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The former Australia captain is set to play a first-class game after a gap of more than 18 months

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2022Tim Paine is in line to play his first first-class match for more than 18 months after being named in Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield squad to face Queensland this week.Paine last played for Tasmania in early 2021 but returned to club cricket at the weekend where he took the keeping gloves and made an unbeaten 20.”Was nice to blow off some cobwebs,” he told reporters at Hobart airport. “Been training for five or six weeks. Ready to go. Excited, a bit nervous, but looking forward to it.”Paine did not find a place on the Tasmania contract list earlier this year but approached the state’s coaching staff about being keen to return.”It was nice for him to get out there and play a game of cricket again,” Tasmania’s coach Jeff Vaughan told reporters on Tuesday. “He was quite nervous before that match.””He has been training with us the last couple of months. And it wasn’t until we selected over the last week or two, firstly his name was on the table for one-day cricket and then he was on the table last week when we selected [the Shield]. And it was quite unanimous that everyone wanted one of the world’s best wicketkeepers into our side.”We have absolute faith and trust in Tim and his preparation. Physically he is probably in the greatest spot of his physical career, emotionally he is sound. He has been training really well with us the last two months. We have got full faith in his wicketkeeping skillset so he has ticked all of the boxes.”Paine resigned the Test captaincy amid a text-message scandal last November and a short while after that said he was taking a break from the game for his mental health.Tasmania squad Jackson Bird, Jake Doran, Jarrod Freeman, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Ben McDermott, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk (c), Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster

Gayle said Mulder’s decision to not got after Lara’s record was an “error” and “he didn’t know what to do in that situation”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2025

Wiaan Mulder had 38 fours and three sixes when he got to 300•Zimbabwe Cricket

Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle has criticised South Africa’s stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder for not going after Brian Lara’s record of the highest individual Test score earlier this week, when he declared on 367 not out against Zimbabwe.Gayle, a former team-mate of Lara, said Mulder “maybe panicked” and made an “error” by not chasing the “once in a lifetime opportunity.””If I could get the chance to get 400, I would get 400,” Gayle told . “That doesn’t happen often. You don’t know when you’re going to get to a triple-century again. Any time you get a chance like that, you try and make the best out of it.”Related

• Mulder: Lara told me I should have gone for the record

• Mulder: 'Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be'

• Stats – Mulder breaks records and Zimbabwe with 367*

Mulder said he did this out of respect for Lara’s record and Gayle accepted that, to an extent: “But he was so generous and said he wanted the record to stay with Brian Lara. Maybe he panicked, he didn’t know what to do in that situation.”Come on, you’re on 367, automatically you have to take a chance at the record. If you want to be a legend… how are you going to become a legend? Records come with being a legend.Mulder, 27, was playing only his 21st Test, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo where South Africa were put in to bat. Mulder went out at No. 3 in the 10th over of the innings and Zimbabwe were unable to dismiss him in the 334 balls he faced, of which 49 were stuck for fours and four for sixes. He was unbeaten on 264 at the end of the first day and not far from Lara’s record on 367 when the teams took lunch, but South Africa never returned to bat as they had declared.”I think it was an error from his side, not to try and go to get it,” Gayle said. “We don’t know if he would go on and get it or not. But he declared on 367 and he said what he had to say. But listen, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to get 400 runs in a Test match. Come on, youngster, you’ve blown it big time.”Gayle further said the quality of the opposition did not matter in such records.”It’s the same cricket, Test cricket,” Gayle said. “Sometimes you can’t even get one run against a team like Zimbabwe, if you want to put it that way. It doesn’t matter, the opponent, if you get a hundred against any team, that’s a Test century. If you get a double or triple, 400, that’s Test cricket. That’s the ultimate game.”Like I said, he panicked and he blundered, straight up.”Much of the cricket world has been debating the event, and a question was even put to England’s Ben Stokes at the press conference ahead of the Lord’s Test. Would he have declared on a batter so close to the record?”As captain, you’d rather do it to yourself than the captain pulling out on a groundbreaking day,” Stokes said. “I think he said something about how it should stay with Brian. He’s not going to get that opportunity again. They got the win, which obviously is the big thing that counts.”

He has not adequately recovered, and will now work on his fitness at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2024Pakistan fast-bowling allrounder Aamer Jamal will miss the two-Test series against Bangladesh, the PCB confirmed on Monday.Two days out of the series opener in Rawalpindi, Pakistan announced their XI, with Saim Ayub, the incumbent opener, retaining his place at the top after having made his Test debut against Australia at the SCG in January earlier this year. The selectors picked Ayub for continuity, which meant Muhammad Hurraira will have to wait for his international debut.Hurraira, 22, has been a heavy scorer in domestic cricket and last month he scored 218 against a Bangladesh High Performance XI in a four-day game in Darwin.Saud Shakeel was named vice-captain while Naseem Shah was also back in the XI for his first Test match since July 2023.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

As for Jamal, he was initially selected in the squad with his participation subject to fitness clearance. He was most likely going to miss the first Test, starting on August 21 in Rawalpindi, as he hadn’t completely recovered from his back injury, but is now ruled out of the second Test starting August 30 as well.Jamal, who was Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker in the away series in Australia in 2023-24 with 18 wickets in three Tests, has been dealing with lower back issues since May this year. The injury also affected and ultimately curtailed his multi-format stint with Warwickshire in England, and he last played competitive cricket in June.Related

• Shan Masood: 'We want to give Saim Ayub a fair chance'

• T20 WC blues behind them, Pakistan and Bangladesh switch focus to red-ball cricket

• Aamer Jamal leaves Warwickshire early after injury-blighted stint

• Bangladesh look to shut out the noise and find rhythm in Rawalpindi

• Pakistan set to play all-pace attack in a home Test for the second time in 28 years

Jamal was originally the lone seam-bowling allrounder in the squad, and with no replacement named, Pakistan will go into the first Test with 14 players since Abrar Ahmed and Kamran Ghulam were also released to play for the Shaheens. Pakistan are also expected to name an all-seam attack for the first Test and the other quicks in the squad are Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali.Jamal will now work on his fitness at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore with one eye on regaining fitness before the Test series against England in October.

Pakistan XI for the first Test against Bangladesh

1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel (vice-capt), 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Khurram Shahzad, 11 Mohammad Ali

Healy wants Australia to “throw the first punch” and “take the first two points” going into the Ashes

Valkerie Baynes11-Jan-2025England are wary of a “scarred” Australia team determined to overcome the empty celebration of a drawn Ashes series in 2023 and win this edition outright.Heather Knight, England’s captain, led her side back from six points down at home last year to level the contest at eight points each by winning both white-ball legs. And while that fightback provides this year’s tourists with confidence, Knight believes it will also spur on Australia, who have held the trophy since 2015.”They’re going to be really tough for us to beat out here in one-day cricket but we’re really confident with where we’re at,” Knight told reporters at North Sydney Oval on the eve of the first ODI at the same venue. “We’ve had some brilliant wins over the last year and that 2023 series will give us a lot of confidence.Related

• Knight to meet exiled Afghanistan women players during second Ashes ODI

• Healy cleared to resume keeping but tight schedule could be a challenge

“We know that the Aussies were probably a bit scarred by that and they’re going to come out really hard, and we’ve got to be prepared for that and have our plans ready to face that, and to try and counteract that ourselves.”Knight’s language echoed that of England spinner Charlie Dean, who 24 hours earlier said her team “don’t have as many scars” from previous Ashes defeats. Last year’s draw marked a significant turnaround for England from back-to-back wins for Australia, both by 12 points to four.Australia captain Alyssa Healy wrinkled her nose and smiled when told of Knight’s comments and subsequently asked about the importance of building momentum early off the back of five straight ODI victories heading into the Ashes, which starts with three ODIs followed by three T20Is and a four-day Test.”I think you want to throw the first punch,” Healy said. “You want to get out there and take the first two points, that’s how it goes, and then you can hopefully settle in from there. But I don’t feel like we’ve played one another very often of late, outside of World Cup warm-up games and whatnot.Alyssa Healy: ‘A draw is not a great feeling for both sides’•Getty Images

“So the opportunity to get out there and sort of feel each other out is an interesting concept. But at the same time, I think we know what we’re going to bring in the one-day format, and, hopefully, we just focus on ourselves tomorrow and go out there and do that.”Getting off to a fast start won’t be Australia’s sole objective, with Healy also reflecting that they had put so much emphasis on winning the Test which kicked off the 2023 series that they ended up being overtaken by England.”It was just the way that it petered out at the end,” Healy said. “We put a lot of work into that Test match. We hadn’t played with the Dukes ball before, and there was a lot of focus on that and we got that job done. And then we assumed that at the white-ball game, you know, we’d be okay.”But England threw a few things at us that we hadn’t seen before, and probably took the game on a little bit more and put us on the back foot, which we’re well prepared for now, from a lot of teams right around the world. So we benefited from that experience. But I think leaving England the girls were like, ‘we don’t want that to happen again’. A draw is not a great feeling for both sides, and probably for them as well for us to keep the trophy in that regard. So we’ll hopefully get the job done outright this time.”Knight felt similar motivation to put this year’s result beyond doubt after 2023.”I have positive memories of it but also tainted with regret and frustration that we weren’t able to do something really special and win it outright,” Knight said. “I don’t think we’ve got a mental edge. They’re an extremely good side that we’re going to have to be at the top of our game to try and beat. They’ll certainly go in as favourites and our job will be, as it was in 2023, to go in and try and disrupt, and try and do things a little bit differently, to try and break that success and run that they’ve had.”Healy, who has been cleared to return to wicketkeeping duties after a knee injury kept her out of the home series against India and restricted her to a batting role on the tour of New Zealand last month, said she felt less nervous heading into this Ashes series as captain.Previously, she was thrust into the role when Meg Lanning withdrew shortly before Australia’s departure for England on medical grounds. Lanning never played for Australia again and later revealed the mental and physical health battles that led to her announcing her international retirement in November 2023.”I won’t lie, I think last one, it was kind of last minute,” Healy said. “There was a lot of uncertainty around what was going to unfold, but at the back of my mind, I was still prepared to lead if need be. In this instance, I feel a bit more comfortable in the role and I’ve probably managed to put my own stamp on the group a little bit more so in that sense, it feels a bit more comfortable. Being at home as well. But in saying that I know that, in particular, we’re going to be put under the pump a lot this this series, and, just hopefully, back myself to get that job done.”

Shaheen Afridi has been included in both travelling parties, to continue his rehab from a knee injury while with the team

Umar Farooq03-Aug-2022Hasan Ali has been dropped from both Pakistan’s squad for the ODI series in the Netherlands as well for the Asia Cup T20Is later this month. Naseem Shah has been named in both squads. Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed the second Test in Sri Lanka last month because of a knee injury, has been included in both squads, with a PCB statement saying, “his rehabilitation programme will be overseen by the team trainer and physiotherapist, who will also decide on his return to international cricket”.Babar Azam continues to be in charge of both the set-ups, with Shadab Khan as his deputy.Hasan’s form across formats in the last year has been middling at best, with his T20I bowling strike rate moving to 23.2; he has picked up eight wickets in nine games in this period. In the three ODIs he has played in the last 12 months – all at home between March and June this year – he averaged 76.50 with the ball, picking up two wickets overall. Earlier this year, in the PSL, he had a bowling average of 40.55 and had an economy rate of 10.84 as he got nine wickets in nine games for Islamabad United.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We have done our homework, especially for the players who have served Pakistan well and have won so many games for the country,” Mohammad Wasim, the men’s chief selector, said when asked about Hasan. “To give them a longer run is a part of the plan, but then there is the stage when you realise that now is the time we think he needs a break for his own and the team’s betterment.”So we had a similar thought process with Hasan Ali, to give him an extended run, but now we think he needs to regather himself and return as a match-winner. We hope going forward we will find the same old Hasan Ali.”It has been a downward spiral for Hasan since last year’s T20 World Cup, where he dropped a catch that could, potentially, have won Pakistan the semi-final against Australia. He ended the tournament with five wicket in six bowling innings, at an average of 41.40 and an economy rate of 9.00.Naseem, who has never played ODIs or T20Is, has taken Hasan’s place after a good performance in the two Tests in Sri Lanka last month, when he picked up seven wickets on not-very-helpful pitches. Naseem had struggled with fitness issues till recently, but has come back stronger.”Naseem Shah is a quality bowler, and we have seen him in domestic white-ball cricket,” Wasim said. “He has got express pace and we wanted to include an attacking option; it is important to take wickets in white0ball cricket. He has that ability. He can swing the ball, he has got pace, and if we talk about his temperament, we have seen the evidence in Tests.”He was a good replacement for Hasan Ali, and we hope he can take his success from red-ball to white-ball cricket.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Agha Salman, the middle-order batter who made his international debut in the Test series against Sri Lanka last month, now has a chance of making his ODI debut in the Netherlands.The selectors have also kept faith in PSL sensational Mohammad Haris, the wicketkeeper-batter, for the ODIs. He made his debut in the home series against West Indies in June, but failed both the times he got a chance to bat, scoring 6 and 0 from the middle order.He has, however, been identified as the back-up to Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps, which will likely ensure more opportunities, at least in the short term. Haris shot to prominence at PSL 7, scoring 166 runs in five innings at a strike rate of over 185 for Peshawar Zalmi. At the 50-over Pakistan Cup last year, he scored 289 runs in eight innings at an average of 41.28 and strike rate of over 100 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The selected players will assemble in Lahore on August 6 for a six-day training camp. The ODI side will leave for Amsterdam in the wee hours of August 12 for the three-ODI series – the matches are on August 16, 18 and 21, all in Rotterdam – and the T20I specialists will reach Dubai on August 22, where they will be joined by the T20I members of the ODI squad.

Lanning makes the shock decision to retire at age 31 having missed Australia last three series due to a medical issue

Alex Malcolm08-Nov-2023Meg Lanning has made the shock decision to retire from international cricket effective immediately, aged 31.Australia’s captain had not played for her country since lifting the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February. She missed Australia’s tour of the UK due to an undisclosed medical issue and did not play in the recent T20I and ODI series against West Indies despite being fit, having returned to play WNCL cricket for Victoria.Lanning is currently captaining the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL and appears set to continue to play domestic cricket.Related

• 'I was in denial' – Meg Lanning reveals health battle that caused her international retirement

• Healy and Brown named for India tour, Cheatle recalled, but no captain yet

• 'Thank you for what you've done for women's cricket' – The cricketing world reacts to Meg Lanning's retirement

• Lanning makes a successful return to cricket with a brisk half-century in WNCL

• Lanning 'relieved' to have retired after thinking about it for 'quite some time'

“The decision to step away from international cricket was a difficult one to make, but I feel now is the right time for me,” Lanning said. “I’ve been incredibly fortunate to enjoy a 13-year international career, but I know now is the right time for me to move on to something new.”Team success is why you play the game, I’m proud of what I have been able to achieve and will cherish the moments shared with team-mates along the way.”I’d like to thank my family, my teammates, Cricket Victoria, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association for their support to allow me to play the game I love at the highest level. I also want to say a huge thank you to all the fans who have supported me throughout my international career.”Lanning has taken several breaks from cricket in recent seasons for a variety of issues. In 2022, following Australia’s Commonwealth Games triumph, she took a leave of absence from the game and worked as a barista at a local coffee shop in Melbourne. She missed Australia’s tour in India in December of that year before returning for the build-up to the 2023 T20 World Cup.Lanning made her international debut as an 18-year-old in 2010 and has played 241 matches for Australia including six Tests, 103 ODIs and 132 T20Is. She will go down as one of the most successful captains in cricket history having captained Australia to four T20 World Cup titles, an ODI World Cup title and a Commonwealth Games title. She led her country in 182 matches across her career having been handed the role as a 21-year-old in 2014.Meg Lanning with the ODI World Cup trophy•Getty Images

She became the youngest Australian female to score a century, aged 18, when she made 104 not out against England in just her second ODI. She went on to become arguably the greatest female ODI batter of all time. She has scored 15 ODI centuries, with New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (12) the only other player with more than nine.Of the 11 women with more than 4000 ODI runs, Lanning has the highest average of 53.51, with India’s Mithali Raj the only other player to average over 50. She also had a staggering strike rate of 92.20.Lanning is the second-highest run-scorer in women’s T20I history behind Bates. She made 3405 runs at 36.61, striking at 116.37, with two centuries.The only thing missing from her glittering personal resume was a Test century. She played just six Tests in a 13-year career and only made two half-centuries with a highest score of 93 against England in 2022.Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley paid tribute to Lanning after her announcement.”One of the finest cricketers Australia has produced, Meg’s supreme achievements with the bat have been matched by her inspiring leadership,” Hockley said.”As one of the best players in the world over a long period of time, Meg has made an immeasurable impact and led a generation which has helped revolutionise the game.”Under Meg’s leadership, the Australian women’s cricket team has built a legacy of global dominance and has been at the forefront of growing the game and inspiring the next generation of cricketers all around the world.”A seven-time World Cup winner and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Meg retires from international cricket having achieved everything there is to achieve and we thank her for the immense contribution she has made.”We look forward to celebrating Meg’s distinguished international career at an appropriate time.”

By the time the game begins on Sunday evening, RCB will know exactly what they need to make the playoffs

Srinidhi Ramanujam20-May-20236:00

Moody: Royal Challengers should start afresh in home return

Big Picture: Make or break for RCB

It all boils down to the final four hours. After 69 games across 52 days, the last league match will decide the identity of the players fourth team in the playoffs.The spotlight is on Royal Challengers Bangalore as they return home to the Chinnaswamy to host the Gujarat Titans after nearly a month on the road. They will know exactly what they need to qualify in the top four if net run rate becomes a factor, but the simplest route is to win. If they make it, it will be their fourth successive playoff appearance.So what’s going well for RCB? They are coming into this crucial fixture off two successive wins – against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Their strength is their batting, having scored more than 180 in three of their last four games. More specifically, it is their top-order batting, with Faf du Plessis (702), Virat Kohli (538) and Glenn Maxwell (389) doing the bulk of the run-scoring. The dependency on their Big Three could be a crucial factor in a crunch game.Winning at the Chinnaswamy also hasn’t been straightforward for RCB this season. While several teams have struggled to maximise their home advantage, it’s 3-3 for RCB in Bengaluru this year, and 40 wins in 83 games overall.So while RCB have everything to do to qualify for the playoffs, the Titans are already through. Hardik Pandya’s team is only the second side to finish top of the table in two successive seasons, after the Mumbai Indians in 2019 and 2020.

Team news: Will Titans rest players?

Fast bowler Josh Little had missed a few matches to play an ODI series for Ireland against Bangladesh, but he re-joined the Titans squad on May 16. Vijay Shankar had also missed the previous game after getting hit in the nets. With Titans already through to the playoffs, the big question is whether they will rest any of their players, considering they play Qualifier 1 on May 23.Du Plessis said at the toss of their previous game against Sunrisers that one of Hasaranga and Hazlewood was missing due to a niggle without specifying who it was.

The big question

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have been prolific at the top for RCB•BCCI

Form guide

RCB WWLLW
Gujarat Titans WLWWL

Impact Player strategy

Anuj Rawat kept wickets for RCB instead of Dinesh Karthik in the last two matches and he is expected to do it again against Titans. Karthik or Mahipal Lomror could sub in and out for for left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed depending on whether they bat or bowl first.Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable XII): 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Mahipal Lomror, 5 , 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Anuj Rawat (wk), 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Titans had swapped Shubman Gill with fast bowler Yash Dayal in their previous game against SRH. If Little returns, Gill and Mohit Sharma could be their Impact Players depending on whether they bat or bowl first.Gujarat Titans (probable XII): 1 , 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Abhinav Manohar/Vijay Shankar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Josh Little, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12

Pitch and conditions

Bengaluru has been hot and humid this week but i rained on match eve and a couple of spells of rain is likely on Sunday as well. The average first-innings total at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is 194, so expect a run-fest.

Stats that matter

• Kohli is a beast in Bengaluru with 3106 T20s runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most by any batter, at a strike rate of 140.82.
• Rashid Khan has dismissed du Plessis three times in eight T20s, and conceded only 32 runs in 45 balls.
• Gill has scored at 148.14 against Mohammed Siraj in the IPL, with no dismissals in six innings.

Scotland’s chase never took off as spinners and Prabodhani helped Sri Lanka defend 169

ESPNcricinfo staff07-May-2024Captain Chamari Athapaththu’s 102 off 63 balls helped Sri Lanka win the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier against Scotland in Abu Dhabi.As a result, Sri Lanka will slot into Group A alongside Australia, India, New Zealand and Pakistan, while Scotland will be part of Group B alongside South Africa, England, West Indies and Bangladesh in the World Cup proper in October.After Scotland asked Sri Lanka to bat, Athapaththu lost her opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne in the third over. Harshitha Samarawickrama was the next one to depart in the sixth over, after being pinned in front by Katherine Fraser. Kavisha Dilhari at No. 4 then contributed 15 off 13 balls before being stumped off Abtaha Maqsood.Athapaththu, meanwhile, continued to pile on the runs single-handedly, contributing 83 runs in her 106-run stand with Nilakshika Silva. She brought up her century in the 19th over, off 60 balls. Athapaththu hit 13 fours and four sixes in her 63-ball stay before falling to Rachel Slater with four balls remaining in Sri Lanka’s innings. A six by Silva off the penultimate ball then set Scotland a target of 170.In return, Scotland got off to a decent start in the chase, with openers Saskia Horley and Megan McColl hitting three fours between them before the collapse began. After Horley was run-out in the third over, left-arm medium pacer Udeshika Prabodhani produced a double-wicket maiden in the fourth.Sri Lanka’s spinners then took over, stifling Scotland in the middle overs. Priyanaz Chatterji fought hard with a 34-ball 30, but didn’t find much help at the other end, as Scotland eventually fell 68 runs short.Before they met on Tuesday, both Sri Lanka and Scotland had already booked their spot at the T20 World Cup proper, set to be played in Bangladesh later this year, after beating UAE and Ireland, respectively, on Friday.

Reactions from former Madhya Pradesh players after the team’s maiden Ranji Trophy victory

Shashank Kishore, Nikhil Sharma and Afzal Jiwani26-Jun-2022Chandrakant Pandit, title-winning coach of Madhya Pradesh (as told to the BCCI website)
“It is becoming a little emotional because missing out when I was captain to win this trophy on the same ground after 23 years. Some say father could not do it but son has done it. Aditya Shrivastava has done it. I owed Madhya Pradesh the trophy that I missed out.”I used to play for Madhya Pradesh in ’94-’96 [1994-95 to 2000-01]. Almost six years I played. The offer [to coach them] came to me in March and I didn’t hesitate. Before that I had a couple of offers and then I thought about going back to Madhya Pradesh because I had left something 23 years back. Probably God willed me back to the same place and we came back to play the final at Chinnaswamy Stadium.”I would definitely say Aditya Shrivastava has been an outstanding captain with his plans and strategy. Whatever we discussed, I think he has never hesitated to implement on the ground. The captain makes the team win 50% according to me and that is what I wanted him to do. He has done a fantastic job and though he wasn’t getting runs I always had confidence in him. At the same time, Rajat Patidar, Shubham Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya, there are many many guys – young guy Akshat Raghuwanshi – has also come out well for MP.”Jalaj Saxena, former Madhya Pradesh allrounder
“It’s been seven years since I moved from playing first-class cricket for Madhya Pradesh but my heart has been pounding away watching the final. The only thought that kept playing in my mind at the start of the day were the memories of 1998-99, where we took a lead and had the final under control before one bad session cost us the game. I’m so happy to see how calmly they approached it.”When I started for MP 17 years ago, it was a dream to play in a Ranji final. We had talent but as a group, winning remained just a dream. To see these guys lift the trophy is a gift to the entire cricketing fraternity in MP. It has the potential to open several avenues.”Coaches and talent scouts will keenly look out for talent from MP even more now. We’ve already seen so many names coming through – Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kartikeya. Many more could emerge. These guys have all been trendsetters for the younger players. So many youngsters in MP are now encouraged by seeing these guys perform on the big stage, and a platform like the IPL only magnifies your performances and provides a lift to the region.”We always knew MP had a strong team, but it was always a question of being able to hold our nerves on the big stage. After this win, that perception is bound to change. This win has the power to transform the direction of MP cricket for the better.