Few Things We Have Learned From IPL 2016

We have learned few things from the ninth edition of IPL 2016,after Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Banglore in Sunday's final.
1.Warner Showed Maturity:
Australia's David Warner showed a maturity belying his controversy fuelled past to captain Sunrisers Hyderabad to their maiden IPL Title,suggesting he is coming of age as a cricketer.Off-field exploits, including a bar-room punch on England's Joe Root in 2013,have often captured the headlines but Warner took this season's IPL by storm with 848 runs.The 29-years-old opener leadership skills were praised by Virat Kohli,the captain of losing finalists Royal Challengers Banglore,who said Warner,"has come a long way as a leader in this tournamnet."
2.Kohli Is Ready To Step Up:
Indian Test Captain Virat Kohli proved that he is also ready to add the job of  limited-overs skipper to his International responsibilities.He scored 973 runs in 16 matches and put his team to the finals where they lost off just 8 runs.
3.T20 Is Still A Batsman Game:
If more proof  was needed that T20 cricket was a batsman's game then the ninth edition of IPL provided it.Records tumbled and sixes rained. Virat Kohli smashed the record for the most runs in a single season by more than 200,finishing on 973,while David Warner blitzed 848.with four centuries and seven fifties,Kohli also became the all-time leading run scorer in IPL.Kohli also topped the all time sixes chart in a single season with 38 hits over the fence.He and AB de Villiers also recorded the highest ever T20  partnership with 229.   

Knee Injury Puts Mohammad Hafeez In Doubt For England Tour

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez has been ruled out of  the skills camp beginning on May,28  at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, but doctors will continue to monitor his recovery from a knee injury on a weekly basis ahead of  Pakistan's tour of England which starts June,18.
A fresh MRI scan on Hafeez revealed an improvement in his knee,first injured in March,but stress has been diagnosed and he may be rested for sometime as a part of his continuing rehabilitation regimen.He had already missed the opening fitness training camp at the Pakistan Military Academy in Abottabad.
Hafeez last played for Pakistan at the world T20 in March where he sustained the knee injury after a bone contusion in his femur.He has been resting since then and undergoing extensive treatment as a part of his rehabilitation. According to the latest reports,doctors advised Hafeez against any net sessions. Hafeez himself is desperate to restart his cricket but doctors are cautious about his injury which they fear could be aggravated if he tries to push for an early return.
A final call on his participation in the England Test series is expected to be taken in the next three to four days. Pakistan's 22 probables will be cut down to a final 16-man squad at the conclusion of the skills camp. The squad will leave for England to undergo a conditioning camp in Hampshire ahead of two practice matches in Sommerset and Sussex before the first test starts July 14 at Lord's.The selectors had named four options among the probables for the opening slots,with the inclusion of Hafeez cited as subject to fitness.

English Batsmen Will Be Tested By Our Bowlers,says Wahab Riaz

Pakistan's Left arm pacer Wahab Riaz said on friday that Pakistani bowlers can test English batsmen in the upcoming tour if they acclimatise well to host nation's conditions.
In an interview with with Pakpassion.net,the left-armer said that the players need to adjust to conditions and test batsmen through their weakness to perform well in the series.
"We have a good bowling line-up with variety and their is a lot of potential to make the English batsmen work hard,but the most important things for our bowlers is to adjust to bowling in England and to get used to of English conditions as soon as possible," he said.

Would Have Been Worried To Bowl To Kohli,says Swing Master

Pakistan Legendary Fast-bowler Wasim Akram was a sight of Terror for many batsmen in his era,however,the left-armer believes he would have been worried to bowl to Indian batting Star Virat Kohli.
The 49-years-old was a force to be reckoned with during his heydays and bagged 916 wickets in both Tests and ODIs combined with his sheer pace and the ability to swing  the ball both sides.
However, Wasim thinks kohli's self-belief and technique makes him a difficult opponent to deal with.
When asked "What makes Kohli so Special?", Wasim said:"His belief ,his ability and on top of that his technique.We haven't seen him play the reverse shot or the lap shot,he always plays proper cricketing shots with the full face of the bat.That's why he has been very consistent and as a bowler if I had to bowl at him,I will be worried.
Before that Kohli said,Wasim as the bowler he would have feared if he ever played against him." The bowler I most fear,or I would have feared if I had played would be the Legendary Akram;fast and skillful,"Kohli answered a quick-fire question during an interview with CNN.

Wrecked Stokes Has Surgery As Topley Ruled Out For Three Months

England All-Rounder Ben Stokes had knee surgery on Tuesday,while fellow International Reece Topley learnt he will be sidelined  for three months with a partial stress fracture.
Stokes suffered  a cartilage tear in his left knee during England's crushing Test victory against Srilanka last week at Headingley.
The 24-years-old admitted it was a huge  blow to be sidelined while England are in action,although he planned to watch his team-mates in the second test against Srilanka in Durham this week,which he revealed through his twitter account.

Opening Will Be Test For Pakistan

Opening the batting in English conditions is considered by many as one of the toughest challenges in Test Cricket. Many a technical astute batsman has been exposed on the seaming wickets at the home of cricket.

Pakistan's Top order batsmen have historically made heavy weather of some of the flattest track around the world,so it comes as no surprise that in England they have endured a tumultuous time against the moving red ball; especially since the famed  duo of Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail exited the scene.
But it was not always like this,In a richly rewarding run from 1987 to 2001, Pakistan won six out of the 13 test played across four tours- with series win in 1987,1992 and 1996,and a draw in 2001. In most of the games won by the visitors,the openers provided a decent launching pad. 

Mohammad Hafeez is the only player who had played a note when he scored 95 in the 2006 oval test,the highest score since the turn of the century by a Pakistani opener.Now for upcoming series the opening  for Pakistan rely on Mohammad Hafeez (subject to fitness),Shan Masood, Khuram Manzoor and Sami Aslam. Lets 

we hope best for them and for Pakistan that they can rebuild Pakistan's Legacy.                                                                             

RCB In Finals After De Villiers Act as Rescuer.

Tumbling Wickets,A high but not out-of-reach asking rate. An atypically dry and grippy pitch provided the conditions for a situation,usually more common in 50-overs cricket than in T20- to arise in the first Qualifier of IPL 2016. AB De Villiers was the specialist batsman,and when Iqbal Abdullah joined him in the 10th over of Royal Challengers Banglore's chase of 159,they needed 91 to win off 62 balls with four wickets in hand.
Royal Challenger's lost Virat Kohli for a duck and slipped to 29 for 5. Then, when Ravindra Jadeja had Stuart Binny  lbw sweeping -though replays showed ball hitting pad marginally outside off stumps- they were 68 for 6. From here AB and Abdullah took Royal Challenger's to the win and they qualify for the finals.  

Captain Smith Wary Of Pink Ball Test At Gabba Against Pakistan

Australia Captain Steven Smith has no qualms about playing another test at Adelaide Oval but is wary of how the pink ball will perform in the humid conditions expected at Brisbane later this year.
Australia play against Pakistan in the first test under lights  at the Gabba on Dec,15, despite warnings from former players and pundits that muggy conditions could make the ball unplayable for batsmen.
In the inaugural day-night match against New Zealand in drier Adelaide conditions last year,the ball hooped around menacingly during the floodlit late sessions and Australia won in three days.

Zaheer Abbas Given His Two Cents On Pakistan's Cricket Downfall

ICC President  Zaheer Abbas has said a lack of opportunities and exposure has landed Pakistan Cricket in hot waters.
"Our players are not getting the right opportunities and exposure," said Abbas."They are also not in the Indian Premier League.I feel  sorry for the young players who can't play international cricket or against touring sides at home."
The 'Asian Bradman' expresses his concern that Pakistan Cricket has stopped producing legends for the young players to look up to.
"For a country that has a rich cricketing history and Legacy,it saddens me to see the state of affairs today,"he said. It is sad that a country which has produced so many legends now has to even think about playing in qualifying rounds of an ICC event.

MCL (Masters Champion League) Not Honouring Players Contract-FICA

The Federation of  International Cricketers Association (FICA) has claimed that the Masters Cricket League,a private T20 tournament for retired cricketers held in Dubai and Sharjah earlier this year,has not paid "a significant number of players" according to their contractual agreements.
"As far as we are aware only one team,the Gemini Arabians,has been paid in full and on time."FICA chief executive Tony Irish said. "We understand it is a new event, however the event finished more than three months ago,and the situation is entirely unacceptable.
  

People Lied And Tried To Drag My Name In The Mud After World T20 Exit,says Afridi

Former Pakistan T20 Captain Shahid Afridi said on Thursday he hopes to force his way back into national contention and put the disastrous World T20 behind him with a strong return to English Club Hampshire this season.
The 36-year-old was not included in  an ongoing boot camp ahead of Pakistan's tour of England that begins in July,with many pundits suggesting it was time for the flamboyant all-rounder to call time on his two-decade long career.
Afridi uploaded a apology video to the cricket-mad nation after Pakistan's exit at the group stage of the World T20,and his leadership style was slammed in separate leaked reports by then coach Waqar Younis and team manager Intikhab Alam-both since sacked.

Majority of Cricket Players fail fitness test at Kakul boot Camp

More than half of the 31 players attending Pakistan Cricket Board's boot camp at the Kakul Military Academy have failed their fitness tests.
According to the reports from the camp,four players who have been outstanding in the fitness drills so far are Test Captain Misbah ul Haq, senior batsman Younis Khan, Fawad Alam and Shan Masood.
"Misbah, Younis, Shan and Fawad have maintained a consistent standard," a source said on condition of annonymity
According to the source,after initial camp results,the trainer have now devised a new plan for other players which means they would now have to wake up at 7 am and do the drills till noon.

Arthur Should tone down statements on Pakistan's Cricket,says Rashid Latif

Former Pakistan Captain Rashid Latif believes newly appointed head coach Mickey Arthur is jumping the gun by giving statements regarding  issues related to Pakistan Cricket Team.
"Too many statements from the new coach and he is speaking on every issue related to Pakistan Cricket,"said Latif. He is an experienced international coach but he should slow down a bit with his statements and first come and see first-hand challenges he faces with the Pakistan Team."

Anurag Thakur Front runner to be BCCI President.

BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur is the front runner to become president of the Indian Board after Shashank Manohar stepped down on Tuesday.
Thakur has been tight-lipped about his next move,but senior BCCI office-bearers believe he is set to take over for the remainder Manohar's Tenure,until September 2017.

Shashank Manohar resigns from BCCI's Presidency

Shashank Manohar has resigned on tuesday as President of the Indian Cricket Board,reports and the senior source within the organisation said.
"I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect as BCCI's president", Manohar wrote in a letter to the board secretary Anurag Thakur.
A senior official with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP that Manohar had resigned but gave no further details.

"I will be tough on discipline with Pakistan",said Arthur

Pakistan's new coach Micky Arthur has said,"he will not compromise on discipline,fitness and fielding standards during his tenure with the side.Arthur was appointed Pakistan's coach last week,filling the position vacated by Waqar Younis in April.
Further he said,"I will be tough on discipline and that's the way we can get better and better results,I want everybody to start playing for the team and I don't want any selfish player around.Our bowling is good but we need to lift our batting massively.I will also be tough on fielding and fitness,and need players who can play long term,and these issues are non-negotiable.I also want players who aren't prepared to be bullied."

Micky Arthur Appointed as Pakistan's Head Coach

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally has announced Micky Arthur as Pakistan's Head Coach.He fills the role vacated by Waqar Younis's Resignation in April,following Pakistan early exit from the World T20. This is Arthur's third assignment with an International side;he coached South Africa from 2005 to 2010 and Australia from 2011 to 2013.A board official said Micky Arthur is expected to take over at the end of this month.

"Kashmir's Addition In PSL May Face Hurdles" said Sethi

Pakistan Super League (PSL) Chairman Najam Sethi on Monday said the addition of  Kashmir as the Sixth team in the second edition of the event may face few hurdles.
In the inaugural edition,five teams 
namely:
Islamabad,Karachi,Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta participated and were given a written security by the  Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that a six team will not be added until the third addition.
Further the PSL chairman said that: "We will not have sixth team in PSL until the third addition,that is written. But at the same time, we are looking at the financials about the addition of sixth team,in terms of whether it will be Kashmir, Faislabad,Sialkot,Gilgit-Baltistan or any other team,that decision is pending.We have to weigh the pros and cons and that's the issue right now but we cannot have it until all franchises agree. Without their consent we can't make it."

Ganguly Questioned Dhoni's Role in 2019 World Cup

Former Indian Skipper Sourav Ganguly on monday questioned Mahindra Singh Dhoni's Role as India's Captain in 2019 World Cup.
Speaking at a sports show on India Today, the 43-years-old said he woul be surprised if dhoni goes on to lead India in 2019 World Cup." Dhoni has been fantastic in the way he has gone about his job as captain, but does he have the ability in the next couple of years to see India into the World Cup in 2019?" he asked.
The limited-over captain has come under fire lately after India crashed out of the World T20,despite being the favourites to lift the trophy at home.Similarly, his side in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL),Super Giants Pune Franchise (RPS) ,are also struggling at the seventh position,with only four games remaining.
Now we have to wait and watch what the Great Captain of all times is going to do with his retirement or future programs........