All posts by h716a5.icu

Australia fought back in the series from being 2-0 down with some excellent cricket. Here’s a look at what they take back home

Andrew McGlashan13-Mar-20232:22

Chappell: Australia didn’t learn a lot about their play in this series

Mature Todd Murphy provides future assuranceOver the last few years in Australian cricket there had often been the question asked: if not Nathan Lyon, then who? Now we have the answer. Todd Murphy’s first series was a remarkable performance. His Test debut in Nagpur was just his eighth first-class match and he collected seven wickets. He did not gather another such haul, but he bowled beautifully through the rest of the series. His control stood out, there was rarely a bad ball. The contest with Virat Kohli was one of most absorbing parts of the series and he claimed his scalp four times, albeit the last one was a heave into the deep.When Murphy next plays Test cricket is uncertain. Conditions in England for the World Test Championship final and Ashes are unlikely to demand two spinners and back home in Australia it is only the SCG that may, sometimes, call for a twin spin attack. Lyon has a number of years ahead of him depending on how long he wishes to keep playing, but there can now be confidence that when the transition of eras does com, Australia will be well served.Related

Kuhnemann leaves India after 'awesome tips' from Jadeja

India take series 2-1 after tedious draw on lifeless Ahmedabad pitch

Nathan Lyon’s greatnessSpeaking of Lyon, he had an outstanding series. His haul of 22 wickets made it the most successful of his three tours to India. He was let down by the batters in Delhi, but in Indore the eight wickets in the second innings wrote another notable chapter in a Test career where the next landmark is 500 wickets. Although rewards were harder to come by on the docile surface in Ahmedabad, his versatility and craft were demonstrated by the way he trapped Shubman Gill lbw from over the wicket.At 35, he probably won’t have another India tour in him, but he has certainly left a mark on Test cricket in the country. “I haven’t played guys like Murali or Shane Warne. But among the current crop, he would probably be the No.1 overseas bowler to come and play in India,” Rohit Sharma said.Usman Khawaja’s redemptionUsman Khawaja lifted his game in Asia yet again•BCCIUsman Khawaja is certainly making up for his lost years as a Test cricketer. Having not played a single Test on his two previous tours of India, his tour-de-force since the recall early last year continued with 333 and runs at 47.57. As much as the 180 he forged in Ahmedabad was the pinnacle – and a moment, he admitted, never thought would happen – it was the innings in Delhi and Indore, particularly the latter, which really stood out. He is now a wonderfully versatile batter as shown by the runs over the last 15 months in Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and now India. Providing the leg injury he suffered is not serious, and the signs were encouraging, there is now a chance to return to England for another Ashes, the scene of where he was left out midway through the 2019 series.Travis Head’s rapid change of fortuneNot everything happened by design for Australia, but they have some blueprints for future series on the subcontinent. Leading the list of what they’ve learnt comes from Travis Head’s success at the top of the order after he replaced the concussed David Warner in Delhi. His punchy 43 in the second innings of that match had put Australia on top before they crashed in a heap on the third day. In Indore, he calmly ensured there were no jitters in knocking off 76 then in Ahmedabad looked set to cash in with a final-day century before being defeated by Axar Patel. Although it was possible to make a case based on his numbers, it felt an odd decision to leave him out in Nagpur. The middle-order beckons again in the near future, but he could well find himself back at the top in Sri Lanka in early 2025.Australia’s pace bowling struggleIt was obviously a series dominated by spin, but the lack of impact made by Australia’s pace bowlers was a disappointment. Between them, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Scott Boland and Cameron Green managed five wickets. In the first two matches Cummins at times appeared reluctant to bowl himself. Starc and Green had precious little to do in Indore but were expensive in Ahmedabad, albeit on a pitch that offered nothing. On the whole, Australia could not get the ball to reverse swing to major effect as they did in Pakistan last year where it became the defining factor of the series.Cameron Green was solid, proactive, and stylish as he scored his first Test century•BCCICameron Green can shape the futureThere was already a sense of how important Green will be to Australian cricket, but the three recent Tests he has missed due to a broken finger just reinforced the notion. There was a glimpse of the headaches it created against South Africa at the SCG and they were magnified in the first two matches of this series where the selectors had to make compromises each time. His maiden Test century in Ahmedabad was an imperious display, the highlight being his front-foot driving, after he had fought impressively on his return in Indore. Life was tougher with the ball, but perhaps a little rhythm was lacking after the layoff. The challenge now for Green is one of workload as the IPL nears followed by the WTC final and Ashes. He isn’t due to go home until August.Not losing their heads (after losing their heads)Australia’s collapse of 8 for 28 in Delhi will live in their house of horrors but from there the tour did not descend into further chaos as could easily have happened. For tragic reasons they lost their captain while David Warner (elbow) and Josh Hazlewood (Achilles) flew home injured. Ashton Agar also left the tour after confidence was lost in his bowling. However, a longer gap between the second and third Tests allowed the squad to regroup and in Indore they secured a famous victory. There was a sense of vindication within the team that their plans and tactics had been correct.But it is worth at least pondering the preparation. Andrew McDonald and Steven Smith have been insistent that the brief Sydney camp and few days in Bengaluru was the right way, but they were off the space in Nagpur. There is rightly some cynicism about the value of warm-up matches, and the schedules make it tough to squeeze them in, but perhaps there is a way countries can agree to assist each other for the betterment of the contest by committing to conditions and quality of opposition.

But “life has changed quite a lot after those five sixes”, he admits after a Player-of-the-Match award for his first international innings

Shashank Kishore22-Aug-2023Alur, July 6, 2023. It’s a day after India’s squad for the T20Is in the Caribbean was named. Rinku Singh, who was seemingly in with a fair chance of making the cut, has missed out. But as he walks off the field after play in a Duleep Trophy game, there’s a distinct sense of calm around him. He indulges in some banter and mimicry that earns peals of laughter from his team-mates. It’s as if he’s wired to not think or worry about the things he can’t control.A handful of journalists present at the venue put in a request through a member of Central Zone’s support staff for a chat with Rinku. He declines politely. You couldn’t possibly have branded him arrogant or rude; he is just a shy person. Perhaps Rinku knew questions over his non-selection would come up.”He’s disappointed, but he says he’s seen far more challenges,” a support staff member told us. “Not getting picked for West Indies isn’t a cause for dejection. He wants to enjoy his game and do well here in Bangalore. He’s happy to speak later.”Related

Gaikwad, Rinku, Prasidh sparkle as India seal series win

Rohit wants India to be flexible, in mind and batting order

India revel in Prasidh's fire and Bumrah's ice

Rahul, Shreyas, Tilak make it to India's Asia Cup squad

Later didn’t come in the two weeks he spent in Bengaluru for the Duleep Trophy. What did, however, was an India call-up, first for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and then the T20Is in Ireland.As mentioned, Rinku is a man of few words even when he does speak. Like you saw at the post-match presentation ceremony in the second T20I against Ireland, when he was awarded the Player-of-the-Match award for a superb 38 off 21 balls.It was an innings of two parts. Initially, he took his time and set himself up, in the face of a mini-collapse, knowing well that India didn’t have much batting after No. 8. Then when he got to a position where he knew he had to go, there was clarity in his striking plans and the areas he wanted to pick.For 15 deliveries, Rinku had gone at a run-a-ball. Barring the one boundary off a ferocious sweep to legspinner Ben White, he seemed content nudging and milking singles. But in the 19th over, he got stuck into Barry McCarthy, first scything a wide yorker with precision behind point for four and then reading a slower offcutter early and depositing it beyond long-on for six.Rinku has a strong base; there aren’t too many premeditated movements to try and throw bowlers off. It’s the belief in his power to clear the ground that drives him. The effect of those hits was McCarthy suddenly feeling the pressure – he delivered two successive wides in trying to second guess the batter.

“Life has changed quite a lot after those five sixes. People only remember me because of that. It feels good”Rinku Singh

After that, perhaps a little frazzled, McCarthy ended up erring in length as he attempted another wide yorker. Having carved one behind point, Rinku knew with the third fielder quite square, he had to pick his spot. He did, showing remarkable timing and placement in the process as he went inside-out over extra cover to clear the longest boundary. The over went for 22 and India had the momentum on their side.Rinku’s innings helped Shivam Dube, too. From 9 off 13, he began the final over with two sixes. When the third ball went for a single, the Indians in the crowd went quite ballistic. Their man, Rinku, was on strike, and he didn’t disappoint as he sent one sailing over deep-backward square. The wrist, the pick-up, the muscle – all excellent.The fun ended next ball when he top-edged a pull, but he’d transformed a middling 160 score into a potentially match-winning 185.Rinku’s manner of flicking a switch from accumulator to beast was a proper throwback to that knock in Ahmedabad, when his career, and perhaps more, turned around. The quiet, shy Rinku, an afterthought in an XI boasting T20 legends such as Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, was suddenly at the front and centre of Kolkata Knight Riders’ plans.But, contrary to perception, Rinku isn’t an IPL wonder. As tempting as it may be to bracket his India call-up to his IPL 2023 exploits, it does little justice to the work he has put in at the domestic level for Uttar Pradesh.Rinku Singh isn’t an IPL baby – he averages close to 58 in first-class cricket and has been a star in India’s domestic circuit•Ekana cricket mediaIn the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season, for example, Rinku was the second-highest run-scorer in the Elite division. He scored 953 runs in 13 innings at an astounding average of 105.88. This included four centuries and three half-centuries. At the List A Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021-22, Rinku single-handedly steered Uttar Pradesh into the knockouts, notching up 379 runs in six innings, including four half-centuries and a century, at a strike rate of 94.75.These underline his all-format stature and how it isn’t just that one innings that propelled him to the national team. What it did give him, though, was visibility, which his toil and all the runs at the domestic level didn’t. It makes a massive difference, and Rinku knows all about it.”Life has changed quite a lot after those five sixes,” Rinku told the BCCI website when asked by Ravi Bishnoi about fans rooting for him in Dublin. “People only remember me because of that. It feels good.”Rinku has seen his fair share of struggles, but his modest upbringing has given him enough perspective about life – he knows that fame can be fickle. And when he takes the field on Wednesday, it’s likely he will be over Sunday’s performance.There’s a T20 World Cup coming up next year, and Rinku may have personal aspirations of making the squad. But it’s unlikely to make him lose sleep; just like being a run-a-ball 15 amid a slowdown in Dublin on Sunday didn’t.

The New Zealand quick is playing his third ODI World Cup, but the understated way he goes about things means he doesn’t always get the acclaim

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Oct-20233:22

Why has Matt Henry been so successful recently?

Four matches into this 2023 ODI World Cup, Matt Henry has nine wickets at an average of 18, and an economy rate of 4.84. This leaves him sandwiched between Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi (who also has nine) – two of the biggest names in fast bowling.Henry, 31, made his ODI debut in 2014, before Bumrah, and long before Afridi. His average of 25.67 and economy rate of 5.15, is broadly in the vicinity of Bumrah (23.52 and 4.61) and Afridi (23.17 and 5.50).Is he close to being among ODI seam bowling’s biggest names, then?Related

Can New Zealand's winning machine suck the air out of India's inevitability?

Tactics board: India's top order vs Boult and Henry, Santner's threat in the middle overs

Unbeaten India, New Zealand clash with history on their back

Boult knuckles down in a changing ODI landscape

How will India fill the Hardik Pandya hole against New Zealand?

Uhhh.Top ten?Eeeish.Has he played in two ODI World Cup finals – two more than Bumrah or Afridi have appeared in? Oh wow.Henry slides low, partly, you suspect, by design. No branded celebrations here, no dazzling actions, the limelight is fine way over there, thank you. He has been party to New Zealand’s greatest cricketing era as well as their finest fast-bowling years (closely linked phenomena, obvs), but has not known the popularity that Trent Boult and Tim Southee enjoy, not bowled with the fire that Neil Wagner hails from the skies, and not had the open-mouthed gasping over pure pace that Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne before him have had.Henry is a seam bowler from New Zealand’s great 2010s and early 2020s, but feels like a New Zealand seam bowler from the 2000s. Which is to say, aww well, y’know, he runs in every ball, bungs it down on a good length, and gets the new cherry to move in the air quite a bit and, oh, maybe he’s pretty good on his day don’t you worry. Often he has been the spare broom in the closet – the seamer New Zealand reach for when the higher-profile bowlers are unavailable.Over the last few years, however, he has won a place in the starting XI, displacing the likes of Southee, through sheer consistency of performance.Since the 2015 World Cup, only Boult has a better ODI average among bowlers with 35 or more wickets in the opening 10 overs. In that powerplay, and roughly the last eight-and-a-bit years, Henry averages 21.13, with 59 wickets and an economy rate of 4.19.Matt Henry has always been good with the new ball, but in this World Cup he’s striking in the middle as well•AFP/Getty ImagesIndia will remember him from the semi-final at Old Trafford four years ago. On as drizzly and miserable a Manchester morning that still allowed cricket could be imagined, Henry moved one away deliciously late to Rohit Sharma and took his edge, did virtually the same thing to KL Rahul, and had Dinesh Karthik caught at backward point. This was all in the first 10, which as we know, Henry dominates.He was less impressive when the swing disappeared, but even outside of Old Trafford, this has been the theme of his career. Since the start of the 2019 World Cup, his average through the middle overs (between the 11th and 40th overs) rises to 37.50.Yes, it is spinners who are expected to take wickets during this phase, but just to put Henry’s numbers in context, his average is worse than that of uninspiring dobblies merchants such as Dasun Shanaka and Colin de Grandhomme, but also Shardul Thakur who, by the way, is crushing this category, averaging 23.21 during the middle, which perhaps helps explain his ongoing inclusion by India.Even at the death, Henry has been modest. He’s had a worse economy rate than South Africa’s Andile Phehlukwayo, or West Indies quicks such as Sheldon Cottrell or Alzarri Joseph, whose team of course did not make this World Cup.But in this World Cup there has been an upending. Henry has been menacing when he has bowled early, sure. But in the middle and the death – this is where he has shined. If shining isn’t exactly Henry’s vibe, then glowed.Some highlights include the massive wicket of Jos Buttler in the 34th over of New Zealand’s tournament opener, when Henry got the ball to dart away a touch off the deck. Against Mushfiqur Rahim two games later, he bowled a slower one that deceived a supremely experienced batter, and rattled his stumps. This was in over 36.And then against Netherlands, two of his wickets came at the death.Of his nine wickets in this World Cup so far, six have come after the 33rd over. And he is about to bowl against India at a venue at which seamers tend to prosper even outside the first 10, in which Henry is a specialist. In 14 ODI innings in Dharamsala, seamers have taken 69 wickets at an average of 27.66.New Zealand, the only other team so far to go unbeaten apart from India, have plenty going for them outside of Matt Henry. But for once, it is impossible to ignore that Matt Henry has been instrumental to their advance.

Bedingham says they plan to bat big and take the game deep by bowling last with two spinners

Firdose Moonda13-Feb-20242:56

‘Definitely a first’ – Bedingham on his bizarre dismissal

One of the “many ways in cricket to ruin your day,” happened to David Bedingham on the first day of the second Test in Hamilton.He had spent just over two-and-a-half hours at the crease, saw off Neil Wagner’s bouncers, survived Tim Southee’s swing and Will O’Rourke’s pace and had just found some rhythm against Rachin Ravindra. In the particular over we’re examining, Bedingham stayed deep in his crease to carve Ravindra to deep third and pull him over midwicket for back-to-back boundaries. Ravindra adjusted his length fuller for the next few balls and eventually reached a near-yorker length. Bedingham moved across to flick, it wasn’t immediately clear what made contact with the ball as it looped to Will Young at short leg, who collected and fired it back to Tom Blundell, who removed the bails as Bedingham made his ground. There was an appeal for … something.”I saw when they appealed they were taking it as a bit of a joke and then they asked me what I thought, and I thought, ‘I am not exactly sure’,” Bedingham said at the press conference.Related

Bedingham century and O'Rourke five-for leave contest in the balance

For the forgotten Dane Piedt, life has come full whirl

De Swardt leads South Africa fightback after Rachin's three-for

But he had some idea of what had happened. “It felt like it came straight off my boot.”Replays showed Bedingham had played the ball onto his shoe, from where it popped up to Young, without touching the ground. And that meant his patient performance, and a fourth-wicket partnership of 36 with Zubayr Hamza, came to an end with only 39 runs to Bedingham’s name. “These things happen in cricket. It’s a weird way to get out and a disappointing way to get out,” he said. “There’s so many ways in cricket to ruin your day and that’s one of them.”South Africa were 99 for 4 at one point and 101 for 5 two overs later, and their decision to bat first looked less brave than stupid. If not for a half-century from Ruan de Swardt, whose 70-run sixth-wicket unbeaten stand with debutant Shaun von Berg means the game “hangs in the balance,” as Ravindra put it, many more South Africans’ days would have been ruined. As things stand, South Africa are fighting. Wounded, but still fighting and New Zealand expect nothing less.”It’s a testament to the character of them, not just as a cricket team but as a nation,” Ravindra said. “They are very, very proud sporting people and it shows that they are not just going to die and roll over. They are going to still come out and deny us and potentially put pressure back onto us for a period of time.”Rachin Ravindra got among the wickets after starting with four maidens•AFP/Getty ImagesRead the last sentence with a 2020s cricketing lens and you may think South Africa are scoring quickly or bombastically. They’re not. They’re going at 2.47 runs to the over and have run as many singles – 33 – as they have hit fours. There is a sense that they’re about survival first, as Raynard van Tonder’s 71-ball 32 and Hamza’s 99-ball 20 suggest and so, there is no great urgency to what they’re doing.That’s understandable given the combination of conditions and quality of attack. Now the next step is to know what to do when it all gets too much. Eventually, van Tonder could not keep a Wagner short ball down and Hamza fell to a top-edge off a rash slog sweep. Both of those are shots of frustration, which could have been minimised with more regular strike rotation and more experience at this level. At least, South Africa have identified the issue.”We were disappointed to lose six wickets because I thought we batted quite well the whole day. But when you create pressure, false shots happen and New Zealand did that really well,” Bedingham said.Still, South Africa can be fairly satisfied with their showing after making the rare choice to bat first in New Zealand. Only five teams who have won the toss in the last 51 Tests, dating back to 2012, have asked New Zealand to bowl at them first and South Africa have been that team on four occasions. They are yet to lose a game going that route.This time the decision was based less on history and more on resources. South Africa left out a quick, Duanne Olivier, and a batter, Edward Moore, in favour of two spinners: Dane Piedt and von Berg. “Our team make-up means – we’ve picked two spinners – we were keen to bat big and then take the game quite deep and hopefully our spinners can come into it,” Bedingham said.And they believe that’s a possibility because although there is a lot of green grass on the surface on day one, it could burn off quickly and create an opportunity for spinners to pose a threat. Already, Ravindra is the most successful of the New Zealand attack, who went seamer-heavy for this match, but used him as much as they did Southee.His success came from discipline and a hint of turn, as could be seen in the way he dismissed Keegan Petersen, who edged a good length ball to slip “I can count on my hand how many loose balls he bowled,” Bedingham said of Ravindra. “He had good control on the ball, it was drifting nicely and the occasional ball was turning and bouncing.”But at least one of his wickets – Bedingham’s – was the result of nothing more than good fortune, which ruined one person’s day but made a few others’. “I wouldn’t call it magic. I would call it more luck,” Ravindra said. “It drifted a little bit but it was pretty unlucky for Bedders. It’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime way to get out. That’s cricket sometimes.”

Opinion divided after first two rounds of 2024 County Championship produce glut of runs and only one positive result

Vithushan Ehantharajah and Matt Roller16-Apr-20243:58

Roland-Jones reacts to Kookaburra chaos in County Championship

Sixteen matches played, 27,840 balls bowled, 16,817 runs scored, 378 wickets taken – yet only one outright result. The first two weeks of the Championship season have been a grind. The second round of games was historic: for only the third time when all 18 counties played simultaneously, not a single one registered a win.The first two weeks of April rarely produce gripping cricket in England, but this year has been worse than usual for a number of interdependent reasons: wet weather through the winter creating particularly soft, slow pitches; the trial of a Kookaburra ball instead of the usual Dukes; and the loss of hundreds of overs due to rain.In the first two rounds of the 2023 season, there were 11 positive results in 16 completed matches. But bowlers across the country have struggled to get batters out in the early stage of this season: a wicket fell every 54.9 balls in the first two rounds last year, compared to one every 73.7 balls to date in 2024.Related

Counties confirm decision to bin Kookaburra ball trial

Team man Cameron Steel now out on his own

Switch Hit: A load of new balls

Batty criticises trial of Kookaburra balls in Championship as 'silly' and 'illogical'

Sam Cook: The England Test hopeful with a sub-20 bowling average

The difference between the balls is well-established: the Kookaburra is machine-made in Australia, while the Dukes is hand-stitched in the UK. “It doesn’t swing as much as the Dukes,” James Anderson explained on the Tailenders podcast. “There’s a different lacquer that coats it… the Dukes, for some reason, swings more and for longer.”The idea came from Andrew Strauss’ high-performance review, which highlighted the dearth of genuine pace and spin in English domestic cricket. “We aren’t encouraging the development of the ‘extreme’ skills required to succeed in international cricket,” the review said. It proposed a pilot trial to “test the impact on bowlers’ skills development”, and two rounds were played with the Kookaburra last summer.The pilot has not been universally popular. Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, has described the Kookaburra’s implementation as “the worst decision ever”. Alfonso Thomas, the Leicestershire coach, said it has “made average batters look very good”. When Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory was asked for his view, he replied: “Can I swear?”The need to hit the deck hard with the Kookaburra has been offset by the fact that early season English decks are not hard. That also meant short-ball plans — something bowlers turn to when a ball of any shape stops moving through the air — were ineffectual. Some teams were also bemused that no two balls seemed to behave the same.Others saw the merit. Grant Bradburn, Glamorgan’s coach, believes the trial will “help bowlers become better”. Cameron Steel, Surrey’s legspinning allrounder, is the leading wicket-taker in Division One. “Spinners around the country are happy to have had more of a bowl than they probably otherwise would’ve in previous seasons in April,” he said after his second five-wicket haul in as many games.And Sam Cook, the Essex seamer, pressed his England case when forcing the only win of the season so far, taking 10 for 73 at Trent Bridge. Cook has been a consistent wicket-taker for five years but was particularly pleased to prove himself with a Kookaburra. “When it does get a little soft, it’s about using your skills, whether it’s a little bit of wobble-seam or reverse-swing,” he said.Seamers across the country will breathe a sigh of relief when they get the Dukes back in their hands on Friday, which will be used for the foreseeable future. This year’s trial will see two more rounds played with the Kookaburra in late August and early September, at which point pitches should be drier, firmer, and therefore more receptive to the ball.Use of the Kookaburra ball has come in for much scrutiny•Getty ImagesSpeaking on Monday, England men’s managing director Rob Key hailed a “fantastic” first two rounds, not least because it seemingly nullified those seamers who lean heavily on the movement of the Dukes. If it were up to him – rather than the ECB Professional Games’ Committee – the red Kookaburra would be the default county ball.”You see what four-day cricket is meant to be,” Key told the . “I’ve watched quite a bit this week and seen some bloody good cricket. I would use the Kookaburra all the time. English cricket would be much better off for it.”The pitches are slow this time of year but watching medium-pacers is a waste of time. Teams need to find quicker bowlers or ones who will force a wicket. You can’t just keep running up bowling at 75mph. And in terms of those guys who are not express, you really work out who can bowl. Sam Cook, that was seriously impressive what he did.”Why do we think in India their batters come into the Test side averaging 70 [in the Ranji Trophy]? Do you think they’re playing with a little nibbly Dukes ball where it’s doing all sorts? What do we want to be? I want us to be the best team in the world for a generation; this will be one way to do that.”Key’s words might seem harsh, but they tally with his view on county cricket before the success of England men’s teams – particularly overseas, and especially the Ashes in Australia – fell under his brief. As he described in his autobiography, : “County cricket exists only because of the money from Test cricket, the England Test team only because of the Championship conveyor belt. They are the ultimate odd couple: worlds apart, but unable to get divorced because they are so utterly reliant on one another.”Ultimately, the debate over the ball boils down to a fundamental question: what is the purpose of the County Championship? It has two main functions: to help develop English cricketers who go onto play internationally; and as a sporting competition in its own right, which still attracts interest both at home and overseas and which every male professional in the country would love to win.If using the Kookaburra emboldens counties to bowl their spinners and throws up a contender for England selection, like Cook, does that outweigh the drawbacks of a single result in 16 matches (with two complete abandonments) and some dreary cricket played in front of sparse crowds? That is the question that Key and the ECB must weigh up when they decide whether this experiment should continue.

Having dealt with injuries and the age-fraud ban, he is shining for Delhi Capitals at IPL 2024

Shashank Kishore11-May-20243:30

How Irfan Pathan spotted Rasikh Salam

Rasikh Salam was 18 when he broke into the IPL in 2019, but it has taken him five years and three franchises to finally announce himself.In this period, Rasikh has battled a stress fracture of his back, poor form, a two-year ban for age fraud that put him out of contention for the 2020 Under-19 World Cup and a slightly difficult reintegration into Jammu & Kashmir’s cricket system that has been riddled with administrative upheavals.To get him to this point, it has taken extensive rehab for his injuries, counselling sessions to de-clutter his mind, motivational chats from his mentor, Irfan Pathan, and complete ownership from a franchise – Mumbai Indians – with whom he wasn’t even contracted to because of his ban.Last week, in what was his fourth game of this IPL season, Rasikh picked up three wickets to help Delhi Capitals stay in the playoffs race. Coincidentally, that performance came against MI, the franchise that nurtured him all those years ago.Related

IPL playoffs: How can RCB make it to the top four? What about CSK?

Pant to miss crucial game against RCB due to over-rate suspension

“This is a sort of a reinvention for me,” Rasikh tells ESPNcricinfo. “The Rasikh you saw four years ago is different to the Rasikh you see today. I understand the circumstances a lot better now. I have an understanding of the world. I didn’t understand a lot of things back then.”Rasikh’s admission is a mark of his maturity. His current personality is in itself a remarkable change from his introverted self, who cut himself off from the outside world for the two years of his ban.”What could I do?” he asks. “It happened, I have to accept it. It was a mistake but I’ve learnt to accept it. I can’t change the past, I can’t be bitter about it. It took me a while to realise this, but I’m a better person today. I won’t say it’s been easy. But I have certainly learnt a lot.”Rasikh moved to Mumbai for most of the period of his ban, training at Reliance’s private facility in the suburbs under Rahul Sanghvi, the former India spinner and a talent scout at MI. Sanghvi was Rasikh’s single-point contact for anything he needed. He was assigned a full-time trainer, a sports psychologist, a physio and, of course, given plenty of opportunities in intra-squad matches to ensure he wasn’t lost to the game.But this was also a period when he became “isolated”. Pathan sensed something amiss and personally took him under his wings. The association felt personal because Pathan was the one instrumental in ensuring Rasikh was a cricketer in the first place.Rasikh Salam began his IPL career at Mumbai Indians in 2019•BCCIA fast bowler who until 2018 was only seen at trials, and a handful of district games, Rasikh immediately impressed Pathan two balls into his first-ever session at a talent-hunt exercise in Srinagar. Pathan had been named the mentor of J&K by a court-appointed committee, and one of his tasks was to streamline talent from the districts.”I remember he had come to a camp where 75 kids were called up,” Pathan said on ESPNcricinfo’s show. “I saw him bowl two balls – a yorker and a short delivery – and told him to go to the side. He stated walking away. I called him back and said, ‘I didn’t tell you to go away.’ He said, ‘No, but I thought so. This is what has been happening for the last few years. They ask me to come to the camp, they see two-three deliveries and then ask me to leave.'”I got him into the senior squad, into the 30 probables, and made him play a few practice matches. In the first game, he picked up a hat-trick. I still have that video recording. On my way back, when I was at the Mumbai airport, I met Rahul Sanghvi. He mentioned about the upcoming trials. I told him to have a look at the video of this young guy. He liked what he saw and when there was a gap after the [2018-19] Vijay Hazare Trophy, he asked me if I could send him.”It’s at these trials that Rasikh impressed TA Sekhar [MI’s talent scout at the time], Rohit Sharma and Zaheer Khan. “He could swing the ball, he was like a young Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar],” Pathan says. “And then he got picked by MI at the auction.”Rasikh featured in just one game that season. The dream appeared to have been short-lived when he came under the BCCI’s scanner for age fraud shortly after. It turned out Rasikh was two years older than what he claimed to be.This became public after a BCCI investigation pointed to a mismatch between two “original birth certificates” obtained from two different sources. There were also discrepancies between these and his school-leaving certificate. In July 2019, he was handed a ban.When he returned to become eligible for selection, Rasikh had been in “decent rhythm”, according to Pathan, only because he had been training at MI’s private facility all along. He was to be on an exchange tour to the UK but was pulled out of it to avoid getting into the media glare while he was still serving his ban.It’s during this time that Rasikh worked on his variations, which he has been executing with supreme confidence this IPL.Rasikh Salam has impressed with his variations in IPL 2024•BCCI”That back-of-the-hand slower delivery that he bowls, it’s second-best to Mohit Sharma,” Pathan says. “It has taken him a while to master that. He has got some wonderful slower variations, bowls a good yorker, has learnt to bowl cutters into the pitch and extract bounce. A lot of this is down to him being relatively injury-free.”At the IPL 2022 auction, Kolkata Knight Riders signed him but he soon picked up a back injury that put him out of cricket for close to a year. On Pathan’s recommendation, he went to Ashish Kaushik, the former India and NCA physio, who runs a private facility in Bengaluru for his rehabilitation. He spent the off-season in rehab, and eventually made his comeback in the 2023-24 domestic season.At the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Rasikh was J&K’s highest wicket-taker with 11 scalps in seven matches at an economy of 6.76. It was there that his execution of the wide yorker and slower deliveries in the death overs impressed scouts at DC.”I was immediately bowling at their camp,” Rasikh says. “I also had an opportunity to bowl a lot to Rishabh Pant as he was coming back from rehab. During this period, I learnt a lot talking to Rishabh . He spoke to me about life, his challenges, how you should come back, how tough circumstances don’t define you. That period was very enlightening for me.”That bond I formed with him there has made it so much easier. He trusts me to execute. Even now at the IPL, in the previous game [against Royals], I started poorly [conceded 18 in his second over] but he still backed me to bowl the penultimate over. When your captain and team management show that faith in you, it makes a world of difference.”Rasikh could have easily been lost to the game. Today, he is a glowing example of how the IPL ecosystem has come together to mark the coming of age of a young bowler with promise and potential.”I’m very grateful to the Capitals,” he says. “It’s like a second coming for me. I’m determined to not let anyone down and keep learning and improving every day.”