“With the very first shot I knew that tonight’s probably the time I have to back myself more and go for my shots”

Sidharth Monga19-May-20222:37

Daniel Vettori: Virat Kohli at his best makes RCB a genuine title contender

Virat Kohli has hit 570 fours in the IPL. The 571st is an inside edge off Hardik Pandya, and he almost starts celebrating. It is quite reminiscent of the outside edge in the tense 2016 World Cup semi-final when West Indies had tied India down in the first half of their innings. That outside edge for four got Kohli going. Here, he has already hit Mohammed Shami for two fours, one back over his head and one over cover.The 572nd four has Kohli properly pumped up. On first look, it seems like he has picked out deep square leg, but it turns out the fielder, Rashid Khan, is too far in off the boundary and is lobbed. Kohli starts gesticulating, making sure he is not pointing to anyone in particular in the opposition, but his lips read, “Go back.” It is almost like he is saying he is King Kohli, and who do you think you are standing in off the rope?Related

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At the other end, Faf du Plessis is riding the wave.”I understand Virat in the sense that it gets him going,” du Plessis tells Star Sports. “It’s that fire, that personality, the character. So I play the role with him, I am getting pumped up. And it’s really fun to bat out there when he is going like that. He has got so much emotion he pulls you with you. In the sense that you are almost ready to play a rugby match. Because of all the energy going through you.”It is a season where Kohli, in the words of Mike Hesson and du Plessis, has found out ways to get out. Hit straight to point and short midwicket first ball, bottom edge into the thigh pad that carries to short fine leg, run out when batting with David Willey, lbw to first ball in the IPL from Dewald Brevis. Perhaps it is this change of luck that Kohli is after, that is apparent to him in these two shots. It is a direct contrast to his walking back, looking up at the skies with a “why me” look.This 33-year-old Kohli, a batter who has conquered pretty much everything there is to conquer in Tests and ODIs, a young parent, has got perspective on life. He knows if he has had some wretched luck of late, he has had some good fortune too.”It’s in that spur of that moment that you feel like why is this happening to me?” he tells Star Sports. “But if you go back to 2018 England, my first innings I was dropped on 22, I got 149. The juggernaut of 2014 could have started all over again. But it didn’t.”There are so many things [that go wrong but] you can’t complain about. I can pick and choose so many moments when I was dropped, I was lucky, and then I played probably some of the best innings of my career. Yes you feel disappointed, but if I am standing here being ungrateful, then I don’t think it’s fair. Because I have been blessed with a lot. I just want to keep working hard, just keep my head down and try to help my team as much as I can.”Keep working hard. It can sometimes become a vicious cycle in cricket. The results are not always in direct proportion to the effort you put in. When you don’t get the results, you can tend to work harder, and then even harder when that doesn’t bring the results.Virat Kohli makes it known how important the half-century was by gesturing towards the sky•BCCI”You just need to keep the perspective right,” Kohli says. “You need to understand there are expectations because of what you have achieved and what you have done over so many years. And sometimes what happens is that in the need to perform and live up to those standards you kind of forget the process that why you ended up performing so well or so much over the years.”So you just need to go back to the drawing board and say you know what I just want to look at the ball and hit it. Sometimes you can think of all the things that can go wrong and not the things that can go right when you are on the field. So I worked really hard before this game. I batted about 90 minutes in the net yesterday. I kept backing myself every ball. I wanted clarity every ball that I played. And I was able to achieve that for 90 minutes. So I came to this game very free. And relaxed that I can back myself every ball out there and not think of what if something goes wrong. So that’s something that you can tend to go into when you have a lot of expectations from yourself.”If he sounds like someone who had begun to doubt himself – and who can blame him, he last scored a century in 2019 – that insecurity had to coexist with unmistakable confidence.”I think with the very first shot I played off Shami I felt like that (his old self),” Kohli says. “Because it was a length ball, and I was able to back myself and hit him back over his head. I just felt like I could hit length balls over bowlers’ head for four and six.”That’s when I know I am in a very good head space because then I am not bothered about the ball pitched in the right area. When I can hit good balls for four, then I know I am going to get balls that I can hit for four otherwise as well. So yeah with the very first shot I knew that tonight’s probably the time I have to back myself more and go for my shots.”Living through all these emotions can be exhausting. It can drain you even before you get into a contest. But half an hour after the contest, Kohli is not at all fatigued and looking for more. It is this small break that he has been waiting for. How much has he left in the tank?”Quite a bit. I can keep going. No issues at all.”

The quartet stepped up to make up for the lack of penetration from spinners and delivered a 1-0 series win

Mohammad Isam27-May-2022The power cuts and long fuel queues sent the Test series in Bangladesh down the priority list of many Sri Lankans. However, there might be a little smile on their faces when they see the highlights or the scorecard of their ten-wicket win in Dhaka. A joyful moment in an otherwise bleak period in Sri Lankan history.For the cricket team, this is a significant series win sandwiched between a horrible India tour and the upcoming home series against Australia and Pakistan. In the past, Sri Lanka used to ease past Bangladesh in Tests. However, now with an improved side as their opponent, Sri Lanka had to face a few challenges before eventually defeating the hosts 1-0 in the two-match series.Though most batters had a good outing, it was particularly heartening to see seniors Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal deliver, when Sri Lanka were in a spot of bother.Sri Lanka benefited from a good mix of experience and youth. Senior players gave them big runs with match-defining partnerships while the rookie fast bowlers delivered match-winning performances. Mathews deservedly won the Player-of-the-Series award after his best Test series in seven years. Chandimal was among the runs in both Tests, notably scoring his first hundred in four years.But it wasn’t just about individual brilliance. Mathews and Chandimal defied Bangladesh twice in crucial junctures. Mathews put together two big partnerships in Dhaka, including the 199-run stand for the sixth wicket with Chandimal. The pair batted in contrasting fashion, with Mathews trusting his defense above everything. He has a strong defensive technique and he prefers playing straight, which is a recipe for success in Bangladesh, where the pitches are slower and lower. Batters who play straight are often rewarded.Chandimal, on the other hand, is trying to rediscover his aggressive streak, often charging at the Bangladesh spinners to bunt them down the ground. It was demoralising for the bowlers, and he balanced it with solid square-cuts and drives. Dimuth Karunaratne, a usually heavy scorer, also got important runs while Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva pitched in with handy contributions as well.Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews were the top two run-getters for Sri Lanka•AFP/Getty Images”With their experience, Angelo and Chandimal are greedy for their runs,” wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella said. “They knew this is the best opportunity to go for big scores. They did a great job and are taking the pressure off the youngsters. They are doing their job properly.”However, the most remarkable aspect of Sri Lanka’s victory was their bowling. Asitha Fernando became only the second fast bowler in their history to take a ten-wicket haul. The first was their fast-bowling coach Chaminda Vaas, who had two such hauls in 1995 and 2001. Fernando and Kasun Rajitha, who took his maiden five-wicket haul in the first innings in Dhaka, combined to take 17 wickets in the second Test.Rajitha and Asitha used the new ball superbly on the first morning of the second Test. In less than seven overs, they exposed Bangladesh’s inability to tackle subtle seam movement. There wasn’t visible swing but there was enough seam movement as the duo picked up five early wickets. Fernando’s use of the short ball, reverse-swing and skiddiness was compelling to watch. Rajitha was slightly more experienced but he too kicked things up a notch.Only Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das resisted them with their batting skills and intelligence. The rest of the Bangladesh line-up scored only 32 runs out of their 365 in the first innings.Related

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“These are not the wickets we played on last time, when the ball was spinning and turning,” Dickwella said. “This time it was dead and flat tracks, good for batsmen. Our fast bowlers came up with their plans. Their execution was good. In both Tests, there wasn’t much for spinners but the fast bowlers did well. Our batsmen also made the job easier for our bowlers.”In the first innings, there was something for the seamers – a bit of movement and swing. We took five early wickets but we couldn’t quite take the other five wickets [quickly]. In the second innings, [the bounce] was going up and down. Seam movement was there. We stuck to our basic line and length. We wanted to bowl stump line in the second innings.”We knew the top-order was struggling in the first innings. We wanted to bowl line and length first. With Asitha’s pace and tactics with the short ball, we knew it would be hard for them. We wanted to spread the field, not to give easy runs, and then attack when possible.”We had a calm dressing room. We knew we were just one wicket away from the tail-enders. We kept our nerves. I think Asitha came up with a brilliant catch. It was the turning point.”Kasun Rajitha created massive impact after coming in as a concussion sub in the first Test•AFP/Getty ImagesThe spinners took only one wicket, taking their tally to just three wickets in the Test series, Sri Lanka’s second-lowest returns by a spin attack (when they have bowled more than 181 overs in a series).Ramesh Mendis played both games and they alternated between Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama, but none of the options worked. Jayawickrama bowled brilliantly against Bangladesh last year, but was a pale shadow of his former self this time.The fact that Bangladesh still couldn’t get into advantageous positions in both Tests is a huge tribute to Rajitha and Asitha.In the next couple of years under Silverwood and Vaas, there’s potential for Asitha and Rajitha to keep improving, while more robust bowlers can come through the system.But it is hard to assume that Sri Lanka still doesn’t have their house in order. After Kamil Mishra’s ejection midway through the tour, Silverwood has to address disciplinary issues among the young players. Undoubtedly, fitness, too, will be near or on top of his laundry list. But in his first series in charge of Sri Lanka, Silverwood also must have found many positives to work with in the coming months.

He has built a reputation of being a serial title-winner in T20 cricket and despite a successful last season is positive his best is yet to come

Deivarayan Muthu10-Oct-2022There’s a bit of R Ashwin about R Sai Kishore. The left-arm fingerspinner relishes bowling across phases and keeps upgrading his skills to get up to speed with T20 cricket.Sai Kishore broke into the Tamil Nadu side as a powerplay specialist from the TNPL, but over the last two seasons he has also fronted up to bowl at the death, something that was on display during the IPL 2022 final.Related

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In the TNPL that followed, Sai Kishore often slid up the order for Chepauk Super Gillies as a pinch-blocker or a pinch-hitter, the same role that Ashwin performs for Rajasthan Royals. Sai Kishore has also pinch-blocked for Tamil Nadu in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, including the final against Himachal Pradesh last year.”I’ve always wanted to improve myself,” he tells ESPNcricinfo, ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s starting on October 11. “If this doesn’t work, I will go to the next aspect. Upgrading myself has been my driving force – it is not just playing for India and doing well at the IPL. Part of the conscious effort to turn into a better cricketer was working on my batting and be a better team man. If I can do a job with the bat for the team, the team can play an extra bowler. That is the thought process.”In 2018, I started batting at No. 10, slowly I could score 20-25 runs, and slowly people got the confidence that he could at least play and get some runs. It is not something natural, I’ve worked hard with R Prasanna [Tamil Nadu assistant coach] but 100% I will get there [as an allrounder].”ESPNcricinfo LtdThese are still early days in Sai Kishore’s career, but he has already built a reputation of being a serial winner in T20 cricket. He has won back-to-back IPL titles, first with Chennai Super Kings and then with Gujarat Titans, back-to-back Syed Mushtaq Ali titles with Tamil Nadu and back-to-back TNPL titles with Chepauk. Sai Kishore credited Tamil Nadu’s team culture for their transformation into a dominant white-ball force.”We have grown together, and nobody takes their place or the game for granted,” he says. “Nobody is a certain starter in this XI, you have to be that good in this team, and people coming through the ranks are aware of that. People have bought into the culture of bowling for the other guy and bowling for the team. Each one of them is ready to do the dirty work for the team. As long as we continue to do that, I feel Tamil Nadu being a dominant force in white-ball cricket will continue.”When T Natarajan was unavailable through injury last season, Sai Kishore himself did the dirty job of bowling at the death. That experience served him well in the IPL 2022 final when he was called up to bowl the 16th and 18th overs. He responded with the wickets of Ashwin and Trent Boult.”Definitely the experience of bowling at the death in Syed Mushtaq Ali helped me in the IPL,” Sai Kishore says. “I’m not trying to protect myself. The bowling analysis may sometimes say expensive, but as a spinner, you need guts to bowl at the death. Okay, I could get hit, so what? If the team feels I might be the best fit in this situation, I’m willing to do it and that has given me courage and experience.”So, when I bowled at the death in the IPL final, it wasn’t like ‘why I’m bowling here?’ I’m ready for it – I’ve done it for Tamil Nadu, I’ve done it in TNPL. Hopefully, through all these experiences and through these roles, I will get better.”ESPNcricinfo LtdFor someone who bowls in the powerplay and death, Sai Kishore’s overall T20 economy rate of 5.68 is particularly striking. In fact, it is the best by an Indian – and second best globally – among bowlers who have bowled at least 900 balls in T20 cricket. Sai Kishore downplayed his numbers, suggesting it was somewhat skewed because of his limited experience in the IPL.”When a batsman hits me for sixes, I often try to minimise the damage,” he says. “Sometimes you will be bowling well, and the batsman will not take you on. At the time, you should be more fearless and go for his wicket. At that point, you shouldn’t mind giving two sixes and should go for his wicket. I usually focus on these things and by doing this, my game-awareness has improved.”I don’t classify myself as an attacking spinner or defensive spinner; I believe T20 cricket is just about playing that situation. The stats are also [that good now] because I haven’t played much international cricket or IPL cricket. It’s largely domestic cricket, but hopefully, if I can replicate it more consistently at a higher level, it would be a great thing.”

I don’t know if the last year could’ve been any better. But with experience, I can get much better and I feel my best is yet to come.R Sai Kishore

Sai Kishore believes that working with a wristspinner – Rashid Khan at Titans and M Ashwin at Tamil Nadu – has also contributed to his success.”In a way, it plays into my hands and gives me a chance too. If a wristspinner keeps it tight, I will get wickets and if I keep it tight, he will get wickets. If both of us get hit, the team will lose (laughs). It’s been a good partnership with MAsh and Rashid – they always play for the team’s plans – and it has been easy bowling in tandem with them.”During his stint with Titans, Sai Kishore also tested himself against David Miller at the nets and developed greater confidence in bowling to left-handers. Against right-handers, he has an economy rate of 5.86 and an average of 20.38 and against left-handers an economy rate of 6.60 and average of 14 (where data is available).”When you bowl to a powerful guy like Miller, you will know what to do and what not to do as a left-arm spinner,” Sai Kishore says. “Ashish Nehra [Gujarat Titans coach] and Hardik [Pandya] backed me to bowl to left-handers in the IPL, they picked me because I can bowl to everyone and not just to right-handers. Ashish Nehra gave me that confidence and that goes a long way.”In the Indian domestic circuit also, there are a lot of good players of spin and the challenge is not just restricted to left-hand batters. A lot of these batters hit the ball in different pockets of the field and maybe once you get hit, next time you draw on the previous experience and come up better. So, I just see it as a learning experience, and you have to be fearless and back yourself against him.”Winning multiple T20 titles aside, Sai Kishore has had exposure as a net bowler with the India side in both white-ball and red-ball cricket. More recently in the season-opening Duleep Trophy, he emerged as the highest wicket-taker, with 17 strikes at an average of 20.05. And now at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he will be central to Tamil Nadu’s chances of doing a three-peat.”I don’t know if the last year could’ve been any better,” Sai Kishore says. “But with experience, I can get much better and I feel my best is yet to come.”

His powerplay strike rate of 148.31 is the highest among all batters (min 25 innings) in the CPL, and he looks good for more

Deivarayan Muthu30-Sep-20221:15

Rahkeem Cornwall: “My six-hitting is natural”

An ideal T20 opening batter is one who dashes out of the blocks, takes risks selflessly, and doesn’t mind losing his wicket in the process. Rahkeem Cornwall is the perfect fit for this role. His powerplay strike rate of 148.31 is the highest among all batters who have batted in a minimum of 25 innings in the CPL; Faf du Plessis, Sunil Narine, Brendon McCullum and Evin Lewis round off the top five in this list.That Cornwall is in such an elite company despite no exposure to the other big T20 leagues makes his record even more remarkable. Batting in T20 cricket has become increasingly specialised, but Cornwall’s approach is a simple one: “I think I just stick to my game plan and once the ball is in my area, I tend to make sure I capitalise and put it away,” Cornwall told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the CPL 2022 final.Related

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In the first qualifier against Guyana Amazon Warriors on a Providence pitch that wasn’t too conducive to run-scoring, Cornwall cracked 11 sixes during his 54-ball 91. Only Andre Russell has hit more sixes in a CPL innings. Cornwall is particularly strong down the ground but his stable base, still head and strong forearms allow him to even tug balls from well outside off into the leg side. He revealed that he doesn’t spend much time on range-hitting, attributing his six-hitting to his natural skills.”Not really – I haven’t done any range-hitting and I think that [six-hitting] is natural,” Cornwall said. “I think I’m strong enough down the ground or any area – [I’m] a 360[-degree] player. So, I just have to focus on shot selection and wait till the ball is in my area to put it away.”T20 is a fickle, chaotic game, but Cornwall has learnt to embrace failures and stay true to his role of maximising the powerplay.”As a player, once you back yourself, failure is going to come and there’s no doubt at it. It’s just how you bounce back from that failure,” Cornwall said. “Yes, I may hit 11 sixes one day, but on another day, I may get holed out off the first one. So you have to just back yourself as a player and trust your skills and go for what you believe in.”Cornwall had suffered an ankle injury midway through CPL 2022, but he hasn’t let that disrupt his rhythm – with bat and ball. Cornwall was actually underutilised with the ball at St Lucia Kings last season – he bowled all of two overs in CPL 2021 – but at Barbados Royals, he seized his opportunity, enjoying his most productive season with seven wickets at an economy rate of 5.53.Rahkeem Cornwall – leading the charge in the powerplay in the CPL•ESPNcricinfo LtdRoyals are quite big on pairing up a thrifty fingerspinner with a more aggressive wristspinner. At the IPL now, they have R Ashwin with Yuzvendra Chahal. At the SA20, Bjorn Fortuin will work with Tabraiz Shamsi. At this CPL, Cornwall complemented Mujeeb Ur Rahman (a mystery fingerspinner) and Hayden Walsh (a legspinner).”The communication has been very good [with the wristspinners],” Cornwall said. “Me and Hayden grew up [together] from childhood and we always share information between us on how the pitch is playing, what sort of length you need to bowl. And [I am] just getting to know Mujeeb. The conversations are going good with him too, and just trying to pick his brain to see what I can take from his game into my game.”Cornwall’s confidence is so high this season that he finally decided to flick out his carrom ball – a variation he has been working for a while – in the first qualifier against Guyana Amazon Warriors. The ball veered away from Romario Shepherd, who could only skew a catch to cover. Having done his job with both ball and bat this season, Cornwall believes that he is close to unlocking his full potential as an allrounder.”I’ve been working on it [carrom ball] for a long period of time at the nets but didn’t really have the confidence [earlier] to bowl in the match itself,” Cornwall said. “I gave it a try this time around and it worked out well for me.”Yeah, this year I’ve really shown what I can do with the ball and over the years I’ve been performing with the bat. So, I’m happy that my bowling is coming along this year and getting the opportunity to bowl. I grabbed it with both hands.””I’ve been working on it [carrom ball] for a long period of time at the nets”•CPL T20/Getty ImagesAt 6’5″ and 140kg, Cornwall is among the heaviest cricketers ever and that has often distracted people. Jason Holder was one among those people, but having now seen Cornwall from close quarters at Royals, he believes that Cornwall has the tools to succeed in international cricket.”I look at somebody like Jimbo [Cornwall] and despite his size – yes, he has got his restrictions – I think there is a role for him in international cricket,” Holder said. “I was probably one of those persons who were probably blindsided by his size and probably his mobility. But seeing year on year, what he does and seeing how dynamic this version of the game [T20 cricket] has become and how specific you got to be in terms of particular points of the game, I strongly believe that Jimbo can play international cricket at this level.”People underrate his bowling and to me he has shone leaps and bounds over lot of different legspinners and lot of other spinners in the competition. And his power at the beginning of the innings speaks volumes. So, he is one I think I would love to see at the international level.”Cornwall has never played a white-ball international, but if he keeps firing like this, West Indies – and bigger T20 leagues – should come calling for him.

Young quick is living up to the hype but there are concerns about his workload

Danyal Rasool10-Jan-2023Naseem Shah is not a normal teenager. When the alarm goes off, most hit the snooze button. Perhaps a big night out, maybe too much work, maybe just needing a bit more rest. Hit the snooze button, turn over. Teenagers needs a break.Naseem might be living out a lot of people’s dreams, but this teenager hasn’t had that luxury for quite some time now. Any fast-bowling slack that has needed picking up for Pakistan has simply been laden onto his slender – and historically vulnerable – back and shoulders. When Shaheen Afridi missed out on Tests due to injury, Naseem became the de facto attack leader. When Pakistan felt a bit light in their white-ball resources, he was thrust into both of those formats, too.In this age of continuous cricket, the very concept of an off-season feels anachronistic, but perhaps you could trace the start of this interminable Pakistan season to July 2022, when they toured Sri Lanka for a two-match series. Ever since, Naseem hasn’t had a rest. The only reasons he missed games were due to Covid-19, pneumonia and a shoulder injury respectively. When he returned from hospital after that bout of pneumonia, he flew to New Zealand to play three games as warm-up for the T20 World Cup. After he recovered from his shoulder injury during the home Test season, he was back for the final game, sending down more overs than any Pakistan fast bowler.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd, of course, he was also named for the ODI series, starting in Karachi with a five-wicket haul and the Player of the Match Award. Since July 2022, only two fast bowlers – Tim Southee and Mitchell Starc – have sent down more deliveries in international cricket than Naseem’s 1301. But 34- and 32-year-old bodies are much better equipped to handle that sort of workload than 19-year-old ones, especially those that produce such extreme pace. No one else in the top 10 of that list is under 26 (No. 11 is Pakistan’s 21-year old seamer Mohammad Wasim, because of course he is). And Naseem is doing more than just handling his workload.

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You can worry about the sustainability, but Naseem is nevertheless dazzling in the here and now. It’s easy to forget, when he was named in the squad for the Sri Lanka Tests, how raw his return to international cricket still was. He had played two Tests against Australia in March, which came after a 14-month period, much of which he spent on the treatment table nursing an increasingly worrisome list of fast bowling-related injuries. It’s easy to forget, when he turned up in Rotterdam in August, that he hadn’t ever bowled an international white-ball delivery, and that when he tormented KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in a famous opening spell in the Asia Cup, he had never played a T20I before.Related

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Anyone who has had the pleasure of watching Naseem through this period – and it has been a pleasure – won’t have been surprised by the clinic he put on against New Zealand on Monday. But it bears repeating that that faith was based on little more than the unshakeable belief that Naseem can do the business anywhere, against anyone, in any format; he hadn’t actually played a Full Member side in an ODI before.But you didn’t need much more data to know Naseem could take wickets up front with the new ball, or produce that irresistible combination of reverse swing, slower deliveries and just sheer pace to run riot at the death. Because consider what he has been doing this season.In Sri Lanka, on surfaces so conducive to spin the hosts took a paltry two wickets with their fast bowling, Naseem alone produced seven. Among seamers in the Asia Cup, only Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Haris Rauf took more wickets than him, and that wasn’t even his most iconic contribution to the tournament. At the World Cup, he conceded just 102 in 18 overs during the group stage, the fourth-best economy rate for a fast bowler (minimum five overs). In the semi-final his figures of 4-0-30-0 didn’t quite do him justice as Pakistan’s quicks stifled New Zealand. Those identical figures in the final felt like an outright miscarriage of justice for an extraordinary fast-bowling display against the most gifted white-ball team in a generation.ESPNcricinfo LtdBack to Tests, and against England in Rawalpindi, on a fast bowler’s graveyard, no quick took more wickets than his five, all while he nursed a shoulder injury that would rule him out of the next three Tests. The five-wicket haul against New Zealand took his ODI record to 15 at 11.20 from just four matches.You can see why Pakistan keep selecting him, with Shaheen’s absence only exacerbating that workload. But Naseem is picking him up a workload that wasn’t his, taking chances with a body he has yet to fully grow into. In the meantime, he has become one of Pakistan cricket’s most recognisable, marketable faces, his Superman image on field offset by a gentle Clark Kent persona off it. In stadiums across the country, you hear screams of “Naseem Shah!” where a year ago, you might only have heard Babar Azam or Shaheen Afridi’s name. The queue that forms awaiting an autograph or picture with him is among the longest; in a land where fast bowlers are never in short supply, he still stands out.In a press conference at the outset of the series against England, as Naseem fielded questions from the visiting press, there was a sparkling glimpse of his personality, and his commitment to remain true to himself. After a few questions, with a glint in his eye, he responded “Brother, I have just 30% English, my English is finished now”, to peels of laughter.One day, Pakistan might realise they have to ration his deliveries with just as much care. But in a country where long-term planning invariably gives way to short-term indulgence, Naseem feasts as he continues to be feasted on. These last seven months, Pakistan have burned his candle at both ends, and revelled in the glow. There is, after all, a reason why only three Pakistan fast bowlers have ever hung around long enough to take 200 Test wickets, because Pakistani fast bowling is a good time, not a long one. If they aren’t careful, these might end up being the golden days of Naseem’s career, rather than the outset of an era in which he is one of fast bowling’s leading lights.

In the absence of KL Rahul and Axar Patel, India will be testing out a few of their bench players

Deivarayan Muthu16-Jan-20232:48

Jaffer: I would pick Kuldeep ahead of Chahal on current form

.Will Kishan keep wicket and open the batting?With Rahul missing the series because of family commitments and Rishabh Pant in recovery after a serious car crash, Ishan Kishan has emerged as the frontrunner to keep wicket in both the ODI and the T20I series against New Zealand. However, it remains to be seen whether he slots right back in as an opener in 50-over cricket.Despite shellacking a 126-ball double-century last month – the fastest ever in ODI cricket – Kishan was benched for the Sri Lanka series, with Shubman Gill getting the nod ahead of him. Gill scored two fifty-plus scores in three innings, and worked his way towards establishing himself as an all-format player for India. However, if India want to fit Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order in place of Rahul, and want Kishan to have another go at the top along with captain Rohit Sharma, then Gill could potentially drop out of the XI.Related

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Can Suryakumar crack ODIs ahead of the home World Cup?

Rishabh Pant expected to be out of action for most of 2023

Kuldeep vs ChahalWith India all but certain to play at least one fingerspin-bowling allrounder, it has always been about Yuzvendra Chahal vs Kuldeep Yadav in this ODI World Cup year. If Chahal still hasn’t recovered sufficiently from the shoulder complaint that put him out of the last two ODIs against Sri Lanka, then Kuldeep might surely start the New Zealand series.However, if Chahal is fit again, India will have to a make a difficult choice between the two wristspinners. Though Chahal has leaked runs in his last few ODI outings, his experience and slow legbreaks are still valuable, particularly at home. Kuldeep has also presented his case, bridging the gap between Chahal and himself by adding more vigour to his action which is enabling him to get a little more drift and a little more turn. He has bagged two Player-of-the-Match awards in his last three international games, which could be hard to ignore.Washington Sundar has worked specifically on power-hitting and expanding his range of strokes•AFP/Getty ImagesMore game-time for Washington?With Ravindra Jadeja still working his way back from injury and Axar also taking a break due to family reasons, offspin-bowling allrounder Washington Sundar could be set for a consistent run in the ODIs and T20Is against New Zealand.Bengal’s left-arm fingerspinner Shahbaz Ahmed has been drafted in as Axar’s like-for-like replacement in the ODI squad, but it is Washington’s offspin that could be matched up with New Zealand’s left-hander heavy line-up that could include all of Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Tom Latham, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner.Washington has missed at least two World Cups because of injury since his international debut in 2017, and this is now his chance to break the jinx. Since IPL 2022, he has worked specifically on power-hitting and expanding his range of strokes some of which were on display during his cameos in New Zealand late last year.Washington had also dropped down the order for his state team Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy to get accustomed to closing out the innings. Having started his career as a top-order batter, he is on the path towards reinventing himself as a spinner and a finisher.Shardul Thakur was left out for the ODI series against Sri Lanka•AFP via Getty ImagesThe return of ThakurAfter being left out for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Shardul Thakur is back in the mix, with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh dropping out of the squad. With Bhuvneshwar no longer on India’s radar and Deepak Chahar still unfit, Thakur gets another opportunity as a seam bowler who can also offer batting depth. Although Thakur isn’t a genuine swing bowler like Chahar, he can also bowl with the new ball, something he did on the Bangladesh tour.Thakur also has some recent batting form against the New Zealanders on his side. In September against New Zealand A in Chennai, he cracked 51 off 33 balls from No. 8 to help drag India A close to 300.Malik steps up in Prasidh’s absenceIn the early half of 2022, Prasidh Krishna was India’s chief enforcer with his hit-the-deck bustle, but a long injury layoff has set his career back. In the absence of Prasidh, India’s team management has turned to Umran Malik for high pace and bounce in the middle overs. Malik has not gone wicketless in the six completed ODIs he has played so far.When Sri Lanka were making a good fist of a chase of 374 on a flat pitch in Guwahati, it was Malik who provided India with a point of difference by ripping out Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka and Dunith Wellalage with rapid deliveries. Similar bowling performances will keep Malik in India’s World Cup frame, with or without Prasidh.

Patterns in his celebrappeals show he is actually a fine judge of when a leg-before shout is out

Charles Reynolds15-Jun-2023It is testament to how good Stuart Broad has been with the ball throughout his career that he is still thought of primarily as a bowler. In reality he should be considered one of the greatest allrounders the game has ever seen.No, not in the gaudy sense of combining both bowling and batting skill – any Jacques, Dick or Garry can do that. Broad is at the apex of his sport in the twin disciplines of bowling and comedy.That last owes much to his reputation for being overzealous with DRS – an aspect this article wishes to address: the widely held belief that Broad is a liability when it comes to third-umpire referrals, his insatiable lust for wickets leading him to have absolutely no sense of judgement when involved in any sort of DRS situation.Yes, there may well be countless examples of his over-eagerness leading to highly questionable referrals – at this point there’s probably even a YouTube montage dedicated to them somewhere – but I have long maintained that, in fact, subconsciously, Broad is one of the finest instant judges of lbw in the game.The key to Broad’s DRS judgement is in his celebrappeal
My theory is that far from being the hapless, trigger-happy, review-eater of public perception, Broad, in fact, has a highly sophisticated, subliminal, inbuilt Hawk-Eye. Nighthawkeye, if you will.Fittingly, the key to unlocking this revolves around another key pillar of the church of Stuart Broad, the “celebrappeal”. For the uninitiated, this is a term coined by Dave Tickner for the manner in which Broad usually appeals lbw or caught-behind decisions to the umpires: celebrating the wicket first and then only very belatedly turning round to appeal, if even bothering to do so at all.It has long been my theory that Broad’s subconscious DRS wizardry can be unleashed simply by analysing at which point during his celebrappeal he instinctively turns around to the umpire. The earlier he turns, the less out it is, the later he turns, the more out it is.How does this theory hold up in the face of data?The method: analysing every Broad lbw appeal since 2019
Thankfully in the modern age of cricket analysis, practically every ball bowled is filmed, tagged and logged in a database somewhere. So using video generously provided to me by an organisation that wishes to remain anonymous – the cricket establishment is clearly not quite ready yet to be seen supporting such controversial research – I looked at every Broad international lbw appeal from the start of 2019 up to, but not including, the recent Test against Ireland.The starting year of 2019 was chosen simply because it was the furthest point in the past from which deliveries were tagged in the database with “lbw appeal”, but it nevertheless gave me a healthy sample of 83 deliveries to analyse.I took an imaginary top-down view of a cricket pitch and from popping crease to popping crease, divided it into ten equal horizontal segments, starting with No. 1 at the bottom, the non-striker’s end, going up to No. 10 at the top, the striker’s end, noting down at roughly what point in each appeal Broad turned around to the umpire, and correlating it with the result of the appeal.From this I was able to calculate the out percentage for each of the ten sections of the pitch – that is, the percentage of times a batter was actually out (from dismissals given on the field that were not overturned by DRS, and those given out after successful reviews). This would allow me to see whether there was, in fact, any correlation between the point at which Broad turned to appeal and whether the delivery was actually out.A disclaimer here: while cricket has made great strides in analytics in recent years, one area where it still lags behind other sports is player positional tracking – i.e. recording player movements for exact positioning data, much like Hawk-Eye does for the movement of the ball. (It is largely because of this lack that effective metrics for judging players’ fielding ability still don’t exist and too much subjective human input is required.)Sadly, that does mean that an element of subjectivity – in this case, the point I judged Broad to have turned around for each of these 83 deliveries – had to be inserted into this otherwise highly rigorous scientific study. However, I strove to maintain the highest levels of consistency throughout the result-recording process.Stuart Broad: lbw expert
A thorough analysis of the data revealed fairly overwhelmingly that Broad is, in fact, a highly sophisticated lbw-judging machine.Firstly if we look at the heat map of the points in his celebrappeals at which he turned round to appeal, we can see that, rather surprisingly, 43.4% of the time, he appeals before he gets to the halfway mark on the pitch – a little earlier than you might expect from the game’s premier celebrappealist – although there a still a solid amount of those late turnarounds that have established his standing in the field.Compare this however with the out-percentage heat map above and we can instantly see the huge correlation between the point at which Broad instinctively turns round to appeal and whether the batter is out or not. Quite definitively, as you can also see from the graph of the compiled data below, there is a clear link between the point at which Broad subconsciously decides to turn and appeal to the umpire and how unequivocally out the delivery actually is.