sarchasm

With them NATRAJA dance moves, why not?

And yeah, our own cricketers and those from SL and Pakistan etc were and continue to be ritually racially harassed which is duly shrugged off as drunken misdemeanors. Siraj being the latest I remember in sydney. Poor Symonds was such a fragile baby he never could recover from that maa ki. Siraj on the other hand has only lost his ability to seam the ball this IPL

One must not speak ill of the departed. But I cannot help but think of Yuzi's chat with Ashwin's a few weeks ago where he spoke about Symond bullying him in some ways? Of course, having watched him on the field for all these years, I know he was the type who always sought a confrontation. I am not at all sorry that the whole Indian team and establishment rallied around Bhajji and put symonds - who was used a pawn by his senior and cunning teammates - in his place.

Arre arre, yeh kya hua? I have a long enough memory to remember the posters who were creaming themselves for Ishan and a few even suggesting him ahead of Pant in LOIs. Some of the might resurface if Kishan strings along a few decent scores. Ishan is clearly in the middle of a lean patch. He was never as good as some pimped him to be but not as bad as he's been this IPL. But it's clear that in India's best XI, Ishan would at best be at the sidelines and reserves. We have better personnel. How Kishan jumped ahead of Shaw to open in T20s should be a matter of inquiry thoug

Exactly the kind of low quality, filler series meant to fulfill commitment to broadcaster is what I spoke about in the calendar revamp thread. Who wants a listless bilateral immediately after IPL? The dullards at BCCI need to think and strategize and not just roll along like tumbleweed in the wind.

Didn't watch so no idea how things unfolded. But fully support BCCI being in charge. A lot of erstwhile players acquired egos larger than their talent and stature because of BCCI's reticence to censure them publicly. Does not matter if Pant's grievances were legitimate or not.

Retractable roof would work for LOIs. Not practical for tests. But yes, they would be needed once IPL goes beyond 14 teams and IPL season itself extends well into the monsoon months. But for the time being, BCCI should pay serious attention to using the 5-6 weeks of late May and June in cooler venues in Himalayan towns.

The only way international cricket - especially test cricket - could survive the blow of the forthcoming IPL rights auction is through accepting the brute fact that this league is the front and the center of cricket. Test cricket is already a niche sport - just that nobody is ready to talk about it. ICC, BCCI, and all the other boards could do worse than recognize that IPL being the premier annual event in cricket deserves a bigger and commensurate space in the calendar. If the IPL rights go for upward of USD 6 billion, then be sure that IPL would feature 12 teams by 20

Bumrah and Prasidh should be a lock for 2 front line quicks spots. Third seamer is trickier only if the TM confuses itself looking for a bowler who can bat - Shardul, Chahar and Harshal. None of them are good enough on hard and flat AUS wickets with true bounce. I will suggest Siraj as the 3rd seamer. T20 is the one format where batting depth does *not* matter. Hardik can be the seam A/R with Shardul/Harshal/Chahar as backup. Umran can join the squad on tour of duty.

Kuldeep and Chahal have made a roaring comeback this IPL to merit a place in the squad. Axar over Jadeja anyday and everyday. Washington too can be accommodated but his tendency to get injured makes it a little difficult for him. That's 4 front line spin and spin A/R sorted. Ashwin, Chahar, and Bishnoi unlucky. That is 7 legitimate spin options who can all justifiably merit a place in the squad/XI. And exactly what I meant by talent surplus in India.

The cricket in BBL is SMT quality. Their packaging makes it a compelling view for many but this strategy can only go so far. CA understand this and they are working on junking bilateral ODIs - typically scheduled in January - altogether and hold BBL instead to ensure the top internationals are available.

Unlike his teammates Rahane and Pujara who can do well but choose not to?

Bumrah, Siraj, Prasidh with back-ups in Tyagi, Kuldeep, Umran, could serve well once Shami and Umesh exit the stage.

Kuldeep Sen hopefully gets a regular place in MP team and more importantly isn't there only to make up numbers. He looks an ideal foil/substitute to Prasidh.

It's hard to believe it needs to be said but here it goes. When people talk about WT20, they immediately think of high octane clashes involving IND, ENG, AUS, NZ etc. But the fact is that almost half the matches involve teams like BANG, SL, AFG, NL or any other random Associate team that qualifies. Contests like BANG vs Netherlands or AUS vs AFG - are these competitive, high quality matches? Yet they make more than 50 percent of the total match-ups in a typical WT20 event. Then there is the format. Nobody in IPL has ever said the winners were lucky. Luck has no role whe