Rishabh Pant is an asset for Team India: Shikhar Dhawan

Agencies
February 5, 2019

Feb 5: Senior Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan on Tuesday said that rising wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has become an asset for the team due to his ability to change the course of a game in no time.

Pant, recently adjudged the ICC's Emerging Cricket of the Year, returns to the side for the T20Is against New Zealand starting on Wednesday, after being left out of the ODIs which India won 4-1.

The 21-year-old is being seen as a successor to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps and has already proved his worth as a batsman with stellar performances in England and Australia.

On the eve of the first T20I against the Black Caps, Dhawan had words of encouragement for the youngster.

"He is an aggressive batsman, an asset for the team, can take away games from opposition in a very short span of time. I hope he grabs this opportunity (in T20s) with both hands," said Dhawan.

On the three-match assignment against the Kiwis, Dhawan said that it was important to end the tour on a high and carry that momentum into the home limited-overs series against Australia later this month.

The series comes as an opportunity for the youngsters to grab their spots in the team.

Also, it could lead to some much-needed rest for the seniors including Dhawan and skipper Rohit Sharma, as coach Ravi Shastri hinted after the fifth ODI.

"We too are humans and our bodies need a bit of rest. Of course, we would be looking to win the series and carry the momentum back home for the Australia series," said Dhawan adding to his address on the eve of the game.

After this series, India host Australia for two T20Is and five ODIs starting February 24 in Visakhapatnam.

Dhawan was not among the runs in the last three ODIs of the five-match series and was caught at third man off a rising ball in the final ODI at Wellington.

Ahead of the opening T20, the southpaw was seen practicing with a tennis ball to counter the bounce and swing that troubled the top-order batsmen in the fianl two ODIs.

Dhawan explained how tennis ball drills help him.

"I do tennis ball drills mostly for bouncers, for my muscle memory as well. I feel, if I keep hitting the same shot, I get better at it. When facing bowlers or throw downs, it is not possible to feed the ball in one place at all times, therefore, tennis ball practice comes in handy," the Indian opener said.

But after you go back to facing the leather ball, it feels someone is throwing stones at you. Today while we were doing the tennis ball drill, we were also doing it to counter swing," he continued.

Speaking about his aggressive approach during powerplays, Dhawan said, "It is a change of mindset (more aggressive in power play) and also depends on wicket. I have got a lot of shots and it goes in my favour."

Speaking on the relevance of a T20I series ahead of the 50-over World Cup in May-July, Dhawan said, "I think five ODIs were enough. It is good that we play T20s in the end. We are happy with the way things have gone so far."

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

Chappell also said captains should agree on one way of working up the ball which will encourage swing bowling, even as the ICC is considering the use of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of sweat and saliva in post-COVID-19 scenario.

"The new lbw law should simply say: 'Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion, would go on to hit the stumps is out regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted'," he wrote in a column for ESPNcricinfo.

"Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps, it's out."

The 76-year-old said the change in lbw law would attract expected criticism from the batsmen but it would make the game more fair.

"There will be screams of horror - particularly from pampered batsmen - but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game. Most important is fairness.

"If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury not dismissal.

"It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wristspinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump," said Chappell.

He cited Sachin Tendulkar's example on how he negotiated Shane Warne's round the wicket tactic during the 1997-98 Test series in India.

"Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive and successful approach to Shane Warne coming round the wicket in Chennai in 1997-98 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

"The current law encourages "pad play" to balls pitching outside leg while this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field," he said.

Chappell said his proposed change to the lbw law would also cut down "frivolous" DRS challenges.

"This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times.

"It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first-innings totals would be virtually non-existent."

On the substitute of shining the ball without sweat and saliva, Chappell said international captains should find out a way of working up the ball.

"With ball-tampering always a hot topic, in the past I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list (i.e. the use of natural substances) detailing the things bowlers feel will help them to swing the ball.

"From this list, the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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