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NZ Players Gets Green Signal From Board For IPL 2021 Phase 2

On Tuesday, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has given the permission to the Indian Premier League (IPL) bound cricketers to participate in the second phase of the league when it will resume in September in the UAE. The NZC has also announced different squads for their international tour and T20 World Cup 2021 as part of its workload management amid this crunch time of Covid-19. While the first-choice New Zealand team under the leadership of Kane Williamson will tour India after the mega-event T20 World Cup, Tom Latham will be leading the second-string New Zealand team to Bangladesh and Pakistan in September-October as well as it coincides with the phase 2 of IPL resuming from September 19 as well. In a statement regarding the same, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said, “The first BLACKCAPS squad will depart for Bangladesh on August 23 and the players from the Test tour to India will return home and emerge from MIQ just before Christmas.” They further added, “While the Test squad to tour India will not be announced for another month or so, the BLACKCAPS white-ball squads will comprise a total of 32 players – including two new to the set-up in Canterbury all-rounder Cole McConchie, and Wellington paceman Ben Sears.” Meanwhile, NZC chief executive David White has said that with the changing times, strategies have changed as well, with “player welfare and support now one of the professional sport’s biggest challenges, particularly in the current pandemic environment”. Elaborating the same, he again said, “They need to safeguard the well-being of our players and support staff is now very real, and we’ve endeavoured to do this by carefully managing their workloads over this winter’s massive playing program. It’s a pragmatic approach. We’ve always tried to be realistic about the IPL and this particular issue is very much a one-off, caused by a unique set of circumstances.”

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Zaheer Khan Believes Jasprit Bumrah Should Be The Man Of The Match

Former Indian pace bowler Zaheer Khan admits that speedster Jasprit Bumrah should have won the man of the match award after showcasing his brilliant performance throughout the first Test. Notably, Joe Root was named the man of the match for scoring 173 runs in both innings as well. Jasprit Bumrah bagged four wickets in the first innings as India restricted England for a mere total of 183. In the second innings, He claimed a fifer in the longer format and he ended the first Test in Nottingham with the figures of 9/118. Bumrah also contributed with the bat as he scored 28 runs off 34 balls, which helped India to have a lead to 95 runs. Virat Kohli said after the Test that the runs scored by Bumrah were crucial at that moment. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Zaheer Khan said: “If I had to pick only one player of the match, then definitely I would go with Bumrah. Reason is clear for that. He set the tone of the Test match from the first over. Yes, Joe Root is a very big player, he played a brilliant knock and kept England in the game. But even then, it wasn’t easy to win/draw for them. For that reason, Bumrah was the match-winner.” “He started well, picked wickets throughout. In this match, India’s lower-order did well and Bumrah performed better with the bat as well compared to his England counterparts. He even didn’t let England tail hang around bowling some sensational swinging yorkers. So I feel Bumrah should’ve been the player of the match,” he concluded. However, Joe Root was the highest scorer in both innings for England. First, he amassed 64 runs in the first innings and helped in England’s rescue again in the second innings with a brilliant century. His 109 runs in the second innings helped England post a good total as well as having a fighting lead. The Nottingham Test ended as a draw after rain played the spoilsport on the fifth day with India needing 157 more runs to win the game as well while having nine wickets in hand.

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Zaheer Khan Mentions India’s Positives Ahead Of Lord’s Test

Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan opened up about the moods of both England and India camp ahead of the second Test at Lord’s after the first Test ended in a draw. He said that England must be having concerns prior to this game while India have positives as well. The opening Test match of the five-match Test series in Nottingham has resulted in a draw after the rain has washed out the fifth day. India were 52/1 overnight on fourth day and were needed 157 runs to win the match but the weather didn’t permit the game to take place as well. Meanwhile, Zaheer Khan shared the problems England will be going through before the second Test. He feels that the form of top-three is a concern for England. “There is a weakness in England’s top three batters Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, and Zak Crawley as they lack proper flow in their innings. The back lift is not working properly and the trio also doesn’t have a sound technique while facing the pacers and are not capable enough to score brisk runs,” he said in a video posted by Cricbuzz. Team India has played the first Test with four pace bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj while Ravindra Jadeja has played the lone spinner. Zaheer was happy with the way India backed Shardul Thakur and he did well too. “India played four pacers and went with Thakur as the seam-bowling all-rounder and that was very impressive. Another positive for India was Jadeja scoring a fifty at a critical stage of the innings,” he further added. “The openers in the seam and swing conditions left the balls well and displayed patience. Unlike England’s top-order batters who put pressure on the middle-order batters, Rahul and Sharma played much better and displayed a sound technique. This is a huge positive and augurs well for India in the coming few Tests,” he concluded. The second Test between India and England will be played at Lord’s on August 12.

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Virat Kohli Feels Current Generation Lack Enough Motivation For The Longer Format

The Indian captain, Virat Kohli said that the current generation lack enough motivation to play Test cricket, and this is the major reason why every team is struggling to compete in the longest format of the game in recent times as well. However, India and England will tking on each other in a five-match Test series, starting on Wednesday. During a recent chat with Dinesh Karthik on Star Sports, the Indian skipper expressed, “Firstly, you need to be honest with yourself. You know Test cricket is tough, even when you are one of the top teams in the world, you can go into a space where you do not want it. At certain stages, you can feel like do I want to do this over five days? Are you ready to go out there on day three when stakes are against you? Are you strong enough to do that.” He further elaborated, “Firstly, looking yourself at the mirror and asking do you want to play Test and if the answer is yes then just go out there and be relentless. I honestly feel there is not enough motivation for people towards Test cricket, something I have observed. That is why invariably you see, teams giving up in Test cricket.” However, Team India have been in England for quite some time now. They had lost to New Zealand in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC). And, this five-match Test series between India and England will be the mark of second World Test Championship cycle of 2021-23 as well. Meanwhile, they have been struggling with the injury scare where their opener Shubman Gill has already ruled out and Mayank Agarwal has been out of the first Test after getting hit on the helmet during practice. And, now it will be interesting to see if KL Rahul gets another chance to open alongside Rohit Sharma or Abhimanyu Eshwaran makes his debut in Test as well.

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Wasim Jaffer picks India’s playing XI for the first Test against England

Former India player turned coach Wasim Jaffer has revealed his preferred playing XI for the first Test against England, which will begin on Wednesday (August 4). However, he didn’t include Mohammed Siraj and Hanuma Vihari to the side and named KL Rahul as the opening partner of Rohit Sharma as Mayank Agarwal has been ruled out of the first Test. While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Wasim Jaffer said: “There could be few issues regarding team selection. Whether to play Siraj or Hanuma Vihari or whether to go with two spinners. It all depends on the pitch. There could be a question mark on the third seamer’s spot. Bumrah, Ishant, and Shami will play, or Siraj will play in place of someone. It’s going to be an interesting selection.” “If one spinner does not play, then we could see either Vihari or KL Rahul playing. KL Rahul scored a hundred in the practice game. So he will be a strong contender. And he can give balance and options to the side as an opener or a middle-order batter too. Overall, I feel we are going in with a very strong playing XI in this Test match,” Wasim Jaffer again shared. He also shared the importance of scoring runs in Test matches against England and also added that they need to put up 350-400 totals on the board to defend the total against a strong side like England as well. “In the WTC final and even in the series in 2014 and 2018, the one problem we had was not posting big totals on the board consistently. So I feel this will be a challenge for the Indian batters this time, right from openers to Cheteshwar Pujara to Ajinkya Rahane and definitely Virat Kohli, who is the backbone of this team. The whole batting unit needs to take responsibility. Because if we can post 350-400 runs consistently, we have the bowling attack to take 20 wickets. But the challenge is to put a big score on the board. It will be an exciting series for sure,” concluded Wasim Jaffer Wasim Jaffer’s playing XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

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Virat Kohli Believes Cheteshwar Pujara Will Do Well In The Tests

Indian captain Virat Kohli believes that critics of Cheteshwar Pujara should leave him alone as he is capable enough to work on his ‘drawbacks’ and come back stronger. Kohli believes that Pujara despite having immense skill, Pujara has always been on receiving end of criticism for his batting. Notably, Pujara is the second-highest Test run-scorer in the current Indian team with over 6,000 runs. But, he has often been on come in the radar for his very slow batting which eventually put up the pressure on other batsmen. However, Virat Kohli urged to leave Pujara alone as he can figure out the loopholes in his game. “It’s been going on for a while and I honestly feel a player of his calibre and experience should be left alone and it should be absolutely with the individual to figure out what are the drawbacks in his game,” said Kohli on the eve of Nottingham Test. Kohli also mentioned players of his level know their responsibilities and aren’t bothered by criticism as well, especially Pujara. “Similarly, with me or any other player in this team, we are very aware of the things we need to do for the benefit of the team. I can from outside say criticism is unnecessary but I know for a fact that Pujara doesn’t care and criticism is as relevant as you want it to be,” he added. “People can say what they want to say on the outside and those are just words at the end of the day. If you feel they mean no value to you, you just carry on, walking on your path.” The first Test between England and India will take place from Wednesday in Nottingham’s Trent Bridge. And, this series will mark the commencement of the World Test Championship cycle of 2021-23 as well.

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Ajinkya Rahane Is Important For Indian Batting Order, Says VVS Laxman

India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has been an important part of the Indian Test team whenever they tour abroad. Despite having a poor form, everyone backed him as Rahane has the ability to take the game away from the others. And, former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman backed him to do well against England. India toured England in 2014 for a five-match Test series under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. It was Rahane’s first Test series in England and he instantly impressed everyone with a sensational century at Lord’s, which helped India to register a historic win as well. However, Rahane has faced rock bottom in the recent past. Although he did well in Australia earlier this year as he led India to the historic series win, he failed to do well against New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final where India lost eventually. While talking about Rahane’s importance, Laxman said during a discussion on Star Sports: “Ajinkya Rahane is a very important member of this Indian batting line-up, especially in overseas conditions. I still remember the way he batted at Lord’s, in Melbourne and also the way he batted in South Africa was instrumental in India winning those Test matches.” However, Ajinkya Rahane played a captain’s knock in Melbourne but since that century, Rahane only managed one fifty in the next 13 innings. Also, his last tour of England in 2018 witnessed him scoring only two half-centuries in 10 innings. And, he would certainly be eager to do well this time around during the upcoming five-match Test series against England. “The one thing I feel that Ajinkya Rahane has to sort out is his game plan against short-pitched deliveries. We saw that in the series against New Zealand, we also saw that in the World Test Championship final,” Laxman again shared. The first Test between England and India will start on August 4 in Nottingham’s Trent Bridge.

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Reetinder Sodhi selects his Indian squad for the T20 World Cup

Former India player Reetinder Sodhi has recently picked up his preferred 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup which will be played in the UAE later this year. While the main Indian team is in England for the upcoming five-match Test series against the hosts, the young Indian team has just played limited-overs series against Sri Lanka recently as well. During a discussion on India News, Sodhi has said that Shikhar Dhawan’s experience will help him to be in the team ahead of Ishan Kishan as the backup opener as well. He explained: “Shikhar Dhawan on experience. We need experience for a mega event, the T20 World Cup. Ishan Kishan is a very talented player but I feel Shikhar Dhawan can prove to be more useful. So you take him as a reserve opener and get KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to open.” Meanwhile, he also picked up Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Iyer in his team. He explained: “If we talk about bowlers, Mohammed Siraj has set the stage on fire. He bowls amazingly well and has the experience as well. If we talk about Shreyas Iyer, he is a match-winner. He has played international cricket and won innumerable matches in the IPL.” However, Shreyas Iyer has been out of the game ever since he has sustained a shoulder injury during the limited-overs series against England earlier this year. His injury ruled him out of the IPL 2021 as well. but, he is likely to play in the second phase of the IPL which will resume next month in the UAE and his performance will determine his selection in the Indian T20 World Cup squad. However, he also feels that the IPL could play a huge role in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan’s selections also for the marquee event. He observed: “My opinion is you can take the youngsters but they have to be backed by experience because there will be a lot of adrenaline rush in this tournament and only experienced players can handle the pressure. A lot can change after the IPL. We are talking about Bhuvneshwar and Shikhar Dhawan, they have not done anything special. But we all know they are match-winners. They can be the ultimate selection if they catch form in the IPL.” Reetinder Sodhi’s preferred Indian squad for the T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

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Mohammed Siraj Is Confident Of Defeating England In Test Series

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj is all set for his maiden tour of England after making a stunning debut in Test cricket in Australia. He is confident that India will beat England this time the way they beat Australia. India will play a five-match Test series in England from August 4 to September 14, which will mark the beginning of the World Test Championship 2021-23 as well. However, India last won a Test series in England in 2007 when Rahul Dravid’s team came victorious. However, the current Indian squad is looking in form prior to this series and many experts are backing them to win the series as well. While talking about India’s historic Test series win in Australia earlier this year, Siraj said to Times of India: “The Australia series taught me a lot. Playing under Ajju bhaiya (Ajinkya Rahane) was amazing. He backed me a lot. I still get goosebumps when I recall that day. Holding the winning trophy and celebrating with the team is a different feeling altogether.” He continued: “I am confident that we will beat England the way we defeated Australia. I am not nervous, I am confident. We have stars in our team. I am confident India will beat England under Virat Bhaiya’s captaincy. I am eager to hold the winning trophy with Virat Bhaiya in England. Our team is looking so strong and we are ready for this big series.” Meanwhile, after the Australia Test series, India took on England at home earlier this year. And, they successfully beat England at that time. Siraj, who also played in that series and dismissed England captain Joe Root, is looking forward to dismiss Root once again during the upcoming series as well. However, the first Test between England and India will take place in Nottingham’s Trent Bridge from August 4.

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George Bailey names Australia’s chief selector

George Bailey has been named the chief selector of the Australian men’s team after the retirement of Trevor Hohns. Hohns, 67, has served as Australia's chief selector from 1995 to 2005 before taking over the responsibility once again in 2016. The former player was a selector for 21 years, out of which he was also the chairman for 16 years as well. However, his first stint was quite successful as Australia played all the World Cup finals between 1996 and 2003, winning the 1999 and 2003 editions as well. Even, they dominated the Test Rankings at the time and won 16 Test series as well. George Bailey, 38, had represented Australia between 2012 and 2019 in 125 international matches as well, including 57 (29 ODIs and 28 T20Is) matches as captain too. However, he replaced Greg Chappell on the Australian selection panel in February 2020. George Bailey was quoted in a Cricket Australia report: “Firstly, I would like to thank Trevor for his incredible work, which has helped shape the success of Australian cricket over a long period, including during my days as a player and captain.” He further added: “In what can be a challenging job, Trevor has always been calm, consistent and approachable. Similarly to his journey, he has made my transition from player to a selector as smooth as possible. There is a lot I will take from Trevor’s style and very much look forward to the journey ahead.” However, George Bailey’s first two major assignments will be the upcoming meag event - T20 World Cup, followed by the much-awaited Ashes. The T20 World Cup will be the major trophy that Australia haven’t won so far and would love to win as well. However, Australia has recently played against the West Indies where a lot of their key players didn’t feature. The Australian team are currently in Bangladesh to play a five-match T20I series which is all set to start from August 3.

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Ian Chappell shares his views on The Hundred

The England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) The Hundred tournament has been going on with much fanfare. The tournament sees both the team face 100 balls each with a lot of new rules for the players. International players like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Rashid Khan, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, and Jonny Bairstow are playing in the tournament. Not only that, as Women's cricket matches are also taking place on the other hand in The Hundred where five Indian players are playing across women’s teams as well- Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, and Jemimah Rodrigues. However, former Australia captain Ian Chappell says that the T20 format of the game is enough to take the sport into the Olympics and for that 'The Hundred' was not really needed too. The first match of The Hundred took place between the women's teams of Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals on July 21 whereas the men’s tournament started on the next day. "Apart from reducing the number of balls to obtain a terrestrial television deal, the reasoning behind the Hundred could well be that it improves the chances of cricket fulfilling the Olympic dream. This is often cited as a way to spread the game's popularity to a wider audience. Surely the T20 format could achieve that same outcome without yet another reduction," Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo. "Cricket is a team game ideally played by 11 members a side. Performance satisfaction is a big reason why youngsters fall in love with the game. Administrators would do well to remember that before they rush into devising shorter forms of the game. The more the length of an innings is reduced, the greater chance that there will be players "just making up the numbers". Even those players crave occasional performance satisfaction," he further added.

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VVS Laxman wants Pujara to play Rahul Dravid-like knocks in England

While the Sri Lanka vs India series has ended, all the focus will be on India's batting as they prepare to take on England in a five-match Test series, which will start from Wednesday at Trent Bride Nottingham. India failed to win in their last three Test series in England and the reason was tehir average batting performances that cost them the series as well. Apart from a couple of innings, India's batsmen have failed to handle the England bowlers, and this time too it raises concerns. Meanwhile, former India cricketer VVS Laxman feels that India's batting will be tested and one of their key players - Cheteshwar Pujara, would try to end his poor form of low scores against England. Since the Australia Test series, the Test batting mainstay, Pujara has scored just one fifty for India. And, considering the situation, Laxman says India's No. 3 getting some runs would be helpful for the team. "There is no doubt that Pujara will be mindful of the lean patch he is going through, as far as scoring those big fifties or scoring those hundreds and you expect a lot from Pujara at the No.3 position because that is a very important position along with both the openers," the former India player said during a discussion on Star Sports. "In 2002 and 2007, the reason behind our victories on those two tours was because our top order and our No.3 batsman, which was Rahul Dravid, they fired. Once the top order sets a very good foundation, it allows the middle-order batsmen to come and play their natural game and while doing that you post a very healthy total in the first innings and you are always dictating the terms," Laxman further added. It will be interesting to see how Team India will tackle the deadly attack of England and manage to win the series. Notably, in their last encounter earlier this year, India successfully defeat the visitors at home as well.

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Alex Hales shares his views on his international career

Veteran England cricketer Alex Hales has recently opened up about his international career. He said that with every tournament he is playing, he tries to perform on a constant basis so that he can still play international cricket. However, the opener has earlier tested positive for using a recreational drug prior to the 2019 World Cup and has not been played any international cricket since then as well. Meanwhile, he was not even recalled against Pakistan for the ODI series at home as well when the entire England team went into isolation following a few COVID-19 cases in the England camp as well. However, he said that he doesn’t get disheartened and he continues to work hard a lot and is trying to be consistent until he gets a recall in the national team again. “Every tournament I play is always a chance for me to keep reminding people I’m still an international quality player. I think the last two years I’ve done that. Every tournament I’ve gone to, I’ve performed well and shown people that I’m still that level of a cricketer, so that’s all I can keep doing. If that chance comes along again, then great,” Alex Hales was quoted as saying by cricket.com. Currently, he is playing for Trent Rockets in the inaugural edition of The Hundred where they have won their last match by two wickets, and Alex Hales played a key role while chasing a total of 133 runs. They were struggling at 58-6 but a stunning 40* off 34 balls from Alex Hales and cameos from all-rounders like Lewis Gregory and Rashid Khan helped the team as well. “It was a really scrappy, ugly win. I guess that’s a sign of a good team because we had our backs to the wall a lot throughout that game and we still managed to come out on top. I always felt that if I was in at the end, we’d have a chance. It was a fairly difficult pitch to bat on, not your typical Trent Bridge pitch, but you can always catch up at the end there, with the fast-scoring outfield and smallish boundaries. I just tried to hang in there and take it as deep as I could,” Alex Hales concluded.

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Brad Hogg Says Suryakumar Yadav To Win Player Of The Tournament In T20 World Cup

The T20 World Cup 2021 is all set to take place in the UAE later this year and Team India still looking for a stable playing XI. While there are still a few places up for grabs in the middle-order, Suryakumar Yadav looks to be one of the frontrunners as well. And former Australian spinner Brad Hogg believes he will be there in the playing XI. Hogg said that it will be too hard to ignore Suryakumar Yadav’s ability and talent for the selectors and he will be added to the squad for the upcoming mega event as well. “I think Suryakumar Yadav is definitely going to be in the World Cup. Virat Kohli will be opening with Rohit Sharma and you’ll have Suryakumar Yadav coming in at No. 3. I just think he’s expanded his game… the range of shots that he’s got… he’s unorthodox as well so he can play different ramp shots on both leg and offside, but he can also attack you and use his feet,” Hogg said while answering fan’s questions on his YouTube channel. Hogg further predicted about the talented batsman and believes that he can win the man of the series award as well. It is also noteworthy that, India captain Virat Kohli bagged the player of the tournament award in the last two editions of the T20 World Cup as well. “I just think he is going to be the difference in this particular tournament. If he stands out and puts the bowlers off with that array of shots, I think he is going to set the tournament up for India. For me, I think Suryakumar Yadav is the man for India and I think he’s the man to watch at the T20 World Cup. I think he might be Player of the Series at the T20 World Cup. That’s a big call so far out,” Hogg again shared. The tournament will start on October 17 with the final is scheduled to take place on November 14 as well.

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Anshuman Gaekwad Opens Up On Reppointment Of Ravi Shastri As Head Coach

The Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri is one of the most successful coaches of the Indian team and his term so far has been a successful one as well. Under his guidance, Team India has been pretty impressive till date. Under him, the team did well across formats and registered many series as well. Although Virat Kohli-led team thrived in bilateral series under Shastri, they failed to win any ICC event so far as well.They failed to win in the knockout games in the recent ICC events. It is also noteworthy that, Ravi Shastri’s first term as the national team coach started in 2017 which ended with India’s exit from the 2019 World Cup as well, but later on, his contract was renewed by the board as well. While speaking of Shastri’s reappointment, Anshuman Gaekwad has shared the factors which worked in his factor. He added that Shastri remained associated with the game in different roles after retirement as well. The 1983 World Cup winner was earlier a commentator and also served as Team India’s director and manager before becoming the head coach of the Indian team as well. “See, Ravi had an advantage among the others who were in the fray for the coaching job. Myself, Kapil Dev and Shantha… we did the selection. He was in touch with cricket by virtue of being a commentator. He had seen cricket and not only of one country but world cricket from a very close quarter,” Anshuman Gaekwad said in a conversation with Hindustan Times. “He knew exactly how things go about – winning or losing. He knew how matches and situations turn around. What one does to do it? He was in touch and knew the Indian players well and players knew him well. What else do you want?” Gaikwad further added. However, Ravi Shastri’s current contract will end with the conclusion of the T20 World Cup which will take place in the UAE later this year. Hence, it would be interesting to see if he gets another chance or any other becomes the head coach of the team as well.

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Harbhajan Singh Names Suryakumar Yadav As Most Complete Batsman After Kohli And Rohit

Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh applauded Suryakumar Yadav after his amazing batting performance in Sri Lanka. Harbhajan believes that Suryakumar Yadav is the most complete batsman after India captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. However, Suryakumar Yadav was on the verge of making his debut for a long time and after a stunning Indian Premier League season in 2020, the selectors finally gave him a national call-up for the series against England earlier this year. He made his international debut with a bang in a T20I against England with a blistering fifty as well. Meanwhile, he has been added to the second-string Indian team that has toured to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series and Suryakumar Yadav grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He had a good ODI series and earned the man of the series award as well. He maintained his good form in the T20I series as well, where he scored a fine fifty in the series opener on Sunday to help his team win by 38 runs as well. However, Harbhajan Singh named Suryakumar Yadav in high regard while comparing him with India’s deadly duo - Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. “I have followed Suryakumar Yadav for years now. When I was captaining the Mumbai Indians, he was a young boy and in today’s time, after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, he is the most complete player in terms of batting,” Harbhajan said on Sports Tak. The veteran also believes that the right-handed batsman is the best player of spin in India and that certainly makes him a go-to player in all the Indian squads. “Over the years, I have seen him grow as a player. He is a phenomenal batsman, who can play fast bowling. He has plenty of time and in terms of playing spin, you will not find a better batsman in India in today’s time. So, in my opinion, Suryakumar is a must whether it’s World Cup squad, one-day squad, T20I or Test squad,” Harbhajan concluded.

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Shoaib Akhtar Asks Indian Team Management To Manage Jasprit Bumrah’s Workload

Former Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has shared a piece of advice for Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah for the longevity of his international career. He believes that the workload of Bumrah should be managed well by the Indian team management unless it won’t be good for him. Bumrah has become one of India’s bowling spearhead after making his debut in international cricket. He has been leading the pace attack for quite some time now and several cricket experts have praised him for what he has done till date in his five-year of international career. However, he has sustained a back injury in 2019 and since then his form has decreased as well. And Shoaib Akhtar feels his form will be decreased more if Indian team management doesn’t take care of his workload management as well. “His bowling is based on frontal action. Players with that action bowl with their backs and shoulder speed. We used to be side-on, and that is a compensation. Front action has no compensation and with that action, when the back blows out, you can’t escape it irrespective of how much you try,” Akhtar said on Sports Tak. He continued: “I saw [Ian] Bishop’s back blowing out, Shane Bond’s back blowing out, and both has frontal actions. Bumrah now needs to think in this way, ‘I played a match, took an off, and go to rehab’. He needs to manage. If you play him every match, in one year, he will completely break down. Play him three matches out of five and take him out. Bumrah will have to manage this one thing if he wants to last forever.” Meanwhile, he gave his own example as he mentioned how he requested the Pakistan Cricket Board to manage his workload as his body wasn’t able to take the pressure but it didn’t work out. However, Jasprit Bumrah is currently with the Indian team where he is gearing up for the five-match Test series against England, starting from August 4 in Nottingham.