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Warner said he wants to take a call after taking part in the back-to-back T20 World Cups

Daniel Brettig11-Feb-2020David Warner has flagged his likely retirement from T20Is following the two T20 World Cups to be played in consecutive years, and also explained why he has chosen to skip the Big Bash League for much of his international career.On an emotional Australian Cricket Awards night for Warner, he took out the Allan Border Medal as the national team’s best player across all three formats despite an abominable Ashes series in which Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne scored the runs that allowed Tim Paine’s team to retain the urn in England for the first time since 2001. He fared far better on home soil after adopting the belligerent, aggressive batting approach that Australian cricket followers have grown used to, and also made runs on the brief India ODI tour last month that was the last series that featured in the medal’s voting period.At 33, Warner is starting to consider how to approach the remainder of his career, and the dropping of T20Is from his schedule appears the next step he will take to prolong it – albeit only after the T20 World Cups in Australia later this year and in India in 2021.ALSO READ: David Warner, Ellyse Perry win top honours at Australian Cricket Awards“I don’t have a BBL team; I took a break during this period, and that was about my body and my mind, making sure I’m getting ready for the next series that comes up,” Warner said. “If you look at T20 internationals, we’ve got back-to-back World Cups as well, that’s probably a format that could be one I’d probably drop in a few years.”I have to look at the schedule; it’s going to be very difficult [for me] to play all three forms, and good luck to all the guys who want to keep playing that. You talk to guys like AB de Villiers and Virender Sehwag, these guys who’ve done it for a long time, it does become challenging. Having three young kids and my wife at home all the time, the constant travelling becomes very difficult. If it was to come down to [leaving out] one format, it would probably be the international T20s.”As for the BBL, Warner denied that its rapid growth to a 61-game tournament, after starting as a 20-game, state-based event in 2005 and then growing to 31, 35, 43 and 59 games under the BBL banner from 2011 onwards, was a factor in him avoiding it. Warner’s manager had said last year that his client would consider playing in the BBL but that it would need to be financially “worth his while” to do so, but the opener also indicated that some CA-contracted players were uneasy about taking the spots of cricketers who had represented their clubs for the whole event.Ellyse Perry, winner of the Belinda Clark medal poses with David Warner, winner of the Allan Border medal•Getty Images

“For me it’s about working out timeframes with different series, identify when you need a bit of a rest,” Warner sad. “Generally, we play a Test series and go into a one-day series. We went to India and then generally you have a one-day series at home, back-to-back games and then you go away. So, it was a bit different this year; I was able to have that opportunity to have that break which I’m grateful for.”A lot of the guys try to go back and play as much as they can. Sometimes, you look at the finals as an example, they come back and play the final, you’re taking someone’s spot as well, which is always tough as a player, you don’t want to come back and just take someone’s spot for one game. So, this opportunity was great for these guys to go out and play, and to see Smithy and Gazza (Nathan Lyon) and them take part in it and win the title is fantastic.”There had been plenty of tears from Warner as he accepted the medal, after not even being invited to last year’s ceremony, which predated CA’s lengthy reintegration process for him, Smith and Cameron Bancroft after their Newlands bans.”I had no doubt that I had the capability of being back here again. It was obviously a lot of hard work and commitment to be able to put my hand back up for selection for one, and go away and just do what I know best and that’s to try and score as many runs as I can in any competition I was playing in,” Warner said. “There was obviously a lot of work behind the scenes to reintegrate the three of us and I really appreciate the way that unfolded and the way we were reintegrated back into the team and into the fold, and that was by having net sessions as well at the Test matches, keeping our sharpness up against quality bowling, and I’m extremely grateful for that.”There were tough times there with me and, my wife having two miscarriages, there were a lot of things going on in my life away from cricket that I had to work on, and I was able to do that and that was the thing about not having cricket there. I had to work out what was going to be best for me. I had to work on my fitness, me and my wife are a great team, we have three beautiful daughters, and we really enjoy each other’s company.”Australia’s next assignment is a tour of South Africa for three T20Is and three ODIs, taking Warner and Smith back to the scene of their transgressions for the first time in nearly two years. Warner said his experiences in England last year, where he was able to shrug off a constant stream of abuse from crowds while never once retaliating, would be helpful memories.”I knew what I was walking into in England and I know exactly what I’m walking into in South Africa,” Warner said. “You just look at the recent series against England; it doesn’t matter where you go in the world, you’re probably going to cop something of some sort. You’ve got to try and get that out of your head and not let that affect you. I’ve well and truly learned my lessons from last time. It’s going to be great to go back over there, and I’m just really excited to get out there against South Africa and hopefully come home with a win.”

PCB chief executive Wasim Khan is confident their new policy will be right for all stakeholders involved

Umar Farooq27-Mar-2020The PCB has confirmed a massive change to their policy, allowing both international and domestically contracted players to take part in a maximum of four T20 leagues a year, including the PSL.The earlier policy, which was introduced in 2018, had restricted player participation in several leagues, but as ESPNcricinfo reported last month, the PCB decided to put it up for review for the very first time.Pakistan’s players are already among the lowest-paid professionals in world cricket, and aren’t allowed to take part in the IPL. The old policy had added to the uncertainty, with players often given NOCs for an entire tournament, only to be pulled out by the PCB midway to return home and either join national camps or undergo fitness tests. That sparked frustration and discontent among the leading white-ball cricketers and emboldened them to revolt against PCB’s restrictive participation policy on foreign leagues.”I think this is a flexible, balanced and comprehensive NOC policy which addresses as many of the likely scenarios that we will face,” Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive officer said on Friday. “We have given primacy and importance to player workload, international and domestic commitments, but at the same time it was important that players are given the opportunities to make additional earnings and develop their skills around the world.”The 19 Pakistan national players with central contracts will now go to the International Cricket Operations department to get their NOCs going forward. They will also need permission from the head coach or the team management, who are well placed to assess a player’s workload and international commitments. “As per NOC policies around the world, the Chief Executive of the Board will then be the final approving authority at the final stage of the process,” the PCB’s policy says.Domestic players will have to go through one extra layer of red tape. They will have to reach out to their provincial associations for the initial consent and approval and only then will their cases be taken up by Cricket Operations department. In addition, the PCB policy says, “domestic players, who don’t feature in red-ball cricket but are white-ball regulars, it is has been made mandatory for them to commit to domestic 50-over and 20-over competitions in order to be eligible for NOCs.”One major bone of contention between the players and the board about the earlier policy was about how even retired players had to seek an NOC to play in an overseas league. But now the board has decided it will automatically issues NOCs to everyone who has been “retired for 24 months or more, unless there are compelling reasons which the PCB will provide in writing”.”I am optimistic that moving forward, all the relevant stakeholders will have clarity and a better understanding of the process,” Khan said about the change. “To ensure that we maintain our relationships with cricket boards around the world, once granted, NOC’s will only be revoked if there are any injury concerns, or there are international or domestic playing obligations that need to be fulfilled.”

Jacques Rudolph’s double-century on debut – and a record-breaking third-wicket stand of 429 with Boeta Dippenaar – may have garnered all the attention worldwide, but there was much to admire about Bangladesh’s response

Wisden Bulletin by Dileep PremachandranJacques Rudolph’s double-century on debut – and a record-breaking third-wicket stand of 429 with Boeta Dippenaar – may have garnered all the attention worldwide, but there was much to admire about Bangladesh’s response. After a helter-skelter morning session that saw Rudolph and Dippenaar add 106 in 95 minutes before the declaration came, Bangladesh’s much-maligned batsmen emerged needing 297 merely to stave off the ignominy of innings defeat. That they finished the day at 185 for 5 says much about the courage and application of Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar, who took full toll of an attack that, Shaun Pollock apart, was devoid of inspiration.In keeping with their usually abysmal displays, Bangladesh had started poorly, losing Mehrab Hossain – leg-before to Pollock – with the scoreboard showing just seven. Graeme Smith may have erred by handing the new ball to Charl Willoughby but once Makhaya Ntini and Pollock settled into a nice rhythm, run-scoring became devilishly difficult.Only 16 came from the first 14 overs, with barely a shot played in anger, but once Allan Dawson and Willoughby replaced the premier strike-force, Bashar and Omar brushed off the shackles.Bashar had pulled both Pollock and Ntini to the fence when they dropped short, and Dawson’s efforts to entice a mistake outside off stump only result in a succession of boundaries, including one that brushed second slip’s fingertips.Omar started in limpet mode but Willoughby’s generous line-and-length were gratefully utilised to crash balls through the off side. The partnership gathered momentum in the overs preceding tea, and the introduction of Paul Adams after the break only saw more strokes being unveiled.The partnership got to 131 – a record for Bangladesh – before Pollock sent Bashar packing. He had batted throughout in a manner befitting his name, and an ill-directed bouncer was needlessly edged through to Mark Boucher behind the stumps (138 for 2). Bashar made 75 from just 108 balls.Omar nudged, pushed and drove his way to 72, before being undone by a nasty bouncer from Ntini. Bowled from round the wicket, it reared up and could only be fended behind (173 for 3).That exposed the brittle middle-order and South Africa duly capitalised, as Adams had Alok Kapali caught behind (183 for 4) and Mohammad Salim leg-before (185 for 5). In the final hour, South Africa managed to wrest back the initiative that had been taken by Bashar and Omar in mid-afternoon.The first session had belonged to Rudolph, who became only the fifth batsman (Robert Foster, Lawrence Rowe, Matthew Sinclair and Brendon Kuruppu being the others) to score a double-hundred in his first Test innings. His magnificent 222 not out, ably supported by Dippenaar – who motored along to 177 not out from his overnight score of 131 – turned the match on its head, after Bangladesh had shown signs of fight on the opening day.When the batsmen came out to bat in very overcast conditions, the intent was unmistakable. Rudolph glanced a wide delivery for four, while Dippenaar got going with a couple of crunching cut shots.The only blip was a nasty bouncer from Mashrafe Mortaza, which struck Rudolph just below the ear. But he was up on his feet soon enough and a fluent cover-drive and nudged single brought up a memorable double-century. He celebrated with some glorious strokes, ending the innings with a reverse-swept four and a stinging straight six off Kapali.Dippenaar was caught at mid-off off a no-ball early on, but he rode his luck to play some punishing pull strokes and drives. When Enamul Haque came on, he slogged him down to deep midwicket, where the fielder caught the ball … with one foot on the fence.It was that sort of morning for Bangladesh, and despite the improved showing later, defeat is looking increasingly inevitable. As for South Africa, they can trace their revival to two talented greenhorns, yet to grow fat on their achievements.

Emirates Old Trafford preparing for green light to host behind-closed-doors England matches

Matt Roller19-May-2020Lancashire have expressed hopes that some fans will be able to attend matches this summer as they prepare for the “green light” to stage England fixtures behind closed doors at Emirates Old Trafford.Extensive plans have been drawn up to play international cricket in ‘bio-secure’ conditions in recent months, with the ECB accepting that the game’s reliance on broadcast revenues means there is a financial imperative to stage as much of the summer schedule as possible, even if fixtures have to be played without crowds.But Les Platts, Lancashire’s acting chairman, said the club remains optimistic of allowing some spectators into grounds later in the summer, potentially with some degree of social distancing still in place.ALSO READ: Holder voices financial concerns as Windies contemplate England tourThere is less of a financial incentive to play the T20 Blast behind closed doors compared to international cricket, as the counties make most of their money from it through gate receipts rather than broadcast revenue. And despite government advice published last week suggesting there is little prospect of large crowds being admitted to games this season, Platts said he was hopeful that that fans could yet be allowed access.”You never know, later in the season we might be having some spectators back in again,” Platts said. “It must be possible for us to devise a scheme when we’ve got a capacity of 23,000 to have some spectators in with appropriate protocols. I’m not guaranteeing it by any means, but we’re hoping and planning that we might be able to get some of that in September.”As things stand, all professional cricket in England and Wales has been suspended until at least July 1, and all counties have made contingency plans for an entire season without cricket.Lancashire are also in dialogue with the ECB about hosting behind-closed-doors games this summer, and have been making plans on the basis that fixtures will take place as soon as July 8. Emirates Old Trafford had been scheduled for an Australia T20I in July and the second Pakistan Test in August, but could be in line for several more games.As one of two Test grounds with an on-site hotel with sufficient capacity to house enlarged squads and support staff – Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl is the other – Old Trafford is well-placed to create a secure bubble, and the club hopes to receive confirmation next week.The exact details of staging games behind closed doors are still to be negotiated, but Platts confirmed that Lancashire expect to receive compensation for staging costs and for hosting fixtures to aid the club’s financial recovery from the crisis.”I don’t think the club and the game would expect us to be profiteering at these difficult times, but there will have to be compensation that’s fair for the club,” Platts said. “There will have to be cost recovery. If the hotel is being used, there would be a rate… for those using it. There will be income coming into the club that will help the club.”One of the most important bits about that is that if we get that hotel working for behind-closed-doors cricket, it proves a model for a hotel working in a bio-secure environment that will enable the hotel to start trading in a normal commercial sense thereafter – maybe quicker than hotels elsewhere, because we’ve proven the model… and therefore people will have more confidence, perhaps, in booking.”Lancashire are one of two counties along with Surrey who have not furloughed any of their players, with the rationale that the club felt “uneasy about using a job retention scheme for elite sportsmen”. That said, Platts admitted the government’s scheme could be used if it becomes clear that it will not be possible to play any county cricket this summer, and that the decision is being reviewed on a month-by-month basis.If Lancashire’s players are able to return to training, they may have to do so away from Emirates Old Trafford due to clashes with England’s use of the ground, and provisions are being put in place to use outgrounds instead.David Hodgkiss, Lancashire chairman, at the unveiling of the James Anderson End at Old Trafford in August 2017•Getty Images

Lancashire reported record financial returns for a first-class county this week on the back of a 2019 season that included an Ashes Test and an India-Pakistan fixture at the World Cup, and are in a stronger position to recover than most from the impact of the pandemic despite revenue from the hotel and their conference and events business dropping off a cliff in recent months.”It has provided the platform to help us survive 2020, when otherwise we might have struggled a lot more,” said Platts, who has served as the club’s treasurer since 2014 and was appointed acting chairman after the passing of David Hodgkiss in March.”It has put us in a position where we are absorbing the stresses and costs at the moment way better than we would have been able to, but the way that it’s going, we still need income to start again. If we don’t get cricket and the hotel and The Point going again, we’re going to have to take more severe measures. The club will survive one way or another, but if things don’t get going again it will be tougher.”It’s a year to take great pride in its results. It’s a year that David Hodgkiss himself would be very proud of with those results. He would be very proud sitting here today. It’s very sad that he can’t be presenting those results to you.”

Fast bowler rues English misfortune with the ball as Pakistan take advantage in first Test

Andrew Miller06-Aug-2020Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah might beg to differ after their thrilling displays of unfettered fast bowling, but Jofra Archer believes that this Emirates Old Trafford is “not one to bend your back on” as Pakistan claimed the ascendancy in the opening exchanges of the first Test.Speaking to the media at the close of the second day’s play, Archer insisted that England’s own bowlers had been unlucky rather than outplayed, after a brilliant Shan Masood century had underpinned Pakistan’s first-innings 326, and added that on another day they might have been “eight or nine [wickets] down in two or three sessions”.”I don’t think that it particularly went our way,” Archer told Sky Sports. “A lot of balls today probably beat the bat or got the edge, we had two lbws turned around, one with a feather. I think we bowled well as a unit, but we didn’t have a lot of luck. Most of their singles were a bit suicidal and it only takes one direct hit and then who knows. They were very lucky with the running as well.”Archer himself finished with the creditable figures of 3 for 59 in 22 overs, including two in two balls as he got stuck into the tail late in Pakistan’s innings.However, his performance was arguably more notable for the moments that he wasn’t involved – particularly in the lead-up to the second new ball, when Joe Root opted instead to use his own offspin in tandem with Dom Bess, and again thereafter, when Chris Woakes partnered Bess to bowl a spell of short-pitched deliveries at Shadab Khan – a role that might have been better suited to Archer himself, especially as he hadn’t been called upon for nearly two hours.”It was approaching a new ball, and [Root] he just wanted all of the bowlers to be fresh,” Archer explained. “There was a time last night that I probably got off the hook as well, when the umpires said it was a bit too dark. I probably wanted to bowl then too, but I guess the captain knows best and, to be honest, we’ve got more than enough bowlers here to do a job. I wouldn’t be upset at all if it didn’t start.”Jofra Archer celebrates with Joe Root•Getty Images

The haphazard deployment of Archer is becoming a running theme of his Test career, with Root attracting huge criticism for over-using him in his early Tests – not least on debut at Lord’s last summer where he bowled 44 overs in the match and was touching 96mph in the spell in which he felled Steve Smith with a devastating bouncer.Archer never came close to such speeds today, clocking in the high-80s for the most part. And while Pakistan’s attack leader, Mohammad Abbas, proved with his brilliant new-ball display that pace does not need to be everything if you have the skills to exploit a fuller length, he also said that the decision to throttle back had not necessarily been a conscious one.”It’s not deliberate,” he said. “It’s not every day you’re going to come in and 90mph. I’ve seen Shah started bowling 90 so we’ll see how he goes on later on tomorrow morning or afternoon. No one’s robots so I’ll be very, very interested to see what he can produce a bit later.ALSO READ: Jos Buttler needs to convert after letting Pakistan off the hook“This wicket is not a wicket you’re really going to try to bend your back on. We bowled first and there was a little bit there in the morning but eventually as the game’s gone on…actually it’s spinning on day two so that says a lot about the wicket right now.”Archer did, however, concede that the elbow fracture that he sustained in South Africa might have been at the back of his mind as he settled for rhythm over shock.”I had one injury in pretty much a year of cricket, and it was my first since being in the England team, so I’m very happy to be back, touch wood,” he said. “It’s taken a little bit to trust it. Sometimes you get an ache and think ‘oh no, it’s gone again’, but I’ve got reassurance from the medical staff that it’s not the case.”It’s about putting mind over matter, but everything else is pretty okay. I’ve landed the ball where I wanted to. Everyone’s going to bowl a boundary ball at some point of their spell, but I was more happy with where the majority of the balls have gone.”Archer was speaking for the first time since his breach of England’s biosecure environment during the West Indies series – a transgression that required him to be dropped for the second Test at Old Trafford.”I’m just glad to be back out playing again,” he said. “Whatever happened in the last series is gone.”

Says thoughts like forgetting how to “pick line and length” kept him awake at night at times

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2020KL Rahul had moments when he worried he would forget the basics of batting during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. Thoughts of forgetting how to “pick the line and length of the ball” kept him awake at night at times, the India and Kings XI Punjab batsman has said, and his first batting session back was “so bad it was scary”.He found his rhythm in the next few practice sessions, though, which helped him overcome those fears. “Couple of nights, I had nightmares,” Rahul said in an interview with the . “I woke up with the feeling, ‘Oh s**t, what if I can’t pick line and length of the ball? What if I become slower? What if I don’t have the same cover drive as before?’ All these question marks were there. And the first [practice] session didn’t help: all those fears came true. I batted so badly in that session it was scary.ALSO READ: KL Rahul: ‘Aggression for us will be to adapt, not go kaboom from ball one’“Once or twice I did have sleepless nights thinking what if once I get back to playing cricket, I am not the same player. That was a bit scary but luckily, in Bengaluru, we got a few practice sessions and that made me feel good.” Before dealing with his fears in the nets, Rahul had to keep laziness at bay at home. In order to keep himself fit during the lockdown, he made a schedule but found it hard to follow initially.”I did get anxious sitting at home,” he said. “My fear was that I would get lazy, so I trained at home during the day. I made a plan for a day and tried to stick to it. But initially, I didn’t bother as I felt I deserved to be lazy and that I can wake up at whatever time I want to. Even if I didn’t train, it was acceptable for me because my body needed that break after years.”Later on, though, I told myself I needed to plan my day, be it doing household work or getting up at a particular time. Most days, I stuck to my plan. I didn’t want to waste my time watching TV. I cooked, walked my dog and designed clothes for my brand.”Rahul, who will be captaining the Kings XI in IPL 2020, last played a competitive match almost six months ago, when he appeared for Karnataka against Bengal in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Kolkata. On Thursday, along with team-mates he travelled to the UAE, where the players will be undergoing a mandatory six-day quarantine period before starting practice. The IPL starts from September 19 with the final to be played on November 10.

Seamer will miss first two games of 2021 as well after nine-match ban imposed by CDC

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2020The ECB have confirmed that Mitchell Claydon, the Sussex seamer, missed Thursday’s T20 Blast quarter-final defeat against Lancashire due to a nine-match suspension for ball-tampering after applying hand sanitiser to the ball.Claydon, the veteran Australian who joined the club from Kent last winter, admitted a charge relating to altering the condition of the ball after being pulled up in a Bob Willis Trophy match against Middlesex, in which he took three first-innings wickets.Sussex initially suspended him for six games across formats, releasing a short statement at the start of September ahead of their Bob Willis Trophy fixture against Surrey, before he returned to the side for the final two matches of the Blast group stage.He was left out of the side for the quarter-final on Thursday after initially being named in a 16-man squad – his replacement, Will Beer, batted at No. 8 and was not used with the ball – and the ECB announced after the game that he had been made unavailable for selection.A Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel met on Wednesday to discuss Claydon’s sanction. He was charged with a breach of two ECB directives which said that his conduct should be regarded as “unfair and improper” and “prejudicial to the interests of cricket and likely to bring the game into disrepute”.The CDC panel took into account the six-game suspension that Sussex had already imposed, and suspended him for a further three matches, including the Blast quarter-final. He will now miss the first two games of the 2021 season.Sussex will also face a CDC hearing panel after being charged in relation to the incident, which could see them docked points for the 2021 season.

If the opener plays, KL Rahul will have a tricky choice to make, possibly between Maxwell and Mujeeb

Saurabh Somani14-Oct-20207:39

Is it time for KL Rahul to bat more freely?

Big picture

It’s Chris Gayle against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.Conditions apply, of course. The condition of Gayle’s fitness – he’s “fully recovered” as of October 12, but is he back to match fitness?Conditions underfoot, too, with the venue being Sharjah. Alright, so the pitch is not the belter it was at the start of the tournament, but the boundaries are still the same size. A Gayle mis-hit could still be six at Sharjah, so if his timing is not completely there due to his own rustiness or the surface’s slowness, that might not matter.ALSO READ: Choose your captain between Kohli and Rahul after the tossMany expected Gayle to have played in IPL 2020 before this, perhaps as early as Kings XI Punjab’s second game, which was their first bout against the Royal Challengers. Two matches in for both teams, Kings XI seemed ready for a great run while the Royal Challengers had tasted a big defeat that could have made old doubts resurface given how their past two IPL seasons had gone. But the tournament has changed beyond recognition for these two teams since that game. That win remains Kings XI’s only one so far. For the Royal Challengers, the loss was just a blip.The Gayle-against-his-old-franchise trope lends a fresh tinge to a rivalry that has plenty of sub-plots already. Kings XI had been nicknamed ‘Kings XI Karnataka’ before IPL 2020 began, with coach Anil Kumble along with several prominent players hailing from the state. The Royal Challengers have only Devdutt Padikkal as a prominent “local” player. Moreover, the Kings XI have plenty of ex-Royal Challengers players in their ranks apart from Gayle, including captain KL Rahul.Rahul will have a tricky dilemma to resolve if Gayle does play. The West Indies batsman fits naturally at the top of the order, but so do Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, who have been putting together substantial partnerships in this IPL. One of them will have to drop to No.3. He will also have to decide on which overseas player to leave out for Gayle: go all in on the batting and bring Gayle in for Mujeeb Ur Rahman, or do a swap with Glenn Maxwell. Neither Maxwell nor Mujeeb have been at their best so far, and Kings XI will have to choose between going all in on batting at a venue that’s still the most batting-friendly in this IPL, or giving themselves more bowling options.The Royal Challengers look well settled, and require no changes unless there are fitness issues.

In the news

• “I know you’ve all been waiting for such a long time,” Gayle has announced. “The wait is over.” He did add this disclaimer: “unless something dramatic happens” again. But barring that, all the indications are that Gayle will play.
• Maxwell has pointed to his ‘changing roles’ within IPL franchises for the disparity between his IPL record and his performances for Australia. He said he’s still getting used to coming in late in the innings and putting the finishing touches to what the top order does.
• The Royal Challengers bowling has been on point this season, and Virat Kohli put that down to good planning, thorough preparation, and mindset. “If your bowling unit is strong, then you have a good chance of going deep in the tournament,” Kohli said.

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers join Washington Sundar in celebrating a wicket•BCCI

Previous meeting

Rahul hit the highest IPL score by an Indian batsman, helped by two dropped catches along the way, as the Kings XI romped to a 97-run win. The Royal Challengers bowling attack has been revamped since then though, with Chris Morris and Isuru Udana coming in, in place of Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav.

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Aaron Finch, 2. Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Mohammad Siraj, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalKings XI Punjab: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 KL Rahul (capt), 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 Chris Jordan, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Arshdeep Singh

Strategy punt

• Kings XI might be best served by having Gayle open with Agarwal with Rahul dropping to No.3. While Rahul is the leading run-getter in the tournament, his slow strike rates have hurt the team more than helped. Rahul has felt the need to “bat through”, which is why he’s adopted a less risky approach. But if he comes in after a good start, it might allow him to bat with greater liberty.
• Mujeeb Ur Rahman has given up 83 runs in eight overs in the two matches he’s played so far, but if Kings XI continue to show faith in him, it will be worth having him bowl in the powerplay. Both Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal, the Royal Challengers openers, have had their troubles with spin in this IPL. While Finch has a strike-rate of 146.00 against spin, he’s also been dismissed four times in 73 balls faced. Padikkal has been dismissed just once, but his runs against spin in IPL 2020 have come at a strike rate of 105.66. He hasn’t bowled to Padikkal yet, but Mujeeb has a good record against Finch overall despite not having dismissed him: Finch has faced 27 balls but scored only 24 off Mujeeb.
• Nicholas Pooran has been the Kings XI most dangerous batsman, perhaps, having got his runs more rapidly than anyone else and with the range to dominate against any type of bowling. One possible match-up against him that the Royal Challengers might want to explore is Navdeep Saini. The quick bowler has got Pooran out three times in 23 balls, while Pooran has taken only 21 runs off him. So keeping a few Saini overs in the bank might be a good ploy.

Stats that matter

• 53.50 and 152.85. Those are Gayle’s numbers against the Royal Challengers overall. Granted, overall numbers against franchises mean little in the IPL where line-ups change every season. But Gayle does seem to have a liking for whoever is donning the Royal Challengers colours.
• Washington Sundar’s economy rate in IPL 2020 is a staggering 4.9, this despite bowling half his overs in the powerplay. It’s the best economy rate in the tournament currently, given a minimum of 10 overs.
• Yuzvendra Chahal needs two wickets to get to 200 in T20s.

He had limped off the field, clutching his hip, in the middle of his last over in the previous match, against Chennai Super Kings

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2020There is concern over Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s participation in the rest of this IPL after the Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler sat out Sunday’s match against Mumbai Indians. He had limped off the field, clutching his hip, in the middle of his last over in the previous match, against the Chennai Super Kings.The Sunrisers have already lost Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh, who was ruled out in the first week.During the match against the Super Kings on Friday, Kumar left the field at a crucial phase having delivered the first ball of his fourth over – the penultimate over of the chase. Kumar was seen holding his hip and even attempted to continue bowling, but was eventually taken out of the attack with Khaleel Ahmed completing the over.Although he had taken just three wickets in four matches, Kumar is among the most economical bowlers in the season with an economy rate of 6.98, the second-best among fast bowlers so far.In addition to being their most experienced strike bowler, Kumar is also part of the leadership group assisting captain David Warner.

Club makes further commitments to inclusion in wake of Azeem Rafiq allegations

George Dobell25-Nov-2020Yorkshire have committed to appointing a Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as part of the club’s efforts to “improve inclusion across all forms and levels of the game”.The club has recently been rocked by claims of racism from former player, Azeem Rafiq, and have launched an investigation to consider the allegations. They have also said they will “seek to implement the recommendations due to be made by the investigation panel”.Now, on the day the ECB announced a raft of new measures to tackle discrimination, the club have pledged their support and acknowledged “there is much more we can do”.”Cricket enjoys support from diverse audiences across the world, however, it is clear we must do much more to improve inclusion across all forms and levels of the game if we are to truly reflect the communities who contribute so much to the sport,” a statement from the club read.”The Yorkshire County Cricket Club wholeheartedly support the ECB’s aims to further their work on an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan for 2021-24 and want to be part of ensuring meaningful change across the game.”We recognise that County clubs are crucial to the success of the plan and will look to apply its actions, initiatives and targets across our own organisation. We already support the ECB in a number of their projects but there is much more we can and must do to properly address issues of diversity and equality in our sport. As part of our commitment to this Action Plan, our board will look to appoint a Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the New Year with responsibility for delivering meaningful, measurable initiatives across Yorkshire Cricket.”As well as the ECB actions, we will also seek to implement the recommendations due to be made by the investigation panel considering the allegations made by our former player, Azeem Rafiq. This is an important investigation and we have committed to a full and thorough process to provide an in-depth set of recommendations which we now hope to publish in early 2021.”