A bribe-for-selection scandal at the BCCI
India's future middle order pairing, a bribe-for-selection scandal, remembering Lara's 375 & Agarkar talks India selection.
RR’s endless depth of batters aren’t enough
Jaiswal is losing touch at the wrong time, Jurel wants to inspire the next gen, & all of RCB’s very fixable mistakes.
The Gujarat Titans beat the Rajasthan Royals by 3 wickets in a last-ball thriller that they had no right to win.
Cricket.com’s Aakash Sivasubramaniam first asks if Yashasvi Jaiswal is losing touch at the wrong time after another low-scoring innings, then makes the case for Sanju Samson & Riyan Parag to be India’s 4-5 pairing in the (near) future.
Sportstar’s Shayan Acharya talks to another one of Rajasthan’s India batting hopefuls, Dhruv Jurel, about the adjustment to life in the IPL and his increasing opportunities at the highest level.
Cricket.com’s Anirudh Suresh lays out all the (very fixable) mistakes that RCB have made this season, including not playing Lockie Ferguson. I’ll be honest, I thought he was injured. I didn’t realise RCB just don’t feel like playing one of the best bowlers in the world.
If you haven’t had enough misery about why RCB suck yet, here’s some more courtesy franchise legend AB de Villiers.
Yesterday I looked at the IPL’s domestic players, so I had to see where the foreigners were from too…
…the usual suspects have a lot of representation, though UK (12) is definitely understaffed because of World Cup prep & the ongoing county cricket season. The South Africans (18) overwhelmingly favour (and are favoured by) the IPL. Also, can you name the one Pakistan-born player playing in the IPL this year? Hint: He played yesterday!
By the way, I’ve set up a Twitter and Instagram account under @BestCricStories where I post all these graphs & images, and would appreciate the support if you like them!
A bribe-for-selection scandal at the BCCI
A BCCI aide is accused of promising IND spots for money, IPL owners disagree on retentions in the mega auction, and Dhoni’s ex-business partner is arrested.
There’s a brewing bribery scandal involving a BCCI VP’s aide called Akram Saifi. In short, he allegedly accepted a INR 10 lakh (~$12K) bribe to get a player selected to the national team - then threatened to have the player killed when he asked for the money back! The worst part? Saifi was accused of a sex-for-selection bribery in 2018, and was forced to step down from his official role (which, I’d guess, is why he’s an ‘aide’ now).
The meeting between IPL owners & the BCCI around next year’s mega auction has been indefinitely postponed over disagreements over the number of retentions teams should be allowed to have. Some teams want to maintain a single retention system, while some want the number to be as high as 8.
The Melbourne Renegades have pulled off a coup by signing finals-winning batter Josh Brown from rivals Brisbane Heat.
MS Dhoni’s court case against his former business partners continues apace, as one of the ex-partners was arrested for fraud in relation to the lawsuit.
Remembering Brian Lara’s 375
Lara breaks a 36-year record at 24, do Tests need a fixed international window, & should commentators stop referring to players by nicknames?
The Guardian’s James Wallace looks back at the impossible innings that Brian Lara played in just his 16th Test, knocking off a 36-year Test record as he romped his way to 375 at the expense of Mike Atherton’s England.
The Telegraph’s Tim Wigmore has a fantastic piece on why the international schedule’s 98-day Test break is the best thing to happen to Tests, and why the format perhaps needs an annual window like the IPL or the World Cups. I really like this take honestly. It’s the first sensible one I’ve seen on Tests in a while.
Cricket Australia’s Andrew Ramsey has a great report on the Adelaide Oval team’s crucial role in the ambitious project of creating a pop up stadium and pitch for New York’s World Cup matches.
Deccan Chronicle’s Bipin Dani has an interesting piece on whether commentators should stop calling players by their nicknames, and if it affects their responsibility to remain impartial.
The dilemmas facing Ajit Agarkar
Agarkar on Dhoni & Kohli’s impacts as captains, the need for better governance in IND sports, & Brett Lee’s special connection with IND.
SportifyWithPRG’s Pranav Gandhi sits down with India chief selector Ajit Agarkar to discuss how Virat Kohli proved to be a fitness benchmark for Indian players, how Dhoni’s brain is better than the fantastic data-led modelling that exists for cricket decision-making, and some of the dilemma’s facing the selection committee ahead of the T20 World Cup.
In a video that feels very appropriate for today’s news, Sportstar’s Vijay Lokapally talks to Nandan Kamath about his new book, Boundary Lab, about the need for better ethics and governance in Indian sports administration. You can buy the book here.
Apropos of nothing, CricketNext have a video of how the BCCI cracked down on their private industry competitors at the Indian Cricket League (then turned around and copied their model to build the IPL).
Club Prairie Fire’s Adam Gilchrist & Michael Vaughn talk to Brett Lee about his connection to India, the 2005 Ashes, & bowling to Piers Morgan.
Willow Talk’s Brad Haddin & Adam Peacock talk to Adam Zampa about skipping the IPL, his hectic 2023, and prepping for the World Cup. [Apple Podcasts]
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