Month: October 2020

4:13 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Mitchell Johnson has revealed he’s been struggling with depression since retiring from professional cricket in 2018. Johnson, who took 313 wickets in 73 Test appearances, including 37 at 13.97 in a legendary display of fast bowling in the 2013-14 Ashes, spoke emotionally about the issue during the filming of Channel 7’s SAS Australia. “I’ve found it tougher since retiring from cricket,” Johnson said. “All of…

3:33 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been omitted from India’s ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming Australia tour. Rohit Sharma, India’s white-ball vice-captain, who is currently nursing a hamstring injury in the IPL in the UAE, isn’t part of both the squads as well. Tamil Nadu and Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy earned his maiden national call-up on the back of his stellar performances…

3:26 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav have returned to India’s Test squad for the Australia tour and uncapped fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has also been called-up for the four-match series in December-January. Both Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma were missing from the squad after picking up injuries in the IPL, and the BCCI has said in a statement they will “continue to monitor the progress of…

7:08 PM IST Hemant Brar Big picture The Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting wanted his side to play its best cricket in the second half of IPL 2020. Instead, as the tournament has progressed, the cracks have started to emerge in the Capitals side. Had Ishant Sharma been fit, he would have been taking the new ball. In his absence, the Capitals are yet to finalise their fifth bowler. After…

12:59 PM GMT Alagappan Muthu Welcome to ESPNcricinfo’s Rolling Report of the 46th game of IPL 2020, between the Kolkata Knight Riders and King XI Punjab. The likes of Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine and Dinesh Karthik will take on the likes of KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mohammed Shami, Nicholas Pooran, and others in Sharjah. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab ball-by-ball commentary If the blog doesn’t load…

1:06 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff In a race for the final playoffs’ spot, the Kolkata Knight Riders hold the edge over their opponents today, but only just. They will be confident considering the crucial contributions by Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine in the last game, but they need more from their senior names, including Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik. A loss today and their campaign could be derailed, at least…

12:28 PM GMT Andrew Fidel Fernando Five foreign players, including Andre Russell, Faf du Plessis and David Miller have withdrawn from the Lanka Premier League (LPL) less than a week after they were drafted into franchise teams. Miller, du Plessis and Dawid Malan have become unavailable because of the limited-overs series between South Africa and England, set to begin on November 27. Russell, meanwhile, has pulled out due to injury,…

Sourav Ganguly: “I don’t see a reason why the families won’t be allowed to come. The Australian cricket board is trying to accommodate the families.”  11:27 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff The BCCI is yet to send a formal approval to Cricket Australia on the schedule for India’s upcoming tour of Australia, but the Indian board president Sourav Ganguly has pointed out that Indian team will be travelling to Sydney immediately…

10:12 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews is “very confident” that there will be a crowd for the Boxing Day Test against India following the announcement that Melbourne will come out of its Covid-19 lockdown which has lasted four months. The schedule for India’s visit is yet to be rubberstamped as it awaits final BCCI approval following last week’s sign-off from the New South Wales government that the…