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Abhimanyu Mithun Announces Retirement From First Class Cricket

Abhimanyu Mithun announces retirement from First-Class cricket

Pacer Abhimanyu Mithun has announced retirement from First-Class cricket on October 8. He played 103 FC matches for Karnataka and picked up 338 wickets at an average of 26.63. He also played featured 96 List A matches and picked up 136 wickets while 74 match-long T20 games yielded 69 wickets for him.

Mithun also went on to play Test and ODI cricket matches for the Indian team in the year 2010 but his career could not go beyond four Test matches and five ODIs. In the four Tests, he picked up nine wickets while five ODIs produced just three wickets.

Looking back at his 12-year career, Mithun called the time while playing for India as his “highest achievement” which he said would cherish for the rest of his life. He also expressed confidence in the depth of the Karnataka pace bowling attack and said his decision to call it a day is a timely one as prolonging it would curtail chances for promising youngsters.

"I have represented my country at the highest level and will always be my highest achievement. The joy and the pride from it is something I'll cherish throughout my career," he said in a statement.

"Cricket is a universal game and I believe in finishing at the highest level. So I had to take this decision and seek better opportunities for myself and my family around the world. I am also clear that Karnataka has abundant fast bowling of talent and they would miss out opportunities at the right time if I prolong my career."

Both his last Test and ODIcame against West Indies in the year 2011 while his last appearance for Karnataka came against Bengal earlier last year.

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Brisbane Heat signs Poonam Yadav, eighth Indian to play in WBBL

Leading Indian leg spinner Poonam Yadav became the eighth Indian to register a place in WBBL as she was signed by Brisbane Heat on Friday. She will join Brisbane Heat after the ongoing India-Australia tour will get over. The 30-year-old will fill the spot left by New Zealand player Amelia Kerr. “It’s very exciting to welcome a player of her class and experience into our group. We know there is a lot of upside to Poonam coming on board this summer,’’ Heat coach Ashley Noffke was quoted as saying on the team’s official website. “When we lost Amelia Kerr, we were confident we could back our group to give a good account of themselves regardless. But adding Poonam’s skill and her competitiveness is a huge result.” Coach Noffke said that Poonam’s presence will also help the youngsters in the team as she has shown her calmness and composure on the biggest stage in the world at MCG. “We’re really keen for her to share those insights with our players during the tournament and will urge the group to learn as much as they can. We’re looking forward to introducing her to everyone once the International series is completed and getting ready for the Tasmanian leg of the tournament,” he added. Before her, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet KaurRicha Ghosh are the other Indians to have played in this league.

‘Working incredibly hard,’ Morgan hopes for Russell’s return in the playoffs

As KKR advances its chances of making a place in the playoffs after thrashing Rajasthan Royals by 86 runs, skipper Eoin Morgan hopes for his doyen Andre Russell to make a comeback in the knockout round. Russell injured his hamstring in a match against CSK and since then he has not played any game for KKR. Talking about his injury, Eoin Morgan said, “We are taking it day by day [with Russell], so he's working incredibly hard. Fingers crossed. I hope [I can play golf tomorrow]. I am not too attached to things as to what will happen and what won't happen... We have done everything tonight. We deserved to win.” KKR scored 171 runs in 20 overs and dismissed RR on 85 defeating them by a huge margin of 86 runs. However, Russell’s long absence from playing eleven can hurt the Knight Riders as he has played several crucial knocks and on his day, can change the entire course of the game. The 183 runs that he scored in this season so far include 14 fours and 14 sixes that once again prove his hard hitting abilities. Since 2015, Russell’s strike rate has consistently been above 150 except in 2020 when his strike rate declined to 144. Morgan’s concerns will be abated in Russell’s presence.

IPL 2021| CSK vs PBKS | Gambhir impressed with KL, places him above Rohit and Virat.

KL Rahul’s 98 off 42 balls that included 7 fours and 8 massive sixes against CSK while chasing 135 has impressed former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir called KL as talented as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are. He feels that Rahul has more shots than anyone else in India. “If you can bat like this, why don’t you bat like this? If he can bat like this, he probably has more ability than Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. I am not saying it just because I have seen KL Rahul doing it today, he just has it. He has got more shots than anyone else in India. And he showed that again,” Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo. Gambhir felt that it was the overburden of captaincy that affected his batting when he said, ‘Had he played like this, Punjab Kings would’ve qualified by now. It is probably the pressure of captaincy, I don’t know what it is, but the team management can answer.” Although Punjab Kings cannot qualify now, KL Rahul is the leading run-scorer of this edition of IPL. He has scored 626 runs in 13 innings with an average of 62.60. KL has consistently performed in the last four seasons of IPL and has scored above 500 runs in each of those seasons.

Nathan Lyon expects England to send a full-strength team in Ashes

As Ashes 2021-22 is scheduled to start in December this year, speculations have started doing the rounds on England’s decision of touring Australia amid growing bio-bubble fatigue and quarantine rules. While the England cricket board is yet to take a call on the squad, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon expects England to send a full-strength team. "I'm expecting England to come out pretty well full-strength. Ashes series make people's careers, so if people don't come out and someone comes out and has an absolute blinder of an Ashes series, that really sets their careers up. I know if I was in their shoes I'd be putting both hands up for selection and coming on that tour," Lyon said, as quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald. Talking about the importance that this series holds for the two nations, Lyon said, "I think that shows the passion between the two nations, and it's the pinnacle as an Australian cricketer to play in the Ashes series. So no doubt there will be some comments flying around and creating a bit of theatre, which I'm all for, so it should be good fun." Some of the key players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes are expected to miss this series due to injury.