It is time for us to get better & transform our white-ball cricket: KL Rahul

Marco Jansen is going to be next big thing in international cricket: KL Rahul

India batter KL Rahul has lavished praise on South Africa pacer Marco Jansen and said that he is someone who will do really well in international cricket. "Marco Jansen played a few games for Mumbai Indians but he has come of his own now. He had a really good series with the red ball and that makes a little bit of a difference with how people see him. He is someone who will do really well in international cricket with the red ball,” Rahul told Sports Today. “We all spoke about it after the series as well that he is going to be the next big thing in international cricket," he added. The right-handed batsman who led India in the three-match ODI series against South Africa also lauded Kagiso Rabada and went on to add that the fast bowler bowls at some brilliant pace and is a smart cricketer. "We have seen Rabada being a key bowler for the Delhi Capitals and played a huge part in their success. Every team would want a player like Kagiso Rabada. Come on, he bowls over 145kph and is a very smart cricketer. Everyone would want someone like that," said Rahul. India suffered a 0-3 defeat against South Africa in the ODI series while they had also the Test series 1-2.

AFG vs NED | 3rd ODI: No respite for the Dutch as Zadran, Qais Ahmad shine in Afghan clean sweep

If perfect scripting were to happen in sports and most specifically cricket, then the Afghanistan team seem to have mastered it as far as its three-match ODI series against the Netherlands was concerned. In the third match in a row, it managed to bowl out the Dutch even as Scott Edwards hit third consecutive fifty. The Afghanistan team once again won the toss and like in the first two matches, chose to bat first. If there was an improvement in the second game from the first one as they reached 237 from 222, in the third game they improved a bit further and crossed the 250 run mark courtesy of some brilliant slog over hitting by Najibullah Zadran. It was Zadran’s 59 ball 71 coupled with debutant Riaz Hassan’s fifty and 48 from Rahmat Shah that took Afghanistan to a very tough total to chase. The Netherlands started off well in their chase with the openers Colin Ackermann and Edwards putting up a 103 runs stand for the first wicket. However, it once again became evident that the Dutch middle-order was in no way fit to fight the Afghan spin and soon after the partnership break, wickets started falling. While Edwards scored 54, Ackermann top-scored with 81 off 96 balls. Apart from those two, Saqib Zulfiqar was the only other batter to get into double figures from the Netherlands side. For Afghanistan, another ODI debutant Qais Ahmad picked three wickets while experienced Rashid Khan picked the crucial wicket of Ackermann alongside that of Philippe Boissevain. With the 3-0 clean sweep, Afghanistan reached the fifth position in the Cricket World Cup Super League 2023. They now have 60 points from six games, meaning that they have won all their possible matches.

Taylor is not a hard-nosed criminal: Gambhir wants ICC to go soft on the Zimbabwean

Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwean cricketer who in a letter released on Twitter revealed the ordeals that he had to go through to get himself out from the spot-fixing mess, seems to have earned a bit of soft corner from former India batter and current Member of Parliament, Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir, in his column in the Times of India, said that Taylor is no hard-nosed criminal and was only trying to protect and secure his family of four children and wife when he delayed reporting the corrupt approach made to him by Indian businessmen who also threatened to expose him by releasing his video consuming banned substances. “Don't get me wrong as I am not supporting Taylor. I am only concerned about the circumstances which forced him, a father of four children fearing for his and his family's lives, to delay reporting the incident to the International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Unit,” Gambhir wrote in his column. "Taylor is a sportsperson and not a hard-nosed criminal whose faculties would support him if six individuals barged into his hotel room with a threat to release a video where he was reportedly consuming a banned substance," he added. The 40-year-old then went on to suggest to the International Cricket Council that if Taylor is not really guilty of corruption and spot foxing and his only fault is late reporting, then the international body could go a bit soft. "Surely these corrupt men are not working in seclusion. More often than not they seem to be part of an organised group. What if someone had tried to physically harm Taylor or his family? Is there a provision to provide security to cricketers who report a corrupt approach but fear for their or their family's well-being? Is there any network which activates their security at the local level," Gambhir questioned. "By Taylor's admission, he didn't succumb to the pressures of corruptors and never did anything wrong. If this is true then perhaps authorities can go a little soft on him. If he is corrupt, then the law must take its course," he suggested further.

Watch | Andre Fletcher stretchered out of Sher-e-Bangla Stadium after being hit on the neck

West Indian batter Andre Fletcher, who was playing in the Bangladesh Premier League for the Khulna Tigers had to be stretchered away out of the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, after being hit by a bouncer on his neck. The incident took place in the seventh over of the Tigers’ innings when they were chasing 192 against Chattogram Challengers. At 45-2, Tigers were hoping that Fletcher, who was then batting at 11 off nine balls would help them in the stiff chase. However, Rejaur Rahman Raja, the fast bowler who was selected in the Bangladesh squad for the Pakistan Tests, but wasn’t able to make his debut, dropped it short and on the off stump. The ball deviated from the surface and rose unexpectedly even as Fletcher attempted to pull it. The ball was too fast for him crashed straight into his jaws. The physio came out and after the initial checks, the stretcher was brought in to carry the West Indian out of the stadium. He was then taken to the nearby hospital for further checkups. “He is out of danger but we are taking him to hospital as part of precaution," Khulna manager Nafees Iqbal updated the media about Fletcher’s health. Zimbabwean Sikandar Raza replaced him in the middle, but couldn’t do much either as even after his 12 ball 22, the Tigers could only reach 165-9 in their 20 overs, eventually losing the game by 25 runs.