Category Uncategorized

Kotak, Bahutule part of India A coaching staff for South Africa tour

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Nov-2021Former India batter VVS Laxman has accepted the BCCI offer to take charge as director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru starting mid-December. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Laxman accepted the NCA position over the weekend. He has also informed Sunrisers Hyderabad of his decision to quit as mentor, a role he took on in 2013.While the BCCI is yet to announce details of Laxman’s appointment and tenure, this will be the first time Laxman occupies a position, an influential one, in Indian cricket.In terms of coaching experience, Laxman, 47, was also a batting consultant for six years at Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which had roped him for the ‘Vision 2020’ program aimed at tapping and promoting grassroot talent in Bengal. That role was facilitated by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who was CAB’s joint secretary in 2014.Ganguly has been once again at the forefront, this time as BCCI president, in Laxman’s NCA appointment. Laxman became the frontrunner for the NCA lead position which vacated by his former Indian captain and teammate Rahul Dravid, who recently took charge as India men’s team head coach until 2023 World Cup.As a NCA director, Laxman’s primary job will be to create roadmap and pathways for both men’s and women’s teams in both senior and junior age groups. Laxman will also get the freedom to work in coordination with the selectors to pick and manage India A and Under 19 teams including the appointment of the coaching staff.Fortunately for Laxman, he takes charge of a well-established structure set up by Dravid, who put in place education and skill-based programmes not just for the players but also for former players aspiring to be coaches.For support Laxman will have a band of coaches – batting, bowling, fielding – working alongside him, but the BCCI is yet to announce the names despite having conducted interviews recently for various positions.Meanwhile, the BCCI has appointed former Saurashtra captain Sitanshu Kotak as the head-cum-batting coach for India A during their tour of South Africa, which will act as a shadow tour for senior Indian team’s tour in December-January.Former Mumbai and India legspinner Sairaj Bahutule will be the India A bowling coach with Shubadeep Ghosh as fielding coach. India A, who will be lead by Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal, play three four-day Tests in Bloemfontein from November 23.

England incumbents should ‘relish challenge’ of Ashes tour in 2021-22, says former captain

George Dobell27-Jul-2020Andrew Strauss believes Dom Sibley and Rory Burns are “made of the right stuff temperamentally” to form a long-term opening partnership for England.Sibley and Burns recorded England’s first century partnership in a home Test since 2016 during the third Test against West Indies at Emirates Old Trafford. And with both men having now made two Test centuries and helped England return to a stage where they are beginning to score 400 again quite regularly – they have done so four times since Sibley joined the team in November; before that they had only managed it once from the start of 2018 – Strauss believes the team are “closer to sorting the batting conundrum” than for some time.”I think Sibley and Burns at the top of the order are made of the right stuff temperamentally,” Strauss said. “They’ve both got quite quirky but very effective games. And, as we all know, if the openers do their job then it makes it so much easier for the players coming in down the order.”When I cast my mind back to the time I was director of cricket, there was frustration that the Test team seemed to take one step forward and one step back. We weren’t making the progress we wanted, particularly with top-order batting. We’re closer to sorting the batting conundrum than we have been for some time. I think that is a big tick.”ALSO READ: Stuart Broad is at the top of his game – StraussStrauss captained the side as one of England’s openers the last time they won an away Ashes series in 2010-11, but was also at the top of the order for the 5-0 whitewash on the previous tour four years earlier. He rated the challenge of succeeding in Australia as the toughest of his career but, while recognising the next tour in 2021-22 would represent “a significant new challenge” for Burns and Sibley, he suggested they would be “relishing” the experience.”A lot of opening batsmen say playing in England is the hardest challenge they had,” Strauss said. “If you are English, we’re more used to it and it’s a bit more in our comfort zone.”For me, the biggest challenge was Australia. There are two reasons for that. The first is, the extra bounce is very hard to deal with, especially when the ball is new. And secondly, the Kookaburra ball does tend to swing quite a lot for the first 10 to 15 overs. After that it obviously gets much easier.”I remember that 2006-07 tour and getting out twice pulling in that first Test and thinking ‘Oh my God, I can’t pull the ball, what other shots have I got to play in Australia apart from the cut?’ You start second-guessing your technique straight away and on that tour, once you did get in, you also had Shane Warne to contend with down the line.”You have really got to dig deep and just find a way through the first 10 overs or so when you feel so much is to the advantage of bowlers. But if get can get through that, you’re in a great position to get a big score.”It’s a significant new challenge for those guys. Burns showed some fantastic technique and ticker against Australia last year. I thought he played brilliantly in that [home] Ashes series; probably the pick of the England batsmen if I’m honest.”Sibley’s method of getting across the stumps and getting into the channel works well in most circumstances. He might have to be careful about the potential to be caught down the leg side or at leg slip in Australia.”But he will work that out and they will be relishing the challenge of doing that.”

Claiming his first five-for in Australia since 2015, Peter Siddle also stated a case for his bowling partner James Pattinson’s inclusion

Daniel Brettig in Melbourne 29-Mar-2019Peter Siddle followed his joint destruction of New South Wales – alongside James Pattinson on day two of the Sheffield Shield final – by beseeching the watching chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns to pick both Victorians for this year’s Ashes. He added the reminder that 18 years without a series win in England prove that a different approach to the bowling attack is required.Seaming and swinging the Dukes ball just enough to beat the bat, Siddle provided the ideal counterpoint to Pattinson’s pace and fire as the Blues were obliterated for 121 in reply to the home side’s 289. While his haul of 5 for 28 was Siddle’s first of five wickets or more in Australia since 2015, it was the distinct resemblance of a grey day and mottled pitch to English climes that would have been of interest to Hohns.On day one, the former Australia coach Darren Lehmann had conceded in commentary that it was his mistake as a selector not to trust Siddle to be part of the Australian bowling attack until the 2015 Ashes series had been decided. It’s a decision that Siddle clearly has not forgotten, urging the selectors to choose bowlers fit for the purpose of moving the Dukes ball around to confound England later this year.”It was bittersweet after I got picked and took the most wickets in that last Test on a wicket that probably was the least suited [to] me over the whole series,” Siddle said of the 2015 Oval Test. “I haven’t worried too much about it after playing that Test match and doing what I did. That was enough to knock it on the head and show them what I could’ve done if I had been picked earlier so, so be it. And like Boof [Lehmann] did say, everyone makes mistakes, I make mistakes when I’m out there playing as well, I’ve made mistakes in games that have been crucial. That’s just a part of life, I don’t hold any grudges like that, it’s just part of the game.”It’s something I’ve spoken a lot about over the last couple of years, you go back to results we’ve had and the experience of the bowling attack we’ve had, at times, probably haven’t been the right choices. That’s something that I hope we do manage. I’ve had to play in them and when I first went over there I wasn’t super experienced, did okay but we didn’t win. It’s just about learning from what we’ve done in the past and picking accordingly.”There’s enough players around Australian cricket that have good experience over there. Not to say they’re definitely going to play, but obviously myself because I want to be on that tour, but look at Patto. I know he hasn’t played a lot of Test cricket of late, but he’s been successful when he’s played Test cricket there, and he had that amazing year for Notts two years ago where he destroyed Division One [Two]. So you’ve got to pick players who are readymade to play in those conditions, because they are a lot different to what people expect when they do select normally.”The chemistry between Siddle and Pattinson, both products of the Dandenong club in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, was palpable as they found pads, edges and stumps on the second afternoon, undoing the work of the NSW bowlers Trent Copeland, Sean Abbott and Harry Conway to restrict the Victorians.Siddle’s first over, swerving one ball down the leg side for four byes, was not exactly promising, but he soon locked onto his task to pin Daniel Hughes lbw from round the wicket and set the scene. Pattinson was perhaps fortunate to have Nick Larkin ruled lbw not offering a shot to a ball that may have missed off stump, but there was no conjecture about his scorching deliveries through Jason Sangha and Peter Nevill. Kurtis Patterson, perhaps the Blues’ best chance of a batting riposte, was very nearly lbw shouldering arms to Patterson, before he fell having glanced a Chris Tremain delivery through to a diving Seb Gotch.”We both enjoy playing together and bowling together. I think that shows out on the field and we have a lot of fun. The success we have spurs us both on,” Siddle said. “The way we went about it today and the success we had bowling together, more so what we did in Drummoyne the other week when we took them apart up there, we have fun. I think the pressure we build whether it’s me building pressure, or him scaring them with the pace or swing and me dotting them up at the other end, whatever it might be, we complement each other very well.”We did well here and in other games, but over in England bowling together, it’s not as silly as it sounds to say that we’d be a good pair to have bowling together over there later in the year. There’s still a lot of stuff to be done before then but I think it’s shown over the times in the last couple of games where we’ve bowled together that we’ve taken a lot of wickets one or the other and built a lot of pressure. It speaks for itself in the last three games.”Following back injuries in 2016, it had appeared that Siddle’s time around the Australian Test team was at an end, but prolific displays for Essex in the first division of the county championship last year vaulted him back into the squad for the UAE, with a clear eye towards the Ashes this year. Both Siddle and Pattinson have contracts for county cricket this year, and Siddle agreed he would have a point to prove should he get the chance against England in 2019.Getty Images

“I think so, I talk a lot about how I bowl over there so if I do get picked there’s probably going to be a lot more pressure on me because I’ve spoken a lot about the conditions over there, how they suit me and it’s just going about your business,” Siddle said. “The last couple of years that’s where I’ve probably been better than I probably was when I was younger. [Then] I tried hard, thought too much about the future, looking ahead to other games or staying fit to make sure I get through the series and stuff like that rather than worrying about the game at hand.”Especially the last two years that’s been my sole focus whether I play for Dandenong, state cricket, Big Bash or over in England, just worrying about that game and making every game count. JL [Justin Langer] sent me that message in England last year when I was over there taking a few wickets and he just said ‘Yeah, make every game count’. You’ve just got to stay fit and enjoy the moment because it ends sooner than you think.”The chats we’ve had because I’m playing Division One [for Essex] in theory the sides I’m going to be playing are going to be a lot stronger than the Australia A side. You never really get strong sides in any tour matches or Australia A matches, so the way discussions have been I’ll stay with Essex and play. Could be similar to Patto was well, Patto’s Division One [for Nottinghamshire] and that’s just a bonus for Australia as well. It means we can play more players rather than rock up Australia A with 16 and only play 12, you can actually play if it is all 16 or you might have 20 players all playing at one time in England, with an Australia A game going on.”There was time before bad light brought an early close for Sean Abbott to find a way past the Test opener Marcus Harris, whose first-innings century had set the game up for Siddle and Pattinson to strike.

Jaydev Unadkat and Andrew Tye the only millionaires on day two

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-20183:13

Unadkat the most expensive Indian

Making it in the nick of time

Twice Chris Gayle’s name came up at the IPL auction, and twice he failed to get a bid. Just when it seemed like the highest-profile overseas player of the league over its first decade would not be part of the 2018 edition, Kings XI Punjab picked him up, triggering loud applause from all the other franchises in the room. Kings XI got Gayle at his base price, a mere INR 2 crore (USD 312,000 approx).Other high-profile players who benefited from a second chance were India opener M Vijay (INR 2 crore to Chennai Super Kings), wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel (INR 1.7 crore or USD 265,000 approx to Royal Challengers Bangalore), and Australia quick Mitchell Johnson (INR 2 crore to Kolkata Knight Riders), all of whom were bought when they were recalled on the second afternoon after going unsold the first time around. As per the regulations, any player who went unsold the first time – or second, as in Gayle’s case – could be called up again, provided any of the franchises put in a request for the same.

The biggest buys of the day

Seamer Jaydev Unadkat became the first millionaire on day two of the auction, as well as the most expensive Indian buy over the two days. Rajasthan Royals made the winning bid: INR 11.5 crore (USD 1.8 million approx). The bidding went back and forth between CSK and Kings XI till INR 11 crore – the most paid for an Indian on day one – before Royals swooped in.Australia seamer Andrew Tye also fetched in excess of a million – one of only two players to do so on the day – going to Kings XI for INR 7.2 crore (USD 1.1m approx).Karnataka offspinner K Gowtham set the pace early in the day, going for 31 times his base price to Royals for a shade below a million dollars. RCB, KKR and Mumbai Indians were the other teams involved in the bidding, his price rocketing up from INR 20 lakh (USD 31,250 approx) to INR 6.2 crore (USD 968,000 approx).PTI

Nepal arrives

Though there have been 10 seasons of the IPL, it continues to keep throwing up firsts. On Sunday that came in the form of Sandeep Lamichhane, the first player from Nepal to be picked in the auction. The 17-year old legspinner, who has played grade cricket in Sydney alongside former Australia captain Michael Clarke, was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for his base price of INR 20 lakh (USD 31000 approx). Head coach Ricky Ponting said: “The Delhi boys flew him out and saw him bowling in the nets, he was pretty impressive, he might not be ready to play yet but they saw a lot of talent there … it’s only of those speculative bids, see if he can turn into a world class bowler in a few years.”

The Afghanistan quotient

Last year, two Afghanistan players were picked up at the auction. This time that doubled to four: experienced allrounder Mohammad Nabi (Sunrisers for INR 1 crore or USD 156,000 approx) and Under-19 players – both of whom are at the ongoing World Cup in New Zealand – Mujeeb Zadran and Zahir Khan got bids, in addition to Rashid Khan from day one. Sixteen-year-old Zadran, who can bowl traditional offspin and mix it up with legspin when required, was picked up by Kings XI after some extensive bidding for INR 4 crore (USD 625,000 approx). Zahir is a left-arm wristspinner who went to Royals for INR 60 lakh (USD 93,000 approx).

Big guns go missing

It was Royals who opened the bidding overall on a day when in effect 471 new players were up for grabs, plus any of the unsold players from day one. On day one, 78 out of 110 players were bought, with superstars from IPLs past like Lasith Malinga finding no takers.Like on day one, several high-profile names did not get a bid on Sunday, including Australia’s Shaun Marsh, England’s Eoin Morgan, West Indies’ Lendl Simmons, South Africa’s Dale Steyn and New Zealand’s Martin Guptill – Guptill, like Gayle, was called up three times in all, but did not get a bid.

The Right to match rush

The first of the three Right To Match (RTM) cards used on the day was from RCB, on left-arm spinning allrounder Pawan Negi – he was taken off Mumbai for INR 1 crore (USD 156,000 approx). Two more came in quick succession when the pace bowlers’ set began: Royals retained Dhawal Kulkarni (INR 75 lakh, USD 117,000 approx) and Kings XI held on to Mohit Sharma (INR 2.4 crore, USD 375,000 approx).

All in the family

The first sale of the day was another uncapped Indian spinner, legbreak bowler Rahul Chahar. He was picked up by Mumbai for INR 1.9 crore (USD 296,000 approx). Just before lunch, his brother Deepak Chahar was bought by CSK for INR 80 lakh (USD 125,000 approx). Deepak was the top wicket-taker in India’s domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, this season with 19 strikes and an economy rate of 5.58 in nine games.

India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar said Mohammed Shami was suffering from muscular cramps, not a hamstring issue, which was the reason he continued to bowl at the end of the first day in Rajkot

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-20161:30

‘Dropped catches set us back’ – Sanjay Bangar

On a day that India lost the toss and conceded 311 for 4, there was little consolation for them at the end. Mohammed Shami, who had hobbled off during the middle session with what at the time looked like a hamstring issue, came back in the final session to continue bowling despite obvious discomfort. That he was even taking the risk, suggested it was not a hamstring trouble. India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar confirmed at the end of the day that it was a cramp, and that Shami was expected to bowl on day two.”As the physio has told us, it was actually muscular cramps,” Bangar said. “And he took an ice bath in that break [when Shami went off before tea]. He was fine to bowl after that. He is being monitored closely. And apart from the cramps, I don’t think there is much to it. Hopefully he will be fresher tomorrow. He will be fitter and raring to go tomorrow in the first session.”That Shami was available in the final session was part of the reason why India didn’t take the new ball even though they bowled 93 overs. In what should be a good sign for England, the ball was reversing even at 80 overs old, which was why India persisted with it, according to Bangar.”You must have noticed that at that time there was a lot of reverse swing on offer,” Bangar said. “Mohammed Shami was available to bowl, even Umesh Yadav put in a valiant effort. Once Shami was not available before tea and after tea for a particular amount of time, Umesh ran in well and got us that breakthrough [Root’s wicket on 124]. He was pretty impressive, getting the ball to reverse both ways. So was Shami. That was the reason we felt that the wicket-taking possibility with the old ball was higher at that point.”India dropped both openers in the slip cordon early on the first morning•AFP

Bangar was hopeful India could turn things around on the second morning. “The game changes very quickly,” Bangar said. “A couple of wickets – obviously they are four down at the moment – a couple of wickets and we could make inroads quickly and wrap them up hopefully within a session and a half. So you never know in cricket. It’s just day one and we would have still been in a good position had we taken probably six wickets and conceded 30 or 40 fewer runs.”Instead of the second morning, though, India had the chance of making those early inroads on the first day when they dropped both the openers early. “The first session of day one of a Test match, there is always something in the wicket,” he said. “Whether you bat first or bowl first you have to make the first session count. Send the right message across. Couple of dropped chances unfortunately didn’t allow us to make those early dents into their batting. They have been actually losing their openers pretty quickly in the couple of Test matches they have played [in Bangladesh]. That set us back a little bit. By lunch we still managed to take three wickets, but we would have taken that at the start of the Test.”On a day that questions were asked of India’s bowling on a pitch that was not turning big, fielders dropping catches and a few of them generally looking listless, the batting coach was left to answer the press conference. He put up a brave face, saying England made the most of the conditions, but also ended it with a rider “on day one”, which could suggest conditions are expected to get worse for batting significantly. “Had we taken those catches our bowlers would have asked questions about their middle order pretty early in the innings,” Bangar said. “Apart from that, due credit to their batsmen who applied themselves really well and made full use of the conditions on offer here on day one.”