Sri Lanka appoint Kusal Perera as new skipper; drop ODI big players for Bangladesh ODI series

Jos Buttler vs SRH: A classic case of match-ups

Once Joe Root, England’s Test skipper compared Jos Butter to South Africa’s AB de Villiers. He was not the first one to do so, and would neither remain the last one, in a world of cricket that is being ruled by the South African maestro and the English swashbuckler, especially when it comes to the shortest format of the game. However, Root’s comparison of ‘demoralising’ the bowling attack, not wrong in one sense, could be interpreted as the fact that Buttler attacks all the bowlers. But this is exactly where he differs from de Villiers and many others. He doesn’t take the attack to each bowler, rather works on the prophecy of ‘match-ups’, which, if not devised, is most utilised by his skipper of the Men’s ODI team, Eoin Morgan. Buttler’s innings in the match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the recently postponed Indian Premier League was one in which the 31-year-old wicket-keeper batsman proved that ‘match-ups’ are ruling, and will continue to rule the roost in the limited-overs cricket. The Englishman, after playing, probably the best T20 innings of his life, joked, “I finally will have Alastair Cook stop telling me that he has got one T20 hundred more than me.” But the knock was more than just another hundred, it was a lesson for anyone trying to learn how you build T20 innings. What exactly is a match-up in cricket? As cricket progressed from Test to 50 overs and then to T20s, the importance of ‘How’ you plan to execute a move got narrowed down to ‘What’ move do you plan and ‘When’ do you execute it. The defining change in this transformation is obviously Time or the lack of it. It is with the what and when that the word ‘match-ups’ came into existence. To get a certain player out in T20s or for that matter ODIs, you don’t wait for him to commit mistakes, you make the batter commit those mistakes, by making a bowling change (what) and that too promptly with a particular fieldset or at a particular phase in play (when). Similarly, batters try to work out their matchups as well, and exactly the same way. They either wait for a particular bowler’s spell to end (what) and then another’s to start (when) to play their cards. The masterclass that was Buttler's innings Buttler, in the match against Sunrisers, did exactly that. He waited for a bowler’s (Rashid Khan) spell to end and then lashed on to the rest. But it wasn’t just about lashing on. The most important part was the timing of that lashing on. The Somerset batsman had been struggling in IPL up until that game. He had just two scores of above 40 in six innings and in them too, he struggled to time the ball as well as he is known to. In this innings too, the start was a struggle for the Royals’ vice-captain. At one stage he was eight from 13 balls and then at another stage, he was 35 from 33. Having played 33 balls, England’s limited-overs vice-captain finally started to tee off little by little. His shots started connecting and he was naturally finding the gaps. In the next 31 balls, the Royals’ batsman hit 89 runs, including his second fifty coming off just 17 balls. In his knock of 124 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, the Taunton born hit 11 fours and eight humongous sixes. It was Buttler who made all the difference, making sure that the fifth bowler, who was actually a combination of two bowlers, goes for 63 runs. Negotiating Rashid Khan But how was he able to do that in that particular match? This takes the story back to its theme of matchups. When Butter came to bat, he had an average of 9.13 against the whole of SRH, while his average against Rashid Khan, the wily leg spinner, was even worse at 2.5, but somewhat better than was his average (1.0) against the Afghan spinner at the end of 2019. Moreover, Buttler has been struggling against leg-spin more often than not. In an ESPNCricinfo piece, when the record of batters was compared while playing against spin in the period of three IPL seasons between 2018 and 2020, Buttler’s didn’t feature in the list for best batsmen against leg spinners, because to get into the list, the batter had to at least face 60 deliveries of leg-spin and the gloveman failed that criteria. Yes, he had been that bad against leg-spin. But Buttler wanted to improve and he was improving day by day. From getting out to Rashid Khan four times in less than 10 deliveries prior to IPL 2020, the right-hand batter did not give away his wicket to the Afghan dynamite in the last IPL edition. Although at the start of even this IPL, he considered Rashid to be the biggest threat. The problem with Buttler is not the usual leg-spin, rather the googly. Since IPL 2020, Morgan’s deputy has had the worst strike rate on googlies among all types of spin deliveries (more than 10 in number) he faced. Rashid, as everybody knows is a maestro of googlies and the variation in pace with which he bowls them. Thus to negotiate that, much like last year, he chose to remain silent. In the match, the 22-year-old was brought into the attack as early as the third over by captain Kane Williamson, another case of matchups as he wanted to get rid of the dangerman Buttler as quickly as possible. However, as it turned out, the entire first over of Rashid was played by Buttler’s partner at the other end, Yashashvi Jaiswal. In the Nangarhar born’s next over, the English batsman played cautiously, taking just two runs from the four balls that he faced. Negotiating the danger is another case of matchups. While he was taking rearguard action against Rashid, Buttler was detrimental to bring Sanju Samson, who was hitting the ball nicely, on strike against the rest of the bowlers, while he maintained a low profile, trying to work his way through to form. Khan was once again back into the attack in the ninth over and although Buttler did play the majority of the deliveries (5) in this over, he scored only three runs, seeing of the danger once again. With three overs of Rashid already taken care of, when he came on for his final over, which was just the 11th of the innings, the Englishman had won the battle, getting his biggest hurdle out of the game with nine overs to spare. In Rashid’s last over, once again, Buttler faced only two balls. Unleashing the beast After Rahid’s spell was done with, there was no holding back the beast that is Buttler. He was unstoppable, teaching all the younger batsmen how to play the match-up card right. When Mohammad Nabi came into the attack, it was a favourable condition for the right-hander as he is one of the better players off-spin and he showed exactly why. Hitting 20 off Nabi over, the Englishman indicated his intentions. Buttler is more than capable enough of clearing any boundary against pace bowlers, especially against the likes of Sandeep Sharma and Vijay Shankar who hardly offer pace. Since IPL 2020, Buttler’s strike rate has only been lower than run a ball on nip backers and outswingers against the pace bowlers and it was guaranteed that none of it would trouble him past the 12 overs in an innings. That’s exactly what happened as Buttler not only reached his maiden hundred but also played one of the best, most calculated and risk eversive knocks of this year’s IPL.

Satisfied after successful tours, Misbah-Ul-Haq says not worried about my future as head coach

Pakistan head coach Misbah-Ul-Haq has lashed out at his critics for questioning the state Pakistan cricket team after a successful tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Misbah said that he does not care about criticism based on results as that is beyond his hands. He also said that the question over the future does not bother him one bit. ”I don’t care about them and their criticism. We can only work and try hard. The bottom line is that results are not in our hands. As the head coach, I have not thought about my future and will not start doing that now either,” Misbah said in a virtual press conference. Speaking of the tours to the African nations, Misbah expressed satisfaction over consistent performances from players and series wins one after another. He commended the trio of Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali and Hasan Ali for putting their hands up and capitalizing on opportunities with hundreds and five-wicket hauls. “We had great results in both series. Winning in different and tough conditions was important for the team. The openers performed well during the Test series against Zimbabwe. Fawad and Azhar Ali also made centuries. We performed better in the field as well. Hasan Ali performed extraordinarily. We would like to continue this momentum in England,” he said. However, he pointed out that the middle order in the ODIs and T20Is have appeared to be a concerning factor for which the team needs to find a solution immediately. “We are just concerned about our middle-order in white-ball cricket. We have to do something in that regard,” Misbah added. Misbah set his goal on the twin series against England after a successful tour of Africa for which he said the focus will be just about getting the preparation right for the ICC World T20. Hence, only players who stand a chance in playing the World T20 will be taken on the tour of England unlike the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe where they carried a jumbo squad due to Covid-19. “Due to the exceptional conditions because of Covid-19 we have been able to take extended squads and have a close look at the available talent. But on the coming tour to England we will only pick those players who have a chance of playing in the World T20 Cup this year,” he said. Misbah was holding two responsibilities for the Pakistan team— of a chief selector and the head coach. He walked away from the selection table and carried on with coaching the men in green from the close quarters.

‘Am I that bad?’: Kuldeep Yadav recalls emotions after KKR's snub from playing XI

Kuldeep Yadav has suffered a steep downward curve in his career. From being called as India’s number one spinner after claiming a fifer in Australia in 2019, to not finding a place in even an IPL playing XI, Kuldeep’s career has gone full circle. He warmed the benches for both India and KKR while newcomers came and performed on their ways to success. He also lost his place in the ODI team due to poor returns in the wicket column and leaking too many runs. He has felt disappointment over missing a place in the Indian team, but the exclusion at the KKR has particularly affected him leading him to question his own abilities. In an interview with The Indian Express, Kuldeep said that the Knight Riders did not play him even in Chennai where pitches were tailor-made for spinners like him. The exclusion left him shocked but he was helpless at it. “I was especially when I didn’t find a place in my IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. I wondered, ‘am I that bad?’ It’s a team-management decision and it would be wrong to go and ask them. I wasn’t played in Chennai during the IPL despite knowing it’s a turner. I was a bit shocked but couldn’t do anything. The bio-bubble life has also thrown challenges for everyone. When I am not playing, nothing looks nice,” Kuldeep said. Kuldeep has also been dropped from a jumbo Indian squad for the tour of the UK where they will play New Zealand and England. India have selected four spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar but Kuldeep has not found a place in the team.

Shakib decides to skip PSL to be part of Dhaka Premier League

Bangladesh’s traditional cricket league, the Dhaka Premier League is scheduled to start from May 31 and it has caused worries for the Pakistan Super League franchises who have signed Bangladeshi players. With Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das and Mahmuduallah Riyadh being part of the PSL’s recent draft, the chances of them participating in Pakistan’s premier domestic tournament, if it does happen, look very slim, with Shakib already signing up with Mohammedan Sporting (MSC) a legacy sports club of the nation. Tarikul Islam Tito, a top official of MSC confirmed that the 34-year-old top allrounder of Bangladesh would not be taking part in the upcoming PSL as he had decided to join them for the DPL 2021. Tito even submitted a letter signed by Shakib to the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), the governing body of DPL. "We have submitted a letter signed by Shakib to CCDM that says he is keen to take part in the competition for us,’ Tito told Cricbuzz. "He will not play in the PSL and instead opted to be part of our team in DPL. He is a free player because he was not part of the 2019-20 DPL due to his ban and now as he is eligible to take part and we have shown our keenness to take him on our side. BCB is yet to grant him for us but we hope to get the permission soon," the official added. In the PSL draft, Shakib was signed by Lahore Qalandars while Liton and Mahmudullah went to Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans respectively. The organisation of PSL itself is under the water right now, after it was postponed in March this year because of rising cases of Covid-19 in the Bio-Bubble. It was supposed to start in June 2021 in Karachi. But with cases of the second wave increasing in Pakistan, organisers want PCB t host the tournament in UAE. However, UAE's travel policies are not looking favourable at the moment. The 2019-20 season's DPL was postponed on March 19 due to the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.