Rodrigues, Ghosh and Verma among five women’s cricketers awarded Grade B contracts

Shashank Kishore27-Apr-2023

Deepti Sharma, the allrounder, is a new entrant to BCCI’s highest bracket of annual retainers – Grade A worth INR 50 lakh – alongside Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur for 2022-23.Poonam Yadav, the legspinner, who had previously been placed in the highest bracket when the central contracts were last made public in May 2021 (for the period October 2020-September 2021), drops out altogether along with the now-retired pair of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, who had both been placed in Grade B (worth INR 30 lakh).Raj retired after last year’s 50-overs World Cup in New Zealand while Goswami made her final appearance during a historic ODI-series win over England at Lord’s last September.Related

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Shikha Pandey, the allrounder, who earned a recall after 15 months ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup in South Africa has been left out altogether. She had previously been in Grade B which had 10 players. That list has now been pruned to five, with Renuka Singh and Richa Ghosh, who was earlier handed a Grade C retainer, being the new entrants. The others include Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma and Rajeshwari Gayakwad.Renuka enjoyed a breakthrough 2022, where she played a stellar role in India’s run to a silver-medal finish at Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year and has since emerged as the leader of India’s seam attack after Goswami’s retirement. Ghosh, meanwhile, has emerged as the frontline wicketkeeper and the team’s designated finisher.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Grade C, which is worth INR 10 lakh, has nine players from six previously. Among the first timers are fast bowlers Meghna Singh and Anjali Sarvani, allrounders Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana and Devika Vaidya and batters S Meghana, Yastika Bhatia and Harleen Deol. Allrounder Radha Yadav is also part of this group, having earlier been given a Grade B contract.The formal announcement of annual retainers comes six months after the BCCI announced a pay parity, under which the women – like the men – stood to earn INR 15 lakh for a Test, INR 6 lakh for an ODI and INR 3 lakh for a T20I. These amounts are significantly higher than the flat INR 1 lakh that India women players earned for an ODI or T20I appearance, and INR 2.5 lakh for a Test match prior to that.The Indian team’s next assignment is a tour to Bangladesh in June. Earlier this month, board secretary Jay Shah said it was “imperative we have a dedicated, full-fledged support staff to drive the team forward” while also saying the “best coaches will be roped in to help players realise full potential and achieve excellence on and off the field.”The national team is currently without a full-time head coach since former India offspinner Ramesh Powar was asked to step away as part of a restructuring process. Since then, former India batter Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been in charge and led the team to a semi-final finish at the T20 World Cup.Applications for various positions, including head coach, will be announced soon before BCCI’s three-member Cricket Advisory Committee will conduct interviews to identify the new coaches.

India are planning to equip their Test bowlers with the Dukes ball during the IPL so they have a chance to practice with it ahead of the World Test Championship with the crammed schedule providing challenges of how to prepare to face Australia at the Oval.The final will take place from June 7 for 11 (with June 12 as a reserve day) which means the game starts barely a week after the IPL final is expected to take place, but Test captain Rohit Sharma hoped his pace attack would be able to tune up.”We’re sending some new Dukes balls to all the fast bowlers as well to get them some time with that,” he said. “All of us have played in that part of the world so I don’t think it’s going be a huge problem. But, yeah, I believe in preparation, and preparation again is going to be key for us come the finals.”India were confirmed as Australia’s opponents when New Zealand secured a thrilling two-wicket win off the final ball of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Christchurch as the players were taking lunch in Ahmedabad.”I’m just being honest, we certainly did [follow it] today,” India coach Rahul Dravid told Star Sports. “More from the point of view it was getting really tight and close out there. It was really exciting to be following that in bits and pieces. We sort of followed it over the last four or five overs… it was lunch time for us.”Both teams will have to navigate the complexities of the calendar which will see the IPL dominate the two months of April and May, but it is accentuated for India with only Cheteshwar Pujara of their likely line-up not involved in the tournament. For the bowlers, meanwhile, operating with the Dukes ball that is used for Tests in England was adopted by the ICC for the first final in 2021 brings with it different challenges compared to the SG or Kookaburra.Related

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Rohit also said there would be a close eye kept on bowlers’ workloads during the IPL and he hoped that any Test players involved in the teams who don’t make the finals would be able to travel to England early.”I think it’s quite critical for us,” he said. “We’re going to be in constant touch with all the IPL guys who are going to be part of that final to monitor their workload”Around May 21, there will be six teams who would possibly be out of the IPL. So, whichever players are available, we will try and find some time to see if they can reach the UK as early as possible and get some time there.”Australia missed out on the 2021 final, where New Zealand beat India, due to over-rate penalties and they have admitted in recent months that they have taken this WTC cycle more seriously. They secured their place with dominant home form – much like India – while picking up vital wins on the road in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and this tour.”The guys are really pumped by it, really excited,” Steven Smith said. “We saw India when they came back out on the field just after New Zealand had won…shaking their hands and what have you. So it’s going to be great coming up against India in the final.”The Oval wicket there can take some spin at times, particularly as the game wears on, so it could be interesting in terms of what sort of wicket we get. But it’s a great place to play cricket, there’s usually reasonable bounce and pace for an English wicket, it’s probably as close as you get to Australia potentially in terms of pace and bounce, so it’s going to be a great Test match.”With the final taking place in the first part of June, which is still reasonably early in the UK season, it would be a surprise if there was much on offer for the spinners and Rohit conceded conditions would need some adjustment but was confident they would not be too unknown. The reserve day was needed to complete the first final in 2021 because of rain in Southampton.”A neutral venue for both the teams, [but] both teams have played a lot of cricket in that part of the world,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it will be alien conditions for both teams. But, yes, compared to what it is like for India in India or Australia playing in Australia, it’s not going to be like that. It’s going to be slightly different from that which I’m pretty sure both teams will prepare for it.”

Bukayo Saka has voiced a bullish message to fans after Arsenal fell short in the Premier League title and ended up trophyless yet again.

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• Arsenal end up second in the PL yet again
• Go trophyless for fourth consecutive season
• Saka voices a bullish message after difficult season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Arsenal have failed to end their Premier League drought yet again after they finished second in the league standings with Liverpool running away with the title. For the third year running, the Gunners have ended up as the runners-up in the English top-tier, while they also had to endure watching their bitter North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, win the Europa League.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Arsenal looked like one of the favourites to win the Champions League as well, especially after hammering Real Madrid in the quarter-final. However, a loss to Paris Saint-Germain ended their hopes of winning a trophy this season, and the Gunners ended up without a major trophy for the fourth season running. Saka has now launched a bullish message and promised that Arsenal's 'time will come'.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT SAKA SAID

  On a post on Instagram, Saka wrote: "We all know the mission. We’re working towards achieving things this team hasn’t seen in a while. And our time will come."

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  The Gunners will be at it again next season as they prepare to improve the squad, especially by signing a striker. Mikel Arteta's side will be in action in the Champions League next season as well and will be hoping to break their European duck soon.

GOAL US looks at which side is under the most pressure heading into the CWC, with a number of clubs looking to make noise

Javier Mascherano has repeatedly told the media that he wants Inter Miami to put in a proper performance at the Club World Cup. This thing is important, he has declared, for both brand and pride. The tournament is legit, and Lionel Messi and Miami are here to win.

His sentiment has been echoed elsewhere, too. Pep Guardiola, Vincent Kompany and Xabi Alonso have all insisted that they intend to put on a show in the U.S. this summer. Of course, that quartet all have different expectations as to what defines Club World Cup success (other than a handsome pay day).

Still, with assertions comes expectations. And with that comes pressure. This was never going to be a summer kickabout. But there are levels here.

Some clubs, such as Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, can sort of show up, put in a good performance, and be done with it. But for others – Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Miami – it isn't so simple. Achieving relative success feels vital. Perception is ruthless, and it can shift swiftly.

GOAL US looks at who is most under pressure heading into the CWC, with many big names admitting that they intend to make a splash in this summer's expanded 32-team tournament.

AFPInter Miami

Inter Miami has more to lose than any team not named Real Madrid. It's a simple equation, really. Miami are representing MLS – along with LAFC and Seattle Sounders – on "home" soil, and are supposed to show up for the league. If they win, and Messi shows that he can still do it, then MLS is legit. If they drop a couple of group stage games and crash out in dramatic fashion, then the league is nowhere.

Or at least that's the perception.

That's not a particularly fair state of affairs, all said. Miami are a good MLS side – comfortably the best of the three in the tournament. But they lack the overall quality to win a championship. In this case, the Messi addition is as much a blessing as it is a curse.

They haven't helped themselves much, either, making a real show of just how important this competition is to them. It's big talk, and needs to be backed up by a proper performance. There's risk to that potential reward.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesReal Madrid

Right lads, time to show you're back, eh? It was a poor season in Madrid. Their struggles are made most obvious by the fact that they failed to win a trophy. But their struggles ran far deeper than that. This was a team deeply flawed, struggling to fight on all fronts, and badly in need of a rebuild.

Well, the reinforcements have come. It starts with the manager, with Xabi Alonso stolen from Bayer Leverkusen. And then there's the defense, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen brought in to add a mixture of solidity and quality at the back.

More broadly, though, this is a side that needs new tactical ideas and a real refresh. Good thing, then, that they will have had less than a week with their new manager before the tournament kicks off. Zoom out, and that's either a recipe for disaster, or platform for the Madrid voodoo to take over. They could vibe their way to a title or crash out in embarrassing fashion. Either way, it will be fascinating viewing.

AFPBayern Munich

The Bavarians are back! After finally ceding the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen in 2024, they returned to the summit of the division that is perennially theirs this campaign. That felt like a bare minimum for a team that boasts Harry Kane, brought in a new manager and a fair few new faces.

In the stuff that mattered, though, they faltered. Their Champions League campaign ended earlier than it should have, while an injury to Alphonso Davies dominated the headlines.

Chances are they will make it out of their group and win a knockout game. But Bayern often pitch themselves as a consistent European contender without living up to that label in full. Time to prove it.

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GettyManchester City

What do you do when you lose your best player to a season-ending ACL tear in August, undergo your worst streak in nearly 10 years, and sneak into the top four far later than you should have? Spend lots, apparently. City have responded to their struggles by shelling out more than $200m in January.

In fairness, this has needed to happen for a while. City are old.

But they took some chances here. Getting rid of Kevin De Bruyne is a risky move – even if his hamstrings don't work anymore. Holding onto Bernardo Silva might be even riskier. Throwing Rodri back into the fire could prove to be the worst decision of the three.

Either way, City are at a bit of a crossroads. There remain questions about the 115 charges they face for various financial irregularities – the verdict of which is expected to be revealed at some point in the near future.

Pep Guardiola has signed a new deal, and rebuilt his backroom staff. The squad is younger. Odds are, there will be some new tactical ideas at play. What that means for the CWC remains to be seen. City are a good football team with the world's best manager at the helm. Wins are expected. But they haven't been this poor in a while, and the fans know it.

Mumbai Indians captain also feels Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera “are going to be huge stars for us and for India”

PTI24-May-2023India and Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma believes T20 cricket has changed and there is no role left for anchors in the format. Subsequently, he has been exploring what more he can do as a batter in the format. Rohit said while power-hitting could never be his forte, as a batter, he wants to do things “differently” now without worrying too much about the outcomes.”As I see it, there is no role for an anchor now. It is just how T20 cricket is played these days, unless you are 20 for 3 or 4, which is not going to happen every day,” Rohit said. “Once in a while, you will be in that position and then someone needs to anchor the innings and finish off to a good score. [But] there is no role for an anchor anymore, guys are playing differently.”Rohit said he felt a change in mindset is mandatory. “If you do not change your mindset, you are going to get smashed,” he said in a conversation with Jio Cinema. “People on the other side are thinking about the game differently and taking it to the next level.”All seven batters need to play their role, I believe that if you get a good score, it is good, but even if you get a good 30-40 off just 10-15 or 20 balls, it is as good because you are doing the role for the team. The game has changed.”Rohit said he has played T20 cricket long enough for him to try new things without worrying about a failure. “I just want to play that way and see what I can do. I have played this format for a long time and in a certain manner. But I want to do different things now. While doing that, [if] I get out, [it] does not really bother me.”If you see, in Chennai and before that in Mohali, I got out for zero. In the third game, against RCB, I stepped down the first ball. I thought I have failed thrice in as many attempts but it is fine, this is what I am going to do.”But, he said, he cannot switch to all-out power-hitting because others are doing so, and would prefer to get the runs in his own way.”I know I cannot match the power of guys like Tim David, Kieron Pollard and Cameron Green. They are powerful hitters; they can hit 100 metres easily.”But my thinking is that if I am getting a six after 65-70 metres, I only have to hit 80 metres. Why do I need to hit 100 metres? I will do that once you allow eight runs for it.”I will hit 80 metres only because I am getting six runs for it, and for that I need to time the ball. I do not need to muscle the ball like the other guys do – that is their strength. My strength is to get the ball in the middle of the bat, which is what we call the sweet spot.”Rohit offered Mumbai Indians and India team-mate Suryakumar Yadav as an example of this type of batting bringing much success. “Look at Surya; he is not hitting it big. He can also hit 100 metres but his thinking is also the same [as me].”Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera will be huge stars, says RohitRohit, who’s Mumbai team is looking for their sixth IPL title, said they are tagged a team of superstars, but the franchise has had to work for this to come about.”Yes, it is a superstar team, but it is because the franchise has worked for it. All these players are part of the big auction pool – we have bought them.”Our team of scouts had worked day and night to get Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel here from Ahmedabad. Hardik [Pandya] and Krunal [Pandya] were spotted in 2015 and we got them here. We have worked hard for it. It was a five-year journey from 2015-2020.”Among the current lot, Rohit reserved special praise for Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera, whom he said will be “huge stars” not only for Mumbai Indians but also for India.”It is going to be the same story with what has happened with Bumrah, Hardik and all these guys. Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera… you watch the next two years. But then people will say ‘it is a superstar team’. Yes it is, we are making them here. These two guys are going to be huge stars for us and for India.”

Katie Levick took five wickets as Northern Diamonds continued their perfect start to the Charlotte Edwards Cup and remain on course for Finals Day after a 35-run win over Sunrisers at Headingley.Leah Dobson’s 47 and late firepower from Bess Heath lifted the hosts to a total of 172 for 7, which always appeared a tough ask for a Sunrisers side who had lost their first three matches. A superb bowling display from Diamonds – led by Levick’s 5 for 19 – ensured Sunrisers fell well short and remain bottom of the standings.Having won the toss and chosen to bat, the in-form Diamonds made a strong start to their innings. Lauren Winfield-Hill crunched two fours in the opening over as the experienced opener looked to set the pace. She had moved to 19 from 13 balls before lofting Kelly Castle straight to Abtaha Maqsood.Holly Armitage, fresh off back-to-back career-best scores of 74 and 82, got her innings under way with another glorious four before opener Dobson struck four boundaries in a row to push Diamonds on to 48 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. But their momentum was checked in the seventh over as Armitage picked out Castle to hand Grace Scrivens her first wicket.Dobson looked in good touch, however, moving onto 29 at the halfway stage of the Diamonds’ innings to take their total to 79 for 2.Alongside Sterre Kalis, Dobson kept the Diamonds’ total ticking along with a couple of superbly-timed boundaries and looked well set to reach her half-century. But she fell for 47 after picking out Scrivens at long-on off the bowling of Joanne Gardner and with five overs remaining, the hosts were 113 for 3.Bess Heath came in and started with a bang, hammering Maqsood for a six followed by a four to give the innings some impetus.The guiding knock played by Kalis came to an end on 29, stumped off a wide bowled by Mady Villiers, but Heath marched on undeterred. She launched Castle for successive sixes – the first a massive hit over midwicket – before being stumped for 31 from just 14 balls as Castle hit back with an excellent yorker.After Katharine Fraser fell for 4, Chloe Tryon and Abi Glen scored 14 from the final over to lift the Diamonds to 172.Much of Sunrisers’ hopes of chasing that imposing target rested with South African Dane van Niekerk and she began in fine fashion.The 30-year-old hit 15 from the opening over, including a big six off Fraser. But Lizzie Scott got the prized wicket in the second over as van Niekerk edged behind to depart for 14.Diamonds had their second wicket in the next over, Tryon trapping Villiers lbw for 6, and had their third by the end of the powerplay when Levick bowled Lizzie MacLeod for a breezy 21. After six overs, Sunrisers were 41 for 3 and Diamonds were firmly in control.Scrivens and Cordelia Griffith set about trying to change that with two boundaries off Grace Hall, but at the halfway stage the visitors were 70 for three, needing another 103 to win. That task was made all the more difficult when Griffith was caught by Tryon for 18 to give Levick her second wicket.Gardner hit Grace Hall for successive boundaries but fell to the next delivery as she picked out Winfield-Hill while trying to clear the ropes.Scrivens was playing a lone hand for Sunrisers and unfurled a trio of boundaries, including a powerful six, off Fraser before bringing up a half-century from 34 balls. But partners fell around her as Levick took charge with three wickets in her final over. Eva Gray and Florence Miller were both stumped before Amara Carr was caught by Glen.Scrivens fell one ball after reaching her fifty and Maqsood was the last wicket to go as Diamonds wrapped up another dominant win.

After walking in at 117 for 5, Leask took his side home on the last ball with one wicket to spare

Shashwat Kumar21-Jun-2023

Curtis Campher produced a magnificent hundred to haul Ireland back from the brink but it was not enough as Michael Leask masterminded an incredible heist to guide Scotland to a tense one-wicket victory at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.Set 287 for a win, Scotland began in sprightly fashion, scoring 56 for the loss of just one wicket in the powerplay. But soon they were struggling at 122 for 6 as, barring Christopher McBride, none of their top six reached 20.Chris Greaves, Mark Watt and Leask, though, kept the game alive. Leask stitched a 30-run partnership with Greaves before adding 82 off just 67 balls with Watt. The latter’s 43-ball 47 took the pressure off Leask and wrested the momentum back from Ireland. Watt fell in the 46th over but Leask kept finding the fence regularly and brought the equation down to 16 required from 12 balls.The penultimate over, bowled by Josh Little, went for eight runs. With eight needed from the final over, Leask – helped by Harry Tector’s misfield at the long-on – hit a boundary off Mark Adair on the first ball. However, Safyaan Sharif was dismissed off the third ball and then Chris Sole played out a dot, before Leask scampered through for a bye on the fifth. With two needed off the final ball, Leask swung hard and got a thick inside edge that beat the wicketkeeper and sent the Scotland players into an absolute frenzy.Curtis Campher’s 120 propelled Ireland to 286 but it was not enough•ICC via Getty Images

Earlier in the day, a searing opening spell from Brandon McMullen reduced Ireland to 33 for 4. Paul Stirling was the first to depart, nicking one to first slip before McMullen trapped Balbirnie for a first-ball duck with a nip-backer. Tector denied him a hat-trick but could do nothing about another excellent outswinger in the fifth over, edging it to second slip.Lorcan Tucker sought to counter-punch but, after a reprieve in the sixth over, fell to Watt in the ninth over. Campher, who did not play against Oman, found an able ally in George Dockrell. The latter did not look very comfortable at the start, especially against the pace of Sole, but stayed in the middle long enough to capitalise.