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IND vs AFG- Shortsighted team selection that reeks of desperation without fore-planning

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Team India’s selection for the T20I series against Afghanistan should not be celebrated. There should be questions asked about some of the moves made. There is no doubt that the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is a huge bonus. Fans were crying out for the duo to return after the ODI World Cup 2023 feats with the bat.

Here is where the question arises? What about the future? It seems the Indian selectors too don’t have proper answers. Some talented young players are being ignored despite good performances.

Some players who have played for India in the recent past seem to have made it to the forgotten list. Afghanistan by no means are pushover, they are for a fact one of the best sides in this format.

Reality Check needed for Indian selectors –

Team India had announced its team for the three Match T20I series versus Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to get back in the Indian Cricket team ahead of the World Cup.

The question arises over the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Umran Malik. Two players who have given enough good performances in recent times yet they were ignored. Fast bowler Umran Malik offers something to Indian and World Cricket.

The 24-year-old has pace and above all the ability to bowl at good line and length. The last time the fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir played was early last year. Since then Umran hasn’t figured in the scheme of things.

Undoubtedly, he has issues as far as his economy is concerned, but that is offset by his ability to scare the batters. A good example will be his battle against Shakib Al Hasan during the 2nd ODI in 2022.

Shakib Al Hasan is a class batter with the ability to play amazing innings. A couple of bouncers on his body seemed to unsettle Shakib and the next ball his off-stump was sent flying.

Yuzvendra Chahal is another player who has been at the receiving end of some curious selection. After being snubbed for the ODI World Cup 2023 campaign, Chahal had put in the shift in domestic cricket. The 33-year-old picked a 6-wicket haul in his first List A game recently.

This performance got him a place in the Indian squad for the ODI series in South Africa. He might have as well not made the trip as Chahal was mostly on the bench. Not even picked as the 12th man but benched throughout the tour.

Rajat Patidar will also consider himself unlucky after giving a good account of himself on his ODI debut. The 30-year-old played some delightful shots to leave the seasoned cricket experts amazed.

As we embark on yet another title hunt, there are questions the selectors must answer. Why does a country with so much talent and potential fail to win a title? Why do young and deserving players miss out after being tried for just a few games? One must guess the answers will be there for everyone to see at the end of June.

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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024

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Smriti Mandhana and Alyssa Healy (Source - X)

RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.

It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain

Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.

It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.

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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window

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Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.

It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.

Watch the viral video here –

Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.

RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief

As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.

On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.

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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy

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Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.

Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.

The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).

‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar

“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.

Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.

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