• Home
  • Cricket News
  • With Dreams Of Playing Test Cricket Hong Kongs Anshuman Rath Begins His Journey With Odisha

With dreams of playing Test cricket, Hong Kong’s Anshuman Rath begins his journey with Odisha

Anshuman Rath who has played international cricket for Hong Kong has quit the country’s national team and is now looking to make his name in the Indian domestic circuit after migrating to Orissa, the place of birth of his parents who are now Hong Kong citizens. Rath would be playing for Orissa in the upcoming Indian domestic season. 

"The Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) has been warm and players are very friendly. I am looking forward to representing Orissa this year," Rath was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. 

Enlisting his dream Rath, who represented his nation of birth in 18 ODIs and 20 T20Is having debuted at an age of 17 in 2014 said, “I am grateful to Hong Kong Cricket for the opportunities but I wanted to push myself. Associate cricket has its limitation, the facilities, exposure and resources are limited.”

I've soon realised that I cannot achieve my goal of playing Test cricket by being in Hong Kong. That is why I have moved to India. Playing in the country of my parents is also a matter of pride for me," the one time Middlesex 2nd XI player added. 

While he has an average of 51 in ODIs, in the five First-Class matches that he has played representing Hong Kong in the Intercontinental Cup, his average increases to 65 with a best of 98 unbeaten to his name. 

The 24-year-old Rath has also led Hong Kong previously. The Orissa team will be coached this year by domestic legend Wasim Jaffer and hence with Rath coming in, some improvements might be around the corner for the state.

Discover more
Top Stories
news

Situation at the moment is very tough, but will become a better coach from it: Justin Langer

Australia had a terrible run in the five-match series against Bangladesh away from home after suffering a 1-4 defeat. Subsequently, coach Justin Langer had come under scrutiny. The former left-handed batsman has now opened about the conversations he had with the players while talking to a West Australian newspaper. "We all got a lot off our chests," Langer said. "I think we are all in a better place now," Langer said about the chat he had with players which were facilitated by Cricket Australia after a lot was being said in the Australian media. Langer further admitted that the present situation is pretty tough but he will become a “better coach” from it. "The situation at the moment is very tough, but I am confident that I will become a better coach from it," he said. The former Australia Test opener also said that though the team had a tough run in recent times, it had retained the Ashes only a little while ago and were the top-ranked team in Tests and T20Is. "We have had a rough trot in recent times but we retained the Ashes only a little while ago and were ranked No.1 in Test and T20 cricket not that long ago. Get back to winning and you won't hear about anything else," he added. The Australian squad will leave for UAE in early October for the World T20. Though, a lot of Aussie players will already be in UAE for the second leg of the IPL which is scheduled to resume on September 19 with Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings. The World T20 is slated to begin on October 17, a couple of days after the conclusion of the IPL 2021. UAE and Oman will co-host the tournament with Oman taking on PNG in the opener.

news

Holder of best bowling figures for India in ODIs, Stuart Binny bids adieu to cricket as a player

The ace Karnataka all-rounder who represented India in 6 Tests, 14 ODIs and 3 T20Is from 2014 to 2016 has bid adieu to his professional playing career at the age of 37. The right batter and a prolific swing bowler, Binny holds the record for best bowling figures by an Indian bowler in ODI cricket. The bowler has a spell of 6-4 to his name which he registered against Bangladesh in 2014 in Dhaka. He played lat of his 23 games for India in August 2016, a T20I against West Indies in Lauderhill, Florida. "It has given me tremendous joy and pride to have represented my country at the highest international level," Binny wrote in a letter announcing his retirement. The all-rounder went on to thanks his coaches, friends and family for supporting him throughout his cricketing journey. "I'm grateful to the coaches who encouraged me, to the selectors who put their faith in me. To the friends who shared my cricketing journey with overwhelming pride, to the colleagues who put their hearts out on the battlefield with me. To my captains who entrusted me. None of this would have been possible had it not been for my family, I stepped out on the field every day thinking about them,” said Binny. He might have got limited opportunity in international cricket, but in domestic cricket, he is no less than a Karnatak legend, being part of a golden period of Karnatak cricket in recent history where they went on to win the Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy for two continuous seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15. In total, Binny played 95 first-class matches, scoring 4796 runs at an average of 34.25, apart from picking 148 wickets. In List A and T20 cricket, the Bangalore born, son of World Cup winner Roger Binny, Stuart played 100 and 150 matches respectively. Out of the 150 T20 games, 95 came in IPL for various franchises including Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. The man with more than 3400 runs and 172 wickets in limited-overs cricket also thanked his IPL franchises and state team for their support. "My cricketing journey would not even have started had it not been for Karnataka and their support. It has been an honour to captain and win trophies with my state. I would also like to thank the IPL teams who have enriched my career,” Binny said.

news

CPL 2021 | Rutherford and Patriots continue dream run, notch up third straight win

It was yet another victory for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots courtesy once again to Sherfane Rutherford’s brilliance with the bat. Rutherford scored a blistering 59 off 34 balls, striking at more than 170 and most importantly remaining unbeaten to guide his team through to a tough run chase. With this win, the Patriots maintained their position at the top, winning all three of their matches in the Caribbean Premier League 2021. Chasing 167 for the win on a not so flat Warner Park wicket in Basseterre, the Patriots got off to a good start, getting to 69 in the ninth over without any loss. However, on the last ball of the ninth over, Imran Tahir got rid of dangerous Evin Lewis and followed it up with the wicket of Devon Thomas in the 11th over, but not before Odean Smith had removed Asif Ali cheaply in the 10th. Suddenly the Patriots were in a spot of bother with two new batsmen at the crease. Even as Dwayne Bravo relied more on his glorious shots than strike change, Rutherford kept the required run rate in check. The duo was given chances as Odean Smith fell over the boundary line after taking the catch of Rutherford while Kevin Sinclair let one shot of Bravo go through his hands, once again on the boundary line in the deep. Taking full advantage of the chances, the duo added 72 off 46 balls to get the Patriots close to victory. However, when Bravo got out in the 19th over with his team still requiring 18 off nine deliveries, the onus fell on Rutherford to steer them home. He took upon the responsibility and hit two sixes off the very next two balls of Naveen-Ul-Haq, making the equation very simple to get in the last over as well as reaching his second fifty in the tournament. In the last over, it all came down to formalities as only four runs were needed for the win which the Guyanese got with a four over the wicketkeeper’s head. Earlier in the day, after winning the toss, the Warriors once again chose to bat first. After a brilliant start with the bat from Mohammad Hafeez and Shimron Hetmyer, the team from the Amazon looked like getting to a total in the capacity of 180 or more. However, both Hetmyer (52 off 35) and Hafeez (70 off 59) getting out in quick succession made matters worse and the team from Guyana could manage to get only 166 off their 20 overs. Warriors, who have lost two in two now, having won their inaugural match against defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders, would look to get back to winning ways when they face the Knight Riders once again on September 01. However, Patriots would look to continue with their momentum when they face Jamaica Tallawahs for the first time this season in their fourth match on Thursday, September 02.