Ahead of T20I series, Hardik Pandya and Kane Williamson ride a ‘crocodile bike’ in Wellington

An Indian cricket team without some of its senior players will take on New Zealand in a white-ball series of three T20Is and as many ODIs, starting on Friday.

New Zealand have rested Martin Guptill and Trent Boult. India are without top batsmen Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli as well as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja who are injured.

In his absence, opener Shubman Gill, middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer, fast bowler Umran Malik, off-spinner Washington Sundar, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, fast bowler Mohammad Siraj, wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been given. . One chance

“The main players are not here. But at the same time the players who are already here, have been playing for India for about a year and a half or two years. Even he has got enough chances and has spent enough time in international matches. Cricket to express himself and show what he has,” ANI quoted Pandya as saying.

Captain Hardik Pandya and Kane Williamson were seen enjoying a ‘crocodile bike’ ride together in Wellington ahead of the first T20 match.

‘Crockbikes’ are popular with tourists for sightseeing around the waterfront in New Zealand’s capital city.

This will be the second year in a row that India and New Zealand will play a bilateral series immediately after the World Cup. Williamson said any opportunity to play for India is always special.

Williamson said, “The talent and player depth in India certainly means cricket is going to be of the highest standard. And we’ve seen Indian teams whose players are resting and traveling the world and other There are some surprising conflicts with the sides.” ,

Originally published at Pen 18

suryakumar yadav t20 ranking: Suryakumar Yadav maintains top position in T20 batting ranks

India’s middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav retained his top spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings released on Wednesday. This is because of his stupendous performance in the recently concluded T20 World Cup in Australia.

After a stellar performance in the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup, when he scored three half-centuries in five innings, Suryakumar moved to the top spot among T20I batsmen.

His performance enabled him to earn an 869-point rating, which was a career high. Suryakumar retained his position in the leaderboard despite his rating falling to 859 after being dismissed for 14 in the semi-final match against England.

The 32-year-old finished as the third-highest run-getter in the World Cup with 239 runs at an exceptional average and strike rate of 59.75 and 189.68 respectively.

England’s Alex Hales, who scored an unbeaten 47-ball 86 in the semi-final against India, made a big jump, jumping 22 places to 12th position.

Hales finished as the second highest run-scorer for England in the T20 World Cup with 212 runs at 42.40.

Hales has been in scintillating form since his return to the England team earlier this year. He has scored 430 T20I runs in 2022 at an impressive average of 30.71 and an equally good strike-rate of 145.27.

The other batsmen to progress into the top 10 are Babar Azam and Rilee Rossouw.

The Pakistan skipper scored a match-winning half-century in the semi-final against New Zealand and moved up one place to No.3.

South Africa’s Rossouw also moved up to seventh after New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips dropped to eighth. Rossouw scored a brilliant century against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup.

Apart from Suryakumar and Babar, the other batsmen in the top five are Mohammad Rizwan, Devon Conway and Aiden Markram.

Rizwan and Markram both managed to hold on to their second and fifth places respectively, while Conway dropped to fourth after losing his third place to Babar.

In the bowling charts, Adil Rashid has been the biggest gainer after his exceptional performances in the semi-final against India and the final against Pakistan.

Rashid gained five places to reach No. 3 after recording figures of 1/20 and 2/22 respectively in the two games.

After a Player of the Match performance of 3/12 in the Championship match against Pakistan, his compatriot Sam Curran jumped two places to take the No. 5 spot. Rashid Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga are still the top order bowlers respectively.

Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi and Hardik Pandya continue to occupy the top three positions in the all-rounder rankings respectively.


Inputs from PTI

Originally published at Pen 18

ms dhoni news: CSK CEO Viswanathan confirms Dhoni will lead side in IPL 2023

Indian Premier League (IPL) side Chennai Super Kings CEO KS Vishwanathan has confirmed that former India captain and charismatic wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the side in the 2023 edition of the lucrative T20 tournament.

Viswanathan told CSK TV that he is confident that the team under Dhoni’s leadership will “do well” in the upcoming edition.

A day after CSK announced the retained and released players ahead of the 2023 IPL, Vishwanathan said, “Obviously everyone knows that Thalaivan (MS Dhoni) is the one who is going to lead the team and he will give his best. Will do and the team will do well.” auction.

The Super Kings have signed Dwayne Bravo, Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, N.J. Jagadeesan, C. Hari Nishant, K. Bhagat Verma, KM Asif and Robin Uthappa have been released, who have announced their retirement.

Viswanathan said that it is really difficult to release players who have been part of CSK’s many winning campaigns, as the franchise is “very emotional with the players”.

“It’s a very tough decision as far as retention is concerned. As you know CSK has been very passionate with players, and they are also contributing so well to the franchise. While releasing for us It becomes very difficult to decide the players,” Viswanathan said.

“The contribution they have made for CSK will always be remembered and we know that yes, if any of them have the opportunity to come back, they will be back in CSK colours. Look, have a word for the fans That we expect to do well. We had a bad season and the next season we won (in 2021). Hopefully we will repeat the same (in 2023),” he said.

He also hoped that after two long years, CSK would finally get a chance to play at their home ground MA Chidambaram Stadium. With CSK eyeing their fourth IPL title in the UAE in 2021, a below-par performance this year saw them finish ninth in the 10-team tournament with four wins and 10 losses.

“Obviously, last two years we were not able to play at home and the current decision is that we will be able to play at our home ground. We have taken that into consideration, and based on that the team management has decided to release. players,” he said.

Originally published at Pen 18

IPL 2023: Full list of retained and released players by all 10 franchises ahead of the mini-auction – The Economic Times Video

The trading window for IPL 2023 closes at 5 PM on November 15. All 10 franchises have made changes to their squads for the tournament. The mini auction for IPL 2023 will be held in Kochi on December 23. Ahead of the auction, here’s how each franchise looks after releasing and retaining their players. watch.

Originally published at Pen 18

Cristiano Ronaldo News: Ronaldo ‘always happy’ when playing for Portugal

International teammate Joao Mario said on Tuesday that Cristiano Ronaldo is “always happy” while playing for Portugal and his problems at Manchester United will not hurt the country’s prospects.

The superstar forward blasted United in an explosive TV interview days before the start of the tournament in Qatar, saying he felt “betrayed” by the club and didn’t respect manager Erik ten Haag.

Ronaldo, 37, is now preparing to lead Portugal to a World Cup in what looks set to be his last.

“He is always happy when he is in the national team,” Benfica midfielder Joao Mario told reporters after the team trained in Lisbon.

“I saw him yesterday and he is quite fine as always. As he has said before, it is always a pleasure to be here for him. He is completely focused on the national team.”

“I don’t see any problem with the time (of the interview) because everyone always speaks about Cristiano, so it’s fine for us.”

Ronaldo put forward his complaints in an interview given to the British channel TalkTV.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been a peripheral figure for United this season under new manager Ten Haag.

He was disciplined after refusing to come on as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Tottenham last month.

But the Portugal superstar had returned to the side in recent weeks and even captained the Red Devils in a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

However, he was absent from the squad for Sunday’s 2–1 win over Fulham in United’s final match before the six-week World Cup break.

Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer in international football, has started only four games in the Premier League this season and scored just once.

His Portugal team will begin their World Cup campaign against Ghana on November 24 in Doha and will also face Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.

In a message posted on social media on Monday, accompanied by a photo of himself and some of his international teammates, Ronaldo said: “Total and complete focus on the work of the national team.”

Originally published at Pen 18

Indian Premier League 2023: Delhi Capitals retain 19 players, release four ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction

Delhi Capitals on Tuesday shared a list of retained and released players ahead of the Indian Premier League 2023 mini-auction, which is scheduled to take place later this year. The Delhi-based franchise has retained a total of 19 players which includes six foreign players.

Players who have been retained by the franchise from their fifth position from last season include Indian internationals Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Chetan Sakaria, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, Ripple Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Kamlesh Nagerkoti Huh. , Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal and Lalit Yadav.

Delhi Capitals have also retained six overseas players, including Australian batsman David Warner, West Indies batsman Rovman Powell, South African fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman and Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.

Meanwhile, the franchise has released four players, including Indian players Mandeep Singh, KS Bharat and Ashwin Hebbar and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert.

Delhi Capitals have also traded all-rounder Shardul Thakur to Kolkata Knight Riders and replaced him with all-rounder Aman Khan.

Retention – Indians: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Chetan Sakaria, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Akshar Patel, Ripple Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Kamlesh Nagerkoti, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Lalit Yadav

Foreign: David Warner, Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Mitchell Marsh

Released – Tim Seifert, Mandeep Singh, KS Bharath, Ashwin Hebbar

Trade – Shardul Thakur to Kolkata Knight Riders

Originally published at Pen 18

David Warner: Delhi Capitals retain Pant, Shaw, Warner, Kuldeep; release 2 backup wicketkeepers

Delhi Capitals on Tuesday retained their core in Rishabh Pant, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw while retaining 19 players. The IPL mini auction is to be held on December 23.

Players who have been retained by the franchise from their fifth position from last season include Indian internationals Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Chetan Sakaria, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, Ripple Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Kamlesh Huh. Nagerkoti, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal and Lalit Yadav.

Delhi Capitals have also retained six overseas players, including Australian batsman David Warner, West Indies batsman Rovman Powell, South African fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman and Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.

The franchise has released four players which include Indian player Mandeep Singh, wicketkeepers KS Bharath and Ashwin Hebbar and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert.

Delhi Capitals traded all-rounder Shardul Thakur to Kolkata Knight Riders and replaced him with all-rounder Aman Khan.

They will go into the auction with a purse of Rs 19.45 crore and look to fill the remaining two overseas slots.

Delhi Capitals finished fifth on the points table in the 2022 edition and missed out on the playoffs by a narrow margin. He handed over the captaincy of the team to Rishabh Pant in 2021 after Shreyas Iyer was sidelined due to injury.

The Delhi franchise then continued with Pant in IPL 2022 where the team won seven matches.

Originally published at Pen 18