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Contingency plans include resetting bubbles from scratch if there is a Covid-19 outbreak; no window later in year if tournament stalled

Umar Farooq20-Jan-2022The PCB is set to host another season of the Pakistan Super League during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first 15 games to be played in Karachi from January 27, and the remaining matches scheduled in Lahore, including the final on February 27. There are provisions in place to avoid a postponement even if a handful of players contract Covid-19 – the franchises have 20 players on their roster, with an additional pool of reserve players to provide cover in case of an outbreak.ESPNcricinfo has obtained PSL’s Covid-19 protocol document, which details how the PCB will form its bio-bubble environment. The document broadly covers health and safety protocols that are being put in place at venues, and has a step-by-step guide to every stage of the tournament.What will the PSL’s bio-secure bubble look like?
This season the PCB has replicated the biosecure bubble that was created by Restrata, an independent company that managed the environment during the rescheduled Abu Dhabi leg last season. The PCB will regulate the bubble itself, forming three distinct bubbles with different protocols.The main bubble will comprise all teams, support staff, match officials, hotel staff and certain PCB officials. Vehicle drivers, close protection security staff, reserve players, bubble-integrity managers, anti-corruption officials and hotel staff will all reside within the bubble and are not allowed to leave. As per the guidelines, each franchise will be allotted rooms on a separate floor of the hotel and maximum possible efforts will be made to avoid interaction between teams at the hotel.The second bubble will be created in a separate hotel and will include the TV production crew, key event management staff and essential hotel staff and drivers. The third bubble will comprise of groundstaff, who will be housed in dedicated biosecure accommodation.Vigilance will be more stringent for the primary bubble. The bubbles cannot interact with each other and every individual will be required to follow general health and safety guidelines, as well as specific protocols to maintain the integrity of the bubble.How often are teams going to be tested for Covid-19?
There will be as many as 17 tests starting on January 20 – the day teams are checking into the hotel. There is a mandatory three-day quarantine, followed by four days of training, before the tournament starts from January 27 in Karachi. The first three days of quarantine will have regular testing before everyone with two negative PCR results is allowed to enter the bubble. Every individual will then have a PCR test every second day.What if an individual requires hospital treatment for an injury or illness?
The PCB has designated Agha Khan Hospital in Karachi and Hameed Latif Hospital in Lahore to handle all potential medical requirements of individuals involved in the PSL.A medical passage will be established through which individuals requiring hospital visits for scans and/or consultations will be moved with minimal contact with others. Individuals will be provided a dedicated treatment room, sanitised passageways, PPE suits for all medical staff and will be taken around in a dedicated vehicle.What happens in case of a positive test?
The individual(s) will be immediately separated from the rest of the squad and undergo a PCR test.All close contacts (those who have had an interaction of longer than 15 minutes from less than two metres away in the previous 48 hours) will be isolated and tested. All casual contacts will also be isolated and tested immediately.Once the case is confirmed as positive, the individual will isolate for a minimum of seven days and self-monitor their symptoms, providing updates to the Bio-bubble integrity manager. On day seven, if the individual is asymptomatic, they will have to undergo a Rapid Antigen Test and on returning a negative result, can be re-integrated into their bubble.If symptoms persist on day seven, the isolation will continue till day 10. If the individual is asymptomatic on that day, there will be no need for an exit test to rejoin the bubble.What happens if protocols and guidelines are breached?
With every team there will be a bio-bubble integrity manager policing the bubble. The offender may face a sanction ranging from reprimand to expulsion from the league. Penalties can be levied for minor or major breaches, from game bans to match-fee fines. The PCB can require any participant to quarantine in their hotel room in case of a breach, and undergo repeated testing.How many fans will be permitted?
The PCB had originally announced full crowds for both the Karachi and Lahore legs. However, Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) determines regulations surrounding Covid-19 restrictions, and with cases rising steeply in Pakistan over the past few weeks – particularly in Karachi – the NCOC announced that the Karachi leg would see a maximum of 25% crowd attendance. Lahore, for now, is still set to see full crowds. Spectators’ entry is subject to Covid-19 protocols – no one will be allowed to enter the venue without a valid vaccination certificate.What is the PCB’s contingency plan for a Covid outbreak?
Each of the last two seasons, the PSL was played over two legs due to Covid outbreaks, but this season, the PCB has made contingency plans to try and ensure the PSL isn’t postponed or cancelled. The PSL management will instead reset the bubble and start over after seven days, recreating the bio-bubble from scratch. In case of outbreaks among franchises, matches can go ahead as long as there are 13 players available on each side. There will also be a reserve pool for franchises to pick players from. A PCB official confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that if the league were to be postponed for some reason, it would have to be cancelled altogether, since there will be no window to play the remaining games.Could the entirety of the PSL be held in one city?
It would appear unlikely at present. ESPNcricinfo understands that all bookings and hotel confirmations have been finalised in both Karachi and Lahore, and there are at present no plans to change that.

Kohli likely to be in action for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Chinnaswamy, with the venue also “on track” for IPL 2026

Shashank Kishore13-Dec-2025The decks have been cleared for the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to be back on the BCCI’s radar after newly-elected KSCA chief Venkatesh Prasad has received a go-ahead from the Karnataka government to host matches, a week after being elected. The BCCI is believed to have been apprised of the recent developments too.The immediate implications are that Virat Kohli could be back playing at the Chinnaswamy, with the KSCA set to move Vijay Hazare Trophy matches involving Delhi from Alur owing to security and logistical challenges. As things stand, Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been named in a jumbo Delhi squad and both could be available for the first three matches.Prasad and vice-president Sujith Somasunder held meetings with chief minister Siddharamaiah, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and other government officials in Belagavi earlier this week on the sidelines of the state’s assembly session and the conversations are understood to have been fruitful.ESPNcricinfo understands the KSCA is also making provisions to be able to accommodate 2000-3000 fans by throwing open certain stands to the public, considering the high-profile nature of matches involving two Indian superstars.At the meeting with the government officials, the Prasad-led KSCA committee reiterated their commitment to implementing as many changes as feasible from the Justice John D’Cunha report on the Chinnaswamy Stadium.While hosting matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy is seen as a starting point, Prasad and KSCA are keen on ensuring Bengaluru doesn’t lose out on hosting IPL matches.”We’re on track for the IPL to be back,” an office-bearer privy to the developments told ESPNcricinfo. The KSCA is expected to begin work on the D’Cunha recommendations in a phased manner.”To avoid any future incidents, we have put in place precautionary measures. We have granted permission accordingly,” deputy chief minister Shivakumar said after the state’s cabinet meeting on Friday. “The Home Minister will hold discussions with the KSCA president and police officials.”The venue hasn’t hosted any top-flight cricket since the June 4 stampede that marred Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebration, leading to 11 deaths and several injuries. KSCA’s Maharaja Trophy was shifted to Mysore in August, while the venue also lost out on hosting five Women’s World Cup matches, including the final, due to the ongoing impasse.”We have no intention of stopping cricket matches. But crowd-management measures need to be examined,” Shivakumar said. “We also intend to implement the recommendations of the Justice Michael D’Cunha Committee in a phased manner. Venkatesh Prasad too has agreed to this.”

Five needed from six with three wickets in hand. Easy? Not on the night. It was high drama as Super Giants scraped through against Royal Challengers

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2023A high-scoring match lit up by a 15-ball half-century from Nicholas Pooran came down to the final over with Lucknow Super Giants needing five runs to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore, with three wickets in hand. There was already drama in the air, with Ayush Badoni dismissed hit-wicket – his bat hitting the stumps after he had one-hand-scooped a six – and Royal Challengers incurring an over-rate penalty that meant they’d only be allowed four fielders outside the 30-yard circle. A highly eventful final over followed, with Harshal Patel coming within inches of winning the match for Royal Challengers before Super Giants prevailed by one wicket, the fourth time the IPL had witnessed that victory margin. Here’s how it unfolded:19.1: Harshal to Unadkat, 1 run
Yorker on off but Unadkat gets it out to mid-off.19.2: Harshal to Wood, OUT
Harshal castles Wood! It’s that dipping slower ball and it has done Wood in! Crashes into middle-stump!
Mark Wood b Patel 1 (2b 0x4 0x6 6m) SR: 5019.3: Harshal to Ravi Bishnoi, 2 runs
Full outside off, Bishnoi digs it out through point and they get two! He found the gap and they ran hard for their lives!
Harshal also becomes the 16th Indian bowler to get 100 IPL wickets.
Ravi Bishnoi is the new batter, by the way.19.4: Harshal to Ravi Bishnoi, 1 run
Banged in short and Bishnoi pulls it to deep square and now LSG need 1 off two deliveries. Scores are level!19.5: Harshal to Unadkat, OUT
Holes out at long-on! Banged in short and Unadkat went for the pull. Picks up Faf du Plessis, who takes it reverse-cupped before switching it to a more normal hold.
Jaydev Unadkat c du Plessis b Patel 9 (7b 1×4 0x6 19m) SR: 128.57Here’s Ashish from the ground – It’s gone absolutely crazy the moment Faf took the catch. He bobbled, but hung on. LSG surely the more nervous team at the moment. The roof has gone off at the M Chinnaswamy.What has happened here?! Harshal looks to run out the non-striker! But he misses and then has a throw at the stumps but it won’t count! Because you can’t throw after attempting to run the non-striker out. Harshal will bowl again!One needed off one. One wicket left. Will LSG win? Or will we have a Super Over? Harshal Patel to Avesh Khan. BRING IT ON!19.6: Harshal to Avesh Khan, 1 bye
Harshal beats Avesh but he sets off for the run. DK fumbles! And they get the single away! LSG win amid high drama! Karthik didn’t collect cleanly and Bishnoi was already halfway down after throwing his bat while setting off only. The fumble means Avesh got through to the other end. Avesh throws his helmet as the celebrations begin.

The Australia captain stepped away from the game in August but is motivated by what’s ahead

Andrew McGlashan15-Jan-20232:17

Lanning: ‘Learned a lot over the last six months, but now I’m ready to get back’

Meg Lanning’s break from the game gave her a chance to feel normal and while she isn’t putting a time frame on how long her career may continue as she returns to international cricket she is motivated by what she can still achieve in the game.Lanning stepped away after Australia’s Commonwealth Games gold medal victory in August which completed a Grand Slam of triumphs alongside the Ashes and ODI World Cup, to go with the 2020 T20 World Cup.She spent time traveling and also worked in a café “making coffee and washing dishes” before returning to action for Victoria earlier this month ahead of the series against Pakistan which begins in Brisbane on Monday and leads into the T20 World Cup in South Africa.”Initially I wasn’t too sure how it was going to pan out,” she said. “I just wanted to switch off from cricket, get away a little bit, give myself a bit of time to think and work out where I wanted to be.Related

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“Became pretty clear that I still wanted to play cricket and loved the game, just needed some time to be able to feel normal, have a bit less structure around what I was doing. Having done that, I feel really refreshed and ready to go.”I feel like I’ve got a lot left in the game, both from an individual point of view and with the team. I’m not sure what the future holds but would certainly love to keep playing as long as I can.”Getting away from the highly organised and routine-driven nature of professional sport was key for Lanning, who took the Australian captaincy at just 21, and she savoured the very different tempo of serving lattes and flat whites.”Gave me a bit of different perspective on things,” she said. “Just going in and not knowing what the day will look like – could be busy, could be quiet – and having different conversations with the customers, actually found that really cool. Having that little bit of freedom, a little less structure, going with the flow a little more, not getting too worried about things. Working at the café allowed me to do that and had a lot of fun.”She said that the T20 World Cup title defence had not been a specific target for a return but once she confirmed to herself late last year that she wanted to continuing playing – and captaining – it became her focus. She made 29 and 61 in two WNCL for Victoria and now has three ODIs and three T20Is through the rest of this month.”I came to the conclusion over a bit of time, but guess there was a moment a few months back where [playing on] was definitely something I want to doing,” she said. “I love the game, have done as long as I’ve been playing, and there’s a fair bit is still want to archive. Once I came to that conclusion I started to work towards where I might come back and what that might look like. The break was certainly something I needed.”Lanning added she had been given a lot of support from various people during her time away from the game and admitted she had been a “pretty guarded” person through much of her career but emphasised that everyone’s situation is different.”I’ve certainly learned a lot over the past six months…talking to people and how much that can help work through what you might be thinking about,” she said. “You never know what people are going through behind the scenes, that’s something that’s important to recognise. Everyone deals with things in different ways.”I never thought I’d take a break a game, it wasn’t something I anticipated would happen, I was just playing and really loving the game and it’s always what I’ve done. But it’s confirmed to me that I do love playing the game, it’s brought me a lot of joy over the years. It’s listening to what your feelings are and going with what you feel is best.”Moving forward hopefully it’s something I can continue to do, I certainly don’t have everything worked out, but am committed to seeing what happens and learning along the way.”

Virat Kohli scored his first fifty since the Cape town Test at the start of last year

Sidharth Monga11-Mar-20232:01

Tait: Shubman Gill has a huge future ahead of him

Second week into the third month, Shubman Gill scored his fifth international century of the year to lead India’s response to Australia’s 480. For long periods, Australia did well to keep a lid on the scoring rate, but Gill was not to be denied for too long: his 128 off 235 was a contrast to the 152 the others managed off 361 balls between them.India ended the third day 191 behind with seven wickets in hand. Virat Kohli scored his first fifty since the Cape town Test at the start of last year, and ended the day with the promise of a hundred.There was a little more turn and misbehaviour available from the pitch, but it was not nearly enough to make survival difficult. So Australia did the next best thing possible: bowl to one side of the pitch and wait for mistakes. The batters discovered that while there might not have been great threat to their wicket, scoring wasn’t the easiest either.This Test has been the opposite of the other three in many ways. One of them was a return to the old Indian trend of batting being easier against the new ball. India’s early assault on Mitchell Starc meant the first 15 overs of three of the four new balls used in this match had gone for 193 runs and no wicket. Perplexingly, Starc bowled predominantly around the wicket, failing to create rough for his two offspinners.Once Australia went to spin at both ends, the runs dried up, and a loose stroke arrived. Rohit Sharma punched an innocuous-looking delivery from Matt Kuhnemann straight to short extra cover. The six overs leading up to the wicket had brought just 10 runs.The start to the partnership between Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara wasn’t quite swift, but once Australia went back to pace, the tap opened again. The second ball of Starc’s new spell was cover-driven to bring up Gill’s fifty. In Starc’s next, Gill played the short-arm punch through midwicket for four more. Leading up to lunch, Pujara, too, got a move on.Although a couple of deliveries had disturbed the surface in the first session, there wasn’t anything dramatic. Australia came back with more focused plans. It often involved seven-two leg-side fields with everything turning in. After the two initial boundaries off Cameron Green, India spent 16 overs in the middle session without a boundary.2:05

How Steven Smith’s batting helps his captaincy

All through the period, though, neither Pujara nor Gill looked at any discomfort. Eventually pace provided Gill an opening. He marked it with two lovely cover drives off Green: on the up first, and then to the fuller ball. In his 90s, Gill danced down to Lyon to pop him over his head, and then played the sweep over leg slip to bring up his second Test century.Just before tea, Pujara, too, seemed to make an unforced error, playing down the wrong line of a Todd Murphy offbreak from around the wicket. Even as Pujara reviewed the lbw decision in vain, the crowd cheered on for the arrival of Kohli. In the one over before tea, Kohli edged one wide of short leg, one short of slip and was beaten on the outside edge once.After tea, Gill and Kohli were much more efficient, running hard, not taking any risks. As Gill began to cramp, Kohli took up his scoring, contributing 32 to the 58-run stand. Having made just nine false responses in such a long innings, Gill finally made the fatal error: going back to a quick full offbreak from Nathan Lyon, getting trapped right in front.If there was any designs on dominating the bowling, India shelved those plans and batted sedately. The new ball was eight balls away, but Australia waited for the last 20 minutes to claim it.The offspinners kept trying to test both edges of Kohli as he lunged forward in defence, but the one time that the inside edge was taken, they didn’t have a short leg in place, which can happen when bowling at 250 for 3. Other than the odd half error, Kohli looked in absolute control.The one thing Australia managed by continuing with the old ball was the run-rate. Just 26 came in the first 15.2 overs of the fourth-wicket stand between Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. As soon as the new ball was taken, Jadeja hit a six off Kuhnemann having been 6 off 42.Largely, though, the final exchanges remained a period of cease fire from both sides. Australia had few catchers, India took fewer risks. With only 13 wickets falling in three days, the Test was left needing something dramatic for an outright result.

Umesh Yadav came into India’s XI as a fifth bowler, but with match figures of 6 for 59 ensured the match practice he got with India A after requesting the selectors, paid off

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Pune13-Oct-20193:10

Catches like Saha’s boost the team – Umesh

Umesh Yadav bowled more overs in Test cricket than any other Indian fast bowler in 2016 and 2017. Since then, though, he has slipped to fourth – or even fifth – sometimes in India’s pace pecking order, and had featured in only five of their last 18 matches before the Pune Test against South Africa.It can be difficult for a fast bowler to stay positive, and keep himself in rhythm in times like this, but that’s exactly what Yadav has sought to do.”This is part and parcel [of the game], it will keep happening as long as I play cricket,” he said after picking up match figures of 6 for 59 in India’s innings win. “These situations will keep coming, and I know I have to be ready when I get my chance. For that, it’s important to stay positive, keep playing the game, and stay focused.

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“So, I always make sure I keep getting match practice, whether it’s Ranji Trophy or India A or anything else. These are the things that give me positivity, and my focus remains sharp because the more matches you play, the more match practice you have, which is very important, because as much as you may bowl in the nets, it’s different when you play matches, and know how you’re supposed to bowl, what planning you need to do.”These things (selection) aren’t in my hands. I can’t say, ‘no, I need to play every Test match’. All the bowlers are good, all of them are doing well, and there’s healthy competition. Whoever does well will keep playing. At some stage, each of us will get chances, and when that happens, I need to be ready, positive, and focused.”ALSO READ: ‘We’re not going to take the foot off the gas in the third Test’ – KohliYadav wasn’t originally part of India’s squad for this series, and only came in when Jasprit Bumrah suffered a stress fracture. He was part of India’s previous squad, in the West Indies, but didn’t feature in either of the Tests. With the knowledge that he wouldn’t get regular games for India, especially since he is not usually part of the ODI and T20I squads either, he requested the selectors, during the West Indies tour, that they pick him for India A as often as possible.”In the West Indies, when I was not playing, the selectors picked me [in the India A team that was concurrently touring the region],” Yadav said. “I knew I wasn’t getting that many matches, even in the T20s and one-dayers that were happening in between. So there was a gap, and I had told the selectors that I’d like to play whenever possible for India A because match practice for me is very important.Umesh Yadav and Virat Kohli celebrate a wicket•BCCI

“At that stage it was a fully off-season for me because there was no Ranji Trophy, no one-dayers, nothing. So, I asked them [to pick me], and told them I wanted to play matches, and they said, ‘Okay’. If you’re playing matches, your mindset and planning and focus remain sharp.”Suddenly, if you’re just practising at home or wherever, and you have to directly play a match, it becomes difficult, because as a fast bowler you’re out of the game. Bowling in a match and bowling in the nets are very different.”Before the Pune Test, therefore, Yadav kept himself in rhythm by playing four multi-day matches against international opposition, two of them first-class. The rhythm showed in the way he troubled South Africa’s top order in both innings, running in with intensity and swinging the new ball at pace. India enforced the follow-on after taking a first-innings lead of 326, and Yadav said he was only too happy to bowl again.ALSO READ: The fast bowler’s snarl ft. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav“From my point of view, I felt, I don’t know about the others, but I need to bowl,” he said. “All bowlers said that we are ready if follow-on is enforced as we didn’t feel the need to rest. The intent was to win, and not, ‘Let’s bat a bit and stretch the game’.”The wicket wasn’t difficult to bat on. Fast bowlers didn’t have much help as there was no seam or swing movement. The ball only swung for a few overs. There was no pace off the pitch and you needed to hit the deck. If we get some breakthroughs with new ball, it becomes easier for the spinners.”Yadav came into India’s XI as a fifth bowler, and he was pleased that the selection had worked as planned.”We had to bowl with 100% effort,” he said. “There was bounce, but the pitch lacked pace. We had to hit the deck hard to extract the pace.”If you bowl long spells, you will get tired quickly and if you have five bowlers, you have options. We could come in, bowl [spells of] three overs with full intensity, and then the spinners would come in. I think this (playing five bowlers) was a good idea, and we could execute it as we had planned.”

Death-bowling specialism encourages Rajasthan to pay huge sum for allrounder

Andrew Miller19-Feb-20210:40

‘We’ve rebalanced our side, Chris Morris fills an important role for us’ – Royals CEO McCrum

Rajasthan Royals were willing to break the bank to secure the right fast-bowling support for Jofra Archer, according to their director of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, after the franchise put in the highest bid in IPL auction history on Thursday to sign the South Africa allrounder Chris Morris for INR 16.25 crore (US$2.2 million).Although Morris is highly rated as a tall fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-middle batsman, Rajasthan’s bidding war with three other franchises – most notably Punjab Kings – was one of the big surprises of the auction, particularly given Morris’s past injury record, and the fact that he will turn 34 midway through this year’s competition.However, speaking to the media on Friday, Sangakkara justified Morris’ selection in light of Rajasthan’s lop-sided display in the most recent IPL. They finished bottom of the table in the UAE in November – albeit one win from reaching the play-offs – despite the stellar efforts of Archer, who was named the tournament’s MVP for his haul of 20 wickets at 18.25, including an economy rate of 6.55 that no seamer who bowled more than 15 overs in the tournament could match.Chris Morris opened the bowling in his first game of the season•BCCI

However, that disparity was particularly stark within Rajasthan’s own ranks. Ten of Archer’s wickets came in the Powerplay, in which he returned a remarkable economy rate of 4.34, the best by a distance in the tournament. However, the remainder of the Royals’ attack managed six wickets at an economy of 9.93 in their own Powerplay overs, and Archer himself ended up being stretched across too many roles, with his economy rate ballooning to 10.08 when asked to bowl at the death.Hence Rajasthan’s exhaustive pursuit of Morris, whose own Powerplay economy for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season was a very respectable 6.26, but whose death-over figure of 7.03 was the best among those who bowled 50-plus balls in the season, ahead of Delhi Capitals’ Anrich Nortje, at 8.44.”For us, it was a case of getting some support for Archer, to get him to be as effective as possible,” Sangakkara said. “We considered the all-round abilities that Morris has, but focused on his bowling because he actually has one of the best economy rates at the death. He’s at the top of the tree in terms of positively impacting side’s performances.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Morris has a very specific role for us to play in supporting Archer,” Sangakkara added. “It gives us a lot more flexibility, because it frees us to use Archer in other ways. We also have AJ Tye, Mustafizur [Rahman] and young Indian quicks to support us, so it gives us a few more combinations that we can play with.”Sangakkara acknowledged that Rajasthan had had their eye on further pace-bowling options to supplement their squad, including Jhye Richardson, Adam Milne and Kyle Jamieson, the New Zealand allrounder who would prove to be out of reach as he went for a bid of INR 15 crore (US$2.05million) to RCB.”The high price is just the nature of the auction’s supply-demand dynamics,” he said. “If you really want a player and you’re competing against someone with a huge purse, you have to stretch yourself. We would’ve liked to have got [Morris] for much less, but Mumbai and Kings were as interested in him as we were, and we had to push through that upper limit.”Addressing the issue of Morris’ injury record – he sustained a side strain during the last IPL campaign that caused him to miss the first three weeks of matches – Sangakkara said that the prospect of a reduction in the number of internal flights between venues, due to Covid, could help to preserve his 6ft 4in frame from wear and tear.Jofra Archer celebrates a wicket with his team•BCCI

“Questions will be asked about his training, load management – everything’s been taken into consideration,” Sangakkara said. “Regular flying, packing bags and leaving has a significant effect of injuries on players. Yes, there’s a trend for him to get injured but it’s hard to predict who gets injured and who doesn’t. The key is to have cover in your squad if the unthinkable happens.”As for the burden of coming into the squad with such a heavy price tag, Sangakkara insisted that Morris would be valued as a player and a person more than a “commodity”.”Managing his mindset, in terms of stepping up and trying to justify an auction price is one thing, but then getting him to concentrate on what we really want him to do, and what we expect of him in terms of our side and our strategies [is another],” he said.”It affects various players in different ways. Some really take that pressure on and it helps them to perform even better, others can at times wilt, but Chris is a very mature guy.Related

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“The auction price is the auction price, whether we buy someone for a very small amount of money, or a very high amount of money, our job is to get them prepared to do the job for us on the field.”There are no guarantees in cricket, even the best players can have deep ruts and bad performances, but the key for Rajasthan is building that culture where, irrespective of your auction price, you have a role. We want you to execute it, and we will give you that support and that preparation to do it.”But in terms of executing your role, you are free to take a calculated risk, go that extra yard and really commit to the role. And that’s going to be good enough because if the processes are right, the results come. You can’t worry about all the noise that you can’t control.”

CSK captain issues mock warning to quicks: “They will have to be ready to play under a new captain – it will be my second warning and I’ll be off”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2023MS Dhoni isn’t happy about the number of no-balls and wides his fast bowlers have bowled in Chennai Super Kings’ two IPL 2023 matches so far. In their second game itself, against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday night, Super Kings’ quicks sent down 13 wides and three no-balls.”We are bowling too many extra deliveries,” he said after the 12-run win on Monday night at Chepauk, and even mock-threatened his bowlers that “they will have to be ready to play under a new captain”.Deepak Chahar, the experienced name in the pace attack, bowled five wides (including three in a row in the 17th over) in the game against Super Giants, but didn’t concede any extras in the first game, which Super Kings lost to Gujarat Titans. The two less-experienced quicks, Tushar Deshpande and Rajvardhan Hangargekar, have been consistent in giving away extra deliveries: Deshpande has a tally of five wides and four no-balls over two games, and Hangargekar six wides and one no-ball. No-balls, of course, come with free hits, and oppositions have slammed two fours and a six off those so far.Related

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“It’s the fast bowling that needs to slightly improve, and they need to bowl according to the conditions. Maybe, even if it’s on the flatter side, have fielders and try to bowl in the areas where you are pushing the batsmen to hit over the fielders,” Dhoni said in the post-match presentation on Monday. “Especially what is important is: keep an eye when we’re batting, keep an eye what the opposition bowlers were doing, so it gives you an idea of what can be done, ‘what can be my plan according to the strength I have or the pace I have’.”One more thing is they will have to bowl maybe no no-balls and less wides. Because we are bowling too many extra deliveries. Or they will have to be ready to play under a new captain at some point of time. It will be my second warning and I’ll be off,” he said with a grin.The message seems to have gone across loud and clear. When Deshpande spoke at the post-match press conference, he said, “Bowling a no-ball is a crime in T20 cricket.”On Monday, Dhoni used a total of seven bowlers, including one over each from Ben Stokes and Ravindra Jadeja, and Super Kings gave away 205 after putting up 217. In the first game, though, he had used only five bowlers, not trying Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube (who didn’t bowl in the second game either) or Stokes, who is still not 100% bowling fit. Hangargekar has played in both games ahead of swing bowler Simarjeet Singh, who had impressed in the six games he played last year.”I feel he [Hangargekar] is very good potential, he has a bit of pace and the more exposure he gets the better he will get. So overall not disappointed,” Dhoni had said after the first game. “I feel the bowlers did quite well looking at the conditions overall. No-ball is something, you know, they should try not to bowl. Because in modern cricket, no-ball is something that’s in your control. And at the end of the day, it hurts you really bad. So it’s important to control the no-balls.”

New head coach along with the team director Mike Hesson outline their vision for IPL 2020 and beyond

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2019Excerpts:
Royal Challengers Bangalore haven’t made the playoffs for three seasons now. How can you turn it around?
Mike Hesson: We have spent a lot of time in the last two weeks looking at how we want to structure things as a support staff. With the structure we have got and people we’ve got around us, we’re well aware that we have to make a few tweaks in the squad to get the balance that we think we need moving forward. We are not going to talk about player names. Obviously, we are not going to give too much away, but there has certainly been a lot of behind-the-scenes thinking about how we want to structure things.ALSO READ – RCB overhaul: Kirsten, Nehra out, Hesson, Katich inHas there been any thought at all of looking at a different captain?
Simon Katich: Not at all.How will the team management set-up work in the new structure?
Hesson: I will be having input pre-game, but Simon and Virat will be in charge on game days in terms of the XI they put on the park. The dealings I had with both are inclusive as well. I am sure coaches have experience at certain venues against opposition, but it’s a collective agreement. But Simon and Virat will be in charge on game days.Kohli has led for the past seven seasons. The outside perception is that he calls the shots. Is that a strength or do you have any apprehensions about working with him?
Katich: From our point of view, we have been aligned about how we are going to go about things. We haven’t got that perception about Virat at all. Potentially there is a learning from that and the fact that what he has done in the past, maybe he has learnt from that and wants to go about things differently moving forward. But from what we’ve discussed with him so far, he has very much been aligned about how we want to move forward, and happy to take advice from our experience and how we see things.There are always going to be different opinions, but it is about what is best for the team and I think we have both (him and Hesson) spoken about it over the last couple of weeks. There’s no question, for us Virat is captain.PA Photos

How easy or difficult is it to talk to with superstar players like Kohli or Brendon McCullum (at New Zealand when he was head coach) to have an open discussion on decision-making?
Hesson: Simon, Virat and myself, everybody has been working together to this point and so far those relationships have been very good. There is a time and place for everything, but the three of us have to be brutally honest with each other behind closed doors around every decision.There will be decisions we all make where we might say: “hang on, what were we thinking there?” And it might not necessarily be saying you have done something wrong. It’s just asking for clarity on what you were thinking. I think this is a responsibility for all of us, to challenge the three of us as a leadership group to make sure we are getting the best out of each other. We are not going to be passive and not be afraid of having honest discussions. There is no value in that for anybody.Royal Challengers have never been short of talent. As a coach, how do you get that talent to work together?
Katich: A big part of it is identifying what sort of style of players will bat well with each other or potentially bowl well in partnerships together in different phases of the innings. So that’s something we are working through at the moment. But then, when it comes to a team’s style of play, you need to have guys with that character that they are prepared to put the team first over their individual needs of trying keep getting a game, or just potentially do well for the next auction.So that’s the balancing act of trying to put a squad together and that’s where the character side of it comes into it because yes, there are a lot of players out there with lots of talent but are they playing in winning teams and how are they contributing in being part of winning teams? So that’s all the things we have to weigh up when we are making these judgments over the next few months.How do you make sure the Chinnaswamy pitch will favour RCB so that they utilise home advantage, a crucial determining factor in making the playoffs?
Katich: It was probably the first thing I mentioned when I first came on about the job, asking the question about the wicket because I have seen it evolve over the last four years. Obviously in 2017, it was a different type of wicket given what happened with the drainage. And obviously, it affected the balance of the team because it was playing differently to what the team had been used to in the past.So that was one of the first questions asked because you want to really utilise your home ground advantage for seven games, and if you make it a fortress which others teams have done at their venues, whether it’s at Chennai (Chennai Super Kings) or whoever it is, that becomes a big determining factor whether you can make it to the playoffs. So that’s one thing we certainly will be taking into account and making sure that it suits the balance of our team. We have to understand how it is going to play.

Half-centuries for du Plooy, Godleman and Hosein leave Worcestershire ruing drops

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2021A Matt Critchley century and 98 from Leus du Plooy put Derbyshire in a strong position after day one of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Worcestershire at Derby.Critchley followed his two half-centuries at Edgbaston last week with 109 as Derbyshire closed on 360 for 8, which also included an unbeaten 65 from Harvey Hosein and 50 by Billy Godleman.Worcestershire spilled five catches but they fought back after tea with Ed Barnard and Alzarri Joseph both taking two wickets in two balls.Their decision to put Derbyshire in on a green pitch looked a good one when they struck in the first over but poor bowling and dropped catches allowed the home side to prosper. Dillon Pennington was the pick of the pace attack and Brett D’Oliveira’s legspin demanded respect but Joseph struggled on his debut.The West Indies fast bowler was wayward in his opening spell as du Plooy and Godleman rebuilt following the loss of Luis Reece who played across the line in Leach’s first over.Pennington saw du Plooy missed low at fourth slip before he had scored and the South African edged the same bowler through the hands of third on 14. Worcestershire were left to rue those lapses with du Plooy reaching fifty off 78 balls and Godleman accelerated after lunch until he edged Leach and Ben Cox took a fine diving catch.When Pennington surprised Wayne Madsen with bounce and movement, Worcestershire were back in the game but inconsistent bowling allowed du Plooy and Critchley to restore Derbyshire’s initiative.Du Plooy looked certain to celebrate a century until he missed a pull at D’Oliveira and was bowled through his legs but Hosein joined Critchley to take Derbyshire past 300.Worcestershire’s frustration increased as Leach twice saw Hosein missed, on 41 and 46, but Critchley did not offer a chance and deservedly reached his fourth first-class hundred, off 137 balls, by driving Leach for his 10th four.He was lbw driving at Barnard who removed Anuj Dal first ball before Joseph had Fynn Hudson-Prentice caught behind and Michael Cohen lbw but it was still an excellent day for Derbyshire who were playing at home for the first time since September 2019 as their Incora County Ground headquarters was used as a bio-secure international venue last season.