Cricket world

Samit Dravid in the frame. (PC: X.com) Samit Dravid, son of former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid, has been named in the national U-19 squad for the one-day and four-day games versus Australia to be held in September and October this year. Australia’s U-19 team’s tour will comprise three 50-over and two four-day games, with Puducherry and Chennai selected as the two venues. Samit, a seam-bowling all-rounder, was in fine form for Karnataka in the Cooch Behar Trophy, accumulating 362 runs and taking 16 wickets. His highest score in the tournament was 98 versus Jammu and Kashmir. He also plucked two wickets in the final against Mumbai, helping his side win the tournament. Samit is presently plying his trade for Mysuru Warriors in the KSCA-run Maharaja T20 Trophy in Bengaluru. He has notched up 82 runs in seven innings at a strike-rate of 114, with a highest score of 33. He hasn’t bowled so far in the tournament. Incidentally, on the day the selectors named him in India’s U-19 ...

Shami will miss the Bangladesh series. (PC: X.com) If things go to plan, Mohammed Shami will return to competitive cricket in October, with Bengal’s Ranji Trophy opener against Uttar Pradesh. The 33-year-old fast bowler has been included in a 31-strong list of Bengal probables after a conversation with Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly. The game against Uttar Pradesh starts on October 11, followed by a home fixture against Bihar from October 18. The CAB expects Shami to be available for both matches. “Yes, I had a conversation with him (Shami),” Snehasish told RevSportz. “Accordingly, we have included him in the Bengal probables. He told me he would play a couple of matches.” Shami is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, recovering from a heel surgery. It is learnt that he is in the final stages of rehab — he is bowling full tilt at the nets and gradually increasing his workload. “I don’t know the exact process he (Shami) has...

Joe Root after a Test ton for England (PC: X) Let’s go back 12 years in time. Desperate for a series-levelling win, India had England down to 139 for five in the first innings. The pitch in Nagpur was inexplicably flat, but MS Dhoni’s team needed just one more wicket in order to restrict the visitors to a low total. If England secured a draw, they would win a Test series in India after 27 years. A debutant defied the Indian spinners — four of them — shared a century-plus sixth-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Matt Prior, and was eventually the eighth man out, but not before guiding the team to a total of over 300. Joe Root made what appeared to be a painstaking 73 off 229 balls. But it was clear immediately that this 22-year-old was no ordinary player. Flag-bearer of one of England’s greatest batting traditions, which has its roots in Yorkshire, he has lived up to those expectations. Root was soon identified as one of four great batters of his time alongside Kane Williamson, Steve ...

Shaheen was left out of the playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh. (PC: X.com) Jason Gillespie, Pakistan’s red-ball coach, didn’t publicly mention the D-word, but between the lines, it was evident that Shaheen Shah Afridi’s omission from the second Test against Bangladesh was performance-related. The fast bowler is seemingly on a downward spiral, bowling medium pace, not making a wicket-taking impact and leaking runs. Over the last one year, Shaheen’s Test bowling average has taken a serious hit – 40.81 compared to his career average of 27.08. In the first Test of the ongoing series against Bangladesh that Pakistan lost by 10 wickets, the left-arm quick bowled 30 overs in the first innings, returning with 2/88. That probably broke the camel’s back. A lot of Pakistani fans, active on social media, like to compare Shaheen with Jasprit Bumrah. Begrudgingly, they have been admitting that there’s no longer any comparison. Bumrah is cooling his heels because he is arguably ...

PC – Maharaja T20. Manvanth Kumar The Bengaluru Blasters-Hubli Tigers Maharaja  Trophy game turned out to be all about Manvanth Kumar. The young all-rounder composed a quick-fire 15-ball 28 for Hubli and then he bagged a four-for. If you wondered whether his heroics in that match was confined to those two performances, then you were wrong. The game needed as many as three Super Overs to break the deadlock and it was yet again Manvanth who rose to the occasion by cracking a couple of boundaries, including the winning shot to steer his side to a spine-tingling victory.  The way Manvanth always seems to be in the game – be it with the bat, ball or in the field – makes you think of an English all-rounder, who also happens to be a successful captain. As it turns out, Manvanth is inspired by the all-rounder’s charisma and skills.  “I like Ben Stokes, the kind of role he plays for the team. I like his mindset, how he keeps getting the breakthroughs when the team needs it th...

LSG owner Dr. Sanjiv Goenka with their new mentor, Zaheer Khan (PC: Debasis Sen) Will the Impact Player rule be persisted with? It has divided opinion since its inception in 2023, and ahead of the 2025 season, the IPL governing council will take a call. The rule got backing from Zaheer Khan, the former India fast bowler, who was unveiled as Lucknow Super Giants team mentor on Wednesday. “I’m going on record to say that I’m for it,” said Zaheer at an LSG press conference in Kolkata. “It has definitely given opportunities to a lot of uncapped Indian talents. That is something you will see in the mega auction, when teams will be looking at them. That opportunity goes a long way with improving Indian cricket on the whole. The time spent in matches, it’s something you cannot beat. That’s the biggest plus.” There’s a school of thought that the Impact Player rule has negatively impacted the development of Indian all-rounders. Zaheer has a different take on this. “As far as all-rounders ...

A historic win for the Bangladesh team. Source ( Bangladesh cricket X) Bangladesh’s cricket history has had its share of golden moments. The 1997 ICC Trophy event held in Kuala Lumpurwas definitely one such event. With one required to usurp Kenya in the final, Khaled Mashud, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper, scampered across for a legbye and didn’t even look back as he went on a celebratory run around the ground. Ten years later, Bangladesh stunned a star-studded and experienced Indian side in the 2007 World Cup held in the West Indies. Bangladesh’s amazing victory over the mighty Australians in Cardiff, in 2005, would also come into the equation. Mohammed Ashraful had compiled a game-breaking hundred in that game. In this decade, Bangladesh also registered a memorable triumph at the Bay Oval, their maiden victory over New Zealand in a Test match. The latest achievement to join that list is Bangladesh taking down Pakistan in Rawalpindi. The victory also turned out to be Bangladesh’s f...

Shakib Al Hasan caught in the moment. ( Source X) By the time the World Cup caravan moved to Guyana at the end of March 2007, India and Pakistan were already home. Ireland had upset Pakistan in Jamaica – in a game now sadly remembered for Bob Woolmer’s subsequent demise – while India’s exit at Bangladeshi hands had left a gaping hole in the Caribbean’s commercial plans for the event. Mashrafe Mortaza’s bowling had blown the door open for Bangladesh at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, but it was the composure with which a trio of youngsters chased a tricky target that caught the eye. Tamil Iqbal gave them a flying start, while Mushfiqur Rahim stayed till the end, but Shakib Al Hasan’s solid 53 was as important in seeing the side home. Bangladesh didn’t just win that game. They made a statement. Remember that this was an Indian side packed with legends, including a Bengali icon in Sourav Ganguly. Even half a decade earlier, Bangladesh would have been overawed at being on the...

Habibul Bashar on Bangladesh’s historic Test win over Pakistan in Pakistan (PC: ICC & X) The current situation in Bangladesh makes sport peripheral. A country reeling under ferment and submerged by a devastating flood had nothing to cheer about of late. From that perspective, Bangladesh’s first-ever Test win against Pakistan was a momentary upliftment for their cricket fans. But there’s obviously a bigger picture and Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto spoke about that after the victory. “It’s a wonderful victory, but let’s not forget what’s happening back home,” Shanto told reporters, dedicating the win to those who gave their lives in the students’ movement. “It’s quite sad what’s happening in the country. I have seen that everyone is trying to help those in the flood-hit areas. All our players are trying their best to support them too.” Habibul Bashar, initially a little hesitant to talk, chose to stick to cricket. “Every Test win should be celebrated,” the former Ban...

Bangladesh register a memorable win over Pakistan to go 1-0 up in the series. (PC: X.com) August 25, 2024 turned out to be a red-letter day for Bangladesh cricket as they registered their first-ever victory over Pakistan in Test cricket, with a 10-wicket victory. Pakistan could muster a mere 146 in their second innings, with Bangladesh chasing the paltry target of 30 in just under 7 overs. Zakir Hasan hit the winning runs with a paddle sweep that raced away to the boundary. At the start of the final day, a draw still seemed to be the likely result. However, the Rawalpindi track started to assist spinners on the last day as Pakistan suffered a collapse. The pace bowling trio of Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam made some early dents. Rana, in particular, bowled a zestful spell, touching speeds in excess of 145 kph.  The spin twins – Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan – took over by  collecting seven wickets between them. Shakib dismissed Saul Shakeel, Abdullah Sha...