PAK vs NZ | 1st ODI: Match likely to be postponed as three Kiwi players test Covid positive

PAK vs NZ | 1st ODI: All-rounder Rachin Ravindra all set to make ODI debut

After making his debut in the shortest format of the game at the international level, New Zealand’s all-rounder Rachin Ravindra is all set to make his ODI debut in the first game of the series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Ravindra called the occasion as something he always dreamt of and reposed faith in his teammates to win the series against a full-strength Pakistan side in their home conditions. Ravindra will lead the Blackcaps’ batting order along with Fin Allen and he will be hoping to turn things around after struggling with the bat against Bangladesh. However, he will take heart from the good batting conditions in Rawalpindi and a longer form of the game will also give him space to flourish with the bat. New Zealand are without their big players such as the regular skipper Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, pace duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult, and hence the onus of taking the Blackcaps to a seris win are on the young shoulders of players such as Ravindra.

Former selectors back Rohit Sharma as 'fit choice' to replace Kohli as India's T20 captain

As soon as Virat Kohli announced that he will step down as India’s captain from the T20 format after the upcoming T20 World Cup, speculations and debates on who will be the man to replace him. Kohli’s longtime deputy, Rohit Sharma, who has led the Indian white-ball side in the past in his absence seems to be the frontrunner for the position but the fans and watchers of Indian cricket have not ruled out names who are younger than Rohit and could serve Indian cricket for a long time. People have flooded Twitter with possible names such as KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer as long-term replacements of Virat Kohli, but former chairman of selectors have backed Rohit’s credentials and experience as captain to take over the reins from Kohli. Dilip Vengsarkar, who was the chairman of the selection committee in the year 2008 when both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were new to the international stage has backed the former’s candidature for India’s captain based on his successes with India in the past and the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. “Rohit deserves to be India's next T20 captain because he's done exceptionally well whenever he's been given an opportunity. In 2018, India won the Asia Cup under his captaincy. Besides that, he's been an exceptional captain for the Mumbai Indians,” Vengsarkar told TOI. Another chairman of the selection committee, who gave Rohit an extended run in the side in the years 2012 when the Mumbaikar was going through a tough phase, saw him as a “fit choice” to replace Kohli as India’s leader in the shortest format of the game. "Rohit (Sharma) has done a great job while leading the Mumbai Indians. I feel that he's a fit choice to replace Virat as the India T20 captain. Rohit has proved his mettle," Patil said to TOI. Rohit appears to be the frontrunner to replace Kohli as the skipper himself called him an “essential part” of the leadership group. There is one more T20 World Cup scheduled for the next year and it is likely that the selectors will bank on the experience of Rohit for the big event before placing a bet on young or inexperienced players at the leadership level.

Two chairmen of selectors who oversaw Kohli's rise welcome his decision of quitting T20 captaincy

Ending all the rumours and speculations surrounding the captaincy of India’s white-ball teams, Virat Kohli had on September 16 announced his resignation effective after the upcoming T20 World Cup. The move was greeted with some scepticism around the reasons that would have compelled Kohli to give up leadership from the shortest format at the international level. However, for people who have followed and been an instrumental part of the successful journey of Kohli in white-ball cricket, the movie was on expected lines. Two former heads of the national selection committee at the time when Kohli entered the big stage and flourished have backed Kohli’s move and instead, they have been “expecting” it to happen sooner rather than later. Dilip Vengsarkar, who was the chairman of the selection committee that first picked Kohli for ODI cricket on India’s tour of Sri Lanka said that the “tremendous pressure” of leading in all formats and an underwhelming record in the T20 format as captain would have propelled Kohli to give up captaincy. He also highlighted the empty cabinet of Kohli, who has not won a major trophy as the captain of India or the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, would have also played its part in guiding him towards the decision. There have been questions on the timing of his decision that whether he should have waited for the T20 World Cup to conclude before announcing but for Vengsarkar, Kohli got the timing of his decision“perfect”. He also hoped that Kohli would be able to end the drought of an ICC trophy in his last opportunity in the shortest format. “I was expecting it. He’s been leading India and has been the No 1 batsman in all formats for almost eight years. He’s been under tremendous pressure to perform because we expect a lot from him every time he goes into bat. Besides that, he’s not done exceptionally well in the T20 format as captain. Even in the IPL, he hasn’t led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a single tournament win. That must’ve played on his mind too,” Vengsarkar said to TOI. “The timing of his decision has been perfect. The only thing I hope now is he wins the World Cup and signs off as an India T20 captain on a high. It could be his last hurrah as T20I captain." Another former chairman of the selection committee, Sandeep Patil, welcomed Kohli’s decision to step down after the T20 global event. Patil had presided over the selection of the Indian team from 2012 when Kohli was rising to new highs with every passing game and earning a name for himself with superlative performances, especially in white-ball cricket. He suggested that relinquishing leadership of the T20 format will help Kohli to give his everything to only his batting which would be crucial for both him and the team in the coming days. “I welcome Virat's step. Captaincy does play on your mind. Captaining the side and concentrating on your batting at the same time is not an easy job, especially as there's so much cricket these days. This step will 100% help him focus more on his batting,” Patil said to TOI. However, Patil pointed out a “communication gap between BCCI and Virat” on this matter as the board had dismissed a TOI report that reported Kohli’s decision before the skipper made his move public. He suggested the BCCI should accept Kohli’s decision as it is purely his call to when to go. "It seems that there's a big communication gap between BCCI and Virat. You can't have Virat say one thing and the BCCI another. Just a couple of days back, there was a story in TOI about him quitting as a white-ball captain to focus on his batting. However, the BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal rubbished that news quickly. This is purely Virat's decision, and the BCCI should just accept it,” Patil emphasized. Virat Kohli took to his Twitter account to announce his decision to give up the captaincy of the T20 format after the completion of the T20 World Cup later this year.

IPL 2021 | Delhi Capitals maintain Rishabh Pant as captain for remainder of tournament

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who took over the captaincy of the Delhi Capitals in the first part of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League will continue to lead the side in the second part of the tournament as well. The franchise released an official statement to confirm the news even as the regular skipper Shreyas Iyer has recovered from the injury and rejoined the side in UAE. Iyer had dislocated his shoulder in the ODI series against England and the Capitals had to elevate Pant to the leadership position. He led the side to the top of the points table with six wins out of the eight games played earlier this year. The franchise however has clearly stated that Pant will leading the side in the remaining part of the 14th edition but has not said on the long term prospects of either Pant or Iyer as the captain of the side. The Capitals will resume their campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22 in UAE.