Archives for 2018

For a country thats as cricket-crazy as India is, its amazing (read “really really unfortunate”), that the womens game, up until very recently, has got such little attention.

As I understood during the course of my countless interactions with women cricketers of our country across generations, more than anything else, it had truly been the lack of will and want on behalf of the various stakeholders of the sport, that kept the women’s game in oblivion for this long, more than anything else.

Diana Edulji, now member of the Committee of Administrators that runs Indian cricket, and former captain, recalls in my book “Free Hit: The Story of Women’s Cricket in India” how during the 2013 ICC women’s World Cup that was held in India, she’d seen a crowd of red T-shirts walking along Marine Drive, headed towards their hotel.

It was the Indian women’s cricket team, walking on the streets of Mumbai. They were not mobbed, as would have happened surely in the case of their male counterparts. In 2018, it’s impossible that a similar scenario will be repeated. And all it took for that to change was the team’s runners-up finish at the World Cup in England last year where they lost by an agonising nine runs.

This time around, at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies, Team India finds itself with yet another opportunity to create an impact and make a difference. India have never won a women’s World Cup, in any format. The closest they’ve got is in the 50-over format in 2005 and 2017. This time around, under Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy, they have a superb opportunity to change that. The blinder she played against New Zealand gave India just the start they needed.

Now that the team has reached the semi-final, the going gets tough. T20 is a difficult format to predict, and teams need to stay switched on for all 40 overs, else you never know when you lose your grip over the game. That makes pretty much all top six teams favourites to win the title. Australia, who have mastered this format better than the rest, and defending champions West Indies, who will be bolstered by the tremendous home support, will be the two big title favourites before the knock-outs begin.

India hasn’t made it to the semi-finals of the tournament in the last three editions (2012, 2014, 2016). They’ve changed that around already, and will be raring to take things forward from the last four. Coach Ramesh Powar, still relatively new in his job, has been speaking about putting pressure on players while training so as to help them avoid succumbing to it in match situations.

It’s heartening to see the amount of attention the team is getting. It would be interesting to see the viewership numbers from November 11, when the women’s team was playing Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, while our men were playing a dead rubber against West Indies. If one were to go by social media trends, the women walked away as winners!

There is no doubt then that there is now a healthy appetite for women’s cricket in India. And while the limelight and attention on the national team is every bit derserved, it’s the domestic game that’s crying for attention. The BCCI’s revised contracts this year have made things marginally better for the girls, but it is only a tiny drop in the ocean. The first step towards growing any sport, irrespective of gender, is at the school level. It is here that those who care for the future of the sport need to invest in. They need to introduce it, nurture it, and keep it alive. The board (state boards as well) has also never been very proactive about tapping rural talent, an absolute need of the hour too.

That having been said, no change can happen and should be expected overnight. Like the legendary Jhulan Goswami says, if you sow a seed today, you’re not going to wake up tomorrow morning and see it grow into a tree with fruits and flowers. That seed has been sown by this absolutely gritty bunch of women a year back, and slowly, but surely, changes are visible, even if it’s just at the top for the moment — pay hikes, a relatively improved calendar, and an effort to try and build a property like the hugely successful IPL for the women.

We called this book “Free Hit” because it best describes the condition Indian women’s cricket finds itself in at the moment. The girls are free, they are fearless and this time around, come what may, they’re going to remain unbeaten.

 Kings XI Punjab on Thursday parted ways with local boy and India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh along with eight other players that include Australia’s limited overs skipper Aaron Finch, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction next month.

The Punjab franchise have retained only nine players, that include captain Ravichandran Ashwin, their fiery opening duo Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul and their bowling spearheads in Andrew Tye and Mujeen Ur Rahman. The team has meanwhile, traded Marcus Stoinis for local boy Mandeep Singh.

“We have retained all core players. We have ensured that the balance of the squad is ensured. A lot of factors came in while retaining the players,” said newly-assigned coach Mike Hesson.

Yuvraj, who managed just 65 runs at a poor average of 10.38 in the eight games last season, was bought at his base price of Rs 2 crore in the previous auction.

Besides Yuvraj and Finch, left-arm-spinner Axar Patel is another name on the released list of the players. Interestingly. Axar was the only player to be retained by the team that was completely rejigged in 2017.

The other released players are: Mohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Barinder Sran, Akshdeep Nath, Pradeep Sahoo, Mayank Dagar and Manzoor.

Retained list for Kings XI Punjab: R. Ashwin, K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Andrew Tye, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Ankeet Rajpoot, Chris Gayle and David Miller.

Released: Yuvraj Singh, Aaron Finch, Mohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Barinder Sran, Akshdeep Nath, Pradeep Sahoo, Mayank Dagar and Manzoor.

Traded: Marcus Stoinis for Mandeep Singh.

IANS

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday released big guns in former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, all-rounders Corey Anderson and Chris Woakes while welcoming another all-rounder Marcus Stoinis ahead of the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction next month.

The Virat Kohli-led franchise traded in Australian Stoinis for Rs 6.2 crore from the Kings XI Punjab while giving away batsman Mandeep Singh for Rs 1.4 crore. RCB also traded out South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock to the Mumbai Indians for Rs 2.8 crore.

Besides the skipper, the franchise retained 13 others, including former Protea captain AB de Villiers and New Zealand quick Tim Southee.

The other retained players in the RCB squad are: Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Commenting on the retained squad, RCB Chairman Sanjeev Churiwala said: “For the next IPL season, we have a 3-pronged player selection strategy. The first vector is to have a very strong combination of core team who can consistently deliver great performance on-field.”

“Secondly, we want to invest in more Indian talent including more local all-rounders. Lastly we want to invest in the future and hence will actively scout for Under-19 talent who we can nurture and provide a strong platform like RCB to grow,” he added.

Meanwhile, besides the trio of McCullum, Anderson and Woakes, young Indian batsman Sarfraz Khan was also released from the squad.

Retained list of RCB: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Tim Southee, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

 India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja helped Saurashtra beat the Railways on the final day of Round 2 of the Ranji Trophy at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Thursday.

Chasing 186 to win on the final day after Railways put in a solid effort for 331 in their second innings, Saurashtra were in a spot of bother at 65/4, but Jadeja scored an unbeaten 48 to take his team home with three wickets in hand.

Jadeja first combined with an 86-run stand with Sheldon Jackson (54) to put Saurashtra on course and then, despite, losing two more wickets, used all his experience to see his team through.

Earlier, it was Jadeja’s 178 not out in the first innings that had propelled Saurashtra take a 148-run lead over the Railways.

The Railways were skittled out for 200 in the first innings with Jadeja bagging four wickets.

However, in the second innings, the Railways batted well and scored 331 riding Harish Tyagi’s 93 and Anureet Singh’s 44.

Jadeja again got three wickets in the second innings.

In reply, chasing 186 for victory, Railways’ Avinash Yadav dented Saurashtra claiming the first four wickets to fall, before Jackson and Jadeja put their team on course for a victory. Yadav finished with 5/88.

The win takes Saurashtra to nine points and to the top of the table for the time being.

In another Group A game, Manprit Juneja came good for Gujarat to help the side draw with Chhattisgarh.

Gujarat bagged three points to consolidate its position in second place in Group A after a first-innings lead proved crucial.

Gujarat, who had defeated Baroda by nine wickets in the opening round, are neck and neck on nine points with table-toppers Saurashtra, sitting with a higher net run-rate.

In Nagpur, left-arm spinner Jagadeesha Suchith’s nine for 103, his best bowling figures in first-class cricket, helped Karnataka bag three points against defending champions Vidarbha on the final day of their Group A game.

At the Motibaug Cricket Ground in Vadodara, Baroda bagged their first three points owing to a first-innings lead against Maharashtra.

In Group B, left-hander opener Aryaman Birla cracked his maiden first-class hundred to help Madhya Pradesh salvage a draw following on as Bengal had to settle for three points in their first home match of the season.

Scion of the Birla family, Aryaman was unbeaten on 103 in his third first-class match, while Shubham Sharma gave him fine support with an unbeaten 100 on the final day.

Bengal, who had a first innings lead in their last match in Himachal Pradesh, now have six points from two matches. Having taken a first innings lead over Tamil Nadu in the last match, MP now have four points.

Himachal Pradesh‘s Nikhil Gangta and Rishi Dhawan halted Delhi on the fourth and final day at the Feroz Shah Kotla to ensure a draw.

IANS

 Former skipper Mithali Raj once again came to India’s rescue with a fluent half century to help the women-in-blue post a below-par 145/6 against Ireland in their third match of the ICC Women’s World T20 at the Providence Stadium here on Thursday.

Mithali, who top-scored with a 56-ball 51, laced with 4 fours and a six, did not find a stable partner at the other end, thanks to some casual batting from her teammates and immaculate bowling from the Irish women.

In the process, the veteran right-hander also created a new record of being the highest run-getter for India in T20Is with 2283 runs. Rohit Sharma (2207 runs) is the second in the list, followed by men’s team skipper Virat Kohli.

Put in to bat, India got off to a steady 67-run start from Mithali and Smriti Mandhana (33 off 29 balls; 4X4, 6X1) before the southpaw once again departed after getting a decent start.

The young Jemimah Rodrigues (18 off 11; 4X3) got off to a brisk start and quickly added 40 runs for the second wicket with Mithali before being stumped off Irish captain Laura Delany’s bowling.

Thereafter, the in-form India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (7) and No.5 Veda Krishnamurthy (9) departed in quick succession, leaving India reeling at 127/4.

Mithali, however, waged a lone battle bringing up her sedate half century off 54 deliveries but perished soon, caught behind off Kim Garth.

Towards the end, Dayalan Hemalatha (4), Deepti Sharma (10 not out) and Radha Yadav (1 not out) failed to accelerate the scoring rate as India ended up with 145.

Brief Scores: India 145/6 (Mithali Raj 51, Smriti Mandhana 33; Kim Garth 2/22) vs Ireland.

IANS

 While the epic inning of 281 against Australia at Eden Gardens is what defines V.V.S. Laxman, but it is knock of 167 against the same team at Sydney which is close to the heart of the former Indian cricketer.

The stylish batsman revealed this at the release of his autobiography ‘281 and Beyond’ here on Thursday night.

Laxman, who shot to the limelight with a knock of 167 in 2000, believes this was closer to his heart as it was first international hundred and it gave him confidence and belief that he was capable of playing at the highest level.

“From 1996 to 2000, I never had a hundred. I never ever felt I was able to establish myself in the Indian team. If I had not got that 167, probably I would not have got another chance to play. The fashion in which I got these runs and against quality bowling on a challenging wicket and tough conditions gave me the confidence.”

“It removed doubts and apprehensions I had about my game. I started to feel that I belong to international cricket and that I can go out and perform against the best bowlers,” added Laxman in a chat with popular cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle.

Laxman, who retired from international cricket in 2012 after a career spanning 16 years, is known for his historic knock of 281 in 2001. His inning and record stand with Rahul Dravid, set up a stunning victory for India after following on.

Laxman believes this was turning point for his career and also in the fortunes of the Indian team.

He also revealed that this knock of 281 did not come as a surprise. Known as ‘Very Very Special’ in cricketing circles, Laxman said with the extensive fitness training and hard work, he was physically and mentally ready to play that kind of inning.

He did not agree with Harsha Bhogle that 281 trapped him as people started to have huge expectations from him.

“I learnt after the first 4 years of struggle at highest level that especially in our country you can’t afford to fall into a trap. Everyone will have expectations. I never played game to fulfill expectations of others.”

The event saw Harsha Bhogle in free and frank conversation with Laxman, his family members, former cricketers Arshad Ayub, Venkatapathi Raju and autobiography co-writer R. Kaushik.

Telangana’s Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao and badminton coach P. Gopichand also shared their views at the event attended by former cricketers, coaches and friends of Laxman.

Laxman, who preferred cricketing career over becoming a physician like his parents, said the toughest decision for him was giving up as an opening batsman.

In 1996 when Laxman was included in the Indian team he was announced as an opener. “I took it up as a challenge. It was one of the tough decisions,” he said.

When he was dropped in 2000, he joined the Hyderabad team and started playing first class cricket. “I told myself that I am going to lead the life as a first class cricketer. I decided I will work hard but I will never ever open the batting. It was toughest decision because there was no guarantee of getting into playing XI of India,” he said.

He recalled that at that time the middle order was packed with experienced players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly.

Laxman represented India in 134 Tests, scoring 8781 runs at 45.97. He scored 17 test centuries, six of which came against Australia.

IANS