After a campaign that never really took off, they have some reflecting to do: on batting-order tactics, on individual decision-making, and on whether the time is right for a change in leadership

Shashank Kishore15-Oct-20242:19

Muzumdar: ‘Couldn’t have asked for more from players’

Watching another game nervously with your fate reliant on its result is probably among the least enviable things in sport. Which is why, bags packed, several India players chose not to invest three-plus hours of their emotional energy into the New Zealand-Pakistan game, instead only glancing at the score from time to time.Their hopes rose when New Zealand were kept to 110, but they came crashing down when Pakistan tumbled to 56 all out. It’s the first time since 2016 that India haven’t made the semi-finals of a Women’s T20 World Cup. Their packed bags were ready to head straight to check-in as Harmanpreet Kaur’s team will head to their respective cities, before reconvening in Ahmedabad next week for three ODIs against New Zealand.Between now and then, they’ll have time to reflect on a campaign that never really took off. And that’s perhaps why this will sting more than the one in 2023, when they were contenders through much of the tournament before being stopped in the semi-final by eventual champions Australia.Related

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When they do stop to reflect, here are some of the things they will have to consider.The batting-order muddleIt’s great to have flexibility and India tried out six different players at No. 3 since Amol Muzumdar took over as head coach in December last year. But when these experiments didn’t yield the desired results, the team management backed the experienced Harmanpreet Kaur to be the impact batter there.In T20s since the start of 2022, Harmanpreet has been striking at 94.07 across 84 innings. The plan here was to free her up to play the role of an aggressor, allowing Jemimah Rodrigues, originally a No. 3, to be a spin enforcer in the middle.Jemimah Rodrigues: No. 3 or not No. 3?•ICC/Getty ImagesBut one loss to New Zealand led to a reshuffle with Rodrigues coming out at No. 3 against Pakistan, a game where the openers failed to hit a single boundary in the powerplay when the need of the hour was quick runs to improve their net run rate if it came down to that.Rodrigues herself had spoken of how batting in a new position had got her to approach batting differently. Yet, in a decisive game against Australia, with spinners Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Ash Gardner applying the brakes on India’s scoring rate, they missed Rodrigues in the middle, because she was sent in at No. 3 again, above Harmanpreet. The revolving door at No. 3 may have not been the only reason for their exit, but it certainly forced India to deviate from the template they had wanted to set.Mandhana, Ghosh off-colourIt also didn’t help that Smriti Mandhana had a forgettable tournament. Barring the half-century against Sri Lanka, she managed just 12, 7 and 6. Mandhana’s powerplay salvo has over the years allowed India’s middle order some cushion. It did so in 2023; not this time though, and it hurt the team. Muddled batting plans down the order didn’t help either, like the decision to send in Deepti Sharma ahead of S Sajana against Pakistan when India were looking to close out the chase quickly.Smriti Mandhana has a forgettable World Cup to reflect on•ICC/Getty ImagesDeepti was unbeaten on 7 off eight balls and by the time Sajana, playing primarily as a finisher, came in to hit her first (and only) ball of the tournament to the boundary to bring up the winning runs, India had eaten up 18.5 overs in a modest chase.Batting-order tactics aside, India also let themselves down with their individual, in-the-moment decision-making. Like Richa Ghosh, India’s biggest six-hitter, chancing a non-existent single to extra cover when big hits, and not quick singles, was the need of the hour.Or Harmanpreet’s decision to take a single with India needing 14 to win off six balls against Australia. It was clear, beyond doubt, that Harmanpreet was India’s last hope. India went on to lose two wickets in two balls. Even when there was still a chance, however unlikely, with India needing 13 off 3, Harmanpreet opted to take another single, leaving No. 9 Shreyanka Patil to hit two sixes.Why camps over A-tour exposure in Australia?Patil is a competent batter in domestic cricket but has hardly had opportunities to showcase her credentials at the top level. Okay, she was injured in the run-up to the tournament and needed the National Cricket Academy’s attention, but in simply focusing on skills and fitness camps did India deny themselves a valuable opportunity of sending some of the others, like Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav and Arundhati Reddy, on the India A tour to Australia?All through the South Africa and Bangladesh series, India’s lower order was hardly tested on the batting front. Even when they went 3-0 up in Bangladesh, they stuck to the tried-and-tested. At the time, this might have seemed fair because they were preparing for a World Cup that was expected to be in those same conditions. But hardly any batting time for a lower order for months leading into the World Cup didn’t help.

While India’s T20 World Cup preparation – exclusive fitness, fielding and skill camps across six weeks – may have seemed comprehensive on the face of it, they may have missed a trick by not scheduling a single fielding or training session under lights

Which is perhaps why exposure in a multi-format series against a quality opponent, which featured the likes of Tahlia McGrath, who played an important role in India’s defeat on Sunday, could have provided them exposure and experience that no skill or fitness camp would have compensated for.Also, while India’s preparation – exclusive fitness, fielding and skill camps across six weeks – may have seemed comprehensive on the face of it, they may have missed a trick by not scheduling a single fielding or training session under lights. While three dropped catches against Australia in a crunch game may not have directly contributed to their defeat, it all added up in the end.So, what next?Inevitably, the end of every World Cup cycle will prompt questions of a transition. Harmanpreet has been captain for seven years now, and has been a key driver for change amid a revolving door of coaches (Tushar Arothe to Ramesh Powar to WV Raman to Ramesh Powar to Hrishikesh Kanitkar to Amol Muzumdar) since she took over in 2017.Is it time for Harmanpreet Kaur to pass the captaincy baton on?•ICC via Getty ImagesMandhana has been the captain-in-waiting, much like Rohit Sharma until he replaced Virat Kohli, co-incidentally after a group-stage exit at a T20 World Cup in the UAE – in 2021. Mandhana has risen to be a top batter who commands the respect of the players and has built an impressive body of work.Earlier this year, she masterminded Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden WPL win. At 28, with over a decade’s experience, it may not necessarily be a bad idea for the team to go to her, for an influx of new ideas from a player who has come of age under Harmanpreet and can build on her good work.That could possibly unshackle Harmanpreet the batter as well, adding possibly yet another chapter to her illustrious career, especially with a 50-over World Cup to look forward to at home next year.

Also: was Travis Head’s 154 not out the highest score by an Australian in an ODI in England?

Steven Lynch24-Sep-2024Was Travis Head’s 154 not out the highest score by an Australian in an ODI in England? asked Michael Carpenter from Australia

That superb innings from Travis Head in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge last week was the highest ODI score by an Australian against England in England, beating Shane Watson’s 143 in Southampton in 2013.But there has been one higher score for Australia in all ODIs in England: David Warner hammered 166 against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge during the 2019 World Cup. The only score higher than Head’s for Australia against England in any ODI is 161 not out, by Watson again, in Melbourne in 2011.Marnus Labuschagne had a remarkable all-round game in the first ODI against England – a fifty, three wickets and four catches. Has anyone done this before? asked Kevin Wilson from Scotland

Marnus Labuschagne saw Australia to victory at Trent Bridge with 77 not out, having earlier taken three wickets and four catches in England’s innings.Two others have added a half-century to three wickets and three catches in the same ODI: Australia’s Greg Matthews, against New Zealand in Auckland in 1986, and Jacques Kallis of South Africa, against West Indies in Centurion in 1999.It’s been achieved in women’s ODIs only by Suzie Bates, for New Zealand against England in Taunton in 2007.Marnus Labuschagne is the only player to score a half-century, take three wickets and four catches in an ODI•AFPIn a recent CPL match, Roshon Primus bowled an over that lasted 13 balls. Was that a T20 record? asked Chris Dowden from Grenada

The ESPNcricinfo database only has ball-by-ball details for about 63% of all T20 matches, but we have unearthed two cases of overs lasting 14 deliveries: by Bhutan’s Thinley Jamtsho against Maldives in Kirtipur (Nepal) in 2019 – the first over of the innings, it contained eight wides – and by Mongolia’s captain Luwsanzundui Erdenebulgan against Japan in Sano (Japan) in 2024. The first over of the match included six wides and two no-balls – and a wicket. In all, Mongolia sent down 21 wides and three no-balls, and were later dismissed for 12.The recent 13-ball over by Roshon Primus came in his only over for Antigua & Barbuda Falcons in their CPL match against Barbados Royals in Bridgetown last week. It was the 12th over of the innings and cost 23: there were four wides and three no-balls – and a wicket, when Quinton de Kock gloved a catch behind.The only other 13-ball over we can find was by Tangeni Lungameni for Namibia v Kenya in East London in 2018. It was his first over, and included seven wides – but he recovered well, sending down no more wides and finishing with 1 for 28 in his four overs.Ravichandran Ashwin has now scored six Test centuries, all from No. 8 or lower, I believe. Is this a record? asked Kiran Mehta from India

Although R Ashwin does now have six Test centuries, following his match-turning effort in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai last week, only four of them came from No. 8 – he scored two while up at No. 6: 113 in Antigua and 118 in St Lucia during India’s series in the West Indies in 2016.Ashwin has scored four centuries from No. 8, which puts him level with Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, and one ahead of the Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. Vettori scored his first hundred from No. 9. He leads the way with five Test centuries from No. 8 or lower in the order.Was Keacy Carty the first Test cricketer to emerge from Sint Maarten? asked Darrell Walcott from Barbados

The small Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Netherlands, is probably best known for its scary airport, whose runway adjoins the beach, meaning that incoming planes appear to be worryingly close to the sea before skimming over anxious holidaymakers. But you’re right, it does now have another claim to fame: batter Keacy Carty, who was born there in 1997, made his Test debut against South Africa in Port-of-Spain in August. In the second innings he batted briefly with Mikyle Louis, the first West Indian Test cricketer from the island of St Kitts.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

He showed he has the speed and the spark on a flat Cape Town pitch, and he’s continuing his quest for more consistency to truly make his skills count

Firdose Moonda07-Jan-2025With express pace, good control and a calm, mature demeanour, it can be easy to forget Kwena Maphaka is just a teenager. But when he took his first Test wicket, he provided a reminder of his youth.Maphaka was into his second spell as a Test cricketer, bowling to one of the world’s best, Babar Azam who was on 58. While Maphaka had been getting his speeds up past 140kph, he was still trying to work out his lines and delivered one down the leg side which Babar followed in an attempt to flick away. Babar didn’t get hold of it as well as he should have and sent a fine edge into Kyle Verreynne’s gloves.Maphaka ran all the way down the pitch towards Verryenne and then straight past him, almost to the boundary. He spread his arms wide as his team-mates chased him and showed no signs of stopping. “And running through my mind was literally nothing other than, ‘I’ve got my first test wicket, let me run around and parade,” Maphaka said at Newlands after South Africa’s 10-wicket win. “It was really crazy, I was just trying to hit a good area. That ball did not go where it was supposed to. But things like that happen for a reason, I’m really happy to have got that wicket.”Related

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He finished the match with two more and an appetite for international cricket. Though he has yet to receive his final school results, has already passed the first Test of his career with flying colours and he sounds like he knows it. “I was really just trying to stay calm, and trying to be as focused as possible on bowling the same ball, or similar balls consistently, rather than trying too many things at once,” he said. “Test cricket from what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen, is a game of simplicity, so I was just trying to keep it as simple as possible.”Maphaka had the good fortune of debuting in an attack with three other frontline quicks in a match that was consequential in ensuring South Africa won a series but not in whether they got to the World Test Championship final. That meant there was slightly less pressure on them than there might have been if this was a must-win. They could take their time in stages, and they did on a flat deck filled with runs, which also meant Maphaka had the challenge of playing in conditions that did not really suit him – or any of the bowlers – and so he had to stay patient and work for his wickets. But he had a captain, Temba Bavuma, who made it clear before the match that Maphaka was not on trial, used him well and allowed his skill to shine through.As South Africa’s least experienced seamer, in matches and years, Maphaka was carefully managed. He bowled 8.2 out of 54.2 overs in the first innings and only 13 of the 122.1 overs in the second for a match total of 128 balls. He has only sent down more deliveries once previously, in his second first-class match in November 2023, where he bowled 24.5 overs – 149 balls. Remember that this is just his fourth red-ball game and building up his loads judiciously will be key to his long-term future. Using him sparsely not only allowed Maphaka to find his feet in the format but was also tactical as it allowed him to keep his speeds up. Pakistan captain Shan Masood singled him out as the bowler who “cranked it up” and made things uncomfortable.

“I was really just trying to stay calm, and trying to be as focused as possible on bowling the same ball, or similar balls consistently, rather than trying too many things at once. Test cricket from what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen, is a game of simplicity, so I was just trying to keep it as simple as possible.”Kwena Maphaka

His standout spell came on the fourth day, when he was given the old ball with less than 10 minutes to go before the lunch break. Pakistan were 307 for 3, Masood had bedded in on 134 and South Africa seemed to be biding time before the second new ball. Maphaka’s second ball was fast, full and fired into the pads. It squared Saud Shakeel up and though South Africa went up for the appeal, they decided not to review. Replays showed they should have because the ball was going on to hit leg stump and Shakeel would have been out on 14. Did Maphaka wish he or someone else had tried to convince Bavuma a little harder to send it upstairs? It doesn’t sound like it.”It’s really one of those things where you make the right decision or you make the wrong decision and it doesn’t really matter, you’ve got to get on with the game,” he said. “We made the wrong decision but it wasn’t really helpful to look back. It was actually just better to look forward and say, you know what, we’re going to get him out anyway. Let’s see how we’re going to get him out.”It was Kagiso Rabada who got Shakeel with the second new ball but Maphaka, who shared it, also had success. He removed Masood, on review, with what the Pakistan captain believed was an error of technology but one South African won’t complain about. Maphaka found swing with the second new ball, moved it away from Masood and struck him on the knee roll. Masood and on-field umpire Nitin Menon thought would have missed his off stump but Hawkeye did not. Maphaka got two more overs after that and impressed with his pace, bounce and movement.Kwena Maphaka asked the right questions on Test debut•AFP/Getty ImagesHe was easily the most threatening of the quicks in that period. The analysis of that spell read: 7-1-16-1, and could be remembered as a sign of things to come for the young man. “All the nerves were really gone, so it was really just focusing on hitting an area, and trying to be as consistent as possible,” he said.This is something Maphaka has said for the last year, since topping the wicket-takers’ list at last year’s Under-19 World Cup. While pace comes naturally to him, he also wants to make sure he delivers it with discipline so that he challenges batters across formats and particularly in the longest one.His introduction to Test cricket has come early and he could wait as long as 10 months to play another game, and 22 to do it at home. South Africa’s next scheduled fixture is the WTC final at Lord’s in June before an October trip to Pakistan. They are not due to play Tests at home until October 2026. In between that, Maphaka will play in the SA20, the IPL, perhaps a few other leagues and in South Africa’s white-ball set-up, and the road ahead is overflowing with possibility.At least one person always knew it would be this way. Test coach Shukri Conrad picked Maphaka in the national Under-19 team when he was just 15 years old and the two have had a strong bond ever since. The only other time Maphaka serves up a reminder of how young he is when he talks about Rabada, whom he described as being “like a big brother”, and Conrad. “As a cricketer my coach backs me 100%, so I can back myself and I know that there’s no real pressure on me,” he said of Conrad. “Obviously, cricket is a game of pressure, but there’s no pressure from the change room in terms of my performances and how I go about my business.”As he gets older that may change, but for now he is basking in the youthful joy of his early success.

A look ahead to the auction, highlighting a few significant trends that could be in play at the event

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Nov-202412:15

Pant? Rahul? Which Indian player will get the big bucks at the auction?

Will there be a 25-crore buy?

Following the record bids at the IPL 2024 mini auction by KKR and SRH to buy the Australian pair of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins respectively, there is an anticipation that the INR 25-crore ceiling might be broken this time.There are two likely reasons this could happen. Firstly, Rishabh Pant. Pant is listed in the first set of marquee players that will ring in the auction on Sunday. He will be among the most sought-after players because several teams are on the lookout for an Indian captain-cum-wicketkeeper. Pant is the first big-name India player to come up in an auction in a long time, and the expectation is that the teams with the biggest purses – PBKS (INR 110.5 crore), RCB (INR 83 crore) and LSG (INR 69 crore) – will bid for him.Then there is DC (INR 73 crore), the franchise Pant played for since 2016 and led since 2021 until last season. Pant opted to head to the auction after retention talks with DC failed, which he recently clarified had nothing to do with money. DC still have the option to buy him back as they have two right-to-match (RTM) options available. And it is the modified RTM rule that might just escalate the bids.

How will the modified RTM rule impact the bidding?

When it has been used in the past, the RTM option allowed franchises to buy back a player by simply matching the price at which that player was sold at the auction. But in the modified RTM rule, which will be in play at this mega auction, if the previous franchise wants to use the RTM card, the franchise that makes the final bid will be given an additional opportunity to raise their bid. In case that happens, the original franchise will need to match that bid using the RTM card to secure the player.Related

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For example, say any franchise apart from DC has made a final bid of INR 18 crore for Pant. DC decide to use the RTM. The other franchise then decides to hike their final bid to INR 25 crore. DC, to buy back Pant, will need to match that price or lose out.Officials at franchises have pointed out that the new RTM rule gives no assurance that a team can get back a player at a fair price. Consequently, several franchises have retained at least five, or in the case of KKR and RR, the maximum of six players.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that a few franchises suspect the RTM rule is also responsible for some big-name players opting to head to the auction after receiving an assurance from another franchise that they would be paid a bigger price.

Impact Player – a hot buy

The Impact Player rule was a significant factor in record totals being smashed in IPL 2024. Most Impact Players were predominantly Indian. Many of those were also uncapped. In 2023, Dhruv Jurel announced himself initially as an Impact Player at RR. In 2024, the success of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma at PBKS, or the massive INR 8.4 crore CSK paid acquire power-hitter Sameer Rizvi, were examples of how seriously franchises were paying attention to having a player who can be earmarked as the Impact Player.Sameer Rizvi could get a lot of attention at the mega auction•BCCIThis time around, too, franchises will be on the lookout for uncapped Indian names for the role. A few players that could potentially attract a significant bid include Ashutosh and Rizvi, who are back at the auction, Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Robin Minz, and Karnataka batter Abhinav Manohar.

Uncapped players that could attract strong bids

The quality and importance of uncapped Indian players have grown as franchises have been investing in scouting and in helping these players grow. Importantly, the players are now looked at from a long-term perspective. The success stories of Rinku Singh (KKR) and Tilak Varma (MI) are the two recent examples of uncapped players graduating into top performers, who now play for India.In addition to the names listed for Impact Player role, here’s a short list of uncapped players who are likely to fetch strong bids at this auction: Harpreet Brar, Nehal Wadhera, Anshul Kamboj, Rasikh Salam, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Gurjapneet Singh.

Edgbaston six-for just reward for Mohammed Siraj, who assumed seniority in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence

Sidharth Monga04-Jul-2025

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have a chat before the third day’s play•AFP via Getty Images

A quirky, curious statistic kept assuming bigger proportion through the third day’s play at Edgbaston. Especially when Mohammed Siraj began taking wickets with the second new ball to go with his double-strike in his first over of the day.Here are the numbers. Mohammed Siraj has played 23 Tests with Jasprit Bumrah, and averages 33.82 in them. His average in 15 matches without Bumrah now reads 25.20. Siraj has played nine Tests with Mohammed Shami; he averages 34.96 in them. He has played six Tests with both Bumrah and Shami, and he averages 33.05 in them. In the 12 matches that Siraj has played with neither Bumrah nor Shami in them, Siraj averages 22.27.When put that way to Siraj in a spot interview with no time to reflect on it, Siraj said he loves the responsibility. But it is what it is: an oddity. Unless Siraj himself tells you when he plays with Bumrah he bowls for Bumrah. Until then it’s all pop psychology.Related

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When Siraj is the third bowler, you can probably look for some causation, in that you don’t get the new ball, you bowl more with a softer ball, and possibly have to play a containing role. When you are the second quick, you probably don’t get an end of your choice, you are just as attacking as when you are the first.A non-quirky fact is that Siraj is a fine fast bowler with good control, an outswinger that can at times go missing, a wobble-seam ball, and a big heart. He has been bowling well since the start of the Australia tour, but hasn’t really had the luck to get him wickets.Cricket is a messy sport. At Headingley, outside that first spell when he struggled running uphill for three overs, Siraj bowled roughly as many good balls as Bumrah, roughly at the same pace, drew roughly a similar percentage of false shots, but had nothing to show for it.Mohammed Siraj leads India off the field•Getty ImagesOf course Siraj is no Bumrah. That’s why he said he only believes in Jassi , resulting in memes where Bumrah was shown saying “I only believe on Miyan .” Still he was far from ordinary in Australia, but took 20 wickets at an average of 31.15 in a seam-dominated series. If this keeps happening for long, even the most empathetic of observers start pointing at your career average: 31.83 at the start of this series.The beauty of this messy sport is that when everybody has been worried about Bumrah’s absence, on comes Siraj, starts as the second bowler behind Akash Deep with both the new balls, makes no causal change to the way he bowls and ends with a six-for. His lengths didn’t become more attacking or shorter, he extracted much less seam, and he swung the ball as much as he did in Leeds.The one change he made, though, was move his lines straighter, which you can afford to do when the pitch is slower and lower. From 47.5% balls in the channel in Leeds, his channel deliveries came down to 42.9%. His straight lines went up from 22.5% to 33.8%. These, though, are fine changes that bowlers regularly make to adjust to different pitches and match situations.1:53

What worked for Siraj and Akash Deep?

Siraj himself is no stranger to the quirks of fate in cricket. “I have been waiting for a year for a five-for,” he told Jio Hotstar. “I was getting stuck at four. I was bowling well but not getting wickets. This is a very special moment. Especially because I had only four-fors in England.”It is just that bit extra special because of the kind of lifeless pitch it has come on. The pitch has only got slower during the Test with no seam movement. There have been long periods, especially after the ball ages past 30 overs, when it is hard to see where the next wicket will come from. In such conditions, Siraj was just fire with the new ball. As was Akash Deep.Despite bowling the fewest overs among fast bowlers – not counting Prasidh Krishna because he bowled a spell full of bouncers – Siraj attacked the stumps most often, projected to hit the stumps 28 times. He got three wickets in those balls. In just 26 false shots, he got six wickets. At Headingley, he got two in 69. Control data might not be gospel, but this is stark.Siraj knows it. He lives with these quirks of the game. That’s why he can keep running in with the same spirit after a run of barren Tests. He will do the same in the second innings. Have some patience if he doesn’t get same results.

Explosive TNPL batter eyes IPL breakthrough with fearless batting and consistency

Deivarayan Muthu16-Aug-2025He has been dominating bowlers, including Varun Chakravarthy and R Ashwin, with his explosive batting over the past two seasons of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Apart from opening the batting, he can also keep wicket, which makes him an exciting package, especially in T20 cricket. He has also had a brief stint with Tamil Nadu’s white-ball sides and emerged on the IPL’s radar.Meet Tushar Raheja, who has earned the sobriquet ‘Rocket Raheja’ in the TNPL circles. An aggressive left-hand batter, Raheja has a wide variety of shots in his repertoire. The 24-year-old has always been proficient against pace and in TNPL 2025 he levelled up, disrupting both Varun and Ashwin during Tiruppur Tamizhans’ run to their maiden title. His franchise and state captain R Sai Kishore was so impressed with Raheja’s takedown of spin that he came out publicly and said the wicketkeeper-batter was ready for the IPL.Raheja had attended multiple trials before and during IPL 2025, including a mid-season one, but couldn’t break into the big league. He’s taken feedback and learnings from those trials and has strengthened his case for the upcoming auction with a chart-topping 488 runs in nine innings at an average of 61 and strike rate of 185.55, including 77 in the final against Ashwin’s Dindigul Dragons.”I thought I did well at the Delhi trials and then I was called again during the tournament as well,” Raheja recalls, speaking to ESPNcricinfo. “That was again a good experience and that helped me evolve as well. I was amongst people who got picked in this year’s IPL like Priyansh Arya. After the auction, I tried to compare myself to them in terms of seeing what they are doing right and what I’m not.”Seeing them at trials, going back and seeing their videos and seeing them in the IPL – that gave me a lot of learning. Being amongst Hemang Badani, Rahul Dravid and other Indian cricketers gives you a lot of confidence, which I’ve tried to carry into this season.”Tushar Raheja emerged as the player of the tournament in TNPL 2025•TNPL/TNCARaheja has IPL ambitions, but he doesn’t want to look too far ahead. “I would like to focus on the Syed Mushtaq Ali [tournament], which would take me a step closer,” Raheja says. “I’m trying not to think about it but obviously, it’s human tendency again to start thinking about it. I will be lying if I say I’ve not thought about it.”When he was younger, Raheja admits to being carried away by the “adrenaline rush” but now he’s learnt to control his emotions and thoughts with help from Raymun Roy, a mental conditioning coach, who has also worked with India internationals Washington Sundar and B Sai Sudharsan.”Roy has played a big role in this aspect, where basically you are controlling your heartbeat,” Raheja says. “Like, when you are playing a match or when you are under pressure, what brings a lot of thoughts is your heartbeat and at the time, your mind will be running fast. So, I’ve tried to keep that in check and not have too many thoughts.”We do a lot of quantum breathing exercises off the field and some of these are simple exercises that I can do while batting also. So, even when I’m batting in between balls, there are a lot of small exercises that I do, which help me not think, if that makes sense.”

“From last year or even the year before that, after the powerplay, I was slowing down. Most of the time, it is spinners bowling to you after the powerplay. So, I did a lot of drills against spin, getting my bat swing a lot better against spin and trying to pick length a lot better.”Tushar Raheja

Raheja has also expanded his range, and he credits his personal coach TV Ramkumar for it. While the slog-sweep comes naturally to him, he had to spend more time on hitting straight during the off-season in the lead-up to the TNPL.”What I have put in a lot of work into is hitting straight, hitting over covers and mainly hitting straight,” Raheja says, “because if you are able to hit straight, the other things will come with your bat swing. But the hardest thing to do is hit a bowler, especially a spinner, straight. I’m looking to hit them straight on the ground, over long-off and long-on.Related

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“I’ve been training with Mr. Ramkumar for three years now and I’ve understood my game because of him. I feel from last year, every time after the powerplay or even the year before that, after the powerplay, I was slowing down. So, I tried to put in a lot of thought into how I can keep that momentum going. Most of the time, it’s spinners bowling to you after the powerplay. So, I did a lot of drills against spin, getting my bat swing a lot better against spin and trying to pick length a lot better.”When he was six years old, Raheja had enrolled himself into a tennis academy but switched to cricket after watching MS Dhoni lead India to T20 World Cup glory in 2007. Raheja idolises Dhoni and also has fond memories of watching Matthew Hayden bashing bowlers in the IPL at Chepauk. It may not be too long before Raheja himself breaks into the IPL.”I was always a fan of Dhoni,” Raheja says. “When Matthew Hayden used to play for CSK, I used to go to Chepauk to watch a lot of matches. So, I was fascinated by the way he took down fast bowlers. I was also fascinated by Yuvraj Singh but I’ve always idolised Dhoni mainly.”Tushar Raheja asked coach RX Murali to make him open the batting and since then has transformed himself into an intent machine•TNPL/TNCARaheja didn’t start as an opener at Tiruppur but was promoted to the top after coach RX Murali (also the batting coach of RCB Women) saw a spark in him during a practice game. He has since transformed himself into an intent machine.”I was batting in the middle order in the TNPL for a couple of seasons,” Raheja says. “I used to ask him: ‘Sir, give me a shot at opening’. He then gave me an opportunity and he really liked my attacking intent. He has worked with some of the top cricketers in the country. His inputs have been valuable, and it helps working with someone who has so much T20 experience.”While white-ball cricket is his calling card right now, Raheja doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed as a white-ball specialist. He has dreams of representing Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy after playing eight white-ball games for them last season.With Sai Sudharsan likely to be on India or India A duty during this season, Raheja has a chance to stake his claim for a red-ball slot in the upcoming Buchi Babu tournament, which will kick off on August 18 in Chennai. Raheja and TNCA XI will run into a Mumbai side featuring Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan and Musheer Khan.”I wish to do a lot better in the red-ball format than I’m [doing] right now,” Raheja says. “I am working hard on my red-ball game as well. I don’t want to be just branded as a white-ball only player. I know I have the game for the red-ball format as well.”I have a lot more work to do, which I am working on in that format. But those ambitions are definitely there, and I want to break into the Ranji side as well. But that will come with more performances in the [first division] league and the Buchi Babu, which is coming up. I’m excited to express myself there.”A big domestic season could propel ‘Rocket Raheja’ into Tamil Nadu’s batting core and the IPL.

The current WTC system is weighed in favour of bowler-friendly pitches. Here’s one that aims to incentivise longer Test matches that end in an outright result

Kartikeya Date01-Dec-2025The World Test Championship points system awards 12 points for a Test win, four points for a draw, and none for a Test defeat. This makes a Test win significantly more valuable compared to a draw.Consider two hypothetical three-match series, where in the first, the winning side wins 2-1, earning 24 points to the losing team’s 12. In the other, the winning side wins 1-0, earning 20 points (12 for the win, four each for the draws), while the losing side earns eight. In terms of raw points, the side winning 2-1 earns more points than the side winning 1-0. It also earns a higher percentage of the available points (24 out of a possible 36, or 66.7%) compared to the 1-0 winning side (20 points out of a possible 36, or 55.6%). This is significant because a team’s position on the WTC table is decided based on the percentage of available points that they collect.It is fair to say that the WTC points system disincentives draws in Test cricket. Only 26 of the 216 Test matches (one in eight) in the WTC era have been drawn. It would not be fair to say, however, that the WTC system singularly has caused teams to chase results. That tendency precedes the championship.In the 214 Tests just before the WTC era, 32 were drawn. It is also not the case that the more successful teams in the WTC era play fewer draws. In the last two editions of the championship (2021-23 and 2023-25), the top four teams in the final table played at least as many, if not more, draws than the bottom four teams.Nevertheless, Test matches have been getting shorter. This is partly because scoring rates have been rising, and consequently, dismissals are occurring more frequently than they used to. This is also due to the DRS. Other interesting causes are evident in the record, but those are best left for a separate discussion. For now, let’s focus on the cause that keeps attracting much discussion every time a short Test match is played – the pitch.Home teams have the privilege of producing pitches of their choice in Test cricket. Different parts of the world have different types of soil, weather and traditions, and produce a variety of pitches, all of which are not equally well suited to the same styles of bowling. The ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process acknowledges this reality. In the WTC era, all home teams have produced bowler-friendly, result-oriented, pitches.Home teams cannot produce pitches that make only their own victory more likely, especially when the visiting team has sufficient quality and variety in bowling, as New Zealand, South Africa, England, India, Australia and Pakistan invariably have had for all conditions in recent times. The best home teams can hope for is that even against a fairly complete opponent, their own quality and depth in bowling on their pitches will outgun that of the visitors in the long run. The Australians, for instance, successfully made this bet when India toured in 2024-25. They lost the first Test, in Perth, on a very quick, seaming pitch, but in the end, their superior fast-bowling depth and quality told on five fast-bowler-friendly surfaces. In a short series, there isn’t always time for this type of benefit to play out. But even there, as we have seen above, 1-1 is a better result than 0-0 under the WTC points system.In the 865 non-WTC Test matches since the start of 2000 that were not played at neutral venues, the median game lasted 1982 balls. Of the 432 Tests that were completed in 1982 balls or fewer, the home team won 255 and lost 129 (or 59 wins and 30 defeats per 100 Tests). Of the 432 Tests that lasted more than 1982 balls, the home team won 170 and lost 122 (or 39 wins and 28 defeats per 100 Tests). Longer Tests make winning less likely but don’t reduce the frequency of defeat; they increase the probability of draws.Under the current points system, matches less than about 300 overs long fetch the home team 60% of available points, while longer ones produce 56%. Which makes home teams interested in risking defeat chasing victory with bowler-friendly pitches•Gallo ImagesIn the WTC era the median Test has lasted 1765 balls. Of the 109 matches that lasted 1765 balls or fewer during this period, the home team won 61 and lost 40 (or 56 wins, 37 defeats per 100 Tests). Of the 106 matches that lasted more than 1765 balls, the home team won 53 and lost 34 (50 wins and 32 defeats per 100 Tests). Matches have become shorter in the WTC era; longer WTC matches (those longer than the median) produce 18 draws per 100 Tests, compared to nine draws per 100 Tests in shorter matches. But under the WTC points system shorter matches produce 59% of available points for the home team (56 wins, nine draws), while longer matches produce 56% of available points for the home team (50 wins, 18 draws). So it is in the interests of the home team to risk defeat chasing victory in the WTC era by preparing more bowler-friendly pitches.The general understanding that better batting pitches increase the probability of the draw by reducing the likelihood of winning more than they reduce the likelihood of losing, precedes the WTC era. It is no surprise that England sought old-fashioned English pitches after losing by 405 runs to Australia in the Lord’s Test of the 2015 Ashes. The cost of an English fast bowler’s wicket in England dropped from 29.1 runs in the 2011-2015 period (including that Lord’s Ashes Test), to 23.9 runs from the end of that 2015 Test to the start of the Bazball era in June 2022. The 2011-15 period was already a strong era for England, with Stuart Broad and James Anderson forming a great seam-bowling new-ball pair.India’s desire for turning pitches at home has a much longer history in modern cricket. Most Indian captains have sought such conditions, believing (correctly) that, (a) in the long run, their superior depth and quality of spin bowling will mean they will win a lot more than they lose, and (b) that a turning pitch mitigates consequences arising from the outcome of the toss.The conventional wisdom, which has found new voice following India’s defeat at Eden Gardens – that better wickets will amplify India’s spin bowling quality – is not borne out by the record. Since the start of 1993, India have played 151 Tests at home, won 90 and lost 24. Anil Kumble played his first home Test against England in January 1993, marking the start of a prolonged period of Indian spin domination at home. India’s median home Test in this period has lasted 2059 balls. Of 75 home Tests that lasted 2061 balls or fewer, India won 55 and lost 11. Of the 75 that lasted longer than 2061 balls, India won 35 and lost 12. While it is true, as Himanish Ganjoo has showed on these pages that, relative to better batting pitches, bowler-friendly pitches reduce India’s batting average more than they do the opposition’s (since the visiting team’s batting average is lower to begin with), this does not, in the long run, translate to more frequent defeats for India.If the current points system rewards bowler-friendly pitches because teams don’t want to risk draws, how might a points system that aims to produce longer Test matches without incentivising draws be devised? Such a system would, for instance, reward a win in 400 overs more than it does a win in 280 overs. The requirement is for a system that makes the choice less obvious for home teams when it comes to preferring result pitches. It will do this by finding a way to penalise shorter Tests (and consequently, pitches at the bowler-friendly end of the spectrum) without rewarding draws. Rewarding draws is likely to encourage home teams to ask for featherbeds.The current WTC points system also does not consider the balance of play; it only considers the result. A draw is a draw, and teams get the same number of points whether it is a team hanging on by one wicket in a thrilling finish or a Test in which only 21 wickets fall over 400 overs of play.A few years ago I proposed a method of measuring the dominance of a Test team. It is sensitive to the outcome of every delivery in the match. Under that system, the two teams in the Kanpur and Ahmedabad Tests above would not finish on an equal number of points. That system also avoids arbitrary thresholds (for instance, the WTC system prescribes a 3:1 ratio for wins to draws). How points are allotted using this hypothetical system is shown below with the examples of two recent Tests. (Note, the intermediate figures are rounded to three decimal places here. In the actual calculation, they are not.)1. India vs South Africa at Eden Gardens, 2025
Result: SA won by 30 runs
SA: 312 for 20 in 654 balls
IND: 282 for 18 in 584 ballsRuns per wicket for the match (312 + 282) / (20 + 18) = 15.63IND batting points: 282 / 584 = 0.483IND bowling points: 20*15.63 / 654 = 0.478
SA batting points: 312 / 654 = 0.477
SA bowling points: 18*15.63 / 584 = 0.482
IND total points: 0.959
SA total points: 0.961Since South Africa won outright, they get a win bonus – equal to the average number of points each team earned in the match – which in this case is 0.960 (0.959 + 0.961) / 2South Africa’s total points for the match: 0.961 + 0.960 = 1.919, and India’s total points for the match: 0.959. So South Africa has +0.960 points net.2. India v England at Edgbaston, 2025
Result: India won by 336 runs
IND: 1014 for 16 in 1404 balls
ENG: 678 for 20 in 946 ballsRuns per wicket for the match: 47IND total points: 3.200
ENG total points: 1.252
IND net points: 1.948In draws, each team’s final points tally is simply the sum of their bowling and batting points. For instance, in the 2023 Ahmedabad Test referenced above, India collected 1.008 points and Australia 0.934 points. In other words, India collected a net 0.069 points and Australia a net -0.069 points.This method of assessing teams in Test matches is sensitive to the outcome of each delivery, and to the margin of victory (or even the margin of the draw). For the hypothetical WTC version of this system, I propose scaling the winning team’s points by a match-length factor to arrive at the win bonus for outright wins.The average outright result in WTC Tests takes 1738 deliveries. So we divide the number of deliveries in a match by 1800 (300 overs), or the average length. If a match lasts 2000 deliveries, the match length factor is 2000 / 1800. The consequence of this method of deriving the win-bonus figure is shown in the graph below, which compares the net points teams earn in all the outright results in WTC Tests using this modified system to their net points in the original system. The net points decrease for shorter matches and increase for longer matches.Kartikeya DateThe calculation of the net points per match for each team in the 2021-23 WTC Test cycle is below. This comparison is difficult to make because pitch preparation is shaped by the points system at work. If pitches that last five days give teams a chance to earn more points than quicker victories on more precarious pitches, then pitches will become less bowler-friendly. The comparison also depends on which matches a team loses and which it wins. For instance, the average Test match won by South Africa in the 2021-23 WTC cycle lasted 1703 balls, while the average Test they lost lasted 1319 balls. Five of their six defeats in this cycle came in New Zealand, England and Australia. The sixth was a defeat to India in the 2021 Boxing Day Test in Centurion.