Mzansi Super League intact even as Cricket South Africa announce new provincial T20 tournament

Toss up between Ishant, Ashwin as Kohli willing to risk batting depth to take 20 wickets

India have made two brave calls in their last two Tests in England and in the hindsight, those calls have returned mixed results for the side. At first, they selected the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand calling them part of their “best bowling attack”. However, as the big WTC final took its course, the team management learnt their lessons of respecting conditions as Jadeja was under bowled due to more requirements of pacers, they took another big call for the first Test of the series against England. They left out Ravichandran Ashwin from the Trent Bridge Test and that too after his superb spell of bowling in the and in a county game for Surrey at the Oval. The move ignited many debates but the team management believed that having a “template” of four pacers and one spinner in the form of Ravindra Jadeja provided them with the perfect chance to beat England in Nottingham with spells of rain predicted across all days. But, why did Jadeja was preferred over Ashwin and Shardul Thakur was preferred as the fourth seamer over Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav? It was the batting credentials of both Jadeja and Shardul that made the case easier for them as India were reluctant to field a batting-thin side in the first Test of an important series. Their complicated quest of finding a “deeper” batting order and “balanced” playing XI has not stopped at the Trent Bridge as now Shardul has injured his hamstring and has been ruled out of the second Test. This complicates the issue further as either it will force the team management to disown their favourite “template” which captain Kohli had affirmed to carry on with or it will ask them to give up on the batting depth. Addressing the concerns around the team selection for the second Test, Kohli dropped a subtle hint that India will not be desperate to search batting depth and instead will look to get 20 England wickets. "For us, it's about finding that perfect balance but if someone like Shardul is not available, then we definitely need to think how to pick up 20 wickets and not try to plug in another guy, who can give us some runs with the bat. I think we are very comfortable with how the first Test went," Kohli said. Commending the batting performance of Jadeja and the credentials of Shardul, Kohli said that the team will be richer in the batting department after the left-hander’s runs in the first Test while Shardul brings more batting ability to the table. However, he said that there was a need for runs from the lower order only because the middle-order trio of himself, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane could not stand up with the bat. He refused to admit that Shardul’s absence from the second Test will limit their batting depth and instead he chose to see this as an opportunity for other batsmen to “step up”. "Good thing is that Jadeja has got runs in the first Test already and he is going into the second game confident that already makes our batting deeper, the lower order contributed with bat a well. Yes, Shardul brings in more batting ability but having said that from the batsmen's point of view, we are well placed because Pujara, Jinx (Rahane) and myself we didn't score too many,” Kohli said in the pre-match press conference. "Every game is an opportunity for other batters to step up as well, Rohit and KL played very well and we are very comfortable with how we are placed as a batting unit, and we don’t feel that we will be a batsman short if Shardul doesn't play," he said. Albeit he conceded failure in the middle order including him, he did not highlight the form of his vice-captain Rahane and Pujara as an “area of concern” and instead said that the duo adds collective strength to the Indian batting order. "I don't think that's an area of concern. Our basic focus is not to think individually where people are but collectively how much strength they bring into the team is our focus. What's your best and strongest batting unit that you can take on the park," the skipper said. Rishabh Pant has continued to bat in his audacious way on the tour fo England so far and Kohli has sent a public backing to his method. Kohli said that the team management has set very “clear communication” with the left-hander that they don’t see him batting with a defensive mindset. However, he reiterated that the wicketkeeper has an “intelligent” sense of batting to not throw away games and scores from crucial positions. "That's basically how he plays. He obviously has the capability to carry on and play long innings in that manner. It doesn't necessarily have to be a very defensive role. Obviously, when there is a demand of the situation, he (Pant) is intelligent enough to understand if we are looking to save a game. Obviously, he won't play those kinds of shots but wherever there is 50-50 situation and he has a chance to change the momentum of the game he will take that chance. That's how he plays and we want him to be that way," he asserted. "Obviously, communication is very clear from the team and where we are heading as a team and what kind of approach is needed in different situations. We expect him to play innings that changes momentum and tilt the balance towards us." Kohli himself could not get going in the last Test and was scalped by his longtime nemesis James Anderson on the very first ball he faced. He has not had a great number at Lord’s and the India skipper would love to correct all those mistakes at the home of cricket and end an elongated drought of a hundred.

Shakib reclaims top all-rounder spot in T20Is; Bumrah in top 10 of Test rankings

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has for the first time reached the top of the all-rounders ranking in the T20I formats ever since early 2018. Thanks to his splendid performances in two continuous series (against Zimbabwe and Australia), the 34-year-old moved to 286 points – one more than Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi to reach the top of the list. In the last two series combined, Shakib scored 151 runs and took 10 wickets in eight matches. On his way, he also became the first player in cricket history to complete the double of 100 wickets and 1000 runs in T20I cricket. Along with Shakib, his fellow compatriot, Mustafizur Rahman also climbed 20 spots and jammed his way into the top 10 of the T20I bowling rankings with 619 rating points. He now sits at the 10th spot in a list topped by South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi. The Fizz ended his five-match campaign with a haul of seven wickets at 8.57, leaking just 3.52 runs per over. In the Test rankings released by the ICC, India’s Jasprit Bumrah climbed 10 spots to ninth on the rankings with 760 rating points. He was rewarded for his nine-wicket match haul which included a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the match. England’s James Anderson too climbed one spot to seventh on the bowlers ranking list. In the batting department, England skipper Joe Root, on the back of his second innings century and first-innings fifty in the Trent Bridge Test leapfrogged his Indian counterpart to the fourth position on the list.

Ahead of T20 World Cup, ICC opens expression of interests for media rights

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is doing everything possible to make the upcoming T20 World Cup slated to be held in UAE a blockbuster event. They have invited parties to submit expressions of interest for all the non-exclusive media rights in connection with public screening and onboard rights ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup slated to be held in October-November. The showpiece event will be held in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14. The interested parties will be offered the opportunity to obtain regional or worldwide public screening rights for all the matches slated to be played in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The governing body made this announcement during a press release. The ICC has come forward in offering the opportunities to the interested parties to acquire the onboard rights to broadcast or show various content packages for the T20 World Cup through in-flight or on-board entertainment systems including aircraft, ships or trains. Automobiles are not allowed. The rights also pertain to the live feed and the highlights programmes of all matches slated to be held in the showpiece event.

Shreyas Iyer deemed fit to resume competitive cricket, expected to return to action in IPL

Delhi Capitals regular skipper Shreyas Iyer has been declared match fit by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He can return to competitive action and in all likelihood, the second phase of IPL 14 will mark his return to competitive cricket. Iyer will rejoin the Delhi Capitals outfit for the second half of the tournament. Iyer led the Capitals to their first-ever final in the IPL back in 2020 but was forced to miss the first half of the 2021 edition as he dislocated his shoulder during the home limited-overs series. In his absence, Rishabh Pant led the Capitals and they are currently on the top of the points table. Iyer has completed an intense rehabilitation process and has proved his fitness during his week-long stay at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). As per reports, it is learnt that Iyer has been declared fit to resume his duties in competitive cricket. "Yes, NCA has issued a fit certificate to Shreyas. He stayed in Bengaluru at the NCA for a week and his final assessment has happened a few days back. Based on all medical and physical parameters, he is now ready to play matches. "This couldn't have happened at a better time with India's T20 World Cup campaign in two months' time," a senior BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI on the condition of anonymity. Iyer completed his rehabilitation process at the MCA ground in the BKC complex. However, he can only be deemed match fit after undergoing an intense fitness examination and getting clearance from competent authorities.