Tag: ipl

I was not expecting to be picked in IPL, so not really disappointed: Adil Rashid | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: England’s seasoned leg-spinner Adil Rashid on Saturday said he was not disappointed to miss out on an IPL contract as he was not expecting to be picked at the first place owing to the large number of tweakers in the league.
Despite his decent performances at the international level in recent years, Rashid has never drawn the attention of IPL franchises, and so was the case in the last auction.
“I wouldn’t say disappointing, obviously there are a lot of spinners out there, India also got their own local spinners, so I wasn’t really expecting my self to be picked,” Rashid said on the eve of the second T20 International against India here.
The 33-year-old added, “It would be nice to get these deals but like I said, with these tournaments, you put your name forward and and hope a teams picks you… that’s how it works with the IPL or any other competitions.”
England’s move to open the bowling with Rashid worked wonders for them in the first T20I as he not only started with a two-run over but came back to dismiss India captain Virat Kohli for a duck, which pushed the hosts on the back foot.
England won the match by eight wickets.
“Bowling with the new ball is new for me now (he did so a decade back for Yorkshire and in Australia), something I have been working on for past couple of days.
“Hope I can carry on with that regardless of the situation, whether it’s first six (overs), middle or back, I am always looking to develop and work hard.
“That’s something I have been doing in the nets, bowling to batsmen with the new ball, in case I am needed, I am really focussed on every part of the game.
Rashid has been concentrating on limited overs cricket since recovering from a shoulder injury. According to him, he is not yet ready for the rigours of Test cricket where one is required to bowl long spells.
“Test cricket or Ashes has not really crossed my mind. There is a world cup and there is a lot of cricket before that, let’s see how it goes. I am focussing on white ball cricket at the moment.”
Alongside hosts India, England will start this year’s T20 World Cup as one of the favourites.
“We fully believe in ourselves, we have to stick to our strengths, keep developing and keep working on our game, and we should stand a chance.”
England lead the five-match T20 series against India 1-0 and the second game is to be played here on Sunday.

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India vs England: India a very difficult side to beat in India, says Eoin Morgan | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: England could get an idea of where they stand heading into this year’s World Cup at the end of their limited overs engagements against formidable India, captain Eoin Morgan said on Thursday.
Hosts India and England will be engaged in a T20 series, starting here on Friday, and that will be followed by a three-game ODI rubber.
“It is going to be from our point of view a learning process, going through what positions we might find ourselves in seven month’s time at the World Cup, with a perfect case scenario that we are playing against one of the best sides in the world, in their backyard and we know they are very difficult to beat,” Morgan said.

He was addressing a pre-match press conference here.
Morgan said the Virat Kohli-led India are a very difficult side to beat in their backyard and the limited overs matches will be a challenge for his team.

“I do, I probably replicate the answer. India are the team to beat given we are playing them away from home. They are a very difficult side to beat in India,” Morgan said ahead of the series opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Given that the World Cup is here, I do think they will enter the World Cup as favourites, so this is going to be a great test for us and a great challenge and throughout the whole tour and not just for T20s,” added the 34-year-old Dublin-born batsman.

According to the captain, all his players are fit and available for selection. And that includes pacer Jofra Archer, too.
“Yeah, everybody is fit to play and Jofra is available for the series,” he said.
Morgan, however, refused to speak about the team composition.

“No, I am not giving you a head’s up,” quipped the English skipper when asked about the opening combination.
He was also asked about Archer’s workload management and Morgan said the 25-year-old pacer will be rested before the T20 World Cup.
“I think it’s with the three-format players that we have, they are a handful of guys. They are managed really well, you look back at the backend of December and also January, Jofra had off and there would be different pockets throughout.

“… After the IPL, towards summer and before the World Cup, where Jofra will be rested and will be really well looked after both physically and mentally,” Morgan signed off.
The upcoming T20 World Cup will be held in India later this year.

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Jadeja hits the nets, works on his batting and bowling skills after two months | Cricket News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: In what comes as good news for the Indian team management and fans, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja practised batting and bowling on Thursday having made a return to the field last week after undergoing thumb surgery.
Jadeja, who finally started training last week, hit the nets on Thursday after two months. The star all-rounder wasn’t able to hide his excitement of holding the bat and ball.
Jadeja posted a short clip on Twitter in which he can be seen working on his game in his trademark style.
“Feeling good. holding bat n ball after two months #gettingready #focusonyourself,” Jadeja tweeted.

In January, Jadeja had suffered a blow to his left thumb while batting on Day 3 of the third Test against Australia. He had later gone for scans and the results showed that he had dislocated his thumb.
After the surgery, Jadeja had tweeted: “Out of action for a while, surgery completed. But will soon return with a bang.”

Meanwhile, India is currently preparing for the five-match T20I series against England which gets underway on Friday.
India is high on morale after clinching the four-match Test series 3-1 and making it into the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand.
The Men in Blue have some newbies in their squad and all of them have high potential to start firing from game number one. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, and Ishan Kishan have impressed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it has finally seen them being rewarded with a place in the Indian squad for the T20I series.



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Michael Vaughan warns Test cricket a ‘joke’ if England rotate in Ashes | Cricket News – Times of India

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LONDON: Former captain Michael Vaughan fears Test cricket will become a “joke” if England rotate players in and out of their side during the 2021/22 Ashes in Australia.
England coach Chris Silverwood has suggested the team could continue with the controversial rest-and-rotation policy they used in Sri Lanka and India.
Joe Root’s team beat Sri Lanka 2-0 before losing their four-match series in India 3-1.
A number of players including Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali all missed matches at some stage of the tour programme.
Many observers felt the rotation policy made the already tough task of winning a series in India even more difficult.
But England are set to play a gruelling schedule of up to 17 Tests in 2021, as well as limited-overs matches including a Twenty20 World Cup.
Team management argue rotation is necessary to prevent player burnout, especially when so many fixtures will be played in bio-secure bubbles during the coronavirus pandemic.
“If they need rest, you get it before the Ashes,” Vaughan said on his BBC radio programme.
“Test match cricket is becoming a joke if that (players being rotated) happens. You make sure you get your best players available for every single Ashes Test match.”
Vaughan is also concerned by the possibility that players, including Buttler and Stokes, could miss the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2, depending on how long their franchises are involved in the T20 Indian Premier League.
“This is where it gets frustrating for England supporters, and many in the game, that these players will go and play in the full IPL,” he said.

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India vs England: Shikhar Dhawan sweats it out in training ahead of first T20I | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: India opener Shikhar Dhawan has kept no stone unturned to prepare for the upcoming five-match T20I series against India.
With questions being raised as to who will open with star batsman Rohit Sharma in the T20I series, Dhawan is ensuring he ticks all the boxes going into the first game on Friday.
Dhawan on Wednesday shared glimpses of how his training for the shortest format has fared. In the pictures, the left-handed batsman is not only seen smashing his signature sweep shot, but also honing his fielding skills.
“All in a training day’s work,” Dhawan tweeted.

Meanwhile, former India batsman VVS Laxman has picked Rohit and KL Rahul as the opening pair for the upcoming T20I series.
According to the former batsman, Dhawan — despite being in great touch — can be used as a backup opener keeping in mind this year’s T20 World Cup in India.
Speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Laxman said, “It will be a tough question, as far as the selection of the second opener is concerned. There’s no doubt about that because Rohit Sharma is an automatic choice in white-ball cricket. I will still go with KL Rahul because over the last few months and years I think the Indian team management went with KL Rahul as an opening batsman and he has done really well in that position.
“Yes, Shikhar Dhawan had a fantastic IPL, the way he batted at the top of the order, scoring centuries for Delhi Capitals and then he’s in tremendous form for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare, where he scored a big 100 in that tournament as well. With KL Rahul as an opening combination, you want someone who’s second. Keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, you have to identify who your openers are going to be there in the World Cup and back them; don’t chop and change. You have someone as experienced as Shikhar Dhawan, who can be the backup opener in case one of these openers Rohit Sharma/KL Rahul gets injured or loses their form,” he added.



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CSK players led by MS Dhoni hit nets | Cricket News – Times of India

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CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings players including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni began preparations for the forthcoming IPL, having cleared their RT-PCR tests during the stipulated quarantine period.
Apart from the legendary Dhoni, senior batsman Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad and a few others are part of the camp that got underway on Monday.
Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan, R Sai Kishore and C Hari Nishaanth, who was picked up during last month’s auction, trained with the likes of Dhoni and Rayudu. Also present was medium-pacer Harishankar Reddy, another new recruit.
“The CSK players completed their quarantine requirements and began practice yesterday. Gradually, the others will join the camp after a period of quarantine,” he said.
A few others like leg-spinner Karn Sharma and Bhagath Varma, who was picked during the auctions recently are expected to arrive in the coming days, Viswanathan said.
Dhoni had arrived in the city on Wednesday last.
CSK had during the recent mini-auction picked up England all-rounder Moeen Ali for Rs 7 crore, apart from Karnataka all-rounder K Gowtham (for Rs 9.25 crore) and Cheteshwar Pujra (Rs 50 lakh).
This year’s IPL begins with a match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai on April 9. Three-time champion CSK begins its campaign the next day in Mumbai against Delhi Capitals.
Interestingly, in this year’s IPL, all matches will be played at neutral venues, no team will play at their home venue.

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Option of skipping IPL was never on table; can’t ignore financial advantages: Jos Buttler | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: The huge financial windfall that comes with an IPL contract can’t be ignored, admitted Jos Buttler as the England cricketer on Tuesday asserted that the ECB never gave him the option of skipping the popular T20 League to be available for the Test series against New Zealand.
Buttler has been in the eye of storm for going home after the first Test against India. He is now back in the country for three months to compete in the white ball series and will stay till the end of Rajasthan Royals‘ IPL campaign.

The British media grilled Buttler on players in all likelihood skipping the Test series against New Zealand starting June 2 if their franchises get to the play-offs starting in the last week of May.
“No nothing of that sort (was discussed with me) and I don’t know about other players. I think an agreement about participation in IPL was in place well before the New Zealand Test series was announced,” Buttler said during a media conference.
However, like Sam Curran, even Buttler agreed that some players could skip New Zealand Tests if their teams go the distance in IPL.

“It could potentially (mean),” Buttler admitted on missing on the first home series in summer.
“…..but NZ tests have been added later on and there will always be a few who would be missing out on England games. You don’t know how far the players are going to go far in the tournament and miss games (for England).”
The white ball dasher didn’t hide that money is a big issue when it comes to taking a decision between club and country.

“We all know the benefits of IPL. It’s a huge tournament and monetary rewards are obvious and also the experience you gain and it has its pluses too. And it’s obvious in the upturn of white ball game in England, and the number of players participating in it and how beneficial it is to all of us,” he said.
“Of course the schedule is tough and there is no perfect balance to it and ECB and players are working closely trying to manage that.”
“Is there a perfect answer? No in the times that we are operating at the moment,” he added.

There are 12 England players, some with million dollar contracts, playing in the IPL. The players include Buttler himself, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for Rajasthan Royals, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran for CSK, Tom Curran for DC and Dawid Malan for Kings XI Punjab.
“IPL is advantageous to a lot of people with the money that’s involved. It’s the biggest tournament in cricket in terms of money and careers can be short but we know that playing for England can be a huge draw and we are very well remunerated playing for England,” he said.
He understands that English cricket establishment is a divided house when it comes to the IPL with people forming their “own opinions one way or the other”.
“It is also a big feather in the cap for the England side that 12 players were in demand in the world’s biggest tournament,” he said in his defence.
He also spoke how this year’s IPL will help England players when they come back in October for the T20 World Cup.
“Obvious benefits of the player improvement, skills that you get to learn, especially this year playing IPL in India, where world T20 will be played.”

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Suryakumar Yadav is a perfect role model for youngsters: VVS Laxman | Cricket News – Times of India

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MUMBAI: “He’s a perfect role model for youngsters,” said former India batsman VVS Laxman while praising Suryakumar Yadav, who has earned his maiden call-up into the Indian team.
The right-handed batsman has been picked in the T20 squad for the upcoming five-match series against England, beginning this Friday.
While praising Suryakumar, Laxman said that the 31-year-old is a perfect example of how success is not too far away if one stays patient.
“He deserves it, I think he is a great role model for youngsters, especially in India; because they lose patience very quickly – because all positive run-getters in first-class cricket expect to get into the Indian team – but it is difficult. There is so much quality, so much talent, and so much competition, but what did Suryakumar do? – he goes back to first-class cricket, scores runs for Mumbai, whenever he gets an opportunity for Mumbai Indians – he is a positive run-getter,” said Laxman on Star Sports’ show ‘Game Plan’.
“He plays in tough situations and wins the match and that’s what you expect from a player. Ultimately there is a saying which my coach taught me early on, ‘If the selectors are not opening the door, break open the door!’, the only way you can do that is by your performance – we’re not sure if he will get to play in the playing XI but he definitely deserves a spot in the squad of that T20 Indian team,” he added.
Suryakumar has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit and he has stellar IPL seasons for Mumbai Indians over the last two years. There were a lot of questions asked when he was not picked for the white-ball leg against Australia, but the selectors have now picked him for the England T20I series.
Suryakumar Yadav earned his maiden call-up into the Indian squad along with the likes of Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tewatia.

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Opportunities come but we will see where it goes, Sourav Ganguly keeps it open-ended on joining politics | Cricket News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly kept his cards close to his chest amid mounting speculation that he might take the political plunge ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, saying he will see “where it goes” amid the “opportunities” coming his way.
Ganguly, who is still resting at his Kolkata residence post his angioplasty after minor heart attacks, knows how there has been a speculation of him joining politics, more specifically the BJP, ahead of the eight-phase elections from March 27 to April 29.
“We will see where it goes, what opportunities come in the way, we will take it from there,” Ganguly told ‘India Today’ when asked what’s next after cricket administration.
Ganguly said his life has been full of surprising twists and turns and he has never really had a clue about what’s coming next for him.
“When I first became India captain, I didn’t expect it as Sachin (Tendulkar) was captaining. I probably wouldn’t have got it had Sachin not resigned.
“Similarly, when I became BCCI president, I didn’t know the minute before I would be the BCCI president. That’s the way my life has been…So we will see where it goes,” he said.
According to him, opportunities need to be considered factoring in various aspects of someone’s life.
“Opportunities come and you get influenced by a lot of things, your family, lifestyle, work, health, we will see where it goes,” he didn’t give away anything despite saying a lot of things.
He laughed off the attention that he gets in his home city Kolkata, crediting it to his friendly demeanour.
“I am fortunate to get so much attention. I don’t seek it and I go about doing my job. I lead a normal life in this city. I speak to people, talk to them and that’s my nature.
“I am a very friendly sort of a person with no hang ups. I don’t take to heart what people say. Because I am a popular person, I don’t believe that I have to be unreachable.
“I lead my life because at the end of the day it’s life and that’s why people are fond of me over here.”
Risk element factored in while not allowing crowds in IPL
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Ganguly said allowing crowd in the IPL would have been a bigger logistical issue compared to letting in limited fans during the recently-concluded Test series versus England.
The BCCI has announced that no crowds will be allowed at the venues — Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad — where the matches will be played with no home games for any franchise.
“We have planned it well and we are doing it in clusters. There will be three chartered flights (at the max) for every team. Hopefully, we will be able to manage.
“During England tour, teams have only two domestic chartered flights (Chennai to Ahmedabad and next will be Ahmedabad to Pune),” Ganguly told the channel.
“The numbers are much less but fingers crossed as it’s a huge tournament, the BCCI did it successfully in Dubai and hopefully, we can do it this time as well,” he added.
He didn’t say when would the BCCI consider having crowds back for the IPL.
“Don’t know yet, depends on situation. Dubai also was the same,” he said referring to the 2020 IPL in the UAE.
“It’s slightly different from bilateral. If you open up for crowd (in IPL) with teams practising outside the stadiums, you expect crowds to get closer to practising teams during IPL, so that could be a risk,” he said with a note of caution.

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IPL 2021 Time Table: IPL Schedule 2021, Fixtures, Venues and Match Timings | Times of India | Cricket News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced the schedule for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The season 14 opener of the cricketing extravaganza will take place between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 9.
While the first match will be played in Chennai, the final will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 30.
The tournament will be initially without the spectators, the Indian cricket board said.
“The IPL this year at home will be played behind closed doors to begin with and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
“The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk,” Shah said.
“After hosting the tournament safely and successfully in the UAE last year … the BCCI is confident of hosting the IPL at home with health and safety of players and all people involved being paramount,” he added.
A total of 56 group matches and the knockouts will be played across six venues that include Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai.
“The season will kickstart on 9th April, 2021 in Chennai with a high-octane clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore,” BCCI said in its release.
“The world’s largest cricket stadium – Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, will host the Playoffs as well as the final on 30th May.”
The stadium will be hosting the IPL matches for the first time.
There will be a total of 11 double headers. The afternoon games are slated for a 3:30 pm IST start while the evening games will have a 7:30 pm IST start.
“Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata & Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host 8 matches each,” the BCCI release further said.
“One of the highlights of this edition of the IPL will be the fact that all matches will be played at neutral venues, no team will play at their home venue. All teams will play at 4 out of 6 venues during the league stage.”
Last year’s edition of the popular Twenty20 competition was held in the United Arab Emirates as India grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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