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The Mahi Way

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The Mahi Way

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]MSD move surprising, but not unwelcome

By Prabir Biswas

“Mahi” (Mahendra Singh Dhoni), as he is affectionately and reverentially referred to by his colleagues in the team as well as the cricketing fraternity, took his critics, fans as well as the selectors by surprise last week.

The Ranchi lad—who had inspired a new generation of cricketers, heralded yet another “golden period” in India cricket’s history and shepherded teammates for long (nine years) to achieve laurels for themselves and the country—decided last week that enough was enough and it was time to make way for Virat Kohli to take over reins of all formats. Dhoni the captain’s era was over.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]His decision came in only days before he was to sit with the selectors and decide the Final 16 for the ensuing limited overs’ games against England. But “Captain Cool” was only following his script after what he had done in Australia in December 2014 by quitting as Test captain out of the blue in the middle of an ongoing series. The reasons are, of course, different.

Virat’s ascendancy as a “total” cricketer (both as a batsman and captain) was probably not lost on Dhoni—himself a keen observer of the game. Dhoni, who had himself persisted with the then promising-yet-struggling Virat in 2012 for the Test team against Australia, was convinced that it was now Virat’s turn to lead the team in all formats of the game. The Delhi batsman’s brilliant form and captaincy record ( 13 wins in 21 Tests) made it easy for him to take the decision. Virat in the recent past has established himself as a distinct leader of the pack and his clout, popularity and acceptability in the dressing room was too obvious to ignore. He was mentoring the team as Dhoni had done so after taking over as captain. It is being rightly said that Dhoni had realised that it was Virat’s team.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The frequent “subtle” indications from officials that he should now hang his boots as a captain were perhaps too strong for Dhoni to ignore. The issue was informally “discussed” with chairman of selectors MSK Prasad a few days before the announcement came in. The man who could read the cricket pitch like his palms and make “fatal” bowling and fielding changes for the opposition, could not be wrong in his judgment on this count.

dhoni-_bcci-1Captaincy takes its toll on cricketers, more so if you are a wicket-keeper batsman. Being on the wrong side of 30s, Dhoni knew that the task would get tougher and tougher – although he has managed to retain his fitness levels and could still give any youngster in the Indian team a run for his money. That he has managed to don both the roles (captain and wicket-keeper batsman) commendably and with aplomb for so long is legendary and only a handful of players have done so in cricket. Farokh Engineer was one, but he held the captaincy for a short period. Kumara Sangakkara, Brendan McCullum and Andy Flower were others who succeeded in this difficult task.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Demands of captaincy (that too a winning captain) was casting its shadow on Dhoni’s exploits with the bat. The man who is considered in world cricket as the greatest finisher of the game (in shorter formats) wasn’t doing justice to his potential and record. Fault lines had started appearing on his performance. The “impregnable” and “he-could-do- no-wrong-with-the-bat” image was slowly but surely taking a beating. The ODI team under him had lost 11 and won 10 matches after the 2015 World Cup.

Keeping up his reputation as a swashbuckling batsman (that was what made him into a star before he was anointed captain) was perhaps occupying the mind of Dhoni. The same happened with Sunil Gavaskar in 1985; Sachin Tendulkar in 2000 and Rahul Dravid in 2007. With no captaincy encumbrances, Dhoni can now continue to chart his course ably as a top one-day batsman for the next few years of his playing career and claim a place in the team in World Cup 2019 in England. He has only resurrected his chances for the 2017 Champions Trophy, the 2019 50-over World Cup in England, and the 2020 T-20 World Cup in Australia.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]By quitting Tests as captain, Dhoni was only a senior player in the Test team under Virat, but an undisputed leader in other formats of the game. That probably would have been a tad “confusing” and not clutter-free for the new crop of players emerging in the Indian team. Moreover, India is not used to and “uncomfortable” having different captains for different versions of the game, a la Australia.

It is not an unseemly transition from Captain Cool to a cool customer with the bat. Best of luck to Mahi.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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IPL 2024: Yashasvi Jaiswal hits brilliant century to help Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians by 9 wickets

Yashasvi Jaiswal looked in top class form as he was the top-scorer of Rajasthan Royals with 104 runs off 60 deliveries. He was well supported from Jos Butler (35) and Sanju Samson (38*) as Rajasthan Royals emerged victorious by 9 wickets.

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Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a brilliant century as Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians by 9 wickets in their IPL match in Jaipur on Monday. Sandeep Sharma took a maiden 5-wicket haul to help Rajasthan Royals restrict Mumbai Indians to 179/9. After the rain interrupted the match RR chased down the total of 180 with 8 balls to spare.

Yashasvi Jaiswal looked in top class form as he was the top-scorer of Rajasthan Royals with 104 runs off 60 deliveries. He was well supported from Jos Butler (35) and Sanju Samson (38*) as Rajasthan Royals emerged victorious by 9 wickets.

Earlier, Trent Boult (2/32) sent back Rohit Sharma (6) to the pavillion in the first over itself, while Sandeep sharma took a 5 wicket haul and claimed the wickets of Ishan Kishan (0) and Suryakumar Yadav (10) in successive overs to reduce Mumbai Indians to 20/3 after they opted to bat first. But Tilak Varma brought his team back into the game and hit 3 sixes and five fours scoring 65 runs. He was well supported by Nehal Wadehera (49 from 24 balls) as the duo forged a partnership of 99 runs from 52 deliveries for the 5th wicket.

Rajasthan Royals bowler Sandeep Sharma took a 5 wicket haul against Mumbai Indians. He said his plan was to use variations and cutters while he tore down the Mumbai Indians batting line up. He picked up 5 important wickets and gave away just 18 runs in his 4-over spell at an economy rate of 4.50.

While speaking at the post-match presentation, Sandeep Sharma said he felt good after a comeback from injury. The 30-year-old pacer added that he was enjoying every game in the ongoing season of IPL. After this victory, the Rajasthan Royals hold the top spot in the IPL 2024 standings with 14 points. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians stand in 7th place place with 6 points.

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Rohit Sharma criticises impact player rule, BCCI reacts

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India captian and Mumbai Indians star cricketer Rohit sharma criticised the impact player rule and sad that he is not a big fan of it. Now, BCCI has responded to Sharma’s comment and said that they will reevaluate the rule.

Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal also acknowledged this and said  that every decision has advantages and disadvantages, he also mentioned  BCCI is prepared to review the regulation when the current IPL season concludes.

Ahead to being established in the IPL, the impact player rule was initially put into effect in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament in 2022–2023. There have been many expert comments regarding the rule that has been in place for almost two editions of the prestigious T20 tournament, with the many of players being against it.

Since this remark has been made, they will certainly analyze it and talk to everyone concerned and then the board will take calls, Dhumal said.

Every rule that is in place has a number of advantages and disadvantages. Nothing about its execution is set in stone, so after the season ends, they are open to any discussion, he continued.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma also discussed how the impact player rule is reducing the role of all-rounders in the sport.

Sharma said, he is not a big fan of Impact sub rule. All rounders will eventually be held back because cricket is ultimately played by 11 players, not 12. To make the game exciting for everyone around you, you are taking a great deal from it. During an interew the hitman said, if the audience look just at the cricketing side of things, he feels guys like Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar aren’t getting to bowl, which is not a good thing for them as a team.

He continued saying that there are 12 players, it’s interesting, and after the team or the captain sees how the game and the pitch are playing, they might turn on the impact player. You can add another bowler, giving you a total of six or seven bowlers, if the team bats effectively and don’t lose wickets. Many teams are hitting well up front, and he hardly ever sees a No 7 or No 8 coming to bat, so the team doesn’t need that additional batter, Rohit Sharma said.

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Rinku Singh breaks Virat Kohli’s gifted bat, asks for another one ahead of KKR vs RCB

Rinku Singh asked Virat Kohli for another bat after breaking the one he received after the last KKR vs RCB match

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Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh had a hilarious yet strange conversation with Virat Kohli ahead of the KKR vs RCB match at Eden Gardens. The clash, which is scheduled for Sunday, April 21, in Kolkata, is the rivalry’s inverse.

KKR destroyed RCB at their home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in the first leg of the match. The players on both teams’ mutual admiration for one another was one of the rivalry’s highlights.

In that particular game, Virat Kohli had gifted one of his bats to Rinku Singh. Rinku, however, broke the bat when playing a spinner in the Indian Premier League, and he then wisely asked Kohli for a replacement bat before the KKR vs. RCB match.

KKR cameramen captured the event, whether it was scripted or not, as Rinku was seen telling Kohli that he had already broken his bat. A little angry Kohli asked for specifics of the whereabouts and questioned if Rinku was asking for a second bat as Rinku was examining two of his other bats. Before Rinku could respond, Kohli warned the KKR batsman that he would run into problems later in the tournament if he gave Rinku 2 bats in two matches.

In the video, Rinku was seen talking to Kohli, and was heard saying in Hindi that Bhaiya apki bat toot gayi, aapki kasam, dobara nahi todunga bat, to which Kohli replied 2 match mein tujhe 2 bat dun?

Meanwhile, the bat served as a token of appreciation for Rinku’s contributions to KKR and the Indian squad, as well as his rise to the position of finisher. In addition, the video showed the players from RCB and KKR conversing with one another following the game, demonstrating excellent sportsmanship and respect.

RCB has come to Kolkata in an attempt to restart their campaign. The team needs to win its final five games to have any chance of making it through the tournament.

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