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Rahul didn’t keep wicket for much of training on the eve of the game, and stand-in captain Pooran only said “we’ll see how he goes”

Shashank Kishore01-Apr-2024Lucknow Super Giants will take a late call on KL Rahul’s participation – whether in part or more – in Tuesday’s away fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Rahul played as an impact substitute in Saturday’s home game against Punjab Kings, with the LSG management keen on “easing him back” from injury.IPL 2024 is Rahul’s comeback tournament after a quadricep injury ruled him out of the last four Tests of the five-match series at home against England earlier this year. Rahul had pulled up with the same injury – against RCB, incidentally – during IPL 2023, and had to undergo surgery followed by lengthy rehabilitation.”We’ll see how he goes at training,” stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran said when asked about Rahul’s availability on Tuesday.Related

• RCB hope for batters to fire in unison against dangerous LSG

• Ferociously fast and thrillingly direct – Mayank Yadav

• Rahul hands over captaincy to Pooran for game vs Kings

• LSG sign Henry as Willey withdraws from IPL 2024

At training, Rahul did not keep wicket for most of the session. He first underwent a series of timed sprint and mobility drills that were monitored by head coach Justin Langer. Rahul then practiced the full range of his body movements while playing the sweep in particular and felt his left hamstring repeatedly. He then occupied a quiet corner of the field and kept a close eye on the session for more than an hour. Later, he examined at length the slightly unusual M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch that had more than a smattering of grass right through the 22 yards.Rahul also padded up and went out for a hit against the team’s net bowlers and throwdown specialists. After a 15-minute session, he got back to finishing a few more rounds of mobility drills before walking off to have another long chat with Langer. Only towards the very end of the day did he have a short go with the gloves.”It’s always tough when you have to change combinations,” Pooran said when asked how Rahul’s absence on the field had impacted the team so far. “Obviously, it’s different with KL on the field. But our senior players came together and assisted me in making decisions as well. It’s something that happens. Sometimes when your captain isn’t available, all the senior players stand up, and try and make up for his absence.”KL Rahul scored 58 in 44 balls in LSG’s season-opener against Rajasthan Royals•BCCI

LSG have one win and one loss in two games so far, with Rahul returning scores of 58 (in 44 balls, vs Rajasthan Royals) and 15 (in nine balls, vs Punjab Kings). He kept wicket only in the first game, before handing over the responsibility to Quinton de Kock for the second.Rahul is among the contenders for the wicketkeeper-batter’s slot in India’s T20 World Cup squad.Leading into the IPL 2024 season, there had been debate among observers whether he would bat in the middle order to play a similar role he plays for with the national team. So far, Rahul has opened in both matches.”I am not going lose one second’s sleep over KL Rahul,” Langer had said on his regular captain last week. “He is a beautiful player, he’s an outstanding player. There’s a reason he’s had so much success for India and I’m blessed to have him in our team, not only as an opening batsman or a batsman and wicketkeeper, but also as the captain. He is so calm. He’s a wonderful person.”

The visitors have cut their deficit down from 438 to 273 on a slow pitch in Karachi

Himanshu Agrawal27-Dec-2022Devon Conway and Tom Latham added 165 unbeaten runs in New Zealand’s highest opening stand in Tests in Pakistan – they went past the previous best of 136 set way back in 1965 – as the hosts toiled hard on a Karachi pitch which seemed to have eased out enough for steady run-scoring.It was mostly a chanceless partnership throughout; the fact that Babar Azam himself came on to roll his arm over as stumps approached was an indication of how dominant was the batting and how ineffective the bowling was, having also bowled the final over before tea. New Zealand’s deficit was down to 273 after Agha Salman’s maiden Test century earlier in the day had pushed Pakistan to 438.On the way to an undefeated 82, Conway also became the fastest New Zealand batter to 1000 Test runs, getting there in 19 innings. Although both he and his partner are both left-handed, they present entirely different problems for bowlers when they’re at the crease together. As if to exemplify this fact, on Tuesday, both of them scored the exact same proportion of their runs – one-third – in diametrically opposite directions. Conway in the arc between point and long-off and Latham between fine leg and midwicket.Pakistan started the evening session with spin from both ends, as Nauman Ali aimed for the rough outside the batters’ off stump, while Abrar Ahmed mixed things up with his variations. And though there was enough turn to keep things interesting, with the odd ball scuttling through at ankle-height, the breakthrough they were striving so hard for never came.Conway often took a big stride forward to smother the spin, and even used the reverse sweep to hit two boundaries, while also driving and slashing each time the bowlers went too full or too wide. Latham, on the other hand, relied on the conventional sweep and the flick, getting 40 of his 78 runs through those shots.Pakistan could have broken the partnership at 105 in the 31st over when Conway inside-edged a ball from Nauman through to the wicketkeeper. Except it all looked very innocuous and seemed like the right decision was made when the umpire ruled not-out. After all, Sarfaraz Ahmed was the only one to appeal – and even that was half-hearted. But then came the replays which showed evidence of a nick.Abrar Ahmed joins in on Agha Salman’s century celebration•Associated Press

Although not everything went to plan, Pakistan still have plenty to play with and that’s largely down to Salman, who hit 103 off 155, piling on quick, useful runs with the tail. Pakistan’s last four wickets fetched 120 runs, with Salman scoring 99 of those in partnerships of 54 with Nauman, 39 with Mir Hamza and 24 with Abrar.Salman had started the afternoon session unbeaten on 54, with Hamza for company. He racked up his last 49 runs from just 45 balls, smashing ten fours to ensure Pakistan crossed the 400-run mark. Salman attacked Neil Wagner, often making room to swat or pull his short deliveries. And when Wagner tried something different, Salman hit three fours in the 125th over: swung to deep square leg, lofted over extra cover off a full length, and slapped to deep point when the left-arm quick went for a slower ball.Confident of his aggressive strokes, Salman reverse swept Ish Sodhi a few times, before raising his century off a pull when the legspinner pitched it short and outside leg. Eventually, Tim Southee trapped him in front when the batter tried to hoick across the line but missed.Southee had also dismissed Babar for 161 with the fourth ball of the day before a dull period in the morning followed. The visitors struck late twice though. That quietened things to the extent that Salman and Nauman went 28 deliveries without scoring, starting with the third ball of the 95th over.Nauman got off the mark off his sixth delivery, but waited until his 48th to produce his next scoring shot, a slog sweep off Ajaz Patel for four. Salman kept things ticking at the other end. New Zealand thought they had him on 36 when they challenged Aleem Dar’s not-out decision for a leg-before appeal. But replays showed Sodhi’s googly was turning in enough to miss leg stump.New Zealand finally broke the frustrating stand which lasted more than 26 overs, when Wagner, brought into the attack with the short-ball ploy in mind, sent Nauman back just before lunch. Michael Bracewell at a short square leg plucked a catch leaping to his left as Nauman tried to pull a rising delivery, before Sodhi got his first Test wicket in four years when Wasim tried a funky scoop shot to a short ball, only for the ball to pop up and into Tom Blundell’s gloves.

India’s 2012 Under-19 WC-winning captain reveals that lack of opportunities at home prompted him to go to the US

Nikhil Sharma14-Aug-2021Some years ago, a cola commercial aired on Indian television showed a young cricketer peeking into the Indian dressing room, hoping to follow in the footsteps of then captain MS Dhoni. The implied message was that this young man had the smarts to wear the India blue one day. Alas, that is not to be, as 28-year-old Unmukt Chand announced his retirement from Indian cricket on Friday, following in the footsteps of his 2012 U-19 World Cup-winning team-mate Smit Patel in choosing to pick league cricket in the United States. over India.But what made him take such a drastic step?Related

• After BBL, Unmukt Chand set for BPL stint

• Unmukt Chand joins Melbourne Renegades for BBL 2021-22

• Deck cleared for Shreyas Iyer and T Natarajan to return for remainder of IPL 2021

• Chand retires from Indian cricket, will play league cricket in USA

• Patel quits BCCI system to 'carve out a second coming of sorts' in USA

Speaking over the phone from San Francisco’s Bay Area, Chand told ESPNcricinfo, “These last few years have been tough. But I wasn’t going to give up on cricket completely. If I wasn’t getting enough opportunities to play in India, where were the next four or five crucial years of my career going to go? I still get emotional imagining that I will never get to play for India again. But I have made some special memories while playing in India.”In the 2015-16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season, Chand scored 276 runs at an average of 34.50 for Delhi, including a 58-ball 103 against Gujarat. This ton also made him just the third Indian batter with three or more centuries in the format — joining Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina at the time — but he would be axed from the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2017. For the Ranji Trophy, he was part of the squad but never got a chance to play that season. “I am the first to admit that I had a lean patch in first-class cricket, but I was doing so well in white-ball cricket. Things started going wrong at Delhi, and that’s why I opted to play for Uttarakhand in 2019. I also picked up an injury, and that set me back even further,” he said.Chand made his IPL debut at just 18 years and 15 days, and comparisons with Kohli, a fellow U-19 World Cup-winning captain, were inevitable. “Playing the IPL was a massive experience for me, but I wasn’t very lucky during my stint in it,” Chand, who struck his first IPL fifty for Mumbai Indians against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015, said. In the match that followed, the openers had a long partnership, and eventually, Kieron Pollard was sent up the order, with Chand missing out. He was benched from the playing eleven soon after and faded away from the IPL.Chand now looks back at that time without any regrets. His IPL opportunities might be behind him, but he is now preparing to extend his career in T20 leagues around the world which will now be open to him.The players from the U-19 World Cup-winning Indian team are sometimes called an unlucky batch. Much was expected of names like Chand, Baba Aparajith, Harmeet Singh, Vijay Zol, Sandeep Sharma, Akshdeep Nath, Hanuma Vihari and Patel. Of them, only Sharma and Vihari have graduated to senior honours.”I too dreamt of playing for India one day,” Chand said. “I did realise some of those dreams with my time at India U-19 and India A. I have been abroad for the past two months, but it doesn’t feel too different from home. I am playing with and against new people. There are plenty of Indians in the cricket system here, and the game is being taken quite seriously. Just the shade of blue is not the one I had initially dreamt of.”Chand will turn out for the Silicon Valley Strikers in the Minor Cricket League in Bay Area – he will make his debut against the Socal Lashings on Saturday – and his long-term contract with them will also include guiding future generations of young cricketers. The Minor League Cricket Championship’s National T20 Tournament that starts soon will pit teams from 27 cities across the United States. Over 400 players will compete in 200 matches across 26 venues.

The return of spectators to events next month bodes well for the cricket season later in the year

Andrew McGlashan12-Jun-2020Crowds appear a certainty at Australian cricket grounds this summer and the case for the T20 World Cup has improved after the federal government’s announcement that some venues will be able to host up to 10,000 spectators for sporting events from July.At the moment the move only applies to grounds with a capacity below 40,000 so excludes the five major Test venues – MCG, SCG, Adelaide Oval, Gabba and Perth Stadium – but would cover some of the smaller grounds used for cricket, including Hobart, the WACA and Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, and is another positive step as sport continues its comeback in Australia. South Australia and Queensland state governments have also said they plan to reopen their borders in July as domestic travel restrictions are eased.The move to allow spectators back in reasonably significant numbers raises the likelihood that crowds may be able to attend international cricket and the Big Bash during the summer. It could also boost the chances of the T20 World Cup still taking place in October and November, although Prime Minister Scott Morrison said decisions over the larger grounds would take more time and for the World Cup there remains the logistical challenge of having 15 visiting teams in the country.ALSO READ: T20 World Cup fate under ‘very high risk’- Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts“This is going to be looked at over the next few weeks. For the larger ones [venues] I would venture that it would be the subject of a discrete approval for each venue that would be worked out with the Chief Health Officer in each state or territory,” Morrison said.”So by the time you get into July there may be that type of opportunity for the rules that apply to those under 40,000 carry over to those above 40,000. These will be practical, commonsense issues, work through by the medical expert panel over the next few weeks and I think they will give a great instruction.”The chance of crowds for big-ticket events during the season, especially the India series, would add another element to Cricket Australia’s financial planning which has seen them model for up to a 25-30% reduction in revenue if games were played behind closed doors. It could also increase the challenge for them in getting their budget plans approved by the Australian Cricketers’ Association who have already cast doubt on the bleak picture painted by the board.Cricket Australia recently announced a full fixture list for the 2020-21 season although with the caveats that much could change. As it stands Australia are scheduled to resume with a one-day series against Zimbabwe in August but that remains in significant doubt with the more likely resumption of international cricket being the women’s series against New Zealand in late September.Cricket Australia’s decision makers were encouraged by the announcement over crowds, albeit as the start of a long process towards working up plans for bigger venues set to host international and BBL cricket.Across the Tasman in New Zealand there are even fewer restrictions with full crowds able to attend this weekend’s rugby matches.

His ban is related to the investigation into the corrupt approach to Graeme Cremer in October 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2019A former director of Zimbabwe Cricket, Enock Ikope, has been banned from all cricket for ten years by the ICC, for breaching three counts of the Anti-Corruption Code.Ikope’s ban is related to the Anti-Corruption Unit’s investigation into the corrupt approach made in October 2017 to former captain Graeme Cremer by Rajan Nayer, a domestic cricket official in Zimbabwe. The ACU had established information during the investigation, which gave them reasonable grounds to suspect Ikope may have engaged in corrupt conduct as described in the Code.Nayer, who was handed a 20-year ban from all cricket-related activities last year, had been the treasurer and marketing director of the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association (HMCA). Ikope, the ICC said, was bound by the Code and was required to fully cooperate with the investigations in his capacity as chairman of the HMCA and director of ZC.Ikope was charged with:

• Failure or refusal to cooperate with the ACU’s investigation by failing to provide accurately and completely the information and/or documentation requested by the ACU in January 2018. This included refusing to hand over his mobile phone and documents demanded by the ACU.
• Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code in January and February 2018. This included further failures and delays in handing over his mobile phone and documents demanded by the ACU, while the breach in February arose as a result of deletion of data from his mobile phone before handing it over to the ACU.

Ikope was banned by the Tribunal for five years in respect of each breach. The Tribunal ordered the first two of the five-year periods of ineligibility to run concurrently, with the penalty for the third breach of Article 2.4.7 to run consecutively, resulting in a total ban of 10 years.”We welcome this decision and the substantial sanction imposed on Mr Ikope which reflects the gravity of the offences,” Alex Marshall, the ICC General Manager ACU said. “Non-cooperation and obstruction of our investigations by participants to the Code are simply not acceptable and I hope this and other recent sanctions sends out a clear message to anyone involved in the sport.”Once again we must thank an international captain, Graeme Cremer, for his absolute professionalism in recognizing the initial approach by Mr Nayer, rejecting and then reporting it. We are thankful to him and to Zimbabwe Cricket for all the help during the investigations”.

Fast bowler Rayad Emrit also earned a maiden call-up to a full-strength T20 squad that also included Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2017Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller has been called-up to West Indies’ ODI squad for their three-match series against New Zealand later this month. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who were part of West Indies’ ODI team against England in September, kept their places, while uncapped fast bowler Ronsford Beaton also earned a spot in the 15-man squad.

Ins and outs

ODI squad
In: Shannon Gabriel, Ronsford Beaton, Nikita Miller
Out: Jerome Taylor, Miguel Cummins, Devendra Bishoo
T20 squad
In: Samuel Badree, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher
Out: Ashley Nurse

Miller, who has played 46 ODIs and 9 T20s, last played for West Indies in the 2015 World Cup, against Zimbabwe. In the 2016-17 Regional Super50 – West Indies’ domestic 50-overs tournament – Miller picked up nine wickets in nine games, at an average of 32, but also had an economy rate of 3.67.Beaton, who was included in the West Indies A squad for a home series against Sri Lanka A, impressed in this year’s Caribbean Premier League, taking 11 wickets in 10 games.Fast bowler Rayad Emrit earned a maiden call-up to a full-strength T20 squad that also included Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine. Samuel Badree, who was unavailable for West Indies’ previous T20 assignment in England, also made a return.Emrit finished the 2017 Caribbean Premier League as the third-highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets in 12 matches, at an average of 21.20.Wicketkeepers Andre Fletcher and Chadwick Walton were also rewarded for a stellar CPL 2017. Walton was the highest-run scorer in the tournament with 458 runs in 12 games at an average of 41.63 and a strike rate of 145.85, while Fletcher managed 286 runs in 10 matches.Courtney Browne, Cricket West Indies’ selection chairman, said Miller’s inclusion was done with one eye on preparing an experienced team for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in March next year.”Miller has played ODI cricket previously. Along with his vast experience in our domestic competitions, we felt that he is the right fit to form a part of our ODI bowling unit at this time,” Browne said. “With the World Cup qualifiers fast approaching, we felt that this is not the right time to introduce an inexperienced slow bowler. This series against New Zealand and our CWI Regional Super50 Cup next year are the only chances we will have for preparation prior to the World Cup qualifiers, which are scheduled to be played next March in Zimbabwe.”So these matches will be used to help us identify the players that will play during the qualifiers, and this is why we have also taken the opportunity to introduce Ronsford Beaton. Though, he is more known for his pace and variations in T20I cricket, we believe he can add value within our ODI bowling unit.”Emrit, Browne said, was picked to fill in an allrounder’s slot in the T20I side. “The selection of Emrit is to fill one of the all-rounder roles. He has always been on the fringes of selection and now gets his opportunity. He is a whole-hearted player, and has been a consistent performer in our domestic competitions and so the opportunity has now presented itself for him to join our T20I squad.”West Indies’ limited-overs leg of the New Zealand tour begins on December 20, with the first ODI in Nelson. The T20s will begin from December 29.ODI squad: Jason Holder (capt.), Jason Mohammed, Sunil Ambris, Ronsford Beaton, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Kesrick WilliamsT20 squad: Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams

The Delhi & District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) sports committee has decided to sack former India players Atul Wassan and Nikhil Chopra from the state’s senior selection panel, while removing Maninder Singh from the junior selection panel

PTI05-Nov-2016The Delhi & District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) sports committee has decided to sack former India players Atul Wassan and Nikhil Chopra from the state’s senior selection panel, while removing Maninder Singh from the junior selection panel.The sports committee included national selector Sarandeep Singh in the panel citing the general convention that national selectors are always made chairman of state selection committee, as it had been the case with Madan Lal, Kirti Azad and Chetan Chauhan to name a few.It also named former legspinner Rakesh Shukla in the panel, but this could be in violation of the norms of the BCCI, which had set an age-cap of 60 for being eligible for the role. Shukla is currently 68.In place of Maninder Singh, the committee named former wicketkeeper-batsman Vinay Kumar.There could be far-reaching legal implications of this decision, as Chopra and Wassan were appointed by a panel selected by Justice Mukul Mudgal, who is the Delhi High Court-appointed observer. Those in know of the legal ramifications feel that this could be a case of contempt of court by the sports committee, which has been sidelined since Mudgal started overseeing DDCA matters.A press release issued by the sports committee’s convenor, Vinod Tihara, stated the decision was taken “in the wake of the persistent complaints being received by the DDCA management regarding the alleged commercial engagements of three selectors namely: Maninder Singh, Atul Wassan and Nikhil Chopra.”Wassan, Chopra and Maninder all have media contracts, which the sports committee claimed was a case of conflict of interest.When Chopra’s comments were sought, he said: “This is news to me. I have been appointed by a committee that was formed by Delhi High Court-appointed observer Justice Mukul Mudgal. And what conflict of interest are they talking about? These are some vested interests at work.”When Tihara was asked if this decision amounted to contempt of court or trying to overrule the High Court-appointed observer, he told PTI: “I don’t think question of contempt arises as Justice Mudgal is an observer and not an administrator. As far as Shukla’s age and appointment is concerned, we will check if this violates the norms set by BCCI.”Asked if Delhi coach KP Bhaskar would also be removed as he was also appointed by the panel set by Mudgal, Tihara said: “No we are not going to remove Bhaskar as it would seem like having a vindictive attitude. We heard some complaints about some alleged misbehaviour with the boys. After an internal inquiry we found out that nothing of that sort has happened. Also he does not have any case of conflict of interest.”

ESPNcricinfo looks ahead to the prospects of Vidarbha and Baroda in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season

29-Sep-2015
Where they finished last seasonFinished the league stage with 24 points in Group B, tied in third place with Gujarat. Thanks to a better run quotient, Vidarbha qualified for the knockouts, where they succumbed to Tamil Nadu in the quarter-finals.Big PictureFor most of the last two decades, barring an odd successful outing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vidarbha was known for a plush stadium, an organised state academy and the rise of Shashank Manohar as an able administrator. But when it came to the big-ticket tournaments in domestic cricket, Vidarbha were merely making up the numbers.Things changed last year. In an endeavour to take the team’s performance to the next level, Vidarbha signed Paras Mhambrey as coach, and imported established players like S Badrinath, Ganesh Satish and Rakesh Dhurv. The move worked wonders as Vidarbha made it to the Ranji knockouts for the first time in 19 years.Come 2015-16 and Vidarbha will be hoping to continue from where they left off last season. They have further bolstered their professionals’ strength by roping in Mumbai stalwart Wasim Jaffer, in place of Dhurv. Jaffer is expected to not only continue piling on the runs but also groom young local batsmen, most of whom struggled last season.Dhurv’s exclusion will mean Akshay Wakhare will lead the spin attack. The offspinner impressed on turning tracks towards the end of the league stage last season. If he can be consistent even at the start of the season, the seam-bowling duo of Shrikant Wagh and Ravi Thakur will be relieved.Players to watchWasim Jaffer, who is the highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, is no stranger to being in the limelight. But it will be interesting to see how he fares while wearing the logo of a team other than Mumbai. That too on the back of the most disappointing season of his career, primarily due to injuries.Shrikant Wagh has been the most consistent Vidarbha player over the past half decade. The left-arm seamer has been leading the charge of their bowling and has also made the cut for India A in the past. Wagh, unsurprisingly, was the highest wicket-taker for his team last year. He will be gunning to repeat the feat this season too.Coaching StaffParas Mhambrey and his team of support staff remains unchanged. Mhambrey, the coach, will have Suhas Pawar (trainer), Dr Ashish Agrawal (physio) and Aniruddha Deshpande (analyst) at his disposal.PreparationVidarbha, sans Mhambrey who was with the India A squad, qualified for the knockout stage of the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s pre-season meet. Even though their own preparatory tournament, the Bapuna Cup, was affected by inclement weather, Vidarbha ensured a decent level of preparation by playing a match against Saurashtra’s probables in Rajkot.Team newsVidarbha were one of the first teams to be announced, finalising their squad for the first three games on September 15. Jaffer is the big addition. Besides, the team has three new faces in Aditya Shanware, Aditya Sarwate and Yadvendra Tembhare. All the three newcomers have played in limited-overs tournaments for Vidarbha but are yet to make their first-class debuts.SquadS Badrinath (capt), Faiz Fazal, Ravi Jangid, Aditya Shanware, Amol Ubarhande (wk), Swapnil Bandiwar, Ganesh Satish, Wasim Jaffer, Aditya Sarwate, Jitesh Sharma, Shalabh Shrivastava, Yadvendra Tembhare, Ravikumar Thakur, Shrikant Wagh, Akshay Wakhare.

Baroda

The expectations on Hardik Pandya will be higher after his breakthrough IPL season this year•BCCI

Where they finished last seasonFifth in Group A, with one win and five draws in eight matches.Big pictureThe 2014-15 domestic season was a disappointing one for Baroda, as they failed to make it to the knockout rounds of the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Some part of their mid-table finish in the Ranji Trophy was down to luck – the games against Railways and Madhya Pradesh were affected by weather – but the greater disappointment was their inability to win a single home game.”In home games, on turning tracks we didn’t bat well – that was a major area. We asked for a turning track and it didn’t turn much but we could have batted well on the turning track, specially against Tamil Nadu and Mumbai,” Baroda coach Tushar Arothe told ESPNcricinfo, stressing the side was keen on a fresh start.A positive for them, however, was the performance of the younger players. Allrounder Deepak Hooda, who played the Under-19 World Cup in 2014, pacer Sagar Mangalorkar and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh were the pillars of Baroda’s campaign. They will be expected to match those performances again this season and Hooda will also have to juggle the responsibilities of vice-captaincy.Players to watchOne Baroda player who will be keenly followed this season will be allrounder Hardik Pandya. He made his first-class debut in the 2013-14 season, and played four matches in the next season, but it was his blitzkrieg innings in the West Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL that put the 21-year-old cricketer in the limelight. Pandya has scored 285 runs in six first-class matches so far and with the possibility of a first full season ahead of him, his adaptability and temperament will be watched closely.Sagar Mangalorkar began his first-class career with a match haul of nine-wickets against Jammu & Kashmir, and in the next four matches he took another 20 wickets to finish as the side’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament. His performances included a six-for in his debut game and a seven-for in a low-scoring match against Tamil Nadu which, but for a batting failure, Baroda had a good chance of winning. It was the sort of performance that fit Arothe’s description of last season being one where, “the youngsters did the hard work and the seniors chipped in”.Coaching staffTushar Arothe is the head coach and will be assisted by Sukhbir Singh, with Afzal Khan as trainer.PreparationBaroda’s pre-season participation in the Nimbalkar Trophy in Pune was marred by bad weather but Arothe said the side played friendlies within the squad and local district games to gear up for the season.Team newsThe team for the first two games does not include pacer Munaf Patel and allrounder Irfan Pathan because they are recovering from injuries. Irfan is suffering from a niggle in the back, while Munaf has back spasms and needs three to four days to recover – there is a chance of him playing the second game. While Munaf played the first part of the 2014-15 season for Baroda, Irfan was available for the second. Neither bowler has played competitive cricket since then. Also missing is Ambati Rayudu, who is part of India’s T20 squad that will take on South Africa between October 2 and 8. Their uncapped players include opening batsman Hitesh Solanki and wicketkeeper Bhargav Patel. Batsman Monil Patel, allrounder Murtuja Vahora and Babashafi Pathan have also been picked. While Monil has played only T20s for Baroda (the last one in March 2012), Vahora did not play first-class matches in 2014-15. Pacer Babashafi played his only first-class game in November 2013.SquadAditya Waghmode (capt), Deepak Hooda, Bhargav Bhatt, Kedar Devdhar, Gagandeep Singh, Sagar Mangalorkar, Hardik Pandya, Bhargav Patel (wk), Monil Patel, Babashafi Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Pinal Shah (wk), Hitesh Solanki, Swapnil Singh, Murtuja Vahora.

Kithuruwan Vithanage was the entertainer of the day, as the Sri Lanka Development Emerging Team gave Bangladesh a Sri Lankan workout on the opening day of their tour
game

The Report by Mohammad Isam03-Mar-2013
Scorecard
Sohag Gazi picked up five wickets (file photo)•Associated Press

Kithuruwan Vithanage was the
entertainer of the day, as the Sri Lanka Development Emerging Team gave
Bangladesh a Sri Lankan workout on the opening day of their tour
game. Vithanage’s fifth first-class century, ending the day on an
unbeaten 157, didn’t, however, completely overshadow offspinner Sohag Gazi’s five-for.Bangladesh should be concerned about the number of runs they conceded but the
run-rate of 4.43 was almost expected from a bowling attack that had been out
of touch with longer-version cricket for most of the 2012-13 season.Gazi, though, looked less like a bowler in his
first international season. He repeatedly flighted the ball while showing
equal caution by keeping the ball right up to the batsmen. The young
batsmen bought into his generous flight, and five of them fell trying to get him away and succumbed to his control. Gazi’s efforts have provided captain
Mushfiqur Rahim the relief of finding one bowler with
wicket-taking confidence.In his third over, Gazi gave the visitors the opening wicket after Abul
Hasan and Rubel Hossain bowled an opening spell that didn’t cause the batsmen too many problems. Udara Jayasundera missed an off-break which turned just enough to take the
off stump, before Gazi had the home captain Angelo Perera stumped for 15
just shortly following the lunch break.Gazi was given a break, during which time Mushfiqur tried out various bowling options and partnerships that weren’t successful. In that time, Ashan
Priyanjan and Vithanage added 159 for the fifth wicket.Gazi broke the stand when Priyanjan, on 83, tried to loft him over mid-on
but couldn’t clear Jahurul Islam. Niroshan Dickwella was out similarly,
caught at mid-on, six overs later before the five-for was completed with
the wicket of Ishara Jayaratne in the 70th over.Vithanage, at the other end, progressed impressively against a Test attack, reaching his
century in the final session of play. Coming in to bat with a cap on, the
Vithanage, a left-hander, survived a few nervy moments at the start before playing
mostly straight. He felt comfortable sweeping the ball, too, but most of
his runs were brought about by his tendency to move towards the leg side even when the
spinners pitched it up.Vithanage also took full toll of a flagging Bangladesh attack that was a
bowler short after the first hour. Abul Hasan threw up a couple of times
during his first spell, suffering from dehydration and didn’t return to
the field for the rest of the day. Mushfiqur’s other concern would be a
second spinner.Elias Sunny, the left-arm spinner, is his only choice in the 15-man squad but he looked far from the accomplished first-class bowler he has been in
the last five years. He gave the left-handers more room, but wasn’t penetrative enough. Rubel had enough overs under his
belt to feel confident and give the team management assurance that he is
building towards the Test match. Only Gazi will bowl with a wicket-taker’s
confidence, and Mushfiqur will look at his other options to provide
everything else if not the wickets.

One player has been called into hearing by the BPL on Monday after a man was arrested the previous night for his suspected involvement in spot-fixing in the BPL

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2012One player has been called into a hearing by the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday after a man was arrested the previous night for his suspected involvement in fixing in the BPL*.Sajid Khan, a Pakistani citizen, was approached by Chittagong Kings officials during their game against Barisal Burners at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday evening. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) security staff stopped him near the players’ zone, which he was trying to access.The BCB security chief, Col (rtd) Mesbahuddin Serniabat, told that the BCB had kept an eye on Sajid since the matches held in Chittagong, and finally captured him on Sunday. “His movement was very suspicious and we followed him from Chittagong,” he said, adding that they had handed him over to the Mirpur police, who were supposed to raid the man’s hotel room.It is understood that the security officers found the bank account number of one player of the Chittagong Kings and the e-mail address of another who is playing for the Dhaka Gladiators in Sajid’s mobile inbox.”He [Sajid] has been handed over to the police so the investigation is now in their hands,” BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said. “The BCB has zero tolerance in this matter and i hope we get to the bottom of this.”**An official of the Chittagong franchise, requesting anonymity, has told ESPNcricinfo that Sajid had been found talking to some of their foreign players during the tournament, eliciting suspicion after sitting directly on top of the players’ dugout and dressing room during the matches held in Mirpur.The incident occurs just over two weeks after Dhaka Gladiators captain Mashrafe Mortaza reported to his franchise that he had been approached by a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the BPL. The BCB has formed a four-member committee to inquire into the allegation.Edited by Dustin Silgardo*February 27, 2012 8:20GMT: This lead has been edited from a previous version
**February 27, 2012 8:30GMT: This quote has been edited from a previous version