Watch: Who could end up as the leading run-getter and wicket-taker in T20 World Cup - experts reveal their picks | Cricket News

Watch: Who could end up as the leading run-getter and wicket-taker in T20 World Cup – experts reveal their picks | Cricket News

The ninth edition of the men’s T20 World Cup is less than 48 hours away and as the excitement around the tournament approaches crescendo, experts and former cricketers have been making their predictions.In a video posted by Star Sports today, the team of commentators on the panel of tournament’s official broadcaster revealed their picks for the player most likely to end up as the tournament’s top run-getter and top wicket-taker. ALSO SEE: T20 World Cup Schedule While Virat Kohli emerged as the popular choice to score the most runs, the former India captain’s teammate Jasprit Bumrah was predicted to take most wickets. WATCH VIDEO EXPERTS’ CHOICE FOR TOP RUN-SCORERSunil Gavaskar: Travis Head (Australia)Brian Lara: Yashasvi Jaiswal (India)Matthew Hayden: Virat Kohli (India)Ambati Rayudu: Rohit Sharma (India)Paul Collingwood: Jos Buttler (England)Chris Morris: Quinton de Kock (South Africa)Aaron Finch: David Warner (Australia)Mohammad Kaif: Virat Kohli (India)S Sreesanth: Virat Kohli or Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) EXPERTS’ CHOICE FOR TOP WICKET-TAKERPaul Collingwood: Jasprit Bumrah (India)S Sreesanth: Yuzvendra Chahal (India) Matthew Hayden: Kuldeep Yadav (India)Aaron Finch: Mitchell Starc (Australia)Mohammad Kaif: Jasprit Bumrah (India)The T20 World Cup begins on June 2 with the match between co-hosts USA and their neighbours Canada. The final will be played on June 29 in Barbados, as the Caribbean islands join the US in hosting the tournament. India will open their campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York, followed by the big game against archrivals Pakistan at the same venue on June 9. Canada and USA are the other two teams in India’s group.

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Rohit Sharma hopes for quick acclimatisation of New York pitch ahead of Twenty20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma hopes for quick acclimatisation of New York pitch ahead of Twenty20 World Cup

Captain Rohit Sharma is seen during a training session for the Twenty20 World Cup in New York. | Photo Credit: PTI Marvelling at the newly-constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, India skipper Rohit Sharma underlined the need for his team to get acclimatised to the pitch and conditions quickly ahead of their T20 World Cup opener against Ireland on June 5. However, Rohit and company will get a chance to check the nature of the pitch and overall conditions when they face Bangladesh in a warm-up match in New York on June 1. It’s also India’s lone training game ahead of the ICC marquee event. The warm-up match is important from India’s perspective because their matches will start at 10.30 AM local time and the players need to get used to day-time matches after playing under lights in the IPL for the last two months. “We’re looking to understand the conditions more importantly (before the tournament proper) as we haven’t been here before,” Rohit told ICC. ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2024: Full schedule, venues and complete squads The Mumbaikar emphasised the need for his side to get into a “rhythm” before the real action starts, and he wanted to use this side game as a springboard. “(We will) try and make the most of the conditions, get used to what it’s going to be like on June 5 when we play our first game,” he added. The challenge for the Indians will be to adapt to the drop-in turf here, something they don’t come across very often in international cricket. “It’s just about getting into that rhythm of getting the feel of the ground, pitch and stuff like that,” he said. Rohit was part of the first batch of India cricketers to arrive here on May 26, along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. Moving beyond the match routines, Rohit also found time to take in the beauty of the venue. “It looks beautiful. It’s quite an open ground. When we come here and play our first game, I just can’t wait to feel the atmosphere in the stadium,” he said. “It’s a decent capacity as well. Hopefully it’s gonna be a good one.” Rohit hoped that fans will throng the venue for their matches. “People in New York will be very interested in coming and watching the World Cup, as it is happening for the first time here. “I’m pretty sure all the fans across various teams are quite excited and looking forward to this tournament. And also as players (we) can’t wait to get started,” he noted. Worry for Bangladesh Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto too appreciated the excellent construction here, but he would not have forgotten Bangladesh’s shocking series defeat against the USA a few days back. The United States, largely constituted by expat players, scored a stunning 2-1 win over Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series at home last week, signalling that they are no mere pushovers. Hence, Shanto might be hoping for a quick turnaround against formidable India, even though it’s a warm-up match at this scenic stadium. “To be very honest I wasn’t expecting anything like this but we all followed on social media how the wicket looks like, how the ground would be, and we are very excited as to what is going to happen here,” said Shanto. The 25-year-old top-order batter then gushed over the venue. “It’s unbelievable. I think it’s crazy. I mean we all saw on the internet there was nothing (three months ago). Now, it looks like a proper stadium and feels great,” he said. The Eastern grandstand (in particular), I didn’t expect it to be like this,” he added.

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Pakistan targets right T20 combination against understrength New Zealand | Cricket

Rohit Sharma hopes for quick acclimatisation of NY pitch ahead of T20 WC

New York, Marvelling at the newly-constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium here, India skipper Rohit Sharma underlined the need for his team to get acclimatised to the pitch and conditions quickly ahead of their T20 World Cup opener against Ireland on June 5. Rohit Sharma hopes for quick acclimatisation of NY pitch ahead of T20 WC However, Rohit and company will get a chance to check the nature of the pitch and overall conditions when they face Bangladesh in a warm-up match here on Saturday. It’s also India’s lone training game ahead of the ICC marquee event. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! The warm-up match is important from India’s perspective because their matches will start at 10.30 AM local time and the players need to get used to day-time matches after playing under lights in the IPL for the last two months. “We’re looking to understand the conditions more importantly as we haven’t been here before,” Rohit told ICC. The Mumbaikar emphasised the need for his side to get into a “rhythm” before the real action starts, and he wanted to use this side game as a springboard. ” try and make the most of the conditions, get used to what it’s going to be like on June 5 when we play our first game,” he added. The challenge for the Indians will be to adapt to the drop-in turf here, something they don’t come across very often in international cricket. “It’s just about getting into that rhythm of getting the feel of the ground, pitch and stuff like that,” he said. Rohit was part of the first batch of India cricketers to arrive here on May 26, along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. Moving beyond the match routines, Rohit also found time to take in the beauty of the venue. “It looks beautiful. It’s quite an open ground. When we come here and play our first game, I just can’t wait to feel the atmosphere in the stadium,” he said. “It’s a decent capacity as well. Hopefully it’s gonna be a good one.” Rohit hoped that fans will throng the venue for their matches. “People in New York will be very interested in coming and watching the World Cup, as it is happening for the first time here. “I’m pretty sure all the fans across various teams are quite excited and looking forward to this tournament. And also as players can’t wait to get started,” he noted. Worry for Bangladesh ================ Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto too appreciated the excellent construction here, but he would not have forgotten Bangladesh’s shocking series defeat against the USA a few days back. The United States, largely constituted by expat players, scored a stunning 2-1 win over Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series at home last week, signalling that they are no mere pushovers. Hence, Shanto might be hoping for a quick turnaround against formidable India, even though it’s a warm-up match at this scenic stadium. “To be very honest I wasn’t expecting anything like this but we all followed on social media how the wicket looks like, how the ground would be, and we are very excited as to what is going to happen here,” said Shanto. The 25-year-old top-order batter then gushed over the venue. “It’s unbelievable. I think it’s crazy. I mean we all saw on the internet there was nothing . Now, it looks like a proper stadium and feels great,” he said. The Eastern grandstand , I didn’t expect it to be like this,” he added. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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T20 World Cup: Team India not happy with 'average' training facilities, claims report; ICC says... | Cricket News

T20 World Cup: Team India not happy with ‘average’ training facilities, claims report; ICC says… | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: The Indian team, preparing in New York ahead of the T20 World Cup is not happy with the ‘average’ training facilities provided to them in Cantiague Park, claimed a News18 report on Thursday.Rohit Sharma & Co on Wednesday started their training and the team, including head coach Rahul Dravid, is apparently not happy with the practice facilities in the US.The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, which will host India’s warm-up game and three group matches, reportedly has no practice facilities and the Cantiague Park has been provided as a make-shift venue for the Indian team’s training.The report claimed that the team was also not happy with the arrangements for food at the venue and concerns regarding this have been raised. “Everything is makeshift – from pitches to other facilities. Safe to say everything is very average in nature. The team has raised their concerns,” a source close to developments told News18.The report also said that the International Cricket Council (ICC), when reached out for reaction, claimed that that no such concerns or complaints were raised with them from the Indian team. “There has been no complaint or concern expressed regarding the practice facilities at Cantiague Park by any team,” the report stated the ICC as saying. The ICC earlier designated Cantiague Park as the official training facility for teams. The facility is also a fair distance from the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium where the matches are scheduled.India are set to play their one and only warm-up game against Bangladesh on June 1. India’s Group A games against Ireland, Pakistan and USA will be hosted at th Nassau Stadium before they move to Florida for their final group game against Canada.

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T20 World Cup: Does India having four spinners feel like a luxury? | Cricket News

T20 World Cup: Does India having four spinners feel like a luxury? | Cricket News

Experts, fans and analysts point out that by selecting four spinners in India’s squad of 15 for the T20 World Cup, the selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, have picked one spinner too many. “Another fast bowler, perhaps” or “Rinku Singh, surely” were words that formed part of their analysis.It was clear that Rohit Sharma wanted four spinners, and his mind about who would feature in his bowling attack (two allrounders, also left-arm-spinners, in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, and two wrist spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav) was made up before the IPL. ALSO SEE: T20 World Cup Schedule Morning starts, where dew would not play much of a role was one of the reasons cited. “I definitely wanted four spinners. We’ve played a lot of cricket there. We know what the conditions are like. With morning starts at 10-10.30am, there’s a little bit of technical aspect involved in this,” skipper Rohit had said in Mumbai when the team was picked.That technical aspect could be the fact that India are expected to qualify for the super-eights and all the games from that stage will be played in the West Indies and the general belief is that the pitches there will be spin-friendly. Former India manager and Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner Sunil Subramanian, also Indian legend R Ashwin’s coach, feels that way. “India may have picked one spin-bowling allrounder too many. Rinku Singh for Axar and Khaleel Ahmed for vice-captain Hardik would have balanced the side better. There is no way both wrist spinners will play, especially in Nassau County in New York. It is a mickey mouse ground with the straight boundary being 55 metres only. Also, it is a drop-in pitch. Against Pakistan, they may play with only one spinner and that could be Jadeja as they may want to pack the side with pacers who can execute yorkers,” he told TOI. Subramanian was part of the team between 2017 and 2019, where India played both Kuldeep and Chahal in most white-ball games, with success. Will we see that happening in the T20 World Cup?“The reason both the wrist spinners featured in the playing XI was because both Jadeja and Ashwin were not able to contain the flow of runs in the middle-overs and were not able to pick wickets,” Subramanian revealed. The ‘Kul-Cha’ combo, as it was called, was a run-away success. They played in 15 T20I games together, including four of the five matches in the West Indies in 2023 and India ended up victorious in 11 of them. In those 15 games, Kuldeep picked 29 wickets while Chahal picked 23. Will they go back to that formula? “Only if they are in a must-win situation. If Hardik is unable to bowl four overs and if one of the pacers gets hit, that may happen. But only in the West Indies leg of the tournament. The only other way to play both wrist spinners is by dropping Jaiswal and opening with Kohli and Rohit. They will not do that. They will err on the side of caution,” Subramanian stressed. India’s batting coach till the 2019 World Cup, who was with the team in the Kul-Cha era, and former India allrounder Sanjay Bangar, also does not see both Kuldeep and Chahal playing together.“It will be Jadeja and Kuldeep to start with. Two wrist spinners won’t feature in the same XI,” opined Bangar. Interestingly, he does not see India being light on pace bowling options either. “Even if we had picked an extra pacer, he might not have played. Bumrah, Siraj/Arshdeep and Hardik can go through the tournament unchanged,” he told TOI.Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop, a respected voice in commentary, who is armed with local knowledge of the conditions, felt India’s four-spinner theory could be a luxury while acknowledging spin will play a part in the tournament. His assessment can be supported by the fact that in all CPLT20 matches so far, featuring 692 innings, pacers have taken 2384 wickets at a strike rate of 131.31 and an economy of 8.38. Spinners have grabbed 1565 wickets at a better strike-rate of 111.60 and a lower economy of 6.85.“The pitches for the World Cup may be slightly different. So, I think it’s a luxury to have four spinners rather than it being a necessity,” he told official broadcasters Star Sports.Aaron Finch, the man who led Australia to the title in the UAE in 2021 feels India may have “backed themselves into a corner.” “I had Rinku in there and only two spinners. I had the extra quick because of the inconsistency that we have seen with everyone barring Jasprit Bumrah. And if they want to play three spinners, one of them must bowl in the powerplay. I don’t see any of those guys doing it consistently,” Finch analysed while speaking to Star Sports.Now let’s look at the spin-bowling options of other teams expected to feature in the super-eights.Sri Lanka have six, England and New Zealand have five, Bangladesh have four and West Indies, Australia, and South Africa three. Does India having four feel like a luxury? Time will tell.

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'Best example of nepotism': Pakistan's Azam Khan brutally roasted after another flop show | Cricket News

‘Best example of nepotism’: Pakistan’s Azam Khan brutally roasted after another flop show | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s keeper-batter Azam Khan was in the line of fire on Thursday after his side succumbed to a crushing seven-wicket defeat in the fourth and final T20I against England at the Oval. Azam, who scored a five-ball duck and then dropped a couple of sitters behind the stumps drew flak on social media as his torrid run with both bat and gloves continued.The 25-year-old has had a string of low scores recently and has been poor behind the stumps as well and after his dull outing in Pakistan’s final T20I game before the T20 World Cup, questions over his selection and spot in the side were raised on social media. With the defeat, Pakistan lost the T20 series 2-0 as the first and third games in Leeds and Cardiff were washed out. England, on the other hand, now will head into the defense of its T20 World Cup title on the back of a series win over Pakistan. In the final game, after restricting Pakistan to 157 all out, England powered to its target with 27 balls remaining largely thanks to Phil Salt’s 45 and captain Jos Buttler’s 39 in their opening stand of 82 off 38 balls. The T20 World Cup staged jointly in the United States and the Caribbean starts Saturday, with England’s opening match against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday and Pakistan playing for the first time on June 6 against the US.

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'Doesn't matter how many superstars IND have': Lara's clear-cut message to Dravid on ending ICC trophy drought in T20WC

‘Doesn’t matter how many superstars IND have’: Lara’s clear-cut message to Dravid on ending ICC trophy drought in T20WC

Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the head coach of the Indian team is all set to end in June after the 2024 T20 World Cup. And while the India legend gained success during his tenure with the U-19 side or the India A team, which had, in fact, made him the frontrunner to replace Ravi Shastri back in 2022, Dravid had failed to lead the senior national team to an ICC title glory yet. But come the T20 World Cup, that begins from June 1 onwards, he will get one last opportunity to end India’s long-standing trophy drought and end his tenure on a high. Brian Lara has a message for Rahul Dravid ahead of the T20 World Cup Ahead of the big tournament, former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara sent a clear-cut message to Dravid, suggesting him to devise a plan for the final stages of the tournament, a hurdle which India have failed to cross since 2013 across ICC tournaments. Speaking to Star Sports, the Windies legend reckoned that irrespective of the big names that India have in their squad, they need to focus on having a clear strategy about winning the World Cup. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! “Indian team, just looking from the outside, in previous Cups, be it T20 or 50-overs, I just feel they are lacking that final plan in terms of how they are going to go about. It doesn’t matter how many superstars you have; it matters how you are going to go about winning this World Cup, what plans you are going to have in place, and how you are going to structure your innings or attack. I hope Rahul Dravid can get his players together and can devise a plan for India to win T20 World Cup,” said Lara when asked about any concern regarding the Menin Blue ahead of of the ICC event. This will be the second T20 World Cup India will play during Dravid’s tenure as head coach. In 2022, the Rohit Sharma-led side had reached the semis before being beaten by eventual champions England in the semis. Overall, India have just one title in the history of this T20 tournament, having won in the inaugural year (2007) under the leadership of MS Dhoni. India have since made the semis twice and finished as runners-up once in the next seven editions. India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, followed by the mouth-watering clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on June 9. Co-hosts USA and Canada are the other two members in Group A besides the aforementioned three. India, who last played an international game in the format back in January at home, will also play a warm-up game against Bangladesh on June 1 in New York.

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T20 World Cup: In Team India's first practice session, Hardik bowls for almost an hour; Rohit, Suryakumar focus on getting used conditions | Cricket News

T20 World Cup: In Team India’s first practice session, Hardik bowls for almost an hour; Rohit, Suryakumar focus on getting used conditions | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Team India got their T20 World Cup preparations underway with their first training session in New York on Thursday that lasted three hours.Having landed in the US on May 27, the team had a couple of off days to overcome the jet lag and get used to the weather and conditions. After a light training session session a day before, the Indian team on Thursday hit the nets and meant serious business as skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav were seen batting against likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. In focus Hardik too had gruelling training session with both bat and ball. The all-rounder was first seen bowling in the nets for almost an hour and then went hard after the bowlers while batting. The 30-year-old also had a long chat with batting coach Vikram Rathour during the net session. In unusual scenes, tailenders Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singht were seen focussing on their batting skills while all the all-rounder Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Hardik trained with both bat and ball. Yuzvendra Chahal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Avesh Khan and Rinku Singh, who arrived late in New York featured only in light training drills. The focus of the training session revolved around getting used to the pitch conditions that had considerable bounce in it.India play their first warm-up game against Bangladesh on Saturday.

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England head into T20 World Cup title defense with 2-0 series win over Pakistan | Cricket News

England head into T20 World Cup title defense with 2-0 series win over Pakistan | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Defending champions England blew away Pakistan by seven wickets at The Oval on Thursday in their final match before commencing their defense of the T20 World Cup title.Pakistan were restricted to a modest 157, largely due to the efforts of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who claimed 2 for 27, earning him the player-of-the-match award.England’s chase got off to a blistering start with Phil Salt (45) and captain Jos Buttler (39) putting on a rapid 82-run opening partnership in just seven overs.The match concluded with Harry Brook hitting a six off paceman Haris Rauf, who was the standout bowler for Pakistan with figures of 3 for 38. England reached their target with more than three overs to spare.The victory secured a 2-0 win for England in the four-match T20 series after the games at Headingley and Cardiff were washed out.“We have worked hard in training and there is a good feeling around the squad,” Buttler told Sky Sports.“Guys are all stepping up and performing.”Buttler was leading England after his wife gave birth to the couple’s third child following his dashing 84 in the hosts’ 23-run win in the second T20 at Edgbaston.Earlier, Pakistan had made a promising start, reaching 59 for no loss after losing the toss in overcast conditions at The Oval.However, they experienced a collapse, slumping to 86 for 5. The slide began when captain Babar Azam was caught at slip for a well-made 36 off fast bowler Jofra Archer, while fellow England quick Mark Wood claimed two wickets with well-directed bouncers.“It would have been nice to get two more games in to expose a few guys to different situations,” Buttler added.“But we have really good experience in the group and a lot of guys have been playing in the IPL (Indian Premier League), so we are not short of cricket.”England will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Scotland in Barbados on June 4 while 2009 champions Pakistan will face co-hosts the United States in Dallas two days later.

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Pakistan targets right T20 combination against understrength New Zealand | Cricket

Cricket in uncharted territory as T20 World Cup starts in Texas

Cricket ventures into uncharted territory on Saturday as the first ever major tournament to be staged in the United States gets under way in Texas with the opening game of the T20 World Cup. Cricket in uncharted territory as T20 World Cup starts in Texas A month-long festival of the fastest and most explosive form of the sport which is being shared between venues in Texas, Florida, New York and the Caribbean begins with the US taking on Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium on the outskirts of Dallas on Saturday. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! It marks the opening skirmish of the first ever major International Cricket Council event to be held in part in the United States. While the bulk of the tournament will be played out in the Caribbean, 16 group stage games in the 20-team tournament will be played on American soil, including the highlight of the group stage a clash between India and Pakistan due to be played in Long Island, New York. The rest of the tournament will be held in the West Indies, including the Super Eight stage, the semi-finals and the final, which will be played at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. While cricket is widely played at a recreational level in the United States, with strong presences in all three of the states that have been chosen for games, organisers are realistic about the chances of “converting” mainstream American sports fans. Instead, they expect that the large immigrant communities from cricket-loving backgrounds, including thousands of India fans in particular, will pack the stadiums. “I think, number one, we want to celebrate those that are already fanatical lovers of cricket. They deserve to see the best players in the world come into their backyard and have that chance,” T20 World Cup USA, Inc. chief executive Brett Jones told AFP. “Number two, I think it’s about spiking curiosity in the game,” he said. The ICC also sees the tournament as a launch pad towards the sport’s return to the Olympics for Los Angeles 2028, when the T20 format will be used. Major League Cricket, a T20 tournament, was launched last year and also stands to benefit from any growth in interest in the big-hitting, spectacular shortest form. But it is not only the American market that the ICC is focused upon the expansion of the tournament has opened up opportunities for newer cricket nations to compete on the big stage. In recent years, the sport has been able to expand outside of its traditional strongholds with Ireland and Afghanistan earning places in the 12-strong elite with full Test status. But the ICC see the T20 format as the perfect vehicle for growing the game and this year’s edition will feature three T20 World Cup debutants in the USA, Canada and Uganda. Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Oman are among the other nations who are relatively new to the big stage and who will be looking to make their mark and grab some attention with an upset win. With the teams drawn in four groups of five teams, with just the top two advancing, none of the smaller nations are expected to progress beyond the group stage and there is a danger the pool stage could mainly be a ‘weeding out’ process. India, winners of the first edition in 2007, are the favourites, with their line-up packed with players from the annual Indian Premier League. Australia, winners of the ODI World Cup last year along with the World Test Championship, opted to leave out their veteran batsman Steve Smith but big-hitting David Warner and pacemen Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins provide plenty of experience. Other possible contenders include defending champions England, who will be without the star of their 2022 triumph Ben Stokes, who is managing his fitness after a knee operation. England warmed up for the tournament with a seven-wicket rout of Pakistan in London on Thursday. Co-hosts West Indies won the tournament in 2012 and 2016 and are hoping that they can benefit from familiarity with the surfaces in the region. South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan will all fancy their chances of making an impact in a tournament which always produces surprises. sev/rcw/dj This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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