Avesh Khan set to join Team India as net bowler, may join the main squad as well: Report

World T20 2021: PNG captain Assad Vala reveals how India's cricketing legend inspired him

Papua New Guinea captain Assad Vala has revealed that he has grown up idolising former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar. “…when I was growing up, as we all know (Sachin) Tendulkar was (the) only cricketer everyone in the world knew. Tendulkar (and) probably Brian Lara as well. I just wanted to watch them bat and I see myself as a batsman,” 34-year-old Vala said in an online interaction facilitated by the ICC. Vala mentioned about Tendulkar’s knock of 241* against Australia away from home and how the batting legend stitched his innings. “There was a series in Australia, where he got nicked off four or five-times before he scored the double century. He was mentally tough and the way he planned his double century where he played straight and on-side is something I have never seen done before, just to score all his runs on the leg-side and straight-down,” he said. The World T20 will begin on October 17 when co-host Oman will be up against PNG in Al Amerat. PNG will then play Scotland on October 19 and Bangladesh on October 21 at the same venue in the group stage.

Virat Kohli is a leader, want to thank him for his contributions: Harshal Patel

The Royal Challengers Bangalore bowed out of the IPL 2021 after suffering a defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator in Sharjah on Monday. With the conclusion of this edition of the IPL for RCB, skipper Virat Kohli also played his last game as the skipper of the franchise. Kohli had earlier announced that he would step down from the post after this season. Kohli might not be the captain of the side anymore but fast bowler Harshal Patel has insisted that he would still remain the “leader”. “In terms of his captaincy, there are captains and there are leaders, he is definitely a leader. Just because he won’t have the captaincy tag, it doesn’t make him any less of a leader,” Harshal said at the post-match press conference. “So, I just want to thank him for whatever he has contributed for this team and to my growth,” he added. The right-arm bowler expressed disappointment on the loss and added that the way the side had fared in the tournament, they expected to end at least in the top two. “Obviously, we are all disappointed in the way we finished the tournament. The way we were playing, I think we should have been in (the) top two. But as we all know, it is a game of small margins,” Harshal said. After restricting RCB to 138/7 in 20 overs, courtesy some fine piece of bowling from the spinners and especially Sunil Narine who picked up four wickets, KKR went on to chase the target in the final over by 4 wickets and two balls to spare. The Knight Riders will now lock horns with Delhi Capitals in the second qualifier on Wednesday in Sharjah.

RCB vs KKR | Eliminator: Sunil Narine was outstanding with both bat and ball, says Eoin Morgan

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan lavished praise on Sunil Narine for making remarkable contributions with both bat and ball during the clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday in Sharjah. Narine first scalped a four-wicket haul to help KKR restrict RCB at 138/7 in 20 overs and then chipped in with a 15-ball 26 that included three maximums in one single over of Dan Christian. "He was outstanding. Both with bat and ball his impact was huge. He changed momentum in our favour when he went out to bat after the platform the guys had laid at the top of the order and I think he bowled as well as I have ever seen him, which is saying a lot. The guy has been consistently exceptional whenever he takes the field and always seems to take big wickets in the game," Morgan said in the post-match press conference. Talking about the track, Morgan insisted that the pitch did have something on offer for the spinners. "Narine is always working on his game. I don't think he was the only bowler to turn the ball. Varun Chakravarthy beat the bat a number of times, both inside and out, Yuzvendra Chahal did that as well. So I thought the wicket turned more than expected today," he said. KKR eventually went over the line in the final over with two balls to spare and will now take on Delhi Capitals in the second qualifier on Wednesday in Sharjah.

Aiden Markram relies on IPL experience to rule World T20 show for South Africa

South Africa’s young batsman Aiden Markram has come back to his national fold after playing in the Indian Premier League for the first time in the UAE and he has all praise for the league as it allowed him exposure to different game situations and opportunities to play alongside and against legends of the format. Markam opens the batting for his national side but the Punjab Kings have already an established top order comprising of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle and hence he could not get the opportunity to bat at the top of the order. However, he is not sure that it has hurt his chances and preparation for the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to follow the 14th edition of the IPL. “I'm not sure if it has or hasn't, but it was a great experience. I was in a less familiar role and it was nice to be exposed to that at a high standard of cricket and to learn on the job. To mingle with some seriously good players who do the IPL circuit post-game, chatting to guys who have done well, legends of T20 cricket, was good. It was nice to get some information from them and also to work things out for yourself in the middle of a game,” said Markram. He referred to numerous close finishes that happen in IPL and especially his team faced in the tournament while drawing a comparison with global tournaments such as the World T20s. He is all but sure about the closely contested world cup and hence said that the stint with Punjab in the IPL where he was exposed to those pressure situations will come in handy for him. "In T20 cricket, at a World Cup or domestic or international series, results come down to the last three overs if not the last ball. It was good to be exposed to that because I'm sure games are going to go to the wire at the World Cup. It's about dealing with that pressure at the moment when two to three balls could change the whole outcome of the game,” he added. Markram is not new to high-stakes tournaments as he is the only captain of South Africa to have led the Proteas to a world cup win in the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2014 that was also played in the same venues of UAE. However, he believes that world cups such as the upcoming one are a different kettle of fish as there is more pressure on players to perform amid exaggerated media exposure of the event. “ The pressure is a lot more. The World Cup is a high-pressure environment, and under all that pressure you need to put performances together as individuals to help the team win. At the Under-19 level, there's not too much of that. At the time there wasn't too much media exposure. There was a lot less pressure on the players to bring a trophy home. You experience the same type of things but everything's a lot more exaggerated at a big World Cup,” Markram added. Markram did not set the stage on fire in the six games he played in IPL but he did not look out of sorts either. Before coming into the cash-rich tournament, he was in top-notch form for his national side on the tour of Sri Lanka and the Proteas will hope he will continue his golden run of form in the big event as well.