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Hello and welcome to the daily roundup of all the major narratives dominating the world of cricket on the 5th of March 2020.
Several interesting news came to the fore on Thursday, with those ranging from Harmanpreet Kaur’s thoughts after India made the Women’s T20 World Cup final to Virender Sehwag throwing his weight behind Virat Kohli.
Elsewhere, Farokh Engineer gave his two cents on India’s decision to field Rishabh Pant in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand while the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) left no stone unturned in their appointment of selectors.
Finally, the outbreak of the coronavirus forced the postponement of the Everest Premier League.
Here is a look at those happenings in further detail.
#1 Everest Premier League postponed due to the threat of coronavirus
On the 5th of March 2020, the organizers of the Everest Premier League (EPL) took the bold call of putting off the event, in light of the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. The decision came about after the Government of Nepal had advised the top brass of the competition to avoid mass gatherings.
Also see – PSL 2020 points table
The Managing Director of the EPL, Aamir Akhtar stated,
We are naturally all sad at today's announcement of having to temporarily postpone the 2020 EPL, but we simply have to put the health and well-being of all Nepalis and our overseas players before everything else.
Additionally, he thanked the Government of Nepal for the support they had lent, especially in such tough times.
We would like to thank the government of Nepal for their support and counsel through this challenging period, and we support entirely the professional advice throughout. I would like to assure that as soon as we are able to go ahead with the 2020 season, we will be working to ensure that it will be the spectacular event the likes of which Nepal has never seen before.
The event, which was set to begin on the 14th of March, was looked upon as a potential watershed moment for Nepal cricket, considering the plethora of stars that were expected to be on display.
The likes of Chris Gayle, Mohammad Shahzad and Sandeep Lamichhane had confirmed their participation, meaning that they would’ve provided the tournament with the requisite glamour to make it an overwhelming success.
However, the recent outbreak of the coronavirus has put paid to those hopes, at least for the time being.
Read the full article here: Coronavirus outbreak causes postponement of Everest Premier League
#2 Virender Sehwag backs Virat Kohli to turn his form around
In January 2020, Men in Blue embarked on their Kiwi adventure having outwitted Australia in India. Consequently, the team seemed high on confidence and were cast as favourites across formats, despite the Black Caps being historically strong on their home patch.
The Indians started off their tour brilliantly as they whitewashed New Zealand in the T20I series. Post that though, their sojourn unravelled rather spectacularly before hitting a nadir in the longest format.
Unsurprisingly, Virat Kohli's lack of runs played a pivotal role as India slumped to a 2-0 reverse in the two-match series. However, the sub-standard form of the Indian skipper doesn’t seem to have caused too many furrowed brows on Virender Sehwag’s forehead, who voiced his support, saying,
When you are out of form, nothing works for you. It is not that Virat is not making efforts but luck has deserted him. Virat certainly doesn’t have hand-eye coordination issues. Your hand-eye issue deteriorates over a period of time. Not overnight. I am sure it is just lack of form. Also, he has got out to good deliveries.
India’s next cricketing assignment sees them play host to South Africa in a three-match ODI series, which is slated to commence on the 12th of March 2020.
Read the full article here: New Zealand vs India 2020: Virender Sehwag backs Virat Kohli despite his poor show
#3 Harmanpreet Kaur bats for reserve days for knockout matches
On Thursday, India Women were scheduled to clash swords with England women in the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. However, incessant rains forced the game to be abandoned, meaning that the Eves In Blue progressed, courtesy their superior position and points tally in the group stages.
Predictably, there was quite a bit of uproar on the ICC’s decision to not pencil down a reserve day for the knock-out fixture. And, Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian Women’s captain, also opened up on that stipulation, commenting,
Unfortunate we didn't get a game, but there are rules and we have to follow it. Having reserve days in the future will be a great idea. From day 1, we knew we have to win all the games because in case the semis don't happen, that would be hard for us. In that sense, credit to the team for winning all the games.
India are now set to face Australia in the final on the 8th of March 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as the former looks to break its Women’s T20 World Cup duck.
Read the full article here: Women's T20 World Cup 2020: Harmanpreet Kaur feels having reserve days for knockout games in future will be a great idea
#4 MS Dhoni’s future features in CAC’s appointment process of selectors
Over the past few months, MS Dhoni has remained tight-lipped on his international future, meaning that several experts have chipped in on the debate and have tried to outline the merits and demerits of recalling him into the fold.
Now, it seems that that particular question also featured in the appointment process the CAC undertook for the post of Indian selectors.
According to PTI, a source close to the BCCI opened up on the above and mentioned,
Yes, the CAC had one common question and that was about their call with regards to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and whether they will select him for T20 World Cup. Dhoni is both a sensitive and tricky issue and that's why the question needed to be asked.
The CAC ultimately preferred Sunil Joshi as the chairman of selectors whereas Harvinder Singh was also given the nod to replace the departing Gagan Khoda.
Read the full article here: CAC asked potential national selectors about the future of MS Dhoni in international
#5 Farokh Engineer defends India’s call to play Rishabh Pant
The Rishabh Pant conundrum has encapsulated Indian cricket for the better part of the past couple of years and it was laid bare for everyone to witness on India’s recent tour to New Zealand as well.
The wicket-keeper, who warmed the bench during the Men In Blue’s limited-overs contests, was asked to don the gloves against the Black Caps in the Test series, a rubber the Indians eventually lost 2-0.
Subsequently, there have been criticisms aimed at the team management for opting for the left-hander over Wriddhiman Saha, who had been the side’s first-choice keeper across the home season.
Farokh Engineer though, replied to the contrary, maintain that playing Pant wasn’t particularly a bad idea.
Purely on wicketkeeping skills for a Test match, Saha is a better choice. If you compare the batting aspect, Pant can change the complexion of a game. So, playing Pant was not a bad idea. I wouldn’t say it was a disaster. He didn’t do anything wrong behind the stumps.
India are set to battle South Africa in a three-game ODI series and it would be interesting to see if the Delhi Capitals batsman displaces KL Rahul as the keeper, considering the latter established himself as the Men In Blue’s premier white-ball keeper against New Zealand.
Read the full article here: New Zealand vs India 2020: Playing Pant was not a bad idea, reckons Farokh Engineer
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