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As has been the case with all the major BCCI meetings in the last quarter, N Srinivasan’s anticipated presence will be the most intriguing factor during the working committee meeting in Kolkata on Sunday, the last of the board’s annual cycle

Amol Karhadkar31-Aug-2013

SA, NZ tours also on the agenda

The working committee is also set to discuss the itineraries for India’s forthcoming tours to South Africa and New Zealand, and the Asia Cup that is likely to be sandwiched between the New Zealand tour and IPL 2014.
It is unlikely that a final decision will be made at the meeting but the committee is likely to arrive at a consensus about a reworked schedule for the South Africa tour that will be presented to Cricket South Africa. At the moment, the itinerary includes two Twenty20s, seven ODIs, three Tests and as many tour games. The proposed itinerary is likely to feature two tour games, three Tests, five ODIs and a single Twenty20 international.
As for the New Zealand tour, although nothing has been made official yet, it is likely that New Zealand Cricket will be offered two Tests, two ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals, scheduled between the South Africa tour and the Asia Cup.

As has been the case with all the major BCCI meetings in the last quarter, N Srinivasan’s anticipated presence will be the most intriguing factor during the working committee meeting in Kolkata on Sunday, the last meeting of the board’s annual cycle.Srinivasan has refrained from discharging his duties as president after temporarily stepping aside in June to let former BCCI and ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya run the board’s day-to-day affairs. However, he could well attend his first working committee meeting since June on Sunday.Though it could not be ascertained whether Srinivasan will preside over the meeting, thus taking over as the BCCI president, it is all but certain that he will attend the meeting at least as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. Irrespective of Srinivasan’s presence at the meeting, he will still have to sign the board’s accounts for the year, which will be ratified on Sunday. The notification, date and venue of the annual general meeting, which is decided by the working committee, is also likely to be finalised in the meeting on Sunday.Technically, it won’t be a problem for him to sign these documents even if he chooses not to attend the meeting. “The constitution allows only the president to officially appoint the secretary and treasurer. Didn’t he do that even after stepping aside?” a BCCI official pointed out.Two days before Srinivasan stepped aside as president, Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke resigned their posts as secretary and treasurer respectively. They cited displeasure over the manner in which the BCCI had reacted to the IPL spot-fixing scandal, which saw Srinivasan’s son-in-law and a senior official of Chennai Super Kings, Gurunath Meiyappan, being arrested by Mumbai police. Sanjay Patel and Ravi Savant were named secretary and treasurer on June 6 and 10 respectively.The working committee is also expected to discuss and ratify various proposals related to the revamp of the National Cricket Academy. These include abolishing the three specialist academies (batting in Mumbai, pace bowling in Mohali and spin bowling in Chennai) and replacing them with six regional academies. Tie-ups with the MRF pace academy in Chennai, to let India bowlers use their facilities and expertise, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association, for use of the Alur facility near Bangalore, are also on the agenda.”KSCA is our member, and just like they offered us space to run NCA, they are offering us another facility. We haven’t planned anything on financial details as yet,” Prof Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI’s general manager – game development, said on Saturday. “As for MRF, we are planning a long-term tie-up with them. This is for the training and rehab of fast bowlers, and whenever (Glenn) McGrath (the pace academy’s head) is there, our bowlers could go there.”

India’s Supreme Court deferred its decision on a plea against BCCI president N Srinivasan on Monday and said that it will decide on Srinivasan’s position in the board on October 7

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2013India’s Supreme Court has deferred till October 7 its decision on a petition against BCCI president N Srinivasan that sought to restrain him from taking charge of BCCI.In arguments on Monday, the BCCI contended that Srinivasan should be allowed to discharge all duties except for IPL affairs, to which Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) counsel Harish Salve objected. The IPL, he argued, cannot be differentiated from the BCCI. The court then asked both parties to come up with a common solution to conduct the investigation into the IPL teams and owners’ alleged involvement into the IPL corruption scandal.”We will welcome an independent probe commission appointed by the Supreme Court but if the BCCI tries to distance itself from the IPL, then it will be difficult to form consensus about the structure of the commission,” the petitioner Aditya Verma, the CAB secretary, said.PTI reported that the BCCI’s counsel suggested that the probe committee to investigate the IPL corruption scandal could be headed either by the former BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley or by lawyer Vinay Dutta. Salve didn’t agree with the suggestion, but said he would consider it.”Let us apply our mind as to how the probe has to be done because there has been a rot and we have to see whether the rot is limited to IPL or how long the rot runs deep and has any bearing on BCCI,” Salve said. The court also asked Srinivasan not to be in a “hurry” and allow the CAB to mull over his suggestion for the constitution of the panel.Last week, the CAB filed a plea asking the Supreme Court to restrain Srinivasan from contesting the BCCI elections. On September 27, a court ruling permitted Srinivasan to attend the board’s annual general meeting and contest for the president’s post, which he won unopposed on Sunday. However, the ruling said that if elected, Srinivasan could not take charge of the board pending the Court announced its verdict on a special leave petition filed by Cricket Association Bihar – against an earlier order of the Bombay High Court – related to the constitution of BCCI’s independent IPL probe committee.The matter dates back to a plea that the Cricket Association of Bihar filed in June, raising charges of conflict of interest in the formation of the two-member inquiry panel set up to inquire allegations of corruption in the IPL. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel “illegal”. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.

Adil Amin’s unbeaten 53 and Iftikhar Ahmed’s 23-ball 32 helped Peshawar Panthers to a seven-wicket win over Rawalpindi Rams at Faisalabad

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2015Adil Amin’s unbeaten 53 and Iftikhar Ahmed’s 23-ball 32 helped Peshawar Panthers to a seven-wicket win over Rawalpindi Rams at Faisalabad.Chasing 146, Panthers lost Rafatullah Mohamand for 13 in the fourth over but Israrullah and Iftikhar partnered Amin in two 30-plus stands to put the team on course. Mohammad Rizwan and Amin then guided Panthers home with four balls to spare. Sohail Tanvir was the most expensive Rams bowler, being carted for 37 runs inside four overs.Naved Malik and Khurram Shehzad had given Rams a blazing start, getting to 50 in five overs but left-arm fast bowler Imran Khan dismissed Khurram for 16 after which the run-rate reduced considerably. Malik struck two sixes and seven fours for his 40-ball 57 before being dismissed in the 14th over.Panthers’ seamers applied the squeeze through the middle overs. The other Imran Khan in Panthers’ ranks, a right-arm fast bowler, collected 2 for 19, while the left-armer picked up 3 for 13. It meant Rams could only muster 145 for 6 from their 20 overs.Bilal Asif’s 48-ball 114 on T20 debut set up Sialkot Stallions‘ 87-run win over Abbottabad Falcons in Faisalabad.Put into bat, Stallions got off to a brisk start, with openers Mukhtar Ahmed and Nauman Anwar putting on 38 runs in 2.5 overs. But the most substantive partnership of the match – 105 runs in 9.4 overs – came between Asif and captain Shoaib Malik, who scored an unbeaten 56 off 37 balls. Three of Falcons’ bowlers finished with economy rates in excess of 13 as Stallions galloped to 240 for 4.Despite losing Sajjad Ali in the first over, Falcons managed to score at a fair clip. However, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, leg-spinner Usama Mir claiming four scalps to add to his three in his last match. Captain Junaid Khan clubbed three sixes in his 17-ball 36, but it merely reduced the margin of defeat as Falcons were bowled out for 153 by the 18th over.

Sri Lanka A coach Romesh Kaluwitharana felt Kithuruwan Vithanage, Kusal Perera and Ashan Priyanjan were ready to take the next step towards nailing down their places in the senior team

Sa'adi Thawfeeq01-Jun-2015Sri Lanka A coach Romesh Kaluwitharana has said Kithuruwan Vithanage, Kusal Perera and Ashan Priyanjan were ready to take the next step towards nailing down their places in the senior team.Following the retirements of senior players like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara after the 2015 World Cup, Sri Lanka set their sights on the the home series against Pakistan A to scout for replacements. Sri Lanka ‘A’ won the three-match one-day series 2-1 and drew the three unofficial Tests, two of which were affected by bad weather.”The three of them are good players. Kusal and Kithuruwan were outstanding in the series. Even though Ashan didn’t score much he will come up very fast. They will make the Sri Lanka team very soon,” Kaluwitharana said.All the three have represented Sri Lanka, but their appearances have been sporadic. “Kusal was simply brilliant throughout the whole series, averaging more than 100 in the ODIs and 150 in the unofficial Tests,” Kaluwitharana said. “His positive batting was one of the reasons for the team performing well, but overall everyone contributed.”On the final day of the third ‘Test’ the captain Ashan Priyanjan and Kithuruwan batted brilliantly. That partnership saved the innings and then Kusal came to the party.”In comparison to Perera and Vithanage, Priyanjan had a rather lean series with the bat scoring only a fifty apiece in both formats. Kaluwitharana didn’t feel captaincy was a reason for his poor form.”This is not the first time he has captained the ‘A’ side; he has done that before on the last tour to England. It’s not a big burden for him,” he said. “Technically he doesn’t have any issues, he got run-out once. Those kinds of periods a cricketer goes through. He is a great act; it’s a matter of getting runs on the board. I have a lot of faith with his ability to perform.”Kaluwitharana lauded the performances of his team against a strong Pakistan ‘A’ side. “We played a very good and experienced Pakistan side which had about 6-7 Test and ODI players whereas we had a very young side,” he said.Kaluwitharana, however, cautioned against pushing the players too early into the senior team before they were ready. “Looking at the new players who had the opportunity for the first time, they showed a lot of promise and talent. They need to be looked at more regularly and given more opportunities and time for them to get adjusted to playing at international level,” Kaluwitharana said.”We need more tours like this to gauge the consistency of the players; we can’t gauge them in one series. It’s not only batting and bowling but how they handle pressure, how they feel and how they contribute to the side.”When they continue to play more matches in the ‘A’ side they will become more comfortable and confident when they are called up to play in the senior side. If you throw them to the deep end straight away they might drown and may never swim again.”Kaluwitharana said Sri Lanka were fortunate that at the moment there wasn’t much pressure for new players to be introduced.”We are looking at new players more (for the) long term because we have a lot of good players in the current senior side. It will be good if we can produce at least one or two players for a year who can be standby replacements for the senior team. It’s a good thing to have players shadowing the national players because it keeps the national player on edge to perform better, to focus more and give more than 150 percent to the team.Kaluwitharana also praised the efforts of the bowlers. “It was a fair call by everyone to give good decent wickets which had some bounce and pace and our boys bowled a better line and length than Pakistan’s experienced fast bowlers. Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Gamage bowled brilliantly throughout the series. For me they are quite ready to take the next step to the senior side. Fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake was quite pleased with their performances. Their fitness levels, attitude and performance levels have improved tremendously.”Of the spinners (Tharindu) Kaushal has improved a lot from where he was. He is getting more confident day by day. With his ability to turn the ball he will be a very good prospect for the future.”In October, Sri Lanka ‘A’ is due to tour New Zealand ahead of the senior team’s visit in December. “That will be a good tour because we are playing before the start of their summer in conditions which we don’t experience here.”

The tour game against BCB XI showed the competition between Wayne Parnell, David Wiese and Chris Morris to fill the seam-bowling allrounder’s slot in South Africa’s limited-overs XI is heating up

Firdose Moonda03-Jul-2015You’ve got to feel for South Africa’s spinners. At home, not much goes their way because pitches are prepared to suit the pacers. On most tours, there is room for only one of them in a playing XI and then, that spinner’s job is usually to hold an end up rather than attack. And now, even in Bangladesh where conditions should suit them, things still aren’t going their way.Although Aaron Phangiso, Eddie Leie and JP Duminy shared four wickets between them in South Africa’s practice match against the BCB XI, the seamers stole the show, again. David Wiese, Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada laid claim to the other six scalps on a strip that Phangiso lamented had “no turn,” and that he “hopes the groundsman will do something different about,” when the series starts on Sunday.That wish may not be granted. Bangladesh are defying the notion that subcontinent teams can only prosper on spinner-friendly surfaces and, under Heath Streak, are developing seamers who now lead their attack, and tailoring conditions to suit them. South Africa’s coach, Russell Domingo, warned Bangladesh that the strategy could play straight into the visitors’ hands and Wiese and Abbott showed how. They sliced through the BCB XI with pace, tight lines and probing lengths and announced their intention to challenge for a place among the regular pacers in the national outfit.With Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander rested, this is a rare opportunity for the other quicks to show what they are capable of at the highest level. For someone like Wayne Parnell, who has been part of national squads regularly but has played irregularly, it could be a crucial tour. Either he will stand out head and shoulders above the rest of the second tier, or he will be overtaken by them and on the evidence of the practice match, the latter does not seem too unlikely.Wiese could stake a claim to fill the still-vacant allrounders’ spot in South Africa’s limited-overs’ teams, a role his franchise coach believes he is ready to fulfill. “There’s no doubt he can impact the game with bat and ball,” Rob Walter, the Titans’ coach, told ESPNcricinfo. Walter cited Wiese’s game-changing 71* from 33 balls in the domestic one-day cup semi-final against the Dolphins and his 25 first-class wickets in three matches last summer as examples of his progress, the result of careful coaching.”Our key area of focus has been mindset because David is traditionally a guy who is very hard on himself and gets down on himself quite quickly,” Walter said. “When stepping up from amateur to professional cricket, he placed a lot of expectation on himself; he wanted to do well.”Wiese debuted domestically a decade ago, as a 20-year-old, and it took him nine years to receive international recognition. With each passing year, the pressure he would have placed on himself to do better grew. But under Walter, Wiese was urged to relax and it paid off. “It was about not creating too much hype and concentrating on skills and he has developed a nice set of skills, especially in bowling. He has worked hard on variations, change of pace and reading the game situation. Now, in the in the heat of T20 cricket, he is able to think quite clearly.”That much became evident when Wiese finished as the highest wicket-taker in the T20 series between South Africa and West Indies earlier this year and was snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for this year’s IPL, where he was a regular. He played in 14 of Royal Challengers’ 16 matches, was the team’s fourth-highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps at 22.06 and fourth on their batting averages, behind AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle.Walter, who worked with Delhi Daredevils, was in touch with Wiese through the tournament and talked about the positive effect the tournament was having on Wiese. “It showed him that he can say, ‘I belong here.’ It really boosted his confidence and reaffirmed his quality,” Walter said.Now, Wiese can try and belong for longer. Although he is 30, Walter expects him to have a decent run ahead of him. “He is in great physical shape and he spends a lot of time in the gym. I don’t see any reason why he can’t play both short formats for South Africa,” Walter said.Walter thinks the same of his other, newly-acquired allrounder, Chris Morris. Morris, who moved from Lions to Titans, is Wiese’s likeliest competitor after Parnell but ideally, Walter would like to see them playing together. “They can both play T20 cricket for South Africa as allrounders at No.7 and No.8 because David probably offers a bit more with the bat and Morris a bit more with the ball.”And where does all that leave the spinners, who are in danger yet again of operating in the shadows of the fast men. “We have to think on our feet when you come to Bangladesh, you expect the wicket to turn a little bit but we didn’t get anything today – you have to bowl it a bit quicker,” Phangiso said. It doesn’t get any easier for some.

Brendon McCullum will skip the limited-overs tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in August because he’s had an “intense period of cricket dating back to the World Cup”

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-20155:04

O’Brien: Kane Williamson is McCullum’s natural successor

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will skip the limited-overs tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in August because he’s had an “intense period of cricket dating back to the World Cup,” according to an NZC release. McCullum, however, has committed to leading New Zealand in the home and away series against Australia at the end of 2015 and the 2016 World T20 in March, putting to rest recent speculation that he may give up ODI cricket.McCullum has also signed a three-year contract to play for the BBL franchise Brisbane Heat, which is coached by his former New Zealand team-mate Daniel Vettori.NZC said its annual contracting process will be completed next week and the list of players being offered contracts will be announced on July 1.”It’s a critical time for the team,” McCullum said. “We’ve had a very good past 18 months but we’ve got some real challenges ahead of us and we need to keep making progress. This is a young, emerging side with some very big series on the horizon and it’s a really exciting time to be involved.”McCullum, 33, was at the forefront of New Zealand’s exhilarating 2015 World Cup campaign that ended with a defeat in the final, after which he led them in all formats during the tour of England, drawing the Test series, and losing a hard-fought ODI contest 2-3 and the solitary T20 international.Brendon McCullum will get a break ahead of New Zealand’s fixtures at the end of the year•PA Photos

At the end of the tour, McCullum was non-committal while answering a question about his ODI future, and said: “I don’t know. We’ll wait and see. We’ll let the dust settle on this. It’s been a great year, an incredible summer for us. We’ve scaled some heights that hadn’t been done before from our country … I’ve enjoyed the last two years. The body’s a bit sore at the moment but we’ll see what happens.”Having secured McCullum’s services for another year, NZC chief executive David White said it was “enormous news” for New Zealand. “Under Brendon, the Blackcaps have enjoyed unprecedented success over the past 18 months and to have him remaining at the helm for another year is extremely good news. Brendon has proved himself to be an exceptional player and leader and the side will be much stronger for his presence.”

Steven Smith has conceded the top spot in the Test batting rankings after an underwhelming display in the first Ashes Test against England in Cardiff

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2015Steven Smith has conceded the top spot in the Test batting rankings after an underwhelming display in the first Ashes Test against England in Cardiff where he made twin scores of 33 in Australia’s 169-run defeat.He is replaced in the No. 1 position by AB de Villiers, who is skipping South Africa’s forthcoming Test series against Bangladesh for paternity leave, while Joe Root has moved into the top five for the first time in his career – as has Stuart Broad in the bowling list – after a Man-of-the-Match display in Cardiff where he scored 134 and 60.Root, who since returning to the Test side in June last year has made 1512 runs at 84.00, is just seven points behind Hashim Amla in third position and 24 behind de Villiers’ mark.Smith twice got himself settled in the opening Test, but fell to Moeen Ali in the first innings, getting into a tangle against a delivery angled down the leg side and looping a catch to short mid-on, then edging Broad to second slip in the second innings.The top of the bowling rankings remains unchanged with Dale Steyn having a significant advantage on James Anderson in second position, but Broad has achieved a career-best figure after taking five wickets in Cardiff including a defining burst on the fourth day when he removed Smith and Michael Clarke after lunch.The other two spots in the top five of the bowling rankings are taken by Pakistan’s Yasir Shah and New Zealand’s Trent Boult.For the full rankings click here.

Asked to bat on a testing, grassy pitch, India held on grimly – with some luck on their side – to keep the damage down to two wickets on a rain-hit first day

The Report by Sidharth Monga28-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:50

Agarkar: India’s best chance to win a series in Sri Lanka

Asked to bat on a testing, grassy pitch, India held on grimly – with some luck on their side – to keep the damage down to two wickets on a day that rain allowed only 15 overs of play. KL Rahul fell shouldering arms in the first over, Ajinkya Rahane was done in by seam movement soon after, but Cheteshwar Pujara – getting an opportunity in the absence of two injured openers – and Virat Kohli stayed together for 36 runs before heavy showers forced an early lunch. Rain continued to make frequent appearances, making sure no more play was possible on day one.Once again Dhammika Prasad struck in the first over – he is making quite a habit of doing so in the first over of an innings or of a new spell. Also, much like Marcus North of Australia, Rahul continued the trend of making either a low score or a hundred. He now has seven scores of 16 and below, and two hundreds. Despite Prasad’s form for seam movement back in, Rahul left alone the second ball of the day in premeditated fashion, and had his off stump pegged back. Had he even covered the stumps, Rahul would have forced the umpire to make an lbw decision, which could have gone either way given how the ball hit the top of off stump.Rahane, the other centurion at P Sara Oval, got off to a better start than in the first innings last week, but was done in by the same movement from a full ball from Nuwan Pradeep, who had taken Dushmantha Chameera’s place in the XI. The most crucial play of the session, though, belonged to one of the two debutant wicketkeepers. Kusal Perera, who does not keep in limited-overs cricket when playing alongside Dinesh Chandimal, came out with the gloves on. The only reason you could think of is that Perera bats higher in the shorter formats, and Sri Lanka are looking to get more out of Chandimal’s batting in Tests, and want him up the order.Be that as it may, Kohli, on 8, couldn’t resist pushing at a length ball wide outside off. This one from Pradeep seamed back in, took the inside edge, but Perera dropped a fairly simple catch to his left. Also, around the same time, Prasad had been taken out of the attack after three overs because of a fitness issue. Instead of being 28 for 3, India were only 33 for 2 thanks to five penalty runs because Perera had spilled the ball on to the helmet placed behind him.Kohli and Pujara showed better discipline, but Prasad came back to force another impatient push from the India captain. Having scored only one run off the last 19 balls he faced, Kohli again played away from the body, but in a worrying sign a second edge in the first session of the Test fell short of the slips. The first one had come from Pujara.The amount of grass left on this relaid pitch was interesting for the SSC track, the only maligned pitch in Sri Lanka. Under pressure to produce results, the SSC went the way of the grass, but the lack of bounce was a worry. Most of the results at this venue have come through big first-innings runs, and a combination of spin and scoreboard pressure. Recent matches that have begun with early wickets have ended in draws. Rain did not help matters either.

Chris Cairns was described as believing he was “untouchable” as the prosecution laid out its case in his trial at Southwark Crown Court in London

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2015Chris Cairns, the former “golden boy” of New Zealand cricket who stands accused of lying under oath to win a £1.4million libel settlement, was described as believing he was “untouchable” as the prosecution laid out its case in his trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.Cairns, whom prosecutor Sasha Wass QC described as a “legend” of the game, appeared in the dock to answer charges of perjury and, in conjunction with his co-defendant and former attorney Andrew Fitch-Holland, perverting the course of justice. Both men deny the charges, which relate to Cairns’ 2012 libel action against Lalit Modi, the former commissioner of the Indian Premier League.Cairns successfully sued Modi at the High Court in London following a Twitter message in 2010 in which Modi had alleged that Cairns had been excluded from that year’s IPL auction list “due to his past record of match fixing” in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL).”The prosecution case against Mr Cairns is that he manipulated the legal system in this country to his advantage,” said Wass. “Chris Cairns knew he had been guilty of match-fixing, he knew why he had been suspended and he knew what Mr Modi tweeted about him was true.”But Mr Cairns was an arrogant individual and very sure of the power he held over the people around him. This is what he did: he lied in witness statements, he lied on oath and he arranged that others should give false evidence on his behalf.”After all, the only people who knew for certain that Mr Cairns was engaged in match fixing were those people who had been match fixing with him. Why would they want to give evidence to that effect in court?”So Mr Cairns had a free rein: he could protest his good name and spotless reputation to the rooftops, knowing or believing that he was untouchable.”The prosecution allege that Lou Vincent, the former New Zealand batsman who was a team-mate of Cairns’ at Chandigarh Lions in the ICL, was persuaded by Fitch-Holland to provide a false witness statement to support Cairns’ libel case. Vincent was last year handed a life ban by the ECB after admitting to taking money to under-perform.During a Skype call, played to the court, Fitch-Holland told Vincent: “If you can literally get a one-paragraph statement that says ‘I played in the game, everything seemed okay, end of … it makes it plain that things are a lot more straightforward than they look.”In the recording, Fitch-Holland appeared to accept that both he and Vincent knew the cheating had happened, saying: “… between you and I, we all know some of what is being said is clearly true”. However, he tried to reassure Vincent that he would never have to swear his statement was true in court.Vincent, however, expressed his concerns: “It’s a big ask from me to … in a legal document say something that isn’t true”, he said, adding: “I am not proud of what has happened at all … it’s hard for me to live with what’s gone on.”Wass said the conversation was proof that all parties knew the libel case that Cairns was bringing was untrue.The case continues at 10am on Monday.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar believes he has not compromised on his ability to move the ball for extra pace

Rachna Shetty in Rajkot17-Oct-2015″Have you lost your swing?””No, I don’t think I have lost my swing,” Bhuvneshwar Kumar said in characteristic self-effacing manner at a media conference on the eve of the third ODI against South Africa in Rajkot.There has been some debate recently over whether the India bowler has compromised his ability to move the ball in favour of gaining more pace. Sanjay Manjrekar opined in a column for ESPNcricinfo that Bhuvneshwar was in danger of losing out on his biggest strength, but former India seamer Zaheer Khan, who announced his retirement from international cricket this week, said that was not the case.”Bhuvi has never been an out-and-out pace bowler. I don’t think he is trying to bowl at 145kph. He is still focussing on his skills and trying to swing the ball. That he is not able to swing is a different story,” Zaheer said.But Bhuvneshwar stressed he had neither lost nor compromised on his swing. So what was the issue? “I have told this in the past as well that I need proper conditions to assist my swing-bowling as well. If I have conditions on offer I would swing the ball a lot than the rest of the bowlers,” he explained. “If you see in the last match, there was some swing early on in the innings. When there is no swing on offer, I try to exploit the reverse swing if at all there is any.”It isn’t always about the swing, though. In two of his best ODI performances this year – against Zimbabwe in Harare where he took a four-for and against South Africa in Indore recently – he didn’t make the ball hoop around corners, but emphasised on tight lines and lengths.Bhuvneshwar was also pleased with his own improvements in death-bowling, but insisted there was no concerted change in his role within the team. Except there has been a noticeable trend India using his overs less upfront and more later on. Some of the recent focus on his skills at the death came during IPL 2015 where he emerged as the leader of one of the best bowling sides in the tournament at Sunrisers Hyderabad. His consistent threat in the death overs garnered the praise of Tom Moody, the franchise coach, as well.”I don’t think there has been a change in my bowling role [for India],” Bhuvneshwar said. “Being a swing bowler and bowling at the death is just an added facet in my bowling. I used to bowl a lot at the death while bowling in the IPL but it serves as a confidence booster that I can do a lot more with the ball at the start of the innings and at the death. It is good to bowl with the new ball and the old ball.”He also said that the new rule changes, particularly the presence of five fielders outside the 30-yard circle in the last 10 overs of an ODI, were benefiting the bowlers, increasing their motivation to control a period of play that has traditionally been dominated by batsmen.”It has been quite a help for the bowlers with an extra fielder outside the circle in the last ten overs of the match. The bowlers have got more confidence while bowling at the death now since as a bowler you know that you have an additional fielder who is protecting the boundary. The bowlers are a lot more motivated to bowl towards the death. In the past, you would think that even after bowling well you would go for runs. I believe it has now become an even contest between bat and ball.”Bhuvneshwar also said that the 22-run win in Indore, fashioned largely by the bowlers, had lifted the side after a narrow defeat in the first ODI.”The atmosphere was always normal even when were not winning matches. But after the victory in the last match there is certainly a positive vibe in the team. MS Dhoni’s knock gave the team a lot of confidence in the previous game. But in that game a lot of our bowlers also played also faced close to 25-30 balls which helped them to figure out how the pitch was playing.”In a five match series it is always difficult to make a comeback if you lose two matches in a row. But the way we came back in the last game and won, it was commendable. That win has brought in a lot of confidence in the side. We were down in the first innings losing a lot of wickets on the trot but we made a good comeback to win the match. Now we are riding high on confidence. The rest of the matches are very vital for us and if we win this match there will be a lot more confidence in the side. Every player is assigned a particular role and if player can play his role to perfection we can expect a good game.”