Faf du Plessis bids adieu to Test cricket

IPL 2021: Players traded by franchises before big auction day on Feb 18

Although there are too many uncertainties around the venue and schedule of this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League, the BCCI has already announced that a mini-auction will take place on February 18. Before the board made public the schedule of the auction where franchises will go with in pursuit of fine-tuning their squads, franchises were given a window where they could seek negotiations with each other in order to transfer resources at their disposal. The window for trading players into one franchise to another ended on February 11, but only three players went through the process. The window for reading players before the auction every year allows players and especially franchises to make decisions based on the assessment of their financial resources and overall balance of tier squads. This year though, there were not many takers for the policy as only three players went through the process of transition which included two players of Indian origin and one overseas player. Here are the three players Robin Uthappa Robin Uthappa had a terrible season last year where he struggled to find timing whale batting at down the order for the Rajasthan Royals and has been traded by the Chennai Super Kings who really struggled with their batting at the top of the order. The right-hander has been a seasoned campaigner in IPL and the duo of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming has played a punt on him to go berserk at the top of the order. In the last season, the Royals team management was spoilt for choices among batsmen who could bat at the top of the order where Uthappa has flourished as a batsman in the history of IPL, and the season ended up being his worst performance in this decade of the league. He could muster only 196 runs from 12 games and his days in the Royals were numbered. The management handed him an opportunity to open the batting in the latter part of the season last year and he showed sparks of his brilliance, but could not capitalise on starts. He was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise before the auction for the last season of IPL and the Royals had bought his services for Rs 3 crore and now he will be don the yellow jersey in the upcoming edition after a brief innings in pink jersey with the Royals. Daniel Sams Daniel Sams was released by the Delhi Capitals before the trading window ended on February 11 and the Royal Challengers Bangalore has decided to bank upon his all-round abilities for the upcoming edition of IPL. Sams is an impressive young left-arm seamer from Australia who has many tricks up his sleeve for the shortest form of the game and was the highest wicket-taker in the 2019 edition of the Big Bash League in Australia. However, he had gone unsold in the auction last year before England’s Jason Roy opted out of the tournament and he was roped in as his replacement by the Capitals. He could make his way into the playing XI only on three instances and returned with average numbers and hence the move by Capitals to let him go should not come as a surprise to both him and his fans. He has been picked up by the Royal Challengers and Kohli along with Mike Hesson must have gone on the back of his exploits against India in the T20 series held earlier last year. Harshal Patel Harshal Patel has been around in the IPL for a very long time now but his inconsistency and lack of X-factor has not helped him in finding any permanent home in the tournament. He had made his IPL debut back in 2012 with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the move by the RCB to trade him in from the Delhi Capitals will be a sort of homecoming for the Haryana lad. He has struggled to be consistent with the ball and it shows up in his career as he has not played more than five games in any season after the 2015 edition. He could find a place in the playing XI only one 12 occasions across the last three seasons and his economy rate was around or more than nine runs per over in each season while the wicket column too has been thin on the number. The RCB decided to let two pacers--Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav from their squad and that could well be the reason behind the move to bring Harshal Patel back in the mix-up. These players were traded by franchises before the auction in order to have more room for manoeuvring the squads around in order to find the perfect team combination. But, if they can’t find enough room to do so even after the auction, the board will give franchises another option to trade players from one camp to another from just a day after the auction on February 18.

Moeen Ali opts out, England bring Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood for Pink Ball Test

After suffering a crushing defeat in the second Test of the series, England have announced their 16-man squad for the third Test of the series scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad. It will be a day-night Test match, and England have brought back wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow who was rested for the first half of the series while the all-rounder Moeen Ali who played in the last game at Chepauk has opted out of the tour and will return home to spend some time with his family. “Moeen has chosen to go home. He obviously feels he wants to be home with his family and we have to respect that. “It’s been a tough tour for him. It’s come to a point where he feels he needs to get out of the bubble. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision. We have to respect it,” skipper Root said on Tuesday. The tourists have also brought the pacer Mark Wood in the squad for the pink-ball Test while Jofra Archer who missed the second Test due to elbow injury has also been retained in the squad for the third Test. England’s rotation policy came under scrutiny when Anderson was made to sit our of the last Test and Stuart Broad played in the team with four changes in the playing XI from the first Test.

RCB SWOT Analysis: Kohli-led side might prove IPL recruitment cell for young crop

Records, big names, exciting knocks and what not, you name it and Royal Challenger Bangalore have that in their arsenal. Name anything but not an IPL title. It isn’t like they have never come close to winning it. They have thrice and once when their captain Virat Kohli amassed 973 runs including four tons in one single season. So what has gone wrong for RCB? Well, the question has been wandering like a traveller without any bucket list to strike-off. But this is not a travel itinerary, this is about the biggest domestic T20 league. Do they need to change the tactics? Ofcourse. Do they need to tweak the line up? Obviously. But before we jump on to what has been wrong with the team’s combination over the years, let’s look at how did they fare in the last season. RCB managed to make it to the play-offs after winning the seven games they played out of 14. Looking at the last five matches that RCB played, they only managed to win one of them and the reason behind this slump was their lack of scoring runs batting first. RCB tried few different opening combinations that didn’t really work for them and they were eventually in a spot of bother. One of the major boxes that the RCB side need to tick is having a middle order batsman who can stay at the crease for longer time if required or can accelerate to put pressure on the opposition especially while batting first. The franchise should focus on making a core team with young brigade. Problems of “NOT” having plenty When you let go off someone like Chris Gayle and KL Rahul, you will always struggle to find a perfect combination for the opening slot. It was in 2018 when RCB took this flirtatious decision of releasing Gayle and Rahul. Both the players went to KXIP. While Gayle scored 368 runs in 11 appearances for Punjab, Rahul amassed 659 runs in 14 matches. Surely, a decision that me as a fan regretted, can’t really discuss what the team management had in its mind. Moving on Devdutt Padikkal who has been impressive in the brief stint that he has with RCB. SURPRISINGLY, RCB haven’t left Devdutt go off. But the thorn that would keep stinging them is finding an opening partner for him. Well, they could have used up the services of Josh Philippe who is one prolific batsman but he was only capped five times for RCB and that too in the lower middle-order. The next complication that RCB face is of making a strong core team. They generally run out of options as soon as the senior pros fail to fire. With Devdutt, Virat, ABD in the top-order RCB seek services of proper batsman and a genuine fast bowling all-rounder to take care of the middle order and for keeping the onus of laying the role of a bridge between the middle, lower-middle order and tail. RCB for now have Philippe and ABD for donning the wicket-keeper’s hat but they would also need an Indian gloveman for the same duties who can be decent with the bat. Coming down to the bowling department, RCB’s pool of Indian fast bowlers include Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini. Now the problem that the side faces is that the two seamers have a habit of leaking a lot of runs in the shorter format of the game. In 35 IPL matches, Siraj has given away runs at an economy of 9.08 while Saini has played 26 matches and given away runs at 8.28. ALTERNATES Starting with the top order, RCB need somebody to be the specialist opening batsman who can stick around with Devdutt and provide the team with decent and steady starts. Josh Philippe though has been retained by the franchise but the team also needs an extra batsman if required. RCB can bid for Dawid Malan who also solves the problem of the opening batsman as well as can be a replacement for an overseas player. The number three, four and sixth positions are pretty sorted for now with the likes of Kohli, ABD, Washington Sundar in the ranks. The Bangalore franchise needs a genuine batsman to play at number five who has the traits of holding the ends strongly while can also go after the opponent bowling attack if and when required. Well, to solve the issue, the franchise can have a look at some of the domestic players who have performed in a pretty decent manner recently. Players like Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Singh and Vishnu Solanki can solve this issue for RCB. The franchise can also go for an overseas all-rounder for this position who can play the role of a role of an anchor in the middle order. Someone like Shakib Al Hasan can be picked up in the squad if the team needs an overseas player. Being a former captain himself and a perfect all-rounder, he can bring a lot to the table. KS Bharat can be the third wicket-keeper batsman in the team to fill the void. With Daniel Sams, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini in the retained list while Harshal Patel and Daniel Sams being traded to RCB, the team has a number of alternates when it comes to bowling but when the RCB bowling unit leaks runs, they do it in the poorest way they can. The Bangalore team needs an overseas fast bowler and a couple of Indian bowlers of the same genre to bring strength to the side. Riley Meredith had a brilliant BBL season this year after he scalped 16 wickets in 13 matches for Hobart Hurricanes . Apart from this, the quick bowler had bowled at an economy of 7.83. RCB’s problem of leaking runs can be solved if someone like Riley comes in the side. Talking about some Indian bowlers, Ankit Rajpoot and Varun Aaron can be two players who can fill the spots. The two are experienced enough to play competitive cricket. Purse remaining RCB have a purse of Rs 35.90 Cr remaining with them. Players retained and slots left RCB have retained Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Pavan Deshpande. They are left with 8 Indian and three overseas slots making it a total of 11. What to spent and how? With a purse of Rs 35.90 Cr, RCB can easily target players like Malan, Shakib and Meredith. Even if Malan and Meredith go under a bidding war, the three overseas slot might get filled in Rs 17 Cr. Malan and Meredith might fetch somewhere around Rs 7Cr while Shakib can be bought at a price of around Rs 3 Cr. The franchise is still left with around Rs 18 Cr in their kitty. Shahrukh Khan might get some good sum while uncapped players like Rahul Singh, Vishnu Solanki, KS Bharat and Rahul Singh can be picked somewhere around their base prices. Moving on to the two Indian fast bowlers, Ankit Rajpoot and Varun Aaron, they both can be picked up decent amounts and won’t cost much. Starting XIs Devdutt Padikkal, Josh Philippe (WK), Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Shahrukh Khan/Shakib/Dawid Malan, Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Yuzvednra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Riley Meredith/Ankit Rajpoot

2nd Test Report: Masterful Rohit, ruthless Ashwin, relentless spinners hand India series-levelling win

The version of India that every fan and cricket experts were expecting to see before the start of the series, finally arrived, although a Test match late. While the last game proved to be a rather uncharacteristic game for the Indians which surprised many, the second Test saw the ruthlessness and complete domination by the hosts as the buoyant England team capitulated completely in both the innings to hand India a chance to come roaring back in the series and the race for the World Championship Final. There were many architects for India on a pitch that sparked a wide range of debates from the experts across the world, but the hosts had a point to prove that they are a better side in their own conditions and the occasion could not have been greater when the series and the reputation of being invincible at home were at stake. Rohit stood a class apart playing a splendid inning of 161 while Ashwin taught the Englishmen the art of both bowling and batting on such pitches, while Rahane and Pant chipped in valuable contributions in the first innings. Rohit Sharma was exemplary to start off the proceedings and he was under serious pressure after trails of poor scores in the first Test and the two Tests against Australia. On a pitch that had seen the better of his other teammates who have had better credentials in Test matches, Rohit set a template for the batsmen on how to bat on such pitches, and still, he remained the highest scorer till the end of the game. In some sort, it was a career-defining innings from him where he proved the point why the team management keeps on backing him even when he fails to convert big and throws his big wicket in pursuit of expansive shots. Ajinkya Rahane was brilliant as well and the confidence Kohli had shown on him before the Test match was repaid with a partnership with Rohit that neutralised and battered the England spinners. England were guilty of being accurate on the first day and the score of 300 runs on the first day was already a situation that had gone out of their hands. Their spinners could produce some magical deliveries to get the best of even Virat Kohli, but the lack of control and consistency in the line proved detrimental for them in the first innings. Moeen Ali came into this Test after spending the entire length of the tour of Sri Lanka in quarantine. Ironically, he was brought in as the replacement for Dominic Bess who picked up wickets but was ineffective in giving skipper Root some sort of control to check India running away with the game. Jack Leach was more accurate of the two spinners, but desperate Root over bowled him on the spinning surface and he too started to dish out loose balls to Rohit and Rahane to capitalise. Although they clogged India back after the twin strikes of Rohit and Rahane on the first day, the score of 329 was good enough to send a stern warning on this pitch. England were under pressure with the amount of turn and bounce on offer to Indian spinners, and their fears were not unreasonable. Their openers were gone even before Ashwin settled in his spell and especially Dominic Sibley came with the premeditated thought of sweeping the ball having seen his skipper do it successfully on similar pitches in Sri Lanka. However, this pitch and the pace of Indian spinners were a bit different from the challenges they had faced in the recent past. Joe Root has been playing like Don Bradman in Test matches this year, but the law of averages finally caught the English skipper when his team badly needed him to perform. It has been a season of Indian debutants to shine and Axar Patel was the latest member to ride on the bandwagon. He was set to play in the last game but missed out due to injury, but he could not have asked for a more conducive pitch to aid his type of bowling. The pitch needed the spinners to bowl on or around the lien of stumps and he as the perfect man to do so, and hence he was missed by India in the last game. He got the big wicket of Root in the first innings, while followed it up with a stupendous five-wicket haul to make the most of the pitch. England did not do much wrong in this game but were still outplayed by India who looked on a mission to avenge the loss in the first Test. They gambled on putting out a surface that assisted spinners from the first day and it could have gone either way if they had faced another collapse, but the skills and temperament in their batting order stood firm and England’s limitations were exposed. Coming into the fourth day, the writing was on the wall for Root’s men, and any chance of magical comeback started to unravel when Ashwin foxed Dan Lawrence even before delivering his wicket-taking ball. The off-spinner was all over England’s makeshift number three and the effects of playing on his mind were telling in the second innings. Lawrence was guilty of premeditating playing Ashwin coming down the wicket and the off-spinner was too wily to beat him on the line. There were no chances of England saving the game, but it was more of earning some confidence before the pink ball Test for which they put all at stake by resting James Anderson, but all of that hopes were shattered as well when Stokes was once again done in by Ashwin, while Axar was too accurate for the resilience of Root. The smile that the England skipper offered after delivery from Axar took his glove after spitting off the surface like a cobra was the fitting end of England’s defiance and their helplessness. India were lucky enough that Kohli finally broke the chain of losing the toss but he was bullish in his assertion after the game that the nature of the pitch made the toss irrelevant as he had the resources at his disposal to run through the England batting line up even on the first day. Kohli was back to his fiery best while on the filed, but he too will do well to realise at times his behaviours did not look fitting to the stature he holds in world cricket. Ravichandran Ashwin was adjudged man of the match for his splendid innings with the bat and eight wickets across the two innings. He missed out narrowly on joining Sir Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Shakib Al Hasan in the special list of players who have had a ton and 10 wicket haul in a Test match, but his delight after completing the century and addressing the crowd in his native Tamil must have been enough to stamp his credentials as the biggest match winner for India on home soil. Now, the sides have higher stakes in next game and both Kohli and Root reiterated the importance of the pink ball Test scheduled to start on February 24 in Motera, Ahmedabad. Both India and England will bring one more seamer in their line up and while Root will welcome Anderson back, India too will welcome Jasprit Bumrah.