The Modi-fication of Indian cricket
Rohit's T20 decline, Modi's politicisation of cricket, & the immigrants' World Cup.
Indra hates the Gujarat Titans
Ashutosh Sharma’s breakout season, Rohit’s statistical decline, & the MVP by match involvement.
The match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Gujarat Titans was washed out yesterday, confirming the former’s playoff qualification. This is also GT’s second washout this week, ending their season on a whimper.
Cricket8’s Jarrod Kimber & Saurabh Somani have a statistical analysis of breakout star Ashutosh Sharma’s season. Meanwhile, Kashish Chadha looks at the numbers behind Rohit Sharma’s continued IPL & T20 decline, and says that “perception and trophies have kept the boat afloat for far too long”.
Cricket.com’s Somesh Agarwal looks at the bad cycle of results for the Mumbai Indians since their victory in 2020, while ESPNcricinfo’s S Sudarshanan says that the Rajasthan Royals’ middle order is failing them at the worst time.
Cricket analyst Dan Weston has the latest installment in his series on IPL player value, this time looking at the number of balls faced or bowled per match to understand ‘match involvement’.
A good IPL pacer has been invaluable this year, but can you quantify it…
…“cost per wicket” is a rudimentary, if interesting, metric. There are eight value-for-money pacers in the league, before the drop to Sam Curran. I’d guess that Mayank Yadav & Matheesha Pathirana would make it too if it weren’t for injuries.
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!
The Modi-fication of Indian cricket
How IND’s govt politicised cricket, Uzbek cricket aspirations, & cricket as a way to bond over cancer.
Sharda Ugra has a great piece in the 2024 Wisden Almanac about the politicisation of cricket under the Modi regime in India. [Online PDF]
ESPNcricinfo’s Matt Roller talks to Andrew Strauss about James Anderson’s retirement and the future of England’s pace attack.
ESPNcricinfo’s Vithushan Ehantharajah reports on how England is using the iHawk technology - complete with cameras on county umpires - to build their team for the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia.
Emerging Cricket’s Shounak Sarkar talks to the Uzbekistan cricket CEO about how the central Asian country - which became an associate nation during the pandemic - is growing interest in the sport.
Daisy Cutter’s Ildikó Connell has a great personal essay on how cricket helped her create a bond with her dying father, and helped her father find his place in the world as Yorkshire supporter in the 1950s.
A bit of news: Ireland’s players and association have finally come to an agreement on salaries, while the West Indies Women will tour Sri Lanka in June.
The immigrants’ World Cup
A WC for NY’s immigrants, Ayub’s unsuccessfully successful opening role for PAK, & Markram’s unorthodox captaincy.
AP’s Philip Marcelo has a great piece on the growth of cricket’s popularity in New York’s suburbs due to immigration, and what the World Cup means to them.
News18’s Sahil Malhotra reports on how the World Cup’s marketing has been messed up and that Disney is not happy so far.
India will only play one warm up match in USA, while Pakistan and England will start their tournaments without a single game on a local pitch.
Gary Kirsten is taking inspiration from former Pakistan head coach Bob Woolmer to get stuck into his new job. Dawn’s Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi has some stat-based advice for him; stick to playing Saim Ayub at the top of the order. His form may be poor, but the knock-on effects on Babar Azam & Fakhar Zaman are worth it.
ESPNcricinfo’s Firdose Moonda believes that Aiden Markram’s unorthodox captaincy is good for South Africa, while Cricbuzz’s Atif Azam chronicles 38-year old Mahmudullah’s successful return to Bangladesh’s T20 side.
The T20 World Cup will have feeds to help the hearing impaired and visually impaired fans follow along more easily.
From five 4s to the World Cup
A Women’s cricket special with Sadaf Shamas, the new structure in ENG, and the departure of SA-W’s coach.
Grassroots Cricket’s Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi talks to rising Pakistani sensation Sadaf Shamas about her breakthrough, the tour of England and hitting five 4s in an over.
The Wisden Cricket Weekly crew discuss the new structure of English Women’s cricket with a select few teams given the privilege of running a Women’s team in a bid to improve the funnelling of resources. [Apple Podcasts]
Full Quota’s Mpho Mutloane & Tim Dale Lace discuss the departure of South Africa Women’s head coach Hilton Moreeng after 11 years in charge. [Apple Podcasts]
Jarrod Kimber & Behram Qazi discuss the re-birth of Lasith Malinga, also known as Matheesha Pathirana.
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