Pope reveals Kohli lessons, India women announce ODI squad and more - Cricket News Today, 9th February 2019

Welcome to our Cricket News Today segment. Among the major headlines today, England batsman Ollie Pope has opened up on his Test debut and recounted the experience of watching India captain Virat Kohli bat from close quarters.

In other news, India women have announced their squad for the upcoming ODI series against England women.

Meanwhile, at Wayanad, India A put England Lions to the sword with a splendid batting performance. Priyank Panchal took heavy toll of the visiting bowlers by amassing a sublime double-century.

Here are all of today's top developments from the cricket world.

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Priyank Panchal headlines India's dominance over England Lions

Priyank Panchal's blazing 206 allowed India A to declare with a formidable total

Resuming at 219/1, India A consolidated their position of strength with a powerful batting display on the third day's play against England Lions at Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad.

Although KL Rahul fell early in the day's play, Priyank Panchal went from strength to strength and smashed 206 off just 313 deliveries. His stunning knock, comprising 26 boundaries and three sixes, propelled India A to 540 before they declared the innings.

England Lions openers Ben Duckett and Max Holden survived a nervous period of five overs without any mishap. The visitors will head into the final day with a deficit of 180 runs.

Brief Scores: England Lions - 340 (Ben Duckett 80, Will Jacks 63, Navdeep Saini 5/79, Shardul Thakur 2/77) & 20/0 trail India A - 540/6 declared (Priyank Panchal 206, Srikar Bharat 142, Zak Chappell 3/105, Danny Briggs 2/144) by 180 runs

Shakib Al Hasan ruled out of NZ ODIs; doubtful for start of Test series

Shakib Al Hasan's travails with finger injuries continue

Ahead of their ODI series against New Zealand, Bangladesh have suffered a massive blow as star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is ruled out due to a finger injury. The left-handed batsman fractured his finger during the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League final on Friday.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician, Dr Debashis Chowdhury, stated, "An X-ray was done after the match and the results have confirmed a fracture on the left ring finger. The affected area will now have to be immobilised for around three weeks."

Captaining Dhaka Dynamites, Shakib was struck on the finger by a delivery from Thisara Perera. Apart from ruling him out of the ODI series, the injury also puts the left-arm spinner in a race against time for the Test series against New Zealand.

The first ODI between New Zealand and Bangladesh begins in Napier on February 13. After the conclusion of the ODI series, the Test matches get underway in Hamilton on February 28.

Martin Guptill named in New Zealand squad for Bangladesh ODIs

Martin Guptill missed the last ODI and three T20Is against India due to a back injury

New Zealand have announced their squad for the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh. Opener Martin Guptill is back after missing the last ODI and T20Is against India due to a disc injury. The right-hander's return leaves fellow opener Colin Munro with the chance of featuring in only the third match of the series.

Kane Williamson will lead the Blackcaps in the first two matches before receiving a pre-planned rest for the third ODI. In his absence, Tom Latham will captain New Zealand in the final game.

New Zealand ODI Squad: Kane Williamson (c) (only for matches 1 and 2), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk) (captain for match 3), Colin Munro (only for match 3), Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee

India women announce squad for England ODIs

Mithali Raj will continue to lead the ODI team

India women have named their 15-member squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against England women. From the squad which triumphed in New Zealand 2-1, there's only change as all-rounder Dayalan Hemalatha makes way for back-up wicket-keeper R Kalpana.

R Kalpana has played seven ODIs in her career thus far. The last of those came in February 2016. It is worth noting that Hemalatha had picked up a shoulder injury during the second T20I against New Zealand women in Auckland.

All three ODIs between India women and England women will take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The matches will be held on February 22, 25 and 28.

India women ODI Squad: Mithali Raj (c), Jhulan Goswami, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), R Kalpana (wk), Mona Meshram, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi and Punam Raut

Ollie Pope opens up on the experience of playing against Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was Player of the Match in India's victory at Trent Bridge

Promising England batsman Ollie Pope has opened up on his admiration for India captain Virat Kohli. Recalling the star batsman's match-winning knocks in the 2018 Trent Bridge Test, the young right-hander admitted to learning plenty from watching the visiting skipper negate the swinging conditions.

Pope made his Test debut at Lord's against India last year. He also played in the subsequent match at Trent Bridge wherein Kohli scored 97 and 103 to lead India to a memorable 203-run victory.

"I usually don't try and copy other players, but one player I wouldn't mind is Kohli, to be honest", Ollie Pope was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The 21-year-old added, "I think the way he (Kohli) played there (in Nottingham), it was awesome to play against him and see him first-hand. The way he stood outside his crease when he batted and tried to negotiate the swing. He was who I enjoyed watching, and I learnt a lot from him."