IPL 2020: Tweet sparks captaincy speculation at Rajasthan Royals

BREAKING: KKR's Dinesh Karthik hands over captaincy to Eoin Morgan ahead of MI clash

Under fire for his strategic calls throughout the tenure of Indian Premier League 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik has decided hand over the captaincy ropes to England's World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan. Karthik had come under severe criticism for several tactical failures at the initial days of the tournament and was called out on social media by fans and experts for batting ahead of Morgan and Rahul Tripathi who are famed for their batting prowess in the middle and the top order respectively. However, things seemed under control in the last two out of the three after KKR managed to stage unreal coupes against Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. However in the hindsight, that was probably undone by the defeat against Bangalore where Tripathi once again batted at the lower order. KKR CEO Venky Mysore said in a statement released by the franchise that it takes a lot of courage to take such a decision midway through the tournament and he is thankful that DK put the team first. “We are fortunate to have leaders such as DK, who has always put the team first. It takes a lot of courage for someone like him to take a decision such as this. While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes. We are also fortunate that Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, who has been the vice captain, is willing to lead the side going forward. DK and Eoin have worked brilliantly together during this tournament and although Eoin takes over as captain, this is effectively a role swap and we expect that this transition will work in a seamless manner,” Mysore said. This is a developing story. More to follow.

England receive invitation for a white-ball tour to Pakistan in 2021

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stated that they have received an invitation to tour Pakistan for a white-ball series in the early part of next year. While there isn’t any confirmation of the schedule yet, ECB have expressed their willingness to go ahead with the tour and that they are working with PCB to overcome all the hurdles. Interestingly, England have not travelled to Pakistan since 2005 and as per the Future Tours Programme (FTP), their next trip is likely to be in 2022. ECB have set their priorities straight. Checks on Covid-19 bio-secure bubble and security for the team in the country top the list. The busy cricketing calendar is one of the main challenges that England will have to address in order to make the proposed series possible. "We welcome the fact that international cricket is returning to Pakistan and are committed to doing what we can to help this develop further," ECB said in a release. "As with any proposed tour that takes place at this time, the safety and welfare of our players and staff is paramount," the release further said. "As such, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration, including the proposed protocols in relation to COVID-19 bio-secure bubbles, the proposed levels of security around the team, as well as the feasibility of undertaking this tour against the backdrop of an already busy schedule of international cricket for the England men's team. England are set to travel to India for a full-Test series followed by limited-overs series. The tour to Pakistan could take place in the same window. Zimbabwe were the first team to visit Pakistan in 2015 since the terror strike on Sri Lanka’s team bus back in 2009. Earlier in 2020, Bangladesh played a Test match in the country before the second match was postponed due to Covid-19 outbreak.

IPL 2020 | RCB vs KXIP: Chris Gayle resurges in style as Punjab hang by a thread

Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 171/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 48, Chris Morris 25*; Mohammad Shami 2/45) lost to Kings XI Punjab 177/2 in 20 overs (Kl Rahul 61*, Chris Gayle 53, Mayank Agarwal 45; Yuzvendra Chahal 1/35) by 8 wickets. Kings XI Punjab kept their play-off hopes alive by nudging aside an error-strewn Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League 2020. KL Rahul and Chris Gayle spanked vivacious fifties to help KXIP conquer 171 and yield the bottom-placed franchise an elusive two points on Thursday, October 15 at the Dubai International Stadium. The chase seemed a walk in the park until the 19th over but KXIP incredulously managed to drag stuff right down to the wire. With a puny two required off six balls, Gayle consumed two deliveries for zilch and then bunted a single to level the equation. He was then run out in pursuit of a non-existent single on the penultimate ball as KXIP were left with a nerve-wracking 1 off 1. However, the next man in, Nicholas Pooran threw caution to the wind and blitzed a six on the last ball off Yuzvendra Chahal to ensure KXIP sleep easy tonight. Look who's here, the Universe Boss The wait was finally over as Chris Gayle overcame a bout of food poisoning and embellished the KXIP team sheet after seven games. To be precise, it was his first competitive rubber since January as he'd skipped Caribbean Premier League 2020. Also taking field for this season's underachievers were Murugan Ashwin and IPL 2020 debutant Deepak Hooda. There's no sense in fixing what's not broken and hence, RCB tagged along with the winning combination. Karnataka brothers call the shots The high-flying opening pair of Rahul and Agarwal burned the midnight oil to steer KXIP to a rowdy 56 for none at the culmination of the PowerPlay. Cherrypicking one from the array of textbook jewels could be a tough ask, but Agarwal's inside out breeze over cover off Yuzvendra Chahal was undoubtedly the stand-alone pearl. Full of vim and vigour, the right-hander would go on the slay another maximum off the leggie, this time gun-barrel into the sightscreen. However, in what was an exhibition of his lion-hearted spirit, Chahal dangled the carrot again to knock over Agarwal for 45. Gayle hits the ground running Breakthroughs are generally presumed to bring comfort, but for RCB there was no mercy in store tonight. Chris Gayle bided his time to limber up the sore muscles before razing a barrage of herculean strikes. Rahul kept scoring at a fair clip alongside, dazzling two gorgeous sixes off Mohammed Siraj en route his journey to a boisterous half-century. The Calypso King followed suit, notching his soon after as RCB's perennial Achilles heel registered a guest appearance. Despite a wagonload of jaw-dropping theatrics in Yuzvendra Chahal's ultimate over, KXIP managed to hold their nerves with knuckles white. RCB's early venture a mixed bag Sharjah has right from the very beginning proved a litmus test for bowlers across the board. But KXIP made a good fist of things in the front half. Arshdeep Singh drew first blood, having Devdutt Padikkal caught at short cover off a lifter which seemed to have just stopped on him. Spin being his gravest bugbear, Aaron Finch looked in a tizzy while facing Murugan Ashwin and was soon on his way to the pavilion, off-stump dinged by a leg-break that turned away ever-so-slightly to zoom past his tentative prod. Washington Sundar was slotted in at number four as a pinch-hitter, an out of the blue promotion that left many with a furrowed brow as AB de Villiers kicked his heels in the engine room. Though the southpaw chewed up 13 balls before lousing a hoick to mid-wicket, leaving RCB nor-here nor-there at 86-3 around the midway stage. Where on earth is ABD? Shivam Dubey walking in ahead of cornerstone de Villers must've led to fans scratching their heads as basic cricketing logic was thrown to the dogs. The only counter-argument could be that of shielding him from his pet peeve, the leg-spinners, Ravi Bishnoi and M Ashwin in this case. Albeit KXIP still had a few aces up their sleeves in Mohammed Shami and Chris Jordan to try and keep de Villiers on a leash, if and when he occupied the crease. Dubey mauled consecutive sixes off Bishnoi to offer justification for his promotion, but Jordan's sharp bouncer got big on him at 23. The ship has already sailed Kohli and de Villers finally united towards the fag end but Mohammed Shami's whip-smart 18th yielded RCB a friendly reminder of how miserably they'd botched on tactical frontiers. With no breathing space whatsoever to get his eye in, de Villiers skewed a trademark inside out loft to the man hugging the thirty-yard circle. The skipper couldn't wrap his head around Shami's slower bumper as the ball never seemed to arrive, scrubbing his glove to land in KL Rahul's mitts for a cruise-controlled 48. Morris spares RCB a few blushes Shami was over the moon having nabbed the potential tormentors, but Chris Morris came from out of the syllabus. He employed his long levers to the nines, ransacking 24 off Shami's 20th to lend a great deal respectability to RCB's jaunt. Although it wasn't all Morris magic in entirety, Isuru Udana too had a slice of the pie, clanging Shami with aplomb flat over the backward square leg fence. What's next in store? RCB have no time to cry over spilt milk as Rajasthan Royals await their presence in the first of Saturday's doubleheader. The ray of hope has glimmered again for KXIP, and they'd leave no stone unturned to ensure it remains as such in their tie against Mumbai Indians under lights on Sunday, October 18. And you bet Chris Gayle sounds optimistic, ''Seven games to go, we believe we can win all seven, it is still possible.”

IPL 2020 | RCB vs KXIP: What experts said as both Virat Kohli, KL Rahul fail to turn up tactically

The Kings XI Punjab finally won a match in the IPL 2020 after a prolonged period of frustrating losses. However, the team almost made a meal of their chasing efforts and won what looked like an easy chase only on the last ball of the game. Here is a compilation of what captains and experts thought about the game between the sides led by Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Captains’ take The winning captain KL Rahul accepted the lack of confidence in his side after a series of losses in closely-fought games. “I don't even have words. We knew that we had to scrap and get over the line once and that would give us the confidence. We're a far better side than the bottom of the table. Towards the end it got too close for comfort but happy that we made it,” KL Rahul said to the host broadcaster Star in the post match interaction. Discussing the mood in the camp after the team was failing to win games when all seemed done and suited KL Rahul expressed his and the team’s disappointment and frustrations to be failing to close the games but also saw a philosophical side of it calling it part of the game. “It's very natural to feel disappointed and frustrated and it's not just me, as a group we've been frustrated. Our skills were very good, probably didn't capitalise in the big moments starting with the first game at Delhi. It's part of the IPL, it's part of cricket. There are ups and downs and this has been the kind of rollercoaster that's been crazy but on a positive note we needed this win,’ Rahul added. Discussing the importance of his personal performances and the state of the team in terms of the hunger for win in the camp Rahul said “At the moment, my first time as captain, you kind of don't reflect on your own performance. As a leader you need to think of everybody and how to manage the 15 or the 25 balanced and hungry to do well. That's been the challenge so personal performances haven't been on my mind so much.” Among all on the field and across the world, Virat Kohli, too, was surprised at the game going to the wire and needed a first ball six from Nicholas Poooran to finally end it. “It was quite surprising, we thought the game might finish in the 18th. A bit of pressure at the back end can confuse you, anything can happen in this game,” Kohli said to the host broadcaster Star in the post match interaction. He congratulated the Kings XI team for putting a complete performance and accepted that his team was outplayed by the KL Rahul-led side. Explaining the reason behind the contentious move to hold back AB de Villiers, Kohli said the team management had discussed a plan to counter the leg spinners in the opposition ranks and hence he preferred left handers in the middle overs of the innings. However, he accepted that the move did not pay off and it was a night that did not turn out well according to his and the team’s planning. Experts’ take The decision by the RCB team management led by Virat Kohli to promote Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube in order to ‘take Punjab’s leg spinner out of the game left all commentators calling the game at that point in the game flummoxed. Kevin Pietersen strongly criticized the move and suggested that he did not believe Washington Sundar could manage the legging any better than AB de Villiers could have done. Mark Nicholas went a step further and said that if left handers are necessary to combat leg spinners and for that AB de Villliers has to be held back, that left handers should only be none other than Brian Lara. Harsha Bhogle took a lighter tone on the issue and said if Virat Kohli and management think AB de Villiers can’t manage to score off Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi, it’s nothing short of breathtaking achievement for the legging of Punjab and they should cherish the achievements their upcoming generations. He also criticised the way the Kings XI decides to chase and said that they make matches that look easier into obstacles. Veteran cricket journalist Sambit Bal pointed out the overstressing of the match ups in the T-20 cricket with reference to Kohli holding back Washinton Sundar’s over specifically for Gayle only to get Gayle going all guns blazing against the youn off spinner. He also came hard at the Kings XI Punjab’s chasing patterns and wondered what led to them getting to such precarious situations from a relatively walk in the park kind of positions.