Sri Lanka’s cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha talks about his role, the team’s captaincy and bowling attack, and their drawn-out transition

Interview by Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jul-2017Asanka Gurusinha had been overseas since his retirement from international cricket in 1996, but is now working with Sri Lanka Cricket in the newly formed “cricket manager” position. The exact nature of his position, created in February this year, is under some scrutiny following Graham Ford’s resignation as Sri Lanka coach. In this interview, Gurusinha speaks about the disagreements that led to Ford’s exit, details his responsibilities as cricket manager, and outlines his vision for the team.You were out of the scene for a long time. What tempted you back?
What tempted me back was when my very good friend Aravinda de Silva and SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala spoke to me to come and do this role. I just thought it’s a young side which has got a few experienced players, but really not the kind of experience that a good team will have. I thought this is the best time for me to go and work with these guys and see how I can take them to the next level. When you have Sanga, Mahela, I don’t think you need anybody like that. They run the training and are very strong leaders. I was asked a few years ago, about four or five times, but all those times I said no. But I thought that this is a good time for me. My children are also older, so my wife and I can decide to go and do something for two or three years.What was the brief?
They explained the role exactly – what it is now. It was for cricket manager – that was the initial part. And they said most probably after two or three months they will look at making me a selector.The cricket manager’s role is coordinating with the coaching staff, the players, the selectors, high-performance centre, and SLC. Otherwise there were a lot of gaps in communication.At the same time they wanted me to seriously look at helping create a winning culture. And it even involves looking at the coaching structure – whether we have the right people.Why is the role necessary?
It’s a young team, and yes, they won 3-0 against Australia, but consistency was an issue. This cricket manager role, they could have called it “team director”, like [in India with] Ravi Shastri earlier. It is a new role. When we were playing there was no director of cricket or anyone. Now most places have directors. If you look at football, the team manager is there and there are skill coaches underneath. I feel that’s a structure that cricket one day will go into.In football, there is also no head coach. Currently the skills coaches would work under the head coach in cricket.
Yes, we have a head coach. We can easily say we don’t need a head coach. But I think if you have the right person, it’s good to have the head coach. I’m not part of the coaching structure at all. It’s very clear lines that Nic Pothas and I have. I never go into that area. I don’t get involved in coaching. We have a lot of chats. I think that’s the most important thing – communication.I’m trying to understand the hierarchy. If there is some issue with strategy or team direction where you differ with the head coach, what happens?
The head coach reports to me, yes. But the strategy is done by the head coach, captain and the team. I will give guidelines. If SLC’s goal is to have a winning team by 2019, then I will give that goal to the coach, who will then create the strategy. It’s like any company, where you have a company objective and then you work on it.”Graham [Ford], from the start, probably didn’t agree with my role. He thought I was interfering. I thought I wasn’t”•AFPIf you’re not involved in day-to-day coaching, is it a role where your constant presence is required in the team?
I’m not involved in day-to-day coaching, but with the team, I do work very closely if there are issues. On tour, I’m the team manager as well. If there is no tour, my role is as cricket manager, where I will work with high performance and look at players whom we can bring into the national team. I can tell the coach: “We need to look at so-and-so.” Or we might go to high performance and tell them we are looking for allrounders. That’s the difference. On tour, it’s pretty much team manager and selector.And my cricket manager role is after hours, when I sit down and work out what we need. I’m now looking at the Pakistan tour, India tour and Bangladesh tour. I’ll get our analyst to get all the data to Nic. He can’t go through all the data for upcoming teams every day. We need to be able to say: these are the bowlers we are playing, or batsmen we will come across. Then we can talk to the selectors and work out who are the players who are ideal for these conditions. Then we can talk to the high-performance manager and say: “Do we have this? What are the training schedules?” Nic Pothas plays a large role in all of that.What happened with Graham Ford?
Graham, from the start, probably didn’t agree with my role. He thought I was interfering. I thought I wasn’t. We did discuss it a lot. I am not sure what he discussed with the SLC president or anything like that. My role was always as a team manager and I will give certain ideas. I am the chairman of selectors on tour. At the end of the day, I do make the decision on the team – on the final XI. But in my five months, I’ve never gone against the captain’s decision. With the head coach, I wouldn’t say I always agree with everything, but I look at the fact that the captain goes to the middle with the team, not me. I have always given the team that the captain wanted. During the Champions Trophy, the final XI, even on things that I didn’t agree with, I always went with Angelo Mathews’ final decision. He has to go to the middle.There were reports that Ford was being excluded from team meetings. What is your response to that?
No, we didn’t have a single meeting without Graham Ford, if it was cricket-related. If it was administration- or security-related, we won’t get Ford into those meetings. But anything with cricket or cricket selection, Graham was always there – even though he is not a selector in SLC’s selection policy. We always had the vice-captain there as well. It was a team that discussed everything, and I never excluded Graham.Over several administrations there have been reports of administrators intruding into team matters. What has you experience been, and how do you handle those situations?
I think it comes down to the manager or whoever it is. It’s important that you’re clear with them and say: “This is not part of your position. This is part of mine. Let me do it and trust me.” I do respect SLC’s policies and all of that – absolutely. But when it comes to decision-making, I always do everything within my powers. I also have good relationships with SLC officials. And they do respect me for who I am.The team’s transition has been going on for a lot longer than is ideal. Are you of the view that the weak domestic structure, which successive administrations have failed to reform, has created these complications?
We have a strong provincial tournament now. I understand that the club tournament is not that strong. When I was playing, it was a lot stronger because there were less teams.The way I look at it is: “This is what we have.” I’m not in the cricket board’s administration of elected members. I have a job to do. I try to think about: “How do I do better with this?” I think about our skill levels, having the right personnel, and creating the right culture.If you take Pakistan, they won the Champions Trophy, but their domestic cricket is not high-quality, if you look at it. That comes down to the players’ hunger. I look at that part. These days players can do well financially if they perform well. It comes down to their responsibility as well. If they want to do well and get an IPL contract, they have to be performing at a top level without blaming anything.I can’t fix anything in domestic cricket from where I’m sitting. I can only advise them. But I’m more into the provincial system.”Bowling chinaman is a very difficult art – it especially puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders. Sandakan’s not that strong a guy on his shoulders. That’s another area we are working with the physio on building”•AFP/Getty ImagesHave you made any recommendations on that front?
Not yet. To me, it’s way too early. I’m just coming up to five months. The other thing is, there’s so much cricket happening, how many players are going to play club cricket these days? There’s not many in the international team who would play. We need to give them a break as well, to recover. It’s a bit of a problem right now.Moving to selection – there have been quite a few changes to the team over the last two years. Do you think that has been to the detriment of player development?
Personally, I feel yes. But it’s difficult for me to say what their thinking behind it was. There were very valid reasons. I heard there were a lot of injuries as well. If you look at it, we are working with a very stable squad. You can see that in the players’ confidence. They are a very close unit. That’s what I’m trying to build. That will create the willingness to work hard and win. Against India, I think we will stick to this 15-16 man squad for the Test series. We’re not going to go out of that unless something drastic happens with injuries.You have coached in Australia as well. What is it that allows a side like Australia to transition much more smoothly than Sri Lanka have done?
I’ll be honest – it’s their cricket structure that’s helping them. It’s an unbelievably solid structure. It’s the foundations they put in place a long time ago with Rod Marsh. Starting that cricket academy – at Adelaide initially – was their foundation. They start very young, from the age of about 13, and they even work on their fitness levels, skill levels, and all of that. That’s all monitored by Cricket Australia through technology. They pick the good cricketers in certain age groups and have certain coaching camps. And the players are held accountable even out of camps.Even when I was playing, what was lacking for us was [people] doing things on their own. The Aussie players are so good at that. You don’t have to go after them like a schoolteacher. That’s what we have to start doing. But their structure at different levels is where they have replacements coming through. They struggled when some of the big names went, and they went down in the rankings. But they came up pretty quick because of their structure.India is also in a better position now because of IPL. But I think all the other [teams] will struggle when their big guns go. That’s why I kept saying when I came in: fitness and fielding standards are non-negotiable, even at Under-15 level. When we pick players, they need to be ready. They should understand the national team’s intensity. It’s getting there now. I can see the A team’s and Under-19 team’s increased intensity.What do you mean by fitness and fielding being non-negotiable?
We will set certain standards, and if you don’t meet them, you will not be selected. We can’t do it straight away because we’ve got to first educate the players. We’re pretty strict with the national squad – with fitness and all of that. We will talk to them if they keep going backwards. In the most recent tests we did, every player has improved since the last testing. That’s something I was impressed with. The players are taking it seriously, but we need to drive it at a younger age. I think it’s fair to say Sri Lanka have been over-reliant on Rangana Herath over the last few years. What plans do you need to put in place so you have someone to take up his mantle?
We have a few spinners who we have identified and are working with, but it’s going to be a tough ask to replace Rangana. If he decides to retire by the end of this year, we don’t have a ready replacement, and that’s the honest truth. It’s like trying to replace Sanga or Mahela. You can’t do it overnight.The guy in the squad – Malinda Pushpakumara – we have looked at him, and I think he is mature. He understands what he needs to do under pressure. At the same time, we have a few young players that we have identified and we are working with them in our high-performance academy, but the key is to give them more consistent opportunities. I am hoping we get more A team cricket happening. There’s a tour to the West Indies coming up, and I’m really looking forward to picking some players that we feel will be beneficial in the next few months for Sri Lanka.”Kusal Mendis [left] is one batsman who a lot of people are going to be talking about in the next ten years. Niroshan Dickwella is very similar. Most probably he’s more aggressive than Kusal, which is a great thing to have as a leader one day”•AFP/Getty ImagesLakshan Sandakan has had some success in the Test format. What prompted the decision to drop him from the squad for India?
Look, he will be an asset for us in the future. He’s a young cricketer. We have advised him to start bowling a consistent line and length, so that it will benefit him and he will play more matches. If he is not in the national team for the Pakistan tour, he will definitely go to West Indies with the A team and get that experience. Bowling chinaman is a very difficult art – it especially puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders; not like a normal offspinner. He’s not that strong a guy on his shoulders. That’s another area we are working with the physio on building, so that he can keep consistently bowling that line and length. When you go to a game, the captain needs to be able to throw you the ball and say: “Go for it.” He’s got good technique, and is great in some areas. I think we have to look after him as well. If he loses his confidence, he will be lost to Sri Lanka cricket.In the last couple of years there have been issues with dismissing the second half of an opposition batting order. What is the solution to that?
We are working on that right now with our fast bowlers. When we were playing, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram used to bowl inswinging yorkers to tailenders and that’s how they got them out. These days, you don’t get tailenders. Everyone can bat in most sides.If the ball is reversing, our goal is to start consistently reversing the ball. It’s not easy for a tailender to play consistent swinging yorkers. That’s one area we are looking at. We are looking at short-pitched bowling as well. These days the tracks are really not helpful. Swing is a fast-bowling area we are working on – Nic Pothas and his team. We’re looking at how we can start swinging the ball while bowling around 140kph. It’s not easy.Who are the quicks who you see serving Sri Lanka for a long time?
I’m very impressed with Lahiru Kumara. He’s just 20 years old. He’s very raw, but he’s bowling very closely with the bowling coaches, and he’s getting that inswinging yorker going. It’s not quite in the right line – in the Zimbabwe series it was a little on leg stump. But give him a couple of months or so and he should be getting it right. He is a guy who can go 140-plus.I’m also very impressed with left-armer Vishwa Fernando. He swings it both ways and that’s what we need from a new-ball bowler. We have Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep who are in their thirties. We have Dushmantha Chameera, who can bowl 145kph as well. That’s another area we are working with him – to get him to swing the ball a little bit more and have a little more control. Even the bowler we brought to Hambantota – Asitha Fernando – is sharp.We have good fast bowlers, but now it’s up to our coaching staff as well to get them to a stage where they start believing in themselves.Who is going to form the core of the Sri Lanka batting order?
It might be too early, but I believe Kusal Mendis is one batsman who a lot of people are going to be talking about in the next ten years. He’s one of the most hard-working guys I’ve seen at training. He’s very committed and always wants to learn. At a very young age, he’s got a very good record.The other guy is Niroshan Dickwella. He’s very similar. Most probably he’s more aggressive than Kusal, which is a great thing to have as a leader one day. There are other batsmen coming up – Sadeera Samarawickrama, Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka. There’s a lot of U-19 guys in the last couple of years who are really doing well. I think if we manage them well and give them the opportunities, in the next two years or so we will have a very good side.Have you set team goals in terms of what they will achieve in certain time frames?
We’ve set a goal within SLC about what we want to achieve in the next couple of years or so, but the structure will come from the head coach. The national team head coach will have a bigger say with the A team and the U-19 team as well, because it’s very important that if Nic Pothas is our ongoing coach, he needs to have more say in the A team’s and U-19 plans, because that’s what breeds the players for the national team. We have given goals of what we want to do, but Nic and I have talked about what we want to achieve in the next six months, and on to the 2019 World Cup.You’ve talked about Nic a lot. Is he the guy you’re looking to work with long-term?
To me, he has been in the system for a while. The players respect him. That’s one of the most important things for a coach. They trust him. He is a hard-working guy. Yes, he doesn’t have the name of a top coach, but what he has done in this short time is really good for Sri Lankan cricket. SLC and myself – we haven’t decided who the next coach is. But as the board said as well, Nic is a front-runner in our selection. As he’s doing the job currently, it’s much easier for him to prove it.I’m a bit worried as well to get someone from outside straight away. A coach needs to be given six months to settle down and put his plans into action. The team is at a stage right now that they are actually gelling very well as one unit.I will advise SLC on what I would like. I don’t want to get involved in the final selection, because I can be biased. My advice to the board is to set up a three-member committee from outside – like India did. They need to look at the profile of the person we need as a coach, and then get someone for the job.”Tharanga [middle] has been there for a long time and even played with Sanath [Jayasuriya, left]. He’s changed the way he trains a lot. He’s very committed and trains hard”•AFP/Getty ImagesWhat are your personal thoughts about qualities that would be vital for a coach of this team?
With a young side, you need to be a hands-on coach. This is a young side. You need someone who will hold their hand and take them to the next step. In two years’ time, when the team is at that top level, you’d then need a coach who will manage their expectations and work on. The good thing is, whoever is the coach in the next two years will also change with the team.Sri Lanka has employed a large number of coaches over the last six to seven years. Has that made the selection of the next coach more complicated?
Personally I’ve got about three enquiries from people. They’ve asked me what the process is, and said they were interested in putting their hands up. I read a few things, like Jason Gillespie saying he was worried about coming here. Absolutely – if I was on the other side I would be thinking like that. But at the same time there are a lot of coaches who would be interested in taking up a challenge. I don’t see it as a major issue.A few of the past coaches have had issues with the administration in the past. What role do you play there? Do you try to protect the coach from that?
I think that’s the structure that we have created. The coach will report to me, not the SLC CEO or anybody. I wouldn’t say I protect, but I support the coach. My position was brought in so that I can stop the issues going to the coach. I deal directly with SLC, and the coach will deal directly with me.You’ve got two new captains in place. What are your expectations of them?
I want them both to settle down, not just as captains but as players. If you’re a captain who’s scoring runs, it’s actually easier to captain a team and lead from the front. When I say lead from the front I don’t mean just in the game. I mean your attitude at training. That’s where people can look at a good leader. Even if they have personal issues, a player should be able to walk up to the captain and say: I have this, I need your help. That’s the leadership I’m looking for. Both of these guys will have it soon. We haven’t put a timeline on their captaincy because I was dead against that. Why would you want to put a one-year timeline? He’s the national captain. If his form is affected then absolutely, the selectors will have to discuss it with him. But let him get the team together and work with them.What did you see in these guys?
We wanted a little bit of experience. Chandi is respected by the young guys as well as the senior guys. Upul [Tharanga] is the same. He’s been there for a long time and even played with Sanath [Jayasuriya] and them. He’s changed the way he trains a lot. He’s very committed and trains hard. That’s what I saw from these two guys. We can get two, three or five years even. Chandi is really young, and Upul is 30 or 31. Easily five years we should be able to get from them.Has on-field strategy been a shortcoming for Sri Lanka in the last few years?
I think sometimes when you’re not performing, that affects a lot. On-field strategies can be one of them. In the last few months, while I’ve been involved, I’m pretty happy with the strategy. Sometimes we’ve got to back the captain with some decisions they make in the middle. Even though we as past cricketers or outsiders might ask, “Why the hell is he making that decision?” I sometimes have to step back and appreciate that he is a human being that has to make that decision out in the middle. Yes, I’d like to help them through messages and so on, but I’d like them to make their own decisions and back them.Fielding has clearly been a big shortcoming. What has contributed to the drop in standards?
I feel that if you don’t have enjoyment and you don’t have pressure at fielding, training it is very difficult. When you’re fielding you have to enjoy it. That’s what I can see now. In the Zimbabwe Test I thought we fielded well. We still need to improve a lot, but I’m hoping we’ll see that improvement very soon.

An analysis of how India’s batsmen countered Rangana Herath to come back in the series after losing the first Test in Galle in 2015

Gaurav Sundararaman25-Jul-2017Sri Lanka’s success at home over the last few years has largely been dependent on the performance of Rangana Herath. He has rarely failed to deliver and has ensured to carry the legacy set by his predecessor Muttiah Muralitharan. Since January 2012, Herath has taken 41% of Sri Lanka’s Test wickets at home. He has 20 five-wicket hauls and seven 10-wicket hauls in this period. All other bowlers together have taken only five five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul. Seventy-one percent of the wickets taken by Herath have come when Sri Lanka have won at home. During this period, he also became the fifth-most successful spinner in Tests. However, one of his toughest opponents has been India against whom he averages 41.62 from seven Tests – the worst against any opposition. His next-worst opposition has been England against whom he averages nearly 10 runs lesser at 32.35When India toured Sri Lanka in 2015, Herath took 7 for 48 in the fourth innings of the first Test in Galle to help Sri Lanka beat India. However, he managed only eight wickets in the remaining four innings. India would be touring Sri Lanka with almost the same batting line-up as in 2015 and would be looking to deploy similar tactics that worked for them then. One strategy that helped India come back after the loss and clinch the series was their ability to negate the Herath threat after the Test loss in Galle. How did India tackle Herath after the dismal collapse in the first Test?India’s batsmen played a lot from the crease against Herath during the Galle Test which prevented them from scoring as well as helped the left-arm spinner pick up wickets. The Indian batsmen stepped down only 27 times against him and scored 19 runs. Herath finished with match figures of 7 for 115, conceding runs at a miserly rate of 2.12 runs per over.ESPNcricinfo LtdAfter the Galle loss, India’s batsmen possibly decided to be more aggressive against Herath. One indication of this was how they tried to upset his length and score off him by stepping down to him more often than they did so in the Galle Test. They also looked to be more decisive in their strokeplay while stepping down to Herath which reflected in their strike rate off these deliveries. In the first Test, India’s batsmen scored only 19 runs off the 27 balls that they came down the pitch to Herath, whereas in the rest of the series they managed to score more freely, making 111 runs off just 94 balls. This strategy was one of the key changes that the Indian batsmen made to counter Herath who finished with figures of 8 for 350 and an economy rate of 3.39 in the rest of the series. In fact, they successfully used this plan against Tharindu Kaushal as well. The Indian batsmen scored 45 runs from 47 balls against Kaushal losing one wicket.Rohit Sharma was particularly successful in pulling off this ploy against Herath. Numbers show that not only did he lead India’s strategy of stepping down more often to Herath, he was also able to score runs off these deliveries. In the second and third Tests, Rohit stepped down to 25 of the 101 deliveries (once in four balls) that he faced from Herath, scoring 43 runs off them at a strike rate of 172.

Rohit v Herath, 2nd & 3rd Tests, India in Sri Lanka, 2015

Balls Runs SR 4s & 6sUsed feet 25 43 172 6Played from crease 76 24 31.58 2Having seen Rohit successfully negate the Herath threat in the previous series, the Indian batsmen would possibly look to re-employ this plan against Sri Lanka’s spinners right from the start of this series, provided the match situation and pitch conditions don’t increase the inherent risk in adopting this strategy.

Eric Simons, a member of the panel that recommended Ottis Gibson as South Africa’s head coach, also said building a healthy relationship with captain Faf du Plessis factored into his appointment

Firdose Moonda14-Sep-2017A coach with experience of winning a global tournament, while also building a strong connection with Faf du Plessis were the two main reasons behind Ottis Gibson’s appointment as South Africa’s head coach. Gibson was recommended by a CSA-convened panel that included two former national coaches, Gary Kirsten and Eric Simons, who decided Gibson’s clarity of thought made him the right candidate to take over. Gibson also won the World T20 in 2012 with West Indies.”He is going to bring a fresh outlook. He has got a lot of experience now,” Simons told ESPNcricinfo at the official unveiling of the Stellenbosch Kings franchise, where he is assistant coach. “He has coached at a number of levels. He has coached West Indies, where he ended up losing his job, and I think in that process as a coach, you end up learning a lot. .”Ottis is a very detailed coach. We asked a lot of questions about him – what is he like, what is his style is and we obviously need to marry the relationship, not only with him and the team but especially with the captain. I think they are going to fit well together from that perspective. Ottis is a good thinker, a good planner of the game and I think that’s what Faf likes. He likes that information.”Earlier this week, before Gibson’s arrival in South Africa, du Plessis was confirmed as South Africa’s captain in all three formats after being given the ODI reins. That means du Plessis will likely take South Africa to the 2019 World Cup, a trophy they are desperate to win.To have a a coach who understands that need is essential. Even though du Plessis and many other current players gave Russell Domingo – the only coach under whom South Africa have won a World Cup knockout game – their vote of confidence, the panel felt a change in thinking, and specifically a foreign coach with experience was necessary.”It was not just a case of picking the person, you also have to marry what’s needed. We are not far away from an ICC tournament, although it may feel far away. Ottis has been there, he has won a tournament, and he has been part of a professional set up. So he emerged as the right person,” Simons said.”We wanted someone with international experience, someone that is going to bring fresh ideas and look at things from a different perspective. You’ve seen teams that have done that. Mickey Arthur has worked well in Pakistan, Gary Kirsten did it in India, an outsider. Sometimes being able to look at it from a different perspective is refreshing. We have had a really mature and clear-thinking captain in Faf and I think what Ottis is going to bring to Faf is going to be very good.”Gibson was not among the initial applicants for the South African job, which included Lions’ Geoffrey Toyana, who has won four trophies in five seasons. He was considered the front-runner but was head-hunted after CSA were understood to be unconvinced by the candidates that had put themselves in contention. As a result, the panel missed their deadline.They were initially due to put forward their preferred name at a CSA board meeting on July 21. It emerged a week later, in a report, during the third Test against England that Gibson had been approached. He was only confirmed as coach later in August once his release from his ECB contract, where he was employed as bowling coach, was secured. Gibson is scheduled to arrive in South Africa next Monday, giving him 10 days to prepare for his first assignment against Bangladesh.”It was a very good process. Everybody started on an equal footing,” Simons said. “With coaches, we hire them when we shouldn’t and fire them when we should hire them. Ottis has walked a very good path as a coach. In speaking to him and the players around him, he was very honest about what he has learnt and what he has become. That was a part of it and the other part is that we think he is going to be very good for Faf.”

Singled out as a bright prospect in the domestic circuit, the Tamil Nadu allrounder has earned a call-up to the Indian side for the Sri Lanka Tests by dint of his all-round abilities

Shashank Kishore21-Nov-20175:35

Playing Test cricket for India is a dream come true – Vijay

Tamil Nadu allrounder Who is Vijay Shankar?
Vijay is a batting allrounder who can bowl nippy medium pace. Since 2012-13, Vijay is one of six cricketers who has scored over 1500 runs and taken more than 25 wickets. His first-class batting average is an impressive 49.14 after 32 matches, while his bowling average is 42.81.What has he done to merit selection?
Being an allrounder has worked in his favour. Although he was brought in as a replacement for Bhuvneshwar, Vijay has been brought in effectively as cover for Hardik Pandya, who has taken a break from the first two Tests of the Sri Lanka series. With the pitches for the last two Tests likely to assist fast bowlers, the team management and selectors could look at Vijay as a fourth bowler who can also double up as a batsman.Did you know that Pandya actually replaced Vijay once?
Vijay missed out on India A’s tour of Australia in 2016 and was replaced by Pandya, who cashed in on the opportunity and was fast-tracked into the India dressing room.What are his strengths?
In the Tamil Nadu dressing room, Vijay is known as the ‘tough runs man’, a batsman with tight defence who is nonetheless capable of scoring quickly.Is he a handy bowler?
His ability to swing the ball and bowl accurately has only added to his reputation, even though his first-class numbers – 27 wickets in 32 matches – hardly do justice to his bowling abilities. While his bare bowling numbers – an average of 42.8 compared to a batting average close to 50 – are far from impressive, Vijay has worked on improving his bowling under the guidance of L Balaji, the former India fast bowler who is currently Tamil Nadu’s bowling coach.”I started off with a gentle medium-pacer, but over the last two years, I’ve worked hard on my bowling,” Vijay told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve been fortunate to have the guidance of Bala. I’m now comfortable bowling long spells. Strength training has brought the pace up. Basically, I’ve tried to be accurate and keep up the pressure created by the new ball bowlers.”What is Vijay’s domestic record like?
Vijay gained prominence in the 2014-15 season after helping Tamil Nadu finish as runners-up in the Ranji Trophy. Vijay scored 577 runs and had eight wickets. He captained Tamil Nadu to a title victory in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (domestic 50-over competition) in 2016-17, fetching198 runs and eight wickets. He struck a century for India A against the visiting Bangladesh A side in a two-day fixture in Hyderabad in February, and then showed his prowess as a finisher during a 133-run stand in a successful chase with Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner in IPL season 10.How has his form been this Ranji season?
In three Ranji matches this season, Vijay has managed one century and taken six wickets across 66.3 overs, including a four-for that gave Tamil Nadu the first-innings lead against Mumbai. Prior to the season, he was part of India A’s limited-overs squad for the series against New Zealand A in Visakhapatnam in October, and also traveled to South Africa for the A team tri-series featuring South Africa A and Afghanistan A.

No other batsman has scored as many 150-plus scores as Virat Kohli in the last seven years

Bharath Seervi15-Jan-2018Virat Kohli converted another Test century into a big hundred in the first innings in Centurion. He came in in the 10th over, and was last man out for 153. In the last two years, Kohli has scored ten hundreds and has converted eight eight of those into 150-plus scores, including six double-centuries. In the other two instances, he was unbeaten on 103 and 104 respectively. He thus averages nearly 230 in these 10 centuries. In 11 centuries before 2016, only once had he crossed 150 and averaged 132.80 in those innings. No other India batsmen has a higher average.While Kohli has made eight 150-plus scores since 2016, all other India batsmen combined have managed only eight such scores. Among all batsmen, Steven Smith has the next-most 150-plus scores with three. No other batsman has struck more 150-plus scores than Kohli in the last seven years.ESPNcricinfo LtdOne salient feature of Kohli’s innings was that he scored nearly half of the team runs – 153 out of 307, 49.83%. This is the most he has contributed in an all-out innings in his career so far. He had never contributed more than 45% in any completed innings before. The previous highest was 44.76% in the fourth-innings century in Adelaide in 2014-15, when he scored 141 out of 315.

Highest % of contribution by Virat Kohli in a completed Test innings (all-out)

Kohli’s score Team score Kohli’s contribution (%) Opposition Venue Season153 307 49.83 South Africa Centurion 2017-18141 315 44.76 Australia Adelaide 2014-1575 171 43.85 Australia Perth 2011-12116 272 42.64 Australia Adelaide 2011-12119 280 42.50 South Africa Johannesburg 2013-14Kohli was exceptional of good length deliveries in his innings. He brought up 107 runs off 129 good-length balls at a strike rate of 82.94. Among all batsmen who faced at least 10 good length balls, Kohli’s strike rate of those deliveries was the highest among all batsmen in the first two innings of the Test. The average strike rate of all other batsmen of good length balls was just 47.87 in the first two innings.

The Galle pitch might not have been as bad as South Africa feared – it has happened before – and in such a situation they did not seem to know how to respond

Firdose Moonda14-Jul-2018″You almost think it’s worse than what it is.”With that one sentence, South African captain Faf du Plessis summed up the main reason his team lost the opening Test on their Sri Lanka tour.While the scorecard reveals South Africa were outspun – losing 17 of their 20 wickets to Sri Lanka’s tweakers – it does not say how or why the wickets fell. The highlights reel will show a selection of poor shots, of edges being beaten and found, and of batsmen in two minds, maybe more. And that’s where South Africa really undid themselves.They didn’t just tell themselves it was going to be tough to play Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, which is a reasonable expectation, but they seem to have talked themselves into thinking it would be impossible. They were expecting a pitch with more craters than the moon and deliveries that would curl around hairpin bends. When they got a much milder version of that, they did not know what to do.The Galle pitch, though spinner-friendly, was not outlandish and the bowlers relied more on accuracy than mystery. In the end, du Plessis could admit as much. “I didn’t think the wicket was that bad. I thought it was actually a decent Test wicket. It’s obviously a lot more challenging to face spin. But there wasn’t any demons in the wicket at any stage while we were playing,” he said. “The biggest weapon that they had was their consistency. Consistency in spinners is what makes it hard. You just have to get the ball to spin a little bit and it’s enough, because they don’t bowl any bad balls. I think often it was the ball that didn’t spin as much as we thought that got us out.”Exactly. Overthinking has hurt South Africa and not for the first time.On the 2015 tour of India, before South Africa had even seen the pitch they played the first Test on in Mohali, du Plessis (who was not the captain then) said: “We are expecting the worst. We are expecting big spin on day one.” South Africa lost that match in three days on a surface which was drier than this one, but also not impossible to play on.”The worst” came two games later, in Nagpur, where South Africa also lost in three days to cede the series and their No.1 ranking. The ICC rated that pitch poor but that could not undo the damage done to South Africa’s confidence.They went on to lose against England at home and in the 2016 off season held an all-in (an Afrikaans word, which loosely translates to “intensive strategy meeting”) to plot a new path for an outfit seemed to have lost its way.Since then, South Africa have mostly played good Test cricket, both at home and away. Though they lost a series in England in mid-2017, they won in Australia in late 2016 and they have enjoyed two successful home summers, beating Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, India and Australia.Fundamentally this is still a strong South African side, but the blockage it has when it comes to playing spin in the subcontinent needs to be sorted out quickly. It does not help that the team’s best player of spin, Hashim Amla, is on the wane, and the only person who can match him, AB de Villiers, has retired. Du Plessis does not think the solution lies in more warm-up games or longer preparation periods, and he is probably right.Host nations don’t always provide their most sporting tracks for these fixtures. “We played a warm-up game which was a flat wicket – it didn’t spin,” du Plessis said. And, typically, South African coaches cannot replicate subcontinental spinners in practice sessions. “When we face offspin in the nets, it’s a coach trying to bowl offspin at you. It’s not even the same quality as a [Dilruwan] Perera. The shape that he has is a lot different than the pace you can practice against. You can practice 10,000 balls, but he bowls a different shape. You can only work on a plan if you face someone, and a lot of our guys haven’t faced him.”The only answer then is to play more high-pressure matches in the subcontinent, something the new FTP does not make a lot of provision for. South Africa do not play Tests in Sri Lanka or Bangladesh at all between 2019 and 2023, but will tour India in October next year for three Tests and need to be better equipped for the challenge.A possible plan of action would be to look at the resources that already exist and there is one in particular that could offer the answer. Once a year, Cricket South Africa send several players to Mumbai on a spin camp. The group consists of bowlers looking to hone their skills and batsmen, usually on the fringes of or new to the national team. Aiden Markram and Theunis de Bruyn were part of 2017 group, Temba Bavuma was named in the 2018 squad but eventually did not travel.Perhaps the next time such an excursion is made, all the Test batsmen should travel and all of them should play some competitive cricket, though that would mean CSA have to find an opposition and organise the trip when it does not clash with IPL (or any other league some of their top players may be otherwise occupied with). That way South Africa’s best batsmen will be able to see for themselves that conditions are not as bad as they might think. They will be able to have more first-hand knowledge of subcontinental surfaces and more experience of playing on them.The other side of the coin, of course, is for South Africa not to become obsessed with making their own conditions as challenging as possible for subcontinental sides. When Sri Lanka toured in 2016-2017, both Centurion and the Wanderers were prepared to be as seamer-friendly as possible. When India toured last summer, the same thing happened, at du Plessis’ insistence. The Wanderers offered so much lateral movement and inconsistent bounce that it was rated poor.Revenge pitches are part of the game but the team that asks for them knows it will only get a more vengeful surface on its next trip, and that’s what South Africa were expecting. Having been as inhospitable to Sri Lanka as they could 18 months ago, they thought Suranga Lakmal and co would return the favour, but they didn’t have to. All Sri Lanka had to do was know South Africa were expecting the worst, and their worst would follow.

Their top order has shouldered the bulk of the batting workload in recent times, but do India have themselves to blame for their middle-order muddle?

Sidharth Monga and Srinath Sripath24-Jul-2018India are one of the best ODI sides in the world. That is clear from the results: they reached the semi-final of the last World Cup, final of the Champions Trophy, and only recently had their nine-series winning streak in bilateral ODI cricket ended. However, they still don’t know what their best middle order is, which, after the introduction of wristspinners post last year’s Champions Trophy, seems to be the only glaring weakness in the ODI set-up.Since 2015, India have used 11 different batsmen at No. 4 in 62 games. By extension, the whole middle-order combination and dynamic is bound to keep changing. Fair to say India are struggling to identify the ideal middle order.

The number four spot in ODIs since World Cup 2015: how the teams stack up

Team	Innings	Batsmen used	Average innings/batsman	Batting Average
Zimbabwe	67	13	5.2	32.74
Australia	57	11	5.2	31.05
India	57	11	5.2	35.31
Sri Lanka	61	10	6.1	42.56
West Indies	44	10	4.4	27.02
Afghanistan	45	9	5.0	22.32
New Zealand	60	9	6.7	56.97
Pakistan	53	8	6.6	35.90
South Africa	51	7	7.3	48.25
Ireland	51	7	7.3	27.24
Bangladesh	39	6	6.5	36.04
England	67	5	13.4	46.94

One of the possible reasons for short ropes is that India seem to be looking for some bowling insurance should one of the five go for a plenty. That is perhaps why Suresh Raina kept getting selected ahead of Dinesh Karthik in England. India just don’t have a real part-timer in the top six except Kedar Jadhav. Even Rohit Sharma doesn’t bowl nowadays. Whether this fascination with a part-timer is justified or not is up for debate.Graphic: Apart from Kedar Jadhav, India’s top six have hardly bowled in ODIs since World Cup 2015•ESPNcricinfo LtdSome of those on the musical chairs in this middle order come into the side based on their IPL performances. However, in the IPL they mostly bat at the top of the order. They rarely get to play the domestic one-dayers, but not all of them bat in the middle order for their state side either. Only one of the top-five middle-order run-getters in Vijay Hazare over the last two years has had some kind of a chance: Dinesh Karthik. That puts more premium on IPL performances, which is how Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina came back this year. Even from the IPL, the middle-order performers haven’t got get a decent run: Rishabh Pant, Karthik, MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey and Krunal Pandya are the five highest run-getters in the middle order in the last two IPLs.Graphic: A number of India’s middle order batsmen bat in the top order in domestic cricket•Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo LtdAnother reason why top-order performers in domestic cricket get shifted to middle order in international cricket is that the top order in the India team is packed. And they are also doing most of the heavy lifting too. They are scoring more than any other top order in the world.Graphic: India’s top three in ODIs have shouldered the bulk of their run-scoring workload in recent times•Girish TS/ESPNcricinfo LtdHere’s how every India ODI batsman has fared since World Cup 2015, not counting matches against Zimbabwe.Graphic: The gulf between India’s top and middle orders since World Cup 2015•Girish TS/ESPNcricinfo LtdThere is only one Indian in the top-25 run-getters in the middle order since World Cup. The problem is, it is Dhoni, who has tried batting at 4 and 5 a fair bit and is now back to No. 6. India have not been able to pin his role: dasher in the lower middle order or accumulator at 4. He is nowhere near top-10 strike rates for Nos 6 and 7 nor is he in the top-10 averages for Nos 4 and 5.India might have finally been tempted to give a settled line-up a fair run but then Jadhav, who manages the rare double of high average and strike rate – 41 and 109 since World Cup 2015, began to drop out with hamstring injuries.Graphic: MS Dhoni is the only Indian representative among the world’s top 25 middle-order batsmen since World Cup 2015•Girish TS/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Average fall of second wicket (since World Cup 2015)

• England: 103 in 17th over

• Sri Lanka: 81 in 15th over

• Australia 93 in 17th over

• India 122 in 22nd over

• South Africa 104 in 19th over

• New Zealand 86 in 16th over

• Pakistan 89 in 17th over

• Bangladesh 81 in 16th over

In big tournaments or series India’s middle order rarely get to do much, and then one fine day, in a crucial game, the top order collapses or they come in in the 35th over with eight an over required and they don’t seem to know how to handle those situations. Is it because England’s middle order inspires more confidence that their top order can score more freely or is it because India’s top order is a tad conservative that they go slow?Is the middle order putting extra pressure on the top order or is the time taken by them giving the middle order less time? There was a time when India were paying the price for the top order not going absolutely ballistic when batting first on flat tracks – like in Australia in early 2016 – but their wristspinners have sort of made up for it. The middle-order breakdown still keeps cropping up every now and then.

Win or lose, hundreds or ducks, Virat Kohli will be the centrepiece of this Australia season. Before the summer of Kohli, here is a look at the making of Kohli

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide04-Dec-20181:17

Throwdowns and majestic pulls: Kohli hits the Adelaide nets

It is unlikely Virat Kohli will go for a pilgrimage to the WACA Stadium when India go to Perth for the second Test of this series. They will be playing at the new stadium instead. Chances are even more remote he remembers WACA Ground’s leaky basement gym that often doubled up as the press conference room. Or, actually, he probably does. We will come back to that.On a bleak day for India, on a proper Western Australian stinker of a day, Kohli revealed perhaps his truest self in a press conference under the dripping pipes in that gym back in 2011-12. Perth can do that to you. Sap you all over, rid you of all mental energy, leave you too exhausted to keep up a pretence.No video or transcription might be able to tell you this, but those present at the press conference detected a lump in his throat. This was a rookie under extreme pressure, part of a legendary but floundering batting line-up, with the leadership and pundits too scared to question the legends. Captain MS Dhoni didn’t want to drop one of the legends, but he also didn’t want to damage a young career. Amid calls to drop Kohli for Rohit Sharma, Dhoni persisted with Kohli, who scored 44 out of India’s 161 all out in the furnace.Kohli was sent out to the press conference, the statesmen missing in action again. “I don’t know why people were after me even after the first game,” he said. “I had scored two fifties before that in the match against West Indies [in Mumbai], and suddenly I was on the verge of being dropped after one match.”Scoring eight hundreds in one-day internationals can’t be a fluke. It’s international cricket as well. I don’t know why people have been questioning my technique or temperament so much. I have been playing at No. 3 in one-dayers, and I have not gone in to bat in very good situations in all of the 70 [odd] matches I have played. All of this is a learning curve for me. I am playing on difficult wickets, in Australia.”

“There has rarely ever been an Indian cricketer who loves the bull’s eye on his back this much. In fact he is among the few that don’t run away from it. You can question his decisions, but not the intent.”

This was raw emotion. Not corporate platitudes that he often speaks these days, which by the way might be necessary given the propensity of the media to stretch every word to its extreme limit for its newsworthiness. This was Kohli rallying against an unfair world, crying out for some patience, revealing a vulnerability. He had flipped the bird to the abusive SCG crowd in the Test before. A rookie was doing what the team’s elderly statesmen should have done for him: get the predators off his back.

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Kohli will surely go to Adelaide Oval. He went to Adelaide Oval a week after that emotional press conference, and scored India’s only century of the tour, no thanks to Zaheer Khan, who slogged wildly first ball, leaving No. 10 Ishant Sharma to see Kohli through to the mark. Kohli went to Adelaide Oval again four years later, and scored twin centuries in an emotion-filled match. He will go back to Adelaide Oval this week with the current best batsman in the world.1:40

Virat Kohli’s evolution as a Test batsman in 2018

He will also go back as one of the most recognisable faces in world cricket, and in Australia too. Before the recent G20, the German chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly needed a cheat sheet on Australian prime minister Scott Morrison. No Australian needs a cheat sheet on Kohli. Through tabloids they know whether Kohli flew to Adelaide with the rest of the team or not, and if his wife is here or not. On more serious medium, Ryan Harris, Jason Gillespie, Ricky Ponting, John Buchanan, Brett Lee, every current Australian player or part of team management at every press conference, anybody with anything to do with any cricket has been asked about how to keep Kohli quiet in the last week or so.It is a minor miracle they haven’t tried to find out his spiritual guru or his beard trimmer or soy milk supplier just yet. Well if he gets going, it could be a long summer, so don’t say you weren’t warned.

****

Two days from this Adelaide Oval Test, India’s fast bowlers are putting the batsmen through their paces in the nets. This is a particularly intense session. The pitches are spicier than usual. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma are all in rhythm. They are perhaps bowling big no-balls; it is hard to tell from behind the nets, but they are real fast.KL Rahul is struggling for timing, M Vijay has been hit on the helmet by Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara is repeatedly getting hit high on the bat. Bumrah bowls to Kohli, who has looked the most comfortable of the lot. The three are about an hour into this bowling session, but the intensity is up. Bumrah gets one to squeeze underneath Kohli’s bat. He is caught on the back foot to a ball that stays only a touch low.”This was the old ball, maybe that’s why it stayed low,” Bumrah tells Kohli.”Should I have been forward?” asks Kohli.”No, it just stayed low.””If you see anything like that, please point it out. Don’t just say it stayed low.”Kohli is aware of all the attention on him. Moments earlier the cameras all perked up when he walked in to the net. The intensity picked up everywhere. Kohli knows of the elevated status that comes with this attention. Perhaps he hasn’t always been, but now he seems conscious of that. He is telling bowlers to be honest to him in their feedback.

****

Many a journalist has made the mistake of judging a player’s character by his interactions with them. Yet, in Kohli’s case, his interactions are instructive. Kohli doesn’t cease being a competitor at press conferences, which by now should be a mundane activity for him. He speaks self-aggrandising PR, but it is easy to rile him up. He remembers who asked him tough questions when he lost, and gets back at them when he wins. It is like he can’t help himself get into a sledging contest even with the media.Imagine the man on the field. He must be a nightmare to compete against. He never forgets anything. He takes offence at the drop of a hat even if it doesn’t involve him. Joe Root will know that after Kohli’s response to the “bat drop”. He is the worst person to lose to. Which is why you can be under extra pressure when playing against him. Because it doesn’t end at losing. He will never be sheepish if you drop him. He will rub it in when he gets that hundred or that run-out or that win.Getty ImagesNobody in cricket today has as much bastard in him as Kohli. Root is embarrassed at celebrations. Kohli is never embarrassed at anything. He is a ruthless and remorseless competitor. He doesn’t regret making decisions. You can make bad selections – and he has made a few – but you can’t let it affect your performance on the field once you realise it.There has rarely ever been an Indian cricketer who loves the bull’s eye on his back this much. In fact he is among the few that don’t run away from it. You can question his decisions, but not the intent. He genuinely believes what he is doing is for the good of Indian cricket. With that righteousness comes anger at those who question him from the outside.Each one of his questionable decisions, meanwhile, has made the bull’s eye on his back brighter. By treating a legend of Indian cricket, Anil Kumble, the way he did, by dropping Ajinkya Rahane in the first Test in South Africa, by becoming the most openly powerful Indian captain, Kohli has to know he has made himself more than a few enemies. He would be extremely naïve to not know he gets what he wants because if or when India lose, he will be blamed. A sample of it was the convenient leak during the England series that Ravi Shastri, the coach who replaced Kumble, has been asked for explanation.This Australia tour and the World Cup next year remain his two biggest assignments. If India win neither this Test series against a severely depleted Australia nor the World Cup, leaks about Kohli will begin. Kohli still remains convinced about what he is doing. Convinced enough to keep taking that risk.

****

All this also means Kohli is spending a lot of mental energy on even mundane things. He, though, thrives on it. He loves being in that heightened state of mind. He lives every ball, be it while he is batting, at the non-striker’s end or in the field. Mental energy is, of course, finite, but he knows mental energy comes down to physical energy and fitness.This is where you see how Kohli recognises he was born with a god-given skill, a talent, and that doesn’t make him special. Anybody could have been born with that quick eye and the co-ordination to go with it. It is what you do with that skill that makes you. What difference you make. How much better you get than the last generation. For that he pushes himself to the extreme limits to stay fully fit to compete for longer than others.Getty ImagesAll his yo-yo tests and special diets came good in the monumental Edgbaston hundred. More than anything, that innings was a testament to his reserves. With the ball seaming and swinging so much, with so much history between him and James Anderson, with another hellish spell from Anderson to survive in which he had to face 43 balls for just six runs, Kohli had to be exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally by the time he started to take control of the innings with just the tail for company.

“To be so detached from the result after having been so intense with the process and the execution is probably Kohli’s biggest achievement.”

Everybody gets reprieves, everybody enjoys some luck, but the really good ones are fit enough, alert enough, remorseless enough to take advantage of it. Don’t let your mind wander and think if you really deserve those runs after the drop. Stay there, live every ball, and make up for the earlier struggles. Out of the 92 runs that Kohli scored with Nos 10 and 11, his partners scored only six. This period of play involved sharp singles to manipulate the strike. Often he pushed the fifth ball of the over straight to mid-off and mocked them by finishing the single. This was an innings of a supremely fit cricketer, who made the most of the luck he had.

****

There was a lot of analysis of Kohli’s luck during the England series. And he, as a batsman, had a fair amount of it; as a captain he lost five tosses. At one point, in the middle of the third Test, Anderson had drawn 53 false shots from Kohli without dismissing him, which is an incredible streak. To put it in perspective, that series produced a wicket for England every 10.41 times an Indian batsman was not in control. Then again, four years previously, Kohli was not in control only 54 times, but that was enough to dismiss him 10 times in that series.That series was one that left him at his lowest ebb. Such a series can make batsmen go crazy. They can make drastic technical changes and lose their own game. They can wallow in self-doubt. Kohli did nothing of that sort. He knew his game was good enough for flatter conditions, and he wasn’t due to face England-like conditions for the next three years. If his defensive poke to wide deliveries is his weakness, it also gives him the confidence to be able to cover-drive later, a shot that brings him tons of runs.When it came to the tougher conditions at the start of this year, Kohli still didn’t put away that shot. He found a way to score runs without dropping that defensive shot and the subsequent cover drives. He concentrated on making his strengths so strong that the bowlers were always under pressure. When you know the cost of missing your length is going to be huge, you are likelier to commit that mistake. There is also realisation in Kohli’s game of the part luck plays in sport. His last two England tours are examples.Athletes talk about making your own luck. It probably means you always be at your physical, mental and emotional best to capitalise on the luck when it does come your way. And don’t wallow when you are unlucky. Getting himself to a state where he is philosophical about failure must have been the toughest part for a man as intense as Kohli, but he seems to have mastered it now. To be so detached from the result after having been so intense with the process and the execution is probably Kohli’s biggest achievement. Not being so is not an option. Many a batsman has destroyed himself by fixating over the results. Kohli won’t.

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Two days to go to one of his two most significant challenges as captain – after having lost series in South Africa and England – Kohli is a relaxed man. The focus of the world sits easy with him. He is spending more time talking to the bowlers than on his batting in the nets. There are so many things that can go wrong. He can run into wretched luck, his bowlers can return to old form in Australia, his batting partners can fail, and if any of that happens that philosophical outlook can change because the enemies are growing and the rope is shortening.His team selections, his power in the board, his field placements, they are all under the scanner. The Australian media is going to try to drive the screw in if India don’t win the first Test. Amid all this he has to maintain his batting form. As a colleague of his, Krunal Pandya, put it, he has to keep competing against law of averages.That brings us back to what Kohli said seven years ago in the leaky WACA Ground gym. Surely he remembers it? Surely, he knew something about the future?”This is not the end of the world, this is not the last series that is ever going to be played. I have still got to be positive. I have still got to keep working hard and not think about if I am going to get dropped or if someone else is going to play in my place. I really have no control over that. I can only go out and bat. That’s all I am going to do.”

Two players with different mindsets and in different stages of their career fed off each other in a heartening display of confidence and maturity

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur21-Oct-2018It has been a good month for comeback men in cricket. After Mohammad Hafeez cemented his place as Pakistan’s ultimate comeback hero, Imrul Kayes is slowly getting there for Bangladesh.Some of Imrul’s spells in the wilderness have stretched for far too long, but he’s somehow managed to find himself around the selection periphery. At the Asia Cup, he was summoned midway through the tournament and he sparkled immediately. On Sunday, his 144 rescued Bangladesh and set them up for an emphatic win. Along the way, he also made a statement, one that will give the team management confidence to persist with him for longer. But hey, Imrul has been in this situation previously.First for some appreciation. He single-handedly rescued a floundering innings, and then later found support from the No. 9 with whom he shared a 127-run stand, the authority and his premeditation in the death overs being the standout. Mohammad Saifuddin’s confidence grew along the way, and he eked out a maiden ODI fifty, one that is sure to have given him oodles of self-belief.Prior to this game, Saifuddin had made just 30 runs in three ODI innings, the last of which was against Sri Lanka in January. He debuted in South Africa without much luck, and his billing as a robust bowling allrounder was rocked as David Miller took him for 31 runs in an over during a T20I.Between Sunday and his previous ODI, Saifuddin didn’t have a particularly great time in domestic and club cricket. He averaged 22 with the bat and 34.14 in ten List-A games. He played both T20Is against Sri Lanka in February but was so woeful with the ball that he was dropped subsequently for the Nidahas Trophy.He went back to domestic cricket and struck an unbeaten century. His only notable bowling show was a four-wicket haul for Bangladesh A in Ireland in August. When he was picked, coach Steve Rhodes felt he was going to be Mashrafe Mortaza’s like-for-like replacement.Ever since his Under-19 days, he’s carried potential and talks of how he could be a world-beating allrounder if he nurtured his early promise. Bangladesh has seen many such cricketers fade away after the early hype. But the difference between those and Saifuddin lies in his bowling and the ability to move the ball in helpful conditions. As such, his big hitting was hard to ignore for the team management.

Imrul Kayes in ODIs

Year	Missed	Played
2008	0	3
2009	19	0
2010	0	27
2011	2	18
2012	9	0
2013	9	0
2014	13	5
2015	13	5
2016	2	7
2017	9	5
2018	11	4

What Saifuddin will now want to ensure is his ODI career doesn’t go down Imrul’s route, even though you’d think much of his experience has a lot to do with making comebacks. After his first three ODIs in 2008, Imrul missed the following year before becoming the team’s leading scorer in the format in 2010. But he was sidelined throughout 2012 and 2013, before making his way through performance in Tests in 2014 and 2015.After missing 44 ODIs in four years, then coach Chandika Hathurusingha handed him another ODI lifeline in 2016. He made a mark with a fine hundred against England, but lost his ODI place again after rough patch that forced him out for 20 games, with Bangladesh trying different opening combinations with Tamim Iqbal.Saifuddin certainly wouldn’t want similar fate. While he still has some distance before nailing down a spot, he’s shown why he’s worth investing in.

Having levelled a T20I series against the defending champions recently, South Africa will bank on familiarity of conditions to make the semi-finals

Sruthi Ravindranath07-Nov-2018

South Africa’s squad

Dane van Niekerk (captain), Chloe Tryon, Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee (wk), Sune Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Trisha Chetty, Yolani Fourie, Zintle Mali, Robyn Searle, Tumi Sekhukhune, Moseline Daniels

World Cup pedigree

South Africa’s best showing was in 2014, when they reached the semi-finals. Eight players from the current squad were a part of that campaign, where they faltered under pressure to lose by nine wickets against eventual runners-up England. Stage fright got the better of them then. It was against England were they let pressure get to them in the World Cup semi-final last year too, but they stretched the game into the final over. They’re an improved side since, and have an experienced captain in Dane Van Niekerk, alongside a host of internationals who have played in the Women’s Big Bash League. South Africa have reasons to feel confident of their chances of going into the semi-finals again, at least.

Recent T20 form

They’ve had the best preparation of any team heading into the World T20. They played a bilateral ODI series in the Caribbean, which they tied 1-1. In the T20Is that followed, they came back from 2-0 down to level the five-match T20I series 2-2 against the defending World T20 champions.Dane van Niekerk sets off after bowling Mithali Raj for a duck•ICC

Top performers

South Africa lost offspinner Raisibe Ntozakhe to a suspension before the tournament, but they will be bolstered by the return of the veteran fast bowler Shabnim Ismail. Ismail is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, with 72 wickets in 69 matches. She picked up career-best figures of 5 for 30 against India earlier this year. She has also played in every Women’s World T20 since the competition’s inauguration in 2009, and she’s South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament.In a side with a number of experience players, teenager Laura Wolvaardt has made a mark as an explosive and bankable opener. Since her ODI debut as a 16-year old in February 2016, she has been among the top run-scorers in the format and also has the joint-most 50-plus scores. She finished as the second highest run-scorer behind van Niekerk in the limited-overs series against West Indies, with 192 runs in six innings. She scored an unbeaten 55 in the fourth T20I, on a pitch dominated by spinners, and took South Africa to an eight-wicket win to keep the series alive.South Africa’s batting has been heavily dependent on the openers, who have done the bulk of scoring in recent times along with Van Niekerk. The side will be expecting Wolvaardt to get them off to strong starts, as scoring in the middle overs could be challenging in slow conditions.

Captain and coach

Given captain van Niekerk’s experience, form, and all-round ability, she will be the most important player for the side in this tournament. She is not only their leading run-scorer in T20Is with 1505 runs in 69 matches, but also their highest wicket-taking spinner with 49 wickets. She also has the most runs for South Africa since the last World T20. In spin-friendly conditions, her legspin could make quite an impact. She was the leading run-scorer in the limited-overs tour of West Indies, where she averaged 70 across four innings.Hilton Moreeng, who has been with the team for nearly six years now, has coached South Africa at five major tournaments. He has been a key factor in their advancement and has mentored some of the senior players in the current squad all through their international careers. Ahead of the South Africa’s departure to the Caribbean, he echoed captain van Niekerk’s thoughts, saying they were capable of beating any team on their day.

Where they will finish

South Africa are placed in Group A alongside England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with all the group matches scheduled in St Lucia. While they’ve struggled against big teams in world tournaments, they’re also the most likely to surprise, especially considering their preparation ahead of the tournament.