Afghanistan join Asia's big boys

February 26, 2014

Afghanistan_join_Asias_big_boysFeb 26: Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi stood alongside Virat Kohli, Misbah-ul-Haq, Angelo Mathews and Mushfiqur Rahim at the Asia Cup's trophy unveiling ceremony. Such events are now part of any series or tournament, but it would have been a special occasion for Nabi, as this is Afghanistan's first participation in a major one-day tournament.

The added prestige comes from taking part in a regional competition which boasts three former world champions. For someone like Nabi, this is the perfect opportunity to learn the nitty-gritty of captaincy. He has led in only four ODIs, and the Asia Cup will be Nabi's greatest opportunity to collect as much information as he can ahead of the World Twenty20s and looking ahead to the 2015 World Cup. They will all live in the same hotel too, so there will be more opportunities to learn on and off the field.

He will take lessons from how the Sri Lankan captain finds himself among several other former captains in the line-up and the Bangladeshi captain who has found himself in the middle of controversies galore. He will learn from India's most feted young batsman and a Pakistan captain who knows how to handle pressure with a straight face.

Kohli will have to deal with the usual expectations on an India captain, in addition to those brought on by his stellar ODI record. In Bangladesh, Kohli averages 122, having scored 732 runs with four hundreds and three fifties. As captain in eight ODIs, he averages 66.40 with a couple of centuries.

He may have found ODIs easy so far, but he understands that demands of the job in hand, as anything less than a title win will likely be seen as a disappointment. The potential of the young batting line-up - which is without the experience of MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina - excites him, but his big test will be handling a bowling attack that has misfired badly in the recent past.

Misbah is a captain who is at the other end of the spectrum to Kohli. Though fans' opinions on Misbah are well and truly split, there is no denying that Misbah has brought Pakistan success in the last 12 months. In one-day cricket, Pakistan have won four out of their last five ODI series, and having usually played well in Dhaka, they will probably enter the tournament as slight favourites.

Age is not on Misbah's side but his experience has been a huge factor in keeping Pakistan on an even keel during his reign. Perhaps what helps him the most is the amount of runs he has scored in this format recently. He is Pakistan's leading scorer in the past 12 months, and his career record in wins is even more impressive - he averages 53.63, and 22 of his 35 half-centuries have helped Pakistan to victory.

Both Kohli and Misbah have excelled in ODIs, but the battle between India and Pakistan this time will have the added spice of two contrasting captains at work.

Mathews is a year older than Kohli and he has the opposite of what Kohli has. Mathews has experience in his line-up, the knowledge of several former captains and a current Twenty20 captain. In Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Mathews has the reliability most captains crave for. The presence of these consistent senior players means the likes of Kusal Perera and Dinesh Chandimal can play freely.

He has been known to respect the senior players' suggestions and it has been seen in on-field discussions, particularly in crunch situations, that both Jayawardene and Sangakkara have been in his ear. Dilshan and Lasith Malinga chip in from time to time, so Mathews has to carve out his own corner in the field.

If Mushfiqur had at least one player of such vast experience, he would have far fewer problems than he is facing right now. On the field, Bangladesh did not win a single match in the series against Sri Lanka recently. They drew a Test match earlier this month but that seems like a distant memory.

Right from the end of the Chittagong Test, there have been problems, from minor issues like Tamim Iqbal resigning as vice-captain to an incident when Shakib Al Hasan gestured inappropriately on live TV. Tamim's neck strain has added to injury woes which include Mushfiqur's finger and Mashrafe Mortaza's swollen knee.

Mushfiqur's own frustration boiled over when he criticised the chief selector for not consulting him ahead of the tournament's squad selection. The last month has not been a happy time for the Bangladesh captain, and without Shakib in the first two matches and Tamim for the entire tournament, the team's batting resources are considerably thinner. The absence of Shakib severely hurts the bowling department as well.

Given the myriad challenges facing the other four captains, Nabi will get a lot of first-hand knowledge from the Asia Cup. What he takes away from the Asia Cup will last a lifetime for Nabi. With two major tournaments coming up in the next 12 months, where cricket in the sub-continent stands will also be brought out through these five captains and their fortunes.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

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News Network
April 28,2020

Chennai, Apr 28: Former Karnataka batsman J Arun Kumar was on Tuesday appointed coach of the USA cricket team and listed earning a Test status, by his own admission a "far-fetched" thought at the moment, among his long-term goals.

Jak, as he is known in the cricketing circles, has worked with the Karnataka team for several years and as batting coach with IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab.

"... Following an exhaustive recruitment process, former first class Ranji Trophy and IPL player and coach, J Arun Kumar, had been identified as the preferred candidate for the next men's head coach," USA Cricket chief executive Iain Higgins said on its website.

The CEO added, "He travelled to the USA to meet support staff, selectors and players at a talent camp in Houston and to continue those discussions with us.

"I'm delighted to say that we have subsequently reached agreement with Jak that he will take up the role and be permanently based in the United States as and when his working visa has been obtained."

Arun Kumar was also in charge of a fledgling Puducherry team before quitting in February owing to differences with the association officials.

The COVID-19 pandemic has however prevented a prompt departure for the United States.

"Of course, the COVID-19 crisis has now presented some challenges around the scope of the role in the short/medium term, but we look forward to completing all of the arrangements and to welcoming him more formally in due course," Higgins said.

Arun kumar, who scored over 7,200 runs in first-class cricket and over 3,000 runs in List 'A' games, had guided Karnataka to a treble for two successive seasons -- Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Irani Cup -- in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Delighted to get the role, the 45-year old said he has a vision for USA cricket, including making it a Test-playing nation.

"The first thing is based on my visa and when the coronavirus situation will end in the US, so it's all based on that. At what time my visa will be approved, that's when I will be heading there.

"There are long, mid and short-term goals and my vision obviously will be that the USA in the coming years will be one of the Test playing nations.

"It's a far-fledged goal, but yes, that's the vision and as of now the short term will be World Cup league.

"We will have to be the top side in that and then go to the next level," Arun Kumar told PTI in an interaction.

He further said the immediate aim is to get the team together after a bad run in Nepal.

"Priority is to get the team together, we had a bad run in Nepal, so obviously the team is on little down slide, so we will get up and the immediate short-term goal is to get in touch with players.

"This lockdown gives us time to actually know each other, although we are spread out in different parts of the country, and it is gives us time to connect better and work on certain mental and tactical aspects of the game," he added.

Arun Kumar had been in the US briefly some time ago and had met some officials, selectors and players at a camp in Houston.

"I met some officials, selectors and players at a talent camp in Houston and got an insight of what I can expect in the future and based on those we have designed a pathway for junior to senior cricket and women's cricket.

"It is a work in progress," he said.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Dubai, Feb 11: Two Indian players-- Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi -- and three Bangladeshis have been charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for involvement in the quarrel just after the U-19 cricket World Cup summit clash in Potchefstroom, South Africa on Sunday.

Akash and Bishnoi and three Bangladeshi players -- Md. Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan -- were found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after a few players from both sides nearly came to blows after Bangladesh beat India by three wickets to win their maiden U-19 World Cup title.

"Five players have been found guilty of a Level 3 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Support Personnel ... (they) were charged with violating Article 2.21 of the code, whilst Bishnoi received a further charge of breaching Article 2.5," the ICC said in a statement.

"All five players have accepted the sanctions proposed by ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Match Referee Graeme Labrooy," it added.

A near brawl broke out after Bangladesh’s historic win over India in the final. The Bangladesh players were aggressive during the Indian innings with lead pacer Shoriful Islam frequently sledging the Indian batsmen.

As soon as the match ended, Bangladeshi players rushed into the playing area.

"India's Akash accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years," the ICC said.

Compatriot Bishnoi accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of five suspension points, which equates to five demerit points.

"Bishnoi also accepted a level 1 charge of breaching Article 2.5 for a separate incident during the match, where he used language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter following the dismissal of Avishek Das in the 23rd over," said the ICC.

"For this he received a further two demerit points meaning seven demerit points will remain on his record for the next two years."

Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of ten suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Shamim Hossain accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Rakibul Hasan accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of four suspension points, which equates to five demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

All charges were levelled by on-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Adrian Holdstock, third umpire Ravindra Wimalasiri as well as fourth umpire Patrick Bongni Jele. Level 3 breaches carry a minimum penalty of four suspension points and a maximum penalty of 12 suspension points.

The suspension points will be applied to the forthcoming international matches the players are most likely to participate in at either senior or U-19 level. One suspension point equals a player being ineligible for one ODI or T20I, U-19 or A team international match.

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