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Nagraj Gollapudi previews the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Mumbai and Delhi, a blockbuster that has become, in the 21st century, just another contest

The Preview by Nagraj Gollapudi02-Jan-2010

Match facts

Sunday, January 3
Start time 09:30

Big picture

Ishant Sharma, out of the Indian team, needs to impress the selectors•Associated Press

Mumbai against Delhi was a blockbuster. That was a fact in the 20th century. In the 21st century it has become just another contest.The thrill that this storied rivalry ignited in the past is now a distant dream. One main reason is the absence of any big name players. It would’ve been a completely different setting and feeling if Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were pitted against each other. But they are not available for the semi-final that starts at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.It could still turn out be a keen contest, though, especially since there is no established match-winner in either side. Delhi reached the semis in typical style – full of chaos. After three league matches they had already slumped to an innings defeat against Uttar Pradesh, but redeemed themselves with two outright wins in the following two matches. Three captains were appointed for the seven previous matches but the team did not disintegrate. Senior players like Aakash Chopra and Mithun Manhas missed four games each but youngsters like Gaurav Chabra and Puneet Bisht grabbed their opportunity with match-winning hundreds.Bisht, the only Delhi player in the top 20 run-scorers this season, has been his team’s most valuable batsman. His two hundreds came when Delhi were on the brink against Saurashtra and Bengal. Chabra’s only century was in the quarterfinals and his 92-run sixth-wicket partnership with Bisht gave Delhi the crucial first-innings lead against favourites Tamil Nadu. In the bowling department, youngsters like Sumit Narwal, Parvinder Awana and the left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra, who got a five-for in the quarterfinals, showed patience and made inroads into the opposition’s batting.Defending champions Mumbai, too, never seemed settled, a contrast to the last season when they ran roughshod over nearly every team. Apart from Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane, none of the top order batsmen has scored consistently. Though Sahil Kukreja notched a double-hundred he remains inconsistent. Mumbai tried six different openers in eight previous games and Jaffer has now decided to promote himself as a precautionary measure. It is a wise move in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was picked for the tri-series in Bangladesh.Mumbai’s middle order has floundered but the lower order comprising Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar and Iqbal Abdulla has helped avoid embarrassing situations. The team management is hoping Agarkar recovers from the fever that kept him out of the pre-match practice sessions. Already Dhawal Kulkarni, last year’s highest wicket-taker who has been struggling this season, has been virtually ruled out due a side strain sustained during the quarterfinal against Haryana.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Mumbai – WWWWW
Delhi – WLWWL

Watch out for…

Wasim Jaffer v Ishant Sharma: On his day, Jaffer is a joy to watch. He is a wristy player whose strokes flow smoothly, and incessantly, into various gaps. Hence he is the ideal hurdle for Ishant, who was recently dropped for the tri-series in Bangladesh after his patchy form during the Sri Lanka series. Ishant has admitted he is struggling for form but his hunger can only push him further to prove his worth.Ajinkya Rahane: He is the highest run-getter this season with a double-hundred, three centuries and three fifties. Last year he was the second-best batsman in the competition, and one of only two batsmen to cross the 1000-run mark. Though he had a terrible start this year, failing in the first three matches, Rahane worked on his mindset, realising he had to curb his aggressive instincts early on and play the anchor instead. Along with Jaffer, he would be the most prized wicket for Delhi’s bowlers.

Team news

Mumbai: (probable) 1 Wasim Jaffer (capt), 2 Sahil Kukreja, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Onkar Khanvilkar, 5 Abhishek Nayar, 6 Vinayak Samant (wk), 7 Ajit Agarkar/Sushant Marathe, 8 Ramesh Powar, 9 Iqbal Abdulla, 10 Aavishkar Salvi, 11 Usman Malvi.Delhi: (probable) 1 Rajat Bhatia (capt), 2 Shikar Dhawan, 3 Mayank Tehlan, 4 Aditya Jain, 5 Mithun Manhas, 6 Gaurav Chabra, 7 Puneet Bisht (wk), 8 Ishant Sharma, 9 Chaitanya Nanda, 10 Vikas Mishra, 11 Pradeep Sangwan.

Pitch and conditions

The Brabourne pitch has always been a result-oriented one and will provide assistance to both batsmen and bowlers. Captains will not think twice about batting first if they call the toss right.

Quotes

“We have changed three captains this season and everything went smoothly. We know what our goal is and we just wanted to work towards that.”
“We haven’t been getting very good starts and with Rohit not there I need to take up the responsibility of opening the innings. If we get past the new ball we can hope to post a big total. “

The funding from CABS, the financial institution, will go directly to the five provincial teams

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2025Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has received a sponsorship of US$ 50,000 from CABS, a Zimbabwe-based financial institution, aimed at directly supporting the country’s five first-class provincial teams.According to a ZC release, the funding will go to Eagles, Rhinos, Tuskers, Mountaineers and Southern Rocks, the five teams that compete in the Logan Cup, the Pro50 Championship and the domestic T20 competition. The release also said it will be a direct-to-team funding model, that will help them make investments in key areas such as coaching, talent development and player welfare. The direct funding model enhances financial transparency and governance, that will help in clearer budgeting and stronger accountability, the release stated.”We are grateful to CABS for coming on board as a valued partner in our domestic cricket journey,” ZC managing director Givemore Makoni said. “This kind of corporate support plays an important role in strengthening the game’s foundation and enabling long-term growth.Related

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“For our provincial teams, it means greater stability and the ability to invest more consistently in key areas such as player welfare, coaching and talent development – factors that are essential to building a stronger pipeline for the future of Zimbabwean cricket.”CABS managing director Mehluli Mpofu said: “This sponsorship is more than support for cricket – it is a commitment to the dreams of Zimbabwe’s young people. Across the country, there are talented, passionate youths who see sport as a pathway to opportunity, purpose and pride.”At CABS, we recognise that potential. By investing in domestic cricket, we are answering their call, building platforms for growth and helping shape a future where every young Zimbabwean has a chance to shine.”CABS has a long-standing relationship with cricket, dating back to 2004 when it supported T20 competitions. The release also said the institution has “quietly but consistently backed cricket development initiatives, helping to uncover and nurture emerging talent across the country” over the past two decades.The development comes during a bumper year for Zimbabwe in which they have already played seven Tests and also hosted a T20I tri-series recently with South Africa and New Zealand. They are set to host New Zealand for two Tests starting July 30.

Dercksen, Shangase, Sekhukhune and Goodall missed out from the South Africa squad that played Bangladesh at home

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2024Chloe Tryon has recovered from a groin injury and returned to South Africa’s white-ball squads for the women’s multi-format tour of Australia. Ayanda Hlubi, who made an impressive T20I debut against Bangladesh, received her maiden call-up to the ODI side.Tryon has been out of action since the WBBL and last played the home series against New Zealand in October. Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk and Ayabonga Khaka, all of whom missed the T20Is but were part of the ODIs against Bangladesh, were named in the 15-member squad that will be captained by Laura Wolvaardt.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

From those that played South Africa’s last home series, Annerie Dercksen, Nondumiso Shangase, Tumi Sekhukhune and Lara Goodall missed out for the Australia tour, that starts on January 27 with three T20Is followed by three ODIs beginning February 3, before the one-off Test, the first between the two sides.Related

• Hilton Moreeng to continue as South Africa women's head coach until end of 2023-24 season

“It’s a very competitive squad. It is a mixture of youngsters and experience, and everyone is looking forward to it,” head coach Hilton Moreeng, whose contract was extended till the end of the ongoing season, said. “It was a very good year for us as a team in 2023, so we look forward to building on that.”We touched on our skills regarding the white ball, where we are going, and what is required, so the selected squad is very well-balanced and competitive, and we are very confident going into Australia.”The first two T20Is will be played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra while the third will be at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. After the first ODI in Adelaide, the teams play the next two at the North Sydney Oval before travelling to Perth for the only Test match at the WACA.

Newly demoted player says, “hopefully, white-ball cricket can get recognised as Test-match cricket does”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2022Dawid Malan has described the ECB’s process for awarding central contracts as “a slightly strange system” after he was demoted to an incremental deal.Malan had a full central contract for the year October 2021-September 2022 but lost his place in the Test side after England’s 4-0 defeat in the Ashes in Australia. As a result, he has been shifted to an incremental contract for the year October 2022-September 2023, meaning the ECB will top up his recently-renewed Yorkshire contract rather than acting as his primary employer.”There’s obviously a slightly strange system with the contracting system,” Malan said after hitting 82 off 49 balls in Canberra to help England take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their T20I series against Australia. He questioned the emphasis placed on Test cricket within the contract system and suggested that losing his contract might put him in “tough situations” later in the winter.Related

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“It seems heavily led towards red-ball cricket when you have players that play one or two formats of the white-ball game,” Malan said. “They are decisions that I don’t make but ultimately, it puts you in tough situations if you’re not contracted and you’re losing finances playing in tournaments in the winter.”England’s contracting system had increasingly rewarded performances in Test cricket above white-ball cricket, recognising the number of earning opportunities that white-ball specialists have outside of international cricket through the proliferation of short-form tournaments during the English winter; of the 18 players awarded full contracts this winter, only three – Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid – appear unlikely to play Test cricket over the next 12 months.Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, had said when the contracts were announced: “I feel we have rewarded those players who have made a significant impact over the previous 12 months and those we expect to be part of England’s plans over the next period.”Malan is due to play for Sharjah Warriors in the new ILT20 in the UAE from January 6 to February 12, a tournament which clashes directly with England’s rescheduled ODI series in South Africa at the end of January. “Those are hurdles that we’ll get to when it gets to it,” he said.Chris Jordan, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker in T20Is, missed on a contract altogether after holding an incremental deal last year, while Malan suggested that his own sustained success in that format should have been recognised with a full central contract.”Hopefully, white-ball cricket can get recognised as Test-match cricket does,” he said. “You have players here who have been leading wicket-takers for England that don’t have a contract, but those are decisions that I don’t make. Keysy and I have had that chat already.”As players, we’d like to be rewarded for our performances for England. You’d guess that’s what contracts are for; and if you’re ranked top five in the world for three years, you’d hope you’d get recognised with a white-ball contract, but that’s just how it works. It’s still an honour to play for England, and you want to play and win as many games as you can for England.”Malan started the winter slowly and admitted he “had no rhythm” at the start of England’s series in Pakistan. But he has reasserted his credentials in the last ten days, hitting 78* off 47 balls in the decider in Lahore and adding another fluent half-century in Canberra on Wednesday night.He had slipped down the order during England’s first game in Australia, pushed down to No. 7 after Jos Buttler and Alex Hales’ bright start, but denied that he had been left with anything to prove as a result of that decision.”I feel like I’ve proved my point a hell of a lot before,” he said. “The situation of the game just changed. We were flexible in the last World Cup: I batted No. 5 in one of the games [against South Africa] and didn’t bat in the first game [against West Indies] either because they wanted to get the run-rate [up].”It is what it is; we’re all flexible. As soon as we get a good start, the whole team pretty much pads up and waits for a nod.”Malan had earlier been presented with his 50th T20I cap by England’s new assistant coach Mike Hussey, and became the 11th man to reach that landmark for England. “He’s been one of my idols growing up, Mr. Cricket, so to have him present my cap and the words that he said was an incredibly proud moment for myself,” Malan said.

Senior batsman has got NOC and is available for selection for his home team immediately

Shashank Kishore11-Jul-2021Sheldon Jackson, the domestic veteran, is set to return to Saurashtra, the team he won the Ranji Trophy with in 2019-20. After the Ranji win, Jackson moved to Puducherry as a professional player. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Jackson ended up not playing in the Ranji Trophy for Puducherry, and only represented the team in the limited-overs formats, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah confirmed to that Jackson has obtained the NOC from Puducherry and is eligible for selection immediately.Related

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While Puducherry failed to make the knockouts of both limited-overs competitions, Jackson was the team’s second-highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 227 runs in five innings, including a best of 104. He did even better in the Mushtaq Ali T20s, top-scoring with 242 runs in five innings, including his maiden century in the format, an unbeaten match-winning 106 against Andhra. He has credited this stint for his return to the IPL fold after four years, being signed for his base price of INR 20 lakh by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2021 auction.Jackson, 34, is among the more accomplished batters in the domestic circuit, averaging 49.42 in 76 first-class matches, with 19 centuries and 27 half-centuries. He averages 37.42 in 60 List A matches, while striking at 117.09 across 59 T20s.The exits of Jackson and Pankaj Singh, the former India fast bowler (who retired from all forms of cricket), leaves Puducherry with a huge void to fill ahead of the season. The side has had three professional players – the most allowed to any team – in all seasons since their entry into the domestic fold in 2018-19, much like most of the teams that were brought into the domestic ambit following the Lodha recommendations.

Pakistan preparing to take advantage of West Indies’ penchant for big hitting in their opening game

Andrew McGlashan in Canberra25-Feb-2020Allrounder Nida Dar has wasted no time in putting her experience of the WBBL to good use as Pakistan prepare to begin their T20 World Cup campaign.Dar became the first Pakistan player to appear in the competition as part of the Sydney Thunder side in this year’s tournament, where she had 11 matches, claiming 13 wickets at 16.92 – the best average in the team – and an economy rate 6.87.In a young Pakistan side, Dar was always going to be a vital component of their T20 World Cup campaign – a tournament where they have never got out of the first round – but that inside knowledge of Australian conditions has made her a go-to person as the squad gets ready to face West Indies in Canberra.”As a senior player I need to share everything I have,” she said. “All my team-mates are always asking me about the BBL experience and Australian conditions. I have given a lot of tips and things to try. The girls are very keen to learn everything because some of them are very new and it’s their first experience in Australia. What we need to do is gel as a unit.”As her team-mates are now doing, Dar spent the WBBL trying to take in as much as she could from the experience of mixing with some of the best players in the game and a group of elite coaches. However, despite the information collected during her stint early in the season, Dar believes conditions for the World Cup have altered after a long, hot summer followed by recent heavy rain – especially on the east coast – which also impacted a preparation camp Pakistan had in Queensland.”The main thing I focused on was what could I grab from here, the experience from different coaches and ideas from different people,” she said. “I had experienced players with me, Rachael Haynes, Shabnim Ismail, Rachel Priest so there were different ideas from different players and the experience I took from the BBL was very nice. But now after so much rain the conditions have changed.”Ultimately, West Indies were comfortable winners against Thailand in their opening game although they did have some nervous moments early the chase when they slipped to 27 for 3. Pakistan know what to expect from a side that likes to hit boundaries and will be preying on that eagerness to put bat to ball.”We know the strengths of West Indies, they are power hitters, and want to show their skills all the time, so we need to be very strong with our nerves,” Dar said. “Variation could be helpful for us and it’s these kinds of things that we can learn, maybe West Indies are trying to hit hard a lot, but maybe against us they will try to rotate the strike.”Pakistan are the last team to get their World Cup underway – Australia, India and Sri Lanka have already played twice – but have spent the time wisely trying to gain as much insight as they can from the early matches that have unfolded. Dar is confident Pakistan’s spin attack, of which she is a key element, will be able to have a significant say in the tournament.”It was nice to watch the matches, we were learning from them, we know the Australian pitches but the behaviour of the wickets has really changed. After watching the games we need to adapt, [the totals] are not big totals, they are very chaseable, but some teams are defending them. The spinners are working really hard over here and are good on these types of pitches.”We know our strengths, the girls are very skilful. We have a bunch of very talented players. They want to play against the best teams. We just want to show our skills.”

A consortium of Blitz Advertising and Techfront beat five other bidders to acquire the rights from 2019 to 2022

Umar Farooq21-Dec-2018The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has secured a 358% rise for their new broadcast deal, which will run from 2019 to 2022. The deal includes TV and digital streaming rights and is said to be worth approximately US $36 million. A consortium of Blitz Advertising and Techfront beat five other bidders, including the state channel Pakistan Television (PTV) and Ten Sports, who hold rights to Pakistan’s international cricket.Blitz is an international media management group, while Techfront is an affiliate of Global Sports Commerce, a sports technology and management company. Techfront is located in Chennai in India, and they own the digital site Cricketgateway, which had shown the PSL online in the past two seasons. The consortium doesn’t have a TV channel, but will now sell its output to TV channels that air the matches, with the production carried out by the PCB on its own.”We have successfully exceeded our targets for the new PSL broadcast and live streaming rights,” Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, said. “I would like to congratulate and thank Blitz Advertising and Techfront for partnering with us once again. This is a time-tested partnership and our joint objective, for the next three years, is to ensure that the PSL continues to grow in terms of fan engagement.”The rights were initially valued at around US $41 million for three years, but a drastic fall in the Pakistan rupee’s value against the dollar in that time has meant that the value was closer to US $33 million. Against that, the final deal has exceeded expectations. PTV and Ten Sports had submitted a joint bid, though it is believed to have been around half the final value.In 2019, as many as eight PSL matches are set to be hosted in Pakistan, with the other 26 taking place in the UAE. With the sixth team renewing the ownership rights with the PCB, the franchises will compete with Islamabad United, who are the defending champions. The opening game between Islamabad and Lahore Qalandars will take place in Dubai on February 14.

Walking into the Hyderabad team of the 70s meant rubbingshoulders with some of the most glamorous cricketers of the time.I do not remember anything musical about the stylish Abbas AliBaig, a man made famous by a scorcher of a kiss a young femalefan

V Ramnarayan31-Oct-2017It was wonderful to watch a recent interview of Bhagwat
Chandrasekhar on a popular television programme. Harsha Bhogle,
who anchored the show, handled his subject with great
sensitivity and an obvious admiration for the great leg-spinner,
whose saga of courage was an integral part of the romance of
Indian cricket in the 60s and 70s.Walking into the Hyderabad team of the 70s meant rubbing
shoulders with some of the most glamorous cricketers of the time.
I do not remember anything musical about the stylish Abbas Ali
Baig, a man made famous by a scorcher of a kiss a young female
fan planted on him when he reached fifty against Australia at the
Brabourne Stadium.Inevitably, after a conducted tour of the Karnataka bowler’s
greatest and lowest moments in cricket, the conversation veered
around to his obsession with the film songs of Mukesh, evoking
nostalgic memories of a whole generation of young cricketers who,
inspired by Chandra, carried Mukesh cassettes and their two-inones everywhere. On a personal level, I experienced a lump in the
throat as I recalled some rare moments of bonding with my peers
and seniors on and off the field.Walking into the Hyderabad team of the 70s meant rubbing
shoulders with some of the most glamorous cricketers of the time.
I do not remember anything musical about the stylish Abbas Ali
Baig, a man made famous by a scorcher of a kiss a young female
fan planted on him when he reached fifty against Australia at the
Brabourne Stadium. The incident, in fact, led commentator Vijay
Merchant to exclaim, “I wonder where all these enterprising young
ladies were when I was scoring my hundreds and two hundreds.”But the former Nawab of Pataudi had a keen ear for music. His
preferences included Hindustani classical, but also music of a
lighter variety, as his frequent and stentorian rendering of
Mehdi Hassan’s popular ghazal “Gulshan, gulshan” in the dressing
room suggested. Abid Ali was no Harry Belafonte, but he belted
out calypsos in the most uninhibited manner, especially one that
started, “The great India bowler, Abid A-a-li.”The skipper, ML Jaisimha, had a superbly masculine voice, and he
could do an impressive imitation of Frank Sinatra. On two
occasions, I was to witness bravura performances by this most
elegant of cricketers – once taking over nonchalantly from a live
band in a fashionable Bangkok restaurant and, years later, at the
V Sivaramakrishnan testimonial dinner at the Connemara, when he
struck up an improbable duet with Sunil Gavaskar.An accomplished singer in the Hyderabad team of the 70s was
opener Maheshwar Singh, who specialised in the songs of Jagmohan,
a crooner of KL Saigal’s vintage. Maheshwar was a regular
performer at cricketers’ get-togethers, where many otherwise timid bathroom singers opened up because the spirit of the
singer, rather than his virtuosity, mattered in these gatherings,
and everyone was assured of hearty applause. Bombay left-arm
spinner Padmakar Shivalkar was a first-rate singer of Hindi film
songs; so was Vijay Manjrekar in an earlier era, son Sanjay
carrying on the tradition most admirably.In Tamil Nadu – Chennai in particular – there has been a fairly
close affinity between musicians and cricket, especially in the
form of a fanatical following of the game among Carnatic
musicians. Quite a few of the top young musicians of today have
either played the game fairly competitively or have parents or
close relatives who have done so. The best known among these is
vocalist Unnikrishnan, who was a promising young batsman at the
college and league level before he decided to concentrate on his
singing.Among the cricketers too, there has been the occasional talented
singer or instrumentalist. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Mehta, who
took 14 wickets in a Rohinton Baria final against Bombay
University, was an accomplished vocalist on the college circuit.
SJ Kedarnath, a former State Bank of India opening batsman of
considerable merit, is a trained “mridangam” player, but of much
greater entertainment value is his wonderful talent for mimicry.
Not only can he do some rip-roaring takeoffs on Tamil Nadu
celebrities like VV Kumar or Srinivas Venkataraghavan, but he can
also render perfectly acceptable imitations of past masters of
Carnatic music like MD Ramanathan or even the mellifluous female
voice of DK Pattammal.Thank you Harsha, and thank you Chandra, for bringing back
memories of a cricketing way of life that belonged to an era
altogether more leisurely than is possible today.

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons has said having more seniors in the T20 side compared to the Test squad is a good feeling as it “makes things easy” for him for the two upcoming T20Is against India in Lauderhill, Florida

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2016West Indies head coach Phil Simmons has said having more seniors in the T20 side compared to the Test squad is a good feeling as it “makes things easy” for him for the two upcoming T20Is against India in Lauderhill, Florida. As opposed to the inexperienced Test side that lost 2-0 to India, their T20 squad features Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard among other specialist T20 players. They will also play under the new captain Carlos Brathwaite after Darren Sammy was dropped from the side.”It’s good to have all the senior guys back and they make things easy for me because it’s a case of them doing all the work and they know this format inside out,” Simmons said on Thursday in Lauderhill. “So it gives me a chance to just enjoy them freeing themselves out there.”Simmons also said being the T20 champions helped the side’s confidence, comparing them with the 1980s’ Test side, which dominated the longer format for years.”In this context, I think it’s a case where we are world champions and it’s something we have made our own, similar to back in the ’80s when we made Test cricket our own. We always had the team to beat in T20 cricket so from that point of view we’ve got a lot better and all the guys are loving playing it. But it’s a stepping-stone to one-day cricket too.”Brathwaite has played only eight T20Is so far and played only the first of the four Tests against India, scoring 0 and an unbeaten 51. While he had recently said the T20 players were “mature enough” to handle a change in leadership, Simmons said the objective of the new captain and the entire side would be to build on the World T20 win in India.”I think his (Brathwaite’s) main mindset is that we have to continue where Sammy left us and the good work that Sammy did in this position,” Simmons said. “I think that’s the mindset of all players that we have to continue the work we did in the [T20] World Cup and before that.”Even though their T20 squad is vastly different from the Test side, Simmons said there would be an “easy” transition in the dressing room because the T20 side has broadly remained the same since the World T20, which they won without Narine and Pollard.”Yeah, it could be a bit different but I think there’s only three players here who played in that [Test] series,” Simmons explained. “So it is not that much of a transition because the three players know how to play this and one of them was the best player in the World Cup, you know, batting wise. I think we are easy with that transition.”We still prepare for the two days here the same way we would have prepared before. It’s just that the Indian team has been together for longer but we are over here preparing and we will do that over the next two days.”Simmons also emphasised on the kind of impact players like Russell and Narine could make in the shortest format. Russell recently struck a 44-ball 100 packed with 11 sixes and played a crucial role, along with Gayle, in taking Jamaica Tallawahs to their second CPL title. Narine took 14 wickets in the CPL with an economy rate of 5.55, and also finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tri-series against South Africa and Australia in June.”I don’t think there’s much to be said about Andre,” Simmons said. “From what he’s on the pitch, he just gives everything over there and he’s always going to be our main player for us. Once he starts, with either bat or ball, we are in a position of winning.”I haven’t seen the surface properly yet but Narine played here for Trinidad & Tobago in the CPL and he has done well and adapted well. So I’d like the same from him.”Their squad will also be bolstered by Johnson Charles, the second-highest run-scorer in the CPL, Andre Fletcher, Lendl Simmons and legspinner Samuel Badree, the No. 1 ranked bowler in T20Is, who had injured himself in the World T20 final. Simmons stated that beating India in T20s, just like they had done in the World T20 semi-final in Mumbai, was going to be a bigger motivation than their T20 ranking, which is third currently behind New Zealand and India.”It (ranking) is motivation but I think, as in Mumbai, just to beat India because that’s always going to be the team to beat in T20 cricket because they’ve commanded the format for a long period. So winning against India is always going to be high on the agenda. Where we get after that, we are happy at that.”The only thing that we are doing is that we will prepare as best as we can because India is going to be coming looking for revenge for the semi-final loss and we have to make sure that we are ready for whatever they bring to us.”Simmons was also asked about the recent discussions the WICB held with the players during the WICB/WIPA Players’ Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and he barely commented on that, but sounded more excited about the coming matches at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill.”I was there, and I’m happy that discussions were held,” he said. “It’s not about holding discussions; it’s about where you go from there. Let’s see where it takes us.”This is an awesome stadium, awesome! Looking at the CPL, the wicket seemed to be very good too. So if the wicket is as good as it was in CPL in a stadium like this, we are in for a treat over the weekend.”

AB de Villiers will not play the forthcoming ODI series against Bangladesh after South Africa released the batsman from the squad for the last two ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2015AB de Villiers will not play the forthcoming ODI series against Bangladesh after South Africa released him from the squad. Hashim Amla will lead the team in his absence.De Villiers was unavailable for the first ODI against Bangladesh on July 10 due to a one-match suspension that was handed to him during the World Cup.South Africa had maintained a slow over-rate in their semi-final against New Zealand in March. It was de Villiers’ second such offence in 12 months, the first coming against Australia in Perth in November 2014, leaving him open to the ban. So South Africa’s team management decided to release him from the remaining two games as well to try other batsmen and allow de Villiers time with his family.”AB’s presence and contributions will be missed but we have a hectic playing schedule this season and we felt this would be a great opportunity to develop the next tier of batters during this series, like we are doing with our bowlers,” coach Russell Domingo said. “We would also like to give him the peace of mind of being close to his wife with the imminent birth of his first-born child.”De Villiers was already going to miss the Tests having asked for paternity leave.