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Michael Holding Sees A Lot Of Viv Richards In Virat Kohli

Michael Holding sees a lot of Viv Richards in Virat Kohli

Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding credited Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the change in Indian cricket and taking it to new heights. Stressing on the fitness levels of all the players, Holding said during his time as a player only or two players from the Indian side used to have the fitness levels and now the whole team looks so fit and always raring to go.

Over the last few years, the Indian cricket team has been one of the fittest outfits with skipper Virat Kohli leading from the front. Ever since his physical transformation, Kohli has been an example to his teammates which has shrugged off on his teammates and have made the Indian team one of the fittest units. Holding feels Kohli resembles the characteristics of legendary West Indies batsman Viv Richards

“Virat Kohli is someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s someone who will let you know exactly how he feels. I think he gets a bit carried away at times, but that is Virat Kohli, that is the man. He’s similar to Viv (Richards) in that regard. Viv, sometimes on the field, was over-expressive." Holding said.

Speaking about the personality of the two players Holding said, "But those are the personalities of those two gentlemen. They can tone down a little bit as well, but then, if you are a Mustang, it’s hard to tell a Mustang to trot. He’s going to gallop.”

Despite already becoming one of the most successful Test skippers of all time, Kohli’s over-aggressive approach has led to India’s downfall on certain occasions. Holding feels that Kohli could tone down just a bit in order to make his players a bit more relaxed.

“As far as his captaincy, I’ve only seen India when they were touring England and I saw them in South Africa. The only thing I’d say about Virat is that he tone down a bit so his team can relax because a lot of them, I think, are on tenterhooks,” Holding concluded.

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PCB adds three more spots in central contracts for women

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made some additions in the central contracts for women. The PCB added three spots in the list and also increased monthly retainers across all categories by 10 per cent. "In total, the PCB has awarded 20 contracts for the 2021-22 cricket season, which is two more than the previous," the PCB said in a statement. "Monthly retainers across all rungs – including the emerging category – have been increased by 10 per cent and the national women’s selection committee has kept one spot open in the central contracts that will be awarded in the year based on on-field performance," it added. The decision was taken by the board to reward the players who have been performing for the team. "The Pakistan Cricket Board has increased the list of central contracts from nine to 12 as it continues to value and reward the best performers on the circuit," Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, said. The contracts are divided into three grades, A, B and C and will have 12 spots. Pakistan are slated to host England for a couple of T20Is and three ODIs before they feature in ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier in December. They will later play in ICC Women's Cricket World Cup and Commonwealth Games next year.

Kusal Mendis, Gunathilaka, Dickwella suspended by SLC for bio bubble breach in UK

Three Sri Lanka players Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella were on Monday suspended by the SLC for a bio-bubble breach in the UK. The cricketers who were in England for the on-going limited-overs tour will now fly back home from Durham. "Sri Lanka Cricket executive committee has suspended Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka & Niroshan Dickwella for breaching the bio- bubble and they will be immediately recalled to Sri Lanka," SLC secretary Mohan De Silva said in a statement. A video of Mendis and Dickwella had gone viral on social media where the two were spotted roaming around on the streets of Durham. “An investigation is underway as they have breached the (code of) conduct,” said SLC chief Shammi Silva said earlier after the video of the players surfaced on social media. Sri Lanka are touring England for a three-match T20I series and as many ODIs. The visitors suffered a thumping 0-3 defeat in the series after losing the third and final encounter by 89 runs. Chasing 181 in 20 overs, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 91. This is not the first time that Mendis has found himself in trouble. He was arrested for being allegedly involved in a car accident with a cyclist who died on the spot last year. He was later produced before the Panadura Magistrate’s Court and was released on two personal bails of Sri Lankan rupees 1 million each after being detailed in the jail overnight. The first ODI between England and Sri Lanka will be played on Tuesday.

T20 is not cricket says Michael Holding

From being the undisputed kings of world cricket during the late 1970s to the early 1990s to becoming one of the weaker teams of the current generation, West Indies cricket has been not even a shade of themselves in the recent past and former legendary fast bowler Michael Holding blamed the administration for several top Windies players choosing T20 leagues over national duty. Despite languishing in the latest ICC rankings across all three formats, West Indies are still the world champions in the T20 format. West Indies won the 2016 edition of the tournament which was held in India and despite languishing at the 10th spot in the Latest ICC team rankings in T20Is, Windies go into the showpiece event later this year with a reasonable chance in this format. Speaking on the same, Michael Holding said that he doesn’t consider T20s as cricket and doesn’t feel winning T20 tournaments will help in the development of cricket in West Indies. “When you win a T20 tournament, that is not revival; it’s not even cricket! It’s going to be very difficult for the West Indies to get on top in Test cricket because of this T20. The T20 tournaments around the world are the bane of the game. When you are a poor country and can’t afford to pay as much as England, Australia, and India, the players will go on to play T20. That’s where West Indies and others are getting hit,” Holding said. “Unless you can pay as much as the rest of the big countries, this will happen. Many West Indies players are not interested in playing for West Indies. I don’t want to call out names. When you are earning 600,000 or 800,000 dollars for six weeks, what are you going to do? I don’t blame the cricketers. I blame the administrators. They give a lot of lip service to Test cricket but all they are interested in is bringing in money into their cupboards… West Indies will win T20 tournaments which aren’t cricket; they won’t be a force in Test cricket,” he further added.

Quota system prevailing in South Africa cricket should stop: Michael Holding

Former West Indies legendary fast bowler Michael Holding feels that the quota system prevailing in South Africa shouldn’t be a solution going forward and players should be selected on merit. However, he agreed to the fact that it has solely happened due to the racial discrimination in the Rainbow Nation. “In my book, both Makhaya Ntini and I agree that a quota system is never going to be the solution. We can understand why it has taken place as people are desperate for change – and as rapidly as possible. But the best solution is to make opportunities available for everyone,” Holding was quoted as saying during an exclusive interview with the Indian Express. Racial discrimination has been very prevalent in South Africa especially during the apartheid era. According to the current quota system prevailing in the South African cricket team, as many as 6 coloured players has to be in the team including two black players. The provision has been largely made to provide equal opportunities to the black people who faced innumerable challenges and discrimination in the past. Former South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini who was the first Black South African player to represent the country in cricket faced discrimination even during his stint with the national team. Ntini had earlier said that he avoided travelling on team bus and used to run to the hotel after the match. He used to sit alone in a table while having food as none of the other players wanted to sit with him. “Yeah, he didn’t feel comfortable with the team. And he related a story that he would go for breakfast [first] and sit at a table. Other team members would come in and sit at another table. None of them would come and join him. Because of course, he was the first Black African to play for South Africa. But he was all alone at his table,” Holding said on this particular aspect. You know, it is not shocking to me. When you have a country with that sort of history [of apartheid], it takes a long time for people to accept that we are all human beings. The apartheid regime doesn’t just get washed away and everything goes back to normal. It will take time for people to understand, people to accept and for people to come together,” the fast bowler further added. Holding said that despite performing admirably for his team, Ntini never got the due respect due to the history of the Rainbow nation. He was looked as more of a quota player instead of someone who justified his place in the team. “The quota system just shows that you are in a hurry to be where you want to be. In my opinion, that should not last. You can’t keep on having a quota system forever and forever. Ntini talks about it – he is in the South African team and is being looked at as a quota player instead of being justified of his place. He was mentally strong and able to get over it. Not everyone is going to be like that, though. It can destroy your mind,” Holding further added.