The 2024 tournament has produced some exciting matches albeit on dodgy pitches

Ian Chappell15-Jun-2024Two of cricket’s greatest rivalries – India vs Pakistan and Australia vs England – were played in a 24-hour period during the 2024 T20 World Cup.While these fierce rivalries still generate great excitement, the Australia vs England bout fell short of expectations, with Australia winning the T20 match comfortably. India versus Pakistan always creates hysteria and once again this was the case even in New York as there are plenty of expats from both countries living in the USA.Going into the heavyweight bout India had only lost one World Cup contest to Pakistan and that was in the T20 format in 2021.Related

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This imbalance was partly explained years ago by a decorated Indian cricketer: “Pakistan tries to impress India,” he explained, “while we are only interested in having an impact on the West.”Pakistan cricket’s previous history may also help explain India’s stranglehold in their World Cup encounters. In early 1973 the Pakistan team were described as “Panikstan” because of the suicidal nature of their 92-run loss to Australia at the MCG. They then confirmed their newly acquired nickname by losing the third Test at the SCG by 52 runs despite only chasing a moderate target of 159.The “Panikstan” moniker was to the fore again in the 2024 World Cup as Pakistan lost a crucial contest to India in New York. After manoeuvring into a strong position where they were predicted to win, Pakistan capitulated and lost a low-scoring encounter by six runs.This was yet another typical big-brother-over-little-brother victory and that syndrome has weighed heavily on Pakistan in World Cup encounters.

There’s a highly competitive cricket rivalry still to be played in the Super Eight – India vs Australia. This has become a blockbuster contest in recent years.

Yet in Toronto in 1996 the two teams mixed amicably in a series at the suitably named Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. The five-match series was tied at two-all when one Indian player hilariously noted: “The soldiers are lined up at the border armed with rocks but they don’t know which way to throw them.”So well did India and Pakistan get on that I asked a mixed group of players, “Why do the two countries fight wars when the players socialise comfortably?”The answer was revealing and yet concerning. “We understand each other and eat similar food,” said an Indian player, “and the people generally get on well but the politicians of each country like to keep the aggro simmering.”The pitches in the USA again generated controversy, particularly the New York venue, which attracted a lot of negative publicity and proved to be difficult for batters. In many cases a score just exceeding 100 proved to be a match-winner.The USA reputation for providing dodgy pitches isn’t a recent one. In September 1999, I covered an India A vs Australia A five-match series in Los Angeles, where the respective skippers were VVS Laxman and Adam Gilchrist, both of whom went on to enjoy illustrious international careers.The pitches on that occasion could only be described as “ropey”, especially when genuine pacemen like Brett Lee operated. Dodgy pitches were accepted with a shrug of the shoulders in 1999 but, with the USA team qualifying for the Super Eight and being promoted as a viable cricket nation, this is not good enough. Mind you, USA cricket has long been wracked by organisational turmoil and this could be yet another example of the chaos that exists among their administration.While T20 pitches should never totally favour batters, there’s no excuse for surfaces that are considered dangerous.There’s a highly competitive cricket rivalry still to be played in the Super Eight – India vs Australia. This has become a blockbuster contest in recent years.Even if these two teams provide yet another exciting contest, it shouldn’t camouflage the USA problem. If cricket wants to make headway in the USA it has to vastly improve the administration and their pitches, while also convincing locally born players it’s a game worth playing.

Proactive captaincy will be hardest to replicate as inexperienced team face up to Pakistan challenge

Matt Roller05-Oct-2024England have only had a fleeting glance at a fully-fit Ben Stokes in the last three years but he has committed his long-term future to them, signing a new central contract which is expected to take in the 2025-26 Ashes tour. Stokes declined to specify the length of his new contract on Saturday, but it is understood to be a two-year deal.Stokes will miss a fourth consecutive Test in Multan, having torn his hamstring in August while playing in the Hundred. The timing was hugely frustrating, coming so soon after he had sorted out his chronic left-knee injury through surgery, to the extent he could bowl 49 overs at full tilt across three matches against West Indies in July.It is now two months since Stokes sustained the injury, but he said he is slightly ahead of schedule and does not believe it is a long-term concern. “Injuries are part of sport,” he said. “I’m 33 now, so I’ve put my body through quite a lot. But I’ve started working incredibly hard over the last two years… it’s not through lack of effort.”The ECB has not announced the latest batch of central contracts, though most of their regular players are already tied to multi-year deals. Stokes was an exception, leaving his options open last year after gambling that his value would rise during the subsequent 12 months. His new deal is thought to see him through until September 2026, taking in next year’s Ashes tour.It is a significant commitment, not least with the backdrop of a lucrative deal to play in the SA20 in January leaving Stokes fully aware of his value on the franchise circuit. But England are just as aware of Stokes’ importance to their Test team, not only as a player but as a leader and figurehead for Brendon McCullum’s regime.Related

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Without a genuine allrounder available, England have stuck with the five-bowler formula they used against Sri Lanka and with Chris Woakes at No. 7. It is Woakes’ first opportunity in two-and-a-half years to address his away Test record – 36 wickets at 51.88 – and throughout his career, he has tended to contribute more in Stokes’ absenceAs much as his batting and bowling, England will miss Stokes’ captaincy in Multan. He was the mastermind of their unexpected series sweep in Pakistan two years ago, not least in Rawalpindi when his early declaration – setting 342 in four sessions – defied conventional wisdom. Ollie Pope’s biggest challenge will be matching Stokes’ proactivity in changing the tempo of matches.Pope kept wicket in the first two Tests of the 2022 series, and is one of six men in England’s XI who was ever-present in that series. Jack Leach is their only bowler to have bowled a red ball in Pakistan before; Gus Atkinson will be playing his first overseas Test, and Brydon Carse is on debut. Pope cannot simply rely on his attack managing itself.”There are no doubts in my mind about the bowlers we have picked,” Stokes said, speaking inside an empty commentary box to avoid the 40-degree heat on the boundary edge. “We know they will be able to withstand it. We know it is going to be tough, but it will be great exposure for the first time for them… It will show them how hard Test cricket can be.”Pope tried to follow Stokes’ lead in setting attacking fields against Sri Lanka, but was too slow to react and adjust at The Oval as the third Test slipped away from England. He seemed to lack Stokes’ ability to grasp opportunities to change the pace or mood of an innings in the field, though will have learned plenty from his first experience of the role.Stokes will be on hand throughout to relay any advice, while James Anderson – who got the ball reversing in Multan two years ago – will arrive on the second day. “He has seen what can work out here,” Stokes said. “I’m sure at some point I will want to say something to him, but I will only do it if I think something is worth saying. I don’t want to say things for the sake of it.”[In 2022], it was about trying to push the game forward because of the conditions we were faced with. We were always trying to do something to force a result, even if it means potentially giving Pakistan a sniff of winning the game… me and Brendon will encourage Ollie to influence the game himself, and make sure that comes across in his captaincy.”Shan Masood’s public desire for surfaces that suit his seamers has piqued the interest of England’s players, and there was a significant grass covering on the Test strip two days out. Pakistan are a better side than recent results suggest, not least when Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are involved, and England will not take them lightly.England’s clean sweep in Pakistan remains their best series result under Stokes and McCullum, and was arguably the regime’s high point, with a 10-8 win-loss record in the past two years. With Stokes unavailable for at least the first Test, a repeat on this tour might trump it.

“When you cross 30, people start thinking your career is coming to an end, but I feel there’s a lot of cricket left in me”

Hemant Brar10-Aug-2024One of the markers of growing up, they say, is when you leave home for the first time. Mandeep Singh is on a similar journey at the age of 32. Having played for Punjab, his home state, for 15 years, he has decided to move to Tripura for the 2024-25 Indian domestic season.The decision may have come as a surprise to many, especially after he led Punjab to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title last season, ending a 30-year trophy drought for the team. However, in a T20 side overflowing with power-hitters, Mandeep, an anchor, was no longer the first name on the team sheet.Earlier this year, when Punjab toured Namibia for five 50-over games, he was left out of the squad. Perhaps that is what forced him to take this “huge step”.Related

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“When you cross 30, people start thinking your career is coming to an end,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Last year, I didn’t get picked in the IPL either. But I feel there’s a lot of cricket left in me. I work hard on my fitness. I had a score of 18.3 in the Yo-Yo test last year. It’s not like I am just dragging my career further.”But I started getting a feeling that I would not be considered for all three formats for Punjab. Many youngsters are coming up and the team management may want to give them opportunities. But I want to play all three formats as of now. So when I got an offer from Tripura, I decided to accept it.”Winning a trophy for Punjab was my ultimate dream, which we achieved last season. So I felt this was the best time to leave. And it’s not like I cannot go back – I have left on good terms. In fact, I hope to finish with Punjab because my heart is with Punjab.”At Tripura, Mandeep is replacing Wriddhiman Saha, who was their captain as well last season. Saha has returned to Bengal. Mandeep does not know yet if he will lead Tripura.”I haven’t talked about it [with the Tripura association],” he said. “I spoke to our coach, PV Shashikanth, but we discussed only how to take the team forward. Everything is a bit new for me.”File photo: Mandeep Singh is in England at the moment, playing club cricket in the lead up to the domestic season in India•Ishan Mahal/Punjab Cricket AssociationShashikanth was with Karnataka for the last two seasons. So it will be his first season, too, with Tripura.Mandeep is stepping out of his comfort zone in more ways than one. After his leanest Ranji Trophy season, in 2023-24, where he scored just 216 runs at an average of 27.00, he is taking a new approach to preparation.In 2019, he had spent a summer playing league cricket in Chennai. That stint was followed by Mandeep’s most productive Ranji Trophy season to date, when he scored 696 runs at an average of 69.60. This time, he is exploring more distant shores. He is in England, playing club cricket for Hull Zingari Cricket Club in the Yorkshire Premier League North.”I had never played in England before,” Mandeep said. “I first tried for the County Championship. I asked a couple of people to help with a contract, but it didn’t happen. After that, I signed this two-month contract, which runs till mid-September.”It is a 50-over tournament but is played with the red ball. And it’s not like modern-day ODI cricket. If you score about 250 in 50 overs, that’s a good total. The pitches and conditions are really challenging. There is lot of turn; there is swing anyway. Since our domestic season is starting with the Ranji Trophy this time, I feel this is a good preparation.”In his first game, Mandeep scored 107 off 84 balls against Easingwold. He is hoping good performances there will open doors to county cricket.But given his three-format ambitions, he has been working on his T20 skills too.

“I have a few goals. One is, of course, to play all three formats, and then, hopefully, make a comeback in the IPL. Obviously, if you get back into the IPL and do well, you start getting into the mix [for the Indian team]”Mandeep Singh on his goal for the 2024-25 domestic season

“Earlier, I used to focus mostly on red-ball cricket during the off-season. This time I practised a lot with the white ball. Being a top-order batter, I normally take my time early on. But things have changed. The demand is for fast cricket. So I worked on my power-hitting, so that if I am required to go big right from the start, I could do that.”As for his fitness, he is breaking the mental barriers that came up after a major back surgery in 2017.”I have reduced my weight but improved my strength. Earlier I used to do squats with 50-60kg. After the back surgery, that fear was always there. This time I touched 100kg. I had never lifted this much weight. When it came to deadlifts, I would restrict myself to 70-80kg. I took that to 100kg in the off-season.”I have a few goals. One is, of course, to play all three formats, and then, hopefully, make a comeback in the IPL. Obviously, if you get back into the IPL and do well, you start getting into the mix [for the Indian team].”If I am not wrong, Suryakumar Yadav played for India at the age of 30. Shashank Singh is 32-33 [32]. He had his first taste of success in the IPL last year. So the inspirations are right in front of me.”

He has been smashing sixes regularly of late and has already made a name in the IPL. He now wants to take it to the next level

Himanshu Agrawal01-Sep-2024As more and more state associations in India have started running their own T20 leagues, which also attract IPL scouts, there has probably never been a wider pool of T20 players in the country. But only a handful of them graduate to the IPL. Karnataka’s Abhinav Manohar is one of them.Now, in his second coming as a T20 batter, he has developed an X-factor. Fair, all the games of the Maharaja T20 Trophy – Karnataka’s T20 league – this season have been played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the ball flies, but Manohar’s 52 sixes tower over the next best, Karun Nair’s 27.His team Shivammoga Lions finished fifth out of the six sides, but he was on top of the charts (until the final on Sunday) with 507 runs at a strike rate of 196.51 – the highest for a batter with at least 200 runs – with the standout aspect being his six-hitting. Manohar says he is blessed to have the ability to hit sixes “since a very young age,” and explains what has gone into him clearing the boundary effortlessly.”I have been practising a lot,” he told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of the Maharaja Trophy. “[To] each session I go, I bat [for] 300 balls, and hit about 150 sixes against spinners and fast bowlers, and to sidearm and throwdowns. That’s why it’s paying off today.”Manohar feels backing himself more has also helped him in upping his power game, something he didn’t do in the past.”When it comes to hitting sixes, I think I just back myself because I know I can clear any boundary,” he said. “Over the past few years, I didn’t back myself as much as I would like, but now I think I’m backing myself a little bit more.”The aggressive intent apart, Manohar also worked on some technical aspects over the last three to four months. He said he “didn’t have any goals as such coming into the season” and was content to just apply what he has worked on recently.”I just wanted to come out here and practice because this is the best stage to practice,” he said. “I have two batting coaches: Mithun Manhas from Gujarat Titans (GT), and Sudhindra Shinde, in Bangalore. Shinde has been helping me here because I go to him once a week, and we work on my batting.”They should take half the credit for my success in the Maharaja Trophy because they have been helping me day in, [and] day out. And hopefully, this is just the start of something better to come.”Manohar has learned to relax, even while freely flinging the cricket ball out of the ground – even with the opposition constantly in his ear and despite being a late starter in domestic cricket.Abhinav Manohar has showed some of his big hits in the IPL for Gujarat Titans•AFP/Getty Images”Just before going to bat, I tend not to be too serious because if I get into that serious zone about seeing what the other batsman is doing, [or] seeing how the wicket is playing, that plays in my mind,” Manohar said.Part of Manohar’s routine before walking out to bat includes joking around in the dressing room, which he says helps him remain calm. All he prefers in the form of practice in the lead-up to a game is to “knock the ball around just to open up my shoulders”.

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Manohar’s domestic debut came for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) in 2021-22. He was already 27, when some cricketers are at the peak of their powers.But Manohar immediately looked to make up for lost time. On T20 debut, against Saurashtra in the preliminary quarter-final, he thumped an unbeaten 70 off just 49 balls. That knock included six sixes and was a rescue act in a successful chase of 146. He walked out at 34 for 3, and with Karnataka slipping to 60 for 4 in the tenth over, he took over the chase.In his maiden T20 tournament, Manohar scored 162 runs in four innings at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 150 in Karnataka’s run to the final.In February 2022, at the IPL mega auction, (GT), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) battled it out for him, before GT bagged Manohar for a whopping INR 2.6 crore, an amount 13 times his base price.Looking back at his first experience of the glitz of the IPL, Manohar said playing alongside Hardik Pandya, David Miller and Rashid Khan was surreal. That season, he played only eight of their 16 games and didn’t quite set the stage on fire, even as he rejoiced in GT’s title win.”It’s something that very few people are privileged to do,” he said. “I didn’t get to play in the finals, but that’s okay. It was a great feeling to actually share the dressing room with such great stars.”Although Manohar had a quiet start in the IPL, he featured in three half-century partnerships with Hardik out of the four times they batted together across the 2022 and 2023 editions. Manohar contributed with crucial cameos each time, and enjoyed his time with his captain both on and off the field.”Hardik is a very nice person; he’s very helpful,” Manohar said. “You can go to him with whatever you want. And he’s someone who just has that positive energy and aura around him all the time.”Despite a lean IPL 2022, Manohar’s power-hitting ability meant GT continued to mostly use him as a finisher in 2023, when he batted at No. 6 on four occasions out of six. Manohar then got only two games in 2024, though GT were without Hardik, but still took back some learnings from his 19 matches across the three seasons.”Having one or two good seasons in the IPL is a way to get noticed and break into the India side”•BCCI”To back myself a little bit more, and to have a steady mindset,” he said, when asked what he takes back from his IPL experiences. “Try not to let your emotions control you. That’s something that most of us don’t know how to do.”But Manohar kept pumping the runs when he got his chances. In the Maharaja Trophy in 2022, he hammered 352 runs at an average of 70.40 and a strike rate of 175.12 to emerge as the highest run-scorer for Mangalore United. That run of form carried on into SMAT in 2022-23, when Manohar played all eight matches, and struck 62 not out in the quarter-final against Punjab with five fours and as many sixes.Manohar was even the biggest earner at the Maharaja Trophy auction, bought for INR 15 lakh by Shivamogga. With 258 runs, he became Shivamogga’s second-highest run-scorer.But something much bigger is now coming up. It is the mega IPL auction for 2025, and Manohar not only hopes to remain with GT but also hopes to get more game time.”Wherever I go, I hope I get to play as many games as possible and get to express myself in the best way possible,” he said. “I feel I have finetuned my game this year, and I’m just hoping to carry the form I have in the Maharaja into the IPL.”That, though, is only one of his goals for the near future. His next wish is to find a permanent place in Karnataka’s List A side, having played just seven games since his debut in December 2021. Add to that his intention to also play first-class cricket which he hasn’t featured in yet.”I’m hoping the selectors back me a little more and see that I’m not only cut out for T20, but that I also have the skillset to play one-day and four-day [matches],” he said. “I’ve been fine-tuning my game to play the longer format – mindset-wise as well. So I’m hoping that this year I get a run in all three formats. And if I get a decent enough run, I’m sure I’ll do well over there.”The ultimate dream, however, remains wearing the India jersey. He has even charted a way out for that.”I would love to represent my country. Having one or two good seasons in the IPL is a way to get noticed and break into the India side,” Manohar said, citing the example of Riyan Parag, who made his India debut against Sri Lanka this year.

A hard-hitting batter, could he be the latest gem to be unearthed by Mumbai Indians’ scouting network?

Deivarayan Muthu26-Nov-20241:35

Moody: Fitness the only question mark for Deepak Chahar

Bevon Jacobs was asleep in New Zealand the moment his cricket career took an unexpected turn thousands of miles away at the IPL 2025 auction.He woke up on Tuesday morning to his phone blowing up. “You’ve just been picked up by Mumbai Indians,” was one of the messages from Jacobs’ cousin, who had been tracking the auction from South Africa.Towards the end of the two-day event in Jeddah, after the likes of Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen and Michael Bracewell from New Zealand had gone unsold, MI raised the paddle for 22-year old Jacobs for INR 30 lakh. Most people watching didn’t know who he was.Related

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“Oh! They [his family] couldn’t believe it,” Jacobs said. “I think they were more shocked than I was. We were all in a bit of a mental state this morning [where] we just didn’t know what was going on. I woke my dad up and he was panicking thinking that someone was breaking in (laughs). I was like ‘no no I’ve just been picked up in the IPL’. So that was a pretty good laugh this morning. No, it was awesome.”After playing fewer than 10 T20s, Jacobs will now join with the vastly experienced Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner at MI for IPL 2025.Who is Bevon-John Jacobs?Jacobs, 22, is an explosive middle-order batter who was one of the breakout stars of the 2023-24 Super Smash. He slotted in as a finisher for Canterbury Kings, hitting 134 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 188.73 – the second best after Doug Bracewell (202.02) among batters who had faced at least 50 balls in the tournament.Jacobs had immediately caught the eye in the Super Smash, when he went after Sean Solia, the New Zealand A seamer, and Jimmy Neesham, the New Zealand international, on debut against Auckland at the Eden Park Outer Oval. He struck 42 off 20 balls and continued to produce sparkling cameos.Jacobs was born in Pretoria in South Africa before his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was about three years old.Bevon-John Jacobs was picked up by Mumbai Indians for IPL 2025•NZCHe emerged through the Auckland pathway system before he shifted to Canterbury, where he made his senior T20 and List A debuts. Ahead of the 2024-25 domestic season, Jacobs, however, returned to Auckland, with Jonathan Bassett-Graham, Auckland cricket’s acting head of performance and talent, calling his hard-hitting as a “real bonus.”Jacobs showed his red-ball chops when he scored 75 and 79 on Plunket Shield debut, for Auckland, against Wellington last month against an attack that included Logan van Beek and Liam Dudding, who is among the top wicket-takers in this Plunket Shield.Has Jacobs played T20 cricket outside of NZ?Jacobs had a stint in the Queensland T20 Max, in Australia during the recent New Zealand winter, where he smashed 100 off 40 balls on the final day of the competition for South Brisbane against Toombull. Using his long reach, Jacobs kept finding – or clearing – the boundary. Mumbai are big on power-hitters with that long reach and that’s perhaps why their scouting team, which includes former New Zealand captain John Wright, identified Jacobs as a potential IPL finisher.”I guess there was a little bit of media around that tournament [Queensland T20 Max] and I happened to get some runs at the end which was nice,” Jacobs said. “I played with an awesome club and a good bunch of lads there got around me and I guess it was my kind of my first experience overseas playing as an overseas player. So, I guess that might help in a sense a bit of familiarity going over there but yeah obviously it [the IPL] is a bit of a step above but I’ll do what I can.”

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