Don't know how many people will play cricket if money is not there: Hardik Pandya

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is one of the most important members of the national team as far as white-ball cricket is concerned. Coming from a humble background, Hardik made a place for himself in the Indian team on the basis of his talent. The right-handed cricketer emphasised that money does make a lot of difference in a player’s life.

“In 2019 I had a conversation with someone who was saying, money should not be there for “you all young guys”. I disagreed. When a guy from a village or a small town gets a big contract, he does not keep it for himself, he is looking after his parents, he is looking after his relatives,” Hardik said while talking to ‘ESPNcricinfo’s Cricket Monthly’.

Hardik further added that there is a misconception that people should not talk about money.

“Money makes the difference. And it gives motivation as well. There is a misconception that people should not talk about money. I don’t believe in that, because you are passionate about sport and money matters as well. I do not know how many people will play cricket if money is not there,” he added.

The all-rounder is presently with the Indian team in the UAE for the World T20 2021. The Men in Blue will begin the campaign against Pakistan on Sunday in Dubai.

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Chris Greaves, the Amazon delivery guy who drove Scotland to a famous win over Bangladesh

Chris Greaves was the hero of the night for Scotland who defeated Bangladesh in a shocking manner in their first T20 World Cup 2021 match. He not only made a brilliant 45 off just 28 balls to guide Scotland from 53-6 to 140, and then took two precious wickets of Bangladesh greats Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan with the ball to make sure that the Tigers remained six runs behind the Scottish total and Scotland notch up a famous win. But Greaves, who did all the heroics and won the Player of the Match award was not even in Scotland’s Scheme of things a few months ago and was working as a delivery driver for Amazon to make his ends meet. Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer revealed this in the post-match press conference to showcase how much struggle do Associate players with no fixed contracts go through. "I am really proud of Greaves. He really sacrificed a lot. He was delivering parcels for Amazon not too long ago, and now is getting Player of the Match against Bangladesh. I am not sure if he will appreciate me saying this. Seeing the performance from Mark Watt and Chris Greaves with the bat today, they are lesser-known people who had to make many sacrifices to get to where they are today,” said Coetzer. The skipper further went on to put in perspective how hard has the Highlanders player, who also applied his trade for Gloucestershire second XI in the English domestic set-up, worked to get to where he is now. "Greaves isn't a contracted player in Scotland. He was on the fringes. He put his hand up, worked extremely hard and put himself in the picture. Going back a month, he wouldn't even start in one of these games. Look at what he has done. It is just proof in the pudding that there are some quality players around Associate cricket. They just need the platform to show it,” said Coetzer. Greaves, who made his international debut just a few days ago against Papua New Guinea in lead up to the World Cup, was picked in the XI after he picked four wickets against the Netherlands in a Warm-up game.

World T20 2021 | IRE vs NED: Curtis Campher does a Malinga, scalps four wickets in four balls

The second day of the World T20 2021 was an eventful one after Ireland’s Curtis Campher rattled the Netherlands batting line up. The right-arm bowler scalped four wickets in four deliveries on the trot during the 10th over. Campher’s scalps included the dismissals of Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards and Roelof van der Merwe. While Ackerman was caught behind by the wicket-keeper Neil Rock, ten Deschate and Edwards were trapped in front of the stumps. Later, Van der Merwe played a length delivery on to his stumps to return back to the hut for a golden duck.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah lambasts batting order after awful display against Scotland

The first day of the World T20 2021 witnessed an upset after Scotland defeated Bangladesh in Al Amerat by 6 runs. Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah expressed disappointment on the way the side fared and admitted that the batting unit needs to up the game. "I am very much frustrated," Mahmudullah said. "Our batting is a concern. We have to bat better. We have to play aggressive cricket, regardless of the situation,” he added. The right-handed batsman further added that the batsmen weren’t able to hit boundaries and that eventually put the team under pressure. "We didn't deliberately bat slowly. We couldn't hit those boundaries. We have to bat better next time,” he said. The Bangla Tigers who started off the proceedings in a decent manner after the bowlers reduced Scotland to 53/6 before Chris Greaves steadied the ship along with Mark Watt as the two batsmen put 51 runs for the seventh wicket. Greaves struck a 28-ball 45 while Watt scored 22 off 17. Later, Bangladesh had a dismal start to the chase after losing openers early and were 18/2 when Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan provided the resistance and stitched a partnership of 47 runs for the third wicket. But Shakib’s dismissal broke the shackles and wickets started to tumble at regular intervals during the course of the innings. The Asian side was left tottering at 116/7 only to get restricted to 134/7 in 20 overs eventually.

India coach Ravi Shashtri eager to work with the IPL franchises

The Indian head coach Ravi Shastri, working currently on his last assignment with India in the T20 World Cup 2021 is said to be thinking about joining hands with any of the IPL franchises post his last coaching assignment for India. "He’ll be selective. He’ll be open to working with an IPL franchise. Year-round travel is something he would like to avoid now," a source was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Shastri, who started his post-playing career with stints in the commentary box and became an iconic commentator, was first chosen as the coach of Team India in 2014 after Duncan Fletcher’s contract ended. But that was a temporary assignment. However, once Anil Kumble quit as India coach post-2017 Champions Trophy, Shastri was reappointed as India coach. Now, with 10 teams in the IPL, he looking to have a role of either a coach or a mentor in either of them. The reason behind his decision is that he wants to avoid travelling for a long time outside India. Along with him, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sreedahar, who too would be ending their contracts with the Indian team post the World Cup 2021, also have shown interest in working with IPL teams.