Mitchell Starc: Saliva ban risks 'boring' cricket without balance

Pacer asks cricket authorities to counterbalance prohibition of saliva for ball shining by another measure

Daniel Brettig26-May-2020Cricket runs the risk producing “boring” contests, losing followers of the game and reducing the number of young aspirants to bowl fast if a better balance isn’t struck between bat and ball. These are Mitchell Starc’s views in reaction to the interim ruling offered by the ICC to ban saliva from shining the ball in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.Having bent his back on a succession of unhelpful pitches in home Test matches over the past few summers, Starc argued similarly to his colleagues Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. He thinks the ICC’s prohibition of saliva, but not sweat, from being used to shine the ball out of health concerns needed to be counterbalanced by another measure.While the ICC’s cricket committee has suggested more sporting pitches could be a solution currently, Starc was understandably wary about the prospect of administrators and ground staff acquiescing to this instruction, and instead pushed for a temporary allowance for an artificial substance with which to polish the ball. This concept, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, was discussed by the ICC committee before being ruled out on the basis that it took the game too far from its existing laws.ALSO READ: Social distancing, ‘safe’ ball management among ICC’s dos and don’ts“I understand that completely and hear what they’re saying in terms of a foreign substance, but whether that can be controlled by the umpires in terms of they have a portion of the wax and you can only use a small amount, I don’t know, but there needs to be a maintaining of the even contest,” Starc said. “I understand what they’re saying with foreign substances and that it’s black and white in terms of that, but it’s an unusual time for the world and if they’re going to remove saliva shining for a portion of time they need to think of something else for that portion of time as well.Getty Images

“Whether it be the wickets being not as flat or at least considering this shining wax to a degree, there needs to be some thought on that I think. I guess you use both those things [saliva and sweat] to shine the ball. I’ve probably been a bit more on the sweat side, just trying to not get my hands in my mouth too much, but yeah, I agree completely with what Pat commented on last week – that contest with bat and ball, we don’t want to lose that or get further away from that even contest, so there needs to be something in place to either keep that ball swinging.”They’ve mentioned that it’s only going to be there for a period of time and then once the world gets back to a relatively normal situation then saliva can come back into shining the ball. But if it’s going to be a window of time there, maybe then instruct people to leave more grass on the wickets to have that contest or if they’re going to take away a portion of maintaining the ball, there needs to be that even contest between bat and ball, otherwise people are going to stop watching, and kids aren’t going to want to be bowlers.”Administrators have long supported the concept of more lively pitches for bowlers, but far too often the practical outcome has been the preparation of surfaces devised to see a Test last for five days, typically producing a very attritional brand of cricket. Starc was clearly casting his mind back to India’s previous tour of Australia in 2018-19, where after two evenly-fought matches on fair pitches in Adelaide and Perth, Virat Kohli’s team ground the Australians into the beige turf of the MCG and SCG to close out the series.”I think as we saw in Australia the last couple of years, there’s some pretty flat wickets, and if that ball’s going straight, it’s a pretty boring contest,” Starc said. “I think Kookaburra have been developing a shining wax or something of the sort, so whether there’s consideration of that, there needs to be some [thought to] maintaining that even contest. Generally the spinners reckon that the wickets that seam a bit also spin, so maybe if you bring the bowlers back into the game, you’ll tick all the boxes.”

Who will blink first – India or New Zealand?

The two sides will square off in an ODI series decider for the second time in two years

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu28-Oct-20171:42

Harris: New Zealand will demand more from the top order

Big picture

If the series opener was about New Zealand’s adaptability – they bumped Colin Munro to the top and launched the sweep-happy Tom Latham in the middle order – then the second match was about India’s bouncebackability. This now means India and New Zealand will square off in an ODI series decider for the second time in two years.Last year, on October 29, India picked three specialist spinners on a slow turner in Visakhapatnam, where New Zealand capsized to 79 all out from 63 for 2. What will Kanpur throw up this October 29? For starters, everyone is coy about the pitch following the “dismissal” or “suspension” of Pune curator Pandurang Salgaoncar for allegedly promising to manipulate the track for the second ODI. Can Munro counter Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s lateral movement and variations? Can Latham find another way if India’s spinners cut off the sweep again?The visitors, though, can draw confidence from Colin de Grandhomme, who handled spin adeptly: he doesn’t use his feet much but is a powerful hitter down the ground. Henry Nicholls wasn’t as fluent but held one end up after New Zealand were pinned down to 58 for 4.India’s middle-order worries have also eased a bit with Dinesh Karthik steering India’s chase of 231 with a busy 64 not out. He also has the vote of confidence from the team management with captain Virat Kohli saying he is “more aware of how to bat in the middle order”. The hosts, however, will have to be wary of the pressure of a must-win situation. Of late, limited-overs cricket has been as easy as eating a sandwich for India, but pressure can do strange things. Case in point: the Champions Trophy final at the Oval, where India froze in their chase.

Form guide

India: WLWLW (completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand: LWLLL

In the spotlight

From playing just two ODIs in 2016 to becoming the leader of the pack this year, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has ticked all boxes: he has added a yard or two of pace, he bowls the tough overs up front and also at the back end, and also has the knuckle ball up his sleeve. The younger bowlers, meanwhile, are glowing in praise of his inputs. That he is a competent batsman has also stretched India’s batting line-up.From blowing hot in the Champions Trophy, Kane Williamson has blown cold in India. He misread a googly from Kuldeep Yadav in the first ODI, and then played around his front pad against Jasprit Bumrah on Wednesday. New Zealand their captain to fire like he can in the decider.

Team news

Kohli has been tempted to play both wristspinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, but Axar Patel, who held his own and nabbed Latham in the second match, is likely to keep his spot ahead of Kuldeep.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit BumrahNew Zealand, too, might stick with the same XI.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Tim Southee

Pitch and conditions

The last time Kanpur hosted an ODI it saw its two highest ODI totals. South Africa ran up 303 for 5, and Kagiso Rabada defied MS Dhoni at the death to limit India to 298 for 7. The weather is expected to be fine for the duration of the match.

Stats and trivia

  • New Zealand have played three ODI deciders in India – in 1995, 1999, and 2016 – and have lost them all.
  • Virat Kohli needs 83 runs to become the sixth Indian player – after Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni – and the fastest overall to score 9000 runs in ODIs.
  • The last time India lost a bilateral series at home was against South Africa in 2015.

Quotes

“This is again [a] pressure game, it’s a decider. It matters that how we prepare for the match, our preparation for each match has been good. We will try and repeat what we did in the last match. Whatever our strategy and planning was there it’s important that we do it again.”

Buck's double best ensures even contest

A double career-best performance from Nathan Buck was the highlight of another hard fought day between Derbyshire and Northamptonshire

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2017
ScorecardA double career-best performance from Nathan Buck was the highlight of another hard fought day between Derbyshire and Northamptonshire in the Division Two match at Derby.Buck followed figures of 5 for 68 with 43 out of a ninth wicket stand of 89 with Max Holden who made an unbeaten 68 as Northants recovered from 171 for 8 to reach 291 for 9 at the close in reply to Derbyshire’s 281.Will Davis with four wickets supported by sharp slip catching had put Derbyshire in charge before Buck and Holden kept their side in the game with a fighting partnership in the final session.England batsman Ben Duckett and opening partner Rob Newton made half centuries to give Northants a solid platform but rash strokes transformed the contest after lunch.Buck had taken two of the last four Derbyshire wickets in the morning as the home side added 62 runs with eighth-wicket pair Alex Hughes and Tom Milnes contributing 42 in 11 overs.Northants had the best conditions to bat in and when Duckett and Newton were together in bright sunshine, it looked ominous for the home side until poor shot selection allowed Derbyshire a way back.Duckett had reached 50 with successive fours off Sri Lankan legspinner Jeevan Mendis but he then aimed a big drive at Shiv Thakor and was well taken at second slip by Daryn Smit who did well to knock up an edge from Alex Wakely for Wayne Madsen to take a good reaction catch.Madsen did even better with a one-handed grab to hold Newton’s top-edged cut at Davis and when Northants lost four wickets in eight overs after tea, Derbyshire were poised to take a substantial first innings lead.But Holden and Buck displayed the selectivity the recognised batsmen lacked to frustrate the home side for 20 overs with Buck straight-driving Mendis for six before he went back to the spinner and was lbw.But that was not the end of Northants’ resistance as Holden and Ben Sanderson gave their side a slender lead which had looked highly unlikely when Rory Kleinveldt was caught behind off Davis.It all added up to a disappointing evening session for Derbyshire who also lost Thakor when he left the field with what appeared to be an ankle injury after he went over in his follow-through.

Don't need talent to fight – Streak

Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak was aggrieved with his side’s body language and their inability to be ‘positive and aggressive’ in a crushing eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in the tri-series opener

Liam Brickhill in Harare14-Nov-2016Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak lost his gruntle. While Zimbabwe was able to take heart from the way they resisted defeat during the Test series, Streak opened the press conference after his side’s eight-wicket thrashing in the tri-series opener by admitting: “I won’t have too many positives today.”Streak seemed particularly vexed by the white flag Zimbabwe raised through their body language. “Your positivity and your mental outlook is affected by your body language and how you’re thinking,” Streak said. “Yes, you may not feel you’ve got enough runs on the board but it doesn’t stop you going out there and being positive and aggressive and supporting your team-mates. Diving around and getting energy going. You don’t need talent to do that. Those are things that anyone can do.”It’s something we talk about a lot, the scoreboard not impacting on your actions and your outlook on what you’re trying to achieve out there. But often it does and for people outside – media, supporters – they see that probably more than the players do inside. It’s certainly something that I’m putting a high priority on addressing.”Though Zimbabwe’s 154 was woefully under par, the tri-series opener really seemed to turn on the first ball of Zimbabwe’s bowling effort. Tinashe Panyangara, returning to the side after overcoming a back injury that kept him out of the squad since June, produced a delivery that curled away to take Dhananjaya de Silva’s outside edge. Almost immediately, however, Umpire Tiffin called a no-ball, and just as quickly Zimbabwe’s vim disappeared. The free-hit was clumped to midwicket, and the floodgates opened. Despite helpful conditions, the bowlers could make nothing more of the game.De Silva, Man of the Match for his unbeaten 78, admitted his dismissal at that stage could “very much” have made a difference to the result. “The ball was seaming around and if I had got out at that time, maybe three or more wickets would have fallen,” de Silva said.’Some guys just threw their wickets away. They could have achieved 200 or 220 and that would have given them a good chance’ – Dhananjaya de Silva•Associated Press

De Silva, who struck a fifty and a ton in the Tests, suggested Sri Lanka too was surprised by the depths of Zimbabwe’s batting woes. “Some guys just threw their wickets away. They could have achieved 200 or 220 and that would have given them a good chance to come back into the game.”No need to tell Streak that. “Certainly we had the tougher side of the batting, but when you look back, bar Chari no one really got a ball that they can say was an unplayable delivery,” Streak said. “Yes, conditions were in their favour, but there were not enough people coming in and saying they got out to a good ball.Despite batting on a green pitch and under gloomy skies in the morning that aided swing, Streak refused to blame the conditions – or the toss – for his team’s collapse. “Having had late rain yesterday, the covers came off late, and we had a bit of drizzle [this morning]. Losing the toss wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t any excuse for how we performed.”The toss has always been in the game of cricket and that’s not something you can guarantee. If you can only win cricket matches when you win the toss then there’s a serious issue to address. For me, today there was an advantage to the toss that would have made it 60-40 in favour of whoever wins the toss, but there are still no excuses for a batting performance like that. PJ Moor and some of the lower order guys like Cremer and Tiripano showed that when you applied yourself there were runs to be scored.”Still, Zimbabwe has three more games to play, and those will be in Bulawayo – Streak’s hometown and conditions he is familiar with. “I said to the guys the only positive for me is that we’ve got three more games,” Streak said.”There weren’t really many other positives. The reality is that we have to bat, bowl and field better than we did today otherwise we’re not going to feature in this series. It’s certainly within their own hands. There’s also lots of work for me and the coaching staff to do, but we talk about people taking responsibility and when you say that generally you’re looking at your senior players to do that. They’re going to have to start putting their hands up.”

Wahab reported after ball-kicking row

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, made a visit to the match referee on the fourth day of the Dubai Test to voice his concerns that Wahab Riaz deliberately stood on the ball

Andrew McGlashan in Dubai25-Oct-2015Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, made a visit to the match referee on the fourth day of the Dubai Test to voice his concerns that Wahab Riaz deliberately stood on the ball.Wahab and Joe Root were involved in a lively exchange shortly before the drinks break on the fourth evening, which required the umpires to step in to calm tensions.Wahab, at the time striving for reverse swing in his second spell, was fielding behind square to the spinner Zulfiqar Babar. On one occasion, he repeatedly kicked the ball back towards the wicketkeeper instead of picking it up with his hands which, he appeared to gesticulate, were sweaty.At the time, ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary said: “We’ve just seen a bit of footage from during the drinks break of Wahab toeing the ball along the ground with his boot and Root subsequently complaining to the umpires. Bit of remonstrating going on between the two but didn’t look all that scandalous.”It later emerged that the England camp were sufficiently concerned to make an official visit to the match referee, Andy Pycroft. However, the TV pictures did not provide any conclusive evidence of Wahab stepping on the ball. The issue is not expected to be taken any further.Asked about the on-field joust between Wahab and Root, England’s assistant coach Paul Farbrace said: “In the heat of battle you will see the odd exchange between players. The umpires dealt with it, Wahab certainly won’t be signing for Chelsea with his football skills. It happened, you move on. That’s the end of it.”Wahab produced what will likely prove the match-defining spell when he removed England’s middle order on the third morning, as he bowled nine overs unchanged to claim three wickets, including Root caught behind to begin the collapse. He is so far wicketless in the second innings, with the scalps having so far gone to Imran Khan and Yasir Shah.Yasir removed Alastair Cook for the second time in the match after an innings in which Cook appeared to be in significant discomfort. Despite speculation about a groin strain, England have insisted that the captain has not reported any injury.Cook was struggling to run between the wickets as he made 10 off 22 balls before stiffly top-edging a sweep to deep square-leg. The official line is that there was no concern.England played down concerns about Cook’s fitness after the captain fell for 10•Getty Images

Cook has not been fielding in the slips during this Test because he split the webbing on his left hand in Abu Dhabi, which required stitches. He then spent 14 hours at the crease making 263, which he followed with 65 in nearly three hours in the first innings in Dubai.”I’m not aware of any injury, except for the amount of hours he’s spent hunched over a bat handle scoring thousands of runs,” Farbrace said. “He never looks the best mover anyway. I’ve never really seen him flying around, that’s why he’s made such a great success at slip. But because of his hand he’s been out of the slips, perhaps it’s showing up a bit more because he’s not been in the slips during this game.Cook has had back problems at various stages of his career – he struggled at the start of the 2013-14 Ashes tour – but Farbrace said there was nothing more than normal management of him being undertaken.”He does spend time with the physio and masseuse as most players would do. He is someone from time to time who does get treatment on his back, but honestly it’s not something we are spending time talking about. He needs to manage himself and he does that really well. It isn’t a concern for us.”Cook has only ever missed one Test and that came on his first England tour, to India in 2005-06. On that occasion he played in the first two Tests, making a memorable debut century in Nagpur, but was then laid low by a stomach bug and missed the series-levelling victory at Mumbai. If Cook was to miss a Test, Root is the designated vice-captain.

Injured Praveen out of Australia Tests

Praveen Kumar has been ruled out of the home limited-overs series against the West Indies and the Test series in Australia, because of a fractured rib

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2011Praveen Kumar, the India medium-pacer, has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against West Indies as well as the Tests in Australia because of a fractured rib. Praveen had a scan on Monday that revealed the fracture and is expected to be out for five to six weeks. A replacement will be named on December 5 for the Tests in Australia.The Indian selectors, who had meetings on consecutive days last week to pick squads for the ODIs against West Indies and the Tests in Australia, had included Praveen for both series. But the BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale informed Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of selectors, on Sunday afternoon that Praveen had suffered from a ‘blunt chest’. Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun was immediately appointed as a replacement.According to the original BCCI media release sent on Monday evening, Praveen had been ruled out only for the first three ODIs of the West Indies series. This came after Virender Sehwag, the stand-in India captain, had said on the eve of the Cuttack ODI that Praveen would be available for the second match on December 3 as he was suffering from “a niggle”.It is understood the selectors were not aware of Praveen’s original injury when they had picked him in the squads for the two series. “On the day of the selection, if there is no adverse fitness report then you assume they are fit,” a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. “If you have not reported you are unfit you are assumed to be fit.” According to him the turn of events in Praveen’s case caught the selection committee completely by surprise. “The selectors only came to know a day after the Mumbai Test (which ended three days ago).”This is the second time in 2011 that Praveen has missed an important series because of an injury. Earlier this year a tennis elbow kept him out of the World Cup. Though he suffered an ankle injury towards the end of the England tour, he was India’s best bowler in the Pataudi Trophy. The elbow injury troubled him again after the Twenty20 match against England in Kolkata on October 29. Consequently Praveen asked the Indian board for a two-week break. He then played in a Ranji Trophy match for Uttar Pradesh against Saurashtra in Meerut earlier this month to show his fitness..

Sulakshan Kulkarni named Mumbai coach

Former Mumbai wicketkeeper-batsman Sulakshan Kulkarni has been appointed coach of the Mumbai team

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2011Former Mumbai wicketkeeper-batsman Sulakshan Kulkarni has been appointed coach of the Mumbai team. The decision was taken at a meeting of the cricket improvement committee (CIC) of the Mumbai Cricket Association, chaired by Chandrakant Pandit, on Monday.Kulkarni, 44, was chosen ahead of Sanjay Bangar, Zubin Barucha, Zulfikar Parkar and Sandeep Dahad. “We discussed all names and their finer points but we finally settled for Sulakshan,” Pandit said. “We also asked [Balwinder Singh] Sandhu (a CIC member) whether he could take up the job but he didn’t want to. It had been too long and we didn’t want to waste time. We wanted to appoint the coach as early as possible.” However, the term of the coach is yet to be fixed.Kulkarni, who is presently coach of the Vidarbha team, played for Mumbai, Railways, Assam and Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy. He was part of the domestic circuit for 15 years and took 122 catches, made 21 stumpings and scored 3332 runs at an average of 38.29 in 65 matches. He also worked with the Mumbai junior teams before moving to Vidarbha.”What was impressive about Sulakshan was that he is focussed on two important aspects of Mumbai cricket,” Pandit said. “Having a strong bench strength and winning the Ranji Trophy is what he had planned for.”Apart from that, he has passion for Mumbai cricket and the attitude which every Mumbaikar should have,” Pandit said. “He has good strategies to perform and the focus was on having a strong bench strength.””It will be a real challenge for me,” Kulkarni told the . “I have worked here before too, and I’m looking forward to take charge soon. Coaching Mumbai always involves a lot of pride, and there is a great tradition that you have to take stock of.”Kulkarni succeeded former India batsman Pravin Amre, who quit earlier this year after Mumbai lost the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy quarter-finals to eventual winners Rajasthan. During Amre’s five-year stint as coach, Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy three times.The CIC also named former Mumbai captain Milind Rege as the chief selector, with Abdul Ismail, Abey Kuruvilla and Pradeep Kasliwal as part of the selection panel. The Under-19 team will be coached by Satish Samant, with Ravi Thakkar as chief selector.

Thorpe to join Lions as batting coach

Graham Thorpe, the former England and Surrey batsman, has been appointed batting coach for the England Lions tour of the United Arab Emirates in February.

Cricinfo staff14-Jan-2010Graham Thorpe, the former England and Surrey batsman, has been appointed batting coach for the England Lions tour of the United Arab Emirates in February. Thorpe, who has been Surrey’s batting coach since 2008, will join an England Lions coaching team which includes David Parsons, ECB Performance Director, and Kevin Shine, ECB Lead Fast Bowling Coach.”I’m really looking forward to the tour and working with the Lions squad,” said Thorpe. “It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m grateful to Surrey for giving me the freedom to take it on. Over the course of my time with the team I hope that I can offer them some good advice and be someone they learn a lot from.””I am delighted to welcome Graham Thorpe as part of the England Lions coaching team and I have no doubt that the squad of aspiring England players will benefit from his experiences both as a hugely successful international cricketer and now a coach,” added David Parsons, the ECB Performance Director. “We will face some tough opposition during our tour of the UAE and the coaching team will be working hard to ensure that we are well prepared.”The three-week Lions tour includes three Twenty20 games against Pakistan A, followed by Twenty20 matches against UAE and England. These will be followed by three 50-over fixtures against Pakistan A at the DSC Stadium, Dubai.

Michael Leask: 'Why can't we top the group at the end?'

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus felt his team had enough runs but lacked intent in the field

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-20242:15

Leask: No surprise to us Scotland are top of the table

Scotland’s Michael Leask is confident the team can maintain their push for a Super Eights berth at the T20 World Cup 2024 despite still having Australia to play as they sit top after half of their group campaign.Leask was part of the match-winning stand with Richie Berrington which took Scotland over the line against Namibia from a position where it appeared they might struggle. It meant they had three points from their opening two matches following the washout against England where they had been well placed at 90 for 0.Related

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“We’ve got a hell of a squad. It’s no surprise to us [that we top the table]. It might be a surprise to some,” he said. “England will probably say it was a surprise to them the other day that we’re 90 off 10 overs. It doesn’t surprise me. This team’s got great depth. We’ve played together for a number of years, a number of us. We’ve got some new fresh blood so it doesn’t really surprise us that we’re in this position. We’ve got two more huge games and why can’t we top the group at the end of it then?”To maintain hopes of progression they will likely have to beat Oman before facing Australia in their final group match in what could yet be a clash with huge significance over who progresses to the next stage. Leask was well aware that Oman, who lost a Super Over contest against Namibia and had Australia 50 for 3, could cause them problems.”Those two games could put us bottom of the table,” he said. “There’s still 80 overs of cricket to play and there’s still a lot of other teams to do a lot of other things as well. We’ve got Oman on Sunday which is a huge fixture for us and then we go again.”George [Munsey] and Michael [Jones] showed up top that they’ve got the skill and ability to face the best in the world [against England],” he added. “And the rest of us didn’t get that opportunity on the day to show how good we are.”I’m not going to sit here and say Australia is not going to be a difficult game. I’m not going to sit here and say Oman is not going to be a difficult game. Because I know how tough the associate game is, Oman is yet to fire, it could be against us.”Meanwhile, Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus was left to rue a defeat where he felt his team had not been at their best in the field having fought to a total he believed should have been defendable.”I thought we had enough runs,” he said. “It sort of followed that formula that we wanted to win this game by winning the toss and batting [in] a day game. [We] felt it [the pitch] slowed down towards the latter end of our innings. Throughout the innings there was a little bit of turn and a little bit of inconsistency of bounce when you put some energy on the ball, but unfortunately [it was] a bit of an off-colour display with the ball and perhaps an almost lack of intent in the field.”Namibia’s draw means they now face England and Australia in their final two group matches. “We’ve come to play all four games evenly hard,” Erasmus said. “There’s four more points [available], and we’re going to play our best game against the English and the Australians. Two very good white-ball teams…so what a great honour for us to share a field with that and compete with that.”

IPL title rights: from INR 40 crore per year, to 444 crore, to 222 crore

A quick look at the brands that have paid big money to bag the IPL title rights

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Aug-20202008-12 – DLF pays INR 200 croreDLF, an Indian real estate company, won the title rights for the first five seasons of the tournament for INR 200 crore (about USD 50 million at the time). DLF’s winning bid was INR 75 crore more than the base price of INR 125 crore set by the BCCI.2013-17 – Pepsico nearly doubles the valueThe popularity of the IPL seemed to be in doubt following the termination of the Deccan Chargers in 2012 and when DLF opted not to renew its contract with the BCCI. Earlier that year it had also decided to end its term as title sponsor of the Champions League T20. All those fears were swept away, however, after global beverage giant Pepsico paid INR 396.8 crore (USD 71.77 million approx, then) to bag the IPL title rights for five years. That was nearly INR 100 crore more than the base price of INR 300 crore set by the BCCI.2015-17 – Pepsico transfers rights to VivoVivo, the Chinese handset manufacturer, bought title rights for the 2016 and 2017 IPL seasons after Pepsico decided to terminate its contract two years before it was meant to expire. Pepsico’s decision was owing to the 2013 IPL corruption scandal which resulted in the Supreme Court banning Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two seasons.The IPL contract allowed Pepsico to transfer the title rights to another company. Although the BCCI never revealed what the deal was worth, it is understood Vivo continued to pay the same sum as Pepsico – around INR 80 crore per year for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.2017-22 – Vivo retains rights paying nearly INR 3000 croreWith the Indian mobile economy growing exponentially, Vivo renewed its IPL title-rights deal, paying a record sum of INR 2199 crores (nearly USD 341 million then) for the 2018-22 period. The amount was a 454% jump from the Pepsico deal and assured the BCCI nearly INR 444 crore annually.2020 – Vivo presses pause, Dream11 steps inThis June, the BCCI said it would “review” all its sponsorship contracts involving Chinese investments after the skirmishes across the India-China border. Vivo finally decided to suspend its IPL contract for the 2020 season. On Tuesday BCCI announced Dream11 would replace Vivo as IPL’s title sponsors for 2020, with the contract lasting until December 31 this year. The deal was worth INR 222 crores, which is half of the annual payout assured from the original Vivo deal.

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