Batsman charged with attempt to murder; absconds from the scene after the incident

IPL 2021: Sanju Samson says captaincy is more of a service to the team

Newly appointed Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson is looking forward to his first stint as a captain in the Indian Premier League. He will be leading the Rajasthan Royals when the IPL extravaganza kicks off on 9th April. Even before being formally named the captain of Rajasthan Royals, Samson knew that he was going to be named the new captain. He couldn’t hold back his excitement and promptly shared the news with his parents and wide Charu. It was a big moment for Samson who has made a name for himself through this cash-rich league. “It was tough keeping it to myself,” Samson said with a smile. Following his official announcement, he got congratulatory tweets from some of the greats of the game. “I got some nice congratulatory messages from Virat Bhai, Rohit Bhai and Mahi Bhai,” Samson revealed. Samson stated that captaincy to him is more of a service to the team. The swashbuckling batsman has the experience of captaincy and had lead Kerala and it’s U-19 team earlier. Speaking on the leadership experience, Samson said it’s more about man-management skills and how you deal with a certain individual and try to get the best out of him. “I look at captaincy as more of a service to the team. A captain is someone who is there to provide the right kind of atmosphere that every individual requires in a team and backs each one of them. It’s a lot about man-management skills—giving positive feedback to your players, understanding where they are coming from. The fact that my team and the franchise trust me to do this job gives great confidence that there is something in me. I firmly believe that a captain is only good if the team is good. The Royals have a quality bunch of great players and amazing support staff backing them. I’ve known most of them for years; they are like family. So, I’m in a comfortable space with the people I have around me. I have been part of the Royals from my teen days in 2013. Playing for one team for this long to now becoming captain, it’s a proud moment,” Samson was quoted as saying during an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times. Ever since their historic win in the inaugural edition of the competition way back in 2008, Rajasthan Royals have been one of those very few teams who have consistently languished at the bottom half of the table. Even in the last season, RR finished at the bottom of the points table despite having a strong team in their arsenal. Despite finishing last in the previous season, Samson feels they didn’t do much wrong and will hoping for a turnaround in the upcoming season. “I don't think we did too much wrong in the last season. If you look at our XI on paper, we're one of the best. So I would like to tell everyone that we are a great bunch of players and we just need to play some good cricket. If we are in the right mindset as a team, I believe good things are ahead of us. This format demands a lot of fearless cricket, be it in batting, bowling or fielding. It's all about speed, power and expressing yourself. That's what I expect from my team.”

Mithali Raj credits mix of youth & experience in Railways’ record 12th title win

The Railways Women’s cricket team skipper Mithali Raj feels that it has been the great mix of youth and experience and players latching on the opportunities provided that made the team champions of the Senior Women’s ODI Trophy, the premium Women’s tournament in the country. Talking to Sports Today, Raj said, “It’s an incredible feat to win the domestic title.” She went on to praise the youngsters and players who grabbed the opportunities provided to them with both hands. “We had inculcated this feeling in all the squad members that if the opportunity is provided to any player, she must rise to the occasion. Meghana Singh, the fast bowler is the best example of that. She played in place of injured Arundhati [Reddy] and utilised it to her best.” Railways defeated first-time finalists Jharkhand by seven wickets at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium to lift their 12th title in 14 seasons of the tournament. Meghna swung the ball brilliantly and troubled the batters with her pace and bounce, eventually getting rid of two of the Jharkhand top three dealing a heavy blow to their chances. Complimenting the vice-captain Sneh Rana, who led the team to the knockouts in Mithali’s absence was also praised by the veteran 38-year-old. “She got 18 wickets in eight games as an off-spinner and was more than handy with the bat. She led superbly as well.” This was the first title in two years for Railways after they were defeated in the Semi-Finals of the 2018-19 edition of the same tournament by the eventual winners Bengal. Looking back at that and learning from it, the Indian Women’s ODI skipper said, “When we lost to Bengal, we sat down, I and the coach and management decided to not only pick the best XI but also the best 15 or 20 due to pandemic.” “This team has the hunger in it and is ready to chase down 250 as well as post in excess of 250 while batting first, keeping in themselves the confidence to achieve the best,” added the Andhra born.

Watch: Mitchell Swepson cleans up Daniel Hughes with a ripper of a delivery

Shane Warne is undoubtedly the greatest leg-spinners of all time and for any other leg-spinner to replicate a delivery similar to what he used to do in his heydays is surely a commendable thing. Yes, you heard it right. Mitchell Swepson pulled off a near impersonation of the Spin Wizard during a Sheffield Shield game on Monday. The Queensland tweaker breached through the defence of Daniel Hughes with a sensational delivery. It pitched way halfway on the surface outside the off stump and turned square to take the leg stump and Hughes had no idea about the delivery. He was castled after making 16. The delivery bowled by Swepson was quite similar to the one Warne bowled to Shivnarine Chanderpaul back in 1996. Back then Shane Warne had castled the West Indies left-hander from around the wicket and the ball turned square on that occasion as well. Meanwhile, Swepson was in his stride right from the word go and castled Hughes in just his third delivery of his first over. However, during a discussion with cricket.com.au after the dismissal and the day’s play, Swepson said that it didn’t actually feel great when the ball came out of the hand. He said that it felt like more of a half-tracker but the ball turned square to dismantle the timbers. “Look at the turn! Prodigious turn,” a commentator said. “Almost so wide it hit the footmarks on the edge of the pitch and spun sharply.” The leggie also took the wicket of Kurtis Patterson as the New South Wales Blues finished at 49/2 at the end of the third day’s play. On the back of a century from Marnus Labuschagne, New South Wales posted 381 on the board in the first innings while Queensland replied with 433.

Lalchand Rajput alleges MCA secretaries of favouritism in selection; calls his removal as CIC chief unethical

The former chief of the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), Lalchand Rajput had raised a plethora of allegations on the working of the MCA secretaries. Rajput, 59, has alleged that the Secretaries in MCA Sanjay Naik and Shahalam Sheikh had chosen two players on their own, without any meeting of the selection committee, to represent Mumbai in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. He went on to the extent of saying that even selectors would back his claim. "The selectors are willing to testify the interference e.g., the inclusion of two players in the 20 selected by senior team selectors for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 (SMAT) after BCCI allowed 22 players due to Covid, instead of 20," Cricbuzz quoted Rajput via his letter to the Ethics officer of the Mumbai Cricket Association. "The same two players were included in the XI in some matches of the SMAT. Also, a left-arm bowler, who was not in the original 20, who was a No 11 batsman, was made to open the innings in the SMAT (sic). This was a blatant violation on the part of the secretaries to interfere in the working of the CIC," Rajput, the manager of the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team further mentioned in his letter. Currently, the coach of the Zimbabwe national team, Rajput’s role as CIC chief became a matter of conflict of interest. Citing that the CIC was dismantled by the MCA and the other two members of the CIC, former India cricketers Raju Kulkarni and Sameer Dighe were also relieved of their roles. Challenging that decision, Rajput wrote, "The power and authority, as per the constitution clause No 39 is given to the Ethics Officer.” During his tenure, Rajput also termed appointment of Amol Mazumdar as coach of Mumbai as blatant misuse of power by Secretaries and appointed Romesh Powar as the coach, quashing the previous appointment. As of now, no official response has come from MCA on the allegations.