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Manjrekar Bhogle Cant Think Beyond Bombay Srikkanth Defends Kl Rahuls Test Recall

Manjrekar & Bhogle can't think beyond Bombay - Srikkanth defends KL Rahul's Test recall

Former chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth has slammed Sanjay Manjrekar for questioning KL Rahul’s inclusion in the Test squad, stating that Manjrekar can’t think beyond Bombay. Srikkanth, who played 43 Test matches and 146 ODIs for India, called Manjrekar’s views ‘rubbish’.

"Leave Sanjay Manjrekar alone, he doesn't have any other job," Srikkanth said in his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka. "Questioning KL Rahul's selection in Tests? He has played well in Tests. I won't agree at all. Just because Sanjay wants to question something, I don't think I'll agree. You shouldn't question something just to create a controversy. KL Rahul has done brilliantly in all formats. Go through his Test record.

Rahul hasn’t clicked in Test cricket over the past couple of years. The elegant batter in white-ball format hasn’t hit a fifty in his last 12 innings in Tests. Barring a 149 in a dead-rubber contest - the fifth Test against England at The Oval in 2018, Rahul has averaged 22.23 in 27 Test innings since the start of 2018.

Anirudha, Srikkanth’s son and host of the show pointed out that Manjrekar’s analysis isn’t too illogical as Rahul was dropped from Tests due to poor form for the home season last year. Srikkanth opined that the Karnataka cricketer is a good player of fast bowling and that Rahul has hit a hundred in Australia.

"He might have been inconsistent but the same KL Rahul made his debut in Australia and made a century. He's a good player of fast bowling. Let's understand, he's a very good player of fast bowling," he said.

"Sanjay Manjrekar cannot think beyond Bombay. That's the problem. We are talking neutral. Manjrekar cannot think beyond Bombay. For people like Manjrekar, everything is Bombay, Bombay and Bombay. They have to think beyond Bombay."

Srikkanth also went on to say that commentator Harsha Bhogle isn’t neutral in his views and that he is biased towards Bombay cricketers. The 60-year-old said he is talking about Surya Kumar Yadav’s inclusion in the limited-overs squad instead of fighting over Dinesh Karthik and Ravi Ashwin’s snub.

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South Africa to host England, Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan in 2020-21 home season

Cricket South Africa has announced a bumper 2020-21 international home season which will see them host England, Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan. Each of the series would either be part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League (CWCSL) or the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) as per CSA. The Proteas will kickstart the season with a three-match T20I series which will be followed by as many ODIs against England. Cape Town and Paarl will host the games respectively. South Africa will move on to host Sri Lanka in a 2-match Test series. Centurion and Johannesburg will host the Test matches. The particular series will fill up the window for the Boxing Day Test and New Year’s Test match. Furthermore, Australia will land on the African soil to play a three-match Test series. It would be followed by white-ball series - T20Is and ODIs. The full schedule for the home season will be announced by CS shortly. CSA’s acting CEO Kugandrie Govender heaped praises on the people working behind the scenes to make the events possible. He also stated that all the games will be played behind closed doors. “It comes as a result of many hours of dedication, negotiation, and hard work by individuals behind the scenes to ensure that our fans have an exciting line-up of cricket to look forward to throughout the summer, and, although the matches will be played behind closed doors, we will have enough entertainment to make them feel as though they are a part of match-day activities.” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

India to play two warm-up games in Australia

Virat Kohli and Co. will play two warm-up games ahead of the all-important Test series in Australia. New South Wales will hots both the games before the side travels to Adelaide to compete in the first Test match. As per the provisional schedule shared by Cricket Australia with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), India were likely to play a solitary warm-up game, a day-night match in Adelaide from December 11 to 13 just ahead of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide from December 17. But the BCCI had requested for one more warm-up game as there have been no first-class matches in India sue to the Covid-19 pandemic. The day-night warm-up game will be broadcasted hence an international venue is an obvious choice. Sydney Cricket Ground will host the three-day affair. "India's squad will arrive in Sydney on November 12 subject to Australian Border Force travel authorisation and the appropriate departure-approvals. The team will quarantine in Sydney prior to the first match of the series on November 27," Cricket Australia stated in a media release. "CA can also confirm dates for tour matches ahead of the Test series. India A will take on Australia A at Drummoyne Oval (New South Wales) (December 6-8), and India will play Australia A in a day-night match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (December 11-13)," the release stated. The Indian contingent - 32 cricketers including four back-up bowlers, coaching and support staff will travel to Australia after the conclusion of Indian Premier League 2020.

SRH vs DC: What Experts said as desperate Sunrisers send alerts to Capitals' camp

The Delhi Capitals did not play the game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad as a side positioned at the number two on the points table on the Indian Premier League and looked a side without any concrete backup plans or tactics to contain the opposition batsmen. The bowling attack that has been quite menacing in the season so far looked lackluster as the Sunrisers’ opening pair of David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha took a liking to them and piled on the agony for Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Pntong. Here we have compiled the views of the captains after the game was finished along with some of the best experts' views about the game between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Delhi Capitals. Captains’ take Discussing the outcome of the game and the impact it could bring to his side, the losing captain Shreyas Iyer pointed out the level of the loss the Delhi Capitals had to endure in the game. However, he also raised the expectations from his team and also shed lights on his perspective as the captain of the side and said that the team just needs a win from the remaining two games to see through to the playoffs and that the side does not have to feel the pressure just yet. “Definitely a big loss, but you can't get bogged down at this point of time. We still have two games. One win is all we need - we've been waiting for that since the last three games. This loss is definitely going to motivate us,” Iyer told the host broadcaster Star in the post-match interaction. Pinpointing the moments of the game that took the game away from his side, Iyer pointed out that the Capitals lost the game pretty early when the bowling attack conceded runs in excess of 70 ithin the powerplay overs. Iyer’’s decision to bowl first ahd raise eyebrows given the opposing captain Warner was looking to bat first, but he refused to call the decision a mistake, even with the benefit of a hindsight and rather said that the nature of pitches in the tournament so far have been interesting and that he has found it tough to read pitches correctly in the season so far. “It's really difficult to judge what to do on this wicket - it's probably better to lose the toss. [In jest] unfortunately I lost the toss and we thought of the dew. We obviously discuss a lot about the opposition batsmen,” Iyer said while defending his decision to bowl first. The Capitals have their tasks cut out in the remaining two games scheduled against the Mumbai Indians and the RCB but he has exalted confidence in his team, albeit with air of caution. “Any team can surprise any team in this tournament. you can't underestimate anyone, especially at the business end of the tournament. RCB is a good team but we must also remember we've beaten them before,” Iyer said while accepting the challenges his side is facing in the next two games. The winning captain David Warner expressed the tough call he had to take before the game of dropping Jonny Bairstow’s flamboyance for the stability of Kane Williamson. He also discussed at length the mindset he was in while he walked out to bat with Saha at the top of the order and said that he tried to go so far back in time to 2009 and looked to clear his stance by opening his front leg to give himself more access to the ball while going for big shots. He spoke highly of the two best performers of the game-- Rashid Khan and Wriddhiman Saha. “What a knock by Wriddhi. His strike rate in the powerplay is incredible,” Warner said about Saha’s swashbuckling innings in the post-match presentation ceremony. He also pointed out that the men in orange have two remaining games scheduled in Sharjah and showed ocnifidence in his team that they can post huge totals on the board considering the amount of runs they scored in Dubai against the Delhi Capitals inthis match. “Two games in Sharjah to go. If we can get 220 on the board here, who knows what we can get there,” Warner added in his post-match presentation interaction. Experts’ take Cricket analyst Joy Bhattacharya pointed OUT ON twitter the long list of Sunrisers’ players who have left the IPL 2020 due to injuries and reminded the level of competence in the squad that the team is still in the hunt for the playoffs spot. Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle was left wondering if the Delhi Capitals are running out of wind to compete for so long in the tournament given their huge margins of defeats in the last three games. He suggested that the team needs to come back stronger but the challenges on its hands seem to have gone bigger with the remaining clashes scheduled against the RCB and MI. Veteran cricket journalist Sambit Bal reminded the cruelty of the IPL and how quickly situations can turn around for teams as he wondered the probability of Delhi Capitals’ elimination from the tournament after having entered into the second half of the league with a promise to top the league stage.

IPL 2020 | SRH vs DC: Saha, Warner, Rashid annihilate Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals hit their third stumbling block on the trot as Sunrisers Hyderabad bulldozed them into a soul-crushing 88-run defeat in the 47th match of the Indian Premier League. Wriddhiman Saha was a revelation for his 45-ball 87 to set the stage on fire along with David Warner's explosive fifty as SRH posted a mammoth 219/2, the highest total in the ongoing edition. Rashid Khan then cast a spin web, rooking out otherworldly figures of 4-7-3-0 comprising 17 dots to lend the orange army an NRR fillip. If a side boasting of truckloads of firepower is apprehensive of targeting you, that too with a mountain to climb ahead, you can give yourself a pat on the back.