Cricket

1587 days ago

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Hardik Pandya And Shubman Gill Among The Gainers As BCCI Announces Annual Contract List

All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been promoted to Grade A (INR 5 Cr) from Grade B (INR 3 Cr) in the annual contract list released by BCCI on Thursday (April 15) for the time period of October 2020-September 2021. Among the top gainers, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj, who played a vital role in the series win down under, have been a Grade C (INR 1 Cr) contract along with Axar Patel, who was handed his Test cap during the recently concluded series against England. ## Shardul Thakur, who made an impact in India's incredible tour Down Under, has also seen a jump and promoted to Grade B from C while Bhuvneshwar Kumar's lengthy injury and India's growing list of fast bowlers has seen him demoted to Grade B from A. The leg-spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have also slipped down the contract pecking order, both getting Grade C from B. Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, the two Grade C white-ball players who are now out of favor, have not been given a contract. ## A total of 28 players have been given annual contracts this time, out of them - Grade A to 10 players, Grade B to 5, and Grade C to 10 while Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah have retained their A+ contract (INR 7 cr). ## Check out the full list -## Grade A+ (INR 7 Cr) - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah## Grade A (INR 5 Cr) - Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma## Grade B (INR 3 Cr) - Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Agarwal## Grade C (INR 1 Cr) - Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1615 days ago

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Prasidh Krishna And Suryakumar Yadav Earn Maiden Call-Ups As Team India Squad For England ODIs Has Been Announced

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Indian team squad for the 3-match ODI series against England. Prasidh Krishna, Karnataka pacer, has been handed his maiden India call-up along with Suryakumar Yadav, who recently made his India debut in the T20I series against England and Krunal Pandya. ## Krishna will join the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan, and Shardul Thakur in the pace department. Jasprit Bumrah, who recently got married, is missed out after being on an extended leave. Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja have also not included in the squad as they are yet to fully recover from their injuries. ## The All-India Senior Selection Committee, led by Chetan Sharma has picked a full packed batting unit with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer have all been included along with Rishabh Pant in the squad. Hardik Pandya will perform all-rounder duties with Krunal Pandya, and Washington Sundar while Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are two specialist spinners in the squad. ## Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, and Sanju Samson who were part of the ODI squad against Australia have been left for the England ODIs. ## Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Shardul Thakur.## The ODI series will be played in Pune behind closed doors with first ODI scheduled to be placed on March 23 followed by next two on March 26, and 28. ## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1644 days ago

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IPL 2021 Auction: Top Buys | Complete Team Squads

The mini players' auction for the Indian Premier League 2021 took place in Chennai on February 18. A total of 57 players were sold to all eight franchises of which 22 are overseas players and 35 Indian players. ## South African all-rounder, Chris Morris grabbed the gold and becomes the most expensive buy in the history of IPL auction. He has been picked by Rajasthan Royals in INR 16.25 Crores. New Zealand's new sensation Kyle Jamieson also went big and picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in INR 15 Crores. RCB also bought Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell in INR 14.25 Crores.## How's that for numbers 💥💥Here are the 🔝5️⃣ buys in the @Vivo_India #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/SPagm8laZo— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## Among the Indian players, Krishnappa Gowtham got the highest price as Chennai Super Kings snatched him in INR 9.25 Crores. He also becomes the most expensive uncapped player in the IPL history. Punjab Kings picked the most number of players with 9 players. ## Here is the list of today's buys and complete team squads - ## 1. ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE (RCB) ## Squad: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Josh Philippe (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pavan Deshpande, Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini## Today's buys: Glenn Maxwell (INR 14.25 Cr), Kyle Jamieson (INR 15 Cr), Sachin Baby (INR 20 L), Rajat Patidar (INR 20 L), Mohammed Azharuddeen (INR 20 L), Suyash Prabhudessai (INR 20 L), K.S. Bharat (INR 20 L), Daniel Christian (INR 4.80 cr)## Slots to fill: 3 [Overseas - 0]## Purse Remaining: INR 35 L## Base Price - INR 75 LacSold for - INR 15 CrKiwi 🇳🇿 pacer Kyle Jamieson heads to @RCBTweets 😎🤙🏻@Vivo_India #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/eReICVL0Bu— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## 2. CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK) ## Squad: MS Dhoni (c&wk), Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Robin Uthappa, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, KM Asif, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood## Today's buys: Moeen Ali (INR 7 Cr), K Gowtham (INR 9.25 Cr), Cheteshwar Pujara (INR 50 L), M Harisankar Reddy (INR 20 L), K. Bhagath Varma (INR 20 L), C Hari Nishanth (INR 20 L)## Slots to fill: 0## Purse Remaining: INR 2.55 cr## After a three-team bidding war, K Gowtham joined @ChennaiIPL for INR 9.25 Cr. ⚡️⚡️@Vivo_India #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/DO5IMJOOV3— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## 3. RAJASTHAN ROYALS (RR) ## Squad: Sanju Samson (c&wk), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, Kartik Tyagi## Today's buys: Chris Morris (INR 16.25 cr), Shivam Dube (INR 4.40 Cr), Mustafizur Rahman (INR 1 cr), Chetan Sakariya (INR 1.20 Cr), Liam Livingstone (INR 75 L), KC Cariappa (INR 20 L), Kuldip Yadav (INR 20 L), Akash Singh (INR 20 L)## Slots to fill: 1 [Overseas - 0]## Purse Remaining: INR 13.65 cr## Base price - INR 75 LacSold for - INR 16.25 Cr@rajasthanroyals win the bidding war to bring @Tipo_Morris on board. 🔥🔥@Vivo_India #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/m5AMqKE1Dy— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## 4. PUNJAB KINGS (PBKS) ## Squad: KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan## Today's buys: Dawid Malan (INR 1.5 cr), Jhye Richardson (INR 14 cr), Shahrukh Khan (INR 5.25 cr), Riley Meredith (INR 8 cr), Moises Henriques (INR 4.20 Cr), Jalaj Saxena (INR 30 L), Utkarsh Singh (INR 20 L), Saurabh Kumar (INR 20 L), Fabian Allen (INR 75 L)## Slots to fill: 0## Purse Remaining: INR 18.80 cr## Riley Meredith makes merry at the #IPLAuction & moves to @PunjabKingsIPL for INR 8 Cr. 👏👏@Vivo_India pic.twitter.com/MZYW9Mczlv— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## 5. MUMBAI INDIANS (MI) Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Anmolpreet Singh, Aditya Tare (wk), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan## Today's buys: Adam Milne (INR 3.20 Cr), Nathan Coulter-Nile (INR 5 cr), Piyush Chawla (INR 2.40 Cr), James Neesham (INR 50 L), Yudhvir Charak (INR 20 L), Marco Jansen (INR 20 L), Arjun Tendulkar (INR 20 L)## Slots to fill: 0## Purse Remaining: INR 3.65 cr## Coming your way at 150 kmph 🔥💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPLAuction @AdamMilne19 pic.twitter.com/cD7tfm4fZG— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) February 18, 2021 ## 6. SUNRISERS HYDERABAD (SRH)## Squad: David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Virat Singh, Mitchell Marsh, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed## Today's buys: Kedar Jadhav (INR 2 Cr), Jagadeesha Suchith (INR 30 L), Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (INR 1.50 Cr)## Slots to fill: 0## Purse Remaining: INR 6.95 cr## .@JadhavKedar joins @SunRisers for INR 2 Cr. @Vivo_India #IPLAuction— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## 7. KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)## Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert (wk), Varun CV, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier## Today's buys: Shakib Al Hasan (INR 3.20 Cr), Sheldon Jackson (INR 20 L), Harbhajan Singh (INR 2 Cr), Vaibhav Arora (INR 20 L), Karun Nair (INR 50 L), Ben Cutting (INR 75 L), Venkatesh Iyer (INR 20 L), Pawan Negi (INR 50 L)## Slots to fill: 0## Purse Remaining: INR 3.20 cr## .@KKRiders bring @Sah75official on board for INR 3.2 Cr. @Vivo_India #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/VvolLQsVv2— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## 8. DELHI CAPITALS (DCS) ## Squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Prithvi Shaw, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Pravin Dubey## Today's buys: Steve Smith (INR 2.20 Cr), Umesh Yadav (INR 1 cr), Ripal Patel (INR 20 L), Vishnu Vinod (INR 20 L), Lukman Meriwala (INR 20 L), M Siddharth (INR 20 L), Tom Curran (INR 5.25 Cr), Sam Billings (INR 2 Cr)## Slots to fill: 0## Purse Remaining: INR 2.15 cr## .@stevesmith49 moves to @DelhiCapitals for INR 2.20 Cr. @Vivo_India #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/gDoNb1frkV— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021 ## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1673 days ago

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IPL 2021: Full List Of Players Released & Retained By Each Franchise | Remaining Purse

Ahead of the Indian Premier League 2021 auction, each of the 8 franchises has released some of their players as Wednesday (January 20) was the last day to submit the players' list to BCCI. Among the big overseas players released by the teams ahead of the auction set to take place in Februry, Steve Smith, Lasith Malinga, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Chris Morris are prominant names. ## Chennai Super Kings, which finished second last in the IPL 2020, have released Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, and Murali Vijay while Suresh Raina who didn't play in the IPL 2020 due to personal reasons, has been retained by the team. ## Here is the complete list of released and retained players and the remaining purse - ## Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ## The three-times champions, CSK have released six players from their squad ahead of the auction, among them, Shane Watson, who retired from all forms of cricket after the last season of IPL, is the only foreigner to have not been retained by the MS Dhoni-led side## Released: Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Monu Singh, Piyush Chawla, Murali Vijay## Remaining Squad: MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore, Sam Curran## Purse Remaining: INR 22.9 cr## Slots Remaining: 7 (1 overseas)## Mumbai Indians (MI) ## The most successful team of the IPL history with 5 titles to their name, Mumbai Indians have shown faith in Indian players and released almost their entire foreign pace battery apart from Trent Boult ahead of the 2021 IPL auction. The franchise has retained only three other foreign players - Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock, and Chris Lynn ## Released: Mitchell McCleneghan, James Pattinson, Lasith Malinga, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sherfane Rutherford, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai Singh## Remaining Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Mohsin Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Trent Boult## Purse Remaining: INR 15.35 cr## Slots Remaining: 7 (4 overseas)## Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ## Royal Challengers Bangalore who is searching for their maiden IPL title, have released 10 players - most by any team ahead of the auction. Surprisingly, the Virat Kohli-led side has released Umesh Yadav and Chris Morris from their squad and retained both Adam Zampa and the player he replaced last season, Kane Richardson. ## Released: Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Moeen Ali, Isuru Udana, Dale Steyn, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Mann, Parthiv Patel## Remaining Squad: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Joshua Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahamad, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson## Purse Remaining: INR 35.7 cr.## Slots Remaining: 13 (4 overseas)## Rajasthan Royals (RR) ## Rajasthan Royals, who finished last in the IPL 2020, will be led by a new captain, Sanju Samson after the franchise opted to release Steve Smith ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan great, Kumar Sangakkara will join the team as the Director of Cricket.## Released: Steve Smith, Ankit Rajpoot, Oshane Thomas, Akash Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, Anirudha Joshi, Shashank Singh## Remaining Squad: Sanju Samson (c), Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Robin Uthappa## Purse Remaining: INR 34.85 cr.## Slots Remaining: 8 (3 overseas)## Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) ## Kings XI Punjab have released two of their most expensive buys - Glenn Maxwell and Sheldon Cottrell ahead of the 2021 IPL auction which has allowed them to go big in the auction with INR 53.20 crores remaining in their purse. Among foreign players, they have also released James Neesham, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Hardus Viljoen, apart from four Indians. ## Released: Glenn Maxwell, Karun Nair, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Sheldon Cottrell, Jimmy Neesham, Krishnappa Gowtham, Tajinder Singh## Remaining Squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel## Purse Remaining: INR 53.2 cr.## Slots Remaining: 9 (5 overseas)## Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ## Two-times champions, KKR will go into the auction with a 17-member squad after releasing only 5 players including Tom Banton and Chris Green as the two foreigners ahead of the auction. ## Released: M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Siddhesh Lad, Chris Green, Tom Banton## Remaining Squad: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (c), Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Ali Khan, Tim Seifert## Purse Remaining: INR 10.85 cr.## Slots Remaining: 7 (1 overseas)## Delhi Capitals (DCs) ## Delhi Capitals have released five players including three foreigners from their squad that reached the final last season. They have only one wicketkeeper - Rishabh Pant - retained in the side after having released Alex Carey. ## Released: Alex Carey, Keemo Paul, Sandeep Lamichhane, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Sharma, Jason Roy## Remaining Squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Daniels Sams, Anrich Nortje, Pravin Dubey, Chris Woakes## Purse Remaining: INR 12.8 cr.## Slots Remaining: 6 (2 overseas)## Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ## SRH, who finished 3rd in the last season, have released only five players including Billy Stanlake and Fabian Allen who didn't play a single game for the team in 2020. Yarra Prithviraj, who had come in as a replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar last season after the veteran pacer had suffered an injury early in the tournament, has also been released. ## Released: Sanjay Yadav, B Sandeep, Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, Yarra Prithviraj## Remaining Squad: David Warner (c), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Jason Holder, Priyam Garg, Virat Singh## Purse Remaining: INR 10.75 cr.## Slots Remaining: 3 (1 overseas)## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1759 days ago

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BCCI Announces Tests, ODIs, And T20Is Squads For Australia Tour; Rohit Sharma Not Named

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Monday (October 26) have announced the team India's squads for the Tests, ODIs, and T20Is for the Australia tour. The regular vice-captain in white-ball cricket, Rohit Sharma hasn't been named in any of the squads due to the injury along with Ishant Sharma. ## The Senior Selection Committee headed by Sunil Joshi have named 28 players that'll feature across the three formats in Australia. Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma's progress, a BCCI media release states, will continue to be monitored by a medical team.## KL Rahul has been named in India's Test squad for the forthcoming four-Test Border-Gavaskar series against Australia at the end of the year. Rahul is joined by fellow Test returnee Kuldeep Yadav while seamer Mohammed Siraj gets a call-up in an 18-member Test squad.## India is going with full packed pace attack in Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah along with Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj. BCCI has also announced that 4 additional bowlers - Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel, and T. Natarajan - will travel with the Indian contingent.## NEWS - Four additional bowlers - Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan - will travel with the Indian contingent.The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. #AUSvIND— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2020 ## Test Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj. ## Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who limped out of IPL 2020 with a leg injury, will not be part of the traveling contingent to Australia. The swing bowler, who has been beset by injury problems since the start of 2018, had been named in the 50-over squad for the series against South Africa which was eventually called off due to the Coronavirus pandemic.## Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw have been axed from the ODI squad after their poor run in the ongoing IPL. They have also been removed from the T20I squad as well. KL Rahul will be Virat Kohli's deputy in ODIs and T2OIs. ## ODI Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vc&wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.## Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy who has been impressive in the IPL 2020 has received his maiden India call-up for the three T20Is. The Tamil Nadu player picked up a five-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals on Saturday and has overall taken 12 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.05. He replaces Kuldeep Yadav as the fourth spinner in the 16-man squad.## Rohit Sharma's absence has also given Mayank Agarwal a spot in the shortest format for the very first time. The 29-year-old opener has lit up the IPL this season scoring almost 400 runs in the 10 games he has played so far with a hundred. Hardik Pandya also returns for the limited-overs series. ## T20I Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (VC & WK), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy. ## India will start their tour on November 27 with three T20Is, followed by three ODIs and four Tests later on. India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia when they toured down under in 2018-19 and now, will have a chance to retain the Border-Gavaskar series. ## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1766 days ago

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'Madness, What A Tournament': Twitter Goes Berserk As KXIP Clinch Victory Over MI In Super Over

For the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League, a game had to be decided by two Super Overs as Mohammed Shami put up a sensational display of pace bowling to outclass Jasprit Bumrah's yorker spree to defend five in the first of the one-over shootouts. Chris Jordan then conceded 11 in the second Super Over before Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal chased the target down off four Trent Boult deliveries. ## And given that even the first game of the double-header Sunday was also tied in regular time before Kolkata Knight Riders won the super over against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Twitter went into a frenzy witnessing a thrilling finish of the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab match. ## See reactions - ## Was the World Cup final of 2019 a beter game or #mivskxip ? Unbelievable scenes today #ipl is here to stay Amazing effort by both teams @Jaspritbumrah93 game changer for @mipaltan and @klrahul11 for Punjab great finish world boss @henrygayle @mayankcricket #IPL2020 #supersunday— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 18, 2020 ## Madness 😮😮 What a tournament 🙌🏻 #IPL2020— Ollie Pope (@OPope32) October 18, 2020 ## Apparently if there is another super over Anil Kumble will have to Bowl to Mahela and Zaheer to Andy Flower. #IPL2020— Vikram Sathaye (@vikramsathaye) October 18, 2020 ## And that’s why @IPL is the best league in the world #IPL2020 ..period 👍🏼🏏— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) October 18, 2020 ## I hope nobody in India went to bed 😱 what an unbelievable evening of cricket that was!! #IPL2020 must be the best one yet?! #MIvsKXIP— Kate Cross (@katecross16) October 18, 2020 ## Tested cricket skills and ability. Tested presence of mind and calmness even more....— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 18, 2020 ## Wowwww @MdShami11 is matching @Jaspritbumrah93 Yorker for Yorker here. #IPL2020— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) October 18, 2020 ## How good is the #IPL2020 😍😍😍Is it the best tournament in the world? #MIvKXIP— Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) October 18, 2020 ## Lightning does strike twice in a day #SuperOver #IPL2020— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) October 18, 2020 ## The weekend that never ends. Three consecutive Super Overs. Unbeatable drama. @IPL #IPL2020— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) October 18, 2020 ## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1807 days ago

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IPL 2020: Kings XI Punjab Full Schedule

Kings XI Punjab will begin their IPL 2020 campaign against Delhi Capitals on September 20 in Dubai. The team will play 7 out of 14 league matches in Dubai, 4 in Abu Dhabi, and 3 matches in Sharjah. The team is scheduled to play 2-afternoon games.## Here is Kings XI Punjab full schedule DATEOPPONENTVENUETIME [IST] 20-Sep Delhi Capitals Dubai 7:30 PM 24-Sep Royal Challengers Bangalore Dubai 7:30 PM 27-Sep Rajastjan Royals Sharjah 7:30 PM 1-Oct Mumbai Indians Abu Dhabi 7:30 PM 4-Oct Chennai Super Kings Dubai 7:30 PM 8-Oct Sunrisers Hyderabad Dubai 7:30 PM 10-Oct Kolkata Kinght Riders Abu Dhabi 3:30 PM 15-Oct Royal Challengers Bangalore Sharjah 7:30 PM 18-Oct Mumbai Indians Dubai 7:30 PM 20-Oct Delhi Capitals Dubai 7:30 PM 24-Oct Sunrisers Hyderabad Dubai 7:30 PM 26-Oct Kolkata Kinght Riders Sharjah 7:30 PM 30-Oct Rajasthan Royals Abu Dhabi 7:30 PM 01-Nov Chennai Super Kings Abu Dhabi 3:30 PM ## Full Squad - KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, K. Gowtham, J. Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Hardus Viljoen, Arshdeep Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Ishan Porel, James Neesham, Chris Jordan, Tajinder Dhillon, Prabhsimran Singh ## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1888 days ago

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I was lucky to have the team's support in battling mental illness: Mohammed Shami

One of team India's leading pacers Mohammed Shami has had his share of ups and downs in his career in which he went through a life-threatening knee injury and the domestic violence allegations that have not only affected his personal life but he also went into depression and had suicidal thoughts. However, even after all this, he has always been able to bounce back and doing great things for Indian cricket. ## Now, the 29-years old opens up about the importance of mental health awareness, support from his family and teammates, the COVID-19 effect on his village, and bowling with Jasprit Bumrah in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times. ## Excerpts:## How have you coped with absolutely no cricket in the last three months?## Well, I have been staying at my home in Sahaspur village in Amroha the entire time. I have constructed a small academy where I have been training. My younger brother Mohammed Kaif, who is also a fast bowler like me and plays in the Bengal U-23 team, also trains with me. I have taken the fitness schedules from the team physio and doing everything I can to attain fitness standards international cricket demands. I have been lucky that way that I had my own ground to keep myself fit.## You recently mentioned contemplating suicide when you were going through a difficult phase in your domestic life. Can you take us through that phase? How did you deal with it?## Depression is a problem that needs attention. It was unfortunate to see such a brilliant actor like Sushant Singh Rajput lose his life. He was a friend and I wish I could talk to him had I known about his mental condition. In my case, my family pulled me out of that low phase. They took care of me and made me realize that I needed to fight back. There were times I felt suicidal but my family ensured I was never alone. Someone or the other would always be around, talking to me. Spirituality also helps you seek answers. Talking to your close ones or counseling is the best way out.## How difficult is it to deal with mental demons while performing at the top level? How did the team support you during that phase?## Mental pressure definitely interferes with your physical wellbeing. At the same time, if you seek help from others and talk about it, you can get rid of such issues off the field. I was lucky to have the team’s support staff along with Virat Kohli and other players backing me. We are like a family. My teammates always insisted I vent my anger and frustration out on the field. I am happy that phase is over.## Tell us about your village. How has the pandemic affected it?## Around 5000 people live here. And they were struggling to make a living during the lockdown. My family and I tried to help them as much as we could. We have been providing food to the poor. I think that’s the least humanity we can show in these troubled times. My grandfather (Mohammed Anis) and my father (Mohammed Taufeeq) have a legacy in this village. Our family has always served the people.## How has it been bowling alongside Jasprit Bumrah in different formats?## I am lucky to have Bumrah bowling from the other end. His accuracy and pace are just spot on. We talk a lot off the field and on the field too. We understand each other’s strengths and adjust well according to the conditions. Bowling alongside him actually works quite well for me. When the batsmen are trying to negate his pace, I come into the bowl and surprise them with my swing. Bumrah is a tremendous bowler and I learn a lot from him.## Irrespective of the format, you almost always raise your game when needed. How do you do that?## The aim is to keep calm and just focus on bowling a correct line and length. When you do so and not take extra pressure, results come automatically. Test cricket is the most challenging. When you take wickets on the fourth or the fifth day for your team, the feeling is amazing.## India will play a Test series in Australia in December. How are you planning for it?## I don’t plan much for the future. I had a great Test series against Australia back in 2018-19. I enjoy bowling on Australian pitches and putting pressure on the batsmen. We will have to see what kind of pitches are prepared and then plan accordingly.## Stay tuned...

Cricket

1892 days ago

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Virat Kohli shouldn't compare his level of intensity with other players, says Gautam Gambhir

Former team India opener Gautam Gambhir has said on Monday (June 15) that Virat Kohli may have scored so many runs and have broken many records but as a leader, Kohli has a lot to achieve. ## While speaking to Star Sports’ Cricket Connected, Gautam Gambhir said, "You can keep scoring your own runs. There are people like Brian Lara who’s got so many runs. People like Jacques Kallis who have won nothing, Virat Kohli, at the moment, has won nothing to be honest, as a leader.”## “He has a lot to achieve. He can keep scoring his own runs. But for me, in a team sport, till the time you don’t win those big trophies, you will never be considered... probably you will never fulfill your entire career,” Gambhir further said.## Gambhir also said that there are players in the team who can never match Kohli's intensity as a player. He advised Kohli that he should not compare his intensity with the other players to bring out the best of them. ## “He’s different from the rest. Probably a lot of other people might not have the same ability that Virat Kohli has. As a leader, the most important quality which he needs to have is to start taking players as they are. Don’t compare them, or don’t compare their intensity to his intensity. Because every individual is different.”## “Mohammed Shami can never be Jasprit Bumrah. Or Ishant Sharma can never be Jasprit Bumrah. Or KL Rahul can never be Virat Kohli. For that matter, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, all these guys probably can never match to Virat Kohli’s intensity, and talent as well,” Gambhir said.## “But how to get the best out of them, and figuring out those situations will help him, and prepare him the best for the world titles, and that is only when they can actually win it,” he added.## Virat Kohli's record as captain is quite impressive but he yet to win an ICC trophy. He led India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy where India lost in the final to Pakistan while in the ODI World Cup 2019, India reached in the semi-final only to lose against New Zealand. Besides, Kohli is yet to win the IPL title as well despite his exceptional record as a batsman.## Stay tuned...

Cricket

2071 days ago

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IPL 2020 Auction: Top Buys, Team Squads

The player auction for the Indian Premier League took place in Kolkata, West Bengal on December 19 (Thursday). Australian fast bowler and ranked 1st in ICC Test Ranking Pat Cummins becomes the most expensive player in the auction 2019 and second most expensive in the history of the IPL as he bought by Kolkata Knight Riders in INR 15.50 Cr. ## Here is the list of the top picks in Auction (Team-wise) & team squad - ## Kolkata Knight Riders PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Pat Cummins Australia Bowler 15.50 Eoin Morgan England Batsman 5.25 Rahul Tripathi India Batsman 0.60 Varun Chakravarthy India Bowler 4.00 Manimaran Siddharth India Bowler 0.20 Tom Banton England WK-Batsman 1.00 Chris Green Australia Bowler 0.20 Pravin Tambe India Bowler 0.20 Nikhil Naik India WK-Batsman 0.20 ## Full Squad - Shubman Gill, Siddesh Lad, Rahul Tripathi, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (C, WK), Rinku Singh, Eoin Morgan, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Harry Gurney, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Pravin Tambe, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Pat Cummins, Manimaran Siddharth, Tom Banton, Chris Green, Nikhil Naik ## ---------------------------------------- ## Royal Challengers Bangalore PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Chris Morris South Africa All-Rounder 10.00 Aaron Finch Australia Batsman 4.40 Joshua Philippe Australia WK-Batsman 0.20 Kane Richardson Australia Bowler 4.00 Pavan Deshpande India All-Rounder 0.20 Dale Steyn South Africa Bowler 2.00 Isuru Udana Sri Lanka All-Rounder 0.50 Shahbaz Ahmed India WK-Batsman 0.20 ## Full Squad - Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel (wk), Aaron Finch, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Joshua Philippe, Kane Richardson, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahmed, Isuru Udana, Dale Steyn ## ---------------------------------------- ## Delhi Capitals PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Jason Roy England Batsman 1.50 Alex Carey Australia WK-Batsman 2.40 Chris Woakes England All-Rounder 1.50 Shimron Hetmyer West Indies Batsman 7.75 Mohit Sharma India Bowler 0.50 Marcus Stoinis Australia All-Rounder 4.80 Tushar Deshpande India All-Rounder 0.20 Lalit Yadav India All-Rounder 0.20 ## Full Squad - Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Rishabh Pant (wk), Alex Carey (wk), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Keemo Paul, Avesh Khan, Shimron Hetmyer, Mohit Sharma, Marcus Stoinis, Tushar Deshpande, Lalit Yadav## ---------------------------------------- ## Rajasthan Royals PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Robin Uthappa India Batsman 3.00 David Miller South Africa Batsman 0.75 Yashasvi Jaiswal India All-Rounder 2.40 Anuj Rawat India WK-Batsman 0.80 Jaydev Unadkat India Bowler 3.00 Akash Singh India Bowler 0.20 Kartik Tyagi India Bowler 1.30 Anirudha Joshi India Batsman 0.20 Oshane Thomas West Indies Bowler 0.50 Andrew Tye Australia Bowler 1.00 Tom Curran England All-Rounder 1.00 ## Full Squad - Jos Buttler (wk), Steve Smith, Sanju Samson (wk), Manan Vohra, Robin Uthappa, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat (wk), Riyan Parag, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Ankit Rajpoot, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Kartik Tyagi, David Miller, Anirudha Joshi, Oshane Thomas, Tom Curran, Andrew Tye ## ---------------------------------------- ## Chennai Super Kings PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Piyush Chawla India Bolwer 6.75 Sam Curran England All-Rounder 5.50 Josh Hazlewood Australia Bowler 2.00 R Sai Kishore India Bowler 0.20 ## Full Squad - MS Dhoni (wk), Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, N Jagadeesan (wk), M Vijay, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Mitchell Santner, Monu Singh, Sam Curran, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, KM Asif, Josh Hazlewood, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore ## ---------------------------------------- ## Mumbai Indians PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Nathan Coulter-Nile Australia Bowler 8.00 Chris Lynn Australia Batsman 2.00 Saurabh Tiwary India Batsman 0.50 Digvijay Deshmukh India Bowler 0.20 Mohsin Khan India Bowler 0.20 ## Full Squad - Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aditya Tare (wk), Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Sherfane Rutherford, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Saurabh Tiwary, Digvijay Deshmukh, Mohsin Khan, Chris Lynn ## ---------------------------------------- ## Kings XI Punjab PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Glenn Maxwell Australia All-Rounder 10.75 Sheldon Cottrell West Indies Bowler 8.50 James Neesham New Zealand All-Rounder 0.50 Deepak Hooda India Batsman 0.50 Ravi Bishnoi India Bowler 2.00 Ishan Porel India Bowler 0.20 Chris Jordan England Bowler 3.00 Tajinder Dhillon India All-Rounder 0.20 Prabhsimran Singh India WK-Batsman 0.55 ## Full Squad - KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, K. Gowtham, J. Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Hardus Viljoen, Arshdeep Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Ishan Porel, James Neesham, Chris Jordan, Tajinder Dhillon, Prabhsimran Singh ## ---------------------------------------- ## Sunrisers Hyderabad PlayerCountryRoleRs (Crore) Virat Singh India Batsman 1.90 Priyam Garg India Batsman 1.90 Mitchell Marsh Australia All-Rounder 2.00 Sanjay Yadav India Batsman 0.20 Sandeep Bavanaka India All-Rounder 0.20 Abdul Samad India All-Rounder 0.20 Fabian Allen West Indies All-Rounder 0.50 ## Full Squad - David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi, Mitchell Marsh, T. Natarajan, Billy Stanlake, Sanjay Yadav, Sandeep Bavanaka, Abdul Samad, Fabian Allen ## Follow for more...

Cricket

2274 days ago

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World Cup 2019 Stats and Records: World Cup's First

Here are the first things happened in World Cup 2019. Who faced the first ball in World Cup 2019? Who took the first wicket in World Cup 2019? Who took the first hat trick in World Cup 2019? Who bowled the first maiden in World Cup 2019? Who faced the first free hit in World Cup 2019? Who bagged the first Golden Duck in World Cup 2019? Who hit first six in World Cup 2019? Who hit first four in World Cup 2019? ## Here is everything about that occurred very first in World Cup 2019! ## First Match – England vs South Africa (May 30) ## First Venue – Kennington Oval, London ## First Toss won – South Africa ## First Match won - England (By 104 runs vs South Africa) ## Batting in World Cup 2019 ## First Run – Jason Roy off the 1st ball in World Cup 2019 ## First Four – Joe Root off Lungi Ngidi ## First Six – Eoin Morgan off Lungi Ngidi ## First Batsman Dismissed – Jonny Bairstow off Imran Tahir ## First Duck – Jonny Bairstow ## First Golden Duck – Jonny Bairstow (ENG vs SA) ## First Free hit faced – Wahab Riaz (PAK) vs WI ## First Batsman Caught – Jonny Bairstow by Quinton de Kock ## First Batsman Bowled – Jos Buttler off Lungi Ngidi ## First Batsman Run Out – Dwaine Pretorius by Stokes/Morgan ## First Batsman LBW – Shadab Khan (PAK) vs WI ## First Batsman Stumped – Hashmatullah Shahidi (AFG) vs AUS ## First 50 – Jason Roy (ENG, 54) vs SA ## First 100 – Joe Root (ENG, 107) vs PAK## First 150 – Jason Roy (ENG, 153) vs BAN## Bowing in World Cup 2019 ## First Delivery – Imran Tahir to Jason Roy ## First Wicket – Imran Tahir, dismissed Jonny Bairstow ## First Maiden – Jofra Archer ## First 3 wicket haul – Lungi Ngidi (SA, 3/66) vs ENG ## First 4 wicket haul – Oshane Thomas (WI, 4/27) vs PAK ## First 5 wicket haul – Mitchell Starc (AUS, 5/46) vs WI ## First Hat Trick – Mohammed Shami (IND, 4/40) vs AFG## Extras in World Cup 2019 ## First Extra – Wide by Lungi Ngidi ## First Wide – Lungi Ngidi ## First No Ball – Oshane Thomas ## Partnerships in World Cup 2019 ## First, 50 runs Partnership in World Cup 2019 – Quinton de Kock & Rassie van der Dussen (SA, 85) vs ENG ## First, 100 runs Partnership in World Cup 2019 – Jason Roy & Joe Root (ENG, 106) vs SA ## First, 150 runs Partnership in World Cup 2019 – Aaron Finch & Steve Smith (AUS, 173) vs SL## First 200 runs Partnership in World Cup 2019 – None ## Teams in World Cup 2019 ## The first team to score 300 runs in a match – England (311/8) vs South Africa ## The first team to score over 300 runs while chasing – South Africa (309/8) vs Bangladesh ## The first team to chase a target of 300 or more – BAN (322/3) vs WI (321/8)## Matches in World Cup 2019 ## The first match to be tied – Final (ENG vs NZ)## The first match won by 1 run – None## The first match won by 1 wicket – None## The first match won by 2 wickets – NZ vs BAN ## The first match won by 10 wickets – NZ vs SL ## The first match won by a team at the last ball while chasing – None## Fielding in World Cup 2019 ## First Catch – Quinton de Kock ## First Run Out – Stokes/Morgan to dismiss Dwaine Pretorius ## First fielder to take 3 Catches in a match – Faf du Plessis vs ENG ## First fielder to take 4 Catches in a match – Shai Hope (WI) vs PAK ## Awards in World Cup 2019 ## First Man of the Match – Ben Stokes ## DRS in World Cup 2019 ## First successful DRS - WI vs PAK ## First unsuccessful DRS - AFG vs AUS ## For more and the latest news about World Cup 2019, stay tuned to us.

Cricket

2317 days ago

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There Have Been Some Outstanding Changes In My Life - Mohammed Shami

Not long ago Mohammed Shami was not even part of India's ODI set-up and was nowhere close to the World Cup squad. But as it is said, "You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming", Mohammed Shami's journey perfectly fit in this who will now be the part of India's World Cup squad and likely to lead the pace attack along with Jasprit Bumrah.## However, the path hasn't been easy for Shami whose career has been affected by injuries. Hence, he has been in and out from ODIs. But his recent form in white ball cricket has forced the selectors to get him in the 15-member squad. Since October 2018, Shami has picked up 22 wickets in 13 ODIs, the joint-most for an Indian fast bowler along with Bhuvneshwar.## "If you have seen in the last 18 months, I have continuously worked on my fitness and have been constantly trying to improve my game, on what will be better for my team. Yes, I was a bit heavy after my injury and didn't play ODIs for an extended time. But I have played ODIs recently, especially in the last six months there have been some outstanding changes in my life," Shami said on Monday (April 15) during a press conference ahead of Kings XI Punjab's match against Rajasthan Royals.## World cup in England & Wales will be Shami's second after the World cup 2015 in Australia & New Zealand as a player. In the previous edition, he was the second highest wicket-taker for India after Umesh Yadav (18) and 4th overall with 17 wickets in 7 matches. But injuries ruled him out from the ODIs after the tournament. Now, he is fully fit and running hard.## "I am happy with whatever I have achieved. I lost so much of weight, my body has that flow now and the rhythm, I feel, is similar to when I started (my career). I will try to maintain the same rhythm in the future for the World Cup. Like you've seen, there's a lot of difference (with my bowling) when compared to before, say three years back. I have done a lot of hard work, I've worked with the coaches and the confidence that I got with the Indian team, backing me when I was trying to improve my fitness levels, the management, the NCA, they all backed mine with all their heart. I was also dedicated to taking on the fitness challenge in front of me, I accepted that and the result is now in front of you," he added. ## Shami believes that his confidence has only increased after the successful World Cup 2015 for him. "I'm very happy that I have got a second chance in a World Cup. As far as performance is concerned, the way I had performed in 2015, how I approached it with confidence, I am hoping that there's increased confidence in me. And whatever confidence that I have, in terms of my performance in the last seven-eight months, I want to carry that confidence and put my best foot forward for my team."## All the Indian players including Shami who get selected in World Cup squad are playing in Indian Premier League. Shami who is leading the Kings XI Punjab is the leading wicket-taker for his side. He believes that IPL is good for the World Cup preparations. "Playing these matches (in the IPL) help in terms of fitness and mental preparation. It's a challenging tournament before the World Cup and the IPL is very helpful in the preparation, mentally and physically."## Follow for more...