India resist Australia overtures for Adelaide day-night Test

Agencies
April 30, 2018

Sydney, Apr 30: Australian cricket chiefs are still trying to convince reluctant India to play a day-night Test in Adelaide this year after releasing their international playing schedule on Monday.

Cricket Australia have scheduled the opening Test of the four-Test India series in Adelaide from December 6-10, with hopes it will be a pink ball match following concept successes against New Zealand, South Africa and England in recent years.

Australia believes day-night Test cricket is the future of the sport and perhaps the only way to save the format despite boom television ratings and record crowds.

But the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have so far resisted CA's overtures.

CA will play a pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka in Brisbane from January 24-28 next year, but chief executive James Sutherland said he was still negotiating with India.

"It is our preference that we play India in a day-night Test match in Adelaide, but we are still working through this detail and hope to have an answer on this in the coming weeks," he said.

Sutherland has been pushing hard at International Cricket Council level for the new Test Championship schedule to include day-night Tests, but the powerful BCCI has a big say in outcomes.

CA confirmed Australia will face South Africa in a Twenty20 international on Queensland's Gold Coast, while the new Perth Stadium and Canberra's Manuka Oval will both host Test cricket for the first time. But Hobart misses out.

The international season starts on November 4 with the first of three ODIs against South Africa before the one-off T20 against the Proteas on the Gold Coast, which will be followed by three T20s against India preceding the start of the Test summer.

"Our men's international season structure changes slightly this summer, with one-day and T20 international matches against South Africa and India in November," Sutherland said.

Adelaide opens the Test series against India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and Perth Stadium will host the second Test, before the series moves back to Melbourne and Sydney for the traditional Boxing Day and New Year's showpiece games.

Following the Tests, there will be three ODIs against India in a seven-day window before a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Brisbane under lights at the Gabba and a second match in Canberra.

International dates:

South Africa

Tour match: PM's XI v South Africa, Manuka Oval, Canberra, October 31

First ODI: Perth Stadium, November 4

Second ODI: Adelaide Oval, November 9

Third ODI: Blundstone Arena, Hobart, November 11

T20: Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, November 17

India

First T20: Gabba, November 21

Second T20: Melbourne Cricket Ground, November 23

Third T20: Sydney Cricket Ground, November 25

First Test: Adelaide Oval, December 6-10

Second Test: Perth Stadium, December 14-18

Third Test: MCG, December 26-30

Fourth Test: SCG, January 3-7

First ODI: SCG, January 12

Second ODI: Adelaide Oval, January 15

Third ODI: MCG, January 18

Sri Lanka

First Test: Gabba, January 24-28 (D/N)

Second Test: Manuka Oval, February 1-5

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News Network
May 3,2020

New Delhi, May 3: In a startling revelation, India speedster Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago, forcing his family to keep a watch over him at all times.

He said his family members feared he "might jump" from their 24th floor apartment.

Shami, one of India's leading bowlers in recent years, opened up on his personal and professional life during an Instagram chat with teammate and limited overs squads' vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday.

Now one of the mainstays of Indian bowling attack across formats, the 29-year-old was struggling to focus on his cricket, then.

"I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.

"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said.

In March 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan had accused him of domestic violence and lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections.

The upheaval in his personal life forced his employer BCCI to withheld the player's central contracts for a while.

"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit.

Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot."

Speaking about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup, Shami said it took him almost 18 months to get back on the field.

"When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Mumbai, May 26: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that if he was playing currently he and Virat Kohli would have been the best of friends off the field, but real enemies whenever they stepped on the field.

Akhtar also said that he would have liked to challenge Kohli to drive the ball.

"Virat Kohli and I would have been the best of friends as both of us are Punjabi, but on the field, we would have been the best of the enemies. I would have loved to get inside the head of Kohli. I would have told him that you cannot play a cut or pull shot against me," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I would have gone wide of the crease and bowled a ball that would go away from him, I would have forced him to drive the ball as it is his favourite shot. So I would keep forcing him to play the drive shot at my pace," he added.

Akhtar also said that he wishes that Kohli could have played against some of the top bowlers in the game.

The Rawalpindi Express said that Kohli would have enjoyed the challenge of facing bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, and Waqar Younis.

"I would also keep talking to him, because if I get him to lose his focus then that would have been great. The great thing about Kohli is that he gets more focused when he is challenged. But I believe Virat Kohli would have still scored the same amount of runs if I was playing," Akhtar said.

"I really wish that he had played against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, and then Virat would have also enjoyed the challenge," he added.

Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in second place in the Tests rankings.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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