The week that was in cricket (January 26 - February 1)

The last week in cricket saw a lot of action taking place both on and off the field. While one of the leading limited-overs bowlers in the world was forced to withdraw from the World Cup, another player created history by becoming the first player to score a triple century for his state.One of India’s greatest captains urged the Indian team to come back home for a few days while a Pakistan international was spooked by the alleged presence of a “ghost” in his hotel room. Here’s a look at the 5 talking points of the past week:

#5 Haris Sohail spooked by hotel \'ghost\'

In one of the more bizarre cricketing events of recent times, Pakistan’s Haris Sohail complained of supernatural presence in his hotel room in New Zealand last week, prompting him to sit out of their first warm-up game ahead of the ongoing New Zealand ODI series.

According to media reports, Sohail subsequently forced the team management to shift him to another room, by which time he had developed high fever.

This is the first instance of a Pakistani player complaining of experiencing something like this; however, there have been similar incidents in the past, with visiting teams claiming to have been spooked when they were based at the Lumley Castle in Durham, United Kingdom, in the past.

#4 KL Rahul\'s triple century

After getting out for a second ball duck in the previous game against Baroda at Mysore, KL Rahul and Karnataka returned to the familiar M Chinnaswamy Stadium to take on Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the Ranji Trophy.

Karnataka were put into bat by UP after winning the toss, but that decision backfired as Rahul and Robin Uthappa put on 80 runs for the second wicket. Once Uthappa was dismissed, Rahul continued the onslaught on the bowlers smashing them to all parts of the ground. He shared a 181-run stand with Shreyas Gopal and then put on 225 runs with Abrar Kazi for the seventh wicket, en route to his maiden triple century.

He was eventually dismissed for 337 by Ali Murtaza. The knock contained an astounding 47 fours and 4 sixes and ensured that his side posted a mammoth 719 for 9 in their first innings.

Despite being just 22 years of age, Rahul is already showing a big appetite for runs and that sign bodes well not only for Karnataka but also for Indian cricket.

#3 Sourav Ganguly urged Indian players to be sent back home

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said that if it was up to him, he would send the Indian players back home for a few days before they begin their World Cup defence against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on February 15. India have been in Australia since late November, playing a gruelling 4-match Test series from December 9.

The 42-year-old feels that the players need to spend some time with their families having already been away from home for such a long time. While Ganguly’s suggestion does sound like a good one, it’s perhaps not conceivable considering that their first warm-up game is against Australia on February 8.

#2 India eliminated from the Carlton Mid tri-series

After losing their opening two encounters in the series, India were handed a lifeline on Republic Day when inclement weather interrupted their encounter against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and earned both sides two points each. This meant that they only had to win against England at Perth on Friday to progress to the finals, rather than bother about bonus points and net run rates.

Put into bat by England, India got off to a solid start with Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane putting on 83 runs for the first wicket. But India lost their next 9 wickets for 117 runs as the middle order failed to fire once again and were eventually bowled out for 200 in 48.1 overs.

In reply, England found themselves in trouble after an incisive opening burst from the Indian bowlers, particularly from Stuart Binny whose three-wicket haul reduced the Englishmen to 66 for 5. But a counterattacking 125-run stand for the sixth wicket between Jos Buttler and James Taylor completely took the game away from the Indians. Both players were dismissed within striking distance of a win, but the tailenders did the needful and ensured that they got home by 3 wickets.

Courtesy of the defeat, India finished their tour of Australia without a single win and more worryingly, enter into the World Cup in a fortnight's time pondering over their combinations. Barring the final game against England, Dhawan endured a horror run in the series while the middle order also didn't do anything noteworthy throughout. On the bowling front, Stuart Binny emerged as a positive while Ravindra Jadeja looked rusty in his only appearance so far in Australia.

#1 Sunil Narine withdrew from the World Cup

In a major blow, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced on Tuesday that their premier bowler Sunil Narine will not compete in the upcoming 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The 26-year-old spinner was reported for a suspect action while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Champions League Twenty20 (CL T20) last year, resulting in a ban from BCCI-organised competitions, and wasn't part of West Indies' subsequent international commitments, either.

After his name was withdrawn from the 15-man squad, Narine admitted that while he has worked very hard to modify his action, he still needed to bowl a lot more overs with his rectified action before he can start playing at a competitive level.

"Going into the World Cup is a little too much too soon and, after consulting the WICB, for both West Indies and my sake we have decided to delay my return to international cricket until I am 100 percent confident in all that I do,” Narine said.

"Whilst I am very happy with the progress made to date with my action, and I express my thanks to the coaches working with me in Trinidad and Dr. Daryl Foster in Perth, Australia, I am withdrawing from the World Cup.”

This news came as a big blow for the men from the Caribbean, who were already without the services of Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo for the mega event.

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Edited by Staff Editor