IPL 2021 | Kohli discusses quitting captaincy, de Villiers backs move citing immense pressure

Mitchell Marsh confident of Australia giving him extended run at number 3 in ICC World T20

All-rounder Mitchell Marsh is confident about his chances of batting at number three for Australia in the upcoming T20 World Cup that is scheduled to be hosted in Oman and UAE. He was the preferred batsman for the role on the recent tours of West Indies and Bangladesh in the absence of senior pros such as Steve Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell, and has good numbers to stake claim to the position. He scored 375 runs across 10 innings on surfaces that were not so helpful for batsmen. He consistently performed at a time where almost all Australian batsmen had a seriously tough time getting used to the slowness of the tracks. Even in the rank turners in Bangladesh, Marsh top scored among both the teams, tallying up a total of 156 runs from 5 games. The next best from Australia was Ben McDermott with 57 runs from 3 matches. However, he said that the Australian middle order is full of players who are adaptable to any situations and batting positions and hence he will have to be ready to play a floater as well. "I daresay that if I play in this tournament, I'll be listed at number three. But I think the beauty of our squad is that, from three to six or even seven, all of us can float and it will just be a matter of game situation and who we think is best to go in next. I think I'll be at the top if I do play, but it's about being adaptable and being able to float with the guys that we've got coming after me," Marsh said. Having played a lot of games recently on slow and low pitches, Marsh has recognised the value of using the depth of the crease while batting, especially against spinners. He has studied the batting style of Marcus Stoinis, who has tasted success in the Indian Premier League while at the same time asking the leg spinner Adam Zampa to challenge him by denying scoring opportunities and in turn helping him prepare for the big tournament. "I just asked him where he would bowl to me to try and stop me from scoring. I've worked really hard on my game against spin, probably more so around the rotation of strike and making sure that I'm getting off strike through those middle overs in white-ball cricket. Then the extension of that was trying to make sure I have plenty of boundary options,” Marsh reckoned. "I've watched guys like Marcus Stoinis who use the crease unbelievably well. Getting back and hitting guys over deep midwicket off the back foot for six and I think when you start playing shots like that, then you get more balls in your area to look down the ground. In these conditions we know we're going to get a lot of spin." Marsh, irrespective of his batting position is a vital cog in Australia's wheels at the T20 World Cup with the likes of Marcus Stoinis out of the squad due to injury. He, along with Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar will have to provide the team balance and depth in both batting and bowling departments to the skipper Aaron Finch in the tournament scheduled to start right after the IPL.

IPL 2021 | 'Rather you should have been dead,' Varun Chakravarthy opens up social media abuse

Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Varun Chakravarthy has opened up on the impact on his mental health after he was tested Covid-19 positive in the first phase of the Indian Premier League. Recalling that phase Chakravarthy said that he was “shattered” after knowing the status of his infection and he used to get a lot of hateful messages on social media and some of them went as far as blaming his illness for the postponement of the IPL 2021 and wishing his death. “I remember when Dr. Srikanth just called and I still remember the words he told me, it’s unfortunately positive Varun. So that just shattered everything. I really didn’t know that it is going to blow up so much. I even got emails and messages on Instagram where people told me. Rather you should have been dead,” Varun Chakravarthy said in a video posted by the Kolkata Knight Riders. Notably, He and his teammate Sandeep Warrier were the first set of players to have reported Covid-19 as the wave of the disease spread quickly across other franchises. His senior teammate Dinesh Karthik also highlighted the uglier side of social media and said that people find it very easy to pass sweeping judgments on people without considering the way the concerned person can take it. He urged social media users to make those platforms a “kinder place”. “And that’s where I feel sometimes social media needs to be a kinder place. People don’t realize the gravity of what they say. Be it memes, be it videos, be it you know just the use of words. It is a spur of the moment thing for them at that point of time instinctively what they feel, they just put it out there, not realizing what the person reading it will go through,” Dinesh Karthik added. Chakravarthy has been excellent with the ball in both the India and UAE leg of IPL 2021 and he has also been selected in India’s World T20 squad.

Tom Moody eyes Indian coaching job

Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody is expected to apply for the job of coaching team India as India’s current head coach Ravi Shastri is all set to vacate the position after the conclusion of the T20 world cup. "It's understood the former World Cup-winner and well-travelled coach is eyeing the Indian coaching job, which is set to be vacated by (Ravi) Shastri following the impending T20 World Cup," Foxsports.com.au reported. Tom Moody, who is currently the coach of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad and is also the director of Sri Lanka cricket, has applied for this job three times including in 2017 and 2019 but has not been considered. Ravi Shastri has not sought to extend his tenure and has confirmed that he will not be continuing as the head coach after the T20 world cup. Report also suggests that Moody’s aspiration to coach Team India led to the decision to strip Warner from captaincy earlier this season and then drop him from the playing XI in the last few games. "It's believed the Sunrisers' owners are influential figures in the BCCI, which could explain the decision to leave Warner out for their past half-a-dozen matches and turn to youth. Warner, too, has been approached by a number of other IPL franchises, who have been shocked by the run-scoring machine being sidelined," the report stated.

‘Changing room got emotional after Dhoni’s innings,’ tells coach Fleming

‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man.’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni found his lost touch when the team needed it the most. A contest that was inclining towards Delhi Capitals was pulled off by Dhoni in his typical ‘Mahi way’. Coach Stephen Fleming addressed the media after the match and said that it was indeed an emotional moment. "It was emotionally great for us. We wish him (well) every time he goes out, we know the pressure that he is under and the expectations that is on him every time he goes out and once again he came up trumps for us. It was emotional in the changing rooms, that's very important. But also, the captain had an opportunity to do that for us," said Fleming in the post-match press conference. He also hinted that the decision of promoting Dhoni ahead of Jadeja wasn’t just a random call but was taken after a long discussion. "There was a lot of chat. I think we spoke more in these 20 overs than we have for a long time. Just a lot of technical discussion, maneuvering how to work out how it was going to unfold.” Dhoni came in to bat when CSK were 149-5 with Moeen Ali at the non-strike. Dhoni’s 18 runs off six balls that included three boundaries and a six helped CSK make its place in the final for the 9th time.