NZ Tour: Hardik to be back for white-ball leg, Gill or Rahul for 3rd opener in Tests

NZ Tour: Hardik to be back for white-ball leg, Gill or Rahul for 3rd opener in Tests

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Mumbai, January 11

All-rounder Hardik Pandya could be the only notable inclusion in India’s limited-overs squads — which are unlikely to be significantly tinkered with — for the upcoming six-week tour of New Zealand.

Starting from January 24, India will be playing five T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches, and the squads for the tour will be picked here tomorrow.

India will be playing eight white-ball games in New Zealand and it will be interesting to see if the selectors pick a 16 or 17-member squad, instead of 15. With the India A team’s shadow tour coinciding with the seniors’ visit, it gives the selectors an option to draft players from India A if an urgent need arises. The selectors will primarily focus on zeroing in on the core for white-ball cricket considering that this is a T20 World Cup year.

While the T20 squad that played against Sri Lanka in the just-concluded series all but picks itself, Pandya, who is already in New Zealand with the A team, is expected to be included once he proves his fitness in the first couple of List A games. With India A’s three List A games only ending on January 26, Pandya, returning from a back surgery, might be included for the third T20I on January 29.

Gill or Rahul?

The Test squad looks settled with the only contention being the third opener’s slot. Picked as a reserve for the home series, Shubman Gill deserves to be the third opener, but KL Rahul’s current form and experience in Test cricket could also be considered. The selectors will also deliberate on whether a third spinner (Kuldeep Yadav) is needed for the two-match Test series instead of the fifth pacer (Navdeep Saini) to accompany Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma. The rest automatically pick themselves, if there are no fitness issues. — PTI

Smith, Warner make Oz stronger but Kohli will be up for it: Waugh on series Down Under

New Delhi, January 11

India’s tour of Australia towards the end of 2020 has already evoked a lot of interest. Former Australia captain Steve Waugh says the Test series between the “two best sides” will be remembered for a long time and hopes India play a Day/Night game Down Under. “It is always a great series, Australia and India. It has become a tradition. I think it is going to be an outstanding series. Everyone is looking forward to it already. Look there is no doubt it (David and Steve) will make our team stronger. But there is no doubt that India right now is the best all-round side in the world, they will welcome that challenge. It will be a series that people will remember for a long time,” Waugh said.

During the course of the coming ODI series between the two teams, a decision could be made on if India will play a Day/Night Test during the Australian summer. “It is a real challenge for teams to play Day/Night cricket in Australia. Someone like Virat Kohli will welcome and embrace it. If you are the best side in the world, you are expected to win against all the opponents in all the conditions. India probably needs to tick that box,” said the World Cup-winning skipper.

On the upcoming ODI series in India, Waugh feels the home team starts favourites despite Australia winning their five-match series 12 months ago in India. “It was a significant series, they started believing that they could beat anyone from there. But India in India start favourites,” said the 54-year-old. — PTI

I am a traditionalist. Five-day Test matches work fine for me. It tests your skills and capacity in the best way. If you win inside five days, you get a day off in what is a pretty busy schedule. I think the players would not want the schedule to be compressed anymore. Some of the best Test matches have been five-day games so why change? It is the basic of cricket and what it is all about. Leave it as it is

Steve Waugh

Didn’t step out of house for 10 days: Hardik on chat show controversy

New Delhi, January 11

The year has started with love and promise for newly-engaged Hardik Pandya but exactly a year back the flamboyant all-rounder was finding it difficult to even step out of his house following his much-criticised sexist remarks on a chat show, Koffee with Karan. Pandya was indefinitely suspended by BCCI for making outrageous remarks on women and subsequently let off with a fine. He had a mediocre IPL and the World Cup, and then a back surgery kept him out of cricket for more than three months.

“I still remember I did not step out of my house. It took me a week or 10 days to just realise that this is not it. You have to step out and face the things than just being in your cocoon,” Pandya said.

“I realised that this is a kind of exam that is coming at a difficult phase which you have to get through. I then shifted my focus to my game and forgot what happened. Whether I was going to be suspended for six months or coming back in the next game. I had no idea, it was just rumours,” he said.

The 26-year-old feels that a lot of people perceive him wrongly and it changes once they meet him. “Lots of people take me in a very wrong way. Someone who does not know me, they think I am arrogant, I am not easy to talk to and cocky and all. I have got so many people who came to me and said, ‘we thought you were like this but you’re completely opposite’,” Pandya said. “That’s why the relationship that I have with all my teammates or anyone who knows me closely is fantastic. They are genuinely like my brothers. I still remember when I came back, everyone was looking after me, making sure I was mentally alright, physically alright which was a very sweet thing. The comeback was fine.”

Ranji Trophy will remain poor cousin of IPL until match fees are increased substantially: Gavaskar

New Delhi: Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said the Ranji Trophy will remain a “poor cousin” of the cash-rich IPL until the players’ match fee in the country’s premier First-Class tournament is substantially increased. A player gets approximately Rs 2.5 lakh per match in the Ranji Trophy, a far cry from the meagre salaries the cricketers would get in the premier First-Class tournament not long ago, but still the amount is no match to the millions the IPL stars earn. “IPL dominates Ranji Trophy. Unless their match fees are increased substantially, it will be considered an orphan and poor cousin of Indian cricket,” Gavaskar said.

Rashid 3rd, Chawrasia 7th

Hong Kong, January 11

Rashid Khan rocketed to the third place with a card of a 7-under 63 as three Indians were inside the top-10 at the end of third round of the Hong Kong Open. SSP Chawrasia dropped a bogey on the 18th to slip to tied-7th at an 8-under total, carding a 7-under 63. Shiv Kapur lapsed on the front nine with three bogeys in his 69 and was tied-9th at 7-under. Rashid is four shots behind the leader, Wade Ormsby (66). Australia’s Ormsby remained the player to catch after he signed for a 4-under 66 to head into the final round. S Chikkarangappa (69) was tied-39th while Rahil Gangjee (69) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (72) were tied-45th. Aman Raj (72) was tied-57th and Jyoti Randhawa was disqualified for turning in a wrong scorecard.

Lahiri misses cut in Hawaii

Honolulu (Hawaii): Anirban Lahiri birdied the final hole of his second round but still missed the cut by one shot at the Sony Open. The Indian star, who shot a 2-over 72 on the first day, ended with an even-70 for 2-over as the cut fell at a 1-over 141 and 66 players made it. Brendan Steele and Cameron Davis shot 66 each to share the lead at the top. Justin Thomas (71) and Patrick Reed (74) missed the cut as both finished at 3-over. Also missing out was the defending champion Matt Kuchar. — PTI

Playing India in India is challenging: Dutch hockey coach

New Delhi, January 11

Netherlands chief coach Max Caldas is expecting a tough fight from the Indian hockey team at the second edition of the FIH Pro League, saying playing the eight-time Olympics champions in their own den is always challenging. After skipping the inaugural edition of the Pro League, India are set to make their debut in the event against the Netherlands on January 18 and 19 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Caldas emphasised on the importance of getting off to a good start in the Pro League, where they finished third last year behind winners Australia and Belgium. “The matches against India are very important. Playing against India at their home ground is no doubt challenging, but it is also very exciting because we love playing in Bhubaneswar,” Caldas said. In their last meeting, the Dutch side came out victorious 2-1 in the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar.

Caldas and India chief coach Graham Reid know each other’s style, having worked together previously. “Graham is a very experienced coach and he is very clear about the process and the kind of hockey he expects from his players. I expect India to be as competitive as always,” said Caldas, who is from Argentina.

Like many other teams taking part in the Pro League, Caldas also believes that competing in India is a good preparation for the Tokyo Olympics. “The players and combinations we wanted to test were experimented during the previous edition of Pro League. This edition, we will have our most competitive team as this will be a stepping stone ahead of Tokyo,” he said.

Caldas, however, added that they need to be cautious in planning the next six months to ensure their players are in the best shape. “It is very difficult for us as we will need to plan club hockey as well which is very important. Some of the players may not be with us during that time, so we need to make sure we utilise their time. At the same time, we also have to make sure they are fresh for club matches as the matches there will be high-level too,” Caldas said. — PTI