He may appear to be feisty, competitive and confrontational, but Australia’s cricketers are largely forgiving of Kohli because they know him to be different off the field

Matt Cleary04-Dec-2018Virat Kohli’s white-line fever is ridiculous. When he walks across the rope and out onto the cricket field, it’s reckoned his whole persona changes – his mannerisms, body language, his eyes, the window to the soul. Kohli becomes a cricket-playing beast.Off the field, according to Australian cricketers who know, he couldn’t be more different. “Funny,” they say. “Humble,” they add. Even the ultimate Aussie epithet: “Top bloke.”That might surprise many Australian fans who think of Kohli as they once did Javed Miandad and Arjuna Ranatunga and dear old Dougie Jardine: the villain. Feisty, competitive, confrontational.On the field Kohli might not always endear himself. But Australian cricketers are largely forgiving of the man because they identify with him: Kohli reminds an Australian cricketer of an Australian cricketer.So if you’re an Australian cricket fan looking for a reason to like and better appreciate the man, the bat, then it would be this: he plays cricket like an Australian.Kohli, it’s clear, is a cricketer who relishes the fight. And Ryan Harris admires him for it.”He can carry on a bit, I suppose. But if he’s on your side you don’t mind. It’s a tough one, ‘the line’,” Harris says. “I think if you say something about someone’s family or their country or religion, that’s over it. Otherwise you can say what you want. If it puts someone off, that’s what it’s for. That’s the idea – you’re competing against them. You’re trying to put them off, distract them. You’re trying to win.”It’s wasted on Kohli anyway, adds Harris. “Other batters, you might mutter a couple of things. But with him you don’t. He loves it. He wants to get in the game. He looks for a fight. He won’t pick one. But he’s waiting for it.”

“The Australians under Darren Lehmann thought they could pick a fight with India and win. It was stupid, really dumb. If Virat comes in, don’t talk to him, don’t engage him, take the wind out of his sails.”Trent Woodhill

Kohli’s not above a send-off. Any game of cricket he plays, he isn’t afraid to have a few words with the opposition – and team-mates. He’s easily frustrated by errors on the field. He expects a lot of them. He expects to win. Yet his send-offs and verbals look uglier than the reality, says Harris. “It’s his passion coming out. He wants to win so badly. You can sit back and watch and think he’s carrying on. But it’s hard to describe. You can be criticised for not caring.”Trent Woodhill, the former Royal Challengers Bangalore batting coach and mentor of David Warner and Steven Smith, spent five years with Kohli at the franchise and never knew him to be antagonistic. Unlike the Australians of 2016, according to Woodhill. “That series in India, Australia went over with a view to be antagonistic, and Virat didn’t understand why,” says Woodhill. “He knows in the heat of the battle things can be said – he’s said them himself. But he couldn’t understand it as a plan.”The Australians under Darren Lehmann thought they could pick a fight with India and win. It was stupid, really dumb. If Virat comes in, don’t talk to him, don’t engage him, take the wind out of his sails.”Kohli’s former RCB team-mate Moises Henriques agrees Kohli plays cricket like an Australian – to a point. “He’s probably a lot more emotional than most Aussies on the field. People say it’s his passion that makes him so good. I don’t necessarily agree. He’s so good because he works so hard and has done for a very long time. He’s a smart cricketer and gets the game. He learns extremely quickly on the run.”Getty Images”He’s just very passionate on the field and very normal off it,” says another former RCB team-mate, Dirk Nannes.When they made Kohli captain, though, some thought, what were India doing? “But you talk to blokes and he’s been absolutely brilliant,” says Nannes. For example, India had a reputation for not taking physical training as seriously as skills. But Kohli has brought an insatiable work ethic: running, skipping, boxing, lifting weights, performing footwork drills, plyometrics.”He’s also very in tune with escaping cricket when he can,” adds Henriques. “When he gets quiet time he looks to learn about some fairly off-centre things. He has a huge appetite for learning, about anything. Philosophy, psychology. He’s a big reader.”He’s carrying on the forthright approach of MS Dhoni. Woodhill believes if Dhoni were Australian he’d be touted in the same breath as Mark Taylor. Dhoni’s won everything – IPL tournaments, World Cups, Champions Leagues. India were the No. 1 team in all formats. Kohli has run with that and added polish.”Under Dhoni they found their own way,” says Woodhill. “The players would run through walls for him. Now they’ll do the same for Virat. There’s eleven players on the same page: a group that wants to do well. There’s warmth for individual achievements. Their cricket is hard but fair. Virat drives that. There’s such burden as captain of India. Virat is befitting of the role.”

Tabraiz Shamsi talks about playing the game for fun, the tour of Sri Lanka, and bowling wristspin in the limited-overs game

Interview by Deivarayan Muthu09-Sep-2018Wristspin is in now, but what made you choose it when you began your career?
I actually began my career as a fast bowler. I thought I was a fast bowler, but I really wasn’t fast enough (). So, up until I was 14, I bowled left-arm medium pace. Later, when I was in high school, my coaches at the Under-14 level said I wasn’t fast enough, and because I used to bowl a bit of spin as well, they suggested I become a spin bowler. One coach suggested I become a left-arm orthodox spinner and the other wanted me to become a left-arm wristspinner. The coach who asked me to bowl left-arm orthodox said it’s much easier to control and bowl fingerspin, as opposed to wristspin. I always want to fight – that’s my personality. So I asked myself, why should I take the easier option? I wanted to be that guy who does the hard stuff. Wristspin was tougher to control and I had it in me to work harder to turn into a left-arm wristspinner.What are your variations as a wristspinner?
In addition to the conventional leggie, wrong’un and the slider, I work at changing my angles in the crease and changing my lines smartly. Those are also variations. Switching pace from slower to quicker is also part of the learning. You were the top wicket-taker in both domestic limited-overs competitions in South Africa in 2017-18 [Momentum One-Day Cup and Ram Slam T20 Challenge], on pitches that weren’t particularly responsive to spin. How do you rate your performance?

It was very pleasing for me, personally. It was nice to see that I did well in conditions that didn’t suit my style of bowling. The World Cup is coming up in England next year and the pitches don’t really spin much there as well. Being the top wicket-taker [in the domestic competitions] has given me so much confidence. And recently in Dambulla, I felt the pitch was like a Wanderers wicket, but I still got four wickets.

“I always want to fight – that’s my personality. I asked myself, why should I take the easier option? I wanted to be that guy who does the hard stuff”

I bowled in the Powerplays in the Ram Slam. The new ball doesn’t really spin much, but I alter my lengths depending on whether the batsman stays still or steps out. In the CPL last year, Chris Gayle gave me the ball at the death – something I have never done before – and I was quite successful. And now after bowling upfront in the Ram Slam, I believe I’ve added another skill to my game.How do you try to stay ahead of the batsman in the death?
Maybe at the death, other bowlers are trying to contain the batsman as opposed to taking wickets. But I usually think wickets, and and if you take wickets at the death, you won’t let the opposition score much either. Batsmen are under pressure to hit sixes and that’s when your variations come into play. So I see bowling in the death as a wicket-taking opportunity In your first IPL match, you were pitted against MS Dhoni. Were you ready for it?
Bowling to Dhoni was one of the defining moments in my life. I was just an uncapped player from South Africa who had joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement player. On the eve of the match I did not even know whether I would be in the XI. I had not played international cricket in 2016 and suddenly I was up against the greatest finisher the game has seen – in my opinion.I thought I was bowling well and he could not put me away. Here was a young kid who was bowling to the best finisher and handling the situation well. I didn’t feel like I was out of place or out of depth and that gave me a lot of belief.Your first big break was in the CPL, with St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. How did that come about?
Usually you play international cricket, then make your way into these leagues like CPL and IPL. In my case, I played leagues before I was picked for South Africa.”I firmly believe I will do something special at the World Cup, if I get picked”•Getty ImagesA West Indies side was touring South Africa and Marlon Samuels was part of it. There was a warm-up match in Benoni in December 2014, and I was called to play for the South African Invitational XI.I bowled to Samuels, who used to play for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. The scorecard will tell you that he made a double-hundred, but I was sure I had him plumb in front – when he was on 10, I guess. But he was given not out, which allowed him the time to face me more, and maybe he thought I was a tough prospect to face. Then next year, I was at the CPL.Had Samuels been out on 10, he might not have had enough time to make that judgement on my bowling. After the game itself, he asked me if I could join his team. That was massive for me, man. It was a gamble from him – nobody knew me. I’m thankful to him for putting his reputation on the line and backing his judgement on me.Your South Africa A team-mate Rassie van der Dussen, who is now with Patriots in his maiden CPL stint, says the CPL could give him a fresh perspective on cricket and life. Do you agree with him?

I agree with him 200%. You can just free yourself in the Caribbean and it’s all about entertaining the people and having fun yourself. There is so much pressure in cricket these days. Every time you walk onto the field, you are scrutinised, and people often forget we are humans and make mistakes as well.There will be days when you get it wrong. There’s never a player without a bad patch, but the CPL is a tournament where you enjoy yourself. For me, when I’m enjoying myself, that’s the time I’m bowling at my best.You have a number of wacky celebrations. What’s the story behind them?
Most of us didn’t start playing cricket with the aim of becoming a professional. I started playing because as a kid I wanted to have fun. After beginning to like the game, we make an effort to progress, and because of all the pressure, you forget to have fun. Celebrating is my way of having fun.

Shamsi on his celebrations

Shamsi does the bus driver with KL Rahul in the IPL•BCCI

The bus driver jig is because I can spin the ball both ways. I spin my body this way and then that way while celebrating.
The walking stick came up because I had missed a couple of matches because of a bad hamstring. That was my first game back and I acted like an old man with a walking stick – the stump. In hindsight, I could have got into trouble with that.
The Mortal Kombat celebration is from the Sub-Zero character in the game.
The shoe-telephone is because sometimes when you appeal for a wicket, the on-field umpire refers it to the TV umpire. The shoe-telephone is me “confirming” with the TV umpire if it’s out.

I play the game because I love it and always want to have fun. No matter who you are, this game will come to an end for you as a player. People spend hard-earned money to come and see me play, so I want to entertain them and give them a little bit more. If I put smiles on some faces with these celebrations, I’ll be pleased. Some people take it the wrong way, but my intentions are always good.Do you rehearse these celebrations? Carlos Brathwaite at the CPL and Virat Kohli and KL Rahul at the IPL played along with you nicely.
Carlos, Rahul and Virat are good friends of mine. Sometimes the guys come up to me in the change room and tell me they want to do the celebrations with me. I say: “Sure, let’s do this.” Like I said, I want to entertain. Watch this space, maybe a new celebration is coming up in the CPL playoffs this year.The bus driver didn’t go down too well with David Warner in the IPL, and his Australia team-mate Adam Zampa was also critical of your celebration on Twitter. Has stuff like that made you think twice?

No, I will always be myself. I just don’t want cricket to be a normal nine-to-five job. If that situation happens again, I will celebrate again.It’s David Warner, man. At the other end there’s this little uncapped kid called Shamsi. He’s got Warner out for ninety-something, and has not allowed him to get to a hundred. I think it’s a big enough reason to do the celebration.And the morning of the match – during breakfast – Virat said he wanted to do the bus driver during the match. I told him if I get a wicket, I will celebrate with him. That’s what happened. If it happens again, I will run faster towards the boundary.

“The way the limited-overs game is moving, those days of loopy legbreaks are gone”

Can you run faster than your good mate Imran Tahir?
Ha ha ha, not faster than Immy. I can’t beat his celebration.How has Tahir influenced your career?
Immy has been playing for many, many years and he’s been like an elder brother to me. Sometimes people see you as competition – he’s a wristspinner and I’m one as well – but he’s like an open book. When I need any advice or have a question, I go to Immy. And even though I’m much younger than him, sometimes if he needs help, he calls me on the phone.A lot of people criticised me back home for pushing the ball through the air and not tossing it up high and slow. It was Immy who told me to stick to my strengths and it has worked for me. The traditional way is always to loop it up – and a lot of coaches wanted me to go slower, and maybe that was one of the reasons why I wasn’t picked in teams in my early years. Immy told me, “The higher levels you go, if you toss it up regularly, you will be put away.” He said my natural gift was to be quicker and with revs. There’s a difference between bowling quicker and bowling quicker with those revs.I’m glad I didn’t listen to the coaches and stuck with Immy. The way the limited-overs game is moving, those days of loopy legbreaks are gone. You have to keep varying the pace. You played alongside AB de Villiers at Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore, but you had to bowl to him when he was playing for Barbados Tridents in the CPL. How challenging was that?
Playing with AB is the best thing because you don’t have to bowl to the great man. We all know how destructive he can be. He is also very knowledgeable. He has helped me with some game plans at Titans and RCB. To get a second opinion from him – he is one of the best – when I was playing with him helped me plan against him in the CPL.It’s a challenge and I love it. You get smashed all over, but if your mindset is right, you learn from it. After bowling to the best in the world and not getting hit too much, mentally you’re a bit stronger against the rest.”Things happen a lot slower in Tests, and you need to have the mindset to be a bit defensive and adjust from limited-overs cricket, where the action is quick”•Getty Images How special is winning seven trophies with Titans?

Yes, very special. I have basically found a home at Titans. The path wasn’t laid out just like that for me. I had to leave my house at the age of 20 and shift to Durban for more chances. I did not get much game time, lost my contract, moved a level lower. Fighting again and finding a home at Titans is some journey.Eventually I became a permanent fixture in Titans’ first team. Their squad in domestic cricket is one of the best in the world. A lot of people think we keep winning because we have the big players, but they don’t really see the hard work we put in at training. We at Titans do smart training. There are a lot of rest days in between and when we train, we go hard. I have played with AB, Albie [Morkel], Lungi [Ngidi], Junior Dala, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen – all of these guys have gone through the ranks and subsequently made it to the top.You were left out for the Champions Trophy. With the 2019 World Cup around the corner, what are your goals?

I feel sad that I missed out on the Champions Trophy because I’ve never been to an ICC event before. My ambition is to put in consistent performances and go to the World Cup and do some damage in England. I don’t want to just participate, I want to be somebody who makes a big difference in a big game and win it for South Africa. I firmly believe I will do something special at the World Cup, if I get picked.How do you assess South Africa’s spin depth now?

The spin department in the country looks much better than it has been before at any point. [Shaun] von Berg, and Tahir are legspinners. I bowl left-arm wristspin, Keshav [Maharaj] bowls left-arm orthodox, and there’s Senuran Muthusamy with the A team, who also bowls left-arm orthodox.There’s a lot of variety – it’s all about utilising them well. Over the years South Africa have always relied on fast bowlers, and maybe we didn’t have as many good spinners back then. But now I see a shift with many good spinners coming up.You and Maharaj were in Bengaluru with performance analyst Prasanna Agoram for a spin camp in the lead-up to the Sri Lanka tour. How helpful was that stint?

The amount of stats and game plans Prasanna can give for the second-team players in South Africa, in addition to the senior side, is exceptional. Especially in T20s, these stats and match-ups are important. I sit down with Prasanna the evening before T20s and analyse the scoring options of batsmen and work out how we can contain them.

“We South African spinners get criticised for not doing well in the subcontinent. But when their spinners come to South Africa, they don’t do as well as our spinners”

CSA had this spin camp in Bengaluru earlier this year and Prasanna suggested we could spend more time here, preparing for Sri Lanka. We bowled long spells at training and also worked on our batting.If the conditions in Sri Lanka assist spin, it does not mean spinners can take all 20 wickets. We South African spinners get criticised for not doing well in the subcontinent. But when their spinners come to South Africa, they don’t do as well as our spinners. We are used to bowling on wickets that spin less, and it was about putting in an extra sacrifice at the camp with Keshav and Prasanna.In the SSC Test, Theunis de Bruyn kept sweeping Ranagana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Akila Dananjaya in the fourth innings and threw them off their lengths. How would you react against a sweep-happy batsman?

I don’t mind getting swept. I look to get wickets. When the ball bounces and turns extra, you have the chance of finding the top edge. I don’t mind a batsman sweeping me for five fours in a row because I believe I can attack the stumps and get him with my variations off the sixth ball. I don’t get flustered by the sweep, I enjoy it.You took four wickets in the Galle Test but had to return home following the death of your father. What made you rejoin the squad in Sri Lanka?
For me, it was personal tragedy and it was difficult. There was no pressure from the team management, but I wanted to make myself available. I just felt that I needed to be back and do the job for my country. So I just spent one day at home and returned the next day.”If I put smiles on some faces with these celebrations, I’ll be pleased”•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / GettyWhat were your gains from the Sri Lanka tour?

I played the Galle Test – my second, after two years. I was happy with the way I went. I also did well in the one-day and T20I series, which made me believe that I had progressed as a player. I won my first Man-of-the-Match award in Dambulla. But that series is gone now and I need to start again from zero and go to hundred.Do you see yourself being successful in the longest format?

I definitely want to play Test cricket. Things happen a lot slower in Tests, and you need to have the mindset to be a bit defensive and adjust from limited-overs cricket, where the action is quick. Keshav is the No. 1 spinner in Tests now and he did an exceptional job in Sri Lanka. I know I have to wait for my turn. But whenever I’m called up, I’ll ensure I’m ready for it.

Shreyas Gopal got them out similarly last year. He’s had the last laugh here too

Sidharth Monga and Gaurav Sundararaman02-Apr-2019These are batsmen of such great stature that their emphatic dismissals stand out in memories. And when it happens so often, even Shreyas Gopal’s reaction of disbelief is not enough to make you look away. In their clashes last IPL, Shreyas removed AB de Villiers twice and Virat Kohli once. In the first match of this IPL, too, he took them out both with wrong’uns. And he might have had Kohli lbw a ball before he bowled him. It is clear neither of them is picking the wrong’un.Here are the numbers. De Villiers averages 5.2 and strikes at 83.87 against the wrong’un in IPL since the last edition. Kohli averages six and strikes at 104.35. Later, in the chase, Ajinkya Rahane, too, fell to a wrong’un from Yuzvendra Chahal.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd it is not just them: last year MS Dhoni and KL Rahul struggled badly too. You don’t see either Kohli or de Villiers struggling against the wrong’un in Tests. So it is quite possible that they watch it less closely in the shortest format where the focus is on hitting it.Experts on Star Sports’ “Dugout” believe if you are not picking the wrong’un, you can either move your guard across a little to cover the stumps a little, and with some bowlers – such as Shreyas and M Ashwin – play them as offspinners and let the legbreak, which they bowl about as regularly as the wrong’un, beat the outside edge.Another suggestion: just watch for the legbreak and not for the variation because then all variations look different and scramble your mind. Try to read every legbreak first.BCCIParthiv Patel stays alive
Royal Challengers Bangalore is infamous for not giving players a long rope, but one man to benefit from it might be Parthiv Patel. Many believe he is the rare wicketkeeper in this age playing just as a wicketkeeper and not adding much value with the bat.On paper, Parthiv’s role is similar to Sunil Narine’s: just hit big in the Powerplay. His attacking shot percentage keeps up with that role – next only to Narine’s – but his effectiveness doesn’t. Among batsmen who have opened at least 40 times in the IPL, his strike rate is the third-worst. And he has a low average to boot. Parthiv’s average has crossed 25 only once in the past five seasons, with his strike rate hovering in the 110s almost throughout. So despite his intent, Parthiv is neither Narine nor a Shikhar Dhawan.In this game, though, he performed that role perfectly, racing away to 22 off 13 in the Powerplay, allowing Kohli to knock the ball around. However, in this game Kohli and de Villiers fell when they should have capitalised on this start. And once again, now in the second half of the innings, Parthiv’s lack of power hurt him a little. He couldn’t kick on in the latter half of Royal Challengers’ innings, scoring only 19 off the last 16 balls he faced.Parthiv has managed to show there is utility to him, but he will have to keep doing it again and again because he has had a rope the length of which must make every other Royal Challengers player envious.Where is Washington?
As you waited to see some sort of spin in the Powerplay from Royal Challengers, mind went to Washington Sundar, who was acquired by them last year for that precise reason. In 2017, he held the fifth-best Powerplay economy rate for those who had bowled at least 15 overs with the field restrictions on. This was a performance that even got him an India debut.In 2018, Sundar comes to Royal Challengers, and bowls just six overs inside the Powerplay in the whole season. Two of these six overs came in his first match where he happened to be at the receiving end of a Sunil Narine onslaught and conceded 29 runs. He played eight of the 14 matches last season, and is yet to start this year. Have Royal Challengers wasted a player by playing him out of position?

The two presented a rare sight of a pair of Indian quicks dictating terms to a champion side on a typical subcontinent surface

Annesha Ghosh25-Feb-20195:12

‘Rectifying a small flaw has made a huge difference’

Given the death traps for pacers that are most pitches in the subcontinent, Indian quicks in women’s cricket have forever jostled for space on team sheets and record books. Bridesmaids to spinners at best, a large part of their playing second fiddle has been down to a deficiency in their own primary skill: raw pace. [Women’s cricket 101: Nope, quicks don’t clock 140kph.]So if you know any young girl aspiring to be a fast bowler in India, let them know what they’re signing up for: spin-friendly tracks to bowl on, no specialised coaching service like the MRF Pace Foundation to train at, and fighting a constant urge to switch to bowling spin. That’s because by the time a rookie female quick finds her feet in the domestic circuit, a realisation invariably hits her: two pacers in an India women’s starting XI is a security bond every captain signs; three is a misinformed investment in a fraudulent scheme – that’s Indian women’s cricket 101.The rundown, admittedly, reads gloomy. But it might help explain why Shikha Pandey and Jhulan Goswami’s pace-bowling masterclass at Wankhede Stadium in the second ODI against England may be the perfect #MondayMotivation for young girls in India aspiring to take up pace bowling.

Probably I have stopped brooding a lot, I am an over-thinker. My focus has narrowed a lot. That is helping me and I will continue to do thatSHIKHA PANDEY

Against a star-studded England line-up, Pandey and Goswami became the first pair of India women pacers to pick up four-wicket hauls in an ODI. Sharing new-ball duties, they bowled ten overs in tandem to start with, reducing England to 31 for three to set up a series-winning seven-wicket thrashing of the reigning 50-over world champions.Their aerial connection aside – Goswami is employed by Air India, while Pandey is a Flight Lieutenant at the Indian Air Force – there’s not much similarity between the two. Pandey moves the ball through the air, into the right-hander, while Goswami elicits movement off the pitch.On Monday, they combined their skills in searing early spells in the Powerplay. Goswami squared up the batsmen and beat them with movement off the grassy track several times before Pandey’s relentless inswingers had them mistime their flicks for leading edges.While the pair’s pace hovered in the 109-113kph range throughout, it was the accuracy of their lines that denied the batsmen any chance to settle. Their combined tally of 39 dots in the Powerplay alone set the tone for Pandey’s career-best figures of 4 for 18, and a 4 for 30 for Goswami.Two quick bowlers dictating terms to a non-subcontinental side on an Indian pitch is a rarity. But Pandey and Goswami’s new-ball partnership has won Indian games in the past too, if not quite in familiar conditions. Most memorable of those was the must-win league game against New Zealand in the 2017 World Cup, where they shot out the openers inside three overs, keeping New Zealand to 26 in the Powerplay to set up India’s entry into the knockouts. More recently, their efficacy as a pair came to the fore again during India’s ODI series win in New Zealand last month.Pandey’s performance in New Zealand gave a glimpse of what was to come against England, where she started with 2 for 21 in the first match, besides teaming up with Goswami with the bat to take India to a winning total of 202.Beyond the distinction that comes with returning career-best figures, the four-for in the second ODI may also be a self-affirmation for Pandey. She was dropped from the World T20 squad but made a comeback in New Zealand following a five-for in the final of the Challenger Trophy where she led India Red to the title.Jhulan Goswami took two wickets in her opening spell•PUNIT PARANJPE / AFPPandey’s recent performances may spur her on to bigger things in a career where she has oozed promise aplenty as a bankable quick-bowling allrounder but has been pegged back by her own frailties.”Probably I have stopped brooding a lot, I am an over-thinker,” Pandey said after the second ODI. “My focus has narrowed a lot. That is helping me and I will continue to do that.”The streak of self-admonishment that has often been an evident hindrance in Pandey’s growth was visible on Monday too. In the sixth over, a grimace and an angry clap came in the wake of an inswinger that went down the leg side. On another day, it may have led to her erring the line again, eyeing a corner in the field to dig a hole where she could jump in and chastise herself in silence. Instead, the next ball was a near-perfect full delivery outside off that sneaked past Heather Knight’s edge. The change in her approach, by Pandey’s own admission, is down to a simple tweak.”I am in a very good head-space right now,” she said. “A few months back, I was not feeling well about myself. Right now, I am enjoying my bowling, I am trying to control the controllables. Things that are in not my control are out of the picture.”Pandey says “getting dropped from the World T20 side has [not] sparked something in me”. She instead puts down her consistency in the last five ODIs to insights from new head coach WV Raman.”There were a few technical issues, which were brought into my notice by Raman Sir,” Pandey said. “I was very surprised that I did not realise those. He has been that assuring face in the dressing room. He is someone who you can speak about bowling and he is always there with an opinion about it. I would say, he caught the flaw during the Challengers (Raman was in Vijayawada to watch). Those minute things actually helped a lot.”As for her idol Goswami, now also a colleague and friend, getting the Player-of-the-Match award ahead of her, Pandey said it was of little consequence. But given the mentor-friend figure Goswami is known to be in the Indian dressing room, trust Goswami – “the team player… always ready for the team” – to walk to up to her junior and share a slice of the bounty. After all, not often do you have bridesmaids play party-poopers for those that have denied them two world titles in two years.

There’s much wisdom and insight in this book by Paddy Upton, the former India mental conditioning coach, even if it occasionally overreaches

Suresh Menon06-Jun-2019What do they know of coaching who only technique know? When Paddy Upton was appointed the mental conditioning coach of the Indian team, he became by default its physical conditioning and strategic leadership coach too. No one was quite sure what that meant, and Upton made up his job description as he went along. It served Indian cricket well.Upton and national coach Gary Kirsten set themselves (and India) a target: winning the 2011 World Cup. The year after they took charge, India became the No. 1 Test team in the world. Upton’s focus was on “building extraordinary team cultures in high performance environments”.Even if India had not won the World Cup, the approach towards the goal – described in detail here – might have served as the textbook for those following in the footsteps of the two men from South Africa.The Indian cricket team is notoriously difficult to coach. The national coach can either adapt the team to his methods or adapt himself to the team’s. John Wright, under whom India first began to do well abroad consistently, decided that the latter course suited his temperament best. Greg Chappell tried the former, and came up against a wall of protest and indifference.Anil Kumble, who played under the stewardship of both, found his stature and certainty worked against him, and he quit when it became clear that he and the captain were not on the same page. Longevity in the job depends on how much a coach is willing to concede to the captain and to players who don’t like to be told what to do.If Kirsten was a success, some of the credit should go to Upton. When Kirsten first asked Sachin Tendulkar what kind of a coach he wanted, the batsman replied: “I want you to be my friend.”This is not surprising. At the international level, the coach is not expected to correct basic technique or suggest fundamental changes. It is a fine-tuning job. Indian players – who, in the past have used the physical trainer as a personal valet – are drawn to a psychologist like Upton, who builds confidence and has empathy. Rahul Dravid called him a “thought leader”.”Managing the ego,” writes Upton “was one of the most important factors in nurturing the growth and performance of the Indian team.” is as much about how Upton changed Indian cricket as vice versa. The cast of characters, besides the cricketers, includes Albert Einstein, the philosopher Karl Popper, Malcolm Gladwell, the historian Theodore White, Bob Dylan, Paulo Coelho and more.In a chapter on mental toughness, Upton says that there is no such thing, and shows how the definitions associated with the quality (barring a crucial one) apply equally to psychopaths.Although the book comes dangerously close to sounding like a chicken-soup-type manual, Upton often pulls himself back from the brink by subverting the dos-and-don’ts, for example, with his “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Losers”.He can take at least joint credit for the popular phrase “Team India”. He tells us the “T” was a reminder that “the team comes first”, the “E” for “Excellent entertainers”, the “A” for “attitude” and the “M” for “mature individuals”.WestlandOccasionally, the book overreaches. Upton understood the Indian psyche best, he says, by reading books on India at war, where he noticed “some striking resemblances with Indian cricket efforts”. He made a presentation to the team to that effect, with a homemade video.This is what he discovered: India rarely pursued a war outside the subcontinent, leading him to “understand” why India win only a small percentage of matches abroad. Modern India has never been an aggressor at war (the parallel, Upton concludes from this, is that India have seldom won the first Test of a series). Once attacked, India always fights back (cricketing parallel: Kolkata and the defeat of Australia after following on). Handing back the advantage – India has been uniquely forgiving post-war, handing back territory or not pushing home the advantage. Similarly in cricket, complacency when on top has meant handing the opposition the advantage. Divide and conquer, region-wise, religion-wise etc. “We knew the Indian team was easy to divide into factions based on class, seniority, skill-level,” he says.All this is too forced, even if, as he says, “most players visibly resonated with the comparison”. is a book for three kinds of readers. The fan of self-help books, the fan of Indian cricket in its golden period or the Tendulkar era, and the student of coaching and its issues. It is, too, a paean to communication and its importance in coaching, and in fact, any human interaction.Is it overwritten? Perhaps. But there is wisdom here from one of the finest in the field.The Barefoot Coach
By Paddy Upton
Westland Sport
377 pages, Rs 799

As the Royal London Cup comes to Gosforth, it is a reminder of the strength of the club scene in England’s north east

Paul Edwards29-Apr-2019″I tell you what, there’s still a lot of passion for cricket in the north east,” says Steve Chapman. “We have three Saturday teams, an Academy team on Sundays, a midweek/senior team, a women’s team, an Under-14s girls team, two Under -15s teams, three Under-13s, three Under-11s, Under-9s softball and we’re starting a women’s softball team this year.”Chapman is the director of coaching at South Northumberland CC and Durham’s batting coach. He knows whereof he speaks. And another manifestation of commitment will be seen on Tuesday when South North hosts Durham’s Royal London Cup match against Lancashire. The ground can be found at the end of Roseworth Terrace and the two ends are named Grove and Park. This is no exercise in pastoral irony. The club’s home is in Gosforth, one of Newcastle’s more prosperous and most blossomed suburbs. Until he was made Durham’s director of cricket last year Marcus North was chief-executive at South North, whose first-teams have won five national competitions since 2006. The club has a powerful claim to be the strongest in the country.But the immediate validity of that claim will be tested in less than a fortnight when South North meet one of their great rivals, Chester-le-Street, in the next round of the Royal London Club Championship. The Durham club’s Ropery Lane home is a few hundred yards from the Riverside and its players are also well used to September’s great stages, when trophies beyond the ambition of most recreational cricketers are handed out.

There is a legacy of the mining villages each having a football team and a cricket team and largely those clubs are still the focus of the communityJohn Windows, Durham academy manager

Yet when debates take place about the strongest club cricket in England how many people mention the north east of England? And how many of those are aware that while South North and Chester may currently be at the apex of the pyramid, there are a host of other clubs, some relatively small, who sustain the game in an area usually associated with the mania of its football supporters?”It’s a strong community,” says John Windows, the manager of Durham’s academy and a former Northumberland player. “There is a legacy of the mining villages each having a football team and a cricket team and largely those clubs are still the focus of the community. The pits have gone, the banks have closed but the clubs are still there and I think cricket in the north east is based in them. There are a lot of small clubs that give more opportunities to youngsters than might be the case elsewhere in the country. Durham’s been fortunate to reap the rewards of that talent and that system.”England, too, of course. Both Steve Harmison and Mark Wood learned their cricket at Ashington while a young Paul Collingwood quickly established his second home at Shotley Bridge. “I think it’s the biggest factor,” he said when asked by Stuart Rayner to identify what part league cricket played in the success of Durham’s academy. “My life was at Shotley Bridge…literally seven days a week. I’d come home from school, put down my bags and walk to Shotley, whether to help my dad on the roller, or to get into the nets.”Paul Collingwood grew up playing at Shotley Bridge CC•Getty ImagesRayner’s fine recent book painstakingly chronicles the building and rebuilding of Durham following their “rescue” by the ECB in 2016, It is littered with mentions of local clubs in the north east where Durham’s many home-grown cricketers learned their skills. However, this is not to say there is no distinction between Northumberland and Durham. Such carelessness could endanger one’s health in an area renowned for its deep allegiances. After all, Northumberland remains, in cricketing terms, a minor, although soon to be “national”, county as part of an ECB revamp, and when presented with a choice between representing their club in a national competition or their county, most players choose the former.”Wearing my Northumberland hat, I think we would have the right to say that if you decline to play for the minor county, you aren’t allowed to play for your club side,” says Gordon Halliday, who manages to combine being secretary of South North with chairmanship of Northumberland. “But in practice we’ve never enforced that. We encourage clubs to release their players and some are better at it than others. In two weeks’ time South North are playing Chester-le-Street, and I would expect that two lads won’t be available for Northumberland’s game against Cheshire. We do have some clubs whose main priority is to win national competitions.”It is not difficult to recognise South Northumberland as one the relatively limited number of sides in England who enter national competitions with a realistic chance of winning them. Roseworth Terrace boasts a five-lane indoor school which would be the envy of some counties. Chapman attests that over 30 clubs use the facility each winter and points out that the site effectively houses two businesses: the cricket club and the cricket centre. And he is quick to deny any suggestion that any players disrespect minor counties cricket.”South North, like every Northumberland club, is proud of the minor county and we try to support them as much as possible,” he said. “We are unique in the facilities we can offer and we extend the county as much respect and courtesy as we can. We look up to the county rather than look down on it.”Roseworth Terrace hosting an England U19s game•Getty ImagesPerhaps it is also fair to say that some clubs in the north east also look up to South North. Chapman, who was born in Crook, County Durham, identifies it as the establishment club, although its status has been earned by excellence rather than privilege. “We have four or five lads in our first team that would walk into North East Premier League first teams but they like to play at South North, they like what the club’s about,” he says. “It’s a bit old school because people think I’ll play in the second team and if I’m good enough for the first team, I’ll get picked for it.”Of course, it might be argued that old school is out of fashion and that changing leisure habits mean it’s less easy for captains of, say, third teams to put out competitive sides. The north east is not immune from those pressures but one is still impressed by the vibrancy of the club game in this area. And it is not absurd to think that when Roseworth Terrace welcomes Lancashire’s cricketers, the game will, in its way, symbolise the strength of cricket in a region paid too little attention by national media.That strength has a rich heritage; Halliday does not need too much prompting to talk of the era when Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop played for Tynedale. But the introduction of Premier Leagues has helped clubs in the north east to compete with the best that London, Yorkshire and the rest can put out. And if you want to be reassured that Durham will complete its recovery from the great duffing-up of 2016, you might do worse than visit Ashington, Hetton Lyons, Shotley Bridge. Or there is Gateshead Fell, Sacriston, Blaydon, Benwell Hill, Percy Main, Boldon. The collieries once associated with one or two of these places are gone but the cricket clubs remain. Their survival is a cause for celebration as we greet another glad season.

After Jack Leach’s heroics at Headingley, we look back at half-a-dozen other unlikely batting heroes

Matt Roller26-Aug-2019Geoff Allott, 0 (77) v South Africa, Auckland 1999Daryl Cullinan’s 275 not out had taken South Africa to a seemingly insurmountable 621 for 5 at Eden Park, before New Zealand collapsed from 210 for 2 to 251 for 7 in their first innings. Daniel Vettori and Simon Doull both provided the resolute Chris Harris with some company, before Allott marched out as last man hoping to delay the inevitable. He contributed a memorable 0 to a partnership of 32 with Harris, in a knock that lasted over 100 minutes – no mean feat for a man who had never faced so many as 20 balls in a Test innings – before eventually fending Jacques Kallis to slip, raising his bat to all corners of the ground on his way off.While the pair failed in their attempt to save the follow-on, they took enough time out of the game to mean that New Zealand comfortably batted out 84 overs on the final day to seal the draw. “It was probably the best duck I’ll ever score,” Allott reflected afterwards. Either way, it was certainly the most memorable.James Anderson and Monty Panesar walk back after securing the draw•Getty ImagesMonty Panesar, 7* (35) v Australia, Cardiff 2009As Paul Collingwood fell for a brilliant rearguard innings of 74 with England still trailing by six runs with 11.3 overs left in the Test, ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary thought the game was up for them: “Well Collingwood cannot believe it and the entire ground stand to applaud a truly determined, gutsy innings. They stand as one. That’s it for England, you’d think, with just Monty to come. It’s probably his first and only mistake of his innings.”But with James Anderson for company, Panesar blocked out Peter Siddle, Nathan Hauritz and Marcus North with men swarming around the bat for all of 37 minutes – with many of those spent taking on board water and changing gloves via the gleeful 12th man, Bilal Shafayat. He even managed to crash North square of the wicket for four on his way, before leading England off with a broad grin. He was dropped for the Lord’s Test, and only rarely enjoyed any sort of run in the side again, though briefly reprised his last-man standing routine in Auckland four years later.Courtney Walsh, 0* (5) vs Australia, Barbados 1999Curtly Ambrose did his best at No. 10 to keep Brian Lara company in his epic, unbeaten 153, but was caught off Jason Gillespie with six runs still needed. In came Walsh, the No. 11’s No. 11, to face Glenn McGrath – already with five wickets to his name – and he played with characteristic flair during his five-ball stay. He left one outside the off stump with a flourish, before defending with an enormously exaggerated stride down the pitch, and handed things over to Lara.The next over, Lara stayed deep in his crease, and belted Gillespie through the covers – in an almost perfect mirror of Stokes’ shot on Sunday – to seal an incredible win over the No. 1 side in the world.Kusal Perera and Vishwa Fernando celebrate a sensational Sri Lanka win•Getty ImagesVishwa Fernando, 6* (27) v South Africa, Durban 2019Striding to the crease at 226 for 9 with a fourth innings target of 304, an attack including Dale Steyn, Duanne Olivier and Kagiso Rabada to contend with, and five runs at an average of 1.25 in his Test career, Vishwa did not resemble a likely hero. As Kusal Perera smote a fearsome attack for boundary after boundary, Vishwa resolutely held up an end, as he blocked, ducked and left with growing confidence.There was even a Leachian moment of madness, when Vishwa edged a full, wide ball from Steyn short of third slip, and was caught ball-watching as Perera called him through for a run. Dean Elgar collected, hurled at the non-striker’s end where he was gone for all money, missed, and then saw his throw fly away to the boundary.After Kusal steered wide of slip for a match-winning boundary, Vishwa charged down the track to give him a bear hug, knowing that he had played a part in possibly the great Test innings of all time.Wilfred Rhodes, 6* (unknown) v Australia, The Oval 1902England needed 15 for victory – an equation unthinkable when they had plummeted to 48 for 5 after being set 263 to win – as Rhodes walked out at No. 11, with the man he shared the new ball with at Yorkshire, George Hirst, for company. Hirst allegedly told Rhodes, “We’ll get them in singles, Wilfred,” although he disputed it afterwards. However they came, the pair got the runs required during their last-wicket stand.”With the scores level,” Wisden recorded, “Rhodes sent a ball from Trumble between the bowler and mid-on, and England won the match by one wicket.” Admittedly, Rhodes was by no means a useless batsman – he averaged 30.19 in Tests and and batted everywhere from No. 1 to No. 11 – but this was only three years into a Test career that spanned 31, and he had started life primarily as a bowler.VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina and Pragyan Ojha come together in an embrace moments after sealing victory•AFPPragyan Ojha, 5* (10) v Australia, Mohali 2010After Ishant Sharma had stuck around for nearly two hours alongside VVS Laxman, he was done by an offcutter from Ben Hilfenhaus which trapped him in front, and India were 11 short of a fourth-innings target of 216. Out came Ojha, who dug out a yorker first ball, then played-and-missed, defended and left to see out the over.The hobbling Laxman – with Suresh Raina as his runner – stole a two off Mitchell Johnson to take the target down to single figures, and Ojha picked up his first run in Hilfenhaus’ next over. Two more came off the next ball but there followed a near mix-up between Ojha and Raina that left Laxman spewing. It meant Ojha now had to face Johnson, who beat him first ball, and then smashed him on the pad off his second. Johnson went up, convinced he had his man, but Billy Bowden said no. It skewed out into the leg side, where Steven Smith turned and threw, but his shy was wild and flew away for overthrows.Ojha blocked his next ball, before a leg-stump yorker deflected off the pads down to fine leg for the winning two, and the unlikely trio erupted in celebration.

Tributes poured in from around the cricketing world as Lasith Malinga signed off from ODIs with a classic performance

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2019On Friday, Lasith Malinga played his final ODI game for Sri Lanka, producing a classic performance to take them home.

Yorker King #ThankYouMalinga pic.twitter.com/NWGV03Q9V2

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 26, 2019

Tributes poured in from around the cricketing world, led by his former captain and team-mate for over 10 years.

View this post on Instagram

As a 18 year old net bowler who I faced in Galla 2002 to the champion who’s going to walk out today for your last ODI game u have been true to your self. Champion a team mate and above all a good friend you have done Sri Lanka proud. Enjoy every moment MALI !!!!

A post shared by Mahela Jayawardena (@mahela27) on Jul 26, 2019 at 12:30am PDT

Congratulation to Lasith Malinga on a fantastic ODI career. He has single handedly won many games for Sri Lanka. All the best for the T20Is in future

— Rangana Herath (@HerathRSL) July 26, 2019

Awesome .. how good !!! https://t.co/wlIKnqn5m4

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) July 26, 2019

Congratulations Lasith Malinga . World cricket will definitely miss you in 50 over cricket. Go well champion #Malinga #champion #SLvsBAN pic.twitter.com/hQ9jVYqbLm

— Upul Tharanga (@upultharanga44) July 26, 2019

Wat a Final spell!
Wat a legendary career from a legendary player, a true gentleman & have been a great inspiration for many | lucky enough to play together! #SLvBAN #ThankYouMalinga @Lasith99Malinga
PS – Gud luck for the T20s

— Danushka Gunathilaka (@danushka_70) July 26, 2019

Former international opponents turned franchise team-mates at Mumbai Indians joined in.

Congratulations on a wonderful One Day career, #Malinga.
Wishing you all the very best for the future. pic.twitter.com/RLeKIudyWl

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 26, 2019

Congratulations on the glorious journey Yorker King #Malinga. There will never be another toe crusher like you again. Best wishes for your future endeavours.#LasithMalinga pic.twitter.com/Uf0iD3SHdL

— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) July 26, 2019

Fortunate to share the dressing room with you. I know how good planner, motivator and human being you are. Indeed, you are a great performer. Your fighting spirit is inspiring to all. ODI cricket will miss you & you will be remembered always. Good bye legend. #ThankYouMalinga pic.twitter.com/hX5cr69BbK

— Mustafizur Rahman (@Mustafiz90) July 26, 2019

If I had to pick one match winner among many others for @mipaltan in the last decade, this man will be on the top for sure. As a captain he give me breather during tense situation and he never failed to deliver, such was his presence within the team. Best wishes LM for the future pic.twitter.com/gJJJKy8gL3

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) July 26, 2019

Classic Mali spell Thank you for everything you've done for cricket. Always admired you and will always continue to do so.

— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) July 26, 2019

Notable transfers? Players to keep an eye on? We set the scene for New Zealand’s premier domestic T20 competition

Deivarayan Muthu11-Dec-2019When does the tournament begin?On Friday, and will run until January 19, 2020. Both men and women from Northern Districts, Central Districts, Auckland, Otago, Canterbury, and Wellington will contest in a ten-game round-robin stage. The top-three sides from the round-robin stage will then progress to the playoffs.According to the Super Smash website, more than 40 T20s will be broadcast live on Sky TV. This is a 95% increase on last season overall and includes a 170% increase in women’s Super Smash coverage.Will the New Zealand stars be in action?Kane Williamson & co. will be in Australia until January 7 and it remains to be seen if they make themselves available for the playoffs, should their teams make it there. However, the likes of Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell and Tim Seifert will lend some spark to the tournament.”All the BlackCaps not involved in the Test series over in Australia are available for these games so it’s going to be a huge game first-up,” Central Stags left-arm fingerspinner Ajaz Patel said in the lead-up to the season.Glenn Phillips rues his dismissal•AFPWhat’s the reward for performing in this Super Smash?Spots for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year will be up for grabs. India are set to tour New Zealand for an eight-match limited-overs series, including five T20Is, which will kick off less than a week after the Super Smash ends. So, those who produce strong performances in the domestic T20 competition could well be in contention for the T20I series at home against India.That was the case in the last season as well. The likes of Knights wicketkeeper-batsman Seifert and his team-mate Mitchell, the allrounder, Blair Tickner, the Stags quick, all forced their way into New Zealand’s white-ball squads after impressing in the Super Smash.Can these three do it all over again and keep their international spots? Seifert, in particular, might be under some pressure after his failed scoops in the Super Over against England in New Zealand’s most-recent T20I. Auckland Aces’ wicketkeeper-batsman Glenn Phillips will jostle with Seifert for an international spot.Phillips had played for New Zealand in November 2018, but his recent white-ball form is getting to a stage where it can be just too hard to ignore. Phillips was the leading run-getter for Jamaica Tallawahs in CPL 2019, hitting 374 runs in 10 innings at an average of 37.40 and a strike rate of nearly 145.

Glenn Phillips pic.twitter.com/9tHwAIhgbR

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 27, 2019

More than the numbers what stood out was his Steven Smith-esque trigger movement that upset the lines and lengths of bowlers and produced some crazy, unorthodox strokes. It was also on bright display for New Zealand A against a Jofra Archer-led English attack in the tour game and more recently in the 50-overs Ford Trophy.Any other players you need to keep an eye on?Tom Blundell and Devon Conway. From having bolted into New Zealand’s World Cup squad, Blundell has slipped down the pecking order. However, he has a variety of strokes in his repertoire, including the sweeps and scoops, and had previously won the Super Smash with Wellington in 2016-17.Conway, the 28-year-old South African-born Wellington top-order batsman, dominated the Plunket Shield with a remarkable triple-hundred in October.Conway also piled up 363 runs in nine innings at an average of 45.37 in the last Super Smash season, at a strike rate of nearly 145.He’ll be eligible to play for New Zealand in September next year, just before the T20 World Cup, but coach Gary Stead is already so impressed by him that he called him into New Zealand’s winter camp.Any notable transfers which I might have missed?Big-hitting allrounder Corey Anderson has shifted from Northern Districts to Auckland, further depleting the men in pink, who will be without many of New Zealand players for the start of the season. Kyle Jamieson, the beanpole quick who returned record figures of 6 for 7 last season, has moved from Canterbury and will join Anderson at Auckland.So, who are the favourites: Knights or Stags?Knights and Stags have contested the final in the past two seasons, winning a title each. The Knights know what it takes to win big moments – even without the New Zealand stars – as do the Stags, who have quite a few upcoming New Zealand stars in their line-up. So, one can’t really separate the two for now. How about a third straight final to settle the score?

Five exciting West Indies players who could make a splash at next week’s auction

Deivarayan Muthu12-Dec-2019Kesrick WilliamsThree years after enjoying a breakout CPL season and attracting IPL attention, Williams is back on the international as well as IPL radar. Williams was particularly impressive with his pace and length variations against India, and his tussle with Virat Kohli jazzed up the three-match T20I series.On a flat Wankhede track in the decider on Wednesday evening, Williams conceded 14 off his first three balls to India opener KL Rahul, but overcame that start and ended up conceding 37 in his four overs – pretty impressive given India made 240 – and taking the wicket of Rohit Sharma. Among bowlers from Test-playing nations with a minimum of 20 T20I wickets, Williams now has the fourth-best strike-rate (12.7) of all time.By the time Williams was pinning Kohli down at the Wankhede, reports had emerged that he had belatedly elbowed his way into the IPL auction list.Williams also has the reputation of being an entertainer like Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy. His signature notebook celebration, which Kohli recently mimicked, has gone viral on social media. His celebratory antics also include the selfiebration run, which became popular when he was part of Rajshahi Kings with Sammy in the Bangladesh Premier League.ALSO READ: ‘The more fun I get, the better I perform’ – Kesrick WilliamsSheldon Cottrell goes on the march to celebrate a wicket•IDI via Getty ImagesSheldon CottrellLeft-arm variety. Outstanding fielder. Entertainer. Crowd favourite. Cottrell makes for an exciting T20 package, and could well earn his maiden IPL gig come December 19. The white ball barely swings these days, but Cottrell found movement in the air in all three T20Is against India – although he couldn’t quite control it in Thiruvananthapuram. Cottrell also has quite a few variations in his repertoire, including the slower bouncer and the offcutter, which has served him well in the end overs.”Yes, I think he’s been brilliant for the West Indies in both formats of white-ball cricket,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons said of Cottrell. “He was brilliant with St Kitts [& Nevis Patriots], whom I was with three years ago. He knows his game, and exactly what he can do.”IPL, are you ready for Sheldon Cottrell’s grand salute?ALSO READ: Khary Pierre, Trinbago Knight Riders’ master of thriftKhary PierreThe player of the CPL 2018 final. A left-arm fingerspinner, Pierre has been Trinbago Knight Riders’ go-to bowler in the CPL over the past two years, particularly in the powerplay. The step-up to international cricket hasn’t been the smoothest, but he has shown that he can bowl defensively and squeeze the opposition, even in dewy conditions.Overseas fingerspinners aren’t usually in demand at IPL auctions, but will Kolkata Knight Riders management take a punt on him? Brendon McCullum and Carl Crowe, the head and spin-bowling coaches at TKR, are set to perform similar roles at KKR.Hayden Walsh completes his action•BCCIHayden Walsh Jr.After lighting up CPL 2019 with his wrong’uns and electric fielding, Walsh Jr. is finding his feet at the international level. He leaked runs against Afghanistan, but tightened up against India and came close to dismissing Kohli both in Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram. Then, on an absolute belter in the series decider in Mumbai, Walsh Jr. held his own and returned figures of 0 for 38. Sure, he has the variations, but he showed he could also bowl defensively and contain the opposition in the second game.ALSO READ: A wrong’un and an identity of his own for Hayden Walsh Jr.Brandon KingThe Guyana Amazon Warriors opening batsman, who was the find of CPL 2019 along with Walsh Jr., has been used as a floater in West Indies’ line-up on this trip to India. He made a compact 39 on ODI debut against Afghanistan in Lucknow, but was bothered by slower bowlers in the following T20I series, managing scores of 4,12 and 1.King then played a fine cameo in the series opener against India, but fell cheaply in the face of a steep chase in the decider. Ahead of the auction, King has one more chance in the first ODI in Chennai to boost his claims for an IPL deal.