Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes that the top six teams in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 can make it into the playoffs of the tournament
Our Bureau
Mumbai
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Indian team players whose teams don’t qualify for the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs will leave in the two batches for upcoming the T20 World Cup to the USA and the West Indies.
Shah said the players who are not part of the teams qualified for the IPL playoffs will leave on May 24 along with the coaching staff while the rest of the players will depart after the cash-rich league final on May 26.
For the last league games, Shah ruled out resting players whose teams have no chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Shah claimed that they had a fantastic opportunity to hone their T20 talents in the IPL.
“Look at how well Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma played the other day. If [Jasprit] Bumrah gets to bowl to Head, what better opportunity is there to practise?,” Shah said during a media interaction at the BCCI headquarters as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The BCCI secretary confirmed that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) speed sensation Mayank Yadav, who is battling the injury and is likely ruled out of ongoing IPL 2024, will be under BCCI supervision.
Mayank, who shocked and impressed fans and experts alike with his speed above 150 kmph, accuracy and control earlier this season, suffered an abdominal strain three games deep into his IPL debut campaign against the Gujarat Titans on April 7.
Shah said the speedster has been awarded the newly formed fast bowlers’ central contract.
“The Selection Committee has also recommended Fast Bowling contracts for the following athletes – Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa,” the BCCI, cricket’s top administrative body in the country, informed through an official statement earlier in February.
Mayank joins other rising pace bowlers who don’t have an annual retainer: Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa. As per the contacts, these bowlers will be monitored by the NCA medical staff all year.
Open for top six to make it to playoffs: Ganguly
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes that the top six teams in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 can make it into the playoffs of the tournament.
Speaking to reporters, Ganguly said it is not the first time in IPL that the top six franchises have a chance to make it into the playoffs. He added the next 10 days of the IPL 2024 will be crucial since the top six teams have the chance to confirm their place in the playoffs.
“I think it’s open for the majority of them (teams), I think the top six will be precise. It’s open for the top six to make it into the top four. It happens in every big tournament, but it’s not the first time in IPL, towards the business end of the tournament where the top six teams are open to qualification. These next 10 days will be crucial for every team,” Ganguly told ANI.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the top four teams in the standings of the IPL 2024 currently. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) hold the fifth and sixth place on the points table.
Ganguly is serving as the Director of Cricket for the Delhi-based franchise. DC will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their upcoming match of the tournament at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
He further said that India is the epicentre of cricket, adding that the game has a massive following in India.
“India is the epicentre of cricket. There’s so much demand, the game is so popular. In IPL every stadium is full, there are hardly any stands empty in an IPL game. This game has a lot of interest in this part of the world,” he added.
De Villiers on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy
Ahead of the fixture between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, former South African cricketer AB De Villiers raised questions on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy approach in IPL, saying it is “ego-driven, chest out” and a lot of experienced players don’t buy into that.
“The captaincy style of Hardik Pandya is quite bravado. It’s ego-driven in a way, chest out. I don’t think how he walks on the field is always genuine, but he has decided that is his way of captaincy. Almost like MS. Cool, calm, collective, always got your chest out. But when you play with a lot of experienced players, guys who have been around for ages… They don’t buy into that. It worked at GT, where it was a younger team. Sometimes, inexperienced players love to follow that kind of leadership,” said De Villiers on his YouTube channel.
The 40-year-old further urged Hardik Pandya to handle the situation calmly during the time of the match.
“I remember Graeme Smith. He was out there for the team. All I needed to do as a youngster was to follow. Now there’s a Rohit, there’s a Bumrah. They go like, all we need you to be is calm. Give us a bit of input on how to win matches. We don’t need the bravado. I’m not having a go at Hardik. I love watching him play. I love him putting out his chest because I was like that,” the former Proteas cricketer added.
Mumbai Indians became the first side to get eliminated from the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league. They are currently placed at the eighth spot in IPL 2024 with four wins from 12 games they have played so far. The Hardik Pandya-led side has a net run rate of -0.212.
“I know I need to take risks…”: Virat Kohli
Following his side’s 60-run win against Punjab Kings (PBKS), in which he played a match-winning knock of 92 runs, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli said that he was looking to take more risks with his batting and played slog-sweep frequently against spinners just like he used to do in the past. He also said that at this stage of his career, the quality of his game and batting matters more over his runs.
A fine half-century by Rilee Rossouw went in vain as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowlers delivered a brilliant performance to bundle out Punjab Kings (PBKS) for just 181 runs and secure a 60-run win at Dharamsala on Thursday.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Virat said, “Still quality over quantity. More so at this stage of my career. Understanding your game over so many years allows you to practice but still stay switched on. And still aiming to improve aspects of your game that you want to get better on. I brought out the slog-sweep to the spinners. I know I can hit it as I have done it in the past. I know I need to take risks. It takes more conviction to remove the thought ‘What if I get out?’.”
“I am trying to keep up with the strike rate for me and the team. The only way to go through a tournament is to be honest with ourselves. We had those losses on the trot, we just had a honest conversation. We needed to pull up our socks. That game against KKR went down to the wire. We wanted to play for our self-respect. We just can’t go out there and play in such a way and disappoint our fans. The confidence is back and we are on a roll. We have to depend on several other factors (for playoffs qualification),” he added.
Coming to the game, PBKS opted to field first after winning the toss. After the dismissal of skipper Faf Du Plessis (9) and Will Jacks (12) early, Virat (92 in 47 balls, with seven fours and six sixes) and Rajat Patidar (55 in 23 balls, with three fours and six sixes) steadied the RCB’s ship with a 76-run stand, keeping the strike rate high. Then, a fine knock by Cameron Green (46 in 27 balls, with five fours and a six) and his 92-run stand with Virat powered RCB to 241/7 in their 20 overs.
Harshal Patel (3/38) was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS. Vidwath Kaverappa (2/36) also did fine on his debut.
In the run-chase of 242 runs, Rilee Rossouw (61 in 27 balls, with nine fours and three sixes), Shashank Singh (37 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Jonny Bairstow (27 in 16 balls, with four boundaries and a six) looked dangerous, but lost their wickets on crucial stages.
The rest of the batters could not really put up a fight and lost the game by 60 runs as PBKS bundled out for 181 runs.
Mohammed Siraj was the top bowler for RCB with 3/43. Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson and Swapnil Singh also took two wickets. Virat got the Player of the Match award.
