MS Dhoni knows how to get the best out of his bowlers: K Gowtham

Chennai Super Kings all-rounder K Gowtham has said that the bowlers love to play under MS Dhoni’s captaincy because the former India skipper knows how to bring the best out of them.

“Bowlers love playing under Mahi bhai because he understands a bowler’s strengths and knows how to get the best out of him,” Gowtham was quoted as saying by the CSK website.

Gowtham who was a part of the Punjab Kings earlier said that the CSK management understands cricket well and that reflects in its approach to players.

“The CSK management understands cricket owing to its long association with the game which again reflects in its approach to players… the comforting words and confidence given when things aren’t going right,” he said.

“It makes a big difference as it helps a player to express himself. They talk to the player if anything specific is needed or if he’s working on something. When these things are taken care of, it’s much easier for a player to go out and give his best,” the new CSK recruit said.

The MS Dhoni-led side will begin the IPL 2021 campaign on April 10 when they take on Delhi Capitals in Mumbai. CSK had a forgettable last season after they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time. Dhoni has led the team to three IPL titles.

SQUAD: Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood, KM Asif, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K. Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishanth

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Bihar CA likely to face sanctions for defying BCCI's orders

The Bihar Cricket Association and its registered first-class and List A players might face sanctions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCA defied the BCCI’s orders to not hold the unsanctioned Bihar Cricket League (BCL). The BCL was held between March 20-26 in Patna that included five franchises Angika Avengers, Bhagalpur Bulls, Dharbhanga Diamonds, Gaya Gladiators and Patna Pilots. The tournament was aired on Eurosport Channel. Darbhanga Diamonds won the tournament. A letter from BCCI (in possession of PTI) had been sent to the BCA that the T20 league wasn’t approved and shouldn’t be held. But the tournament did go ahead according to the schedule. “We have reviewed your responses to our queries, and upon careful consideration, BCCI has decided to not accord its approval to the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) for conducting its T20 domestic league cricket tournament (i.e. BCL), as it does not fulfil/comply the directives of the advisory and guidelines issued by the BCCI,” the board’s acting CEO Hemnag Amin had written to the state body. The BCCI had further said that the BCA has been asked to stop BCL or be ready to face the sanctions. “In the event, BCA does not cancel the ongoing T20 tournament (i.e., BCL), the tournament will be deemed to be an ‘Unapproved Tournament’ as per BCCI’s Rules and Regulations and BCA will be liable for sanctions, as per BCCI’s Rules and Regulations,” it said. The rules that have been violated in the process as per Article 31 of BCCI constitution are 31. BAN ON PARTICIPATION IN UNAPPROVED TOURNAMENTS (1) No Member shall participate or extend help of any kind to an unapproved Tournament. (2) No Player, Umpire, Scorer, Official or other person associated with the BCCI shall participate in any unapproved tournament. (3) The Apex Council shall take appropriate action including suspension and stoppage of financial benefits and any other action against individuals / Members contravening the above.

Thisara Perera hits six sixes in an over

Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera became the first batsman from the country to hit six sixes in an over in any form of professional cricket. Thisara achieved the feat while leading Sri Lanka Army against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club in the Major Clubs Limited Over List A tournament at the Army Ground in Panagoda town on Sunday. Perera was up against off-spinner Dilhan Cooray during this over. Perera hit a total of eight sixes in the innings while scoring the second fastest half-century in List A cricket by a Sri Lankan. He eventually scored an unbeaten 52 off 13 during the course. The left-handed batsman came out to bat number 5 position with 20 balls left in the innings. The match was reduced to 41-overs-a-side. The Sri Lankan cricketer is the ninth batsman to smash six sixes in an over at the professional level. Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter and Kieron Pollard are the other batsmen in the list. Perera has played 6 Tests, 166 ODIs and 84 T20Is for Sri Lanka. In the six Tests that Perera has played, he has scored 203 runs while has struck over 2300 runs in the ODIs and has 175 wickets to his name in the format. In T20Is, the all-rounder has 422 runs to his name at a strike-rate of 137.46 and has scalped 51 wickets.

No rest days for Virat Kohli as RCB skipper begins preparations for IPL 2021

India and RCB captain Virat Kohli is having no off days as he has begun his training for the upcoming IPL 2021 slated to begin on April 9 in Chennai. RCB will lock horns with defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opener. Kohli posted a video of his workout regime on social media that was captioned, “No rest days. From here on its all about speed #IPL.” The skipper had in fact talked about the IPL during the post-match presentation after the third and final encounter against England on Sunday in Pune. India clinched the three-match ODI series 2-1 after beating England by 7 runs in a thrilling decider. “It has been an amazing season for us and we wanted to finish on a high. This tour has been sweet, winning every series. Now to enjoy the IPL, it’s a different kind of challenge, and back again with this group of guys,” Kohli said. “The IPL break (for the support staff) is a bit of a respite. But scheduling is something that needs to be looked at in these times. It’s not easy to be playing for months in bubbles. Everyone can’t have the same mental capacity all the time. Am sure things will be discussed and things will change in the future,” he added. The Virat Kohl-led RCB side bought a few new recruits during the mini-auctions held in Chennai in February. The overseas players who have joined the team include Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson and Daniel Christian. While Maxwell and Jamieson were bought for Rs 14.25 Cr and Rs 15 Cr, Christian received a sum of Rs 4.8 Cr. Sams will be joining the team after being traded from Delhi Capitals. RCB have managed to reach the IPL final thrice in the earlier editions but have never lifted the trophy.

CWI president breached articles: Anand Sanasie

Anand Sanasie who is up against Ricky Skerritt to fight the elections for the position of the President of Cricket West Indies has claimed that Skerritt that there have been a breach of articles in many cases and needs to be rectified before the next Annual General Meeting. The CWI elections were earlier postponed due to lack of quorum. The elections that were scheduled for March 28 will now take place on April 11. "I am (disappointed) but support democratic norms, the incumbent has breached the articles in many cases and should rectify these before any AGM, I do not have a vote but support the decision of Guyana Cricket Board not to participate," Sanasie told Cricbuzz. Sanasie further said that the financial statements that have to be sent to the shareholders 14 days prior to the AGM were not sent. "Financial statements must be sent to shareholders 14 days before the AGM and are required to be approved by the board of directors, This was not done for the first time in decades," said Sanasie. "Non-presentation of the audited financial statement raises serious questions of accountability, transparency and the management of CWI finances during the tenure of the Skerritt/Shallow administration,” he added. Sanasie also said that they will be a part of the AGM only if all the requirements and notice period are satisfied.