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Two teams, who have struggled in the last two cycles, are now pushing for a final spot in this cycle

Firdose Moonda26-Nov-2024It could not be more deliciously set up. South Africa and Sri Lanka will play in what is effectively a quarter-final of the World Test Championship (WTC) over the next two weeks. Both believe they have built outfits that could challenge for the title next June.If that sounds like an obviously optimistic thing to say, consider who we are talking about. Over the last two WTC cycles, South Africa lost more than half the series they played in, while Sri Lanka finished in the middle and in the bottom half of the points table. These are teams that have spent a significant amount of time, especially recently, talking about transition phases and building blocks. Now, it sounds like they are ready to move off the ground floor and potentially catch the elevator to the roof if they make it to Lord’s next June.Both captains spoke about their current teams as “the best we have after a long while,” as Dhananjaya de Silva put it, though for vastly different reasons. For Sri Lanka, who have won six out of their last eight Tests and crossed 400 four times in that period, they have the makings of a batting line-up they can trust to perform in various conditions and the numbers to prove it.Related

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Kamindu Mendis is Sri Lanka’s leading run-scorer of this WTC cycle, and seventh overall, while Dhananjaya is 11th, with three hundreds and six fifties. For context, South Africa only have one batter in the top 40, and he is in 39th place: David Bedingham. Mendis also leads the averages in this edition of the WTC (with a cut-off of 10 innings), with Dhananjaya in fifth place. Between them, they have scored eight of Sri Lanka’s 11 hundreds; the other three have come from three different players. Mendis’ hundreds have come in Sylhet, Manchester and Galle, which speaks to the ability to transfer talent across what Dhananjaya called increasingly tough conditions for run-scoring everywhere.”It’s hard to get runs anywhere in the world,” he said. “If you go to Sri Lanka, it’s spinning. And if we go to England, it’s going to seam. When we come here [to South Africa], it’s going to bounce. It’s hard work always for the batsman. But we’ve got some experience, people who played a lot of cricket here and a lot of cricket in England, a lot of cricket in Sri Lanka. In this team, there’s experience and youngsters; we’re a mixed side. So I think this is the best team after a long while and we have to make the most of it.”South Africa have something similar, not in numbers necessarily but in sources of their achievements, which come from a wide spread of players. The seven hundreds they have scored in this cycle have each come from a different batter and five of those are from batters scoring hundreds for the first time. For a line-up without any standout superstars (and you may argue one that overly relied on Dean Elgar most recently but AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla before that), that shows progression in both domestic depth and their ability to make the step up.Kagiso Rabada has been in terrific form in Test cricket•AFP/Getty Images”We’ve had different players putting in performances,” Temba Bavuma said. “Younger guys have come into this space and they’ve started putting in performances. With me being a senior player, I take a lot of joy from seeing the young guys coming into the team and I try to contribute to them becoming as good as they can be.”It will probably come as no surprise to hear that what South Africa lack in batting, they make up for in their bowling. Kagiso Rabada is top of the bowling averages among bowlers who have bowled more than 100 balls in this cycle, with Keshav Maharaj not too far behind. Overall, South Africa have the second-lowest bowling average, of 24.13, of this WTC. Yes, Rabada steals the headlines here but with good reason. His career wickets of 313 are only 16 fewer than Sri Lanka’s entire six-man pace attack, and we can’t forget that he has always had strong support. It’s not Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje this time but Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee, who are two of the quickest going around.All this makes the battle lines clear: this series will be decided by how Sri Lanka’s batters take on South Africa’s attack, even on surfaces which are not expected to be overly seamer-friendly. Given the way they played in England, where they won at The Oval, Sri Lanka have every reason to believe they will be able to challenge South Africa at two venues where they have had success before. “We didn’t have a bad series in England, but results didn’t come our way. We played good cricket, and we pushed the England team,” Dhananjaya said. “We’re going to push the South African team to the very end.”And South Africa, after winning their first series in the subcontinent in 10 years last month, also have cause to be bullish as they keep faith in a group of players who will form the core of the future of the Test team. “In this series, there’s no new faces, so we’re definitely settling in as a team and guys are very comfortable with each other,” Bavuma said. “It was all about putting together this team of personalities, guys who effectively can do something special for the team. For me, there is a sense of something special that can come about this team. And I guess we have four or five games to kind of do that.”Four? Definitely because that’s the number of matches both South Africa and Sri Lanka have left in this cycle.Five? Whoever wins at least one of the next two can start to realistically dream of that finale next year.Let the Test summer begin.

The leadership has plotted and planned and pulled off some extraordinary things of late, the enormous weight of the missing trophy evident at every stage of their run

Sidharth Monga19-Mar-20253:33

Aakash Chopra: India have now moved far ahead of other teams

India needed to lose control.It’s not that they were a bad team. They had lost just three matches in the last two ODI World Cups. Two matches in the last two Champions Trophies. Three matches in the last two T20 World Cups.This was an enviable record, but also a record that kept India from pushing the boundaries of what this extremely talented side was capable of achieving. Then came the early exit at the T20 World Cup of 2021. It brought about a reset in the leadership – they perhaps would not have had the freedom to challenge the batters had India made another semi-final.One of the effective tools used by the management to get the point across was control percentages when attacking. They were unusually high. It told the batters two things: they were not attacking enough good balls, and they were not giving the opposition chances when they attacked. There was clear room for more risks.Related

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The intent changed to an extent, India began to put up above-par scores in bilateral series, but as the 2022 T20 World Cup approached, the ideal combination became elusive. Jasprit Bumrah was injured beforehand, and Ravindra Jadeja joined the list as India went to the dress rehearsal, the Asia Cup in the UAE.As Hardik Pandya’s fitness could not always be relied upon, Rohit Sharma, the new captain, wanted to play two spinner-allrounders to provide for contingencies. The injury to Jadeja denied him that experiment. Axar Patel took Jadeja’s place when Rohit wanted him for the slot that they kept trying to fill with Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda. With Kuldeep Yadav still only coming back from injury, they settled on R Ashwin as the spinner for left-hand batters. They didn’t make it to the final of the Asia Cup.By the time India reached Australia, sans Bumrah, their other main death bowler, Harshal Patel, coming back from injury, had completely lost form. In an ideal world, they would have played Harshal at No. 8 and Yuzvendra Chahal, Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh as bowlers who couldn’t bat. Bumrah could be replaced with Mohammed Shami, but Harshal’s replacements couldn’t bat, which meant India had to sacrifice the wristspinner.

The intent had to be initiated by players whose places in the side were certain and not by those who would be disposed if they failed in pursuit of quick runs. Too much of that had happened in the past. It also meant that the combinations and tactics had to be much better

Again, whenever the stakes grew or whenever the conditions were tricky, the batters fell back to the default options. It happened against South Africa in Perth, and it was repeated against England in the semi-final when India fell woefully short. The Adelaide semi-final was stark. England handcuffed them with spin. They just had the wrong guys batting together all through the start and the middle. At the end, did we see Rohit wipe a tear or two?The revival would have to start with Rohit. The feedback the leadership got from the players was that they needed the leaders to first walk the talk. That meant the intent had to be initiated by players whose places in the side were certain and not by those who would be disposed if they failed in pursuit of quick runs. Too much of that had happened in the past. It also meant that the combinations and tactics had to be much better. For example, there was no way Rohit and Virat Kohli should bat together for too long outside the powerplay.With the onus on himself, Rohit doubled down on his need for depth, the 8-6 formula. He wanted to play every game with eight batters and six bowlers so that the batters could be freed, so that they had options to counter match-ups.India have achieved the cheat code of three allrounders in the XI whenever Hardik Pandya is fit•CREIMASA sting operation on the then chairman of selectors brought into the frame Ajit Agarkar. Now the team management included three men who could healthily challenge each other without any mistrust: Agarkar, Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid. Tough calls were now taken and explained properly to the players. Shubman Gill replaced Shikhar Dhawan in ODIs even though the players still rated Dhawan highly. KL Rahul was trusted as the middle-order rock. He and Shreyas Iyer were given until the last possible moment to prove their fitness for the ODI World Cup.The intent began to bleed into the ODIs as well. India were a solid ODI team previously too, but you could close your eyes and predict a score of 51 for 1 in the powerplay, and you wouldn’t be off by more than 2%. It worked great when the top three scored all the runs, but it didn’t give the others any breathing space when they went to bat. Rohit became the intent bunny in ODIs as well.It was a rained-out match where the teams shared points, but in Pallekele in the Asia Cup, the leadership knew the team had turned a corner. In an eerie resemblance to the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, India lost the early wickets of Rohit and Kohli to Shaheen Shah Afridi as the ball moved around in humid conditions. Even at 66 for 4, Ishan Kishan and Hardik counter-attacked. India went on to score 261 for 8. When they came up against Pakistan next, they all went hammer and tongs to end with 356 for 2.Quality was meeting intent in the batting. Kuldeep was back to his best, and Bumrah was fit. Everything was looking great, but then Axar got injured again. Axar as the second allrounder had been in India’s plans for a while as they knew the next two World Cups would be in India and the West Indies, both places where they could afford to play two spinner-allrounders. Kuldeep’s return meant they had a spinner to take the ball away from left-hand batters unlike Chahal earlier.2:43

Harbhajan Singh: 2027 World Cup might be too far for Rohit Sharma

This combination of unique circumstances would let India achieve the cheat code of three allrounders in the side whenever Hardik would be fit. They tried to promote Axar in the batting order every now and then, notably against Pakistan in Melbourne and once in an ODI loss to West Indies in July 2023. In Axar’s absence, though, India relied on Shardul Thakur to be the eighth batter.When Hardik went down during the ODI World Cup, India had to leave Thakur out for a more specialised bowler in Shami. Only Rahul and Kohli will know if that lack of depth played a part in their back-to-default conservatism in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad, where, throughout the tournament, there were clear signs that batting becoming much easier under lights.This was only their fourth defeat in the last three ODI World Cups, but one that stung them the most. They had played fearless, attractive and dominant cricket to get to the final. Their narrowest wins were by four wickets and 70 runs. The defeat in the final left everyone too shocked to react, let alone analyse or think of the next World Cup, barely six months away.The T20I captain, Hardik, was injured with no timeline for a return. The ODI captain hadn’t played a T20I since the Adelaide debacle two years ago. The coach’s tenure was over, and he was happy to walk away without a world title. The selectors now had to take the less-than-ideal route of selecting the captain first and then the team. Not least because the captain could convince the coach to come back for one last ride. Had any of the three men been different, the band wouldn’t have come back together.1:21

Is Shreyas now India’s most reliable ODI batter?

Now, finally, the blueprint of eight batters and six bowlers could be put in place. Everyone was fit, and the West Indies pitches always have some grip. Except that the selectors wanted an offspinner-allrounder in the squad because they envisaged the XI would include Jadeja this allrounder. Rohit and Dravid pressed for Axar because they wanted to go with Jadeja Axar.With Shivam Dube’s emergence and the Axar gambit, Rohit and Dravid had enough options to deny oppositions a match-up at both ends. They could split right-hand batters, they could split those who struggled against spin, they had six bowlers plus Dube to choose from. As some of us suspected before, and the rest of us have learned since, this was still not India’s optimal T20I XI. Even if you disregard the belated emergence of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal was clearly the best opener out there at that time, and a left-hand batter to boot.Even at 34 for 3 in the final, India could pair Kohli up with Axar and Dube, and give India a target to bowl to. India were either due some luck or used up a year’s worth in the climax of that match – a six goes out of the ground and the replacement ball reverses, David Miller mistimes a full toss even when hitting downwind – but now they finally had a trophy to show for their processes and their dominance.The enormous weight of the missing trophy became apparent only during the celebrations back in Mumbai. Deep inside, the players and the management knew they were an exceptional side with two exceptional campaigns behind them, but they still felt what they felt: horrible after Ahmedabad, overjoyed after Barbados.In the following months, the Test transition arrived in earnest, but the T20I and the ODI sides remain formidable. The new management not only carried forward the Hardik-Jadeja-Axar cheat code, but they were shrewd enough to change the Champions Trophy squad at the last moment to include another wicket-taking spinner because they knew all their matches would be played on a tired Dubai square that had just hosted a T20 tournament. There is no evidence to suggest India would not have won even if they were playing on 350 pitches, but the Dubai conditions did make their job easier.Now, India are a team that have lost only one match in their last three ICC tournaments. From 2013 Champions Trophy onwards, they have missed out on the knockouts of only one of the 11 ICC tournaments. Of the other ten, only four have been semi-final defeats.Moments after winning this year’s Champions Trophy, Rahul perhaps summed up the reasons behind this dominance best.”It’s just pure skill and the way we’ve all played our cricket growing up,” Rahul said with unusual clarity for such a heady moment. “We’ve had to face a lot of challenges. We’ve had to face pressure from the time we held the bat and from the time we decided to be professional cricketers. I think it’s just the first-class cricket, BCCI, how they’ve groomed every player, every talented player that comes around. They’re giving us opportunities and platforms to showcase our skills and to put ourselves under pressure and keep challenging ourselves and getting better.”The leadership needs to already start thinking of the next two years if they want to continue celebrating•ICC via Getty ImagesThe talent pool is vast and, consequently, the pressure they face at every step on the way to the top is immense. That is also perhaps why they hold onto their places at the top a little too tightly. That is why the leadership constantly needs to keep making them feel secure enough to keep pushing their boundaries.There is still one final step to go to earn comparisons with the best-ever sides. If they can defend their T20 crown next year, India will be regarded as the best T20I side of all time. They will start as the favourites for it, but this dream team with all kinds of cheat codes will not be easy to replicate in the 2027 ODI World Cup, a title only Kohli among the current players has won. Compare this to the Australia of 1999 to 2009: they always had a well-rounded ODI attack to outperform their opposition in conditions as diverse as South Africa in 2003, India in 2006, the West Indies in 2007 and South Africa again in 2009. They also almost always had at least two allrounders who almost never broke down. Even they have never been able to crack both ODIs and T20Is at the same time.India will not magically find a strike bowler with the batting ability of Brett Lee or Andy Bichel. That means at any given point of time only three of Kuldeep, Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj and Shami can play. Axar and Jadeja, if the latter is still around, won’t make for an optimal combination on your usual South African tracks. Hardik’s body is what it is. Gill, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Rahul form a formidable batting core even if Rohit doesn’t make it, but some work will be needed to attain this kind of balance in South Africa.There has been cause aplenty to celebrate over the last two years, but the leadership needs to already start thinking of the next two years if they want to continue celebrating. With all the talent in the country, it won’t take much to remain very good, but excellence is what they want to continue aiming for.

Jimmy Adams upstaging Wasim Akram in St John’s or Pat Cummins’ Australia beating Bazball? Pick between two classics

Deivarayan Muthu08-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The ENG-AUS 2023 Birmingham Test moves to the round of 16.West Indies’ one-wicket jailbreak vs Pakistan – St John’s, 2000After more twists and turns than a whodunnit, Jimmy Adams upstaged Wasim Akram to complete a one-wicket heist with a healthy helping of luck. West Indies benefited from two umpiring errors and Saqlain Mushtaq fluffing two run-out chances, including one when Adams and No. 11 Courtney Walsh were both stranded at the striker’s end.When West Indies were 202 for 9, still 14 runs away from victory, Saqlain panicked under pressure and failed to gather the throw cleanly at the bowler’s end. Adams and Walsh eventually scrambled a leg-bye, leaving Pakistan wondering what might have been. Walsh held on limpet-like for 72 minutes with his captain Adams, who remained unbeaten on 48 off 212 balls, as West Indies clinched one of their most memorable and dramatic wins in Test cricket at the turn of the century in St John’s.Despite the lapses in the field, Akram had kept Pakistan in it by taking out four of West Indies’ top six – he came away with a match haul of 11 wickets – but Adams had the final say when he squeezed a single to point off Akram.Australia beat Bazball – Birmingham 2023″Boring, boring, Aussies” was the chant from the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston on the fourth afternoon when Usman Khawaja was digging in and slowly building for Australia in their pursuit of 281. By the fifth evening, the crowd was stunned into silence as Australia aced the old-school long game to beat England’s new-age fast play.When Khawaja fell for 65, with Ben Stokes ending his near-five-and-a-half-hour vigil, Australia had slipped to 209 for 7. Then, when Alex Carey’s wicket left Australia at 227 for 8, it certainly felt like England’s Bazballers were on their way to another famous win. Australia captain Pat Cummins, though, flipped the mood and result with an unbeaten 44 off 73 balls, with No. 10 Nathan Lyon hanging on in an unbroken 55-run partnership for the ninth wicket.After having come under fire with his defensive fields on the opening day, Cummins played the decisive hand on the final day, absorbing good balls from Stokes and Ollie Robinson and lining up Joe Root’s part-time offspin for a brace of sixes. After sealing the deal, Cummins let out a big roar, threw his bat and punched his fist in a rare show of emotion that summed up how much this win meant to him and Australia.

With Bangladesh languishing near the bottom of the ODI rankings, Mehidy Hasan Miraz has his task cut out as they eye direct qualification for the 2027 World Cup

Mohammad Isam01-Jul-2025Keep the team unitedMehidy has the unenviable task of uniting the Bangladesh team at a time of great upheaval – not something that’s new to Bangladesh captains.Related

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Najmul Hossain Shanto was sacked as ODI captain in Mehidy’s favour, and has also resigned as the Test captain. He said the decision to step down as Test captain wasn’t “personal”, but also said he wasn’t sure “three captains in three formats” would be ideal. Shanto might be hurting, even if he hasn’t said it. He had ambitions with both the Test and ODI teams but now will be expected to adjust under a different captain in ODIs.Mehidy might have to remove all the eggshells strewn around the dressing room before figuring out a way to take the ODI team in his desired direction.Decide his own batting positionWhere Mehidy chooses to bat in the ODI series against Sri Lanka will give an early glimpse into his mindset as captain. While a permanent fixture in the ODI side, he has been a floater in the batting line-up, even though he has learnt to pace his innings better whatever the position. He must now choose his batting position, or at least a role, to give the rest of the team a sense of stability.Tanzid Hasan and who? Eyes will be on the opening pair•AFP/Getty ImagesWho will open with Tanzid?Tanzid Hasan is one of Bangladesh’s incumbent openers. But with Litton Das and Mohammad Naim back, there are questions around the second opener’s spot.Soumya Sarkar has been left out to work on his fitness, while Parvez Hossain Emon, part of the ODI squad, is still work in progress in this format.Litton had been going through a lean patch before he was dropped for the Champions Trophy – he only has six runs in his last five innings. But his experience and seniority may give him the edge over Naim and Emon. Litton’s keeping will also allow for a bit more balance in the line-up.Shanto, meanwhile, is likely to return to his No. 3 role, despite opening in Bangladesh’s last ODI and scoring 77.Rebuild the engine roomBangladesh’s biggest challenge would be to rebuild their middle order. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah are retired, Shakib Al Hasan had planned Champions Trophy 2025 to be his international swansong, but his political connections have meant that his future remains uncertain. Bangladesh have a void in their middle order, one that is worth about 760 ODIs in experience. But there is promise.Towhid Hridoy has played 35 ODIs, while Mehidy has made improvements to his white-ball batting. Jaker Ali has impressed in all three formats, but has played only seven ODIs. Shamim Hossain, a T20 basher, is the middle-order back-up. This is where Bangladesh perhaps could have looked towards Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan or Mosaddek Hossain.Previous head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe lost patience with Afif but the left-hand batter remains a young and viable option. Nurul and Mosaddek have international experience plus List A numbers to back that up. Even the uncapped Irfan Sukkur has racked up impressive runs in the middle-order in the Dhaka Premier League in the last three years.Get the spin attack to fireBangladesh have had a massive dip in their spin attack since Shakib’s last ODI in November 2023. They have averaged 65.69 in 15 matches and have taken just 23 wickets. Mehidy has taken nine wickets at 71.44, while Rishad Hossain and Nasum Ahmed haven’t stepped up from time to time. Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam is still uncapped in ODIs. He had a difficult time in the T20Is against UAE in May, picking up just two wickets in two appearances at an economy of 8.37.Bangladesh spinners’ form in ODIs has mirrored that of Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s in recent time•BCBThe bad news for Bangladesh is that they are playing Sri Lanka, who have had the most successful spin attack at home since November 2023.Recognise ODI specialists among fast bowlersWith spin being work in progress, Mehidy will have to rely more on his pace attack. The return of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman is a boost, while Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana and Tanzim Hasan have impressed in red- and white-ball cricket.Mehidy has to quickly recognise his ODI specialists, especially with a World Cup in two years. Taskin and Mustafizur are big names but how Mehidy uses Rana and Tanzim will be crucial.Move up the ODI rankingsBangladesh could gain a spot in the ODI rankings if they beat Sri Lanka. Mehidy has his task cut out with Bangladesh eyeing direct qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup. They are in danger of not making the cut-off.Mehidy also has to live up to Bangladesh’s expectations from their ODI captain. This is Bangladesh’s best format. The last captain to have a healthy win-rate was Tamim Iqbal. Shakib and Shanto couldn’t quite carry that forward. Mehidy comes in as captain at a very critical time. He is fighting time, while keeping a close eye on the rankings table.

Kuldeep was the Player of the Match in India’s last Test but he knows that does not guarantee anything

Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Nov-20252:19

Bangar: ‘Kuldeep has to play all Tests in India’

Kuldeep Yadav has won three Player-of-the-Match awards in Test cricket: against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2022, against England in Dharamsala last year, and in India’s most recent Test match, against West Indies in Delhi last month.On the first two occasions, India left Kuldeep out of their XIs in their very next Test. On both occasions – Mirpur, 2022 and Chennai, 2024 – he went out because India left out a spinner to play an extra seamer.There’s a chance now that Kuldeep’s wretched luck with Player-of-the-Match awards could continue into Friday, with India captain Shubman Gill suggesting on the eve of the first Test against South Africa that the team management was debating the choice between an extra allrounder and an extra spinner.Related

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The context of Gill’s statement was a question about whether India were thinking of picking a third seamer rather than a third spinner given Eden Gardens’ recent history of help for fast bowling.This was Gill’s reply: “This time of the year, there’s always a conflict whether you would want to go for that extra allrounder or you want to go for an extra spinner, but once we come tomorrow, see how the wicket looks in the morning, we are going to take a decision [on] what kind of combination would give us the best chance to be able to win this Test match.”India’s bowling combination in their last Test match in Delhi was two seamers in Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj and three spinners in Kuldeep, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, of whom the last two are allrounders.Kuldeep Yadav was the Player of the Match in India’s last Test•AFP/Getty ImagesThere are two possible interpretations of Gill’s statement.One is that India are thinking of picking a third seamer, in which case Akash Deep would come into their attack. That, then, would mean leaving out either Washington or Kuldeep.Given that Gill referred to the time of the year, this seems the likely quandary for India. The weather in Kolkata through the Test match is set to be mild, with daytime temperatures in the mid-to-early 20s (Celsius). With the ground staff preparing a pitch that looks like it will start out flat and true, there is a chance that the sun may not beat down hard enough over the first two or three days to accelerate surface wear and tear. Given the likelihood of swing, both conventional and reverse, playing a role through the Test match, India may feel a third seamer could be a likelier wicket-taking option than a third spinner.This would leave them with the classic debate: attacking wristspinner with the tools to take wickets even on flat pitches (Kuldeep) vs offspinning allrounder who is good enough to play either as a pure batter or bowler in Indian conditions, but who is unlikely to run through teams on unhelpful surfaces (Washington).On the evidence of the Delhi Test, where India spent 200 straight overs on the field after making West Indies follow on, India would be heavily inclined to pick Kuldeep. On a slow, low Delhi pitch where edges seldom carried to close catchers, Kuldeep was by far India’s most incisive spinner, picking up 8 for 186 in 55.5 overs. Between them, Jadeja and Washington bowled 88 overs and took 5 for 269.But India value batting depth, and have emphasised it to an unusual degree during Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as head coach. Kuldeep can hold up an end as a lower-order batter, as he has shown previously in Test cricket, and showed last week while scoring 20 off 88 balls and 16 off 54 in India A’s second unofficial Test against South Africa A in Bengaluru. But Washington is a proper batter with a century, five fifties, and an average of 44.76 in Tests. There is no competition between the two as batters.And even if he may lack Kuldeep’s wicket-taking genius, Washington is a genuine bowler in home conditions, and can bowl long spells and test batters’ defence even on flatter pitches, particularly through his ability to generate unusual amounts of drift.Washington Sundar scored his maiden Test century in England earlier this year•AFP/Getty ImagesIt isn’t a straightforward choice at all, if the choice is between Kuldeep and Washington, with the player picked batting at No. 8.There is, though, another possible interpretation of Gill’s words, that India stick to a two-seamer, three-spinner combination, with Kuldeep and Axar Patel – who would be the extra, third allrounder – fighting for one slot.At Thursday’s press conference, Gill was asked if Kuldeep vs Axar was the conflict he had referred to.”I think let’s leave that one for tomorrow,” Gill said, after a pause. “You can see it at the toss.”In most circumstances, three spin-bowling allrounders would seem like overkill, and an exceedingly defensive move, especially if it came at the cost of the point of difference Kuldeep brings to India’s attack. With Rishabh Pant returning to their XI and displacing Nitish Kumar Reddy, their batting definitely doesn’t need the extra security of Axar batting at No. 9.But there are signs that India could be a little worried about Kuldeep’s form. They released him midway through the white-ball tour of Australia so he could get into red-ball rhythm by playing an unofficial Test for India A. He went on to endure a difficult match with the ball: just one wicket across two innings in South Africa A’s five-wicket win while going at a run a ball in the first innings and at close to five an over in the second.Anyone can have a bad match, of course, and Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, who also played that match, also bowled expensive spells, on a pitch at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru that began as a green seamer before flattening out entirely.Axar Patel’s last Test was in February 2024•BCCISiraj and Akash Deep, however, aren’t in the position Kuldeep has occupied right through his career. Whether it was Jadeja and R Ashwin in his early years or Jadeja, Washington and Axar now, he has always been the wristspinner who isn’t much of a batter competing with quality fingerspinning allrounders. Any fluctuation in Kuldeep’s form is a chance for one of the others to remind the team management of their best attributes.And Kuldeep isn’t competing with bits-and-pieces allrounders. Even Axar, who hasn’t played a Test match since February 2024, is a genuine bowler in Indian conditions. When he lost his place during the series against England last year, he had begun looking a little one-dimensional, threatening only one edge of the bat, with teams seeming to have worked out the threat of his wide release and undercut. But he has shown signs of late, albeit in white-ball cricket, of having worked hard on adding more layers to his craft, dangling up a noticeably higher proportion of overspin-heavy balls in the 81-84kph range, much slower than his usual pace.Because there’s so much competition, none of India’s spinners are standing still and resting on their skillsets. They simply cannot afford to.”I consider myself very fortunate to have the allrounders we have,” Gill said. “Whether it’s Axar Patel or Washington or Jaddu , whether it’s their bowling record or their batting record, it’s really good, especially in India. As a captain, it’s very difficult to decide whom to pick and whom to leave out, because they are as good batsmen as they are bowlers, they are proper allrounders […] But it’s a better problem to have too many options rather than too few options.”India’s problem of plenty has once again left them mulling over a splitting headache of a selection. Whether it’s two spinners or three, and whether it’s two allrounders or three, someone who would walk into most other Test teams will be sitting out.

U.S. Soccer has appointed Dan Helfrich, former Chair and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP, as its next Chief Operating Officer, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Helfrich will report to CEO and Secretary General JT Batson and oversee the federation’s day-to-day operations. His hiring comes shortly after his retirement from Deloitte in December 2025.

Getty Images SportExperienced leader

In announcing the hire, U.S. Soccer said Helfrich will oversee implementation of the federation’s strategic plan, known as In Service to Soccer, using the sort of operational rigor he applied at Deloitte. Helfrich arrives with nearly three decades of leadership experience guiding large, complex organizations – most recently leading a consulting practice of roughly 85,000 people and $20 billion in revenue – and will bring that scale to the federation’s commercial, competition and development operations.

 “U.S. Soccer has more than doubled in the last few years – and we know there is more work to do to reach our ambitious goals,” Batson said in a press release. “Dan brings a rare combination of deep operational expertise, curiosity, and a lifelong passion for the game. His leadership and commitment to excellence will help us move faster, work smarter, and continue building the foundation for soccer’s next chapter in the U.S.” 

AdvertisementHelfrich outlines vision for growth

Following his appointment as U.S. Soccer’s new Chief Operating Officer, Helfrich spoke about embracing the opportunity to help guide the federation during a transformative era for the sport in the United States. Emphasizing his lifelong connection to soccer, Helfrich described the moment as the right time to commit fully to the game’s nationwide development, outlining a mission centered on strengthening all 27 national teams.

 “Soccer has been a defining part of my life for more than 40 years, as a player, fan, broadcaster, volunteer, and parent,” Helfrich said in a press release. “And now is the right time for me to focus my career here during this pivotal time for the sport in our country. I’m inspired by U.S. Soccer’s mission and excited to partner with JT, our staff, and our members to strengthen the game and ensure soccer is accessible to everyone, everywhere, for generations to come.

“This means delivering results on the field through our 27 national teams while also making sure every player, coach, referee, and fan feels a deep connection to U.S. Soccer and their role in achieving our shared mission.” 

Deep roots in soccer

Prior to becoming Deloitte Consulting Chair and CEO, Helfrich held key executive roles, including Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer and leader of Deloitte’s Government and Public Services practice.

Beyond his corporate career, he actively supports youth development through board and advisory roles with organizations such as Grassroots Soccer, Street Soccer USA, and the Positive Coaching Alliance. He has also captained Georgetown’s men’s soccer team and earned Academic All-American honors. Since 2005, Helfrich has also contributed as a play-by-play broadcaster for Georgetown Soccer, calling over 250 matches.

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What comes next for Helfrich and U.S. Soccer

Helfrich will relocate to Atlanta and begin integrating with U.S. Soccer’s executive team in January, charged with converting strategic plans into measurable programs and outcomes. Early priorities are likely to include operational readiness for post-World Cup growth, rolling out Next Gen Committee recommendations where applicable, and strengthening systems that support player pathways and competition delivery.

Patriots have lost six of their last eight matches and are in fifth position, while Knight Riders have extended their lead at the top

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2025Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran’s whirlwind half-centuries helped Trinbago Knight Riders extend their dominance at the top of the points table with a 12-run win against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in Tarouba on Monday.Sent in, Knight Riders found themselves in early trouble, reduced to 27 for 2 in the fifth over and then 78 for 3 in the 11th. But Pollard and Pooran launched a massive counterattack, adding 90 runs in 8.1 overs to take them to 179 for 6. Patriots started the chase strongly, but soon withered away with seamer Nathan Edward picking up 3 for 30 in 3.2 overs and Mohammad Amir returning 2 for 29.

POLLY POWERRR!!!

Kieron Pollard raises yet another CPL fifty! #CPL25 #CricketPlayedLouder#BiggestPartyInSport #TKRvSKNP #RepublicBank pic.twitter.com/huJek5r4cL

— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 1, 2025