Dhoni steps down as CSK captain
Top cricket stories for 22nd March 2024
Dhoni steps down as CSK captain
The details behind Dhoni’s decision, why Fleming believes CSK’s ready for the change, & Gaikwad’s credentials.
MS Dhoni stepped down as CSK captain in the most dramatic way possible - by sending Ruturaj Gaikwad to the IPL captains photoshoot! CSK coach Stephen Fleming says the team is more prepared for the change now than they were in 2022.
Indian Express’ Venkata Krishna B details how the news was broken to multiple stakeholders, and why Gaikwad was chosen as his successor.
ESPNcricinfo’s Alagappan Muthu profiles Dhoni’s time as CSK captain up to, and including, his last subversive act.
An uncredited Hindustan Times piece writes about Ruturaj Gaikwad’s past experience with captaincy.
Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo
Cutting down IPL pay disparities
The IPL might see a salary cap soon, Perry becomes the most-capped Aussie, & MI plan to bring in INR 120cr in sponsorships.
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal talked about wanting to rearrange the auction process to close loopholes on talented players driving up the prices at mini auctions. *cough*Starc*cough*Cummins*cough*
Matheesha Pathirana will miss CSK’s initial games, while Adam Zampa has pulled out of the IPL to focus on World Cup preparations.
Ellyse Perry has become Australia’s most capped ODI player, and former Pakistan captain Javeria Khan has announced her retirement from the international game.
Economic Times’ Javed Farooqui reports on the Reliance-backed marketing agency Rise Worldwide who have been involved in over 50 deals for IPL teams this year, including five front-of-jersey sponsorships worth a cumulative INR 100 crore.
The Mumbai Indians believe that they can grow their sponsorship revenue by 20% this year, after hitting the INR 100 crore mark in 2023.
The IPL will provide a sign-language assisted viewing experience for deaf viewers.
After seeing just two Indians drafted in The Hundred yesterday, I got curious about how normal it was for Indian players to be snubbed like that…
…turns out these drafts regularly ignore Indian & South Asian players. Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu was only taken as a last minute replacement in last year’s WBBL, and ended up as the Player of the Tournament. That led to her being completely ignored at the WPL auction days later.
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!
How franchise cricket is breaking traditional structures
A third of IPL players didn’t play in the Ranji, SA is missing out on international mentors to the IPL, & English county cricket needs a break.
Indian Express’ Devendra Pandey, Pratyush Raj & Venkata Krishna B have a fantastic study on the Indian problem of convincing IPL players to play in the Ranji Trophy. Here’s one stat for you - of the 165 Indians playing in the IPL, 56 of them didn’t play in the Ranji Trophy.
Cricbuzz’s Telford Vice has a great piece on how franchise tournaments are ruining player development in South Africa too. Malcolm Marshall’s stint in the mid-1990s helped developed players like Lance Klusener, but today he would be playing in the IPL instead.
Wisden’s Ben Gardner talks to Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond to get the player perspective, as the English county game has continued with a packed schedule despite smaller counties struggling to afford enough quality players - leading to inevitable injuries and fatigue. In Bell-Drummond’s case, that meant fielding while semi-blacking out from the tiredness of having played too much cricket.
Cricket.com’s Aakash Sivasubramaniam analyses the best bowling attacks in the IPL, while his colleague, Anirudh Suresh, advocates for Riyan Parag to be promoted to No.4 for the Rajasthan Royals.
Who is Ashwin scared of?
Ashwin conducts an IPL AMA, walking through Islamabad’s PSL-winning campaign with their GM, & analysing The Hundred draft.
Ashwin conducted an AMA (ask me anything) about the new IPL season on his YouTube channel.
Batta Fast’s Osman Samiuddin & Ahmer Naqvi talk to Rehan Ul Haq, general manager of the PSL-winning Islamabad United, to go through every single match of the victorious campaign. It’s a phenomenal way to review a tournament-winning season.
The Tailenders podcast talk to experts like Nasser Hussain & Charlotte Edwards about yesterday’s Hundred draft. [Apple Podcasts]
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