$250K a month, or $150k a year?
17th January 2024
Stripping the Star of David
The ICC suddenly doesn’t care about politics with David Teegar, Mohammad Hafeez may be on his way out already, and Dube & Jaiswal are in line for central contracts.
The ICC has refused to step in on the David Teegar issue, and The Guardian’s Simon Burnton shows why. It’s seem like an insane political maelstrom with no clear answer.
Cricbuzz’s Telford Vice has what I think is the only reasonable take on the situation; Teegar was sacked because he could no longer be seen as the leader of a diverse nation - and the CSA need to own up to that reasoning, even if there was political interference.
Meanwhile, Cricket Pakistan’s Saleem Khaliq reports that Team Director Mohammad Hafeez will not be around too long as players complain about his strict style and performances in New Zealand & Australia have not been up to par.
Nasir Hossain has been banned for two years from all cricket. The last time he played for Bangladesh was in 2018, but he was playing domestic cricket in 2023.
Times of India’s Gaurav Gupta reports that Shivam Dube & Yashasvi Jaiswal are in line for central contracts, with the former tipped to replace the “injury-prone” Hardik Pandya.
Revsportz’s Shamik Chakrabarty reports that the BCCI wants to host the entirety of the IPL in India this year despite the clash with the general elections.
ESPNcricinfo’s Matt Roller writes about the mass exodus of players from the Big Bash League to UAE’s ILT20, stripping the BBL of star names for the finals.
Four-time champions Comilla Tigers have threatened to quit the Bangladesh Premier League unless they receive a revenue share of ticket rights, ground rights and media rights from the 2025 season onwards.
Cricbuzz’s Vijay Tagore reports on why New York got three India matches in the T20 World Cup, while the more traditional cricketing hub of Dallas got none.
$250K for a month, or $150k for a year?
Tests are dying because T20 leagues just pay so much, the “passion” that goes into making a world class pitch, and two different cases for dropping Rohit Sharma.
ESPNcricinfo’s Alex Malcolm breaks down the math the deprives smaller nations who lose their best players to T20 leagues. West Indies’ Kyle Mayers would make a maximum of $180,000 playing for his country this year, but makes $250,000 in a month playing in the SA20.
Jarrod Kimber & Shayan Ahmad Khan have a statistical piece on Steve Smith’s seemingly insane decision to take up the opener’s spot at 34, with some fun (AI-generated?) images thrown in.
Steve Smith trying to learning opening techniques. Courtesy: Jarrod Kimber’s Sports Almanac. ABC News’ Che Chorley has a fascinating conversation with the curator of the Adelaide Oval to understand his passionate pursuit to build the perfect pitch.
Wisden’s Naman Agarwal makes the case that Rohit Sharma needs to be replaced by Hardik Pandya as India’s T20 captain, while Cricket.com’s Anirudh Kasargod brings up the stats that would back the choice to drop Rohit altogether.
ESPNcricinfo’s Raunak Kapoor looks through the squads for the U-19 World Cup to find the family members of famous cricketers, including the nephews of Rashid Khan & Sarfaraz Khan.
One player who will be blazing a trail is Afghan-origin, Pakistan-born, Kiwi player Rahman Hekmat. Indian Express’ Pratyush Raj talks to the youngster about bearing the weight of history while representing his adopted country, and being raised by a Shah Rukh Khan-mad family!
Brian Lara’s got opinions
Brian Lara reminisces about partying with Halle Berry, how to be a successful cricket influencer, and re-visiting England’s knife-edge tour of India in 2001.
Club Prairie Fire’s Adam Gilchrist & Michael Vaughn continue their ridiculous run of top-class guests by getting Brian Lara on to preview the Adelaide Test between Australia & West Indies (among other topics!).
Shayan Ahmad, the man behind Pakistan’s popular YouTube channel Shayan Plays Cricket goes on the Backward Point podcast to talk about his journey as a cricket creator. It’s a pretty good talk for anyone who’s interested in becoming a cricket influencer.
The 81 All Out podcast crew look back at England’s 2001 tour to India during an eventful time for both teams, and in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. [Apple Podcasts]
Cricket.com have a fun piece on when MRF sponsored Steve Waugh to the tune of $300,000 - in the 1990s!
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