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Hello and welcome to the daily round-up of all the major stories happening in the cricketing world today.
First up is the Virat Kohli's thoughts on captaincy and opposition captain Kane Williamson, followed by him confirming KL Rahul as the team's first-choice keeper in T20Is and ODIs for New Zealand tour. Mike Hesson spoke on the tough conditions that await Kohli while Harmanpreet Kaur has spoken about handling crunch situations better in the upcoming Women's T20 WC in Australia. Lastly, Graeme Smith has confirmed Quinton de Kock as the permanent ODI captain.
Here is a look at those stories in detail.
#1 Virat Kohli reflects on the captaincy
Indian captain Virat Kohli spoke about the effect of losses on his leadership mindset after a comeback series win against Australia last week. Speaking to the reporters ahead of the first T20I against New Zealand in Auckland, Kohli gave a detailed view of how he tried to gather his troops despite a humiliating loss to Australia in the first ODI in Mumbai.
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Kohli also stated that a captain's reign shouldn't be judged on results but by the process and culture he lays down for the future. He also praised New Zealand captain Kane Williamson for the selfless attitude he continues to display at the highest level for his nation.
“These kinds of things do come up every now and then, whenever you have a setback. I think its a part of having that responsibility of captaining in all three formats. One thing that I have done is I just focus on what I can do for the team and the vision that needs to be there to take the team forward.”
“I don’t think leadership can always be determined by the results. It’s also about how you can get the team together and get the guys functioning under you as well, which I think Kane has done wonderfully well."
Full article: Virat Kohli reflects on captaincy and his thoughts on Kane Williamson
#2 Virat Kohli confirms KL Rahul as keeper for NZ T20Is and ODIs
In a startling revelation, Indian captain Virat Kohli stated that batsman KL Rahul will continue to keep wickets despite the presence of Rishabh Pant in the squad. Rahul, who was given the responsibility behind the stumps after Pant was concussed in the first ODI against Australia, impressed with his clean takes and good DRS calls.
Kohli reiterated the fact of sticking to KL Rahul as a wicket-keeper batsman as it also opens up a lot of options to experiment before the T20 World Cup.
“Him [Rahul] doing really well with the gloves has opened up another scenario for us where it gives us a lot more balance in playing an extra batter."
“If he can ‘keep and bat that well then why not have an extra batsman in the playing XI. This is something we are looking to continue with for a while. Not to take anything away from anyone else, this just brings the best balance to the side. I know there will be a lot of talk around what will now happen to some other players, but for us, the most important thing is what the team requires and the best balance we can create as a side.”
Full article: Virat Kohli confirms KL Rahul will continue keeping wickets for India; hints at Prithvi Shaw's inclusion in ODIs
#3 Mike Hesson believes Virat Kohli will find it tough in New Zealand
Head of cricket operations of IPL franchise RCB, Mike Hesson believes that Indian captain Virat Kohli will find it tough to cope up with difficult batting conditions on offer in New Zealand.
Hesson also stated that the duel between Rohit Sharma and Trent Boult in ODIs will also be a contest to look forward to as Sharma has performed exceptionally in the last couple of years while Boult is an experienced campaigner now.
"For me, the match-up I am interested to see is how Virat Kohli deals with New Zealand seamers in his first 10-20 balls. If he can get starts in NZ, then his hunger for runs will make him difficult to dislodge Kane Williamson.”
“Trent Boult versus Rohit Sharma in ODIs will be a fascinating match up with a little bit of swing on offer. New Zealand are very hard to beat at home as you can see by their recent record. I, however, see India having a far more suitable seam bowling attack than they had back in 2014 which means this will be a very even and competitive series.”
Full article: RCB director of cricket operations Mike Hesson feels Virat Kohli will find it tough to score in New Zealand
#4 Harmanpreet Kaur reckons handling pressure will be key
Indian women's T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur feels that the team handling high-pressure situations will have the best chance to go all the way in the upcoming Women's T20 WC in Australia.
Speaking to the reporters, Kaur reminded that T20s were all about handling intense pressure situations better and the Indian team were all prepared for the challenges up ahead. However, she also stated that they were looking to enjoy as well and not get bogged down by the pressures of a WC game.
"We were quite close in the last two World Cups, the only thing is we have to keep in mind how to handle pressure in the tournaments, last two World Cups we lacked in handling pressure."
"This time we want to enjoy rather than taking more pressure on ourselves, thinking that it is a big tournament. We have to avoid thinking like that and focus on giving our best."
Full article: Handling pressure will be key in World Cup, reckons Harmanpreet Kaur
#5 Faf du Plessis to not captain South Africa in ODIs
CSA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith has come out in support of Quinton de Kock as the permanent ODI captain and stated that Faf du Plessis won't anymore lead the Proteas in the 50-over format.
Smith told that De Kock was an extremely intelligent cricketer and was a clever operator as far as captaincy is concerned. Post a disastrous CWC campaign in 2019 in England and Wales, CSA has taken drastic measures to pull out their ODI team out of the dumps by putting in changes in their cricketing system.
"He has a unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street smart."
"We are confident that the new leadership role will bring out the best in him as a cricketer and that he can take the team forward into the future and produce results that South Africans the world over can be very proud of."
Full article: Faf du Plessis will no longer continue to captain Proteas in ODIs
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