Cricket News Today: Gautam Gambhir questions KL Rahul's constant change in batting position, Priyam Garg lauds bowling attack and more - 5th February 2020

Hello and welcome to the daily round-up of all the major stories happening in the cricketing world today.

Also see - India New Zealand head to head

First up is Gautam Gambhir's criticism of constant change in batting position of KL Rahul, followed by U19 skipper Priyam Garg lauding the pace department. Temba Bavuma rubbishes selection claims based on colour and lastly, KKR's Tom Banton re-signs with Brisbane Heat.

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Here is a look at those stories in detail.

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#1 Gambhir questions KL Rahul's continuous change in batting position

Gambhir believes Rahul should have opened the innings in the absence of Rohit and Dhawan

Former World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir has lashed out at the constant change of KL Rahul's batting position and using him as a floater. Gambhir also lashed at the team management for burdening Rahul with keeping responsibilities as well.

The former opener, instead, stated that Rishabh Pant should be used behind the stumps as he provides a solid keeping option.

"I am not sure if it is a great idea to remove KL Rahul from the top of the order... If anything India could have gone with a Rahul-Agarwal combination and have Rishabh Pant keep wickets. Rahul is a valuable asset and should be well looked after...

"Yes, he has done some good work behind the stumps in the games that he has kept. But I am not sure he should be expected to keep in the 50-over format."

"A whitewash on foreign soil is unprecedented. This must be celebrated for years to come as it is no mean feat... he level of competition was good, the conditions were not overly friendly and the crammed schedule meant that Indians had to be in top shape."

Full article: Not a great idea to remove KL Rahul from top, reckons Gautam Gambhir

#2 Priyam Garg feels India has the best bowling attack in the U19 WC

Indian U19 Skipper Priyam Garg believed that India had the best bowling attack in the U19 World Cup

Indian U19 captain Priyam Garg showered praise on his unstoppable pace-bowling department, tagging it as the best in the tournament post their overwhelming 10-wicket win over Pakistan in the semi-final of the U19 World Cup.

Apart from praising the pacers, Garg also lauded the spinners led successfully by leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. He stated that the results were a combined effort of the team over the past year but the work was incomplete, with the final yet to be played.

"I think our bowling attack is the best in this tournament. Our quicks bowl 140+ and our spinners do complement them really well."

"It isn't the first time that the openers are playing like this. They have been doing it for the last one year, they come from the same state, they understand each other and have good understanding while running between the wickets."

"I would like to focus on the same processes and treat the finals like just another game."

Full article: 'Our bowlers best in the tournament' states Priyam Garg after U19 World Cup semi-final win against Pakistan

#3 Bavuma rubbishes selection claims based on colour

Bavuma insisted that he was in the team due to his performances and not because of the transformation rule

Returning South African batsman Temba Bavuma rubbished any reports of his inclusion in the team owing to his colour and not performances. He stated that his good performances for his state franchises had helped him make a comeback at the back of some heavy runs recently.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Bavuma stated that he was in good form lately and also congratulated Quinton de Kock on his superb hundred as captain. Bavuma, who scored 98 himself, rued a golden opportunity to score a well-deserved ton.

"It has been hard. It's not so much the dropping part, all players get dropped, everyone goes through slumps of not scoring well. The awkwardness from my side is when you are thrown into talks of transformation."

"Yes, I am black, that's my skin. But I play cricket because I love it. I'd like to think the reason I am in the team is because of performances I have put forward in my franchise side, and also for the national team, whenever I have been able to. The discomfort was there, having to navigate me around all those types of talks."

"The one thing that irks me is when you are seen through the eyes of transformation. When you do well, transformation is not spoken about but when you do badly, transformation is thrown at the top of the agenda."

"I have a serious problem with that. We've got to be able to take the good with the bad. If transformation is bad when black African players are not doing well, then when we are doing well, let's also recognize transformation for what it's done."

Full article: Temba Bavuma rubbishes selection claims based on colour: 'Yes, I am black, that's my skin'

#4 KKR recruit Tom Banton re-signs with BBL side Brisbane Heat

Tom Banton scored 223 runs at a superb strike-rate of 176.98 for Brisbane Heat this season

IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders' latest recruit Tom Banton re-signed a two-year deal with his BBL team Brisbane Heat. Banton had a memorable maiden BBL09 stint as he went to score 223 runs at a superb strike-rate of 176.98.

Banton was replaced by AB de Villiers in the squad for the second half of the tournament to join England's limited over squad for the tour of South Africa. Head-coach of Brisbane Heat, Darren Lehmann also expressed excitement on Banton's two-year extension, stating him to be a special player to look out for in the future.

"I think anyone who saw Tom during his seven games for the Heat in the BBL would agree that he is a special player and someone we think can play an important role for us over the next two years... We wanted to move quickly and are very pleased that Tom has agreed to terms. He's a good young lad and we think his cricket will only get better from here. He's got his first IPL coming up and he's in the English set-up, so we know how highly he is thought of around the world."

"We certainly didn't have the type of finish to our season that we would have hoped for, and we know our fans were as disappointed as we were... We've spent some time since then reflecting on what worked and what we could improve on, and the best ways to achieve the goals we have set ourselves."

🔒 @TBanton18 ain't going anywhere! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Our 21yo Englishman has re-signed for two years & will be available for the entirety of #BBL10 👉 https://t.co/3goikPgrLi#BringTheHeat pic.twitter.com/XoPgTsXuXW

— Brisbane Heat (@HeatBBL) February 5, 2020

Full article: KKR recruit Tom Banton re-signs with BBL side Brisbane Heat for 2 more years