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Laxmi Shukla, who picked up four wickets, boosted Bengal who are desperately in search of an outright win after having lost two out of four games this season

Siddhartha Talya at the Brabourne Stadium01-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Laxmi Shukla used the helpful conditions to pick up four wickets•Fotocorp

The previous time the Brabourne Stadium hosted a Ranji Trophy game, it produced a run-fest, with the first innings staying incomplete at the end of the third day. The shade of green on the track for this game and some gentle breeze in the morning offered greater hope for the fast bowlers, and it wasn’t surprising that Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary chose to bowl. His team responded well, especially Laxmi Shukla, who picked up four wickets, to boost Bengal who are desperately in search of an outright win after having lost two out of four games this season.Mumbai had their share of fortune on a track that had good bounce with the ball often kicking off a good length, especially when Shukla was bowling. The Bengal fielders chipped in to make life easier on occasions as Wasim Jaffer was the beneficiary of a dropped catch. Though Bengal were not made to suffer much – Jaffer only got so far as 80 in a format he’s dominated by making fielders toil for long hours – he stayed long enough to help Mumbai fight back from 46 for 3 in the company of Abhishek Nayar, with whom he was involved in a century stand.Mumbai again picked themselves up after losing Jaffer and Nayar in the second session, with wicketkeeper Aditya Tare and Ankeet Chavan compiling a 56-run stand as part of a lower-order recovery that also acquired considerable momentum through quick runs. The Bengal bowlers worked hard – Shukla, in particular, bowled an extended first spell of nine overs – but weren’t dominant and faced resistance that took Mumbai to 262 for 7.Jaffer, who missed Mumbai’s first three games of this season while on Haj, said the assistance to fast bowlers will last a while and 300 was a good total on this track. “I don’t think it’s going to flatten out,” he said. “The help for the fast bowlers, especially, will remain for a while. The ball is spinning as well. So, if we go to 300, it’ll be a very good score with the kind of bowling we have and the wicket, probably, will get a bit faster. It was a bit damp today, and the ball was swinging, but I think it’s a decent score. We would have been happier if there were one or two wickets less. But the help will remain in the wicket.”Jaffer batted positively, though that also brought with it some risk on a track with a bit of life. He offered a half-chance at short leg at 5, and was put down by Arindam Das at second slip off Shukla when on 16. Shukla also got the ball to move back in, rapped Jaffer on the pads twice, but there were enough scoring opportunities on offer. Jaffer drove Shukla twice through the covers and used his feet well against the left-arm spin of Iresh Saxena, who was brought on, surprisingly, as early as the 11th over.The early introduction of spin was to provide Bengal an opening, however, through the stumping of Kaustubh Pawar and Shukla struck twice in quick time after that to put Mumbai under pressure. Against a disciplined line outside off, and some away movement, Hiken Shah was caught-behind driving on the up. Rohit fell in a similar fashion, reaching forward to be caught by Wriddhiman Saha diving to his right, for 1, as his counterpart Tiwary, also a possible contender for a place in the Indian side, watched on from mid-off.While the seamers tested the batsmen from one end, Jaffer and Nayar scored freely off the sole specialist spinner, Saxena. Jaffer was strong both sides of the wicket, driving him past cover and going over the top past mid-on and midwicket. Nayar swept well, collecting two successive boundaries through deep square leg and deep midwicket, and even launching Saxena for a six towards cow corner. The stand was broken abruptly in the first over of Shukla’s second spell, shortly after the pair had put on 100 together, when Jaffer got a leading edge to Abhishek Jhunjhunwala at extra cover.It got worse for Mumbai when Nayar dragged one back on from Veer Pratap Singh to make it 172 for 5, but there was some spunk left in the batting.Tare has opened the batting for Mumbai, dropping down this time with the return of Jaffer, and had some close shaves as he repeatedly edged the bowlers over the slips and past gully. Chavan gave him good company in a 56-run partnership before adding a further 20 with Dhawal Kulkarni, who struck Saxena for two straight sixes over long-on.But Bengal remained patient and dismissed the pair before stumps, both edging to slip and one of them, Chavan, giving Shukla his fourth wicket. The innings could have been wrapped up today itself had Ramesh Powar, a capable hand in the lower order, not been dropped by Das, again, at second slip. Captain Tiwary appeared happy at stumps, applauding his team-mates, but the let-offs in the field did consume time and cost runs that Bengal will hope do not affect the outcome.

Virender Sehwag and Ricky Ponting feel the Test is finely balanced going into the fourth day, which could also prove to be the final one

Sidharth Monga at the MCG28-Dec-2011Virender Sehwag and Ricky Ponting feel the Test is finely balanced going into the fourth day, which could also prove to be the final one. Ponting said the lead of 230 was already a reasonable one, but he would love for Michael Hussey and the last two to add more. Sehwag said India would be comfortable chasing anything under 300. The highest successful chase at the MCG is 332.It’s the state of the pitch, which has had life for good bowling throughout the three days, across sessions, that makes it interesting. “When you saw their top-order batters come in this morning, they found it difficult to start,” Ponting said. “I think our batters found it difficult to start this afternoon as well. There’s just enough assistance for the bowlers if you bowl in the right areas for long enough. That’s what our target will be tomorrow.”The first target for Australia, though, will be to extend their own innings. “Tomorrow morning is going to be really crucial for us now,” Ponting said. “We know that James Pattinson has got some really solid promise with the bat. He’s going to have to show that for us tomorrow. And we need Mike Hussey to go on and get a big score and continue to keep pushing the game forward. We’re 230 ahead now, which I think is a reasonable total for India to have to chase, but ideally we’d like to make a few more than that.”Ponting said the thickish grass on the pitch made it difficult to bat on. “It’s a little bit difficult to start on,” he said. “There’s a little bit of thickish grass sitting on top of the wicket, so the seam is grabbing into that grass a little bit and makes it a little bit inconsistent. If you get through the first half-hour of your innings, every wicket around the world seems like it’s a pretty good wicket. Most of our batters found it tough to get through that today. Hopefully tomorrow we can make it difficult for the Indians as well.”There hasn’t been a lot of spin yet. Ashwin has got a few to be a bit inconsistent, bounce-wise. I guess for a finger-spinner, that’s probably as much assistance as turning the ball a lot anyway. I thought Ashwin did a good job for them today, he changes his pace up all the time, he has got a fair bit of variation. I think Nathan Lyon can learn a little bit from that in how he can apply his skills in the second innings.”Sehwag got through that first half hour in the first innings, but ended his innings playing on. He then went on to see three Australians playing on today. “Ball is not coming on to the bat,” he said. “It’s stopping and coming. Spongy bounce. So batsmen are playing little early, that’s why they are getting inside edges.”Sehwag knows his and Gautam Gambhir’s contribution will be vital whatever total India are chasing. “It’s not just my contribution. It’s a team game. [But] Yes it’s important for us to give a good start to the team. If we are able to give a good start then we have a very good chance to win the Test match.”Sehwag said he was satisfied with India’s day in the field, especially how they came back after the collapse. “It’s a good day for India, and the match is evenly balanced,” he said. “Any team can win that. We have to work hard tomorrow. If we win the game, we really have to bat well on the fourth and fifth days.”The bowlers delivered [today]. Especially in first spell, Umesh Yadav and Ishant [Sharma] and Zak [Zaheer Khan], they bowled beautifully. And through the day [R] Ashwin bowled really well. He kept one end up at less than three an over. Overall it was a good day for India.” He went on to label India’s bowling line-up the best Indian attack he has played with.

Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, has warned against complacency following his team’s series wins over Zimbabwe in the two limited-overs formats at home

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2010Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, has warned against complacency following his team’s series wins over Zimbabwe in the two limited-overs formats at home. Amid South Africa’s success, Amla has been enjoying a prolific run. This year, he’s scored four centuries – including two this ODI series – and two fifties in nine games but has said the tour of the UAE where South Africa play Pakistan in all three formats will be a different challenge altogether.”We’re under no illusions about our performances here. Although it’s been a good start for us, we know against Pakistan it won’t be anything like this,” Amla said. “We know how tough it’s going to be there, but by the same token we’re just trying to get some good form going in the batting and bowling departments.”It’s a lovely feeling going into the last game knowing you’ve actually won the series and the mindset is to try and keep building especially before we take on Pakistan.”South Africa have been ruthless against the Zimbabwe bowlers this series but their own performance with the ball and in the field has been below-par, with the visitors posting scores of 250-plus in each of the ODIs. “Fortunately, batting-wise, we’ve done well, but still need to do a bit more work in the bowling department,” Amla said. “Fielding is a discipline like batting and bowling, and we’re gaining more and more ground with every game.”We have been a bit sloppy and dropped one or two catches, but we’d rather have it now than during a big series against India or Pakistan or even in the World Cup.”Yes, we’ve started slowly, but we’re building momentum and that’s how we’ve looked at this series against Zimbabwe. We’re under no illusion that we’re suddenly world-beaters after winning the series against Zimbabwe. We still have some tough times ahead of us against Pakistan who, on any given day, can be world-beaters themselves.”South Africa play Zimbabwe in a dead rubber, the final ODI of the series in Benoni, on Thursday. “Our batting has been consistent especially against such a big team like South Africa,” Elton Chigbumbura, the Zimbabwe captain, said. “We’re going in the right direction, but our bowlers need a lot more practice and need to gain more control.”South Africa have rested fast bowler Dale Steyn and allrounder Jacques Kallis for this series while Morne Morkel suffered an injury to his ankle early in the tour.

Derbyshire have signed Robin Peterson, the former South Africa left-arm spinner, as a Kolpak player for the 2010 season

Cricinfo staff01-Dec-2009Derbyshire have signed Robin Peterson, the former South Africa left-arm spinner, as a Kolpak player for the 2010 season.Peterson, who has played six Tests and 35 ODIs for South Africa, holds the unenviable record of conceding the most runs in a single Test over, after Brian Lara took 28 from his left-arm spin at the Wanderers in 2003.Peterson plays for the Cape Cobras in South Africa and was due to play for South Africa A in the warm-up game against England at Potchefstroom. However, Cricket South Africa (CSA) pulled him out of the squad after he declared his intentions to play for Derbyshire which made him ineligible for future international duty.Derbyshire struggled to make much of an impact last season, finishing sixth in the second division of the Championship despite a late promotion bid, bottom of the North Division in the Twenty20 Cup and seventh in the Pro40. John Morris, the head of cricket, hopes Peterson’s experience can bring better success.”We are delighted and excited by the capture of Robin who is an all-rounder of international quality and plenty of experience,” he said. “Good quality spin bowlers are a valuable commodity in the modern game, as are explosive batsmen. Robin brings both of those attributes to the party and I am thoroughly looking forward to working with him in 2010.”

Allrounder’s century lifted Derbyshire from ruin after the Indian leg spinner took 3 in 11 balls

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay29-Jul-2025Derbyshire 348 for 8 (Andersson 105, Chahal 4-116) vs Northamptonshire Martin Andersson led a Derbyshire fightback with a spirited 105, his third century of the summer, as his side rallied to 348 for 8 on day one of this Rothesay County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.It came after Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal struck three times in 11 balls to tip the morning session firmly in Northamptonshire’s favour; the visitors ruing their decision to bat as they slipped to 98 for 5 at lunch, despite 39 from Luis Reece.But Andersson (148 balls, 14 fours) then dominated a 102 run-partnership with Aneurin Donald (37) during the afternoon, before sharing a further stand worth 61 with all-rounder Zak Chappell (32).Chahal, who found turn and bounce on a pitch previously used for the Vitality Blast Women Tier Two Finals Day on Saturday, later removed Chappell to finish with figures of four for 116.Earlier Derbyshire had a tough opening hour against some tight Northamptonshire bowling, the bulk of early runs coming through fine leg, their first wicket falling when Caleb Jewell (16) was undone by a George Scrimshaw delivery that jagged back and kept low, trapping him lbw.It brought Reece together with Harry Came (17) who combined in a confident 48-run stand off 69 deliveries, Reece unfurling a handsome cover drive against Scrimshaw to bring up Derbyshire’s 50 in the fifteenth over, before using his feet against Chahal to collect three boundaries over the infield.With Came taking on the seamers, momentum was running in Derbyshire’s direction, before Chahal intervened. First, he turned one across Came to trap him lbw and then picked up Reece who flicked straight to short leg. Brooke Guest’s stay was short, Chahal getting one to grip and turn to take the edge through to the keeper.Justin Broad capped the perfect morning for Northamptonshire, putting a dampener on Wayne Madsen’s 250th first-class game, when he was caught behind playing a lazy shot down the legside.After lunch Andersson and Donald came out fighting, bringing their 50 partnership up off 60 balls, Andersson sweeping and cutting Chahal and pulling seamer Liam Guthrie to the ropes.With 40 runs coming in the first 20 minutes of the session, Chahal then applied the brakes. Racing through his overs, he pushed the ball through quicker too, keeping both batters in check, despite bowling occasional short balls and legside deliveries. And, with fellow spinner Rob Keogh finding some drift at the other end, the scoring rate slowed markedly for a time.Finally though, Andersson got one away, sweeping Chahal for four before playing the same shot against Keogh to reach his 50 from 66 deliveries. Donald meanwhile, managed just two boundaries in his 37 but deployed the reverse sweep to keep the scoreboard ticking over against Chahal as the pair’s stand reached three figures.Keogh made the breakthrough, flighting the ball up and turning it back in sharply to bowl Donald between bat and pad. It brought Chappell to the crease, who began in typically positive fashion. He had advanced to 22 when Scrimshaw put down a straightforward chance at backward point and Derbyshire went into tea on 237 for 6, having added 139 for the loss of just one wicket in the afternoon.Chappell’s reprieve was short lived. After tea he clubbed Chahal down the ground to bring up Derbyshire’s 250 but then edged an attempted reverse sweep straight to slip.Andersson took two boundaries off Chahal through extra cover to reach his century, but the new ball brought immediate rewards when he came down the track to Procter and edged behind.New batter, teenage debutant Joe Wilkins showed no nerves though, looking highly impressive as he drove confidently. With Ben Aitchison also playing some stylish shots the pair put on an excellent unbeaten 48 for the ninth wicket.

Tahlia McGrath would lead Australia if Healy was unavailable in Canberra

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2024Australia could be without Alyssa Healy for the opening T20I against South Africa in Canberra on Saturday as she battles an illnessHealy was expected to train with the side on Friday afternoon before a final decision was made on Saturday morning, but vice-captain Tahlia McGrath said the team wouldn’t let performance standards drop if Healy couldn’t get up for the contest.Related

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“We’re pretty lucky, we’re spoilt for choice in the fact we’re not reliant on any one player, and if anyone goes down we’ve got numerous options  to cover,” she said.”Lots of players play different roles for their Big Bash franchise, and we’re a very team-first side, so whatever the team requires on the day, we feel as though we’ve got all options covered.”Australia were expected to take in an almost unchanged team from the side that beat India 2-1 on the subcontinent this month, although they’ll have to finalise their pace line-up after Kim Garth and Darcie Brown alternated in that series.Spin star Alana King has been left out of the T20I squad, although she will join the side for the ODI portion of the tour.South Africa, beaten by 19 runs against Australia in the final of last year’s major tournament, didn’t enjoy a great start to their tour, suffering a four-wicket loss against the Governor-General’s XI on Wednesday.Captain Laura Wolvaardt admitted the task of battling the world’s best side away from home was daunting, but suggested it was part of her  team’s journey to going one better at the 2024 T20 tournament in Bangladesh.”It will be a big challenge, they are the world champions and it’s their own backyard,” she said. “They’ve just been very consistent for a long period of time.”Getting to play in the [WBBL], I see how they work, and they work very hard at their skills. It’s well deserved, they do work very hard and they are very good cricketers…it’ll just be about us playing our best cricket on the day.”The teams are competing across all three formats of the game over the next month, beginning with three T20s in what is a rematch of the decider from last year’s 20-over tournament.

“It’s a big game, but we want to just keep ourselves quite relaxed,” the India captain says of the tournament opener against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-20221:38

Rohit: ‘We will definitely feel Bumrah’s absence’

Rohit Sharma is clear that India need to get “a lot of things right” if they are to win the 2022 men’s T20 World Cup and it’s too early to start thinking of the knockout stages of the tournament.”It’s been a while since we have won the World Cup,” Rohit, leading India at a world event for the first time, told bcci.tv. “Obviously the motive and the whole thought process is to win the World Cup, but we know that we need to do a lot of things right to get there, so one step at a time for us.”We can’t think too far ahead. You really cannot think about semis and finals from now itself, you just need to focus on each team that you are going to come against and try to do your best and prepare well against each team and make sure we move in the right direction.”Despite being among the pre-tournament favourites for the last many years now, India haven’t won a World Cup since 2011. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, they failed to qualify for the knockouts.Like then, in the UAE, India start their campaign against Pakistan this time, in Melbourne on Sunday. While there is the usual hype and excitement around the game, Rohit said that India needed to stay calm to get the result they want.1:49

Rohit Sharma on how T20 cricket has changed since the 2007 World Cup

“We know that this is going to happen – whenever we play Pakistan, it’s always a blockbuster,” Rohit said. “People want to come out and watch and feel the atmosphere, more than anything else. Obviously, they want to enjoy the cricket as well, but at the same time, the atmosphere in the stadium for the fans, the spectators, even people watching from home – it’s pretty exciting.”And for us as players, of course, it’s a big game – we are starting off our campaign. But, at the same time, we want to just keep ourselves quite relaxed and focused on what we need to do as individuals, because that is going to be the key for us. If individuals can keep themselves calm and composed during the game, we’ll get the result that we’re looking for.He said he was “pretty excited” about being captain at a World Cup, and that the players were gung-ho after acclimatising to the conditions with two games against Western Australia XI and one against the Australian World Cup side.”It’s a great feeling, we have come off two [series] wins [against Australia and South Africa], but that was at home,” he said. “Australia will be a different challenge. It was important for us to get used to the conditions. Some of the guys had never been to Australia before, so we wanted to come here a little early and get used to the conditions.”Conditions will be challenging but that is the reason we came here early and as far as I’m concerned, when I look at the whole group, they are pretty excited.”

Leicestershire win by an innings and 93 runs as Parkinson claims career-best match figures of 10 for 108

ECB Reporters Network05-Jun-2021Leicestershire crushed group leaders Gloucestershire by an innings and 93 runs as a one-sided LV=Insurance County Championship match ended before tea on the third day with Gloucestershire bowled out for 200 following on.At 5 for 1 overnight, they slipped to 31 for 5 inside the first hour before Ian Cockbain and Jonny Tattersall held up the home side in a defiant stand that lasted two hours and 20 minutes, both making half-centuries in adding 119.But Player of the Match Callum Parkinson eventually dismissed both in quick succession, Gloucestershire losing their last five wickets for 50 as left-arm spinner Parkinson finished with 5 for 63 for career-best match figures of 10 for 108.Related

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Gloucestershire won four of their first five Group Two matches but have now suffered back-to-back defeats, each by an innings, having been beaten by Surrey in the last round.The Foxes, who failed to win any of their first six matches but chased down 378 in the fourth innings to beat Middlesex last Sunday, recorded consecutive victories in first-class games for the first time since 2018 and the first back-to-back wins in home matches since 2006.Leicestershire sensed they could finish the job rapidly as they took four wickets in the first 52 minutes of the day after Gloucestershire resumed, needing to reach 293 just to make the home side bat again.Chris Wright, getting movement off the seam, had Miles Hammond caught at first slip and Tom Lace behind the stumps in consecutive overs.
Parkinson picked up his first of the day when Glenn Phillips, who had been much more watchful than in the first innings, stepped across his stumps in trying to work to leg and was given out leg before, making his unhappiness with the decision obvious to umpire Nick Cook.Ryan Higgins fell to an unwise slog-sweep to his second that saw him caught at mid-wicket, but Cockbain and Tattersall frustrated Leicestershire until midway through the afternoon session, both hitting seven fours.Tattersall played well against the spin but eventually edged a slightly wide ball from Parkinson to Colin Ackermann at first slip, and soon afterwards Cockbain reached to defend one outside off stump, falling to a smart, one-handed catch to his left by Ackermann at second slip as Parkinson completed his second five-for in the match.With his off spin, Ackermann then bowled David Payne and had Tom Smith leg before and, after a brief flourish of big hitting by Dan Worrall and Josh Shaw, bowled Worrall to finish the job.

The BCB, however, is willing to play the T20I leg of the tour in Pakistan

Umar Farooq18-Dec-2019Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan, scheduled for next month, is now facing uncertainty with the BCB offering to play only T20Is in Pakistan, while asking that the two-Test series be shifted to a neutral venue.”We have had a round of correspondence with them [the BCB] and they are happy to play three T20s in Pakistan but they are slightly reluctant to play two Tests,” Wasim Khan, the PCB CEO, told a press conference on Wednesday. “I have written back to them, being very strong in my response, and asked the reason why. We have our security plans signed off by ICC and it has been signed off for a while now.”Sri Lanka are going to compete their series here and everything went very safely with all security provisions in place. So we are asking Bangladesh what is the reason for you not wanting to come. It (correspondence) is not finished yet and it doesn’t mean they are not coming. They are talking about three T20s, but for us playing Test cricket in another country isn’t an option now.”ALSO READ – BCB chief positive about getting security clearance for Pakistan tourSri Lanka are in the middle of a two-Test series in Pakistan – the first Tests in the country since the terrorist attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in March 2009 – with the second Test set to begin in Karachi on Thursday. The visiting players have given positive feedback about the security arrangements on the tour. An MCC team, led by Kumar Sangakkara, is also scheduled to tour Pakistan next year, and the PCB is set to host the entirety of the Pakistan Super League in Pakistan as well.These moves are part of the PCB’s plan to bring all of Pakistan’s home cricket back to Pakistan, and away from neutral venues such as the UAE, which had been the primary “home” venue since 2009. ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB felt it was not financially viable to host lower-ranked teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the UAE.The Bangladesh tour of Pakistan comprises three T20Is, scheduled to be held in Lahore on January 23, 25 and 27, followed by two Tests, which were originally slated to be held in Rawalpindi and Karachi. Before the new offer to split the series, the tour was hanging in the balance with the BCB awaiting government approval on touring a country Bangladesh has not enjoyed friendly terms with historically.Bangladeshi sides have toured Pakistan in the recent past, but the senior men’s team hasn’t done so since playing a five-match ODI series there in 2007-08. Since then, Pakistan have toured Bangladesh twice, in 2011-12 and 2015. . Seven years ago, they were close to deciding on a tour to Pakistan, only for the AHM Mustafa Kamal-led BCB to pull out shortly after the decision to tour was taken.The move aggravated relations between the PCB and the BCB. The PCB stopped communications with the BCB and barred Pakistan’s cricketers – who had already been auctioned to various teams – from featuring in the Bangladesh Premier League. Relations later improved during Shahryar Khan’s term as PCB chairman, and Pakistan invited Bangladesh for a two-match T20I series in 2017, only for the BCB to rebuff the invitation.

CoA receptive to team management’s request for rest, but reportedly unhappy with overseas Test results and Shastri’s comments

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Nov-2018The IPL could be advanced by a couple of weeks and is likely to start on March 23 to accommodate the Indian team management’s request to allow their fast bowlers adequate rest before the World Cup starts on May 30.India captain and coach Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri are believed to have laid out the need for at least a two-week rest period for their fast bowlers during meetings last month with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the board’s senior management team. They are also believed to have asked whether key players, including senior fast bowlers, could be rested from the IPL and adequately compensated if so.These meetings, held in New Delhi and Hyderabad, were also attended by Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, vice-captains of the ODI and Test sides respectively, and selection committee chairman MSK Prasad.The IPL management, headed by chief operating officer Hemang Amin, is understood to have told the CoA that the Indian team management’s request would need the consent of the franchises, which could be hard to come by. In turn, this may have forced the BCCI into considering an early start.During these meetings, ESPNcricinfo understands that the two-member CoA, comprising Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji, also made it clear to Kohli and Shastri that while India remain the No. 1 Test side, they have been “found wanting” in South Africa and England.The CoA is understood to be displeased about some of the grievances put forth by the team management pertaining to inadequate facilities at the team hotel and players’ partners not travelling with the side. The CoA also apparently didn’t take too kindly Shastri’s comments about India being the best travelling team. The CoA is understood to have told Shastri that even if India is one of the best teams going around, people should be allowed to judge for themselves.The BCCI is also exploring the feasibility of hosting IPL 2019 in India, but can only take a final call on this once the dates of the country’s seven-phase general elections are announced by the Central Election Commission. A team has already carried out a recce in South Africa, should the IPL need a plan B. It is likely that a clearer picture will emerge ahead of the player auction in Jaipur on December 18.