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Durham fought back with the ball to ease the gloom that has descended after two poor sessions against Middlesex on day one at Chester-le-Street

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street27-Jul-2012
ScorecardChris Rogers was one of very few players to look settled in difficult conditions•PA Photos

The “R” word was being uttered in low muttered tones around Chester-le-Street today, both at lunch, when Durham were 61 for 6, and at tea, with Middlesex 63 for 1. One interested party was even heard to ponder on the last year in which a team was ushered out of Division One of the County Championship without winning a match. Then Paul Collingwood gave the ball to his excellent young allrounder Ben Stokes, and the colour began to return to Durham supporters’ cheeks.For the first two thirds of the day Middlesex had been playing like a side that has by no means given up hope of being in the shake up at the healthy end of the table in September. Proficiently marshalled by Chris Rogers, who won the toss, they bowled excellently and were virtually without fault in the field. Tim Murtagh was the stand out player, taking three cheap wickets, including both Durham openers, and contributing in addition a run out and a catch. Wicketkeeper John Simpson took four catches, the last of his victims being top scorer Michael Richardson, whose edge to third slip somehow made its way out of Sam Robson’s hands and into Simpson’s gloves.On a low scoring day, Rogers was one of only two batsmen who ever looked truly established. Opening Middlesex’s reply he was busy and pugnacious, his 59 runs including ten boundaries. Just when it appeared that he might lead his side into a commanding position, a delivery by Graham Onions found the edge of his bat and Ben Stokes took a fine low catch at third slip.The Middlesex middle order is loaded with left handers, and when Stokes took the ball as second change, he took a liking to them, dismissing Simpson and Eoin Morgan for one run between them, having opened his account by having Joe Denly caught at second slip. Collingwood took three catches in the slips, the outstanding effort being a trademark leaping pluck out of the sky to dispose of Simpson.At the start of the day it soon became clear that Rogers’ faith in his attack to establish control of the match was justified. Murtagh was relentlessly accurate, and having trapped Will Smith lbw for no score, proceeded to threaten consistently the outside edge of the bat, and had both Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick caught behind the wicket. Gareth Berg also took three wickets, all three going without scoring, and Steven Finn dismissed Collingwood and Richardson.Ben Stokes, batting at four, was one of four Durham batsmen to fail to score, being run out by Murtagh. He made amends with the ball, though, ending the day with figures of 3 for 29 from 13 overs. When the Middlesex innings is over, however, it might well be judged that Gareth Berg’s all-round contribution has been more significant. He came to the wicket with Middlesex 86 for 5, and proceeded calmly and with assurance to restore some order, scoring 30 and contributing to partnerships of 26 and 32 with Dawid Malan and Ollie Rayner respectively. Berg was still there at the close, but Rayner was not. The last over of the day was Scott Borthwick’s first, and Rayner hit the first ball back to him for a return catch.Middlesex will go into day two with a lead of 42 and three wickets remaining, which on today’s evidence might prove to be very handy.

Essex were left with a daunting victory target of 360 to beat Glamorgan at Chelmsford and record their first Championship success of the season

29-Apr-2011
ScorecardEssex were left with a daunting victory target of 360 to beat Glamorgan at Chelmsford and record their first Championship success of the season.Much is likely to depend on Alastair Cook who reached the close on 23 in a response of 34 for one after Billy Godleman had been dismissed without a run on the board.Glamorgan had earlier totalled 335 in their second innings, thanks largely to consistent rather than spectacular batting, with nine players registering double figures. Mark Wallace was the main contributor, hitting a fluent 82 from 96 deliveries before he was last out driving David Masters to long on with the bowler finishing with 5 for 73.Wallace’s effort included two sixes and six fours, after opener Gareth Rees had struck a resolute 54 from 125 balls. Rees was trapped leg before by slow left-arm spinner Tim Phillips, who also removed William Bragg for 48 and Michael Powell for 33 on his way to figures of 4 for 97.The fast bowler beat the bat on a few occasions without reward and also saw Lonwabo Tsotsobe put down a simple catch at mid-on offered by Powell. Tsotsobe’s disappointing day was compounded by him sending down 16 overs without reward while conceding 57 runs, and many of those deliveries the batsman allowed to go harmlessly by.When they embarked upon their stiff task, James Harris removed Godleman with the fifth delivery of the innings, pinning the left-hander in front of his stumps to gain and lbw decision.But Cook refused to let that early setback disturb him, and three times found the boundary with confident strokes at the expense of Adam Shantry. But on a couple of occasions he was beaten by the impressive Harris. However, he and Jaik Mickleburgh survived until the close.Glamorgan, however, go into the final day as favourites, even though they will be without the services of Huw Waters, one of their strike bowlers. He is suffering from back trouble and will not bowl again in the match.

If Bangladesh win the third ODI against Mirpur, they will have not lost an ODI series against major opposition for the first time ever

The Preview by George Binoy10-Oct-2010

Match Facts

Monday, October 11, Mirpur

Start time 09:00 local (03:00 GMT)Shakib Al Hasan’s performance will be pivotal to Bangladesh’s chances of pulling off another upset•Associated Press

The Big Picture

New Zealand’s best-laid plans of preparing for the 2011 World Cup by scheduling series in each of the host nations are being laid to waste. They went to Sri Lanka first, to give their inexperienced team insight into the conditions there, but didn’t perform adequately enough to make the tri-series final. A tour of India will follow, but only after their ongoing assignment in Bangladesh, where a depression over the Bay of Bengal has caused enough rain to wreck their first ten days in the country. Both warm-ups were washed out, as was an international, and the only ODI New Zealand played ended in a nine-run defeat on D/L terms.There was, though, a shimmer of hope ahead of Monday’s match. The intensity of the depression had eased and the sun shone, albeit briefly, on the eve of the third ODI, allowing the Shere-e-Bangla Stadium time to recover from all the rain. New Zealand, who have been confined indoors for a while, were finally able to practice outside and get a feel of Mirpur. Brendon McCullum, their opening batsman, spoke of a sense of frustration at the weather, and hoped New Zealand would be able to play the remaining three games. Trailing 1-0 in the five-ODI series, they now have to win three in a row to leave Bangladesh with a trophy.The hosts have challenges of their own to overcome. They are without Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Hossain, both of whom were involved in the victory but are ruled out by injury. More importantly, however, they face the challenge of achieving collective consistency. If not for Shakib Al Hasan’s quality all-round performance, it’s likely that New Zealand would have taken the series lead and Bangladesh will find it hard to string wins together on the back of a single man’s performance. All of the top six batsman got to double figures in the first ODI, but only Shakib made it past 40. It’s an issue their opening batsman, Shariar Nafees, said needed urgent addressing. Bangladesh are one win away from not losing the series, an accomplishment they’ve never achieved against a major opposition, not counting a weakened West Indies.

Form guide

(most recent, completed matches)
Bangladesh: WLWLL
New Zealand: LLLWW

Watch out for…

New Zealand’s opening batsmen, Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, are among the most watchable opening pairs in international cricket today. McCullum is forever innovating, opening up previously unexploited regions with inventive stroke play, while Ryder possesses oodles of talent. He’s also remarkably quick for someone who could be several kilos lighter. They added 53 in 6.5 overs in the first ODI before Ryder fell. The goal will be to convert an explosive start into something more damaging.Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh’s captain again for the remainder of the series because of Mortaza’s injury. He is also their most valuable match-winner, especially in the absence of Tamim Iqbal. He made 58 in the first game and his four wickets were crucial in dragging New Zealand below the D/L equation. A lesser performance from him and Bangladesh will struggle to make it 2-0.

Pitch and conditions

The Mirpur square has spent a lot of time under covers and McCullum expected it to not change too much from the way it played in the first game – slow without massive turn. The rains had eased considerably on the eve of the match but there was some showers forecast for Monday. The third ODI is unlikely to be a complete washout though.

Team news

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Naeem Islam, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Rubel Hossain/Shafiul Islam, 11 Syed Rasel.New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Grant Elliott, 5, 6 Kane Williamson/BJ Watling/Shannan Stewart, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Daryl Tuffey.

Stats and trivia

• Daniel Vettori needs two wickets to become the highest wicket-taker in New Zealand-Bangladesh bilateral contests. Unless the incumbent, Kyle Mills, adds to his tally of 27.
• Imrul Kayes averages 34.20 against New Zealand, which is the highest for a Bangladesh batsman with a minimum of five innings.

Quotes

“I’m a positive scorer when going well … I would like to cement myself in the team with a couple of match-winning performances.”
“Shakib is definitely a world-class player and you will have to check him if you want to win matches.”
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Having picked up his first five-wicket haul for Australia, Nathan Hauritz has declared his intentions to make the spinner’s spot his own for a long time to come.

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG31-Dec-2009Nathan Hauritz has played ten Tests over the past year but without a sense of security. There has always been the feeling that he was a temporary solution, filling a gap while Australia’s selectors decided on their next long-term Test spinner. But after a chat with Shane Warne helped him collect his first five-wicket haul for his country, Hauritz has declared his intentions to make the Test spot his own for a long time to come.The timing of Hauritz’s career-best was important. Last week, the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch challenged him to become a dangerous fourth-innings bowler and said that while Hauritz was very capable, the selectors would “continue to look for that next group of spin bowlers” who would be part of the team in the coming decade.That made Hauritz’s 5 for 101 in the fourth innings of the Boxing Day Test victory over Pakistan extra special. He knows how quickly a spinner can fall out of favour – since Warne’s retirement Australia have used seven slow men in Tests – and has had the legspinner Steven Smith hovering in the shadows over the past two matches.”The most important thing is not to put too much pressure on myself in those situations,” Hauritz said after bowling Australia to a 170-run victory. “I probably have a little bit at times, just trying to get those wickets to try and silence a few people and let people know that I can bowl and I’ve earned this spot and I’m here for a long time.”Smith enjoyed a one-on-one net session with Warne during the Boxing Day Test and it was Warne’s advice that helped Hauritz deliver his best performance. Hauritz said the advice from Warne on the fifth morning was to be patient, alter his lines and force the batsmen to hit the ball where he wanted it to go, not where they wanted to play it.”Since I’ve been part of this squad he has been trying to get me … to get the batsman to hit in areas they don’t want to and being able to have the confidence to put the ball in that area,” Hauritz said. “When I first started I was quite happy to bowl outside off but have a 5-4 field so they wouldn’t play there.”I’m trying to get batsmen out a lot more now. I didn’t bowl as accurately as I normally can at times in this last innings but I definitely bowled more attacking lines and tried to make them hit in areas which they felt uncomfortable. It can be pretty tough at times when you’re getting hit back over your head all the time. In the end it worked in my favour being able to get a stumping and getting batsmen trapped on the crease.”His final breakthrough came with a top-edged swipe that was taken at midwicket, giving him his first five-wicket-haul in first-class cricket, while his previous best in Tests was three in an innings. When he began his state career with Queensland he hadn’t taken a five-for at club level – he has now – so the feeling of pressure to perform was familiar.It’s not unheard of for bowlers to deliver a five-wicket bag in Tests before state cricket; Jason Krejza had never taken five in a first-class match until his eight-for on Test debut in Nagpur last year. Krejza lasted only one more Test before being dropped but Hauritz, who played a one-off Test in 2004 before waiting four years for his second. He is confident that his best performance is a sign of bigger things to come.”It’s pretty significant,” Hauritz said. “It’s my first five-for in first-class and Tests. I am very happy to take that five-wicket haul. I hope it is the start of something good. It has been a pretty tough road. There have been good moments and bad moments and this is definitely one that I will remember.”The next step is to continue delivering Test-quality performances and that challenge begins at the SCG, where the second Test starts on Sunday. Despite the ground’s reputation for favouring spin, Hauritz has only 16 first-class wickets at 55.75 there, and he was anticipating a good batting pitch once again.”I don’t expect it to be too much different to what it normally is,” he said. “It is generally a pretty good batting track for the first few days. The first morning it can offer a little bit, I have seen finger-spinners do well there on the first morning because it is a little bit tacky. I don’t expect it to be too much different.”

The India captain emphasised that the team management doesn’t want to tamper with the batters’ mindsets

Alagappan Muthu24-Dec-20244:16

Rohit on Gill and Jaiswal: Such tours can be challenging to score big runs

India’s batting is in transition and two men who are expected to take it forward have had an up-and-down time during the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Yashasvi Jaiswal has suffered some soft dismissals since his 161 in Perth and Shubman Gill hasn’t made the most of the starts he’s had.Their captain Rohit Sharma, speaking ahead of the Boxing Day Test, backed both players to succeed using their own methods.”When you have a guy like [Jaiswal] in your squad, in your team, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset,” Rohit said. “Let him be as free as possible and not overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us, you know.Related

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“Every venue here has different challenges. So, it’s just about adapting to those challenges, playing on different pitches. The bowlers are the same.”So, it’s just about understanding what they usually do and what are their plans against certain batters when we come out to bat. And then just going out there and doing their thing.”Talking about Gill, I mean, look, he is quality, we all know that. It’s just about backing that quality and making sure, you know, we give clear messaging to him and not, again, like Jaiswal, we don’t want to complicate too many things with him.”So he knows how to score big runs. So it’s just making sure that when you get those 30s, 40s, you try and get on to a big one. Because getting in here is the toughest part. And when you get in, that is when you cannot leave that opportunity of scoring that big runs.”Rohit batted for over half-an-hour in India’s final training session before Boxing Day. He didn’t look in any trouble after taking a blow to his knee earlier.There were some crisp shots, including a couple that brought a crowd of about 200 or so people to raptures. They’d asked for the pull and they got one off the front foot right as his session ended. Rohit didn’t engage with them while he was batting but once he’d pulled his pads off, he did go over for a playful word or two.Rohit Sharma backed Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to succeed using their own methods•Getty Images

India were able to practice on significantly quicker pitches in the nets on Christmas Eve, pitches that might bear closer resemblance to the one for the match. Rohit had a look at it on Sunday when it had some grass on it. The curator Matt Page said there won’t be excessive seam movement but that it would provide a thrilling contest.”In the previous two or three Test matches, the wicket didn’t have that much grass on it,” Rohit said. “It was dry. But this certainly doesn’t look to me like a dry wicket.”The first day of the MCG Test is expected to be seriously hot with temperatures reaching 40 degree Celsius but then it should cool down. India are weighing up the option of playing an extra spinner – Washington Sundar, who had a bat against the main bowlers including Jasprit Bumrah and who also enjoyed himself bowling to KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the nets – or an extra seamer – Prasidh Krishna, who hasn’t played on this tour but has put in a lot of work in the nets over the last month.The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is tied 1-1 with two Test to go and those results will also have an implication on both teams’ hopes of making the World Test Championship final in June. Australia or India, if they can win in Melbourne and Sydney, will qualify for that game regardless of other results.

“It all depends on the future of the T20 World Cup and the Asia Cup”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2020The BCCI is looking at the September-October window for holding the delayed 2020 edition of the IPL, Brijesh Patel, the chairman of the league’s governing council, has said. Whether the tournament can be slotted in there, however, “depends on the future” of the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, which were originally scheduled for September and October-November respectively.While there is considerable doubt over the two multi-team tournaments going ahead this year, the Asian Cricket Council is still hoping to hold the Asia Cup in September, and the ICC has adopted a wait-and-watch approach to decide the fate of the T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia.”Yes, we are looking at those dates, but it all depends on the future of the T20 World Cup and the Asia Cup. Subject to that we are planning (the window for the IPL),” Patel told the .BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had also written to the state associations this week to say that he was optimistic about hosting the IPL, in empty stadiums if needed, and Patel echoed his thoughts.”Again, it depends on how the situation is in September-October,” Patel said. “We have to go by the government directive. First we need the go-ahead from the government. You can’t play a World Cup in empty stadiums. But the IPL being a league, it can be staged behind closed doors. The official broadcaster is OK with that and so are the players because they want to play.”When asked if the governing council was looking at the September-October window because it doesn’t expect the T20 World Cup to go ahead, Patel told the : “They can’t leave it till the last minute. All the teams have to prepare if they are going ahead with it. Otherwise all the alternative plans have to be in place. They should decide shortly.”If the World Cup cannot happen, each board will have to think of how to utilise the October window in consultation with the respective governments.”Patel also said that though the cricket boards in the UAE and in Sri Lanka had offered to host the IPL, the BCCI’s first preference would be to play it in India. “They (Emirates Cricket Board and Sri Lanka Cricket) have informed us that they are prepared to host the IPL. But our first preference is India, if we get the government’s permission,” he said. “It is certain that we cannot play at more than three or four venues in India, but the permissions will depend on how the COVID-19 outbreak pans out.”Otherwise we will have to explore playing overseas, which will be the last option. Once you are playing without spectators, it doesn’t really matter where you are playing as long as it suits television timings.”

Team set to unleash both wristspinners – Wanindu Hasaranga and Lakshan Sandakan – on West Indies

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Feb-2020On Wednesday, ahead of his first ODI series as Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur spoke about players being handed down well-defined roles within the team. On Friday, on the eve of the first one-dayer against West Indies, he went into a little more detail about what those roles were.Unsurprisingly, the two wristspinners in the squad – legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan – will be expected to make breakthroughs through the middle overs. Sri Lanka were one of the few teams without a reliable wristspinner during last year’s ODI World Cup. With a T20 World Cup later this year, the team is looking to fill that void.”The key to the wristspiners, and to playing both of them together, is genuine wicket-taking options for us through the middle,” Arthur said. “That is the key, and that’s what wins you white-ball cricket games now. We want to play that brand of cricket. We are looking to attack and looking to take wickets. I think that’s the future for this team. I think in terms of our preparation, that’s been the message. The message has been around attacking. We don’t want to play defensive cricket anymore. That will be reflected in our selection. If the two wristspinners can do the job for us tomorrow, that will be fantastic, because they will take wickets.”Wanindu is a fantastic cricketer. The way he bowls – the control of his length has been amazing. I’ve really marveled at watching him go about his business. That, coupled with his batting ability, and his fielding, he’s making a real name for himself. Sandakan, obviously, has been around the system a lot longer.”Wanindu Hasaranga is overjoyed after picking a wicket•BCCI

On the batting front, Sri Lanka have a clear idea who their top six is. Each of those players has a specific job.”The thing about our batting is that there is a license at the top of the order,” Arthur said. “You’ve got Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando at the top of the order – dynamic. Kusal Perera will bat three. Avishka will open with Dimuth Karunaratne. They will have a licence to get us away in that Powerplay period. And 4, 5, 6 is Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva. Those are the guys who we want to control those overs 11-40. And then hopefully, we’ll have the likes of one of them, a Thisara Perera and a Wanindu, to finish it. If we script the perfect game, that’s how it would work out. We know it doesn’t always happen.”Where fitness and fielding have been major areas of concern for Sri Lanka over the past two years, Arthur also suggested there has been substantial improvement on both fronts.”I was watching us go through our fielding yesterday. Our fielding has improved massively. That’s testimony to the players and their attitudes. They’ve bought into where we want to go. And the coaching from Shane McDermott around that has been fantastic. We’ve been big on the split step. We’ve been big on trigger movements on the field, just to trigger the guys into action. To see the whole field moving is a massive improvement on where we were when we went to India with that T20 side [in January].”If you are fitter you can field better and move better. Your ability and speed to get to the ball is much better.”

Appointment suggests Bell can look forward to a career in coaching when his playing days end

George Dobell02-Oct-2019Ian Bell is set to be confirmed as England’s batting coach at the U19 World Cup.While Bell missed the entire 2019 season due to injury, he plans to continue his playing career in 2020 and has beaten several more established coaching candidates to the role.The appointment underlines how well thought of Bell is and suggests he can look forward to a career in coaching when his playing career end. He will be 38 in April and is out of contract at Warwickshire at the end of the 2020 season.The next edition of the U19 World Cup, featuring 16 sides and ODI playing regulations, will be staged in South Africa in January and February.England finished a disappointing seventh in the previous tournament played in New Zealand in 2018. India won the trophy after beating Australia in the final. Jon Lewis remains the head coach of England U19s.Former England batsman Bell this year played no part in Warwickshire’s County Championship campaign for the first time since 2000, after his comeback from a foot injury sustained during the Pakistan Super League in Feburary was ruined by a tendon issue in his left knee. It was the first time he had failed to play at least one first-class game since making his debut for the club in 1999 at the age of 17.

Cricket Association of Mizoram has sent a formal request to the BCCI to seek affiliation, which could place Mizoram on par with other cricketing states

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2015Cricket Association of Mizoram has sent a formal request to the BCCI to seek affiliation, which could place Mizoram on par with other cricketing states. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, has forwarded the matter to the affiliation committee members for consideration.
If the affiliation committee recommends that Mizoram be admitted as an affiliate member, the lowest rung of BCCI membership, the AGM, will take the decision in September. For a new member to be introduced, the proposal needs to be passed with a 3/4th majority.If Mizoram, the only state in the north-eastern region that is not under the BCCI umbrella, is admitted as an affiliate member, it will receive financial support of up to Rs five million per annum for five years. More importantly, it may benefit from expert advice and help with regards to creating infrastructure and coaching structure in the state. After five years, an affiliate member can apply to be promoted as an associate member.Financial grants may vary depending on the BCCI’s assessment of whether an affiliate is using its funds effectively at grassroot levels. But if the association fails to submit annual accounts by July 31 every year, the financial support may be discontinued.With respect to promotion of cricket in the North-Eastern states, Dalmiya has already sent his recommendations to the New Area Development Committee, which included preparation of more turf wickets, conducting coaching programmes, development of one full-size cricket ground, and one indoor coaching facility per state.Besides its 30 full members, Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh, Sikkim Cricket Association, Manipur Cricket Association and Bihar Cricket Association (not Cricket Association of Bihar which has been in litigation with the BCCI) are BCCI’s associate members. Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal, three of the seven north-eastern states, happen to be affiliate members at the moment.The New Area Development Committee, with a specific eye on the north-eastern region, was set up by Dalmiya in 2003 during his first stint as BCCI chief. The idea then was to provide all the support required at grassroots level in neglected regions. It was disbanded by his successor Sharad Pawar, but revived in 2012 by N Srinivasan. However, none of the affiliates have so far been granted promotion as an associate member, which makes them eligible for more financial grants.The BCCI conducted a tournament featuring all the seven associate and affiliate members till 2013. It was cancelled last year when it was learned that some of the associations were importing players from other states instead of promoting talent in their region.

The wristspinner recently played for MI Emirates in the ILT20 and has also played one T20I

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-20242:36

Will SRH miss Hasaranga as the pitches dry out?

Sunrisers Hyderabad have signed 22-year-old Sri Lanka legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth as a replacement for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga at his reserve price of INR 50 lakh. Hasaranga was officially ruled out of IPL 2024 on Saturday owing to chronic pain in his heel that initially delayed his arrival for the tournament.Viyaskanth first rose to prominence in December 2020, when he became the youngest player at 18 years and 364 days to feature in the Lanka Premier League for Jaffna Stallions. In that tournament, he also became the first born-and-bred player from Jaffna, in Sri Lanka’s northern tip and once the epicentre of a three-decade-long civil war, to appear in an internationally televised game.He represented Sri Lanka at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou in one T20I. He also impressed with eight wickets in four outings at an economy of 5.43 for title winners MI Emirates – where Mahela Jayawardene is the global head of performance – at the ILT20.Vijayakanth Viyaskanth picked up three top-order wickets•SLC

Rajasthan Royals’ director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara had brought him in as a net bowler for the team in the IPL last season. He will now be working with another former Sri Lanka player, Muthiah Muralidaran, the bowling coach of Sunrisers.He has also represented Chattogram Challengers in the Bangladesh Premier League. In 33 T20s, Viyaskanth has 42 wickets at an average of 18.78, an economy of 6.76 and a strike rate of 16.6.Until early last week, the Sunrisers were hopeful of Hasaranga’s participation at some stage and were awaiting details of his consultation with a specialist in Dubai. On Sunday, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) communicated to the BCCI that Hasaranga had to be withdrawn from the IPL with an eye on the upcoming T20 World Cup in June-July.Hasaranga was bought by Sunrisers at his base price of INR 1.5 crore (approx USD 181,000) at the 2024 IPL auction in December, after Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who paid INR 10.75 crore for him in 2022, released him.