The former West Indies captain says that to understand racism, cricket needs an open conversation

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi11-Jun-2020This week, Daren Sammy watched a video by the US stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj. Halfway into the 12-minute video, Sammy heard Minhaj talk about how ” or “” is a word often used in the Indian subcontinent to describe a person of colour, and “not in a good way.” That prompted Sammy to jog his memory back to his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2013 and 2014. Sammy recollected some of his Sunrisers teammates nicknaming him and the Sri Lanka allrounder Thisara Perera .Disturbed, Sammy posted an Instagram video on June 8, wanting to know from those players whether there was any racist connotation to the nickname. Many, including those at Sunrisers and BCCI officials at the time, are asking why Sammy was talking about an issue that happened about six years ago.On Wednesday Sammy spoke to ESPNcricinfo to explain exactly why.Why did you feel it was important to talk about something that happened about six years ago?If you listen to my video, you’ll understand why now. Like I said I was watching a video by Hasan. In that video I learned that something I was being called had a different meaning, rather degrading meaning to it. So if I’m in the dressing room or I’m speaking to you six years ago, and you’re calling me a name or word which I thought had a different meaning to it, why should I bring it up when I was not aware? If you understand what I mean. I’ve heard BCCI and Sunrisers said there was no complaint. There couldn’t be a complaint if you are not aware what’s going on.It’s only because I listened to that video (of Minhaj), once he started describing the word being used to describe people of colour from these parts, once he said the word, I instantly remembered. Because it was my nickname for almost two seasons (at Sunrisers). Do you understand? But I did not see it at that time as anything degrading because I thought it meant they were calling me a strong stallion.So, no, I couldn’t speak about it then. It’s only because now I have information that I was being a called a word that was degrading, that’s why I am talking about it now. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned: every time you are talking about the right things, anytime is the right time.What was the meaning of that word described to you, then?I thought it meant a stallion. If you notice back in 2014 I sent a Happy Birthday tweet to VVS Laxman. I said: “Happy Birthday to you brother. Hope you have a great day.” And I started laughing. And I said, “remember dark kalu.” So I was saying: remember the dark stallion. So, imagine (now) you listening six years later and somebody from that culture telling you, “Hey, bro, this word has a degrading meaning to you because of the colour of your skin.” Then automatically you want to have a conversation.Like I said to the guys, let’s have a conversation about it. I don’t know what’s in people’s hearts. I challenge anybody to question my commitment to team building in all the dressing rooms I have played in.One of the guys (a 2013-14 Sunrisers teammate) has reached out to me and we are having a conversation about it. It’s someone I could bet still has a big poster of me and him hung up in his dressing room where I signed it and I said: “Brothers for life.” And I still mean that. But it doesn’t take away or change the fact that certain words that are being used could come across as degrading because of the colour of your skin. And whether you are my friend or I see you as a brother, we will or we should have the conversation about that.

“One of the guys (a 2013-2014 SRH teammate) has reached out to me and we are having a conversation about it. It’s someone I could bet still has a big poster of me and him hung up in his dressing room where I signed it and I said: ‘Brothers for life.’ But it doesn’t take away the fact that certain words that are being used could come across as degrading because of the colour of your skin.”DAREN SAMMY

I see this now as a(n) opportunity to educate instead of trying to pinpoint ‘this guy is a racist’. No, that’s what I’m about. And I clearly stated that, reach out to me, let’s discuss. Because I am always about moving forward. Just because it is a tough subject, or a tough conversation, I will not shy away. That’s not what Daren is.You think your [Sunrisers] teammates back then did not tell you the meaning of that word because it would have offended you?With the information that I know now I can’t say because apparently it means so many different things. From what I am learning now it has so many different meanings. I believe the way the dressing room was back in that IPL season, the unity that we had was what got us through to the play-offs. Everybody was talking about how strong and how united this team was. And I still feel that same away about it. That’s why I am saying it’s important to have that conversation to know what context in which you were calling (me by that word). Because I thought we were operating from brotherly love. And I believe that. But believing that and not have the conversation about the bigger picture is still going to be wrong. We have to educate people to stop using such words that could be offensive.So far one player has reached out to you?Yes, one player has reached out to me. And I’ve spoken to Tom Moody, the coach of that team. You have to look at the bigger picture. I always look for the positive that will come out of something. I think now with everything that is happening around the world it’s an opportunity to educate. And I’m not going to sit down here and say, ‘this guy is a racist.’ No, that’s not me. I am not in a position to do that. But what I could do is, use this platform and the conversations that me and these individuals may have, use it as an opportunity to shed light. I have heard so many other cricketers come out and talk about it. Yes, they have not experienced it, but they know, they are aware that it happens. And it’s a conversation, uncomfortable, but there’s a need for it to happen.ALSO READ: It’s time we South Asians understood that colourism is racismDid the person apologise?Aaah…not yet. I could be standing here and looking at one object. You are on the other side looking at it and we have two different views. Let me make this clear. You see this beautiful chocolate man you see here, I’m very comfortable in my skin. I refuse to allow any other person to make me mentally feel less than who I am. I am very proud of the skin that I am in. So whether I get an apology or not, it doesn’t change the mentality of how proud I am to be a black person, to be a black man. It doesn’t change.In hindsight, asking for apology I shouldn’t have even done that. If me and my team-mates have done something not intentionally, but now I realise that could be deemed or termed as something that could be hurtful to a team-mate of mine, I would instantly call that person and say: “hey bro, you know what, in spite of what is going on, I really didn’t mean in that sort of way. For what it’s worth I apologise even though I didn’t mean it in any way, shape or form. And it’s an opportunity now for us to all get together and educate because we all are leaders in our own right and when you lead people tend to follow.”

I’m please to say that I’ve had a really interesting conversation with one of the guys and we are looking at ways to educate rather than focusing on the negatives. My brother reassured me that he operated from a place of love and I believe him.

— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) June 11, 2020

You mentioned you understand there are different meanings to the word especially in the subcontinent where it is at times used endearingly. But defining a person using his colour is racial you feel?Anything that is done to someone because of the colour of their skin and it is not meant to be in a positive way I think it shouldn’t be done. For instance, when you see a tall person you say, tall man, what’s up. That is based on your height. Once you start racially profiling people and it comes because of the colour of their skin, this person is better than you because he is fairer or because he is darker then it becomes an issue. My thing is to educate now that let’s not do it. See everybody, whether they be red, black, yellow, white, as a human being. That’s the movement for equality and justice especially against people of colour because they have been subject to racial slurs, God knows for how long.Talking on a podcast on BBC this week, England’s rugby player Mario Itoje and some of his teammates were discussing racism in their sport. They talked about how black players are asked to take it as part of banter. It is the black man’s responsibility to treat words with a sense of humour, they were told. Do you understand?I understand, but I don’t agree to that. Why must my people endure 400 years of slavery and still have to adapt? Why is it always the people of colour that have to adapt to oppression? Why is it the people of colour that always have to do something different? Why can’t the other side change and see us differently? And just not do it. So, no, you cannot use something that is degrading to the colour of my skin and tell me to take it as banter. I will never agree to that.’I believed we were operating from brotherly love. I still believe that. That’s why it’s important to have a conversation’ – Daren Sammy on his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad•BCCIAnd this is the message that you are trying to send to your past teammates?The message, to me, is simple. If I am operating from a place of love and I know within my heart this is what I’m doing, I’m okay with that. But if from operating in that space is still being hurtful to somebody else because of the colour of the skin and what I’m saying, then part of the love is diminished as well, whether you see it that way or not. You should now acknowledge that you shouldn’t do it.Is there casual racism in cricket?Look, until I was made aware of certain things like what the meaning (of that word) was I could have proudly sat here in this chair and said I have not experienced anything like that. Because you have to understand, as sportsmen when we go out and play, you focus on the game. There’s no time to think about maybe this guy said something, oh, this could be racist. But I know of situations where players have been subject to such: recently in New Zealand, Jofra Archer was subject to such (a) thing. I have had players in my team who have experienced such things.Going forward, the same emphasis the ICC has placed on anti-corruption, where you bring awareness to the subject to the point that the youngest player coming in before any tournament has been educated about that, the same set of effort should be put towards anti-racism. That will be a step in the right direction.In the 2013 and 2014 IPLs, was there a rule or policy in place to deal with racism?We have always had the anti-racism in the code of conduct of the ICC. You hear it every time it has been recited. But to make it a subject of discussion – like match-fixing and all these things are a subject that is given special attention. If you go waaayyy back I think about my West Indies team. I watched , I see what my players had to endure and you think about Australia with Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, these guys were quick, causing terror around the world. I didn’t see the MCC or the ICC changing the rules, trying to limit them to 2 bouncers or something like that. But the moment a team of colour, which was the West Indies, started dominating, “Oh, they are gonna make us grovel.” “Oh, these guys are criminals. They are bowling to kill people.”But when the other teams were doing it and guys getting broken fingers I didn’t hear all these chants. But the moment the West Indies started to rise and dominate the world you saw the system trying to limit how successful we could be with the resources that we had. So if you go back, there’s a history of things being said or done to people of colour to try to keep us down. And I’m saying let’s address that. There’s a bigger picture to what is happening.Just like George Floyd been murdered and the world witnessed it and the uprising and the movement that it has caused is the bigger picture. Right now people of colour, the minorities, feel for once they could say something and be heard.So your point is create a forum, create something where you have a discussion in cricket (on racism)?Yes. And after discussion they must have action. Discussion without action is still just discussion. Action should be taken to eradicate such a thing and educate people.Is there also an issue where among players there’s not much discussion between themselves (on racism). Because if you have an open discussion then there’s more understanding of what one feels, right?You have to understand it’s an uncomfortable subject. Just imagine me talking to a white person, who has never really been profiled because of the colour of their skin. Some of them probably don’t even understand what’s really going on. Some people are even afraid to say ‘Black Lives Matter’. But with awareness and something that is being discussed slowly, people will be more comfortable. It has to start from the top in putting the measures in place, implanting it, so that it filters downs to the roots.Chris Gayle has come out and supported you. Have you had a word with your Caribbean teammates on this subject?Not everybody is brave enough to challenge certain people because that is where your bread is coming from. It is not easy to challenge people of power. Sometimes you are afraid of the backlash, you are afraid of what could happen next. But that’s them. That’s not me. I have always stood up for what I believe in no matter who it is. That’s how I was raised.If you had known the meaning of the word in 2013-14, would you have had made the same comments you have just made?Of course, I would. 2013 I was the leader, man. I was captain of the West Indies team. I was the leader in that dressing room. We just had won a [T20] World Cup in September [2012]. My leadership was growing. Maybe it would not have been as powerful as it is now because of what is happening in the world, but I would definitely speak about it.

“No, you cannot use something that is degrading to the colour of my skin for me to take it as banter. I will never agree to that.”DAREN SAMMY

So you are not being opportunistic as some people perceive?People are also entitled to their opinion. The only thing I have to do is listen to you. It doesn’t define who I am. But there’s no wrong time to talk about the truth. Is anybody denying that I was being called such a thing? I am not mad. I am angry that the word has another meaning to it, but if I reflect on the memories I had, it is one of the best times I had in a dressing room.Possibly you were not curious to know the meaning of the word back then?No, I knew. I knew the meaning. For me it meant strong stallion. That’s what I understood it meant. So there was no reason for me to go back and say it was a racial or a degrading thing.So did you not get the same feeling when last year, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was sanctioned by the ICC for calling South African allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo by the same word?I heard Sarfaraz used (a) racial slur, but I did not really dive into the story. I saw it pop up, but I did not get into the details. I wasn’t aware it was that word he used back then. But I know he issued an apology right after. That in itself is why I am having this conversation – whether you didn’t mean it in any way like that we need to stop. That is why I want to have a conversation with the people who used it in the dressing room. Let’s stop it for us to avoid situations like what Sarfaraz did thinking it was innocent. If it could mean anything that could be taken as degrading or insulting, you don’t use it. Full stop.England and Liverpool player Raheem Sterling said a task force should be created in football to deal with racism. Do you think cricket should have a similar task force?Just like there is a task force for anti-corruption there should be the same energy put towards racism. But you have to understand why is it there is so much attention paid to anti-corruption? Because it diminishes the cricket game. But now racism is personal. And it is uncomfortable. I think yeah they should have something put in place to ensure that the education starts.Finally, Daren Sammy is not being opportunistic. He is not being an activist for black cricketers. What he is trying to do by coming out and talking, opening up a discussion forum which is very important in cricket?There is no special time to speak about the truth or the issues. I could care less what they think about me, but it’s a conversation, it’s an issue that is within the game that has to be addressed. Whether you say I am an activist for black people, why not. Who has been speaking on our behalf?Like I mentioned, we dominated the world for 17 years and within that period look at the laws that have changed in cricket. Who has been our voice? Right now West Indies is in England, among all the coronavirus, helping. We are compassionate people. Where is the compassion shown towards us? I am just speaking about my experience and how I think the cricket world could be better. If that’s wrong, then I am okay with that.

Who would make it to your all-time Chennai Super Kings XI?

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2020Wouldn’t it be fun to pick an all-time Chennai Super Kings’ XI, based on player stats for the franchise? We’ve picked ours, now it’s your turn to participate in choosing the readers’ XI.

Batsmen

Allrounders and bowlers

The answer lies in whether the format even needs the sort of role he plays in the batting order

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Sep-2020Come to Think of itIn a week when his place in England’s T20I line-up has come under intense debate, Dawid Malan has become the world’s top-ranked batsman in the format. It shouldn’t make sense but it does, sort of, encapsulating the contradiction between two views of T20 batting.Proponents of the first view (who presumably include the designers of the ICC’s rankings system) would point to Malan’s basic numbers – the third-highest international average among batsmen with at least 500 runs, and a strike rate of 146.66 – and suggest that he scores runs both quickly and consistently. Why, they would ask, is this even a debate?The dissenters would reply: look at he builds his innings, and point to his strike rates over his first five, ten, 15, and 20 balls. He starts too slowly, they would say.Getting your eye in before accelerating is a tried and tested way of building an ODI innings. Scoring slowly over 20 balls isn’t that big a deal since 20 balls only make up 6.67% of a batting team’s total quota of deliveries in an ODI.

No one with any understanding of T20 would suggest Kohli is twice as good as Russell. But does Kohli even belong on the same level as Russell or AB de Villiers or Kieron Pollard?

In T20, 20 balls make up a sixth of a team’s innings. To proponents of the second view, those 20 balls would be better utilised by a more explosive batsman. Malan – or someone in his mould – might catch up later, but later might not happen at all, given the increased risk of dismissal inherent to the format. Even if that batsman does catch up, will it be enough to make up for that slow start?It’s the risk built into the role of the T20 anchor, and given the distribution of resources in a T20 innings – ten wickets over 20 overs – it’s valid to ask if teams need one at all, even if that anchor is the best who has ever anchored.You’ve seen the headline, you know where this is going.ALSO READ: Who are the greatest T20 players of them all?It isn’t just the armchair fan who believes Virat Kohli is a great T20 batsman. Former players say it all the time too, and pick him in their all-time XIs. He’s spent large swathes of his career at or near the top of the ICC T20I rankings, and he’s the highest paid player in the most lucrative franchise tournament in the world. His IPL earnings are particularly notable since the tournament enforces a spending cap, giving each team a purse of Rs 85 crore (approximately US$11.5 million) to assemble their entire playing squad. The Royal Challengers Bangalore spent a fifth of their purse at this year’s auction just to retain Kohli’s services. Oh, and he earns twice as much as Andre Russell does at the Kolkata Knight Riders.Is Kohli good?No one with any understanding of T20 would suggest Kohli is twice as good as Russell, so that isn’t the debate here. But does Kohli even belong on the same level as Russell or AB de Villiers or Kieron Pollard or Jos Buttler or peak Chris Gayle?To those who believe in the value of the anchor, the answer would probably be yes. As in Malan’s case, but over a larger sample size, the basic numbers are elite. If a career strike rate in the 130s doesn’t look too flash, look at his numbers since the start of 2016.

The fast bowler talks about his journey as he swaps his red Knight Riders jersey for a purple one

Peter Della Penna21-Sep-2020Five days after his 28th birthday in December 2018, Ali Khan was sitting on the front steps of a Florida mansion known as the Cricketplex Resort, sobbing. Minutes earlier, Khan and three friends – Maq Qureshi, Shawn Qureshi, and former Pakistan Test batsman Faisal Iqbal – had been watching the IPL auction on a giant plasma screen with climactic excitement.After waking up at 5am for the auction coverage from Jaipur, Khan and his pals had waited more than four hours for the moment his name would be put up. It only took another 29 seconds for the auctioneer to turn Khan’s dream into a nightmare, slamming down his gavel to shout, “Unsold!”An IPL roster spot that moments before had felt so close suddenly turned as distant as the 8420 miles separating Boca Raton and Rajasthan.”That day I was very upset and I just couldn’t watch it anymore,” Khan says. “That’s why I just stepped out. I thought that was the closest I could ever get to the IPL.”Maq Qureshi, a close confidant of Khan, tried to find a silver lining. “This isn’t the end,” he told Khan as the latter left to head back home, to Ohio. “It’s just the beginning. You have to stay positive.”Qureshi is the proprietor of the Cricketplex Resort but is better known in US cricket circles for being the founder of the US Open T20 cricket tournament, held in Florida every December, as well as the US All-Stars team that plays in the event.Dwayne Bravo spotted Khan in the US Open T20 tournament and signed him on for the Winnipeg Hawks in the Global T20 Canada, before recommending him to TKR•Peter Della PennaKhan had been playing in the team since 2013, but it was at the 2017 event that Qureshi roped Dwayne Bravo in to play for the US All-Stars. The sight of Khan slinging down yorker after yorker convinced Bravo to draft him in at the Winnipeg Hawks in the 2018 Global T20 Canada, and then to recommend him to the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) management as a replacement for Ronsford Beaton in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).Khan became an indispensable part of TKR, taking 16 wickets in a title-winning campaign. He had initially arrived in the CPL in 2016 with the Guyana Amazon Warriors, but only played once during a two-year stint. He had nearly given up on his professional cricket aspirations when Bravo’s intervention came about.This past week, Khan lifted his second CPL title in three years with TKR. After missing the previous four matches with a right hamstring strain, Khan had returned to the starting XI and taken 1 for 10 in two overs including a maiden as the Knight Riders stormed into the CPL playoffs. On the eve of their semi-final showdown with the Jamaica Tallawahs, everyone in the Knight Riders squad gathered for a team dinner in Port-of-Spain.”As soon as everyone sat in their seats, [Knight Riders coach] Brendon McCullum welcomed everyone to dinner and then he said, ‘A man from USA will be joining us in Kolkata Knight Riders. I want to take this opportunity to announce that…'”As soon as he said that, I was just like, ‘Is this real?’ DJ Bravo was sitting next to me and then he hugged me. I started crying because it was so emotional. It’s something you dream about and then all of a sudden you hear it in your ears that this actually happened. I was very emotional and I was very happy. Everyone came and congratulated me. We had dinner and Baz gave me a big hug and said, ‘You deserve it.’ I said, ‘Thank you, Baz. I will not let you down.'”From tears of sadness to tears of joy, Khan is living the American Dream. It was five years ago this month that he arrived in Indianapolis, Indiana from Dayton, Ohio as an uncapped, unheralded, unknown prospect – literally referred to simply as “#19” and “#64″, the numbers of the generic jerseys he was given to wear by coaches who had never seen him – at a trial organised by the ICC Americas development office. They were looking to come up with a squad of 15 Associate players to represent the region in the West Indies Regional Super50 tournament. That would in turn become a further audition for six players to become rookie-slot draft picks in the 2016 CPL.Ali Khan picked up eight wickets in eight matches in the 2020 CPL•Getty ImagesThe odds were stacked heavily against Khan, with dozens of players who had already represented USA, Canada and Bermuda in the fray. He had never played organised hard-ball cricket before moving to the USA with his family as a teenager from Fateh Jang, near Attock in Pakistan’s Punjab province. But from early on in the 2015 trial, Khan stood out for his ability to consistently bowl accurate yorkers – from a slingy action honed through formative years spent playing tape-ball cricket in Fateh Jang – ones that were clocked as high as 146kph in the 2020 CPL final.Though others were taking more wickets, this particular skill caught the eye of former West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh and Australia’s former fielding coach Mike Young, two independent selectors at the trial.”How could you not want him on your club?” Young asked the other talent evaluators. “And he can bowl. Now, you know, he tries. But he’s got some skill.”Besides TKR staff, one of the first people Khan went to have a chat with in his CPL bio-bubble after he heard he would be in the KKR side was Walsh, who served as the bowling coach for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.”He was on the same floor as me, just a couple rooms down,” Khan said of Walsh. “I was like, ‘Coach, if you wouldn’t have picked us at that time in Indianapolis, we wouldn’t be here today.’ He was like, ‘I just see the talent. That’s my job, to pass it on.’ When I got injured [before the knockouts], he asked about my leg. When I played again, he said, ‘It’s good to see you back playing. Keep working hard.'”There are others in the Associate sphere, USA in particular, who might be more naturally talented than Khan. But his work ethic and desire to improve stand out. He hopes he can be an inspiration to future generations of USA players in the same way that Rashid Khan has been for young cricketers in Afghanistan looking not just to play for the national team but to make it big in franchise cricket. Khan has not only played, and won, the CPL but also in the Pakistan Super League, the Afghanistan Premier League and the Bangladesh Premier League.”Maybe I can be the same guy from USA who can throw a rope back and bring more players to other leagues and hopefully we can have a few more players in the coming years,” Khan said.Less than 24 hours after winning the CPL with one Knight Riders team, Khan was boarding a nine-seater private jet to take him and his KKR team-mates – and TKR team-mate Bravo – to the UAE. But this is not the fairy-tale ending: Khan’s IPL Cinderella story is just beginning.

Australia’s No. 3 has had generous slices of luck, but also worked his way through difficult periods

Daniel Brettig15-Jan-2021For a few tantalising milliseconds in the early afternoon, Australia stared another extremely low first-innings tally squarely in the face. Navdeep Saini had found a spot on a parched Gabba pitch to have the ball kick up at Marnus Labuschagne, and the reflexive miscue off the shoulder of the bat sailed fairly gently to the left of Ajinkya Rahane’s trusty hands at gully.No score had been added since Steven Smith flicked Washington Sundar straight to short midwicket, after neither David Warner nor Marcus Harris were able to deal with a modicum of early movement for the new ball in the hands of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.Marnus Labuschagne enjoyed the need to make plans more spontaneously against a less familiar attack•Cricket Australia via Getty ImagesRahane, perhaps, had time to start thinking beyond the ball travelling towards him, to the triumphant scenes of a Test match and series win despite a surfeit of injuries and absences. Labuschagne certainly had time to think he was gone for 37, only to watch transfixed as the ball burst through Rahane, the captain leaving his hands stretched out in shock at the chance he had missed. The moment was compounded by the realisation that Saini, in bowling that very delivery, had suffered a groin strain.Having already lost so many more seasoned bowlers, India were physically down for the count, but Australia for a time seemed incapable of finding someone with the mental reserves to stay in the middle long enough to take advantage.Fortunately for the captain Tim Paine and coach Justin Langer, they have for the most part been able to rely upon Labuschagne to do that kind of hard, top-three batting, to the point that in reaching his fifth Test century and first since last summer’s starburst of runs against Pakistan and New Zealand, he was able to tally up 400 runs for the series. No-one else on either side has managed more than Smith’s 258.Labuschagne has, of course, benefited from a good deal of fortune, dropped four or five times over the four Tests, depending on whether or not you consider a low edge on 48 grassed or half-volleyed by Cheteshwar Pujara. But he has also been able to work his way through multiple difficult periods against an Indian side that, for all their injury woes, has remained disciplined and well planned throughout.

“It was a matter of discipline early on, especially in that first session and a half, making sure you get yourself in, you get the pace of the wicket so that you can really cash in when the bowlers are a little bit tired and they’re a bit cooked”Marnus Labuschagne

They have been much too good for a half-fit Warner, again unable to stretch his groin enough to cover the movement on offer for Siraj in the first over of the match. They quickly found the measure of Harris, showcasing a more side-on technique than he had displayed against India, Sri Lanka and England in 2018-19 but unable to counter the swinging ball that he flicked all too casually into the hands of the man just forward of square leg.As for Matthew Wade, who helped Labuschagne add a priceless 113 but then skied a pull shot just as he looked to be fashioning the sort of score he needed to remain assured of his place, the inability to maintain concentration or avoid unsightly dismissals has been a problem in every Test, whether he has been batting at the top or in the middle order. As much as minds are frayed by the usual rigours of a Test series plus the added constraints of biosecurity, Wade has been unable to match his prolific first-class record in the international cauldron.Related

• Five (minus one) bowlers keep India alive, their batsmen must keep them kicking

• Marnus Labuschagne ton puts Australia in charge as India pay for drops

• Stats – Australia with 1033 wickets in the XI; India 13

“All the batters are going to make their own assessment of how they got out,” Labuschagne said. “They’re all international players and you know everyone gets judged harshly, but you’re your harshest critic, and everyone will look at their dismissals for what they could have done better or could have done. I’m definitely disappointed not going on and getting a really big score, which would have put us in a better position as a team.”Currently the physical, the mental and just trying to make sure you’re staying on, it doesn’t matter who’s bowling at you, making sure you have 100% concentration. In Brisbane, it gets very hot and humid so you know if you keep the bowlers out there that it’s really tough to keep backing up. It’s definitely a mental challenge at this time in the series and with the way things are.”It was a matter of discipline early on, especially in that first session and a half, making sure you get yourself in, you get the pace of the wicket so that you can really cash in when the bowlers are a little bit tired and they’re a bit cooked.”Mohammed Siraj goes full stretch but can’t stop Marnus Labuschagne’s drive•Getty ImagesThe pace duels Labuschagne experienced with Siraj, Thakur, Saini and T Natarajan saw Australia’s No. 3 take advantage of anything over-pitched and several short balls, while he was also able to score more freely against Sundar than anyone else in the top six. As a compulsive tinkerer and planner, Labuschagne enjoyed the need to make plans more spontaneously against a less familiar attack, and also on a Brisbane pitch quite unlike any he has seen before.”Definitely today I had to formulate some plans on the run and keep understanding the situation of what they were doing and I think that’s the part of the game that is really enjoyable, you’ve got to read the situation out there,” he said. “You can look at stuff on a screen and see guys bowl, but only you know out there with the feel of how you can do things and what you can do differently to make life easier out there.”I did feel like on 37 the ball did sort of hold in the wicket and kick up a little bit. I do feel like the wicket is considerably drier than it would be normally. I think those things could add some value, especially as we go into day two, three, four, five to the back end. I haven’t seen a Gabba wicket that’s really up and down, but it showed some signs today of a bit of dryness.”And while a final tally of 108 was not the big hundred Labuschagne had been seeking, before he too misread a short ball from the skiddy Natarajan, it was the vital platform Australia required, allowing Paine and Cameron Green to push on promisingly in a stand worth 61 by the close. Paine and Green, should they take fuller advantage of India’s tyros on day two, will have Labuschagne to thank for clearing the way.Rahane, meanwhile, may struggle to erase the image of that edge sailing towards him, well within reach of 87 for 4 and a very different tale to the one his miss allowed Labuschagne to write.

Mohammad Saifuddin’s injury might worry Minister Group Rajshahi, while Beximco Dhaka depend on youth and Gazi Group Chattogram on quality batting

Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2020Gemcon KhulnaGemcon Khulna easily seem to be the best team on paper. There were expectations that each of the five sides might opt for one of Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman with their first call from Grade A, but Khulna got both Shakib and Mahmudullah after Minister Group Rajshahi instead went for Mohammad Saifuddin. That has left Khulna with the best middle order any team in this tournament could have hoped for.Khulna’s draft calls were also praiseworthy. Following picking Shakib and Mahmudullah for their middle order, they also selected experienced openers Imrul Kayes and Anamul Haque. That apart, they have the cushion of Ariful Haque and Jahurul Islam – both of them did well in the Bangladesh Premier League. Shuvagata Hom, Zakir Hasan, Salman Hossain and U-19 allrounder Shamim Hossain remain back-up choices in the batting department.Khulna have also picked two of Bangladesh’s most prominent domestic T20 bowlers: Al-Amin Hossain and Shafiul Islam. Either of Hasan Mahmud and Shahidul Islam is likely to be the third seamer, while left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam and legspinner Rishad Hossain make up an impressive spin department to go with Shakib.Potential XI: 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Anamul Haque (wk), 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mahmudullah (capt), 5 Ariful Haque, 6 Shuvagata Hom, 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Shafiul Islam, 9 Nazmul Islam, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Al-Amin HossainGazi Group ChattogramAnother team with good potential, Gazi Group Chattogram have a number of high-quality top and middle-order batsmen. Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar will open the batting in a line-up where Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain and the veteran Shamsur Rahman follow. Young Mahmudul Hasan Joy also has all the makings of a solid middle-order presence.Coach Mohammad Salahuddin opted for a left-arm pace attack with Mustafizur as his Grade A pick, as well as Under-19 World Cup winner Shoriful Islam and the little-known Mehadi Hasan from the current U-19 camp. Salahuddin also took left-arm spinners Taijul Islam and Rakibul Hasan – also an Under-19 World Cup winner – as well as talented offspinner Sanjit Saha.Potential XI: 1 Liton Das (wk), 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mohammad Mithun (capt), 5 Mosaddek Hossain, 6 Shamsur Rahman, 7 Ziaur Rahman, 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Rakibul Hasan, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Shoriful IslamMushfiqur Rahim during net practice ahead of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup•BCBBeximco DhakaCoach Khaled Mahmud has gone for a mostly young squad for Beximco Dhaka. But on picking Mushfiqur with the first call of the draft from Grade A, he has set in motion a batting line-up that looks both exciting and dependable.Youngsters Tanzid Hasan and Mohammad Naim are slated to open, followed by Mushfiqur, Sabbir Rahman and Yasir Ali before a bit of inexperience sets in. Akbar Ali and Shahadat Hossain, both likely to bat in the middle-order, will have their work cut out if coach Mahmud ends up picking four bowlers. But on the slow Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch, offspinner Nayeem Hasan and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed are essential, while Rubel Hossain has shown good form recently and left-arm quick Mehedi Hasan Rana had a good 2019-20 BPL outing.Allrounder Muktar Ali and left-arm quick Abu Hider are also part of the youthful squad.Potential XI: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Mohammad Naim, 3 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 4 Yasir Ali, 5 Sabbir Rahman, 6 Akbar Ali, 7 Shahadat Hossain, 8 Nayeem Hasan, 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mehedi Hasan RanaMinister Group RajshahiA lot will depend on Najmul Hossain Shanto, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin – who enters the tournament with an ankle injury – for Minister Group Rajshahi to progress in the tournament. They have been in the BCB’s training camps during the last few months and also looked in good touch during the President’s Cup last month.But with Rajshahi not picking a single cricketer from the previous Under-19 side, their squad has got a slightly older look, having chosen veterans Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan and Arafat Sunny. Allrounder Fazle Mahmud would be batting in the middle order along with wicketkeeper Nurul and Jaker Ali, and around allrounders Farhad Reza and Saifuddin.Coach Sarwar Imran also went for experienced bowlers like left-arm spinners Sunny and Sunzamul Islam, with Ebadot Hossain and Mukidul Islam in the pace department.Potential XI: 1 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 2 Rony Talukdar, 3 Mahedi Hasan, 4 Nurul Hasan (wk), 5 Fazle Mahmud, 6 Mohammad Saifuddin, 7 Jaker Ali, 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Arafat Sunny, 10 Sunzamul Islam, 11 Ebadot HossainFortune BarishalFortune Barishal start off as arguably the weakest team on paper. Despite picking Iqbal with their first call, Barishal went on to take three other openers. That has left them with few middle-order options and just one allrounder. A lot will depend on wicketkeeper-batsman Irfan Sukkur, who showed decent form during the President’s Cup, as Barishal lack batting depth after Mehidy Hasan Miraz.Barishal have picked Taskin Ahmed and Abu Jayed among their four pace bowlers, as well as left-arm spinners Tanvir Islam and Sohrawordi Shuvo as well as legspinner Aminul Islam.Theirs remains a team with a lot to prove.Potential XI: 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Afif Hossain, 3 Saif Hassan, 4 Irfan Sukkur (wk), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Mahidul Islam, 7 Mehedi Hasan Miraz, 8 Sohrawordi Shuvo, 9 Tanvir Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Abu Jayed

Also, should Ruturaj Gaikwad have played the full season?

Matt Roller29-Oct-2020Did MS Dhoni feed Nitish Rana’s strengths?The Knight Riders decided to bring in an extra batsman, Rinku Singh, and fielded him at No. 4 after Sunil Narine’s innings lasted only seven balls as a pinch-hitting No. 3. Both of those moves appeared to be a clear ploy to stack the batting line-up with left-handers against the Super Kings’ three spinners, all of whose stock balls turn into the left-handers: Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.Rather than changing his plans by using seamers through the middle overs, Dhoni instead asked his bowlers to spear the balls in at the pads, with both left-arm spinners operating from round the wicket and bowling quickly.While that worked well enough against Narine and Singh, both of whom scored at a strike rate of 100, it fed Rana’s strengths: across this season, he has scored at a strike rate of 159.8 against spin, compared to 124.0 against seam, and has averaged almost twice as much. That was particularly apparent in the 16th over, when Dhoni gambled by giving Sharma his final over: Rana promptly struck each of his first three balls for six.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhy did Dinesh Karthik shift down the order?Karthik’s batting position has been a point of contention throughout this season, with plenty wondering why he had been coming in at No. 4. Tonight, he shifted down to No. 6 and the move paid off: he struck three boundaries in his new role, leading the Knight Riders to a competitive 172 with a late cameo of 21 off 10 balls.In fact, the better question may be why the Knight Riders persevered with Karthik so high up the order for so much of this tournament. When he has come in inside the first 14 overs this season, he has averaged 18.88 with a strike rate of 127.8; coming in during the final six, he has averaged 50.5 and struck at 183.6.Dinesh Karthik – better as a finisher?•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhy did Rana bowl?Singh’s inclusion at the expense of Prasidh Krishna meant that the Knight Riders had only five frontline bowlers in their XI, as they again struggled to find the right balance with Andre Russell unavailable through injury. With the Super Kings creeping to 58 for 1 after nine overs and both Varun Chakravarthy and Narine proving economical early on, Eoin Morgan threw the ball to Rana in the hope of squeezing in a cheap over and giving himself additional flexibility among his frontline bowlers.Ambati Rayudu was new to the crease, having scored four runs from his first five balls, but did what the best T20 batsmen do and decided to take on the part-time spinner. He struck him for three consecutive fours, injecting some impetus into the chase, and took the Super Kings’ win probability from 26.85% at the start of the over to 43.52% at its end, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster.In fact, Russell’s absence was particularly apparent when compared this match to the Knight Riders’ first fixture against the Super Kings this season. On that occasion, Karthik held his spinners back in the absence of dew, and tied the Super Kings down in the second half of the innings before Russell bowled two crucial overs at the death; tonight, Morgan had to bowl his spinners earlier on with dew coming into play, and had to rely on his three main seamers to finish things off.What happened to Lockie Ferguson?After a return of 5 for 62 in 12 overs across his first three games of the tournament – plus a vital Super Over – Ferguson has tailed off since, recording 1 for 32 against Kings XI Punjab and then 0 for 54 in his spell tonight.Perhaps some of that change can be attributed to dew: Morgan said it was “extremely challenging” from the eighth over onwards, and Ferguson bowled three full tosses, including a no-ball. He also found himself having to bowl in the powerplay for the first time tonight, due to the Knight Riders’ decision to field only five frontline bowlers. Finally, the pitches have not suited his length balls: in his first three games, he conceded 21 runs from 22 length balls, compared to 26 from 9 in his last twoShould Ruturaj Gaikwad have played the full season?It is easy to be critical with the benefit of hindsight, but Gaikwad’s second consecutive match award made a mockery of Dhoni’s comments earlier in the tournament that the Super Kings’ young players hadn’t shown the “spark” they needed to. Indeed, it felt almost surreal to think that M Vijay and Kedar Jadhav had played eight and three games this season respectively, with Gaikwad playing only his fifth tonight.In fact, Dhoni said in the post-match presentation that Gaikwad had taken longer than expected to recover after testing positive with Covid-19 shortly before the tournament, which might be part of the reason behind his exclusion. Either way, he has shown plenty in his last two innings to suggest that he will be an excellent IPL batsman moving forwards; his checked punch for six off Chakravarthy in the sixth over was one of the shots of the tournament.