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Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
England vs India: Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara explain what it would take to adjust to red-ball cricket so soon after IPL
Even the original schedule for the Indian Premier League 2025 season final (May 25) didn't leave much room for India's players to prepare for England, but the postponement to June 3 meant it was further cut short. A few of players, whose teams didn't make it to the playoffs, headed to England early to play for India A but a majority of the squad have had just over two weeks of turnaround time, including the likes of key batters in Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant to name a few. They had just the solitary intra-squad match to get ready for what is going to be a tough exercise facing the Dukes ball over the next month and a half across five Tests. Speaking to The Indian Express, former India captain and all-time great Sachin Tendulkar elaborated what it would take to make adjustments quickly from the slam-bang world of T20 cricket. Picking length will be paramount. 'My mindset would be to pick the length early because the difference between white ball and the red ball is picking the length,' Tendulkar said. 'Depending on the three elements I mentioned at the start (the weather, overhead condition and the pitch conditions), you decide which length you are going to attack, which you are going to defend, what length can be driven on-the-rise and what lengths you cannot do that.' 'Once you've figured out that length, then it becomes relatively easy, but that clarity needs to be there in your head. I'll not mess around with a particular length where it makes my hands start going away from my body, then I could be in trouble. So, it's not just line, but length is the key. Once you have the clarity about lengths you are going to attack or defend, then you have to pick it as early as possible.' Cheteshwar Pujara, not in the scheme of the Test squad now, spoke about the muscle memory that the IPL stars would be carrying. 'If you're coming from a white ball format, and if that's T20, then your muscle memory tends to push you to play a few more shots and your hands up a little harder,' Pujara, who has had prolific stints with Sussex in County Cricket, told The Indian Express. 'To make those necessary changes to adapt to the red ball is a bit of a challenge. And the players who are good in all three formats, they try to adapt to those things quickly. The younger players, because they don't have enough experience of playing in England, might take a little longer to adapt to those conditions.' While India will be without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – the two stalwarts who called time on their Test careers during the IPL – all eyes will on KL Rahul – now the senior-most batter in the side – Gill, and Pant. India are also likely to kick off their transition period with B Sai Sudharsan in the mix, a talent for the long term, who has already shown his immense shot-making skills during the IPL. All of them are key batters for their franchises and have to make the change in their techniques quickly. 'I think you need enough time as well. But if you look at this series, there is time but I wouldn't say that there was a lot of time,' Pujara said. 'Because if you look at the turnaround time for players who were part of the IPL, it's just about two weeks, or a little bit more. Ideally you should get three to three and a half weeks before the big Test series to prepare after IPL.' The first Test begins on Friday in Leeds and it will be interesting to see if the Indian batters can move on from the IPL hangover and get things straight away.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Worcestershire sign Pakistan seamer Shahzad from July
Worcestershire have agreed a deal to sign Pakistan seamer Khurram Shahzad from early next month until the end of the 25-year-old, who taken 20 wickets in six Tests, will join the Pears from 4 July and replace New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy, who is set to leave at the end of addition to the final five County Championship matches, Shahzad will also be available for the One-Day Cup campaign and last six group games, at least, of the T20 Blast."Joining a club like Worcestershire and getting the chance to enhance my skills is something I am really excited by," Shahzad said., external"I have always had ambitions to play in England, so this was a chance I was desperate to take." Head coach Alan Richardson said Shahzad was a "fantastic" signing and the club were "thrilled to have someone with his experience and skillset on board"."Not only will he give us tremendous option with his ability to swing the ball and bowl in excess of 80mph on a regular basis, his experience around the dressing room with some of the younger bowlers will be invaluable," he has taken 201 wickets in his first-class career at an average of 26, and picked up 111 in 87 matches in List A and T20 is set for his Worcestershire debut against Yorkshire in the T20 Blast at Headingley on 4 July.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Counties must see 'big picture' - ex-ECB boss Lamb
Former England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tim Lamb believes county members must look at "the bigger picture" when considering the game's says the commercial potential of the domestic T20 competition, introduced in 2003, has not been fully exploited, compared to tournaments like the Indian Premier Lamb believes the proposed sale of franchises for The Hundred must go ahead as it will also produce a huge boost in income for the county clubs. "Some people have talked about the monster we created but I think it's a shame the ECB didn't capitalise on what was our invention," Lamb told BBC Radio Northampton's The Cricket Show."I think we were prisoners of cricket politics, the way the county system works, and it's not the first British invention that's then been exploited by others and we've been left behind. The IPL, no one could have foreseen that (at the time). "The sale of the franchises is going to provide the first-class counties with undreamt -of amounts of money which hopefully will be spent responsibly by those counties." Cricket has 'an ethos, a soul' Lamb, 72, was in charge of the ECB, previously the Test and County Cricket Board, from 1996 to 2004, during which time central contracts for England's men's players were introduced along with a two-tier County Championship, as well as the T20 Blast, then called the Twenty20 Cup. His departure from the post followed controversy over England's refusal to travel to Zimbabwe for a game during the 2003 Cricket World Cup - the points forfeited cost them a place in the next phase of the said that on taking the job, his guiding belief was that cricket should be "a business within a game, not a game within a business"."Cricket is a multi-million pound business but essentially it's a sport - it has an ethos, a soul, and I wanted to emphasise that we wanted business to be the servant of cricket, rather than the master," he added."I was very lucky to have (Lord) Ian MacLaurin as my chairman - he and I took over at the back end of 1996 and we set out to try to improve standards at every level. "We had extra revenue to spend from fairly lucrative television broadcasting contracts, so we were able to invest in many parts of the game that hadn't previously been funded. I hope we moved the game forward." 'Youngsters need heroes to emulate' The introduction of central contracts played a part in the Ashes triumph of 20 years ago, when Michael Vaughan's England team defeated Australia on home soil."One of the priorities for Ian and myself was to have a successful England men's team because that gives heroes for youngsters to emulate, it makes sponsors want to get involved with the game, it gives a feelgood factor throughout the sport," said Lamb."Although we had some reverses I like to think we laid the foundations and although sadly 2005, the famous Ashes victory, was after we'd left, people kindly said that we'd laid the foundations for that and we ought to accept some of the credit for what happened."Lamb is also concerned about the number of injuries affecting current England cricketers, especially pace bowlers, and believes it is vital that a "happy balance" should be found between playing and resting."I was talking to somebody while watching a match yesterday and we were saying 'why is it that all the England fast bowlers seem to get so many injuries?'" he said."It can't be from over-playing, is it from overtraining, overdoing it in the gym? And the chap I was talking to said 'no, [it's because] they don't play enough cricket'."I think he's got a point. (Ex-England cricketer) Alec Bedser said you only get fit for cricket by bowling and I think there's some truth in that. As a bowler, there is a certain type of fitness that you need, it's a rhythmical thing. "Yes, it's good to have more time to rest and recuperate, more coaching, but if you compare the amount of cricket they play now with the amount we played back in the 1970s and early 80s, it bears no resemblance." 'The domestic schedule is a mess' Despite concerns about the amount of cricket, and travelling involved, during the English season, Lamb wants the current 18 counties to remain."There were people around me who said we've got far too many counties and if you were starting from scratch there's no way you would have, for instance, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northants, but the fact is we did and each of the counties is a centre of excellence," he said. "They don't just play competitive professional county cricket, they provide coaching opportunities, they're a focus for cricket in that particular county."He added: "The domestic schedule is a mess but on the other hand I can understand why it's a mess because it's jolly difficult for the schedulers to be able to do justice to all of the different forms of the game and keep everybody happy."I actually did the fixture list for eight years before I got the top job at ECB so I know just how difficult it is to please everybody. Stalwart county members always want what they want but they have to see the bigger picture."Tim Lamb was speaking to BBC Radio Northampton's Andrew Radd and Jake Sharpe
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Marnus falls, Green fires in County
Cricket: There have been contrasting fortunes for Australian's in the County cricket with Cameron Green hitting a ton while Marnus Labuschagne failed to fire.
Business Upturn
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Business Upturn
Ajit Agarkar reveals Kohli informed BCCI of Test retirement in April; Shubman Gill to lead India in England series
By Aditya Bhagchandani Published on May 24, 2025, 13:47 IST Chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed on Friday that Virat Kohli had made his decision to retire from Test cricket well before the official announcement. Speaking after the squad announcement for the England Test tour, Agarkar said, 'Virat reached out in early April and said he had made up his mind.' Kohli's decision has marked the end of a golden era in Indian cricket, as Rohit Sharma, too, has stepped aside from Test duties. In their absence, the selectors have ushered in a new generation, with Shubman Gill appointed as captain and Rishabh Pant named his deputy. The team features a mix of youth and experience. Notably, Sai Sudharsan has earned a spot, backed by strong performances in the IPL and County Cricket with Surrey. With Kohli's departure, the number four position is up for grabs, and Gill could take that responsibility alongside leadership. Ajit Agarkar acknowledged the challenges of filling the void left by Kohli and Rohit but emphasized it's 'an opportunity for others to step up.' India will look to bounce back from their recent overseas Test defeats and rebuild their red-ball dominance. India Men's Test Squad vs England Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC, WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav. Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.
