THE HIMALAYAN MAIL JAMMU Q FRIDAY Q SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 11

Problem aplenty for Royals Local UAE cricketers bolster if Stokes misses season RCB attack in training NEW DELHI, SEPT Raza has been part of the NEW DELHI, SEPT a lot of rookies including 17:Royal Challengers Ban- national team for 14 years. 17: They are heavily depen- , who made a galore have drafted in UAE Asked about his thoughts dent on individual bril- good impression last season Ahmed Raza and on staying in IPL's bio-bub- liance of and the and left-handed opener teenager Karthik Meiyap- ble, the 31-year-old said: looming absence of the , who pan to train with them dur- "It does feel slightly England all-rounder would might replace Uthappa dur- ing the IPL, beginning on strange being in this bio-se- severely impact Rajasthan ing the course of the tourna- Saturday. cure bubble, but credit to Royals' campaign at this ment. The National newspaper the IPL and RCB." year's Indian Premier In the depart- reported that Raza has com- "This hotel is great, they League. ment, there is , pleted his mandatory quar- have a fantastic team room, Royals core comprises of who could be a serious In- antine at the team hotel in and when we have a private three Englishmen -- Stokes, dia prospect in near future Dubai and has started train- area of beach access as well. and Jofra but may have to wait for his ing with the -led And then it was great to be Archer and their Australian chance. squad. involved in my first training skipper . The bowling attack save Raza, a left-arm spinner, tant with the Australian for me. He introduced me as session at the ICC Academy However it is the magnifi- pected to be available from formed in five straight Archer looks thin at least on comes into the RCB camp team when they toured the the UAE captain. And can as well, as it felt like going cence of Strokes that de- the second game after their games in any of the editions paper and the spin attack after being recommended Emirates. you imagine AB walking up back home." fines the Royals, the peren- mandatory quarantine and during past five years. thinner with by their bowing coach Srid- "I was introduced to the to you and saying: ‘Thank The 19-year-old Meiyap- nial under-performers. their good form is a silver once being the saving grace. haran Sriram, who had also players and support staff, you for helping us out.' Se- pan is a leg-spinner, who They boasted quality play- lining for the Royals, who upon a time was a prolific There is sought the UAE skipper's and it was really nice for Sri riously, it was surreal," said has played four ODIs for ers in their line up over the would be touch bothered IPL player but in past few but after the first season, he assistance as a spin consul- (Sriram) to put in that word Raza. UAE. years but did not get the de- about their skipper Smith's years, the form has deserted lost his sting. sired result. current form. him. It could be another sea- His father's illness has Smith suffered another Even if he has been vehe- son when reaching the Play- kept Stokes out of action for concussion hit in the UK mently denied, Jaydev Un- offs could be challenge for SEE: Chahal's team down some time now and his ab- during recent training ses- adkat, after one stellar sea- the Royals. sence, certainly in the first sion. son with now-defunct Squad: Steve Smith (C), half of the league, would The other two foreigners Rising Pune Supergiants, Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa, disturb the balance of the , Ben Stokes, Kohli's boys as RCB warm up who can take some load are hasn't been able to replicate side. South African batsman the form for Royals. A mil- , Yashasvi NEW DELHI, SEPT for 11 in his 4 overs. If Stokes could join in the David Miller and Australian lion dollar-plus price tag is Jaiswal, , Kar- 17:It was all fun, games and -keeper and open- second half, the responsibil- pacer . weighing heavily on him. tik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Os- some lessons at this practice ing batsman Parthiv Patel, ity of keeping the side alive For Royals, the problem Varun Aaron has had in- hane Thomas, Andrew Tye, game. who was on Kohli's team, said for the Play-offs would be is their Indian core which juries despite some serious David Miller, Tom Curran, On a scorching day in the the wicket was not the easiest on their foreign recruits hasn't exactly been consis- speed while Manan Vohra Aniruddha Joshi, Shreyas UAE and just four days from to bat on. since Indian players in the tent. with oodles of talent has Gopal, Riyan Parag, Varun their campaign opener, Royal And how right he was as set up do not inspire much Sanju Samson, an IPL only been brilliant on rare Aaron, Shashank Singh, Challengers played Chahal's team beat Kohli's confidence. specialist, is a minefield of occasions. , Mahipal Lom- a first intra-squad warm-up team thanks to Shahbaz Buttler and Archer are ex- talent but has rarely per- This leaves the team with ror, Mayank Markande. match on Wednesday. Ahmed's 3 for 13. Team Yuzi Chahal versus 'There was some turn in the Team Virat Kohli and it was wicket so it was difficult to exciting! chase,' said Shahbaz. IPL 2020: Watch out for these bowlers! Chahal's team batted first 'It was a challenging surface and opening the , A B and some players adapt bet- NEW DELHI, SEPT de Villiers scored 43 off 33 ter to that,' said RCB Assistant 17:While T20 cricket is gen- balls to take Team Chahal to Coach Mike Hesson. erally regarded as a bats- 126. 'For our first hit out, it was men-dominated game, the Washington Sundar was worthwhile and it exposed bowlers certainly have a ma- the pick of the bowlers for certain things we need to jor role to play. Kohli's team with figures of 2 work on.' The likes of Jasprit Bum- rah, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Lasith In year of setbacks, Maxwell fights Malinga are huge fan favourites in the IPL. Which other bowlers can step up and hog the limelight demons to reach ODI landmark this season other than the NEW DELHI, SEPT then intervened, further de- stars mentioned above? 17:Less than a year after laying his return. Harish Kotian picks 5 ex- withdrawing from cricket to The prolonged lockdown citing bowlers to watch out tackle mental health issues, in Victoria state, which has for in IPL 2020. master blaster Glenn borne the brunt of Aus- Maxwell has reached a tralia's COVID-19 infec- broke the bank to snap the higher plain in the one-day tions, proved an unlikely Australian pacer at the IPL format while helping Aus- blessing for Maxwell, draw- Players Auction in December ing a hat-trick against sistent run in the IPL despite strike rate of 19 with two five- tralia turn the tables on ing him closer to short for- 2019.Having been bought Bangladesh in Nagpur in No- being part of it since 2015, wicket hauls. world champions England. mat skipper and fellow Vic- for a massive Rs 15.5 crore, vember 2019 -- the best fig- except for 2018 when he Shreyas Gopal Maxwell's 108 in a bril- torian Aaron Finch. Cummins will lead the KKR ures by any bowler in this claimed 18 in 14 This could be the IPL sea- liant 212-run partnership The only Victorians in the attack. format.He has worked on his games for the Delhi Dare- son when the leg-spinner with Alex Carey drove Aus- Australia squad, the pair One of the most improved death bowling skills and will devils. makes his breakthrough. tralia to a three-wicket win had little else to do but train bowlers in world cricket in be the key bowler for CSK Gopal has been one consis- in Manchester on Wednes- together and talk cricket. the last couple of years, Cum- Captain Mahendra Singh Unadkat enjoyed a dream tent performer for Kar- "Everything pretty much from the home day and a 2-1 series victory. Out of those conversa- mins will want to make a Dhoni. season in domestic cricket, nataka in domestic cricket went to plan tonight, the series against Sri Lanka last mark in the world's leading Trent Boult guiding Saurashtra to its and has done well for Ra- While Australia avenged way our partnership built October while struggling tions came clarity about T20 cricket tournament. Boult could prove a very maiden title. jasthan Royals in the last two their 5-0 humiliation in was outstanding," said with mental health. Maxwell's role in the team, After getting the better of smart buy for the Mumbai The left-arm pacer picked IPLs. England two years ago, the Maxwell. After a nearly two-month which has often seemed a COVID-19, a fully charged- Indians. up 67 wickets and will aim to Last year, Gopal achieved hosts lost their first one-day "I feel like I've always bat- break, Maxwell returned in vexed question for Finch, up Chahar will be lining up The left-arm bowler is a continue his dream run in the impossible when he series at home since 2015 ted better for Australia the domestic Big Bash selectors and Maxwell him- the opposition batsmen in wily customer, especially in the IPL for the Rajasthan picked up the legendary duo and their first anywhere when we've been in a bit of League, declaring he had self. IPL 2020. limited overs cricket, and Royals. of Virat Kohli and A B de Vil- since India in January 2017. trouble." "no demons" in his head in Maxwell was shunted up Chahar made an instant could combine with Jasprit He hasn't fared to expecta- liers off successive deliveries or Maxwell, who scored Maxwell has always been January after hammering and down the order at the impact for CSK in 2018 when Bumrah, fellow Kiwi tions in the last two IPL sea- when he took a hat-trick 77 in the opener, his knock a man in a hurry, often sacri- an unbeaten 83 to lead the World Cup in England and he took 10 wickets in 12 Mitchell McClenaghan, sons, but the seasoned Un- against the Royal Chal- on Wednesday not only as- ficing his wicket in a mad Melbourne Stars to victory had a mostly wretched tour- games, but he reached new Hardik Pandya to form a adkat could be a handful on lengers Bangalore in an IPL sured him of the man-of- dash for middle order runs, over the cross-town Rene- nament, but in Manchester heights last season. lethal pace attack in IPL the slow pitches in UAE. game in Bengaluru, which the-series award but also but he had to be patient to gades. over the past week he batted The pacer, renowned for 2020. Unadkat's ability to move was eventually washed out. made him the fastest man to seize his latest chance after a He was recalled to the at seven throughout, and his ability to swing the new Who can forget Boult's the new ball and his mastery Last season he had 20 score 3,000 ODI runs. rollercoaster year littered Australia squad for the looks like he might stay ball, claimed 22 wickets in 17 brilliant spell in the 2019 over the slow ball could make wickets from 14 games at an The all-rounder reached with setbacks. white-ball tour of South there. games at a strike rate of 17. World Cup semi-final him a key member of the average of 14. Another strong the milestone on his The tour of England was Africa in February but had "I just had so much clar- Chahar also made his against India when he Royals bowling attack. show this year could put 2,440th ball faced, 92 fewer the Melbourne man's first to withdraw to have elbow ity of what (Finch) expected name at the international claimed Virat Kohli? Overall, Unadkat has 77 Gopal in the reckoning for than his nearest rival, Eng- taste of international cricket surgery. of me in that role," Maxwell level, picking up 6/7, includ- Boult hasn't enjoyed a con- wickets in 73 IPL games, at a the national team. land's Jos Buttler. since he abruptly withdrew The COVID-19 pandemic said. IPL 2020: Meet the NEW DELHI, SEPT 17:Chennai the way and claim their fourth IPL ti- Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Sam Curran. Super Kings start off the IPL with a tle. Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo along with Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni major handicap, having lost two of CSK are one of the most consistent 41-year-old Imran Tahir, but they (captain), Shane Watson, Faf du their experienced players in Suresh teams in IPL history, having made it to have a proven record when it comes Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Raina and . the final eight times out of 10 appear- to T20 cricket. Gaikwad, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jad- A couple of their players also tested ances, including their two-year ban in All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be hav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Sant- positive for COVID-19 after their ar- 2016 and 2017. the player to watch out for as the left- ner, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, rival in the UAE thereby delaying the CSK last won the title in 2018, finish- hander is capable of winning games Josh Hazlewood, Imran Tahir, Lungi starting of their practice sessions. ing runners up last year to Mumbai with both bat and ball, while the pace Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Shardul But there is no denying the fact that Indians. attack also looks healthy with the likes Thakur, Piyush Chawla, Narayan Ja- the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led outfit The team has several players in of Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, gadeeshan, Karn Sharma, Monu Ku- still have enough firepower to go all their late 30s including Dhoni, Shane Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood and mar, R Sai Kishore, K M Asif.