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Off the field and on it, the lines between Delhi and Haryana can be blurry but the line between Virender Sehwag and Delhi is a distinct one this season

Sidharth Monga in Delhi14-Oct-2015At around 11am Virender Sehwag’s white Audi entered Feroz Shah Kotla. His team had earlier come on the bus, but Sehwag drove his own car in about half an hour later. The security didn’t stop him. You can tell when people are in unfamiliar places. This car wasn’t. Without hesitation, the bespectacled Sehwag drove the car to the players’ enclosure entry, opened the boot, got off, pulled out his kit, left it near the entry, closed the boot, went back into the driver’s seat and parked the car in a corner by the Delhi nets.Anil Jain, joint secretary (sports) of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA), rushed from inside the nets and towards Sehwag’s car. Jain was looking after the ground on the morning. He cleared who could go in, he had people greeting him when he went into the Delhi nets. Now he theatrically made a move towards Sehwag’s car. He wanted to be the first person to welcome Sehwag, but another DDCA official had already reached the car and hugged Sehwag.Sehwag looked a little bemused at all the attention, but this was par for the course. The kit bag that Sehwag had earlier offloaded was Haryana Cricket Association’s. He has played against Delhi Daredevils in the IPL before, but this was the first time he was coming to Kotla to prepare for a first-class match against the home side.

Sehwag’s numbers in the opposition

• v Delhi Daredevils: 4 matches, 80 runs, no fifty

• As an opposition batsman at Feroz Shah Kotla: 2 matches, 24 runs

• v Gambhir and Dahiya: 11 matches, 255 runs, one fifty
  

In the Delhi nets, Gautam Gambhir, long-time opening partner and friend, and Vijay Dahiya, who along with Sehwag had scored a fifty against Australia in Bangalore in 2001*, had been preparing Delhi for this big match. Before Sehwag came, some of the Delhi players had hopped on to the other side to catch up with the Haryana players. Most of the players from Haryana have learnt their cricket playing in the leagues in Delhi. Haryana’s home venue, Lahli, is only a two hours’ drive away. The line between Delhi and Haryana is blurred, what with a few Haryana cities now only an extension of Delhi, but the line between Sehwag and Delhi is not so unclear now.Dahiya didn’t help himself from having a quick sledge. Asked about the game against “Viru”, Dahiya began with a straight bat, but the wicketkeeper in him soon took over. “It’s Haryana,” Dahiya said. “That’s what the game is all about. It’s the second game for them, third for us. We know they are a very consistent side. In this league, every side is a fantastic side.”Asked again about facing up to Sehwag, Dahiya said: “It’s a match between two teams, and that’s how you plan it. If somebody plays as an individual that is a different thing. We are playing as a team.” And then he smiled a cheeky smile.Dahiya can afford to smile with a ten-wicket win last week against Vidarbha after he took over as coach of the team in a shambolic state. Delhi’s administration remains in a similar state, with Mohammad Azharuddin invited to a Ranji match and allegedly allowed inside the players and match officials area (PMOA) for a chat with some of the participating players. Dahiya says the players are far away from the mess. They have been talked to a lot, they have been made to feel comfortable enough to trust each other, to be able to say anything they want in the dressing room.Despite all the controversies, the way Dahiya announced three changes to the XI a day before the match could point to a team better than what it looks from the outside. Sumit Narwal is injured. Sarang Rawat is rested, but Dahiya says they are going to ask DDCA to play him in Under-23 games so he stays in touch with “days” [multi-day] cricket. Parvinder Awana comes back after he was considered short of overs in the first match and after bowling a lot over the last week. On the surface at least, the clarity is at odds with the way the team was selected or the way the selectors and the coach were selected.Delhi’s and captain Gambhir’s relationship with Sehwag remains a matter of speculation. It is said in Delhi circles that Sehwag made the move because he and Gambhir had fallen out. Opening partners, friends, India comeback aspirants, opposing Ranji captains. At their home ground. Gambhir will have Ishant Sharma too, who will, in consultation with the physio, decide if he plays any more games after this.On Thursday, too, Sehwag will drive into his home ground with the same authority and calm. Some DDCA members might show up to greet him again. There will be warm-ups. Then the toss. If Gambhir wins it, early on a Thursday morning, in all likelihood Ishant will be charging in at Sehwag. Dahiya might not want to admit it, but a lot of it will be about individuals.*October 15, 0832 GMT. The article had erroneously stated a 100-run partnership between Vijay Dahiya and Virender Sehwag. This has been corrected

Ajmal Shahzad is the most notable English county player seriously considering whether to sign up for the planned PSL

David Hopps31-Jan-2013Ajmal Shahzad, who only two years ago was regarded as a integral part of England’s fast-bowling future, is the most notable English county player seriously considering whether to sign up for the planned Pakistan Super League.Pakistan are so anxious to attract overseas players that they have offered life insurance of $2 million (£1.25m) as well as 24-hour personal security for a tournament which would offer competitive cricket immediately ahead of the English county season.That has been enough for Shahzad to toy with the possibility of making himself available, along with three other county players with Pakistani antecedents: Lancashire’s Kabir Ali, Mooen Ali of Worcestershire and Kadeer Ali, who is currently a free agent since being released by Gloucestershire in 2010.That they would eventually accept offers, though, is far from certain. Players’ associations including the international body, FICA, and their England equivalent, the PCA, have warned players that they should not visit Pakistan on security grounds and there is a general acceptance that overseas players will be immensely difficult to attract.But players with a Pakistan background, and of Muslim religion, are naturally more willing to consider any offers than most, privately feeling that their safety, although impossible to guarantee, might be less compromised.Shahzad, who is forging a new career with Nottinghamshire after sharing a troubled 2012 season between Yorkshire and Lancashire, said: “It’s still early doors but if the PSL is set up professionally and becomes official and the security is top notch then I would think about it. My first commitment is to Notts but the fixtures don’t clash with the English season.”Nottinghamshire have taken a firm line against the involvement of their players in the IPL because it clashes with the England season, but their director of cricket, Mick Newell, emphasised that there would be no automatic objection to any overseas T20 tournament which took place in England’s close season.He counselled: “We would advise players to have full discussions with the PCA before making a decision about any overseas T20 tournament so they were fully aware of any issues, but we would not automatically block an NOC if it was requested.”Lancashire are confident that they have dissuaded Kabir from making the trip. “We haven’t granted an NOC for any of our players to go forward to the PSL auction,” a Lancashire statement said, giving the impression that the subject was closed.Kabir, though, had been among the keenest to make the trip, despite an unnerving experience with terrorist violence, this time in India, more than four years ago. When attacks on Mumbai forced the suspension of India’s tour of India, In November 2008, Kabir was due to have dinner at the Taj Palace, where England were also shortly due to stay, on the night of the attacks. He changed his mind at the last minute and went to the cinema and the shootings began shortly afterwards.Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, said that Mooen Ali has also not yet applied for an NOC certificate. Such applications would be premature, however, as details of the PSL have not been finalised. Mooen is believed to have more reservations about the tournament than many others under consideration.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai

The Preview by George Binoy26-May-2012

Match facts

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)When these sides met in Chennai during the league stage, Knight Riders won by five wickets•AFP

Big Picture

They are here, again. Those resilient, stubborn Chennai Super Kings. In another IPL final, their fourth in five seasons and their third in a row, pursuing a hat trick of titles. Love them, hate them or couldn’t care less about them, you have to give it to them – the Super Kings got game. They know when and how to turn it on, too, though this season they dangled off the edge of the precipice, holding on with their pinkies, for longer than was comfortable.Kolkata Knight Riders did not leave their chances hinging on an improbable combination of results over which they had no control. They reached the playoffs with a game to spare and made short work of Delhi Daredevils to enter their maiden IPL final. Their performances have been efficient and consistent and they should logically be favourites tomorrow. But they’re facing a resurgent side on its home turf.Super Kings are blessed with loyal fans and the pricklier among them bristle at insinuations that fortune played a role in their team making it to Chennai on Sunday. They got enough points, didn’t they? And they didn’t design the schedule, so they had to hope three results went their way to make the playoffs. And Kings XI Punjab just weren’t good enough to beat Delhi Daredevils, and Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore weren’t good enough to beat bottom-placed Deccan Chargers. What’s luck got to do with it?That Super Kings had to wait five days to know they would be able to defend their title was because of an out-of-sorts start to the season. At times they, the IPL’s least changed side over five seasons, looked passé compared to some of the other teams, who had strengthened squads with new personnel. Super Kings’ turnaround only began after ten league games, of which they had won four. They won four of their last six matches, so their form, when they entered familiar playoff territory, was satisfactory.And then they were near perfect. After clambering on to level ground, Super Kings’ misfiring batting line-up, the longest in the IPL, found its guns and annihilated Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils with breath-taking confidence.While Super Kings had abundant success in seasons past, Knight Riders had nothing. In the first three years, they were the only team without a top-four finish. So in 2011, Knight Riders abandoned failed strategies, completely overhauled their squad, and climbed to fourth in the league, but lost the eliminator. In 2012, they have gone farther, converting their second-place finish in the league into a berth in the finals by beating Daredevils in the first qualifier.Knight Riders also had an iffy start to the season, losing three of their first five games. Since then they’ve lost only two out of 11, acquiring the rarest quality in Twenty20 cricket – consistency. There were no dramas in their progress to the playoffs. Their success has been built around two people with supporting contributions from the rest. The captain Gautam Gambhir has been a reliable run-scorer, while the spinner Sunil Narine has confounded all and sundry with his unreadable variations.If they perform like they have this season, Knight Riders have little reason to worry. Whether they can perform in their first final, against opponents seasoned to such pressure, is the question.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings: WWLWW
Kolkata Knight Riders: WWWLL

Watch out for …

Sunil Narine: At present, he has the second most wickets this season, the best economy rate, and the best average for anyone who’s played more than two matches – 24 wickets, 5.20 per over and 11.95 per wicket. Gambhir’s used him in a variety of situations – early on to drag back a quick start, in the middle to exercise control over the game and at the end, when batsmen have only attack on their minds. Narine’s delivered each time. Gambhir’s utilisation of Narine in the final will be crucial. Super Kings bat until No. 9 so Gambhir will have to decide when and against whom Narine can have the greatest impact.The middle orders: With top orders evenly matched and Knight Riders shading the bowling battle, this is where Super Kings score heavily over their opponents. The line-up comprising MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, S Badrinath and Albie Morkel is far more reliable and powerful than the one comprising Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Manoj Tiwary, or variations of it. Knight Riders are more dependent on their top order than Super Kings are, although Yusuf Pathan did make his first proper contribution in the qualifier against Daredevils.

Team combination

Barring last-minute fitness problems, Super Kings are certain to play the same XI that won them the two knockout games to reach the final.A couple of Knight Riders players have hamstring concerns. Manoj Tiwary missed the knockout against Delhi because of a strain and was replaced by Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who impressed with 24 off 11 balls. Tiwary is likely to be fit, though, so either Shukla or Debabrata Das, who has also performed well, could make way. The bigger hamstring concern, however, is over L Balaji, who injured himself during the qualifier. Balaji has been the solitary Indian seamer in the Knight Riders attack so his absence could cause significant change to the team composition.

Meetings this season

At Chepauk, Knight Riders won by five wickets and two balls to spare. Super Kings were restricted to a middling total and the victory was more comfortable than the margin indicates.At Eden Gardens, Super Kings won by five wickets off the final delivery. Chasing 159, they* had reached 97 for 0 in the 11th over when Narine derailed the innings during a spell of 4-0-14-2. With 5 to get off the last ball, Bravo launched Rajat Bhatia over the long-on boundary.

Stats and trivia

• In the last five overs of the innings, Super Kings have scored at 10.64 per over on average this season, which is the second best after Royal Challengers Bangalore. Knight Riders have scored at 9.32 per over during this period. There is very little separating the sides’ run rates in the first six overs, though Knight Riders are a little faster.
• Knight Riders have had the best spinners of the tournament. They’ve taken the most wickets at the best average and economy rate – 48, 16.20 and 6.09. Their attack of choice in recent games has been Narine, Iqbal Abdulla and Shakib Al Hasan, with Yusuf chipping in. Super Kings’ spinners are second best, but by a distance.

Quotes

“When you go on to the field, you do not go there to make friends but you are there to get results in your team’s favour. You have to be aggressive on the field. That is how we have won matches and now we are in the final and not to just compete.”
.”With his action, it is difficult to catch him as to which side he is bowling, whether it is the one that comes in to a right hander or it goes out. The variation he has got and the consistency that he has got in maintaining line and length has been crucial.”
.*The text said Knight Riders earlier

A round-up of the semi-finals of the One-Day National Cup Division Two tournament in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2011An unbeaten century from Rana Adnan and a collective bowling performance helped Lahore Eagles secure a place in the final by beating State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by 73 runs in Karachi. Adnan’s 100 off 115 balls held the innings together and his partnership of 77 with Hamza Paracha, who made 51, set a platform for a considerable total. The middle and lower order, however, failed to contribute and Lahore slumped from 212 for 3 to 265 for 8. Jalat Khan took 3 for 53 for SBP while new-ball bowler, Mohammad Naved, was economical during his seven-over spell of 1 for 21.SBP’s chase never got off the ground. Their openers fell for single-digit scores and, after a 63-run stand for the third wicket, the steady fall of wickets resumed. Adnan Raees top scored with 49 and no one else got over 40. Lahore’s new-ball bowler, Emmad Ali, took 3 for 34 while Saad Nasim and Waqas Aslam took two apiece. SBP were eventually bowled out for 192 in 40 overs.Riding on Azhar Ali’s unbeaten hundred, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) chased the target of 273 to beat Karachi Zebras by six wickets and an over to spare in Hyderabad to secure their berth in the final. The chase had begun poorly, with KRL slipping to 19 for 3, before Ali led the revival along with Bazid Khan, who made 50. Bazid departed with the score on 117 but Ali Khan entered and blitzed 80 off 58 balls to shut Karachi out of the contest.Ali’s century had helped overcome Karachi’s strong total of 272 for 9, which was built around Asif Zakir’s run-a-ball 110. Rameez Aziz payed a supporting hand with 40 but there were no other contributions of note. Mohammad Irfan claimed 3 for 46 for KRL while Nauman Ali and Saeed Anwar jnr took two wickets apiece.

Cricket Australia will consider dismantling its out-dated board structure in favour of a more streamlined and representative model

Peter English13-Aug-2010Cricket Australia will consider dismantling its out-dated board structure in favour of a more streamlined and representative model. Talk of a move towards a commission-style executive was the result of a board meeting on Friday that also confirmed the start of an eight-team domestic Twenty20 competition for 2011-12.Currently six state sides play in the extremely popular Twenty20 Big Bash but that will be expanded to include regional outfits. “We’ve been asked to consider all the issues to go full-steam ahead with the league and launch it a year earlier,” James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, said.The board meeting came at the end of a week-long Australian cricket conference to plan for the future and the potential remodelling covers all levels. The initial top-level structure under discussion is a six-person board, with one member from each state, along with up to four invited directors. Changes to the six state boards are also expected.”There’s a whole range of reasons why the board has chosen to implement a review of the governance of CA,” Sutherland said. “Certainly one of the things we talked about quite often [at the conference] was the importance of cricket ensuring that we had the interests of the whole Australian community represented throughout cricket, from the board to volunteer level.”It is something the board wants to get into with some haste, there is some work that needs to be done between now and the next [board] meeting to see how it is to take place. There are numerous moves afoot in various sports for them to be changing their governance model, and one of the considerations for us will be to benchmark world’s best practice.”

Another impressive innings from Chesney Hughes raised Derbyshire’s hopes of
avoiding the follow-on before England all-rounder Luke Wright landed two late
blows at Derby

06-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Another impressive innings from Chesney Hughes raised Derbyshire’s hopes of
avoiding the follow-on before England all-rounder Luke Wright landed two late
blows at Derby.The 19-year-old Anguillan passed 50 for the fourth time in only his fourth
County Championship Division Two match but was out for 62 to the first ball back
after a break for bad light and rain.Wright then bowled 20-year-old Dan Redfern for 44 and at the close, Derbyshire
were 244 for 6, trailing by 185, in reply to Sussex’s 429. Skipper Chris Rogers had continued his prolific form with 75 before he was one of two victims for England spinner Monty Panesar who had figures of 2 for 42 from 17 overs.Robin Martin-Jenkins followed his century by removing Garry Park but the Sussex
bowling was inconsistent on a day when conditions suggested it would be awkward
for batting. Cloud cover and moisture in the atmosphere should have favoured the seamers but
James Anyon struggled with his line and there were too many loose balls for the
batsmen to put away.Sussex had put themselves in a strong position with the last four wickets
adding 303 to leave Derbyshire needing 280 to avoid the prospect of being asked
to follow-on.Yasir Arafat and Anyon put on 64 for the ninth wicket before Anyon swept the
left arm spin of Robin Peterson into the hands of deep midwicket and a direct
hit from point ran out Panesar.Arafat was unbeaten on 34 and he gave his side the perfect start by striking
with the fifth ball of the Derbyshire innings when he trapped Wayne Madsen lbw
playing half forward. But the prize wicket of Rogers fell from the visitors’ grasp when the
Australian was dropped on 15 in Anyon’s second over by wicketkeeper Ben Brown.Rogers had already started to head for the pavilion after he saw Brown take
the edge diving to his left but the ball appeared to slip from his glove when he
hit the ground. The Derbyshire captain made the most of his escape and greeted Panesar by
driving his first two balls to the ropes as he and Park rebuilt the innings.They had added 96 when Park reached at a delivery from Martin-Jenkins which he
should have left alone and was well caught low down at a wide second slip by Ed
Joyce.Greg Smith made only two before he sent a return catch to Panesar trying to
work the ball through midwicket and when Rogers jabbed into the hands of short
leg, Derbyshire were 127 for 4. But Hughes again played with composure and with Redfern was steering Derbyshire towards their target before Wright dismissed them both in the space
of three overs.Hughes, who had pulled Wright for six, was lbw playing slightly across the
line to end a stand of 98 and Redfern was bowled playing back to leave
Derbyshire still 36 short of saving the follow-on.

Worcestershire fight back through Taylor, Libby but face uphill struggle to avoid defeat

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay25-Sep-2025Worcestershire 123 and 270 for 6 (Libby 72) lead Sussex 350 (Simpson 129*, Taylor 4-106) by 43 runsJohn Simpson’s unbeaten 129 and six second-innings Worcestershire wickets kept Sussex in command on day two of the Rothesay County Championship clash at Visit Worcestershire New Road.A glistening fourth century of the season from the away side’s skipper saw Sussex add 122 runs to their overnight score, before they were bowled out for 350.With a deficit of 227, Jake Libby and Rehaan Edavalath added a century stand for the first wicket to throw the Pears a lifeline.Six wickets across the second half of the day however saw Worcestershire cling onto a slender lead of 43 runs heading into the third day with just four wickets intact.A resplendent morning at Visit Worcestershire New Road saw the home side land the first blow of the day when Tom Taylor bowled Jack Carson in the first over of the morning.A 53rd wicket of a remarkable season followed soon after for Taylor as Danny Lamb feathered a nick through to Rob Jones at second slip, to check the visitors progress at 245 for 7.Simpson registered his fourth hundred of a memorable Division One campaign, reaching the milestone in 138 balls and scoring 18 boundaries in the process, shortly after Ollie Robinson had departed for a brisk 24.Simpson kicked on as the visitors reached 350 and strengthened their grip on the match, before Matthew Waite’s introduction into the attack saw him take two wickets in four balls as he dismissed both Ari Karvelas and Jayden Unadkat, with Sussex all-out for 350 possessing a healthy lead of 227.Simpson finished unbeaten on 129, with his 19th first-class century the standout innings of the game.Libby surpassed 1000 first class runs for the season in the Rothesay County Championship early into the afternoon session as the Worcestershire reply got off to a cautious start.The shackles were freed by Libby however, as he moved through the gears with some dismissive pull shots through midwicket as Sussex’s opening bowlers grafted to no avail in the sunshine.Libby pressed on in fine style, reaching a third Division One half-century of the season in just 63 deliveries, as he and Edavalath added 113 for the first wicket on a pitch showing signs of flattening.Edavalath made 45 and Libby a superb 72, before the pair were dismissed inside four overs of one another, with Edavalath first lbw off a straightening Unadkat delivery and Libby following soon after having edged a ball behind to James Coles at slip to give the Indian seam bowler his second of the innings.Robinson collected his first wicket of the innings when he hurried Isaac Mohammed with a short ball to dismiss the teenager for 4.First-innings top scorer Dan Lategan and number five Rob Jones came together midway through the afternoon to add 63 for the fourth wicket with the hosts working hard to find a foothold in the game.Despite making it to the tea interval unscathed, Tom Haines ended the partnership in the 46th over of Worcestershire’s reply, as he pinned Lategan lbw for 30, with the hosts still 40 runs in arrears.Jones produced a gritty knock of 46, with Worcestershire heading towards the close at parity, but his wicket and the dismissal of Ethan Brookes handed Sussex back the initiative late on.

Table-toppers maintain unbeaten start to Blast campaign with five-wicket win at Grace Road

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay19-Jun-2025Nottingham-based The Blaze maintained their unbeaten record in the Vitality Blast women’s competition with a five-wicket victory over Lancashire Thunder at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester.England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, making her first appearance in English domestic cricket for almost two years, made 31 from 25 balls with former England international all-rounder Georgia Elwiss top-scoring with an unbeaten 43 off 30 as The Blaze won with 10 balls to spare.Scotland international Ailsa Lister rescued an otherwise sub-par effort from Lancashire, thundering nine fours and three sixes in a 38-ball 79 – the highest individual score for Thunder in this year’s women’s Blast, helping her side from 47 for three after 10 overs to 150 for nine, regaining second place in the points table.Australia all-rounder Heather Graham took three for 36, Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon picking up two for 24.The scheduling had been tough on Thunder, who were in action at The Kia Oval only 24 hours earlier; the Blaze, by contrast, had enjoyed a six-day hiatus between fixtures, although the break had allowed both Surrey Women and Bears Women to overtake them in the Blast table.Put in, Thunder struggled to 29 for two in the powerplay. Emma Lamb was run out at the non-striker’s end when bowler Sarah Glenn deflected Eve Jones’s drive into the stumps, Jones falling to the last ball of the sixth, well taken by Gordon at mid-on. Lister had an escape when she was dropped at mid-wicket on three but Thunder still faced a big task to post a meaningful score at 41 for three after Elwiss had Ellie Threlkeld caught behind for six.They were four down for 65 in the 12th, but the fifth-wicket pair almost doubled the total before Morris hit Graham straight to backward point, sparking a rush of wickets. King holed out to mid-on next ball before Gordon took two in two deliveries at the end of the 19th as Kate Cross was stumped and Tara Norris found long-on.Lister – dropped again on 62 – could not be shifted until slicing Graham to third man off the last ball, having cleared the rope off the Australian for the second time at the start of the final over.The Blaze lost Tammy Beaumont, leg before playing across the line to Kate Cross, and Kathryn Bryce yorked by Tara Norris, but were 48 for two from six thanks mainly to Sciver-Brunt hitting four of her first 10 balls to the boundary. Marie Kelly stepped right across her stumps to be bowled by Australian leg-spinner Alana King at 55 for three. Nonetheless, the home side looked comfortable at the halfway point, needing 78 to win.They would have felt less so eight balls later when Sciver-Brunt missed a straight ball from Grace Potts that hit the top of off-stump. The departure of one England player ushered in another in Amy Jones but after adding 29 in 19 balls with Elwiss, Jones miscued to mid-on for 16.The departure of the in-form Jones gave Thunder brief hope but three fours from Graham regained momentum for the home side, Elwiss thumping her seventh four down the ground off King to win the contest.

Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan are also likely to be retained by the franchise

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Oct-20245:23

IPL 2025 retentions: Shami a risky retention for Gujarat Titans?

Gujarat Titans are likely to retain Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, leaving them with one right-to-match card (RTM) option at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.While the amounts for each player are not yet known, GT will have at least INR 51 crore deducted from their purse of INR 120 crore for retaining three international players and two uncapped players. If they pay more than INR 51 crore to retain five players, then the higher amount will be deducted from their purse.October 31 is the deadline by which the ten franchises have to submit their list of retained players to the IPL ahead of the mega auction. The teams have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals and two can be uncapped players. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each player retained – INR 18 crore for the first player, INR 14 crore for the second, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore for the fourth, INR 14 crore for the fifth, and INR 4 crore for an uncapped player – the franchises are free to pay more or less than those amounts to their retained players.Gill and Rashid were picked by GT before the auction in 2022, when the franchise had just entered the IPL. While Rashid got INR 15 crore (USD 1.807 million approx. then), Gill got INR 8 crore (USD 963,000 approx. then). While Rashid remains their lead bowling allrounder, Gill was given the GT captaincy for IPL 2024 after Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians.Related

• SRH set to retain Klaasen, Cummins, Abhishek

• KL Rahul unlikely to stay with LSG; set for mega auction

• LSG set to retain Pooran, Mayank and Bishnoi for IPL 2025

• IPL retention: How many players can a team keep? And at what cost?

While the retention of 23-year-old Sudharsan ahead Mohammed Shami and David Miller might be a surprise, GT believe the left-hand batter from Tamil Nadu is a long-term player who can perform a key role in the top order. Sudharsan, who was bought for INR 20 lakhs in 2022, was sixth highest run-maker in IPL 2024 with 527 runs with an average of nearly 48 and strike rate of 141. He is considered as a potential future Test player too by India’s selectors and the team management lead by Gautam Gambhir. It is learned Sudharsan was discussed as a candidate for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Tewatia and Shahrukh, both uncapped allrounders, were among the most expensive buys for GT and have been retained for their power-hitting ability in the lower-middle order. Tewatia, who was bought for INR 9 crore ($1.084 million approx. then) in 2022, has played several impactful knocks as a finisher and has been a key sounding board for GT’s leadership group with his knowledge the domestic Indian players. Shahrukh, who is also a part-time offspinner, is among the strongest hitters in domestic cricket and was bought in 2024 auction for INR 7.4 crore ($891,000 approx. then).

Rob Jones half-century was also pivotal to Worcestershire success against Kent

ECB Reporters Network07-Aug-2024Captain Jake Libby continued his superb form in the Metro Bank One Day Cup to inspire Worcestershire Rapids to a three-wicket win over Kent Spitfires at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Libby struck his fourth half-century in five knocks in this summer’s 50 over tournament to lead the Rapids to a fourth win and maintain their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages. His 75 off 68 balls was largely instrumental in Worcestershire reaching a 259 target with seven balls to spare.Libby has now scored 287 runs at an average of 143.50 and this after being his side’s leading One Day Cup run-getter in 2022 and 2023.Rob Jones’s half-century was also pivotal to another Rapids success with a side missing nine senior players through illness and injury.A three-wicket blast from 18-year-old Charlie Home had been largely responsible for reducing the Spitfires to 70 for 5.Kent were indebted to List A best batting performances from Charlie Stobo and Grant Stewart as they recovered to 259 all out.Australian overseas signing Stobo surpassed his previous best score of 32 not out in making 72 off 79 balls and he dominated a partnership of 91 with Stewart for the seventh wicket.Stewart then took over the mantle of chief aggressor and he went past his previous highest of 57 before being last out for 78 off 60 deliveries.Home has taken 12 wickets in just three appearances in the One Day Cup and again confirmed his promise although he was latterly on the receiving end of the Stobbo-Stewart onslaught and will learn from the experience.The Kent seamers then bowled a disciplined line and length to put the home side behind the required rate.But Jones dug in to keep them in the hunt and then Libby paced his knock to perfection before he was run out with 26 needed and then Hishaam Khan cut Stobo for the winning boundary.Libby won the toss and put the Spitfires into bat on a slowish pitch previously used for the Vitality Blast game against Lancashire Lightning.Sturgess took the new ball from the Diglis End and struck with his fourth delivery when Marcus O’Riordan went for an ambitious drive and was bowled via an inside edge.Hishaam Khan shared the attack from the New Road and he also made an early breakthrough when Beyers Swanepoel went for a pull and was caught down the legside by keeper Gareth Roderick.Jack Leaning and Joey Evison attempted to rebuild the innings but after adding 41 the latter cut Home, who had taken six wickets against Derbyshire on Friday, straight to Ethan Brookes at backward point.Home then struck twice in an over to reduce the visitors to 70-5.Harry Finch was undone by a delivery which nipped back and became the second player to be bowled through an inside edge.Then four balls later Evison (23) fenced at a delivery and edged through to Roderick.Spinner Tom Hinley came into the attack and he accounted for Jaydyn Denly who was bowled through the game from a delivery which turned.Stobbo went on the offensive against Home when he returned to the attack and pulled the 18-year-old for three boundaries in an over. He and Stewart played sensibly on a pitch where the occasional delivery stopped in the surface.Stobbo completed a 55-ball half-century and the partnership was worth 91 from 15 overs when he was stumped after aiming a big blow at Singh down the ground. He hit one six and six fours.Stewart struck successive sixes on his way to a half century off 49 balls before Singh picked up two wickets in the space of three balls.Hamidullah Qadri was pouched at deep mid wicket and then Singh bowled Matt Parkinson after he pushed forward to claim his third scalp.But Stewart struck two more sixes on the trot off the spinner before being bowled by Khan in the final over after hitting five maximums and six fours.When Worcestershire batted, Ed Pollock despatched Stewart for 6-4-4 in the space of four balls but then nicked a ball of extra bounce from the same bowler through to the keeper.Gareth Roderick and Rob Jones added 49 but they were kept in check by a disciplined Kent attack.Roderick briefly opened out to pull Stobo for six backward of square but then was lbw to a ball of full length from Gilchrist.Jones has struggled for runs in his first full season at New Road but dug in to complete an 80 ball half century with a cut for four at Stewart’s expense.But he fell to a return catch in his next over after adding 70 with Jake Libby.Brookes was soon into his stride with a ramp shot for six off Stewart although he then holed out to deep mid-wicket off Stobo at 177 for 4.Libby completed his half century with successive scoop shots for four from Stobo before Rehaan Edavalath top-edged a return catch to Gilchrist.The game took another twist when Libby turned Stobo on the on side and was run out attempting a risky second run.Singh then drilled Stewart to Gilchrist at cover with 21 required but Khan and Tom Hinley kept their nerve to see the Rapids home.