T20 World Cup | AUS vs BAN: Adam Zampa picks five-wicket haul as Bangladesh fall like pack of cards

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.

T20 World Cup | IND vs AFG: Batsmen unleash onslaught, India off the mark

It took a thoroughly dominating performance from India to get off the mark in the T20 World Cup as they beat Afghanistan by 66 runs in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. After being put into bat, the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were off to a flying start as the two hammered the Afghan bowlers all around the park to notch up individual fifties and put 140 runs on the board in less than 15 overs for the first wicket. Rohit was eventually caught by Nabi off Karim Janat for a brutal 47-ball 74 while Rahul followed his seven runs later after he was dismissed by Gulbadin for 69 off 48. But the onslaught from the Indian batters didn’t really stop as wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya were promoted up the order. The left-right batting duo then unleashed some fireworks and chipped in with an unbeaten stand of 63 runs for the third wicket. Pant remained unbeaten at a 13-ball 27 which included three maximums while Pandya was back in some form as he scored 35* in just 13 deliveries to help India post a massive 210/2 in 20 overs. But Afghanistan’s misery didn’t stop here as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami scalped early wickets during the chase and reduced them to 13/2 in the fourth over itself. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Naib tried to steady the ship with a partnership of 35 runs for the third wicket but Gurbaz’s dismissal saw Afghanistan lose a few wickets at regular intervals and were left tottering at 69/5. Captain Nabi who had walked in at number six along with Janat took the onus and provided the much-needed resistance to the side and scored a partnership of 57 runs for the sixth wicket before Nabi was undone by Shami for 35 off 32. Janat though went on to score some runs and ended up getting 42* off 22 but his efforts weren’t really enough to take Afghanistan over the line as the side was restricted to 144/7 in 20 overs. For India, Shami returned with figures of 3/32 while R Ashwin who was playing his first white-ball match in more than four overs bowled an economical spell and also scalped a couple of wickets for 14 runs in 4 overs. India skipper Virat Kohli talked about the tweak that the side made in the batting order and also admitted that the track was a bit different and a better one. “Much better wicket to be fair. We spoke about the fact that in the other games, if we just had two overs of free-flowing batting, then that sends a message to the opposition that we are going to put you under the pump. When we do that, we know how we can play. Sometimes, you do fall to the pressure and have to accept that. T20 cricket is a very instinctive game, in batting, bowling and decision-making. We do make decisions on the go,” he said in the post-match presentation. India will now play Scotland on Friday in Dubai while Afghanistan will lock horns with New Zealand on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.