50 runs.Having lost Tamim Iqbal first ball, the pressure was on Bangladesh, with a slip and short leg and the new balls turning and bouncing. The pair of Nafees and Mahmudullah were watchful but importantly, ensured they didn’t go scoreless for lengthy periods – a factor in Bangladesh’s previous defeats this series. Mahmudullah slogged Mohammad Hafeez in the third over to get the first boundary bogey off the team’s back.The pair gave Bangladesh the edge with a stand of 69, essayed with sweeps off Abdur Rehman and cuts off Shahid Afridi, who in his urgency to break an unusual wicketless-streak – which has lasted two matches – fired the ball too flat.The interruption after the 15th over, caused a downturn in Bangladesh’s fortunes. Saeed Ajmal trapped Nafees lbw playing down the wrong line, before Rehman caught Mushfiqur Rahim in front while trying to sweep. Bangladesh lost their third wicket in as many overs when Hafeez got one to turn sharply and trap Mahmudullah on the backfoot. Both Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir Hossain were out cheaply , spooning catches as the chase fell off the rails.The lower order had no respite. The parsimonious Saeed Ajmal, bowling round the wicket, was scoreless off the bat for 28 successive deliveries. He was lucky, though, to get Farhad Reza lbw, off a thick inside edge. Bangladesh had a semblance of a recovery with a stand of 34 between Reza and Alok Kapali, but the howler cut short their hopes.The pitch wasn’t exactly a minefield, as Misbah and Umar showed. The ball gripped, turned, bounced and forced the visitors to concentrate more than they’ve had to so far in the series. They had their anxious moments with the ball keeping low, some sliding past the outside edge and the stumps. It wasn’t easy for the wicketkeeper Mushfiqur, who by the 15th over had already conceded 12 byes, a Bangladesh record.Coming in at 39 for 3, Misbah and Umar steadied the innings with a watchful approach against spin. Misbah opened up against Elias Sunny, hammering boundaries to midwicket and down the ground. He also tried disturbing the bowler’s rhythm by moving across his stumps to paddle, at times bringing out the reverse sweep. Umar used his feet well, though it was one of his more patient knocks as he regularly came forward to smother the spin and defend. Umar fetched two sixes off Nasir, using his feet for both.The tide turned when Misbah departed, making room and spooning a catch to short extra cover off Razzak. The wickets started to tumble, leaving Umar with greater responsibility than he would have expected. However, he too trooped off to the pavilion, beaten for turn and bounce by Sunny. Mahmudullah triggered an early end to the innings, assisted by Mushfiqur, who by then was seeing the ball like a football in fading light.Bangladesh walked off after wrapping up Pakistan a more confident unit. Unfortunately, they couldn’t counter the most penetrative spin attack in the world.

Mitchell Johnson is currently so obsessed by the Ashes that when he is bowling at Australians in the nets he is seeing English batsmen

Peter English in Brisbane23-Nov-2010Mitchell Johnson is currently so obsessed by the Ashes that when he is bowling at Australians in the nets he is seeing English batsmen. “So when Shane Watson came in I was thinking of a Kevin Pietersen-type,” he said. “But I didn’t bounce him!”Johnson is desperate to move on from his awful Ashes campaign in 2009 and is altering his vision to turn his dreams into reality at the Gabba from Thursday. He had a strong work-out in Brisbane on Tuesday using an unconventional approach.”I was trying to bowl the length I want to bowl, particularly to their top order,” he said. “Every batter who came in I was thinking of English batters.”I’m thinking about [the series] all the time. I’ve come off a pretty good couple of weeks and I’m raring to get out there and bowl fast.”In this series he will not worry if he doesn’t swing the ball and will instead focus on speed. He has already said he will target Andrew Strauss with short deliveries, but he has almost given up on being the all-round bowler who dominated South Africa two summers ago. On that tour he moved the ball into the right handers, angled it away and roughed up Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Co with his bouncers as well.”I went through a stage where I thought I could try to work on swinging the ball,” he said. “I can do it on a short run in the nets. It’s different to come in off the long run. I’m happy with where I am with my bowling – running in, bowling fast.”In the Ashes contest four years ago Johnson was 12th man for the entire series, but having experienced the build-up and the pressure of the 2009 campaign he is feeling more settled this time. “It’s about harnessing that energy until Thursday,” he said. “I came out of South Africa [in 2009] bowling really well and I thought it was just going to happen throughout the last Ashes. This time I’ve really worked hard.”Like most of the Australians, he has played down the side’s recent losing streak of seven games in a row in all forms, and he thought there were good signs in the 2-0 defeat in India. He also believes that while the home team has been under scrutiny, it is England who will face more heat.”We talk about the pressure on us, but there’s a lot of pressure on them,” Johnson said. “Last time they were beaten 5-0, now they’re holding the urn, so there’s a lot of pressure of them to perform and eyes on them.”

Eric Simons, the former South Africa coach, has been appointed India’s bowling consultant for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh

Cricinfo staff09-Jan-2010The South African presence in the Indian coaching bench has gained further weight after the BCCI today appointed Eric Simons, the former South Africa coach, as bowling consultant for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh, and the Test and ODI series at home against South Africa that follow.It has been learned that Simons spoke to Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, last week and that was the first occasion he learned of the management’s interest in him. Simon’s appointment comes after former South African fast bowler Allan Donald’s name cropped up last Tuesday, as one of the contenders for the vacant bowling coach position.MS Dhoni, India’s captain, recently admitted that the absence of a specialist bowling coach is hurting the team’s performance. It was no understatement, because the inconsistency in the fast bowling department has remained a concern right from the World Twenty20. In England, Zaheer Khan had aggravated the shoulder injury he picked during the IPL in South Africa. His inability to go full throttle exposed the younger lot like Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar, and though Ashish Nehra was around he was just finding his own feet, having made a return after a long time. Things did not improve during the Champions Trophy, and India’s problems were exacerbated during the home ODI series against Australia, which they lost 4-2.During the recently concluded Sri Lanka series the Indian fast bowlers were lukewarm even if they improved on their death bowling, and in the current tri-series in Bangladesh they have been disappointing. They failed to defend a total of 279 against Sri Lanka and allowed Bangladesh to post 296.The 47-year-old Simons, who played 23 one-day internationals for South Africa and toured New Zealand in 1995, has a rich pedigree in the coaching profession and was South Africa’s head coach from 2002-2004, a period when Kirsten played under him. Simons spread his first-class career, mostly with Western Province, over 17 seasons as a right-arm medium pacer and a handy lower middle order batsman.He has never had any experience as a bowling coach except for the brief stint in the second IPL in South Africa last year, where he worked as a consultant with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Simons has worked in various capacities at the prestigious High Performance Centre in Pretoria along with the likes of Kepler Wessels.

Veteran allrounder brings valuable experience to Trent Bridge following the loss of Alex Hales

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2025Australian allrounder Moises Henriques has joined Notts Outlaws for the 2025 Vitality Blast.Henriques, who has made 10 appearances in the competition for Surrey across two stints, the most recent coming in 2017, has been capped 44 times for his country, with the majority (24) coming in T20Is.The 38-year old brings a wealth of experience, with 282 matches in the T20 format. As Sydney Sixers captain, he has led his side to two Big Bash League titles, and is the leading appearance maker in Australia’s domestic competition, as well as being the fourth highest runscorer in its history.A stalwart of the global franchise scene, Henriques has featured in nine editions of the Indian Premier League, and played a prominent role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s triumph in 2016. He has also won the now-defunct T20 Champions League twice with New South Wales.”I can’t wait to get over to Nottingham this season to play in the Blast,” Henriques said. “Trent Bridge is an iconic cricket ground and I’m looking forward to playing in front of their amazing crowds.”On a personal note, I’ve made some great friends over the years with both past players and staff from Notts and their values as people I’m sure represent their time there, which I can’t wait to experience.”Notts have had a lot of success over the last decade and I’ll be looking to add to that. The current squad looks extremely talented and young and hopefully with my experiences of T20 cricket around the world I can add a bit of value to the group both on and off the field.”Henriques will fill Outlaws’ second overseas spot, joining fellow Australian Daniel Sams, and is a welcome boost following the news that veteran opener Alex Hales will skip the English season to take up franchise opportunities overseas during the summer.Nottinghamshire finished bottom of the North Group in 2024, and have not made the latter stages of the T20 Blast since winning it for the second time in 2020.”Moises’s experience and quality as a player will add a huge amount to our squad, while he’ll be another leader in the group,” said head coach Peter Moores. “His reputation as a captain precedes him. He’ll provide great support for Joe (Clarke) as he continues to grow into that role.”His ability to negotiate a run chase or set a score with the bat has been well proven over the years, providing experience and stability in a new look batting line up. Crucially he’s used to playing in a winning set up, which is exactly the mentality we’re looking to build as we move forward as a team.”

The former Australia allrounder was one who made a success of moving up the order

Alex Malcolm03-Jan-20241:14

Cummins hails Warner as ‘Australia’s greatest three-format player’

Former Australia allrounder Shane Watson believes Cameron Green has all the tools to be successful as a Test opener and says previous experience at the top of the order isn’t required as Australia’s selectors continue to mull over their options to replace the retiring David Warner for the West Indies series starting in mid-January.Coach and selector Andrew McDonald first raised the prospect of Green coming in as Warner’s replacement in an interview on SEN back in November, although at that time he suggested that the order could be reshuffled with Marnus Labuschagne being pushed up to open and Green slotting into the middle-order. He specifically cited Watson and Simon Katich among others as successful Australian Test openers that started their careers down the order.Related

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But Usman Khawaja, who has become one of the most successful Test openers in history after starting his career in various middle-order positions, suggested Labuschagne should remain and No. 3 while Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have both stated they would prefer to stay where they are, which has raised the prospect of Green opening the batting.”There’s no question in my mind he can [open],” Watson told ESPNcricinfo. “Australia needs to get Cameron Green into the team and the opportunity that you’ve got right now is for him to open. They’ll just have to manage his bowling, for sure, like with my bowling when I was opening the batting. But he absolutely has got the skill, the run-scoring ability and the understanding to be able to make the most of being an opening batter for sure. It might take him a game or two just to be able to work out exactly what his game plan is. But he’s definitely got the game and the mentality to make the most of it.”McDonald and captain Pat Cummins both confirmed last week that all options are on the table for Adelaide, including picking one of the best three Sheffield Shield openers in Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw. But both said they are not against picking someone without first-class opening experience for the role if he is in the best six batters.Shane Watson and Simon Katich both moved to the top of the order•Getty Images

Picking Green to open would be a left-field option given he has never batted higher than No. 6 in his 36 Test innings and has never opened in first-class cricket, although he has opened in T20Is for Australia. But it also might be the least disruptive option for the selectors to get him into the Test team given the settled nature of the middle order.Watson went through the same experience in the 2009 Ashes where his only avenue back into the Test team was to open. He did it with great success, playing the best cricket of his Test career over the next two years, averaging 43.67 in that period and passing 50 in 17 of 45 innings, with two Test hundreds.He did not believe prior experience opening the batting in first-class cricket was a pre-requisite for the job as he had hardly opened before doing it at Test level, although he had been very successful opening the batting in ODI cricket. Watson cited his former opening partner Katich and Khawaja as examples of how middle-order players can adapt to the role. They are two of only five Australian openers in Test history to have averaged more than 50 with more than 2000 runs.”If you’re scoring runs even slightly lower down the order, you’re facing new balls at times whether you come in early or facing a second new ball, so you’re very well equipped to be able to deal with a brand new ball opening the batting,” Watson said. “We have seen it a number of times. Uzzy and Simon Katich are great examples.”It just comes down to what the game plan is and then having the right mindset to be able to capitalise on the technical skills that you do have. I certainly didn’t serve an apprenticeship in Shield cricket opening the batting but it suited me down to the ground when I got the opportunity to do it Test cricket, just with my technique but also with my mindset that was created because of it.”Watson wrote in detail about the mental battles he had during his professional career in his book, , where he said that opening had put him in the best mindset of his international career.”I started to bat in a way that I only ever dreamed of and this was all because I had no fear from ball one,” he wrote. “I let go of all of that care and pressure that I had been putting on myself and just took the bowlers on from ball one in every format that I was batting in.”The way back in: could Cameron Green be the surprise choice as next opener?•Associated Press

Green himself has suffered with nerves and has struggled with waiting for long periods batting down the order, having been a top-order player as a junior and having had most of his Shield success batting at No. 4. Watson felt his move to the top of the order completely changed his mentality.”For me, it just gave me no time to think,” he added. “As soon as the last wicket went down then it was, get my pads on and get out there. Whereas when I was batting at No. 6, there was so much time to overthink things. Opening, I felt like I had nothing to lose. It really freed up my whole game just to be able to stand there and react with intent.”Several middle-order batters have been successful in moving to the top of the order in Test cricket, but Watson is one of the very few pace-bowling allrounders in the history of the game to have opened the batting regularly in Test cricket with success. In the 25 Tests where he opened, Watson averaged 41.05 with the bat and 27.90 with the ball.Watson said Green’s bowling loads would need to be managed carefully by Cummins as Ricky Ponting had done with him. “It did reduce the number of overs that I bowled during a Test match at times,” he said. “But I would still bowl around 10 overs per day. But he would do everything he could for me not to bowl when we were trying to get the last couple of batters out, just to give me the chance to not be overly fatigued going into opening the batting.”

Duleep Trophy returns after a three-year hiatus, to run from September 8, as the domestic season opener

Shashank Kishore08-Aug-2022In a move aimed at improving the quality of its first-class competition, the BCCI has decided to split the Ranji Trophy into two categories: Elite and Plate. The tournament is set to run from December 13, 2022, to February 20, 2023, following the conclusion of the white-ball events.Unlike earlier, where all 38 teams would compete for the same trophy, the 2022-23 domestic season will consist of two Ranji Trophy winners.This is to minimise the prospect of mismatches at the knockouts, like we saw earlier this year when Jharkhand amassed a lead of 1008 – the highest-ever in first-class history – over Plate toppers Nagaland in the pre-quarterfinals.Related

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As per the new format, 32 Elite teams will be divided into four groups of eight, with the top two from each group qualifying for the quarterfinals. This gives each team at least seven matches in the league phase.In the Plate competition, six teams will play each other once, with the top four making it through to the knockouts. The bottom two teams will feature in a playoff for the fifth and sixth positions.Unlike currently, the topper of the Plate group will not cross over to play an Elite team in a pre-quarterfinal, given they will be competing in a tournament of their own.The two Plate finalists will be promoted to the Elite group for the 2023-24 season, while the bottom two teams of all the four Elite groups combined – factoring in both points and quotient – will be relegated. The return of Duleep Trophy & Irani Cup
The Duleep Trophy has been reintroduced after a three-season gap and will revert to its original format of being a zonal competition. This time, the addition of a new zone from the North-East – along with North, South, East, West and Central – will make it a six-team knockout competition that will kick off the senior men’s domestic calendar from September 8-25.That will be followed by the Irani Cup match between 2021-22 Ranji Trophy champions Madhya Pradesh and a Rest of India squad picked by the national selectors on October 1. The Irani Cup was last played in 2018-19 when Vidarbha beat Rest of India on the basis of a first-innings lead.The white-ball leg
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 competition, will be held from October 11-November 5, running mostly alongside the T20 World Cup. While it may not help players make a case to be included in the national team, it will remain a platform for them to impress IPL talent scouts. This T20 competition will be followed by the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.Unlike in the Ranji Trophy where teams will vie for two separate trophies, the white-ball tournaments will not feature a separate Plate division, with the newer domestic teams sprinkled across five different groups based on pre-tournament seedings.The women’s calendar, which generally stretches into April, will now finish in February with the BCCI set to use their March-April window for the Women’s IPL•BCCI

What is in it for women’s cricket?
Quite a lot, which is a great sign given the interest around the sport has heightened following their silver-medal finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. For the first time since BCCI took over the running of women’s cricket in 2006, they will be staging an Under-16 tournament for girls. This is a significant step towards identifying a talent pool they can groom for the Women’s Under-19 World Cup. The inaugural edition of this tournament, which has had to be pushed back twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be played in the T20 format in January 2023 in South Africa.Equally significant is the reintroduction of the women’s zonal competition – in both T20 and 50-over format – for the seniors after five years. Then, there is also a T20 and 50-over competition for the Under-23s to ensure players who miss the bus at the Under-19s have another level to aim for.When does the women’s season begin?
With the Women’s T20 World Cup set to be staged in South Africa in February next year, the season begins with the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy from October 11-November 5. This will be followed by the Inter-zonal T20s and a Challenger Trophy, all aimed at increasing match-time for the players, which will then give selectors an opportunity to widen their choices before picking their World Cup squad.The women’s calendar, which generally stretches well into April, will now finish in February with the BCCI set to use their March-April window for the inaugural Women’s IPL, the plans for which are underway according to Sourav Ganguly. The BCCI is contemplating a five or six-team tournament, to begin with, and the matter will be discussed at the BCCI AGM in September.

Cricket operations chairman Akram Khan makes claim after Shakib hits out at criticism

Mohammad Isam21-Mar-2021The BCB may reconsider the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for Shakib Al Hasan to play in this year’s IPL, according to Akram Khan, the board’s cricket operations chairman. The news comes less than 24 hours after Shakib had accused the BCB, and particularly Khan, of misrepresenting him about his decision to skip the Tests against Sri Lanka.Khan, who spoke shortly after a meeting at the BCB president Nazmul Hassan’s residence in Dhaka, said that discussions about Shakib’s NOC will be held in the next couple of days, after Shakib had said in an interview on Friday that he never wrote in his letter to the BCB that he didn’t want to play Tests.”I heard that he said that I didn’t read his letter,” Khan said. “Perhaps I misunderstood his letter. He wants to play Tests, from what he has said. In the next couple of days we will discuss about his NOC. If he has interest, he will play Tests in Sri Lanka. We will decide about the rest after hearing the whole interview.”Khan confirmed that he read Shakib’s letter where it was mentioned that he wanted to skip the Sri Lanka series to play in the IPL. “Shakib wrote in the letter that he wants to play the IPL instead of the Test series in Sri Lanka,” he said.Shakib said on Friday that Khan has continued to mention his desire not to play the Test series even though he wrote to the board that he wants to play in the IPL – where he has an Rs 3.2 crore ($438,000 approx) contract with Kolkata Knight Riders – to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.Related

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“Those who keep saying that I don’t want to play Tests, I am sure they didn’t read my letter,” he said. “I didn’t mention anywhere in my letter to the BCB that I don’t want to play Tests. I wrote that I want to play the IPL to prepare myself for the World Cup.”Akram especially has repeatedly said that I don’t want to play Tests. I think he said it again in an interview yesterday. I guess he never read the letter. People should have a clear idea that I wanted to play the IPL even if ODIs were scheduled during this time.”I want to take advantage of playing in the same grounds and against the same players who I will face in the World Cup T20 four months later. I can share the same experience with my Bangladesh team-mates,” Shakib said.Shakib also pointed the finger at the former cricketers who are in the BCB currently, and said that the BCB’s player development process, particularly the high performance programme, hasn’t produced enough good cricketers in the last five years.Naimur Rahman, the high performance programme’s chairman and a former Bangladesh captain, said that Shakib’s comments were surprising.”In the last five years, a number of our Under-19 cricketers have come through the HP to play for the senior team,” Rahman said. “They recently beat Ireland Wolves. So this is a surprising comment. I don’t know if there’s anything behind it.”Rahman added that Shakib’s point about respecting Bangladeshi cricketers was contradictory as he himself isn’t respecting the former cricketers in the board. “He also spoke about respecting players, so did he respect the former cricketers in the board?” he said.