IPL 2024: ‘Make A Brilliant Story If He Can Score Runs’, S Sreesanth On Rishabh Pant’s Return

New Delhi: Rishabh Pant’s return to competitive cricket through the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League which starts from March 22, is the biggest talk of the town. There are also talks about his availability of the Men’s T20 World Cup, which happening later in June this year if the wicket-keeper batter performs well.

The first few days in the IPL are set to see Rishabh Pant make a comeback to competitive cricket action after 14 months of being on a recovery route from multiple injuries suffered in a life-threatening car accident in December 2022.

The BCCI has declared him fit as a wicketkeeper-batter for this IPL, where he will be captaining Delhi Capitals, in what is clearly a remarkable recovery. Former India fast-bowler S Sreesanth, a member of 2007 T20 World Cup winning team, speaks exclusively to IANS on Pant’s return, the narratives of India’s squad selection in IPL 2024, key pointers emerging in the build-up to the tournament, and more.

Q. One of the biggest talking points of IPL 2024 is Rishabh Pant’s long-awaited return. Last year in March, you did meet him during his recovery period. What are you anticipating on his return to the game after being totally fit to play in the tournament?

A. I did meet him last year alongside Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, and the biggest quality I could see was that he was very much focused and clear in his mindset in recovery. He said at that time, ‘Sree bhai, medical science is saying 18 months to two years, but I will be back ASAP’.

He worked very hard and huge credit goes to everyone at the National Cricket Academy and BCCI for supporting him. He just showed the world about not giving up and that sky’s the limit if you keep working hard.

Plus, he has been inspiring others and hasn’t looked for sympathy; even his social media posts, where he’s working very hard, has looked genuine. He’s worked extremely hard as it hasn’t been easy, so it will make for a brilliant story if he can score runs.

Q. As a follow-up to Pant’s return, what are the things with respect to India’s T20 World Cup selection that you are keeping an eye out for in IPL 2024?

A. Everybody is talking about Rishabh Pant making a comeback and even with the Board declaring him fit means it makes for an interesting story. But I would like to see Sanju Samson making a comeback as to be honest, it’s high time that he scores some runs, not just because I am from Kerala state, but I met him during an interaction and he himself is looking forward to a fruitful season.

So, I would like to see him score heavy runs this season and if he makes it to the T20 World Cup squad, it will make for a great story. I was fortunate to be a part of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team and I feel the 2024 IPL is the right platform for India to get ready for that tournament and win it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that with good IPL preparation, India gets to win the T20 World Cup.

I would also say that KL Rahul has to step up and make runs. I genuinely wish to see him opening the batting for LSG. It’s not going to be that easy, but when it comes to leadership quality, KL Rahul knows how to stand up and show that hard work pays off. I genuinely wish to see people who perform well and deserve that get into the T20 World Cup squad, rather than the big names. With Pant, Samson, and even Dhruv Jurel, it will be interesting to see who makes the cut.

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Highlights UP-W vs DC WPL 2024 Cricket Score Match 4: Shafali, Lanning Power Delhi Capitals To 9-Wicket Win

Highlights UP Warriorz vs Delhi Capitals Women’s Premier League 2024: Delhi Capitals registered a dominant 9-wicket win over UP Warriors in match 4 of the ongoing edition of the Women Premier League at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Delhi first restricted Warriorz on 119/9 with the help of Marizanne Kapp’s three wickets and Radha Yadav’s four wickets. Later, Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning stiched a 119-run stand and ensured their team’s win.

UP Warriorz vs Delhi Capitals Playing XIs

UPW-W: Alyssa Healy(w/c), Vrinda Dinesh, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire, Poonam Khemnar, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Gouher Sultana

DC-W: Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, Arundhati Reddy, Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia(w), Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey

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Jasprit Bumrah May be RESTED For 4th Test at Ranchi vs England

Rajkot: India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah may have just picked up a couple of wickets at Rajkot, yet he played an important role. Bumrah picked up the crucial wicket of Joe Root in the first essay in Rajkot and that started the English collapse. Also, Bumrah always bowled testing lines and kept asking questions to the batters. There were reports that claimed Bumrah may be rested for the third Test but that did not happen as the series was then locked at 1-1. Now, there is a high possibility, Bumrah is rested for the upcoming Test in Ranchi. There is no confirmation on that as yet, but it is very much on the cards.

Bumrah is likely to be rested to manage his workload. He has been playing non-stop cricket and with a big season coming up, the management does not want to over-push him. So, if Bumrah is rested, Akash Deep would be in line to get a game.

Meanwhile, India beat England by a whopping 434 runs in the third Test to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series on Sunday. This was India’s biggest Test win in terms of runs, surpassing the 372-run victory over New Zealand in 2021. Set an improbable victory target of 557, England collapsed to 122 all out in 39.4 overs on day four.

Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers for India, taking five wickets for 41 runs in 12.4 overs. It was easily England’s worst batting effort of the series with no batter able to cross the 20-run mark barring number 10 Mark Wood (33).

On the same pitch, India amassed 445 and 430 for four declared in their two innings respectively. The massive win was set up by Yashasvi Jaiswal who remained unbeaten on 214 in India’s second innings. The other centurions of the game were Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. Sarfaraz Khan scored back-to-back fifties on his debut. The fourth Test will be played in Ranchi from February 23.

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IND vs ENG: Ravichandran Ashwin Withdraws From 3rd Test Against England Due To Family Emergency

New Delhi: India’s star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opted out of the third Test between India and England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot due to an undisclosed family emergency. BCCI confirmed this news on February 16. This update on the same day when the star bowler created history by becoming the second Indian to pick 500 wickets.

“Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn from the Test squad, effective immediately due to a family medical emergency. In these challenging times, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the team fully supports Ashwin,” BCCI stated in a press release.

“The BCCI extends its heartfelt support to the champion cricketer and his family. The health and well-being of the players and their loved ones are of utmost importance. The Board requests respect for the privacy of Ashwin and his family as they navigate through this challenging time,”

“The Board and the team will continue to provide any necessary assistance to Ashwin and will keep the lines of communication open to offer support as needed. Team India appreciates the understanding and empathy of the fans and media during this sensitive period,” the release added.

This is a huge blow to the Indian team as Ashwin was an extremely crucial asset to their bowling attack and now the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team will be playing with 10 men and 1 substitute. England are dominating the game with their batting and India needed to counter-attack with the ball on Day 3 in order to bounce back in this match but now it will get tough as Ashwin won’t be a part of the line-up.

Ravichandran Ashwin has become just the second Indian bowler and ninth overall to pick 500 wickets in Test cricket. Ashwin achieved the milestone during the ongoing third Test match.

The off-spinner was on 499 scalps at the end of the second Test in Visakhapatnam and completed his 500th scalp with the wicket of Zak Crawley, who top-edged a sweep to short fine leg, ending an 89-run opening partnership, on day two of the third Test. Ashwin was then swarmed by his teammates to congratulate him on achieving the monumental feat.

Ashwin is the ninth bowler in Test history to breach the 500-wicket barrier, and the only one from India since the legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who took 619 wickets in 132 Tests. Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), James Anderson (695), Anil Kumble (619), Stuart Broad (604), Glenn McGrath (563), Courtney Walsh (519) and Nathan Lyon (517) are ahead of him in the list of highest wicket-takers in Test history.

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IPL 2023: SRH Stun RR By Four Wickets After Dramatic Last Ball No-Ball Call

Jaipur: Abdul Samad hit a six off the final delivery, and re-bowled after a no-ball call, as Sunrisers Hyderabad stunned Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in a dramatic match in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 215, SRH needed 17 runs off the final over bowled by Sandeep Sharma with Samad and Marco Jansen at the crease. Samad hit a six off the second ball to leave the equation with five runs from the last delivery when the drama unfolded.

Everybody thought Samad was out with Jos Buttler taking a catch near the boundary but the umpire called for a ball and the last ball was re-bowled.

SRH needed four runs for a win, but Samad (17 not out) then despatched Sharma’s delivery for a six to reach 217 for 6 and notch up one of the most improbable wins in the IPL, leaving RR players shell-shocked.

Number six batter Glenn Phillips (25 off 7 balls) also played his part in the turnaround of SRH’s fortunes as they needed 69 off the last five overs though with eight wickets in hand.

Phillips spiced up the tall chase by hitting three consecutive sixes and a four-off inexperienced pacer Kuldip Yadav in the penultimate over to raise hopes of a stunning win.

Ultimately, RR spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s (4/29) fine effort went in vain, though at one stage it looked like a comfortable win for RR.

SRH began the run chase on a cautious note as they lacked fireworks in the powerplay overs at the end of which they were 52 for 1 with impact player Anmolpreet Singh becoming the first victim of Chahal.

Ravichandran Ashwin (4-0-35-1) also kept things tight and the SRH batters found it difficult to get the boundaries.

At the halfway mark, SRH was 87/1, needing another 128 from the back end, and the asking rate nearing 13 in and over.

Abhishek Sharma (55) fell after hitting Ashwin for a six for the second time in the 13th over with the premier India spinner having the last laugh.

In the next over, Rahul Tripathi struck four and two sixes to collect 19 runs from Murugan Ashwin.

Heinrich Klaasen, who hit a four and a six earlier, then gave some anxiety to the RR camp with a six and four off Chahal in the 16th over before he fell in the fifth ball of that over with Jos Buttler taking a well-judged catch at long off.

Earlier, the Royals piled up 214 for 2, thanks to a crafty 95 from English opener Jos Buttler and an unbeaten 66 from captain Samson.

After a 54-run opening stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal (35), Buttler (95 off 59 balls) stitched another 138 runs with Samson (66 not out) in 13.3 overs to steer the Royals to a big total after opting to bat.

Buttler missed a well-deserved century as he got out in the penultimate over with five runs short. He hit 10 fours and four sixes during his crafty innings.

Samson’s 38-ball unbeaten knock was studded with four boundaries and five sixes.

The SRH bowlers looked clueless throughout the innings, all bleeding runs.

The Royals made a rollicking start, reaching 61 for one at the end of the powerplay, thanks to a quickfire 35 off just 18 balls from the talented Jaiswal who continued his fine form this season to reach 1000 IPL runs.

The youngster struck two maximums off Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-44-1) and Marco Jansen (4-0-44-1) as well as five fours but fell to a soft dismissal of the latter bowler in the fifth over.

Jansen extracted extra bounce from a slower off-cutter and Jaiswal simply lofted the ball onto the hands of T Natarajan.

The tempo continued as the home side were 107 for 1 at the halfway stage with one-down Samson punishing the SRH bowlers and scoring his first fifty in six matches.

Samson targeted Mayank Markande for special treatment as he struck three towering sixes off the hapless bowler in the ninth over which yielded 21 runs.

Buttler, who was relatively quiet in the early part of his innings, began to open up his arms after settling down nicely.

The Buttler-Samson duo kept the run rate above 10 runs over all the time, reaching 150 in the 15th as the SRH bowlers became increasingly clueless on breaking the partnership.

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The Royals duo kept on getting the sixes every over as they launched onto the SRH bowlers after laying a strong foundation. The Royals added 60 runs off the last five overs.

Samson struck two more sixes off Markande in the 16th over and then reached his third fifty in the 18th over off 33 balls.

Buttler was out five runs short of a hundred in the penultimate over with Bhuvneshwar Kumar getting his scalp after a review.

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