My dream of playing for the country has fulfilled: Avesh Khan

Fast bowler Avesh Khan was rewarded for his exceptional performance in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League after being called up for the T20I series against New Zealand. Avesh who had picked 24 wickets for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021 expressed his joy and said that his dream has been fulfilled. 

“Every cricketer has a dream that he plays for his country and he works hard to turn this dream into a reality. My dream has been fulfilled now,” Avesh, told PTI Bhasha.

The Indian team will be led by Rohit Sharma who has taken over the T20I captaincy baton from Virat Kohli as the latter had decided to step down from the post after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup. Kohli has been rested for this series. 

Apart from this, Ruturaj Gaikwad who has shown some terrific form with the bat in the IPL, as well as in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, has also been included in the side. Venkatesh Iyer has also found a place for himself in the squad after a tremendous debut in the Indian Premier League as well as his exploits in the ongoing SMAT. Iyer played some important knocks for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021 season. 

The Men in Blue will play three T20Is against the Blackcaps with the first encounter taking place in Jaipur on November 17 while the second and third clash slated to be held in Ranchi and Kolkata on November 19 and 21 respectively. The three-match T20I series will be followed by a two Test series as well. 

India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj

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T20 World Cup | PAK vs AUS: Negotiating Shaheen Afridi in powerplay will be crucial, says Aaron Finch

Pakistan bowler Shaheen Afridi has been in some good form and has picked up wickets consistently at a decent economy rate as well for the side. The only unbeaten side in the tournament, Pakistan will now lock horns with Australia in the semi-final in Dubai on Thursday, 10 November. Acknowledging Shaheen’s ability to bowl in the power play overs, Australia skipper Aaron Finch said that it would be vital to negotiate him well in the first six overs. “I think what we have seen through the course of the tournament is how important the powerplay is both batting and bowling. I think the stats around the middle and death overs are pretty similar throughout. The powerplay definitely holds the key, Shaheen Shah Afridi has been in good form for Pakistan, that will be a crucial battle in the game," Finch said during the virtual pre-match press conference on Wednesday. Toss has played an important role in this edition of the T20 World Cup but Finch has a bit of a different opinion about the same. The right-hander has suggested that putting up runs on the board is crucial during the knockout stages. “I think when it comes to the finals, it does not make a huge difference. I believe getting runs on the board especially in knockouts can be really beneficial. We have talked about it, we are confident that we can win if we happen to bat first," the Australia captain said. Pakistan lifted the T20 World Cup once back in 2009 while the Aussies are still searching for their winning triumph in the shorter format. The Babar Azam-led side has been in good touch and has won all of their matches comprehensively to get into the semi-finals stages.

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Historic feat by ambidextrous Akshay Karnewar, completes four overs spell without conceding a run

A unique feat was achieved in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game when Vidarbha’s ambidextrous (who can bowl with both hands) spinner Akshay Karnewar completed a four overs spell in a T20 game against Manipur without conceding even a single run. This is now the most economical spell in the history of T20 cricket. The 29-year old who bowls left-arm orthodox and right arm off-spin with similar actions, registered figures of 4-4-0-2 at the end of the match which Vidarbha won by 167 runs. This is now the second-biggest margin of victory in Indian cricket and ninth in the entire history of T20 cricket. Before this, Andhara had beaten Nagaland by 179 runs in 2019. With this spell of his Karnewar broke the record held by Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan who had figures of 4-3-1-2 in a Caribbean Premier League game playing for Barbados Tridents against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in 2018. Karnewar, an experienced domestic player with 15 First Class, 37 List-A and 44 T20 games under his belt has a total of 129 wickets and 1613 runs in his tally across formats, since making his debut in 2015 in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Odisha. Born in Wagholi subdivision of Pune district in Maharashtra, Karnewar’s primary skill was off-spin bowling and batting right-handed. Since his left-hand throws were quite accurate and had a lot of power in them, his junior coach Balu Navghare told him to take up left-arm spin seriously. "It's unbelievable. Not conceding even a single run in the entire match is something extraordinary and I am really feeling good," Karnewar said after the game. Vidarbha, by topping the Plate Group have made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22 and now it would be a real test for Karnewar to perform against Maharashtra on November 16, the association where he was born and played his junior cricket from.

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We would be the first to launch women’s T20 league in Asia: PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said that the board is planning to launch a women’s edition of the Pakistan Super League. If the PCB are able to pull it off then it will be the first nation in Asia to have an exclusive professional contract-based women’s cricket league where players from various other nations can participate. Announcing it in a video released by the PCB on their official Twitter handles, Raja said, “We have lots of programs in the pipeline and with this visit by Tom Harrison (ECB CEO), a lot of things have cleared up. We will be the first and only of its kind nation to launch an Under-19 version of our main T20 league the PSL.” “We are also planning to launch the Women’s PSL as soon as possible and Inshallah we will be the first nation in Asia to have a women’s league functioning,” he further added. Through his first in Asia comments, Ramiz intentionally or unintentionally highlighted the plight of the Indian women cricketers who have been demanding a women’s IPL for quite some time now. With the success of The Hundred Women in England and the smooth running of the WBBL and Super Smash (Women’s) in Australia and New Zealand respectively, it was only fair that the richest cricket board announced a women’s IPL. Hopefully, after this big announcement by Pakistan, the BCCI might take note of the voices echoing from eternity for a women’s IPL. Pakistan was also the first board under the leadership of Ehsan Mani to announce the 1-year maternity league for its female cricketers with all contracts automatically renewing next year.