Daily Round Up | Jan 22: IPL 2021 auctions likely to be on Feb 18

IPL 2021 Auctions likely to be held on 18 February

The 14th edition of Indian Premier League is just around the corner and as per PTI, the final mini-auction ahead of the big one next season will be held on 18th February. BCCI sources have stated that the auction venue has not been decided at the moment. Asked about where the cash league is going to be held, the source stated that President Sourav Ganguly is hopeful of the fact that they can keep the tournament in India. More to follow...

Sridhar reveals how Virat Kohli's midnight chat nullified Adelaide horror

The Indian team scripted a brilliant series win against Australia away from home after beating the hosts in the final Test in Brisbane. While India won the second and fourth Test, they were bundled out for 36 in the second innings of the first encounter. Talking about the same, India fielding coach R Sridhar revealed how Virat Kohli’s midnight chat helped the team regain confidence. Speaking on Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube channel, Sridhar said: “It was midnight, around 12.30 am, the night we lost the Adelaide Test. Virat Kohli messaged me: ‘What are you doing?’ I was shocked. I thought ‘why is he messaging at this time?’ I told him ‘head coach (Ravi Shastri), myself, Bharat Arun and Vikram Rathour are sitting together’. He said, ‘I’ll also join you’. I said, ‘no problem, come over.’ “He came there and all of us started discussing. That’s where ‘Mission Melbourne’ began. Shastri made a point there: ‘This 36, wear it like a badge! This 36 is what will make this team great’,” said Sridhar. “We were slightly confused but then we started talking about the decisions we’d have to take. Then Virat called Ajinkya the next morning and we had a very good discussion. After a 36 all-out, usually, teams would strengthen their batting. But Ravi Shastri, Virat, and Ajinkya decided to strengthen the bowling. That’s how we replaced Virat with Ravindra Jadeja, and it was a masterstroke,” concluded Sridhar. India rode on Rahane’s ton and some responsible batting from Shubman Gill to win the second match while ended the second clash in a draw, courtesy some fine batting from Rishabh Pant, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin. The two teams then met in Brisbane for the decider and won the match by 3 wickets to clinch the series and defended the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

BBL10 | Preview: Stars face Scorchers at home; last chance to secure a Playoffs spot

Glenn Maxwell’s side Melbourne Stars would be up from their shocking defeat against the cross-town rivals Renegades, and if they aren’t already they would have now as their next opponent Perth Scorchers beat a tough Hurricanes side even after losing their five main batsmen at the score of only 108. So the depth in their squad has proven its potential once again and the Stars must be aware of it. Maxwell's men must fight It is a 'do or die' game literally for the Stars and it is here that they need to bring all their experience into count. Be it, Hilton Cartwright, Nick Larkin, on a comeback trail Nathan Coulter-Nile, consistent Marcus Stoinis, or the skipper himself Maxwell. Now is the time for them to fight together for a place in the Playoffs. Spiceman Andre Fletcher however has been ruled out of this game due to a quad injury. Another thing apart from the experience of the players in their favour is the home ground. At MCG, the Stars have won two games in a row and they would like to continue the same momentum in this one too. Scorchers would go for the kill The Scorchers have won two brilliant games on the trot against two other hopefuls for the Playoffs in Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes would look to crush another dream in the form of Stars’ when they will take the field on MCG. All their players are in good form and if one person is getting out cheaply there is someone to compensate and that seems to be the best thing happening for the Men in Orange. Apart from the world-known hitters in Jason Roy and Colin Munro, the likes of Liam Livingstone and Josh Inglis too are in their prime forms, and this is one of the many reasons why Scorchers have reached the second spot in the points table. Jhye Richardson and Brehendroff are picking wickets at will and with the addition of Micthell Marsh, the team looks unstoppable. Stars vs Scorchers: Match Details Match Number- 50 Date and Time- Jan 22, 2021, 01:45:00 pm IST, 07:15pm Local, 08.15 am GMT Venue- Dockland, Melbourne Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report Melbourne Cricket Ground is the right place to play for the Stars as it suits their lineup and also their team which has great batters to bat on a true wicket and ride its bounce. The Scorchers would enjoy that too. However, Stars have Adam Zampa in the ranks who could get purchase off the wicket, but Scorchers don’t have any such option. Weather and Bat Flip Melbourne will be cloudy in the evening and hence with overcast conditions the team winning the toss would choose to field first. Stars Strongest XI Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell (c), Nic Maddinson, Clint Hinchliffe, Seb Gotch (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Liam Hatcher, Zahir Khan Scorchers Strongest XI Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed

Irfan Pathan a blessing to Jammu and Kashmir cricket: Parvez Rasool

“We have had a decent Syed Mustaq Ali trophy this season especially after the time we got for the preparations,” says Jammu and Kashmir captain Pravez Rasool. In an exclusive chat with Onecricket, Rasool talks about struggles during COVID-19 period, preparations for the domestic season, youngsters to watch out for and Irfan Pathan. How did you deal with problems during COVID-19? Rasool- There was a lot of problem all around the world due to COVID-19. We didn’t get any chance to go for practice so the only thing we were focusing on was our fitness. We were trying to stay fit and be game ready. But as soon as there were some relaxation, we began with with some training at a nearby ground after taking all the permissions and following the SOP. But as a team we got very less time to train together. It was a very challenging time for us. How do you rate your SMAT performance? Rasool- The kind of time we got for the preparations, we had a decent tournament. We won three out of five matches that we played. The other teams got more time for preparing themselves in comparison to us but we could have done better. The one problem we faced was that we were not able to click as a batting unit. We have been doing pretty well for the last few years and even the players are getting noticed. I feel in coming years, we are surely going to improve more in coming years. Is there money crunch in J&K cricket? Rasool- We have faced some problems because of the way the organisation in the past have worked but after CoA came into action, there have been some good work. The camps are being held regularly while we also have tournaments at district level to scout new and young talents.They took few steps that were encouraging and we have some new players coming up. For instance Abdul Samad is there. The players are pretty capable and talented but the only thing we need is some backing and support. Whom do you think can perform well in coming years among the young crop? Rasool- We have a very talented young crop. There is left-arm pacer Mujtaba Yosuf who bagged six wickets in his debut Ranji game and has 10 scalps to his name in two matches. Apart from him, there is wicket-keeper batsman Suryansh Raina and Abdul Samad has been proving himself for quite sometime now. Talk to us about Irfan Pathan’s impact in J&K cricket. Rasool- Definitely, his international exposure has helped us. He has been grooming the youngsters. Although, I was captain of the side but I myself learnt a lot of things from him. Whom do you think can go and play for the national team? Rasool- As I said, the youngsters are very talented and enthusiastic. Someone like Abdul Samad is one of those players who can play at that level. He has been showing his capability and probably needs one more good IPL season to knock the selectors’ doors. But these players need proper backing and opportunities. What kind of facilities are required to be introduced? Rasool- Our association got the affiliation way back but we haven’t got the proper facilities. For instance, we only have one ground which is also not in good shape. Apart from that, we only have two of turf wickets. There haven’t been any academies in these many years. But after the CoA came in, the situation has got better. They are focusing on these things and providing the facilities. Earlier, the members of the association used to focus on only a couple of districts but now players from other districts are also coming up. Recently, we got a new recruit Skalzang Dorjey Kalyan who hails from Ladakh. This is the first time we have a player in the team from Ladakh. The CoA has worked but we still need more facilities. What are your future plans? Rasool—If everything goes by plan, we are looking forward to the domestic season. I personally feel that the BCCI should hold Ranji trophy as days cricket is a more challenging format of the game. Would the selectors go for the same squad? Rasool- The selection totally depends on the selectors. It is most likely that we will go for the same squad but rest depends upon the selectors.