Let us look at some of the most-discussed cricket stories on the news on 8 September.
Ashwin named in India’s T20 World Cup squad
India included R. Ashwin in their 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting next month in Oman and the UAE. Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, and Axar Patel complete India’s spin quartet, while Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have failed to make the cut.
Shikhar Dhawan has been left out as well. Instead, India have picked Ishan Kishan, who can keep wickets as well as open the innings. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has also confirmed MS Dhoni will be there with the squad as a ‘team mentor’.
Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar are India’s three standby options.
India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.
Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar.
Bangladesh win maiden T20I series against New Zealand
Nasum Ahmed returned 4-2-10-4 to help Bangladesh beat New Zealand by six wickets in the fourth T20I in Dhaka. This was Bangladesh’s maiden T20I series triumph over New Zealand with the win. They had not even beaten them in a match before this. The five-match series currently stands 3-1 in favour of Bangladesh.
Opting to bat, New Zealand skittled for just 93 in 19.3 overs. Will Young top-scored with 46. Nasum was ably assisted by Mustafizur Rahman, who picked up four wickets as well.
Coming to the chase, Bangladesh slipped to 32/3 inside the Powerplay. Mohammad Naim and Mahmudullah steadied the ship from there, adding 35 before the former was run out in the 15th over. But Mahmudullah was unmoved, and remained till the end to guide his side reach the target with five balls to spare.
Saqlain to take full responsibility of Pakistan’s performance
Saqlain Mushtaq, Pakistan Men’s interim head coach, declared he would take full responsibility of the team’s performance following sudden resignations of head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis less than a month and a half before the World T20 Cup, taking place in Oman and the UAE.
‘The truth is, the current group of players we see in the national team or among standbys are the best we have in the country. And we have to move forward,’ Saqlain was told PTI. ‘I will take complete responsibility whether the team does well or not. I have previously worked with all the current members of the Pakistan team. As a coach, every assignment is a challenge.’
Currently the head coach at the high performance centre of PCB in Lahore, Saqlain was recently named interim head coach. Abdul Razzaq will be his deputy for the limited-overs home series against New Zealand, starting 17 September.
Buttler named vice-captain, wicketkeeper for Oval Test
Joe Root has confirmed that Jos Buttler will return as their vice-captain and take the big gloves for the fifth and final Test against India, starting 10 September at Old Trafford. ‘Jos will come back into the team and keep wicket. I can tell you that right now,’ Root was quoted saying to BBC.
Buttler featured in the first three Tests for England, but missed the fourth due to the birth of his second child. England appointed Moeen Ali as vice-captain in his absence, while Ollie Pope filled in the playing XI in place of him. Bairstow kept wickets.