Latest news with #SaurashtraProT20League
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Lack of solution to struggles outside off-stump prompted Kohli retirement: Monty Panesar
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A probable lack of solution for his recurring struggles with the ball outside the off-stump prompted Virat Kohli to take retirement from Test cricket ahead of the England tour, feels former spinner Monty who played 50 Tests and helped England to a rare Test series win in India back in 2012, reckons Kohli would have found it tougher to deal with the moving ball around the off-stump than his previous tours of 2018, Kohli had staged a stellar turnaround in England after a forgettable tour of 2014 when James Anderson got the better of him in the corridor of uncertainty."With Kohli, what has happened is that against the ball outside the off stump, the fifth stump line, especially in Australia on fast bouncy pitches he was struggling," the left-arm spinner told PTI."So he probably thought maybe the fact that in England it is going to swing a lot more, he'll probably hasn't worked out solutions in that corridor of uncertainty"And I think that's probably been one of the reasons why he thought to retire and put all his energy with RCB and ODI cricket for India."Panesar said that Kohli had the answers to bounce back in 2018 but to do the same at this stage of his career would naturally be much tougher."I think he's done very well as a cricketer in all formats. He has been a brilliant ambassador for Test cricket. He probably feels that he's done his best, he's achieved everything and probably feels like it's time for the youngsters to step up."It would a lot tougher for Kohli to repeat the same performances in 2018. Just simple fact that he's been struggling over the last 12 to 18 months with that ball outside off stump. He hasn't got a solution for that, you know problem that he has on fourth and fifth stump."So he's thinking it's better for Indian cricket to give youngsters a go and hopefully find the next superstar," said Panesar, who is commentating on the Saurashtra Pro T20 League Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket last month, leaving a huge void in the dressing room. Shubman Gill will captain the team in transition, starting with five Tests in England beginning on June can't afford to produce green tops==========================While India are not high on experience, England don't have a fearsome bowling attack in the absence of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, who might be fit for the second said it's even steven going into the first Test."It would be an interesting series. It would depend on how India plays the swinging ball. Do they attack? Do they defend?"It is going to be very warm, pitches are going to be flat. I don't think England would look to take home advantage. They will produce neutral pitches. They can't play Bazball on a seaming pitches. That will also play into the hands of Indian batters as they would like playing on flat pitches."ECB wants the games against India to go into the fourth and the fifth day. I don't think anybody wants three three-day Test matches in a five match series. So I think England are gonna nullify home advantage," said the spinners may come in handy at Oval and Manchester==================================England have named one spinner in their 14-man squad for the first Test, India have three options in Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav for the whole series."Jadeja is expected to play majority of the games. You can play two spinners at Old Trafford and Oval. The ball turns even in Birmingham. Sundar can be your second spinner," said takes more time to regain rhythm with bat than ball===================================Panesar is also eager to see how Ben Stokes does following his comeback from a long injury lay-off."His bowling is good, he can chip in with 10-15 overs. When you need a wicket he's the go-to guy. Stokes needs to be utilized and he's just coming back from an injury so I'm not sure if he's going to have the same impact with the bat like he has with the ball."I expect him to have more of an impact with the ball than the bat but as the Test series unfolds maybe his batting will go into shape. He finds his rhythm quicker with the bowling than batting," added Panesar.
India Gazette
27-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
SCA unveils schedule, venue for Saurashtra Pro T20 League
Rajkot (Gujarat) [India], May 27 (ANI): The Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) announced the venue and schedule of the Saurashtra Pro T20 League (SPTL), a franchise-based league that will showcase the region's finest cricketing talent in a thrilling, high-energy format. The tournament will be held at the renowned Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. Five teams will compete for the title, including Anmol Kings Halar, Aryan Sorath Lions, Dita Gohilwad Titans, Zalawad Strikers, and JMD Kutch Riders. SPTL 2025 will be played from June 7 to 20 and will have around 21 matches, including the final. The Players' draft will be organised on Tuesday, with a pool of about 125 players in three categories. All coaches and other team support will be selected from the Saurashtra Cricket Association. However, teams can have national or international former players as mentors. A Media Conference was held at Niranjan Shah Stadium to announce further tournament details, including the dates, total number of matches, and players' draft. Saurashtra Pro T20 League's Chairman Jayveer Shah shared the details and said, according to a press release from the SCA, 'There will be five teams in this franchise-based tournament. Teams are named by historic and popular regions of Saurashtra-Kutch and clubbed with their respective franchisee. Names of five teams shall be Anmol Kings Halar, Aryan Sorath Lions, Dita Gohilwad Titans, Zalawad Strikers and JMD Kutch Riders. Each team will play two league matches, and thus the tournament shall have 21 matches, including the final. In the earlier format of SCA's T20 league, each team played only 1 match, and so SCA is making the tournament bigger and more competitive.' Jaydev Shah, President of Saurashtra Cricket Association, addressed the presence of SCA office bearers Himanshu Shah, Secretary; Shyam Raichura, Treasurer; Karan Shah, Joint Secretary; and Jayveer Shah, Chairman of Saurashtra Pro T20 League. 'It gives me immense pleasure to announce the Saurashtra Pro T20 League, an exciting new chapter in Saurashtra's cricketing journey. The tournament is a landmark initiative by the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) to further promote and develop the game at a professional level within our region. Saurashtra Pro T20 League will feature top-tier and emerging talents from across the region of Saurashtra & Kutch and beyond, providing a robust platform for young and emerging cricketers to showcase their skills alongside experienced players of Saurashtra. This tournament aims to bring high-quality, competitive T20 cricket to fans across the Globe. Saurashtra Cricket Association's aim and objective is only Cricket and the development of Cricket in all formats,' Jaydev said. 'I am confident that SPTL shall give a great platform and exposure to players of Saurashtra & Kutch to the most popular format of the Game, and they shall build good confidence for such a competitive and electrifying tournament. And this is the aim of the Saurashtra Cricket Association to provide such platforms of competitive tournaments along with the best infrastructure so that more and more players represent Team India as well as are picked in the most popular IPL,' he added. (ANI)
