All posts by h716a5.icu

With Will Jacks in the waiting, Green and Maxwell could find themselves under pressure

Shashank Kishore07-Apr-20242:19

Moody: Both Green and Maxwell are under pressure

It’s alarming and astounding all at once that Virat Kohli has contributed 38% of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s runs so far. He currently holds the Orange Cap for most runs, while striking at just over 146. He’s scored quicker only once previously, in 2016 when he played a stirring role in RCB’s march to the final with a record-breaking 973 runs.There’s been an intent to go hard from the first ball, even though it hasn’t always manifested into desired outcomes. There’s been the slowdown against spin, like you saw on Saturday when R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal tied him down with exceptional bowling in the middle overs, but there’s also been the inherent desire to try and bat through simply because of how reliant they are on him.That’s because Faf du Plessis has made 109 runs, Glenn Maxwell just 32, while Cameron Green, a big-ticket pre-auction trade, has 68 runs in five innings. Prior to Saturday’s game these three had lasted all of 133 balls across 12 innings while striking at 120. These returns are in stark contrast to 2023, when du Plessis made 730 runs at a strike rate of 153.68, while Maxwell made 400 at 183.48.Related

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It’s a different story that RCB didn’t make the playoffs even then, but their overseas combination wasn’t one of those reasons. This time around, while the playoffs are already beginning to look increasingly more distant, their struggles have also had a ripple effect on the shaky middle order.Rajat Patidar, who has had much success at No. 3, has had to float around the batting order while searching for runs himself. Anuj Rawat has found himself in one game, out the next, while Mahipal Lomror inexplicably found himself on the bench against Rajasthan Royals despite making an unbeaten 17 off eight balls in their only win (against Punjab Kings) and smashing 33 off 13 against Lucknow Super Giants when all their other batters were tied down.Dinesh Karthik too hasn’t been utilised enough in a role he has been designated to play ever since he rewrote his template to become a finisher in 2018. Against the Royals, RCB strangely held back Karthik, promoting rookie debutant Saurav Chauhan instead after Maxwell was dismissed in the 15th over with the score reading 128 for 2. They managed 183 for 3, but there was this lingering feeling that they hadn’t utilized their resources well enough.”I think batting out there for quite a bit with Virat, we found the wicket was tricky and low,” du Plessis said. “In our heads, we felt 190 would be a good score. I did feel last over or two, we could have maximized 10-15 runs more. In the evening, you saw with the dew it played much nicer. I feel now in hindsight, we should’ve pushed a little harder to get to 190-195 mark.”Andy Flower, the head coach, was a point-blank about their struggles.”We’ve got issues with our batting,” he said. “You’re being generous when you say these are early days [in the competition]. We’re one from five games, not a position any side wants to be in. We’ve got Virat in superb form but the other guys are struggling a little for form and confidence.”We’re trying to do everything we can to make them feel strong and confident. As you’ve seen in this competition, scores and aggression are going only one way, we need that confidence and aggression to put the opposition under pressure and we haven’t found that form yet.”Faf du Plessis has not been able to recreate his form from IPL 2023•AFP/Getty ImagesKohli underlined the difficulties in facing spin, with the lack of pace and bounce leaving him with few options but to just hit straight. And then you saw Sanju Samson play some of the most aesthetically pleasing shots against spin, using his feet and lofting inside-out effortlessly, squatting low and sweeping into the arc between deep square and deep midwicket during the course of his match-changing 148-run partnership with Jos Buttler.Of course, there’s a world of difference between the two spin attacks. Where Royals had Chahal and Ashwin, RCB had to make do with Himanshu Sharma and Mayank Dagar. Fundamentally, spin is a problematic area no doubt, and has the potential to leave them in a tangle even when they encounter slightly tired decks as the season progresses. This is invariably bound to put even more pressure on a misfiring batting line-up.”Of course we do discuss strike rate and aggression, it’s part of the understanding of the T20 game that the level of aggression has to be above a certain threshold and you always want to be putting the opposition under pressure,” Flower explained. “Certainly taking the aggressive option, certainly on pitches like today.”The fact is at the moment our top five aren’t in sparkling form apart from Virat and that’s a tough place to be. It’s not for lack of effort. They’re working hard. Giving it everything they’ve got bit just not firing at the moment, if we’re going to turn this around, we need them firing.”Is there a workaround?There’s a growing clamor for them to bring in Will Jacks, and for good reason. His powerplay strike rate of 164.21 is the best among batters who’ve faced a minimum of 1000 balls (a fairly big sample size to consider).In his second most-recent T20 innings in February, Jacks blasted an unbeaten 53-ball 108 to help Comilla Victorians post 239. He strikes at 146 in the middle overs. He also bowls decent off spin to boot.”RCB have to seriously consider Will Jacks,” Tom Moody said on ESPNcricinfo’s ‘T20: Time-Out’. “How they fit him in is a discussion that needs to be had. I can’t se him coming in for Faf. To me, both Maxwell and Green are under pressure.”I think your hand is forced. You can’t have a potential resource in your squad and not press the trigger particularly when you’re in the position you’re in now. If you don’t do it now, when will you do it? Your season’s already gone. I’d back Faf and Virat to open and put Will Jacks at No. 3.”This move may need RCB to drop Maxwell or Green, a position they would’ve never envisaged at the start. But in desperate times, RCB may just be forced to take desperate measures or run the risk of summoning their calculator that they dust back to life unfailingly around this time, season after season.

They have a clear philosophy, and they’ve managed to assemble a squad that is as close to bomb-proof as any can get in the fickle world of T20

Karthik Krishnaswamy25-May-20242:32

Are KKR favourites going into the IPL final?

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad. You couldn’t wish for a more fitting end to IPL 2024. It’s been a season of redrawn boundaries, and these two teams have done the bulk of the redrawing. Eight of the ten highest totals in IPL history have come in 2024, and these two teams have been responsible for five of those eight totals.Over the course of the season, though, a difference between the two teams has become more and more apparent. SRH have batted with whirlwind intent despite having reasons to temper their approach: they possess arguably the most dangerous top order in the competition, but on days when they lose early wickets, issues with personnel and depth can hurt them.KKR haven’t had those issues. Their squad is designed to allow their batters to throw away every last vestige of caution. As they firmed up their place at the top of the league table, distancing themselves further and further from the chasing pack, it became clearer and clearer that they had built a squad that was as close to bomb-proof as any can get in the fickle world of T20.Related

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No matter what happens on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, it’s unarguable that KKR have assembled one of the strongest squads in IPL history, not just from the point of view of personnel but also from that of laying out a template for franchises to learn from.None of it happened overnight, because this has been the culmination of a long-term project.More of the same, but better
KKR finished seventh on the league table in IPL 2022 and 2023. In both seasons, they gave off the sense of a team trying to play in an idealistic sort of way without quite having the resources to pull it off consistently. They were, to put it simply, an inferior version of what SRH have been in 2024.Right through this auction cycle – and even the previous one, when Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik captained them – KKR have batted in a markedly high-intent way. They have the highest attacking shot percentage (45.08)* of any team this season, and they’ve only carried on from where they left off in 2022 and 2023. Their attacking shot percentage over those two seasons (41.50) was also the best in the league. Delhi Capitals and SRH have batted like KKR this season, but it’s a relatively new way of playing for both teams. This isn’t the case for KKR.This is in huge part down to the two world-class West Indian allrounders in their squad, Narine and Andre Russell. Which other team can call upon a four-over banker who also happens to be one of the most destructive openers in the tournament, as well as one of the league’s most dangerous and experienced finishers who can deliver high-impact overs in the middle and death phases when required?Because KKR have Narine and Russell, and because of the luxury of the Impact Player, they can enter match after match with eight batters and six bowlers. And if they happen to slip to 57 for 5, as they did against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede, they can call a ninth batter off the bench without hampering their bowling.When you’re batting in a line-up with that sort of depth, you have no reason to hold back.Plug the gaps
For all the intent KKR showed in 2022 and 2023, there were clear weaknesses running through their line-up. One that a number of bowling teams exploited was a vulnerability against the short ball that ran through their line-up. Take this chase of 177 against Lucknow Super Giants on a bouncy Pune deck in 2022: Mohsin Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan and Jason Holder ripped through their top order in a spell of concerted short bowling and reduced them to 25 for 4 in 6.5 overs.That was only the extreme example of KKR’s frailties. Against short and short-of-good-length balls from fast bowlers, they had the worst scoring rate (7.67) and average (17.47) of any team across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.Flexibility
KKR have only used three No. 3s this season, usually either Venkatesh (six innings) or Angkrish Raghuvanshi (seven). Shreyas has been their No. 4 more often than not (10 out of 14 innings), but they’ve been a lot less rigid with who bats at No. 5 (Venkatesh, Shreyas and Rinku Singh have all occupied that position at least three times, No. 6 (usually either Rinku or Russell) and No. 7 (Ramandeep seven times, and Rinku and Venkatesh a combined five times).You may have spotted the pattern: KKR have tried to have left-right pairs at the crease whenever possible. Among all the right- and left-hand batters they have, they’ve also assembled a good mix of pace-hitters and spin-hitters. Ramandeep, Russell, Salt, Narine, Venkatesh, Raghuvanshi and Rinku have all scored 95-plus runs against pace this season at 150-plus strike rates, while Narine and Shreyas have done the same against spin, with Russell, Salt and Ramandeep also going at 140-plus without achieving the runs cut-off.At most times, then, KKR have been able to send out the right batter for the situation and match-up in play.Get the bowling right
This section is worth a standalone analysis, because KKR, for everything they’ve done with the bat, have arguably been the best bowling team of this IPL too. They have the best collective average (22.94) of all the teams, and the third-best economy rate (9.39), which is particularly remarkable because unlike the two teams that have done better than them, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, KKR have played most of their home games at one of this season’s most batting-friendly venues.Mitchell Starc with a whole season’s worth of tuning up behind him – always a scary proposition•AFP/Getty ImagesSix of their bowlers, remarkably, have picked up at least 10 wickets this season, and this has been a triumph of identifying players with attributes suited to specific roles, and sticking with them. The same six bowlers have played the bulk of KKR’s games, and they all have well-defined roles. Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora swing the new ball; Harshit Rana and Russell hit the deck and bowl pace variations through the middle and end phases, with Starc joining them at the death; and Narine and Varun Chakravarthy control the middle overs.Most of them have experienced fluctuations in form, with Starc and Varun in particular starting the season slowly. But KKR haven’t chopped and changed even when bowlers have had bad days, unless they’ve brought in Anukul Roy or Suyash Sharma when they’ve felt the need for an extra spin option.This has created a situation where bowlers have grown into their roles, and gained rhythm. When Starc bowled a match-changing spell in Qualifier 1 against SRH, a chorus of voices spoke of his big-match ability, comparing this performance to his displays in the knockout stages of last year’s ODI World Cup. Then too, he had made a slow start to the tournament before bowling influential spells for Australia in the semi-finals and final. Big-match ability is one of those woolly, hard-to-define, quasi-spiritual concepts that may or may not exist in a meaningful way. It’s easier, however, to say that given a run of games, elite athletes tend to gain both rhythm and a better understanding of conditions, and begin to deliver telling blows.This is true not just of Starc but the rest of KKR’s line-up too. Over this three-year cycle, KKR have established a clear philosophy, and they’ve tried to work out a combination of players that could make it work. It’s taken a while to come together, but it has now, to thrilling effect.*

It’s been a week or so of amazing sporting success for the country, but what the Black Caps did in Bengaluru and then Pune might have no equal

Alagappan Muthu27-Oct-20241:52

Manjrekar: Beating India in two different conditions is a remarkable feat

Tom Latham, this is your fault.In polite society, which this somehow still is (so long as you don’t turn on the news), we have the good sense not to talk about feet. That’s what the internet and a locked door is for. Not live TV. But no. You had to go and say – actually wait, first you had to go and do what you did in Bengaluru, then you topped it by going and doing what you did in Pune, and then you say stuff like wanting to “stay where our feet are” as if that’s meant to convey modesty and level-headedness? Do you know where New Zealand feet have been over the past week or so?Suzie Bates’ were supposed to be taking her into the team bus in Dubai but they just wouldn’t stop dancing the monkey. Back and forth and back and forth she went, over a red carpet, with a T20 World Cup winner’s medal around her neck and a lifetime’s supply of joy on her face.Related

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Peter Burling and Greg Dalton’s were up on a podium in Barcelona lifting the America’s Cup, a high-speed yachting competition that is 173 years old and has been dominated by New Zealand. They completed a three-peat, the 2024 win backing up those from 2017 and 2021, on a boat named and blessed by the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei tribe.Hayden Wilde’s were pounding the gravel in Torremolinos, Spain, where he finished the World Triathlon Championship Series finale a minute ahead of his nearest rival. (Great Britain’s Alex Yee won the title though, across the three legs.)New Zealand feet were doing amazing things all over the world. But in India, they were breaking brand-new ground. It has been 4331 days since a visiting side has been able to come here and win a Test series. Steven Smith has tried. Ben Stokes has tried. AB de Villiers has tried. Kane Williamson has tried. And though some of them have had sporadic success, sustaining it proved to be too difficult.The New Zealand players rejoice after their first Test series win in India•BCCIPune 2017, Hyderabad 2024, Delhi 2015 – all of these matches witnessed an extraordinary level of planning, effort, execution and a necessary amount of luck. Australia plucked a spinner from out of nowhere and were pleasantly surprised when he took as many wickets as R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined. England brought in two novices on a hunch that their high release points could cause problems. South Africa batted with otherworldly determination and even then the best they could ever hope for was a draw. This is the extent to which India – both its conditions and its team – push their oppositions.In Bengaluru, they threatened to overturn 46 all out. In Pune, they polished off almost a third of their target at better than a run a ball. “We knew they’d come out hot, didn’t realise they were going to come that hot,” Latham said.Coping with a game slipping through the fingers is hard, but if it happens at home, you just might have a chance. At least there aren’t quite as many unknowns to deal with and there are potentially previous instances to draw from, going right back down to domestic and age-group cricket. Mitchell Santner couldn’t have had too many reference points for what he had to do over these past few days because he’s rarely had occasion to be a lead bowler at first-class level. His other teams have needed him so scarcely that he’s bowled 30 overs or less in 23 of 34 matches – 12 of those 23 were stints of 15 overs or less – and he’s actually gone three games without bowling at all.And yet, there he somehow was, responsible for 13 of the 20 Indian wickets that fell. At one point on Saturday he had his name on every dismissal, doing a more than passable impression of Richard Hadlee in Brisbane 1985-86, when he picked up 15 for 123 and scarred Australia so deeply that the next time New Zealand travelled to the Gabba they were allotted the home dressing room. Danny Morrison even remembers John Bracewell having a laugh about it. “Oh, look at that. Superstition.”In 66 years of trying, New Zealand had won only two Tests in India. Now they have two in less than two weeks. There is almost nothing the equal of this achievement in their history. Even that win (2-1) over big brother, which they prize above all else, came against an Australian line-up that was rebuilding after the retirements of Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh. This feels bigger. The only one of Hadlee’s stature in this team was out injured and they beat a full-strength India.1:51

How did Santner succeed when Jadeja struggled?

The first ever triple-century by a New Zealander brought the entire country together. Brendon McCullum had been batting for two days when the toll of going against his nature started to weigh him down. He began to play and miss against the third new ball. Then he left one. And a packed-to-the-rafters Basin Reserve roared with all its might. McCullum felt them. He was grateful for them. This feels bigger because they weren’t here.There is similar emotion attached to the Test Championship in 2021 – the Black Caps’ first world title (unless you count the Champions Trophy in its ICC KnockOut avatar back in 2000). They got there after losing four of their first five matches but winning the next six back-to-back – one of them a cult classic, where again Santner, the fourth bowler that they turned to, picked up the final Pakistan wicket with less than five overs to stumps. From there, they went to the final and Southampton was no different to Wellington. Their key players – Williamson, Latham, Devon Conway, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner – knew what to do and when they returned home they were whisked away on a week-long, nation-wide celebration. This feels bigger because the conditions were so different to what they’re used to.Plus, they had an iffy build-up, a captain having to accept that maybe he wasn’t helping the team and their best source of runs stuck thousands of miles away from where he could be useful. Even just one of those hurdles tends to be too much when on tour. But perhaps that’s where Latham and his foot stuff came in handy.The New Zealand players have every reason to be pleased•AFP/Getty ImagesNew Zealand stayed level, looked inward and they found a prodigy who hasn’t got nearly as many chances as he could have because he’s been in the shadow of greats. Will Young was outstanding in the second innings of the first Test when he stood up to Jasprit Bumrah. They were grateful to a wicketkeeper batter who made a call and a commitment to turn himself into an offspinner. Glenn Phillips bowled 68 overs in Sri Lanka and 37 overs in India. They have a contender for the next Fab Four. Rachin Ravindra could not have looked more at home despite playing against the best in the world. Their most famous benchwarmer has become a hard-hitting frontliner. Matt Henry is the one that needs to get injured now for someone else to get in the XI. And they’re all led by a man who makes a fabulous flat white but he also does this one other thing.”Tom Latham showed a lot of batters who don’t trust their defence as much and are looking to play unorthodox shots, something to surprise the bowler and thereby try and survive,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day after he made the seventh-highest score (86) by a visiting batter in the second innings in India over the last 12 years.”He showed subtle skills. A couple of times, when he misread the length, he was still down the pitch, but didn’t commit himself too much and waited and then with the turn played the ball on the off side. Now those are the subtle skills that were a given in the olden days. Now its hard hands and committing to a shot very early. Tom Latham showed that game along with how he went after Ashwin very early, lofted him down the pitch, played the sweep shot, excellent sort of calculated risk, but most importantly it was amazing that a Kiwi batter showed a lot of Indian batters the subtle skills [needed] to survive and get runs.”New Zealand benefited from the toss both times – when it did fall in their favour and when it didn’t. That’s luck bordering on destiny. Forty-six all out played a big part in India feeling like they had no choice but to take extreme measures, especially with WTC points at stake. The pitch in Pune was meant to play to their strength but what it did was reduce the gap between the two teams. And this week that was just tempting fate.

The unrest has affected the training of the various national teams and there is uncertainty over the women’s T20 World Cup in October

Mohammad Isam07-Aug-2024First, what’s going on in Bangladesh?It started as a students’ protest against a contentious job-quota rule, and built up, largely in response to the government’s attempts at suppression, into a huge political uprising, resulting in perhaps the worst incidents of violence in the history of the country since its liberation in 1971. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and flew to India on Monday. It ended the 15-year rule of the Awami League. The country’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman met with president Mohammad Shahabuddin to form an interim government even as the world saw images of people looting and vandalising properties belonging to Hasina and her family, as well as those belonging to the government. Statues of the “father of the nation”, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also Hasina’s father, were desecrated and demolished.Cricket might not be the most important thing at the moment then, but still, how has it been impacted?The Bangladesh senior men’s team is expected to leave for Pakistan on August 16 but several of their training sessions couldn’t be held. The BCB and PCB operations departments are in touch, and the departure date hasn’t changed.The Bangladesh A team players and management offer prayers for the deceased in the anti-government protests•BCBThe Bangladesh men’s A team was scheduled to leave for Islamabad on Tuesday but couldn’t since the Dhaka airport was shut on Monday. The team will travel to Islamabad on 10 August, instead, which was scheduled to be the first day of the series, and the matches will begin from August 13.*The Bangladesh women’s team’s training was also disrupted. They have recently returned from Sri Lanka, where they reached the semi-final of the Asia Cup, and were preparing for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the country in October. Dhaka and Sylhet are the venues for the T20 World Cup, but hosting the ten-team event remains a concern.India, Sri Lanka and the UAE are in the shortlist for back-up venues in case the ICC is forced to shift the World Cup out of Bangladesh.Does the change in government mean a change in…The BCB? Yes, quite likely. BCB’s next elections are only in October 2025. But given the highly politicised nature of the board’s makeup, it is tough to see any of the directors, especially president Nazmul Hassan, returning to the Mirpur office.There are other issues too. Nazmul has also been Bangladesh’s sports minister since early 2024. Shafiul Alam Chowdhury, the BCB director, became an Awami League MP in the 2024 general elections. Several other board directors have political connections as well – including former MPs Naimur Rahman and AJM Nasir Uddin and directors Sheikh Sohel and Nazib Ahmed, Hasina’s cousins.None of them were available, at least on their phones, since the fall of the government on August 5.BCB boss Nazmul Hassan’s whereabouts are unknown at the moment•BCBWhat’s the update on Nazmul?There are conflicting reports. We heard from one source that he had left the country, but there are also reports – all unconfirmed – that he is in Bangladesh. His ancestral home in Kishoreganj was vandalised, but he wasn’t there. As such, he lives in Dhaka in a house known for holding important press conferences related to Bangladesh cricket.Will the BCB have an interim set-up too? Or we don’t know yet?The National Sports Council had formed interim or ad-hoc committees to run the BCB in 2007 and in 2013. On the first occasion, it was during the rule of a caretaker government at the centre. In 2013, it was formed between the presidencies of AHM Mustafa Kamal and Nazmul Hassan, who became the first elected president of BCB later that year.Anything we say on the future of the BCB right now will be speculative at best. There is some worry about how the ICC interprets the situation. Last year, the ICC had suspended Sri Lanka Cricket for two months for violation of responsibilities as an ICC member, in particular, “the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka”.They lost the right to host the Under-19 World Cup as a result, but they were allowed to play international cricket. How the ICC interprets Bangladesh’s situation is going to be interesting to see as the PCB, too, has had a few changes to their president in recent years, and none through an electoral process.Shakib Al Hasan is currently playing in the Global T20 Canada•MLCWhat about Shakib Al Hasan – his position is impacted too, right?One couldn’t tell from Shakib Al Hasan’s on-field performance in the Global T20 Canada that, in his first term as a member of parliament, his party has been toppled in such dramatic fashion. He led Bangla Tigers Mississauga to a two-wicket win over Surrey Jaguars on Monday, winning the Player-of-the-Match award, hours after the government fell in Dhaka.There were videos going around on social media showing several Bangladeshis abusing Shakib after the match. He was also seen in an argument with a Bangladeshi fan during his previous match in Brampton after he had been asked about his silence on the crisis back home.Shakib, who was in Bangladesh for a few days after the T20 World Cup ended in June, has been playing in the MLC and the Global T20 Canada since early July. He has made himself available for the two Tests against Pakistan. He remains one of the country’s top cricketers but whether the political situation impacts his future as an international cricketer or not is unknown.How about Mashrafe Mortaza – he is an Awami League MP and a youth icon?Mashrafe Mortaza’s silence on the students’ movement also did not sit well with many. He was known for his salt-of-the-earth persona in his years as a player and later as Bangladesh’s captain from 2014 to 2020. His decision to venture into politics in 2018 was met with mixed reactions. At that time, Mashrafe became the first active international cricketer to be a member of parliament. On Monday, his parents’ home back in Narail was set on fire.Will Mashrafe return to public life as a politician? We don’t know. Both Mashrafe and Shakib, two of Bangladesh cricket’s biggest icons, being silent through the past few weeks at a time of crisis for Bangladesh might have hurt their reputation.

In his first full Ranji Trophy season, the 22-year-old from Vidarbha has strut his stuff with ball and bat. Now he’s ready to take on Tamil Nadu in the quarter-finals, with friends in the opposition camp

Shashank Kishore07-Feb-2025When Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey takes the field in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Tamil Nadu on Saturday, he’ll be up against a number of friends in the opposition camp. Dubey, this season’s highest wicket-taker so far with 55 scalps at an incredible average of 14.50, has been playing league cricket in Chennai for the past four years and can’t wait to “banter” with his mates.”Pradosh Ranjan Paul is a very close friend, I’ve played a lot of cricket with Sai Sudharsan. They’re wonderful blokes, but whenever we play for our respective teams, there’s a healthy banter and rivalry, which makes it that much more fun,” Dubey tells ESPNcricinfo.This is Dubey’s first full Ranji season. As a left-arm-spin allrounder, an opportunity opened up only because two-time Ranji winner Aditya Sarwate shifted to Kerala as a professional. It would be an understatement to say Dubey has grabbed his opportunities. Dubey’s tally ahead of the knockouts includes six five-wicket hauls – three of them in his last four bowling innings.Related

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Ranji Trophy QFs: who's playing whom, players to watch, and more

He has also contributed 308 runs, including three half-centuries. “As a spinner alone, I’ve looked up to Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath, I love watching them bowl, but as an allrounder, it’s hard to look past Jaddu ,” he says.Dubey, 22, attributes his improvements as a cricketer to his batting lessons in Nagpur and his bowling lessons in Chennai. Dubey first began playing for the Mylapore Recreational Club (MRC), captained by R Ashwin. Incidentally, that stint was facilitated by Ashwin when he was supposed to have been enjoying a day off from the IPL.”I was playing the semi-final of the CK Nayudu Trophy [Under-23 tournament] against Madhya Pradesh in Vadodara because I’d been dropped from the Ranji squad,” Dubey remembers. “I’d just taken seven wickets and scored 60 not out with the bat. I’d just returned to my room when my friend Rajneesh Gurbani [the former Vidarbha fast bowler, who now plays for Maharashtra] called.”The IPL was going on and he was a net bowler for Rajasthan Royals. He was playing chess when Ash happened to ask Gurbani if he knew of a left-arm spinner form our state. And Gurbani told him about me and one other player. Ashwin then googled my name and found a couple of YouTube videos of me bowling and asked Gurbani if I’m interested to play in the Chennai league.

“Gurbani immediately called me. I still remember, I was on the way back to the hotel and was exhausted. He’s like ‘, will you play in the Chennai league?’ I told him, I’m too tired now, I am not thinking about playing immediately. And then it suddenly struck me what I’d just said. I quickly rang up Sarwate [Dubey’s Vidarbha team-mate at the time] who was playing in Chennai and asked him about it, and he was like if you’re getting a chance there, hands down go for it. Then I called Gurbani and informed him. That’s how it all started.”Dubey began as an opening batter – he would even go on to score a half-century on first-class debut – but it was his bowling heroics at the age-group level that caught people’s attention. Now 15 games into his first-class career, Dubey’s batting promise is clear once again – he has hit five half-centuries in 25 innings, with a high score of 76.”I learn mostly from watching my videos and with a close friend who helps me,” he says. “Like after the Rajasthan game, I changed a bit in my stance and grip on my base when batting. That helped me our previous game against Hyderabad [he made 65 and 55, in addition to a match haul of eight].””This season I felt the way I batted in the Vijay Hazare final [he made 63 off 30 as Vidarbha tried to chase 349], it felt nice,” he continues. “I had anticipated Prasidh [Krishna] bowling a yorker, so shuffled across to scoop, but when he went for a wide yorker, I was quickly able to innovate and ramp him towards third man. These I can execute only because of the work I’ve put in with the bat and with the side-arm specialists. The focus is on keeping the head still while playing those shots.”Harsh Dubey – effective with both ball and bat•PTI If he continues this way, Dubey’s performances will put him in the queue for the India spin-bowling allrounder’s spot. Jadeja, his hero, is 36 and Ashwin has already retired. Among the fingerspinners, there’s Washington Sundar and Axar Patel high up in the pecking order. At the India A level, there’s Manav Suthar who has also done incredibly well. This is where Dubey’s batting ability could give him an edge in the longer run, but he’s not thinking too far ahead.”My goal currently is to help win the Ranji Trophy,” he says. “Because that thing motivates me rather than my personal goals.”Dubey comes across as relaxed and not completely overwhelmed by the prospect of competition. He says it has never occurred to him that cricket is a “profession” and that he doesn’t have a back-up plan. But there’s gratitude for the sacrifices made by his parents.His father was in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a job that included periodic transfers. As a kid, Dubey lived in Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati, before the family settled in Nagpur. When he was due for another transfer just prior to the pandemic, he turned it down – which meant giving up his job – to support Dubey’s cricketing journey.”I’d been picked in the Under-23s when my dad decided to leave his job,” he says. “But I didn’t look at it as pressure, even though it was a big decision for him. Nowadays, people don’t quit government jobs so easily, he had a few years of service left. But today, he feels very happy for [making] the call. He doesn’t express it as much but I know he’s happy that I’m doing well.”

“I had anticipated Prasidh [Krishna] bowling a yorker, so shuffled across to scoop, but when he went for a wide yorker, I was quickly able to innovate and ramp him towards third man. These I can execute only because of the work I’ve put in with the bat and with the side-arm specialists. The focus is on keeping the head still while playing those shots.”

Dubey’s yet to have a taste of the IPL even though he’s been part of trials at Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad. 
”If they didn’t pick me, I have to perform more,” he says. “If I keep getting disappointed at 22, I can’t focus. There’s lots more to do.”One of the things he’s particularly proud of is the work he has put into his fitness, which, “for a foodie, it’s a big thing”. Dubey says chats with Ashwin have taught him invaluable lessons.”I was chatting with Ashwin once and he said he was lactose intolerant. He got to know about it after he’d turned 30. He said if he knew about it a lot earlier, he may have picked up 100 more wickets than he did. I thought if this guy thinks like this, as a [then] 19-year-old, I should be focused even more. From then on I’ve worked with a dietician, started looking after myself.”I guess my metabolism is very slow. I tend to gain weight quickly, that’s why I train a lot.”Dubey’s waiting to have another long chat with Ashwin now that he has retired. The two last met when Ashwin was in Nagpur for the 2023 Nagpur Test against Australia. “I’d requested if he’d be able to meet my parents who were big fans, and he obliged, so I went over to the hotel to meet,” Dubey says with a smile.”Initially he’d said there was a meeting he needed to be at but that got cancelled and we spoke for nearly three hours that day. It was a proud moment for my parents that they were able to meet a player of his stature because of me.”Hopefully in the future, my dad’s dream of being a [national] cricketer is something I’ll realise, and then his sacrifice would’ve been worth even more.”

A revamped squad heavy on Australians and allrounders will look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014

Sruthi Ravindranath18-Mar-20253:17

Chopra: Maxwell, Stoinis could thrive under Ponting

Where they finished last yearWith five wins in 14 games, Punjab Kings (PBKS) finished second last in the league.What’s new in 2025PBKS have a new captain in Shreyas Iyer, who won the IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders last year, and a new head coach in Ricky Ponting, who worked with Delhi Capitals until last season. From the previous edition, they retained only Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh and bought back fast bowler Arshdeep Singh via the right-to-match card for INR 18 crore at the mega auction.Related

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Another familiar face in the side is Glenn Maxwell, who had previously played for them between 2014 and 2017 and again in 2020. Apart from Maxwell, they signed four more Australians at the auction: Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie and Xavier Bartlett.An allrounder-heavy side, they also have overseas options in Azmatullah Omarzai and Marco Jansen alongside Maxwell, Stoinis and Hardie in that department. New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson is one of their new recruits and they also have experienced India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, as well as Kuldeep Sen and Yash Thakur, who have decent IPL experience.PBKS have perennially underperformed, with their last top-four finish coming in 2014. But with a new-look squad, which has several big names and looks well-rounded in all departments, they will hope to change things.Can Shreyas Iyer take his IPL-winning aura from KKR to PBKS?•BCCILikely best XII1 Prabhsimran Singh/Priyansh Arya, 2 Josh Inglis*, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell*, 5 Azmatullah Omarzai/Marcus Stoinis*, 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Nehal Wadhera/Suryansh Shedge, 8 Marco Jansen*, 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Yash Thakur, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12 Yuzvendra Chahal
Full PBKS squadBig questionWatch out forPriyansh Arya first grabbed eyeballs when he hit six sixes in an over to smash 120 off 50 balls in the Delhi Premier League. That feat led to a bidding war at the auction where PBKS eventually landed him for INR 3.8 crore. The opening batter, who is particularly strong down the ground, showed off his big hits in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy late last year, where he also struck 102 off just 43 balls, hitting 10 sixes and five fours, against Uttar Pradesh. He also topped the run-scoring charts for Delhi.Another talent who’s made a name in the domestic circuit, Suryansh Shedge displayed his finishing skills in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Arriving to bat mostly in tricky situations, the 22-year old allrounder helped Mumbai wrap up games, and he did the job for them in the final as well, clattering three sixes and three fours in his 15-ball stay to help them to the title. He could be an Impact Player option and bolster their lower order, a role Ashutosh Sharma performed for PBKS last season.Ricky Ponting will hope Yuzvendra Chahal can solve PBKS’ long-running spin-bowling issues•Punjab KingsKey statsPBKS have won just two out of 14 home games – played across Mohali, Mullanpur and Dharamsala – in the last two seasons – the worst for any side in the IPL in this period. This year, they will be playing only in Mullanpur and Dharamsala. Finding a way to make their home conditions work for them could be crucial to their bid to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Iyer has been part of five title wins since March 2024: The IPL win with KKR aside, he won the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy, the 2024-25 Irani Cup and the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy titles with Mumbai. He was also a key member of India’s title-winning Champions Trophy team, and comes into the IPL on the back of a superb run of form.Though he finished with 19 wickets, Arshdeep Singh wasn’t at his best in the IPL last year as he struggled with his accuracy. He eventually turned his year around and finished as 2024’s top T20I wicket-taker with 36 wickets at an average of 15.31. He also recently leapfrogged Chahal to become India’s highest wicket-taker in the format.Who’s out or in doubt?Lockie Ferguson missed the Champions Trophy for New Zealand after picking up a hamstring injury while playing in the ILT20. His availability for the upcoming IPL season is unclear.IPL 2025 will also be Musheer Khan’s first tournament since he sustained a neck injury after a car crash in September 2024. Musheer, who was picked for INR 30 lakh at the auction, had recently started training with the squad.

He continues to outbowl his numbers, beating the bat, testing patience, and proving that impact isn’t always measured in wickets

Sidharth Monga21-Jul-20253:25

Siraj: Been bowling well, but luck hasn’t been with me

Since Mohammed Siraj made his debut in the Boxing Day Test of 2020, only Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have played more Test matches than his 39 as specialist fast bowlers. Only Cummins, Starc, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada have taken more wickets than his 113.However, he doesn’t get spoken of in the same breath. Part of it is because he is the only one in the top-five fast bowlers in this period averaging over 30. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 2024-25, Siraj looked good but ended up with an underwhelming average of 31.15 in seam-friendly conditions where Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland averaged a tick over 13.The bowling average alone doesn’t quite capture Siraj’s bowling. In all Tests that Siraj has played, pace bowling has picked wickets at an average of 28.29, which puts his 30.88 in a little perspective. On top of that, he has not enjoyed a lot of luck since the start of that Australia tour.Related

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The markers beyond wickets taken only suggest an excellent Test bowler. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Siraj drew a false shot every four balls, which is quite healthy, but got a wicket roughly once every ten balls as against others who were doing it every eight balls. His pace doesn’t drop, he has a mix of outswing and the wobble-seam delivery, he keeps hitting the good length, but he is no Bumrah, who can conjure his money in the bank seemingly at will.For Siraj, it is more about having to wait for the luck to fall in place. He is aware he hasn’t quite enjoyed the luck in these two series. “I have been bowling very well, but the luck hasn’t been a little on my side,” he said. “As a bowler, I of course want wickets every time I bowl well, but you have to tell yourself that if not in this match, you will get it in the next.” [The man upstairs is watching]. If he has brought me this far, he will take me ahead as well. Don’t get so irritated if you don’t get wickets. Even in the last match, it was so frustrating when I beat Joe Root, drew edges, did everything, but the only thing missing was his wicket. But I have to tell myself to keep it simple and keep bowling good balls, and the results will come.”Mohammed Siraj is pumped after a successful review•Getty ImagesIn that spell against Root on the fourth afternoon, Siraj drew nine false shots in 23 balls. He was asked if he goes back and looks at his wickets and wonders if he needs to make changes and perhaps get a little bit fuller or straighter, because when you are judged on results, you can get restless.He is very much like Bumrah in this regard. “If I go searching, I will leak runs,” he said. “My plan is to stay consistent and keep hitting the good areas. If I have to get wickets, I will get them from there. If I end up just building pressure instead, it could get us wickets from the opposite end. So at that time the mind doesn’t wander to my wickets.”There is also something to be said about Siraj not having his workload managed because the other bowlers around him always tend to get rotated. While it speaks of Siraj’s heart, sometimes a break can do wonders, but he doesn’t have that luxury. “I am thankful god has kept me healthy, touch wood,” Siraj said. “Workload is one thing, and it goes in the book that Siraj has bowled this many overs, but for me, it is just another opportunity. I want to do well and want to help win matches for the country.”I want to play as many matches as I can, and all I want is to give my 100%. That when I hit the bed, I shouldn’t feel I could have done more, no matter the results.”Siraj is less philosophical when it comes to his batting. At Lord’s, he, the last man, batted for 64 minutes and added 23 runs with Ravindra Jadeja to take India within 22 of the target. His dismissal provided the most iconic image of the series: he on his haunches, having been bowled after middling a back-foot defensive, and the England players cutting short their celebration and checking on him.Oh, the agony! Mohammed Siraj watches as the ball trickles onto dislodge his leg bail•Getty Images”To get out after middling the ball…” Siraj said. “The way we were batting, me and Jaddu bhai, it never felt like I could get out. I had this much confidence from batting there that I could only get out if I made a mistake. Unfortunately, I got out even after middling the ball. That was heartbreaking.””For a long time,” Siraj said when asked how long the heartbreak stayed with him. “I remember in 2021 at Lord’s, I took the last wicket. Then I was in this situation. I am a very emotional person. Jaddu fought hard, Jassi also fought for 54 balls, but at the end of the day, we lost after working so hard.”At one point, it looked like we would lose by 80 runs. Then we fought hard. We even took it past tea. That hurts more. Had we lost by 80, it would have been fine. To get that close and lose is heartbreaking. But after a while I told myself the series is not yet over. There are still two more Tests. These matches will be fun.”Siraj is the leading wicket-taker in this series so far, but he is still averaging 32, which is better than all of England’s mainline quicks, but not as good as Bumrah and Akash Deep. How rewarding it will be if he can turn it around and make match-defining contributions in the remaining matches and be more than just the workhorse that others admire. He has a lot of catching-up to do on the wickets column.

The Ashes can wait for now as white-ball campaign prepares to get underway in Christchurch

Cameron Ponsonby16-Oct-2025Christchurch. The city of scooters.Contrary to popular belief, not everything runs smoothly in New Zealand. The Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, for instance. A $500 million major sports complex was scheduled for completion in 2015, but when you walk past the site that’s a kilometre down the road from Hagley Oval, the builders are still there. A flat white occasionally takes four minutes to arrive rather than three – and cricket is being played in October.This month’s T20I against Australia, on October 1, was the earliest New Zealand had ever played a home international. Two weeks later, Wellington and Otago are currently playing a pre-season friendly, even though the start of the domestic season is still over a week away. The only team playing competitive cricket in New Zealand currently, is New Zealand. The scooters are good though.But if the timing of this series is considered far too early, and the construction of the local swimming pool considered far too late, then the vibes and morale in both camps is just right.Unusually, in such a crammed cricketing calendar, both sides managed to carve out quality time together in the lead-up to their showdown, which will consist of three T20Is followed by three ODIs. England were down in Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world, with bungee jumps, skydiving and jet boats available to all.”I was just playing golf,” said Harry Brook.Meanwhile, New Zealand were in Hanmer Springs. An idyllic location consisting of thermal pools, hiking and quiet pubs where the team could get to know one another, and new head coach Rob Walter, that bit better. There are also, at the thermal pools, waterslides.”They got a hammering,” said former No.1-ranked T20I bowler, Jacob Duffy.Jordan Cox will be given a chance at No.7 after his maiden fifty against Ireland•PA Photos/Getty ImagesConditions in Christchurch, where the first two T20Is will be played, are mixed. The mornings and afternoons consist of a strong sun and a jumper wrapped around your waist, while the evenings require multiple layers all at once. The wind that whips round Hagley Oval isn’t for the faint-hearted, and the night-time T20Is will see hands shoved in pockets and jumpers required for players and spectators alike.But, in an oddity of the modern bilateral series, both teams are at close to full strength. Injuries, rather than rest and rotation, are the core reason for any absence. England have left Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Jofra Archer at home until the ODIs, but otherwise captain Brook has his full deck to play with.”We’ve got a great opportunity here against a very strong side to go out there and try and capitalise on the momentum we’ve already made,” Brook said. “The last game we played together as a full group, we got 300.”Because of England’s recent ODI woes, it is easy to forget that in T20Is they have been strong, losing only one of their last seven bilateral series. Similarly, New Zealand’s recent T20I record is excellent. The recent defeat to Australia aside, they have lost just one of their previous 11 bilateral series. While a lack of context remains the perennial problem for these series, quality is one thing that the coming week won’t be lacking.As has become customary with this England side, they named their team a full two-and-a-half days before the start, with Sam Curran and Jordan Cox the notable inclusions at No. 6 and 7 respectively.Related

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Curran, previously unfavoured by the McCullum regime, will play a full role as an allrounder, as he has also been included as the fifth bowler. While Cox, off the back of winning the PCA Player of the Year award, will play an unfamiliar finisher role to stake his claim for a place at the World Cup. Jos Buttler, who went down with a stomach bug on the journey over, is now fully fit and will open the batting and keep wicket.England are at pains to stress that the focus of this series … is this series. A bit of T20 World Cup preparation, yes, but the Ashes will come later. And while they may mean it, it’s hard to imagine they really believe it. How could they?Gus Atkinson, for instance – who is not part of the white-ball squads – arrived today to begin his individual preparation to take on Australia, while Mark Wood and Josh Tongue are due to land next week to do the same.They will work with bowling consultant Tim Southee, the former Kiwi legend who has been part of England’s coaching staff over the summer. He had been expected to leave his role following this series and not be part of the Ashes coaching squad. However, this looks subject to change with Southee currently earmarked to stay with the group in Perth for the warm-up against the Lions and for the first Test before leaving to play in the ILT20.”It’s something I’d love to be a part of,” Southee told talkSPORT. “But obviously there’s a few things to go through first.”New Zealand are boosted by the return of Rachin Ravindra and captain Mitchell Santner, but are still missing several players through injury including Finn Allen, Adam Milne, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips and Lockie Ferguson. Kane Williamson and Ben Sears are also absent.”I think we missed him last series,” Duffy said of his captain Santner, whose return has seen Ish Sodhi miss out on selection. “Not only his four overs, but his leadership too. There’s still a few guys missing out, but to have a couple big more horses in the tanks is not going to hurt us.”Even with their number of injuries, New Zealand’s pace attack remains daunting, with Duffy backed by the likes of Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Zak Foulkes. The exciting Bevon Jacobs, who was picked up by Mumbai Indians just under a year ago, before he’d even made his international debut, is also expected to feature.All in all, whether it’s October or not, the contest is well poised and an exciting series of high-quality cricket awaits. And that can never be too early in the year.England XI: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Tom Banton, 6 Sam Curran, 7 Jordan Cox, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Luke Wood.

Squads, purses, players in the fray… eveything you need to know about the first ILT20 auction

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2025There have been capped Indian cricketers at the UAE’s ILT20 league in the past – like Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and Yusuf Pathan – but not many and not any as high-profile or as recently retired as R Ashwin. On Wednesday, Ashwin will be in the fray at the ILT20’s inaugural player auction where he has listed the maximum base price of US$120,000. Ashwin, though, isn’t the only talking point ahead of the auction.Ashwin first – how come, what’s the deal?He retired from international cricket during the 2024-25 tour of Australia, and then from the IPL in August this year. At the time, he said, “My time as an explorer of the game around various leagues begins today”. He has been doing some of that, and last week became the first capped India cricketer to earn a BBL deal, with Sydney Thunder.Now, Ashwin is in the ILT20 auction, and he has entered it with the highest base price – the only player at the auction with a base price in six figures. At a tournament where teams have names like (Dubai) Capitals, (Abu Dhabi) Knight Riders and MI (Emirates), he should be in demand. Especially because he has committed to the entire ILT20, and will go to the BBL only after it’s over.Is he the only Indian in the mix at the auction?No. There were 24 Indians in the longlist, and in the shortlist, there are five.Apart from Ashwin, another prominent capped player who has officially retired quite recently, though he had been out of the frame for a while, is Piyush Chawla. Chawla, with 192 wickets, is still the fourth-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. Ashwin is actually fifth on that list, with 187. And like Ashwin, Chawla should find a team too, especially at a base price of US$40,000.The others are Priyank Panchal, Ankit Rajpoot and Siddarth Kaul, all at a base price of US$10,000.ESPNcricinfo LtdI don’t recall ESPNcricinfo talking about the ILT20 auction before. Why now?Oh, there hasn’t been one in the past. Only drafts in the first three seasons. This time, there will be an IPL-like auction. Therefore, this. What’s also new is that the ILT20 in 2025-26 will happen in the December-January window, unlike the usual January-February window to avoid the crammed period at the start of the year. In fact, in 2026, the men’s T20 World Cup is also expected to start in early February, so it’s more cluttered than usual.What about auction purse?The franchises had announced their retentions and direct signings in July. Each team could spend up to US$1.2 million on those, with the balance amount to be added to the auction purse of US$800,000. While a franchise can exhaust its entire US$2 million purse, it will need to spend a minimum of US$1.5 million. The ILT20 rules also permit franchises to spend an additional US$250,000 to buy up to two wildcard players outside the auction.Here’s how much each franchise has left:Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: US$825,000
Desert Vipers: US$802,500
Dubai Capitals: US$10,35,000
Gulf Giants: US$10,35,000
MI Emirates: US$800,000
Sharjah Warriorz: US$800,000
Apart from Ashwin, who are the others at the auction with high base prices?After Ashwin’s base price, the highest slab is US$80,000, and there are 20 players at that price: Evin Lewis, Tymal Mills, Jason Roy, Karim Janat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Obed McCoy, Taskin Ahmed, Andre Fletcher, Liam Dawson, Mohammad Nabi, Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph, Craig Overton, and seven Pakistan players – Fakhar, Saim Ayub, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Abdul Samad and Faheem Ashraf.The lower slabs are of US$40,000 and US$10,000, which is the lowest base price.That should be fun. So there are the usual player retentions and everything else?Of course. And pre-auction signings. Here’s the full list:Retained players
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Alishan Sharafu, Andre Russell, Charith Asalanka, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine
Desert Vipers: Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Max Holden, Sam Curran and Wanindu Hasaranga
Dubai Capitals: Dasun Shanaka, Dushmantha Chameera, Gulbadin Naib, Rovman Powell and Shai Hope
Gulf Giants: Aayan Afzal Khan, Blessing Muzarabani, Gerhard Erasmus, James Vince and Mark Adair
MI Emirates: AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kusal Perera, Romario Shepherd, Tom Banton and Muhammad Waseem
Sharjah Warriorz: Johnson Charles, Tim Southee and Tom Kohler-CadmoreNew signings
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Alex Hales, Liam Livingstone, Sherfane Rutherford
Desert Vipers: Andries Gous
Dubai Capitals: Luke Wood, Waqar Salamkheil and Muhammad Jawadullah
Gulf Giants: Azmatullah Omarzai, Moeen Ali, Rahmanullah Gurbaz
MI Emirates: Chris Woakes, Kamindu Mendis
Sharjah Warriorz: Maheesh Theekshana, Sikandar Raza, Saurabh Netravalkar, Tim David* On Tuesday, the day before the auction, Dinesh Karthik was picked as Kusal Mendis’ replacement at Sharjah Warriorz.ESPNcricinfo LtdRemember, each franchise needs a minimum of 19 players and a maximum of 21, excluding the two wildcards they are allowed to buy outside the auction. The franchises will also have one right-to-match card but they can use it only to buy back a UAE player. That player must have been part of the franchise’s development squad or the 2025 squad.All that being said, the line-ups as they are could go through some tweaks, because despite the change in the playing dates, there will be a clash with the Lanka Premier League and the Bangladesh Premier League.Wildcards?!Yeah, all teams are allowed two wildcards. And all teams bar MI Emirates have signed their wildcards. By the way, a franchise can sign a player as wildcard anytime. Following is the list of players who’ve already been picked as wildcards:Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Jason Holder and Usman Tariq
Desert Vipers: Shimron Hetmyer
Dubai Capitals: David Willey and Leus de Plooy
Gulf Giants: Kyle Mayers and Matthew Forde
Sharjah Warriorz: Tom Abell and Adil RashidSo Vipers can get one more if they want, and MI Emirates can get their two at a later stage.But I don’t see any Pakistanis anywhere. What’s up with that?Well, the first thing you need to do is read this by Osman Samiuddin. And no, there is no official ban on them, in case you were wondering.Also, there are 16 players from Pakistan, including many from the squad at the Asia Cup recently, who are in the auction shortlist: apart from Fakhar, Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Imad, Naseem, Samad and Faheem mentioned above, there are Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Hasnain, Salman Irshad, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan. You’d expect many of them to be in demand, unless there are non-cricketing factors at play.And how will the auction play out? When do the big names come up for bidding?The shortlist has 196 players who will fill the remaining slots. A minimum of 11 players will have to be bought by each team, so that’s at least 66 players who will find new teams on Wednesday. It will start with the players in Set 1, 2 and 3, who are all local UAE players, including familiar names like Rohan Mustafa, Ethan D’Souza, Vriitya Aravind and Junaid Siddique, among others.This will be followed by nine sets of players from Full-Member countries, and this includes the big stars: Ashwin, of course, as well as all the players in the US$80,000 base price category, and some even in the US$40,000 and US$10,000 slabs.Next come three sets of players from the Associate countries, numbering 23. Some familiar names are there too, like Namibia’s David Wiese, Netherlands’ Roelof van der Merwe, USA’s Aaron Jones and Unmukt Chand, and Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee.After that are the uncapped players from UAE, and players from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and finally the accelerated round, which is by no means a selection of unfamiliar names. You will find the likes of Ravi Bopara, Lorcan Tucker, Benny Howell, Curtis Campher, Blair Tickner, Gudakesh Motie, Keacy Carty, Bas de Leede and many others there.That’s a lot to look forward to. What else? When does it start, what are the other details to make a note of?The tournament starts on December 2 this year, and runs till January 4, 2026. So far, it has been an all-teams-play-each-other-twice in the first round, followed by four playoffs, totalling 34 games, and there’s no indication that will change.

It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to say that Tottenham Hotspur’s season is going off the rails, and fast.

Thomas Frank’s side look a million miles from the one that made a positive start back in August, and following their loss to Fulham on Saturday night, sit tenth in the Premier League.

The North Londoners have become utterly toothless in attack and porous at the back, and they are showing no signs of improving.

Fortunately, reports are now linking Spurs with a player who might be able to help improve the side in both halves of the pitch, someone who’d be a significant upgrade on the increasingly disappointing Rodrigo Bentancur.

Spurs target Bentancur upgrade

While he is far from the only one, Bentancur has been seriously disappointing for Spurs this season, and a million miles from the player fans were excited to watch every week a few years ago.

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For example, in the club’s recent derbies against Chelsea and Arsenal, he looked completely off the pace.

For the first game, respected Spurs writer Alasdair Gold awarded him a rather generous 5/10 match rating. Then, for the latter, he awarded him a 3/10 rating for his inability to gain a foothold in the game.

In short, if it wasn’t already clear last year, this season has made it clear that the Lilywhites need a new midfielder who can help the defence, but also has the power to lend a hand to the attack at times.

Fortunately, it would appear that the club are well aware of this and are looking at a Premier League star who could do just that.

At least that is according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which claims Spurs are now interested in Carlos Baleba.

In fact, the report goes further than that, revealing that the North Londoners have now entered the race for the Brighton & Hove Albion star, who is also a key target for Manchester United.

However, on top of the potential competition, the Cameroonian’s price tag could be a hurdle, with the report stating that the Seagulls still value him at €100m, which is about £88m.

Yet, even though this would be a costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, Baleba’s ability and potential make it one Spurs should pursue, especially as he’d be a huge upgrade on Bentancur.

How Baleba compares to Bentancur

Now, the first thing to say is that, yes, so far this season, Baleba’s form has dropped somewhat.

However, that could be due in part to the transfer saga he went through in the summer, the inconsistent form of Brighton overall, or the simple fact that he is still just 21 years old.

However, even so, the Cameroon international was sensational last season, and a slight dip in form does not take away from the fact that when he is on song, he is incredible to watch.

Moreover, when comparing his underlying numbers to Bentancur’s from last season, even though he is so much younger, he still comes out ahead in most metrics.

For example, when it comes to the attacking side of the game, the Douala-born gem does better in metrics like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots, key passes, successful take-ons, carries into the final third and more, all per 90.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.15

0.10

Shots

1.49

1.20

Shots on Target

0.37

0.27

Passing Accuracy

87.4%

87.9%

Key Passes

0.71

0.55

Passes into the Penalty Area

0.78

0.71

Goal-Creating Actions

0.14

0.16

Tackles Won

1.55

1.20

Blocks

1.59

1.37

Errors Leading to a Shot

0.03

0.05

Successful Take-Ons

1.11

0.49

Carries into the Final Third

1.52

1.31

Ball Recoveries

6.66

6.61

% of Aerial Duels Won

60.0%

54.5%

Impressively, despite tending to start a little deeper than the Uruguayan, the Seagulls star also ranked incredibly closely for goal-creating actions.

Unsurprisingly, he also blows the 28-year-old away when it comes to the defensive side of things, winning more tackles, making more blocks, recovering the ball more often and winning more of his aerial duels, despite being shorter.

With numbers such as these, it’s not hard to see why respected analyst Ben Mattinson described the former LOSC Lille star as “one of the best midfielders in the league” last year.

Finally, on top of clearly outperforming the Lilywhites midfielder when it comes to underlying numbers, another reason Baleba would be an excellent upgrade is that he’s happy playing in central or defensive midfield.

Therefore, he’d be a perfect option for a double pivot, as he could interchange with someone like Lucas Bergvall and, in turn, make life for opposition midfielders far harder.

Ultimately, while it would be an expensive transfer to get over the line, Spurs should do what they can to bring the Brighton ace to N17, as he’d be an excellent addition to the team and an instant upgrade on Bentancur.

New Soldado: Frank must bin Spurs flop who had fewer touches than Vicario

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank must drop this flop who is becoming the new Roberto Soldado.

ByDan Emery Nov 30, 2025