MS Dhoni to not charge any money for mentoring Team India during World T20, suggests Jay Shah

Would love to be at Sunrisers Hyderabad next year, but time will tell: David Warner

The Sunrisers Hyderabad had a forgettable run during the IPL 2021 season after the franchise ended at the bottom of the points table and suffered eleven defeats in the 14 matches that they played. In fact, the SRH also replaced the skipper and handed over the baton to Kane Williamson from David Warner. Though, the tweak in the captaincy didn’t really change much for SRH. Talking to Sports Today, Warner opened up about his chances of staying at SRH. "My Instagram post was a special one because you don't know what's happening next year. Any time I post something on my social media, it's either my family or people that mean the most to me and SunRisers have given me that opportunity to lead," Warner said. "Sometimes, you get that feeling that you are not going to be retained with little signs that you can see around the group. From my perspective, I can see the writing was on the wall and it was an appropriate time to say thank you," he added. The left-handed batsman talked about his time at Hyderabad and how the fans have treated him and his family with respect. "Hyderabad's my second home, they have treated my family with great respect. Every time I have visited there, people want to give us hugs, speak to the kids and that is the most important thing to me in life,” he said. Warner has led Sunrisers to their only IPL title so far back in 2016 when they defeated RCB in the final.

Avesh Khan set to join Team India as net bowler, may join the main squad as well: Report

Pace bowler Avesh Khan is all set to join Team India once again as a net bowler during the upcoming T20 World Cup and could well find a place in the main squad for the event, PTI reported. Avesh has been asked to stay back in the UAE after the conclusion of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League and he will join Umran Malik as the pacers to help Indian batsmen prepare for batting against pace bowlers. ''The national selectors have decided to also include Avesh in the mix. As of now, he will be a net bowler but if the team management feels, he can be upgraded,'' a PTI quoted an unnamed BCCI official as saying. ''Avesh bowls at an average speed of 142 to 145 clicks, earns disconcerting bounce from the flattest of decks and has been on support staff's radar for some time,'' the source said. Avesh has been in the purple patch with the ball throughout the course of the tournament and stands behind only Harshal Patel on the list of highest wicket-takers of the competition. Earlier this year, Avesh was there with the Indian team on the tour of United Kings as well before injuring his finger and coming back home before the start of the Test series. His continuous selection, albeit as a net bowler is an establishment of him being on the radar of the team management and selection committee.

World T20 2021: PNG captain Assad Vala reveals how India's cricketing legend inspired him

Papua New Guinea captain Assad Vala has revealed that he has grown up idolising former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar. “…when I was growing up, as we all know (Sachin) Tendulkar was (the) only cricketer everyone in the world knew. Tendulkar (and) probably Brian Lara as well. I just wanted to watch them bat and I see myself as a batsman,” 34-year-old Vala said in an online interaction facilitated by the ICC. Vala mentioned about Tendulkar’s knock of 241* against Australia away from home and how the batting legend stitched his innings. “There was a series in Australia, where he got nicked off four or five-times before he scored the double century. He was mentally tough and the way he planned his double century where he played straight and on-side is something I have never seen done before, just to score all his runs on the leg-side and straight-down,” he said. The World T20 will begin on October 17 when co-host Oman will be up against PNG in Al Amerat. PNG will then play Scotland on October 19 and Bangladesh on October 21 at the same venue in the group stage.

Virat Kohli is a leader, want to thank him for his contributions: Harshal Patel

The Royal Challengers Bangalore bowed out of the IPL 2021 after suffering a defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator in Sharjah on Monday. With the conclusion of this edition of the IPL for RCB, skipper Virat Kohli also played his last game as the skipper of the franchise. Kohli had earlier announced that he would step down from the post after this season. Kohli might not be the captain of the side anymore but fast bowler Harshal Patel has insisted that he would still remain the “leader”. “In terms of his captaincy, there are captains and there are leaders, he is definitely a leader. Just because he won’t have the captaincy tag, it doesn’t make him any less of a leader,” Harshal said at the post-match press conference. “So, I just want to thank him for whatever he has contributed for this team and to my growth,” he added. The right-arm bowler expressed disappointment on the loss and added that the way the side had fared in the tournament, they expected to end at least in the top two. “Obviously, we are all disappointed in the way we finished the tournament. The way we were playing, I think we should have been in (the) top two. But as we all know, it is a game of small margins,” Harshal said. After restricting RCB to 138/7 in 20 overs, courtesy some fine piece of bowling from the spinners and especially Sunil Narine who picked up four wickets, KKR went on to chase the target in the final over by 4 wickets and two balls to spare. The Knight Riders will now lock horns with Delhi Capitals in the second qualifier on Wednesday in Sharjah.