National
T20 WC: We have to be motivated to counter Trent Boult, says Virat
India skipper Virat Kohli has insisted that his batting order will have to be motivated to counter New Zealand pacer Trent Boult’s left-arm swing ahead of a crucial Group 2 match in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
Seen as a virtual do-or-die match, both India and New Zealand are looking to open their accounts in the tournament after losing their opening matches to Pakistan and keep themselves in the hunt for a spot in the semifinals.
“We obviously will come up against some quality bowlers all around the world in this competition. Hence, the intensity at which this tournament operates at is very different. We have played against these individuals for a long time. It is not something out of the ordinary that’s gonna come our way. It all depends on how we take the field mentally and how we counter that. If Trent says he wants to replicate what Shaheen did against us, then he is motivated to do so.
“We have to be motivated to counter that and put pressure on him and the other bowlers as well. So, that’s how the game goes,” Kohli said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“We have played against all these bowlers for a long period of time. We understand exactly what we need to do. All that matters now is when we step on to the field, the mental frame we are in and absolutely confident of hitting that ball clearly and not thinking about any other scenarios. That’s the key to batting in high-pressure scenarios and it is something we are looking forward to execute as a team,” added Kohli.
Kohli acknowledged that dew will become a major factor in the tournament as it progresses but stressed upon the attitude of the team to counter that uncontrollable element in the game.
“It will continue to be a big factor and that is the nature of this tournament. You can look at this situation in two ways: you can bank too much on the toss or you can challenge yourself as a team to say ‘okay, even if we lose the toss, we are good to bat or bowl in any conditions’. That should be the attitude because you don’t have time in the shortest format of the game to think too much about what happened at the toss.
“Game goes away pretty quickly from you in two or three overs and can change the whole course of the game, as we saw in last game as well. For us, our only focus is how those eleven individuals are placed mentally how we are looking to approach this game. It’s been a long break for us. It’s been a lot of time waiting and just doing nothing, really for us a team. Now we are just itching to go back on the park and just be competing again to look to correct the things that didn’t happen well in the first game.”
The 32-year-old mentioned that Shardul Thakur is strongly in the mix for a place in the playing eleven.
“He’s definitely a guy who’s in our plans constantly, making a case for himself. He’s definitely someone who can bring a lot of value to the team. Now what role he plays or where he fits in, that’s something that I cannot talk about right now. Shardul is someone who’s got great potential and will add great value to the team.”
Kohli gave an update on fitness status of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who didn’t field after receiving a blow on the shoulder while batting against Pakistan. “Hardik’s fine. If you are talking about the blow on the shoulder, he’s absolutely fine.”
National
Suryakumar Yadav Watches India Beat Afghanistan In 3rd T20I From Hospital Bed After Groin Surgery In Germany
India batter Suryakumar Yadav may not be a part of the recent T20I series winning squad against Afghanistan but he made sure to catch up on all the matches even from his hospital bed in Germany.
Surya underwent a successful groin surgery on Wednesday after which he watched India win the 3rd T20I in Bengaluru.
The No.1-ranked T20I batter went under the knife for a sports hernia, a condition for which KL Rahul was also operated upon, co-incidentally in Germany last year.”Surgery done. I want to thank everyone for their concerns and well wishes for my health, and I am happy to tell you all that I will be back very soon,” Surya said in a post on his social media accounts after the surgery.The 33-year-old batsman has been inactive since suffering a left ankle injury while fielding in the third T20I against South Africa at Johannesburg last month, shortly after achieving a century in 56 balls.
Subsequently, he was seen walking with a moonboot, indicating the severity of the injury. Numerous reports have also suggested that Suryakumar underwent surgery on the injured ankle.
Following this, he underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru before traveling to Germany for a groin operation.
It remains uncertain whether Suryakumar will recover in time for the start of IPL 2024, scheduled to commence possibly from the third week of March.In the IPL, Suryakumar has been a key player for the five-time champions Mumbai Indians. His availability will be crucial for the Indian team as they prepare for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled from June 1 to 29 in the USA and the West Indies.
National
IPL 2024 Auction: Mitchell Starc Becomes Most Expensive Player In History, Bought By KKR For ₹24.75 Crore
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc broke the all-time record for the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League after he was bought for a whopping ₹24.75 Crore by Kolkata Knight Riders at the auction in Dubai.
Starc broke the record for the highest bid in IPL auction history just minutes after his Australia captain Pat Cummins was sold for ₹20.50 crore to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The left-arm pacer drew the maximum eyeballs when his name came up in the auction. The 33-year-old has not played in the IPL since 2015 after making his debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014.
KKR justify Starc’s price tag
“The entire salary cap for franchises when IPL started in 2008 was ₹20 crore. Things have changed.
“But our view is, when the auction is over all the 10 teams are going to walk out of the auction having spent ₹100 crores. And each team decides to slice it differently.”So what you have paid to somebody, up or down, is a matter of perspective. Ultimately we are all spending the same amount of money,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore justified the amount paid for Starc.
Notable Acquisitions in the IPL 2024 Auction
In addition to the significant acquisition of Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) secured the services of Travis Head, the hero of the World Cup final, for a substantial sum of Rs 6.80 crore.
Harshal Patel, previously with Royal Challengers Bangalore, emerged as a sought-after player, fetching a lucrative deal from Punjab Kings, who invested Rs 11.75 crore in the out-of-favor Indian pacer.
Daryl Mitchell, following his impressive performance in the ODI World Cup, enjoyed a substantial payday as Chennai Super Kings splurged Rs 14 crore to secure the services of the New Zealand batter.
National
IPL 2024 Auction: CSK Eyeing Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav & Jasprit Bumrah; Ready To Trade 2 Pacers To MI
Renowned performance analyst Prasanna Agoram has dropped a massive hint ahead of the IPL 2024 auction set to take place on December 19th (Tuesday) in Dubai.
With Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin hosting Prasanna on his YouTube channel, the latter has hinted that two pacers from the Chennai Super Kings could be traded for a star batter or pacer from the Mumbai Indians.
According to reports, the star batters from the Mumbai Indians could either be Suryakumar Yadav or Rohit Sharma and the pacer might be Jasprit Bumrah. E
Either of their trades would be a massive coup, given their influential roles in Mumbai Indians’ dominance in tournament history since the 2013 edition.
CSK eyeing top MI stars ahead of IPL 2024
Since Rohit took charge of the Mumbai Indians’ captaincy from Ricky Ponting in 2013, he has turned the tables completely, leading them to five titles, the last of which came in 2020.
Suryakumar Yadav has amassed over 400 runs in the last 4 out of 6 seasons, while Bumrah started his career with the Mumbai Indians, picking up 145 wickets in 120 matches at 23.31 apiece.
Surya has also led the Indian T20I team in the absence of Rohit Sharma on the last two international assignments against Australia and South Africa therefore, he could also be looked at as a future leader of the CSK franchise after Dhoni retires from the league.Bumrah meanwhile, has been the backbone of the MI squad and the leader of its pace attack over the last few years. CSK are on the lookout for a top Indian bowler who could head their pace unit in IPL 2024.
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