NEWSLETTER
Follow UsIt’s a sad, gloomy evening as the looooooooong weekend is coming to an end, b̶u̶t̶ d̶o̶n̶’t̶ w̶o̶r̶r̶y̶, t̶h̶e̶ C̶D̶C̶ W̶e̶e̶k̶l̶y̶ i̶s̶ h̶e̶r̶e̶ t̶o̶ c̶h̶e̶e̶r̶ y̶o̶u̶ u̶p̶.
Nah nah nah, we’re not gonna go down that route. The long weekend might be coming to an end for most of you, but it’s been long over for us here at Cricket.com. We can assure you that working on a public holiday is not fun ☹️
But it is what it is — the show must go on. So here we are, with the special Gandhi Jayanti edition of the Cricket.com Newsletter 🤓
The complete recap — everything that’s happened in the last 7 days
> India, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have all finalized their World Cup squads. And the key pointers are as follows:
* Ashwin replaces Axar Patel in India’s squad. You can check out the full squad here.
* Marnus Labuschagne replaces injured Ashton Agar for Australia. Travis Head makes the cut despite having a fractured arm. You can check out the full Australia squad here.
* No Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera for Sri Lanka, whose squad you can check out here.
* No Tamim Iqbal for Bangladesh, whose full squad you can check out here.
> The World Cup warm-up matches are underway. Here’s everything that’s happened so far
* India vs England and South Africa vs Afghanistan were both washed out due to rain.
* Australia vs Netherlands was a no result too, but the Aussies got decent practice in a shortened 23-over game. Mitchell Starc took a hat-trick while Smith scored a quickfire fifty.
* Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka comfortably in Guwahati while New Zealand chased down 346 with ease against Pakistan in Hyderabad.
> The Men’s Asian Games quarter-finals have been decided: India vs Nepal, Pakistan vs Hong Kong, Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan & Bangladesh vs Malaysia. But ICYMI, some absolute madness unfolded in Nepal’s clash against Mongolia.
* Dipendra Singh Airee scored the fastest fifty in T20 history (9 balls). FYI, that’s mathematically a record that can never be broken unless there are multiple overthrows more than 6 runs.
* Kushal Malla scored the fastest T20I hundred (34 balls).
* Nepal became the first team in T20 history to breach the 300-run mark.
Check out the absolute bonkers scorecard for yourself
> RCB have a new Director of Cricket: Mo Bobat. Bobat is the current Performance Director for the England Men’s Team but the 40-year-old is expected to leave the role next year.
> RCB Women, meanwhile, have appointed Australia's Luke Williams as their head coach for the upcoming WPL season. Last year, Williams coached Adelaide Strikers Women to their maiden WBBL title.
> MI Cape Town, on the other hand, have appointed former South Africa all-rounder Robin Peterson as head coach for the 2024 SA20 season. Lasith Malinga has been appointed the franchise’s bowling coach.
> Sticking to SA20, Durban’s Super Giants have snapped up Nicholas Pooran for the upcoming season. Pooran was unveiled as DSG’s wildcard last week. You can check out the updated squads of all the sides here.
> South Africa Women made it two series wins in two weeks after triumphing over New Zealand 2-1 in the three-match ODI series. The Laura Wolvaardt-led side won the first two games before losing the third one comprehensively.
> West Indies Women, meanwhile, sensationally chased down 213 at the North Sydney Oval to level the three-match T20I series against Australia. Skipper Hayley Matthews struck a scarcely-believable 132 (64) as Windies chased down the target with a ball to spare. You can check out the full scorecard here. The decider will be played at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Thursday, October 5th.
> Afghanistan have announced that they’ve appointed former India batter Ajay Jadeja as mentor for the 50-over World Cup later this month.
> Sri Lanka’s Danushka Gunathilaka, who was accused of assaulting an Australian woman at her home after a Tinder date in November, has been found not guilty of committing the offence. The 32-year-old was acquitted by Judge Sarah Huggett at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Thursday.
> Former England spinner Simon Kerrigan has announced his retirement from professional cricket. Kerrigan, who played a solitary Test for England in 2013 — the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval — retires having picked 364 first-class wickets. In 2011, the left-arm spinner took 9/51 in an innings against Hampshire, representing Lancashire.
In the spotlight
Sai Sudharsan
The 21-year-old, after helping Surrey secure the Division one title by 73 & 40 against Hampshire (top-scoring in both innings), immediately flew to Rajkot to open the batting for the Rest of India. He then top-scored for ROI, striking 72 on a tricky surface where all 10 wickets fell to spin. Talk about commitment. Talk about talent.
Kane Williamson
The New Zealand skipper had his first hit since March in the warm-up encounter against Pakistan and impressed instantly, as he posted a nonchalant 54*. He then followed it up with a solid 37 (51) against the Proteas. But due to not feeling 100% match fit yet, the 33-year-old will not be taking part in the Kiwis’ first game against England in Ahmedabad on Thursday (October 5th).
Hayley Matthews
The Windies skipper, on Sunday, followed up her 99* in the first T20I against Australia with a stunning 132 in the second. Remarkably, she's now been the Player of the Match in EACH OF WEST INDIES' LAST SEVEN T20Is. Indeed, this is not a drill. What. A. Player.
Naveen-ul-Haq
The speedster announced last week that he will be retiring from ODI cricket post the 50-over World Cup. Not a regular for Afghanistan in 50-over cricket (despite being picked in the World Cup), Naveen has only played 7 ODIs to date. He will, however, continue to be available for T20Is.
Controversies of the week
Shakib goes on an ugly public tirade against Tamim
After reports emerged that Tamim Iqbal was dropped from the World Cup squad partly due to his refusal to bat in the middle-order, incumbent skipper Shakib Al Hasan launched a scathing public attack on the former skipper. In an interview with T-Sports, Shakib, among other things, accused Tamim of being ‘selfish’. The Bangladesh captain further claimed that Tamim’s refusal to bat in the middle-order was ‘childish’.
Tamim has not retaliated yet, but you can watch the video of Shakib’s rant below:
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan launches scathing attack on Ashwin
In arguably the most bizarre development of the year, former India spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan took to Twitter to slander Ravichandran Ashwin in a series of tweets. In his tweets, Sivaramakrishnan insinuated that Ashwin’s impeccable record in India was largely due to him playing on ‘tampered wickets’ at home. Sivaramakrishnan further called Ashwin the ‘most unfit cricketer’ and labeled him a ‘liability fielder’. Ashwin has not responded to Sivaramakrishnan’s comments.
Picture of the Week
CDC’s World Cup build-up articles
World Cup 2023: Do India have the best spin attack? - Hardik Worah
Venue guide feat Bengaluru, a batters paradise, to Delhi, a bowlers heaven - Anirudh Kasargod
South Africa and India head to World Cup with an enviable middle-order - Aakash S
Analyzing every World Cup side’s top-order - Anirudh Suresh
Best unpicked World Cup XI ft. Dhawan, Tamim & Mathews - Pramod Ananth
Video in Focus
