IPL 2021: Shakib Al Hasan wants to score a century, claim fifer in same game

My heart started pumping, didn’t know what to do: Shahrukh Khan explains surreal feeling of auction day

Punjab Kings signed up Tamil Nadu all-rounder Shahrukh Khan at Rs 5.25 crores in the IPL Mini auctions. That feeling of being such a highly-priced player has not sunk in yet for the 25-year-old middle-order batsman. “Being here, among such stalwarts of cricket feels amazing,” said Shahrukh in a video upload by the Kings on their official website. Talking about the D-Day when the auctions took place, the Chennai born said, “The auction started at around 3 pm and we were practising at the Holkar Stadium then [for the Vijay Hazare Trophy which was about to start].” “I had told our physio to give me a call when my name comes up and luckily my name only came up once the practice was over,” added the beastly built all-rounder. “When my name came, my heart started pumping and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t expect it to rise as much as it did. We were in the team bus and all the guys were watching the auction with me and with every passing bid for my name, they kept on cheering. It felt really nice receiving so much support from the teammates on such a special day.” The right-hand batter and medium-pace bowler feels that the inputs he had been getting from senior players are great. “I have been having a lot’s of conversations with everyone around here and I am getting to learn a lot as well,” he said. Reacting to the high price that he had received in the auctions, Shahrukh said, “I didn’t know the extent of the price until and unless I got calls from each and every media house.”

Want to have same passion and hunger like Virat Kohli: Devdutt Padikkal

RCB and Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal has talked about his experience of playing with the likes of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in a chat with TimesofIndia.com. “Playing alongside Virat Kohli and Ab de Villiers and all other cricketers was great. It was an incredible experience,” Padikkal who first played for RCB in the 2020 edition said. The left-handed opener further hailed Kohli and said the hunger and passion that the India and RCB captain has for the game is incredible. “The passion and hunger he has for the game, it's incredible. He has that kind of drive towards the game. He doesn't need anyone to push or motivate. He has so much fire to perform and give the best for the country or team. That is something I really want to have in myself. I really want to have that drive in myself that can push me every single day in terms of practice, training, and whatever I do. That kind of motivation and hunger is something (that is) really incredible,” he added. Padikkal had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 22 and is in quarantine at home in Bengaluru. He will join the RCB squad once his RT-PCR report comes negative. RCB will begin the IPL 2021 campaign against the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening encounter on April 9 in Chennai. RCB have never lifted the IPL trophy despite making it to the final thrice.

IPL 2021: Mayank Agarwal eyeing another dominant season, but not looking far ahead to World T20

Mayank Agarwal had made his intentions clear that he was focussing on making the last season of the IPL count. On cue, he backed his words with dominating performances with the bat across the season. He was at the top of his game from the first game of the season and finished the 13th edition of the league with 424 runs from 10 games. His chances were curtailed due to an injury that forced him away from the game for a lengthy period of time as Kings XI Punjab got knocked out of the race to the playoffs. He was picked in Indian teams for the tour of Australia but could not quite make big runs to cement his place. Subsequently, he went out of favour from the team and faces a long time away from the playing XI as his replacements have shone bright with the bat. Now, with another edition of the IPL scheduled to kick off from this week, Mayank is looking forward to making his opportunities count yet again and leave an impression on the Indian team management. On the question of whether he is eyeing a spot in the ICC World T20 with performances in IPL 2021, Mayank refused to look so far beyond in the time. “IPL is a long tournament with so many matches. I will look to make the best use of opportunities and let my performances help my team win the title. A good show in IPL always works wonders. As far as the T20 World Cup goes, I am not thinking about it. It is still quite far. But yes, I would like to make an impression,” Mayank said in an interview with Hindustan Times. The Punjab Kings will compete once again looking to win their maiden IPL title with a revamped name and an enforced change in approach due to matches being shifted to neutral venues. However, they will play as many as five matches at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru which is a home ground for both Mayank and their skipper KL Rahul. Mayank Agarwal said he gel nicely with his long-term teammate and hailed him as an ‘incredible’ cricketer. He said that having a good bond with Rahul helps him each other’s game on the field. “Rahul is an incredible cricketer. His game makes scoring look very easy. It would be amazing to go out there and play together in Bengaluru. I have always enjoyed with him as a partner at the other end. This is the fourth year we will be playing for Punjab. Our friendship helps us gel on the field as we understand each other’s game well. I am hoping for another electric season for both of us,” Mayank added. Punjab started their last season with a lot of promise and was equally dominating till the middle phase of the season. Mayank outlined that the team had played well in clusters and that they will look forward to correcting that record with consistent performances this season. “We missed qualifying for the playoffs last season by one victory. Punjab Kings need to be consistent and display a good brand of cricket to taste success. The team has been successful in clusters in the past, but we have lacked consistency,” Mayank said. The Punjab Kings will start their IPL 2021 campaign on April 12 against the Rajasthan Royals.

Moeen Ali didn’t ask for the removal of an alcohol brand on his shirt, CSK CEO confirms

English all-rounder Moeen Ali never asked the Chennai Super Kings management to remove the alcohol brand logo from his jersey and it was a decision that was taken cautiously by the management itself. Squashing the rumours doing rounds that Ali asked the management a personal favour, CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan told IANS, "There has been no request made by Moeen to CSK to remove any logo." The England all-rounder was roped in by the CSK franchise in this year’s IPL mini-auction for Rs. 7 crores and is going to be one of the mainstays of the team going into the IPL. The MS Dhoni-led side plays its first game against last year’s finalists Delhi Capitals on 10th April at the Wankhede Stadium. Ali, 33 has been a renowned T20 player having represented various teams in various T20 leagues. In IPL too, he represented RCB for three seasons, scoring 309 runs and taking 10 wickets in 19 games. He was released by the franchise just ahead of this season. In total, the Birmingham born player has played 167 T20s, scoring 3513 runs and taking 110 wickets in them. Ali has two centuries and 19 fifties in the format with a five-wicket haul to go with it.