PSL starts on January 27 in Karachi, with all sides picking two supplement players to cover for injuries and Covid-19

Umar Farooq12-Dec-2021The six PSL franchises firmed up their full squads for the seventh edition of the competition scheduled to begin January 27 in Karachi. Each franchise had the opportunity of retaining a maximum of eight players. Then they met in Lahore to finalise the remaining squad and complete an 18-man side, including two supplement players to prepare for scenarios such as injury and Covid-19 cases in any camp. However, it was agreed that these players can feature in the XI regardless of circumstances.Teams were allowed three platinum, diamond and gold players each, five silver ones, and two apiece from the emerging and supplementary categories. However, no one could pick more than four players combined – both overseas and local – in the platinum and diamond groups. A team had to choose at least three foreign players among their first nine picks, and could get the other foreigner from the supplementary round.That apart, sides must field a minimum of three overseas players and a maximum of four in their playing XIs. The 16-man squad must include five foreign and 11 local players, while the 18-player group could have been a combination of either six foreigners and 12 locals or five foreigners and 13 locals. Also, according to PSL regulations, an emerging player should either be Under‐23 as of January 1 of the playing season, or someone who has played an aggregate of ten or more games in the PSL over two seasons, but is not eligible to be in the emerging category as per age.Lahore Qalandars squad for PSL 2022•ESPNcricinfo LtdLahore QalandarsDraft picks: Fakhar Zaman (Platinum), Abdullah Shafique, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Dean Foxcroft, Zaman Khan, Maaz Khan, Samit Patel and Syed FaridounRetained: Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (both Platinum), Haris Rauf (Diamond; Brand Ambassador), David Wiese, Mohammad Hafeez (both Diamond), Ahmed Daniyal, Sohail Akhtar and Zeeshan Ashraf (all Silver)Potential first XI: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Phil Salt, Mohammad Hafeez, David Wiese, Kamran Ghulam, Samit Patel, Rashid Khan, Zaman Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris RaufMultan Sultans squad for PSL 2022•ESPNcricinfo LtdMultan SultansDraft picks: Tim David, Odean Smith, Rumman Raees, Asif Afridi, Anwar Ali, Rovman Powell, Imran Khan Sr, Aamer Azmat, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah and Blessing MuzarabaniRetained: Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw (both Platinum), Imran Tahir (Diamond; Mentor), Sohaib Maqsood (Diamond), Khushdil Shah (Gold; Brand Ambassador), Shahnawaz Dahani and Shan Masood (both Gold)Potential first XI: Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Tim David, Odean Smith, Abbas Afridi, Imran Khan Sr/Rumman Raees, Imran Tahir and Shahnawaz DahaniKarachi Kings squad for PSL 2022•ESPNcricinfo LtdKarachi KingsDraft picks: Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Tom Abell, Rohail Nazir, Mohammad Imran (wildcard: from Emerging to Silver), Qasim Akram (Right to Match), Faisal Akram, Talha Ahsan, Romario ShepherdRetained: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim (both Platinum), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nabi (both Diamond), Joe Clarke (Gold; Brand Ambassador), Aamer Yamin, Sharjeel Khan (both Gold) and Mohammad Ilyas (Silver)Potential first XI: Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Joe Clarke, Imad Wasim, Lewis Gregory, Mohammad Nabi, Aamir Yamin, Chris Jordan, Umaid Asif, Mohammad Amir and Talha AhsanIslamabad United squad for PSL 2022•ESPNcricinfo LtdIslamabad UnitedDraft picks: Colin Munro, Marchant de Lange, Muhammad Akhlaq, Reece Topley, Danish Aziz, Zafar Gohar, Mubasir Khan, Zeeshan Zameer (Right to Match), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Athar MahmoodRetained: Asif Ali, Hasan Ali (both Platinum), Faheem Ashraf (Diamond), Shadab Khan (Diamond; Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales (Gold; Mentor), Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr (both Gold) and Paul Stirling (Silver)Potential first XI: Paul Stirling, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Shahdab Khan, Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Muhammad Zeeshan/Mubasir Khan and Marchant De LangePeshawar Zalmi squad for PSL 2022•ESPNcricinfo LtdPeshawar ZalmiDraft picks: Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Qadir, Salman Irshad, Arshad Iqbal, Sameen Gul, Kamran Akmal, Sirajuddin, Mohammad Amir Khan, Ben Cutting and Mohammad HarrisRetained: Liam Livingstone, Wahab Riaz (both Platinum), Haider Ali, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik (all Diamond), Hussain Talat (Gold), Saqib Mahmood (Gold; Brand Ambassador) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Silver)Potential first XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Haider Ali, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Ben Cutting, Hussain Talat, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Saqib Mahmood and Salman Irshad/Arshad IqbalQuetta Gladiators squad for PSL 2022•ESPNcricinfo LtdQuetta GladiatorsDraft picks: Jason Roy, James Faulkner, Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Ben Duckett, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Ashir Qureshi, Ahsan Ali and Noor AhmedRetained: James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed (both Platinum), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz (both Diamond), Shahid Afridi (Gold; Mentor), Mohammad Hasnain (Gold; Brand Ambassador) and Naseem Shah (Gold)Potential first XI: Jason Roy, James Vince, Umar Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed, James Faulkner, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Hasnain and Abdul Wahid Bangalzai

The pandemic is partly to blame, but what they really need to raise their level is many more fixtures

Tim Wigmore18-Nov-2021T20 is cricket’s globalisation tool, as the ICC endlessly reminds us. The 2021 World Cup has not given reason to reassess that view, but for advocates of cricket’s expansionism, the Associates’ performances in the tournament have been a little disconcerting.Ultimately the best day for the emerging world was the tournament’s very first, when Scotland recovered from 53 for 6 to defeat Bangladesh by six runs in Muscat. The only other Associate scalp against a Full Member came when Namibia defeated Ireland to progress to the Super 12s. The closest that Scotland or Namibia got to a victory in their eight games against Full Members in that stage of the tournament was Scotland’s 16-run defeat to New Zealand.These performances amount to a regression from the Associates’ displays in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups. In the first round of the 2014 tournament, Hong Kong defeated Bangladesh and Ireland beat Zimbabwe. Then, in the second round, Netherlands thrashed England by 45 runs and lost by only six runs to South Africa. Two years later, Afghanistan easily beat Zimbabwe to reach the Super 10s. There, they beat eventual winners West Indies, and had England at 57 for 6, before losing by 15 runs.Related

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• Namibia have big plans, and Lahore Qalandars are helping them along the way

• Coetzer calls for 'bold and brave' moves to push Scotland forward

• 'If we create a brand people love, cricket will be a Namibian sport'

• T20 World Cup exit prompts 'serious questions' of Ireland's operations

Associate nations have been more greatly impacted by Covid-19 than anyone else in elite cricket. Most Associates essentially played no international matches for 18 months until September this year. Scotland, often considered the leading Associate, put their players on furlough to save money; Chris Greaves, the Player of the Match against Bangladesh in the 2021 World Cup, spent the start of the year delivering parcels for Amazon. Nearly two months of playing in the UAE was particularly challenging for many of these players, who had never experienced intensive bubble life like this before.While these short-term encumbrances explain emerging nations’ challenges this year, there are other forces at work. The greatest is simply the evolution of T20. Since the last World Cup, there have been six editions of the IPL, but Associate players rarely feature in the league, and have scant experience in other major franchise tournaments.Even allowing for the profound difficulties caused by the pandemic, Associates are better T20 sides than five years ago. The problem is, so are the teams ranked above them. From 2010-15, the nine leading Full Members – those part of the World Test Championship – played 2.6 ODIs for every T20I. Since 2016, they have played only 1.2 ODIs for every T20I.In T20 World Cups, Associate teams used to have a curious advantage. They had greater knowledge about their opponents, because while video footage and data from games between Test teams was readily accessible, information about the Associate world was comparatively hard to find. In this World Cup, the sight of two fielders routinely placed to protect the boundary from George Munsey’s reverse sweeps attests to how Test teams have become shrewder in their planning against Associates.But the biggest issue for Associate teams is simply their paucity of fixtures compared to Test sides.Hong Kong beat Bangladesh by two wickets in their 2014 T20 World Cup match in Chattogram•Associated PressThe same was long true in ODIs before the Cricket World Cup League 2 guaranteed leading Associates 36 ODIs between the 2019 and 2023 World Cups. The upshot is that the gulf in playing experience between emerging nations and Full Members is now greater in T20 than 50-over cricket.Leading T20 players play around 50 matches a year, spread across international cricket and leagues. Between the World Cup qualifiers in 2019 and the 2021 World Cup, Namibia’s captain, Gerhard Erasmus, only played 11 T20s, and Kyle Coetzer, Scotland’s captain, five.Ostensibly T20 is the format best suited to emerging sides, but the assumption that this is automatically true is a lazy one. Ireland have defeated both England and South Africa in the ODI Super League, but the World Cup has highlighted that their T20I side is altogether less advanced.Scotland’s run in ODI cricket in 2017-18, when they defeated England, Afghanistan and came within six runs of defeating West Indies and nearly qualifying for the 2019 World Cup, exceeds any streak they have put together against top ten nations in T20I cricket.And so the T20 World Cup results should prompt serious thought about how to close the gap between emerging nations and leading Full Members in the format. More bilateral matches between Test teams and Associates would obviously help; how to fit them into the calendar is another matter.Creative thinking could help accelerate Associates’ T20 development. In women’s cricket, the ICC has previously funded contracts for Associate players in the Women’s Big Bash. A partnership that allowed, say, 20 leading Associate players to train with teams in the IPL and Big Bash would help them tap into the networks, knowledge-sharing and cutting-edge thinking happening in the format. Including Associates in domestic T20 competitions, like the T20 Blast and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and giving them more cricket against A teams from leading nations would be a boon. All of this will require goodwill from Full Members – and extra funding during the 2024-31 ICC cycle.From 2024, the men’s T20 World Cup will expand to 20 teams, with the unwieldy first round abolished. For the first time in history, cricket will get a World Cup that, in its scope, will feel like a global affair to rival those in football or basketball.It is an unprecedented opportunity to turbocharge cricket’s growth. But the events of the last month in the UAE should serve as a reminder. More teams in the World Cup may be necessary to globalise the sport, yet what happens between World Cups is just as important.

The India batter on her love affair with butter chicken, discovering lasagna in Australia, and a secret Bhatia family recipe

Interview by Annesha Ghosh18-Mar-2022What is one meal you can eat day in and day out?
Butter chicken and roti. I eat it at home when my father makes it, and every time I go to a restaurant I straight away call for butter chicken if anyone else accompanying me orders non-veg.Is there anything you really love that you’ve added or removed from your diet to better fit your fitness regimen?
Chicken biryani. I it, but my nutritionist has asked me to cut out rice from my diet totally, explaining how it can affect my fitness and make me slow – with regards to injury too. So chicken biryani has had to go.How difficult was it to give that up?
It did break my heart when I was told I shouldn’t be having rice. But I was, and am, willing to make such sacrifices to get better results out of my cricket. But whenever I am allowed the freedom to have food of my choice, say, on a day off or some such, I make sure to have chicken biryani and butter chicken.What else has been hard to give up?
. I used to eat a lot of it growing up, but in the last seven years I’ve only had the home-made version of the street snack, and that too, rarely. In December last year, though, I had proper roadside after I scored a century for Baroda in the senior one-day domestic competition in Nagpur. It felt so good.What is your favourite pre- or post-workout snack?
I like to keep it light, so I usually go for [millet rotis]. After a workout I like having protein shakes or brown-rice cakes with peanut butter.Which of your team-mates is the best cook?
I am yet to taste anything made by my India team-mates, but I’ve heard Smriti Mandhana is quite good, so I’d like to try out some of what she makes. My Baroda team-mate Charmi Shah is decent at making Maggi and popcorn.What’s one thing you can cook for yourself really well?
I can make pizza. I remember making pizza at an Amul cooking contest once. On a regular basis, though, I think I’d be more comfortable making bread-omelette and [okra] – that’s a dish I love tucking into every now and then.What’s the one dish you would like to ace?
[spinach]. I can’t make it but my mother makes it very well. It would make for a very nice combination with , which I already know how to make, and roti.Who is the one team-mate who can eat whatever they want without it affecting their fitness?
Tanvir Shaikh from Baroda. She indulges in deserts often but she tops pretty much all the sprinting drills. We often ask her, [You eat everything, where does all of it go?] In the Indian team, I am a newbie, so I don’t have much of an idea, but I think Sneh Rana is similar [to Tanvir]. Her fitness is top- shelf. Her metabolism must be quite high, so cheat meals don’t appear to affect her much.Is there a snack you carry in your kit bag when you’re travelling or on tour?
Peanut butter – dark-chocolate flavour. I took a liking to peanut butter ever since I first had it during the home series for South Africa [in March last year], for which I was part of the Indian squad for the first time. I can’t do without peanut butter after a workout.Did you try any new food when you toured Australia?
We were served lasagna at the pink-ball Test [in Carrara]. I loved it. During the tour they would also serve rice, dal and chicken – tandoori or butter – for buffet, and we’d order roti separately along with . The food in Australia was very good.Which cricket venue you’ve played at has had the best food or catering?
We were in Ranchi for a domestic game, and I loved the food and catering in that stadium. I particularly liked the chicken.You’ve grown up, and live, in Baroda. What would you recommend to anyone visiting your home town?
Kathiyawadi cuisine is quite famous in Gujarat, especially the Kathiyawadi , which serve a wide variety of fare. Those are usually a bit more spicy than Gujarati . Baroda’s street food is quite popular as well, and people here are crazy about in particular. , , are some of the other dishes I’d recommend.What do meals look like during a regular week in the Bhatia household?
My mother is vegetarian, but my dad, [older] sister, and I eat non-veg, so the fare on weekdays is usually veg stuff, which either my mom or our cook takes care of. Anything non-vegetarian is typically reserved for Fridays and Sundays and is made by my father.What are the signature dishes in your family?
Home-style chicken and mutton are my papa’s signature dishes, but our household has one of its own, the Bhatia . It’s a gram-flour-and-yoghurt-based thin gravy, which most types of are, and we add a generous assortment of diced drumstick, potatoes, and okra in it. We treat all our guests to it and serve it with steamed rice and sometimes with .What food do you miss most when you’re on tour?
. It’s so simple to make and it reminds me of the simplicity of home. Though you get dal at restaurants or often at match venues in India and abroad, it’s never the same, and as simple, as .

With their win in Lahore, Australia are free in the knowledge that they can stick to what they know if they get the basics right

Alex Malcolm25-Mar-2022The ghosts were there. The ghosts of Headingley, Sydney (twice), Brisbane, and Karachi. They were there sitting on the shoulders of the Australians as they tried to close out victory in Lahore.They were there when Australia dropped key catches in the fourth innings, again. When they fluffed a gifted run-out chance, again. When they burnt three reviews frivolously again, which forced them to second-guess the one when it would have yielded a key wicket.But lady luck finally shone on Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, and Australia, and they slayed their demons and scared off the ghosts to deliver a thoroughly deserved series victory.Related

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Azhar rues batters not converting half-centuries 'into 150s and 170s'

There’s no denying Australia were the better side across the three matches and there’s an argument that they should have won 2-0, having made all the running in both Karachi and Lahore. There is no doubt they were aided by the toss in both matches, but their batting delivered in the first innings in all three games, and they bowled superbly in the first innings in Karachi and Lahore to give themselves time to take 10 fourth innings wickets, with runs to play with on both occasions.Four dropped catches and three magnificent innings from Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique denied Pakistan in Karachi, with the hosts surviving the second-most overs in the fourth innings in history.Babar threatened to do it again in Lahore. Lyon had to get him out three times, but the last was the most satisfying for both him and Steven Smith. The latter had either dropped or missed no fewer than seven chances across the series, but Smith pouched the one that mattered most, a really sharp catch low to his left after Lyon had got the second new ball to skid on and catch Babar’s outside edge.Smith and Lyon roared as Lahore fell deathly silent. You could see the weight of the world lift from both men’s shoulders.Lyon has been carrying it for some time. Since Headingley 2019 no less. Australia’s inability to close out games since that famous day has fallen on his shoulders. But his overall form since Covid-19 stopped global cricket in March 2020 has been a curiosity. Over his previous 11 Tests prior to Lahore, he had averaged 39.80 and struck at 95.20 without a five-wicket haul.It wasn’t that he was bowling badly. But there was a certain sameness and rigidity to his pace, his lines, and his lengths at times across the period that had caused some consternation both inside the camp and out.The big knock was that he wasn’t creating fourth innings chances. But in all fairness, he had had very little luck in the supposed fourth innings failures that were thrown at his feet. He had Ben Stokes missed at slip and plumb lbw at Headingley. He had Rishabh Pant dropped twice by the wicketkeeper in Sydney 2021.Steven Smith held a sharp catch to remove the key figure of Babar Azam•AFP/Getty ImagesThose ghosts threatened to consume Lyon in Lahore. Babar should have been run out early in his innings. Travis Head made a poor throw to Lyon but his fumble, although not his fault, did bring back memories of Headingley.He had Babar caught brilliantly at slip by Smith off the glove and pad but it was given not out. Australia had torched two reviews on earlier lbw shouts where the inside edges could be seen and heard in Sydney, so Cummins was reluctant to burn their last, given they weren’t 100 per cent sure it brushed Babar’s glove. The ghosts of Stokes’ lbw haunted Lyon again.Babar then tried to launch Lyon over long-on in the last over prior to tea and miscued to deep midwicket. Head misjudged the flight and failed to get hands to a catch that should have been taken. The ghosts of Stokes again would have flashed through Lyon’s mind as he slumped to his haunches.But luck evened things out for Lyon and Australia today. He was perhaps fortunate to dismal Azhar Ali with a 50-50 DRS call going Australia’s way despite the original decision being not out.Lyon also bowled Hasan Ali via his helmet and the back of the bat as he attempted to sweep out of the rough. And fellow spinner Mitchell Swepson held a spectacular catch in the deep to hand Lyon his five-for.It was a rich reward for Lyon who has bowled better than the numbers have suggested at times in this series, and deserved more luck than he has got. He was rewarded for a different line to Imam-ul-Haq, attacking the left-hander with a rare venture from over the wicket to get him caught brilliantly at silly mid-off by Marnus Labuschagne.Changes in pace, dropping below 80kph at times, was also part of what undid Babar, with some of his slower deliveries ripping out of the footmarks and eventually, causing Babar to play for more turn than was there on the one he eventually nicked.That Swepson, Lyon’s understudy for so long was unable to take a wicket in this Test and was only entrusted with five overs on the final day proves Lyon is still invaluable to Australia’s attack despite his detractors.However, it is clear that Australia’s path to 20 wickets in Asia relies heavily on Cummins, Mitchell Starc and their bevy of reserve quicks than on Lyon or any spinner he’s paired with. Cummins, Starc and Cameron Green combined for 23 of Australia’s 41 wickets for the series while the spinners took just 15. Green took the key wicket of Abdullah Shafique while Cummins was monumental again as a strike-force blowing away Fawad Alam and Rizwan with two superb deliveries to expose the tail. Although Pakistan were equally guilty of DRS blunders, as Rizwan would have been reprieved if they had used the review they were reluctant to use, having burned two of their three already.Lyon’s role as a holder in Australia’s attack even when it is spinning big, and more liberal use of Labuschagne, while the quicks attack when the moment suits, may well be the method going forward in Asia for Australia.They have been freed from the ghosts of the past. They are free in the knowledge that they can stick to what they know if they get the basics right.

The debutant legspinner was not fazed, even by batters of big hitting repute, and that is a very good sign

Shashank Kishore17-Feb-20221:33

Suryakumar: Felt like this was a perfect debut for Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi’s first act as an India cricketer wasn’t his most memorable one. What should’ve been a regulation catch at long-off to dismiss Nicholas Pooran turned into a six because Bishnoi’s overbalanced foot touched the ad cushions. Even as the umpires conferred to indicate ‘out’ as the soft signal, Bishnoi knew he had erred. When the big screen merely confirmed what he had known all along, Bishnoi had a sheepish look: tongue out and looking away, not wanting to make eye contact with Yuzvendra Chahal, the bowler, and Rohit Sharma, the captain. Less than an hour earlier, a beaming Bishnoi had received his first cap from Chahal.But within an over of that lapse, he was summoned to bowl his first over in international cricket. West Indies had just lost their second wicket in Kyle Mayers, and Rohit was in no mood to sit back and let the visitors recover. He had a new batter – a right-hander in Roston Chase – and he went on an all-out attack. Had he held them back any further, it’s also possible a dewy outfield could have made things tougher for young Bishnoi. One of the batters Bishnoi would be bowling to – Pooran – was his IPL team-mate for two seasons at Punjab Kings. Not that it was much of an advantage just yet, because, for Bishnoi, this was going to be a battle from within. Would he be able to manage his jangling nerves? Will he allow the occasion to get to him? An hour later, you could say he didn’t.Bishnoi began sloppily sliding wrong’uns wide outside off, and then down leg. But from thereon, a mesmeric two overs changed the face of the game entirely. Up until then, Pooran had started to tuck in, quickly allowing West Indies to move past a middle-overs stutter. This approach came with the knowledge he had more explosive batters for support. Kieron Pollard, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd and Roman Powell. But when Bishnoi struck to dismiss Chase in his second over, West Indies sputtered again.What stood out with the Chase wicket was the set up. Midwicket was left open. The ball was on middle and off. It was a wrong ‘un. Chase knew all of this and yet could do nothing about it. Bishnoi’s flatter trajectory and fizz off the pitch left him with no time to really react. He was tempted by the gap on the leg side. He went for it and was out lbw. Could he have survived had he tried to play straighter? Perhaps. Here, he was looking to nudge the ball and closed the face of the bat. It was a grave mistake. Chase was as close as Bishnoi would get to bowling to a “Test-class” batter on the night – at least the stats say so – and getting him the way he did would have been particularly satisfying. Two balls later, Powell’s attempt to unleash a fierce slog sweep led to his finding wide long-on.When Akeal Hosein walked in ahead of Pollard, supposedly to negate the effects of a legspinner, the left-hander was left befuddled, because he was welcomed by another ripping googly. Bishnoi’s wry smile at the end of a double-wicket over told you he’d outfoxed the new man. Was he really expecting him to spin the ball back in? This was an exhibition of wrong ‘uns bowled at similarly rapid pace but different lengths. By the time the batters had realised it was time to treat Bishnoi as a googly bowler, he had figures of 2-0-7-2.Bishnoi’s fearlessness, even against a batter of Pollard’s repute, was a refreshing sight. He kept delivering his stock ball – the googly – knowing fully well that the batters were expecting it. And therein lay the beauty of his effort. The team management let him be his own boss; they trusted him to do a job and he did.”Bishnoi is a very talented guy, no doubt about it,” Rohit said at the presentation. “We see something different in him that’s why we drafted him in the squad. He can bowl anywhere from the powerplay to the back end of the innings as well, gives us options to rotate other bowlers. Very happy with his first game for India, he’s got a very bright future. He’s got solid talent. It’s just about us now, how we use him.”The team management sees “something different” in Bishnoi. They’re also in that phase of T20 World Cup preparation where they’re happy to try different things, like fielding two legspinners of different varieties in the same XI. Where Chahal teases batters with his loop and dip, Bishnoi is fast and fizzy. On Wednesday, we may have seen the start of a blossoming partnership. For Bishnoi, already an IPL star, the journey in the big league may have just begun.

His seven-year stint as Test captain included unprecedented highs, the occasional low, as well as several flashpoints

Alagappan Muthu15-Jan-2022A first taste
Virat Kohli was already the heir apparent when he stood in for MS Dhoni against Australia in Adelaide in 2014 and immediately showed he was unafraid to make the big calls. Reasoning that wristpin was a more attacking option than fingerspin, he dropped R Ashwin and gave Karn Sharma a debut. Then he went and made twin-centuries. India needed 365 runs in 98 overs on the last day of that game and they went for it. They really went for it. The fairytale was not to be – Nathan Lyon took care of that – but the die had been cast. India under Kohli were going to be must-see.Conquering Sri Lanka
Kohli’s resolve was forged in defeat and there was one in particular that shaped his entire seven-year tenure. Galle 2015. India had dominated that game – as a first-innings lead of 192 will suggest – but then it vanished as Dinesh Chandimal and Rangana Herath produced one of the greatest fightbacks ever. That loss – from that position – hurt Kohli so badly that all of his focus went into turning his team into one that can dominate not just for the course of one innings but for a whole match. That’s why he demanded the highest standards of fitness. That’s why he triggered the Indian pace race. And though the tour began in defeat, it ended with India winning a Test series in Sri Lanka for the first time in 22 years.Related

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“I didn’t say that, you did”
A series win in West Indies. Three double-hundreds in 11 innings. Everything was coming up Kohli when Australia popped by in 2017. Their tireless bowling line-up was able to keep him quiet all series but one incident set him off big time. Steven Smith said it was a “brain fade.” Looking to the dressing room for help in deciding whether to review an on-field lbw decision. Kohli insisted it was something more. “It’s happened twice, that I’ve seen their players looking upstairs for confirmation,” he said. “I don’t want to mention the word, but it falls in that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field.”When asked if the word he didn’t want to mention was “cheating”, Kohli replied: “I didn’t say that, you did.”India took the series 2-1. Smith scored not one but two career-defining centuries in Pune. Kohli couldn’t get past 15 in five innings.Captain Kohli•ESPNcricinfo Ltd Kohli vs Kumble
Kohli the captain and Anil Kumble the coach? Who can stop India now? The arrival of perhaps the biggest match winner India has ever had into a dressing room that was already doing amazing things seemed like something to celebrate. But then, just before the Champions Trophy in 2017, rumours of unrest began to break out. The captain and the coach were falling out. The BCCI rallied everyone to patch things up. They brought in Sachin Tendulkar. They brought in VVS Laxman. They brought in Sourav Ganguly. Nothing worked. Kohli wanted a change. He was the most powerful man in Indian cricket and he knew what he could do if he dug his heels in.Kumble eventually resigned saying his partnership with the captain had become “untenable”. Ravi Shastri came back in and took over from there.The mountain top
He batted like a dream in Centurion. But he was the only one. And the series was gone. Then came one of the most brutal Test matches in recent memory. The Wanderers produced a pitch so violent that at one point – when Dean Elgar was struck flush on his helmet – there appeared a very real chance that it might get called off. But Kohli and his team wouldn’t let that happen. They had batted in these same conditions without complaining. In the end, India had their victory and through the course of it Kohli overtook Sunil Gavaskar and Dhoni to become the highest scoring captain in his country’s history.Kohli vs Anderson round 2 went the Indian’s way, in 2018•Getty ImagesMr Anderson…
India’s tour of England in 2018 was all about one thing. Kohli vs James Anderson. And whether the events of 2014 would repeat themselves. It did look possible – the England seamer beat that MRF bat many times – but the wicket never came. Kohli exorcised a demon on that tour – scoring two high-quality centuries – but his team still wasn’t equipped to win in those seamer-friendly conditions. England beat them 4-1.The fruits of labour
All this while, India were learning. Growing. They were finding players ready-made for international cricket. Gifts of the IPL and of a concerted investment into the Test format. Failure is always hard but Kohli understood that with each one they were getting closer and closer to the ultimate goal: winning away from home. On January 7, 2019, they finally did. Kohli had become the first-ever India captain to win a Test series in Australia.The drought
Kohli is that rare kind of batter who looks like he could score a century after facing just one ball. It wasn’t so much about the shots that he could play but the attitude behind them. The giant front foot stride. That permanent scowl on his face. The thirst for a fight. At times, when he’s ready in his stance and looking at the bowler, he has all the impatience of a child waiting for their parent to take them to the park. He just always wants to get on with it. But between November 2019 and January 2022, over 27 innings in Test cricket and 62 across all formats, that hundred that once seemed preordained just never came.The encore Down Under
Adelaide. 36 all out. Much like Galle, India were dominating the game, only to lose it in the freakiest way. Kohli had to leave at the end of that game to be with his wife for the birth of their child. “I’m sure we will bounce back strongly in the next Test and there is no doubt about that.” he said. A few days later, as a brand new father, he was tweeting with a heart full of pride as Ajinkya Rahane led an injury-ravaged team to incredible glory.The king and the crown (that slipped away)
India were now world beaters, largely thanks to a well-rounded, often ferocious bowling attack. They went on a tour of West Indies in 2019 when all anyone could talk about was how the shoe was now on the other foot with Jasprit Bumrah terrorising the host batters. It seemed like destiny that India were becoming such a force just as the ICC instituted a World Test Championship. They made the final without much fuss, but when they got there, Kohli chose to go in with two spinners on a green pitch and it backfired big time. A captain who always craved an extra bowling option – to the point that he was continuously willing to sacrifice a batter whether at home or away – went into the biggest Test of his career with one hand tied behind his back. New Zealand beat India and took the crown.January 2019: Kohli became the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia•Mark Kolbe/Getty ImagesEngland Take Three
Kohli has always loved a fast bowler. He loves seeing that speed gun crank up to 140kph and beyond. He’s been on the receiving end enough times to know they are game-changing assets. So he wanted one of his own. Actually, he wanted a whole set. Kohli has helped transform this team’s outlook on fitness because he wanted players who could deliver top quality stuff even when the tank is empty. And that’s what hey got in England in 2021. A series lead of 2-1 was built on spectacular fast bowling displays – led by Bumrah – but before he could officially taste triumph the threat of Covid-19 intervened. India backed out of playing the final match of the series in Manchester after a member of their support staff tested positive.The end
The series was 1-1. South Africa had been set a target of 212 in Cape Town. There had only ever been three successful chases above 200 there. The chances of another happening in deeply bowler friendly conditions and against one of the best attacks in the world were remote. Right? Wrong!South Africa had already shown themselves capable, chasing down 240 in Johannesburg and they were at it again. The tension was palpable. Kohli himself was adding to it. “Relax guys. I can hear your heartbeat,” he said to the batters in the middle.And then it happened. DRS overturned an lbw given against Dean Elgar, showing the ball to be bouncing over leg stump and India lost it. Everyone from the bowler – R Ashwin – to the captain – Kohli – and the vice-captain – KL Rahul – cried conspiracy. Right into the stump mic so every word could be heard around the world.South Africa weathered India’s rage and won the game. Twenty-four hours later, Kohli resigned as captain.

Somerset batter set for List A bow on Thursday after 90 off 56 in Tuesday’s warm-up

Matt Roller13-Jul-2022It is not often that a player makes their List A debut for their country’s ‘A’ team, but Will Smeed is no ordinary cricketer. After belting 90 off 56 balls for England Lions against the touring South Africans in Taunton on Tuesday in a warm-up game, Smeed will make his official 50-over debut at New Road on Thursday, still three months away from his 21st birthday.Smeed’s career to date has been a microcosm of the modern English game: he has not made a first-class or List A appearance but has played 46 T20s, including a season for Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred. Uniquely among English players, he has played in the Pakistan Super League and the Abu Dhabi T10, but not the County Championship.Not that he has necessarily designed it that way. “It’s just the way it’s happened,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “By no means does it reflect my aspirations: I still want to play everything. It just so happens that I haven’t really scored too many runs in the second team, so that’s not going to get me in the first team. I’m not sure averaging 12 is going to get me picked.Aged 16, he made a red-ball hundred for the seconds in the same innings as Marcus Trescothick, but has struggled for runs this season. “It’s all about trying to figure out what my best method is and that’s something that’s improved quicker in white-ball cricket through the opportunities I’ve had.”The reality is that I haven’t scored enough runs. Here [at Somerset] especially, if you deserve a chance, you get it. Hopefully that’s something that kicks on soon because I’m desperate to be a part of that squad.” Perhaps he is ideally suited to the Bazball revolution. “Maybe in my next red-ball game, I might just try and slog it and see what happens,” he said, laughing.Smeed flashes through the covers•Getty ImagesMost of Smeed’s development has fitted the conventional path for a young English player: excellent coaching at an independent boarding school, impressive performances at the Bunbury festival, graduation from a county’s academy then elevation to the professional set-up. But for a shoulder injury and the pandemic, he would have played significantly more than his three games for England Under-19s.But there has always been a slight difference with Smeed, a sense that he is part of a new, distinctive generation. When asked as a 17-year-old to make a hypothetical choice between the Ashes, the World Cup and the IPL, he opted for the last option with a cheeky grin. He is built like a rugby union centre rather than a batter, with forearms that are more Joe Calzaghe than Joe Root.The result is a white-ball batter with a prolific early-career record, averaging 30.54 in T20 cricket with a strike rate of 143.99. Smeed generates remarkable power, memorably clearing Taunton’s retirement flats in Somerset’s Blast quarter-final against Lancashire last season.

Will Smeed 90 from 56 balls in his first professional game of 50 over cricket!! #WeAreSomerset #ENGvSA pic.twitter.com/xf3iehe8Wg

— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) July 12, 2022