New coach for Kohli's RCB, unchanged Indian XI finally and more - Cricket News Today, 30th August 2018

After enduring another poor IPL season this year, Royal Challengers Bangalore have revamped their coaching staff. Having been associated with the franchise in a coaching capacity since 2013, former New Zealand all-rounder Daniel Vettori makes way for Gary Kirsten to take over as head coach.

Meanwhile, Indian captain Virat Kohli has finally bucked the trend by naming an unchanged playing eleven in the fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl. In other news, Bangladesh have announced their squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Here are all the important news from the cricket community.

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RCB unveil Gary Kirsten as coach and mentor

Gary Kirsten will bring impressive coaching credentials to the RCB setup

Royal Challengers Bangalore have roped in former South African opener Gary Kirsten as coach and mentor from the 2019 IPL season. The respected left-hander, who was head coach during India's World Cup winning campaign in 2011, replaces erstwhile New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori.

Kirsten enthused, "I had the privilege of coaching with the RCB team last season under head coach Daniel Vettori and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I look forward to continuing the journey with RCB and doing my best to help the franchise reach its potential. I want to thank the team management for considering me in a leadership position with the franchise and I look forward to a successful few years."

Kirsten served as batting coach of RCB during the 2018 IPL season. In the past, he had also worked as head coach of Delhi Daredevils for two seasons.

Kohli can surpass Tendulkar and Gavaskar, opines Farokh Engineer

With every passing season, Kohli is inching closer to Tendulkar's league

Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Farokh Engineer has exuded high praise on current captain Virat Kohli. The veteran feels that the 29-year old from Delhi has the potential to eventually surpass the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar by the time he completes his career.

However, the 80-year old also cautions against getting carried away and urges the present-day cricket aficionados to allow Kohli to continue surging towards greatness before elevating him to the top of the list.

Engineer asserted, "I see him (Kohli) going all the way. I see him as one of the greatest batsmen India has produced. In every generation, there is someone. There was a (Sachin) Tendulkar or a (Sunil) Gavaskar. And this is Kohli's era. And he (Kohli) has all the penitential to be the greatest. He has got the potential to be greater than Sachin and Sunil. But lets not call him now, let him get to that milestone, break those records and then we will call him that."

Shakib in Bangladesh squad for Asia Cup

Shakib Al Hasan will delay his finger surgery until after the completion of the Asia Cup

Bangladesh have announced their squad for the upcoming Asia Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates. The major talking point is the inclusion of star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. He will be vice-captain to skipper Mashrafe Mortaza in the 15-member contingent.

Dispelling speculation that he might miss the tournament in order to undergo a surgery on his injured finger, Shakib has made himself available by delaying the operation until after the completion of the Asia Cup. The move comes following the intervention of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan.

Bangladesh Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan (vice-captain), Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah Riyadh, Mosaddek Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Abu Haider Rony

Shane Warne urges KL Rahul to take the attack to James Anderson

KL Rahul has struggled to counter James Anderson's sharp swing in the series thus far

Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne has urged Indian opener KL Rahul to take the attack to England spearhead James Anderson during the ongoing fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

"I would love to see (KL) Rahul go after Jimmy Anderson. If I was part of the Indian management, I would like to tell Rahul to try and take Jimmy down. Jimmy is fantastic in these conditions and if he has his tail up, it’s difficult to deal with him. The better the bowler, the more aggressive you have to be", Warne was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Although he has been splendid in the slip cordon, Rahul has had a torrid time with the bat in the series thus far. From six innings, he has scored just 94 runs at an average of 15.66. Anderson dismissed him in both innings of the second Test at Lord's.

Kohli's India break streak, name unchanged XI in Southampton Test

Kohli has repeated the playing eleven for the very first time in his Test captaincy career

Virat Kohli has broken his 38-match streak by naming an unchanged playing eleven for the first time in his Test captaincy career. In the ongoing fourth Test at Southampton, India have gone in with the same lineup which smashed England by 203 runs in the third Test at Trent Bridge.

This is the first instance in 46 Tests that India have repeated their playing eleven from the preceding match. Interestingly, the streak had begun at the same venue when MS Dhoni's team took on Alastair Cook's side during the 2014 Test at the Ageas Bowl.

India's Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah