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James Pattinson concedes he couldn't push his body to carry on despite Pat Cummins' persuasion

When the Australian pacer James Pattinson announced retirement from Test cricket earlier last month, there was a sense of disappointment among his fans and people who have tracked his journey since his debut in 2011. However, the Victorian has a different perspective to his life as a Test career and instead of ruing not having a prolonged career, he is cherishing the fact that he played the longest format for his country and is thankful for the opportunity. Pattinson made his Test debut against New Zealand in 2011 at the Gabba and promised a long and successful career for Australia. However, recurrent injuries derailed his journey more often than not and he spent more time outside of the Test squad than playing the game, and hence he knew his time was up before quitting the longest format. He said that Pat Cummins, whom he rated as one of “closest mates” in the Australian team tried to persuade him to take back the retirement decision but he was aware of the fact that the “point where you try and push and you can't push anymore” has arrived for him. "I'm pretty close with Pat Cummins, probably one of my closest mates in the team, and I rang him before I did it and he said 'is there any way I can convince you to stay?'," Pattinson said. "I said, 'to be honest I've made the decision and I'm relieved, then he was just supportive of it and everyone else was as well. It's nice people want you around, but it's a decision I made with my family. It's nice to feel like you'll be missed,” Pattinson said. "You can say I should probably have played more Tests but I'm thankful to just have the opportunity to represent my country and I'd like to think every time I went out that I gave everything," he said. "I've broken my back about seven times to try and play for Australia so that's the toll it takes and there comes a point where you try and push and you can't push anymore. I probably wouldn't change a thing, it's been an amazing journey and now I can move on to the next stage and enjoy that as well.” Pattinson, along with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins made their Test debut around the same time in the year 2011. Pattinson played his debut Test after only nine first-class matches while Cummins played his debut Test against South Africa in Johannesburg as an 18-year-old before not playing the format for a six-year-long gap. Pattinson conceded that he was pushed at the highest level before his body was matured for the workload it had to deal with and it could well have contributed to his back not strengthening enough to take the load with experience. He said that the Australian team have better management of pace bowlers now than they had at his time and called the handling of the fitness and workload of his mate Cummins as a “blueprint” on how to handle pacers. "I was put in the position where I was probably a little ahead of my body, being thrown into the Test arena and doing well. Went from not playing to being the lead bowler in four or five Tests. That was the hardest thing, obviously, my body wasn't ready for that. It has probably contributed to my back being the way it is,” Pattinson asserted. "They've changed the way they manage players a bit now," Pattinson said. "The way they've handled Pat Cummins is probably the blueprint for how you handle your bowlers. What they did for him is fantastic."

Who should replace Virat Kohli? Incoming coach Dravid picks Rohit Sharma, BCCI keen on KL Rahul

As Virat Kohli’s days as India’s T20 captain is numbered and he is set to leave the leadership role after the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup, there are growing apprehensions about his captaincy in the ODI format as well. Team India will definitely have a new full-time captain the T20Is but there are chances that Virat Kohli will be relieved of his responsibilities from the fifty-over format as well. There will also be a new regime in place with former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid taking the position of the head coach of the side starting the home series against New Zealand. As per a report in The Indian Express, Rahul Dravid was asked in his interview that who all are the contenders to replace Kohli as India’s captain, and he put his money on Rohit Sharma while preferring KL Rahul after the opener. The report suggests, if Drvaid will have his way, Rohit Sharma will be the captain in white-ball formats. However, in a different report in Cricket.com, the BCCI is looking to elevate KL Rahul as the leader of the white-ball formats to ensure “long term” prospects while also keeping in mind the two world cups scheduled in the next year. The report suggested that the board is not looking towards Rohit Sharma as captain considering his age. There could be a difference in the school of thought between the two parties i.e Rahul Dravid and the BCCI on who should lead India going forward in the shorter formats.

Gary Ballance comes forward admitting he hurled 'racial slur' against Azeem Rafiq

Days after reports hiding the name of the Yorkshire player who hurled racist slurs such as “P**i” on his teammate Azim Rafiq, Garry Ballance has come forward to admit that he was the one who was the culprit although maintaining that he had no intentions to offending and instead unaware of the impact it was having on the leg spinner’s feelings. Ballance has regretted his language to Rafiq in his “younger years” at the Yorkshire county and said that he is saddened to see the situation come to this point having an “incredibly close relationship” with him. He said that the words that have now emerged as “racial slurs” were used by him with Rafiq in private conversations and that a lot of words can be deemed “inappropriate” if used out of context. He said that Rafiq and he shared a special relationship where they sued to spend time together going out and drinking together and he was absolutely unaware of Rafiq being in “distress” over his words. He also hunted that Rafiq too has said a few things in those conversations but he is not revealing those to not discredit Rafiq’s words. “To be clear – I deeply regret some of the language I used in my younger years. The independent enquiry, having heard all of the evidence, accepted that the context of some of the language used was in a ‘friendly verbal attack’ between friends which was not intended to offend or hurt and that no malice was intended. Given my incredibly close relationship with Rafa over the years I am saddened that it has come to this,” Ballance said in a statement. “Because we were such good friends and spent a lot of time together drinking and on nights out we both said things privately to each other which were not acceptable. It has been reported that I used a racial slur and, as I told the independent enquiry, I accept that I did so and I regret doing so. I do not wish to discredit Rafa by repeating the words and statements that he made about me and others but I have to be clear that this was a situation where best friends said offensive things to each other which, outside of that context, would be considered wholly inappropriate. “I regret that these exchanges took place but at no time did I believe or understand that it had caused Rafa distress. If I had believed that then I would have stopped immediately. He was my best mate in cricket and I cared deeply for him.” Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of “institutional racism” has raked a massive controversy in the England cricket circles and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club too has concluded that he was “offended, degraded or humiliated and that this amounted to harassment under the Equality Act and the Club's Equal Opportunities policy".

Melbourne Renegades sign up Unmukt Chand in first Indian men signing for Big Bash League

Former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand is set to be the first Indian men cricketer to play in the Big Bash League as he has been signed by the Melbourne Renegades for the next edition of the tournament. Notably, Unmukt Chand had announced his retirement as an India player and moved to play in the USA and hence he did not need any permission or no objection certificate from the BCCI. Chand opened on the “difficult to accept” fact about not playing for the country again but nevertheless, he is cherishing the freedom to play in all leagues across the world. "It wasn't easy, to be very honest, the fact that I won't be playing for the country anymore is something that is difficult to accept. But I enjoying playing for the US, it's been getting better every day. And I can now play all the leagues around the world, that's a great opportunity for me personally. On his upcoming stint with the Renegades, Chand said that he is looking to earn a name for himself in the Big Bash and help the men in red to win the championship. "I've loved watching the Big Bash and players around the world coming in ... it's a great platform and I always wanted to play there. I'm really looking forward in the coming years that I can make a name for myself and hopefully win championships for the teams I play for. I'm really looking forward to coming to Melbourne and to get going. I've always enjoyed playing in Australia. I haven't been to Melbourne before… I know there are lots of Indians in Melbourne, so it's going to be nice, and I hope the crowds turn up for games as well." The Renegades coach David Saker is banking on the “wealth of experience” that Chand is bringing with himself after leading India Under 19 side and A sides on multiple occasions and flexibility with the bat. He said that the right-hander has the capability to turn things around quickly and the Renegades are looking forward towards him with various roles in their minds. "He brings a wealth of cricket experience," coach David Saker said of Chand. "To have a player joining our team who has represented three IPL teams and led his country at 'A' and Under 19 level is fantastic. As a batter, Unmukt is dynamic and can change games quickly. He has spent much of his career at the top of the order, but we believe he has the flexibility to fill a variety of roles as we need,” Saker said. Unmukt Chand could not play for the senior India side as his stocks could sustain at the highest level after the highs of the Under 19 world cup triumph in 2012. He led the India U-19 side to the championship title on the back of a stupendous century in the final of the World Cup in 2012. He was picked up by the then Delhi Daredevils, the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals but his bat did not do justice to the talent and promises he offered at the start of his career.