His being dropped may not be the worst thing, but it does dent his halo, bringing him down to the ranks of the merely very good

Osman Samiuddin14-Oct-2024As first tasks go, telling Babar Azam that he was about to be dropped must have been some introduction to selection for Azhar Ali. Welcome to the committee. Before you settle in, here’s the mess you’ve inherited. Mind cleaning it up, pronto?Thankfully Azhar is used to this kind of stuff given his introduction to international cricket was the soap operatic mess of the 2010 tour of England, and that at one down, it was pretty much his entire JD. He’s a good, empathetic man, who probably would have wanted the responsibility of telling Babar he was going to be dropped. It can’t have been an easy call, and made no lighter by the almost ironic twist that it was under Babar’s captaincy that Azhar’s Test career ended, sooner, perhaps, than Azhar would’ve liked.These days, of course, teams tiptoe around the idea that anyone is being dropped. “Rested” as the PCB said diplomatically in their press release. A later communication said that Babar had been “spared from the team”, which, given recent results and mood, well, you can picture Freud slipping can’t you?Related

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Whatever the semantics, it is a big call. A bigly call, even. So big it’s difficult to recall a bigger one in recent Pakistan history (maybe Inzi after the 2003 World Cup). Big players have been banned, punished, forced to retire, yes, but dropped for as mundane a reason as form? And make no mistake, they don’t come bigger than Babar, Pakistan’s best batter, in the conversation to be their greatest ever, their unquestioned all-format captain until not long ago, and – because these things matter – the biggest draw in Pakistan cricket. That he was helped on to that last pedestal by the very board that is now nudging him off it is by the by, of course. The simultaneous absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the second Test amplifies the sense of a culling of stars, but fast bowlers, Pakistan have always thought, are expendable. The epicentre is Babar.So yes, a big call. Was it one Pakistan had to make? Is this really the call that turns their fortunes around?At one level, this is a proper Statement Axing. There’s a(nother) new selection committee in town. Pakistan have suffered another record-breaking, earth-shattering loss. Drastic change feels necessary. Scapegoats must be found, and the captain can’t be sacked one Test into the series. So sack the former captain. Even by the PCB’s standards, this selection committee is an eclectic mix of the outré and strait-laced sensibility – Aaqib Javed and Aleem Dar with Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali – but it’s telling they were unanimous in their view on Babar. The captain and coach weren’t involved in the decision, and given their pleas for continuity, it’s logical to assume they are not entirely pleased with the call.

There is a tangible sense that a break really might do Babar good, that what he needs most is to decompress. The last couple of years have been especially taxing and toxic

It is possible, though, to see a level where it does make sense. That isn’t concerned so much with the batting and the returns, because those can be argued either way. Yes, the numbers aren’t great. Yes, he’s getting dismissed early and he’s getting dismissed when he’s set. Yes, he’s getting beaten on the outside edge and the inside. Yes, he’s falling to pace and spin.No, his form doesn’t feel terminally bad. Two years without a half-century sounds like a long stretch, time-wise, but no, nine Tests without one doesn’t sound so long Tests-wise. That is part of the problem. Pakistan just don’t play that many Tests and those they do come with great irregularity. These nearly two years, for example, include a stretch of no Tests for six months, then nearly five months without one, then almost eight months without one again. How do you get out of a rut and into a run in this stop-start schedule? Ollie Pope not scoring runs in a few Tests, for instance, is less complicated, given there’s almost always another Test right around the corner for him to right things. And if Pope has issues, he knows he has Marcus Trescothick, England’s batting coach since 2021, to turn to. Babar? Speed dates spend more time getting to know each other than Babar has had with some coaches lately. So given his track record and the general acknowledgment that he remains Pakistan’s best batter, retaining him for the remaining two Tests against England would have been far from a terrible call.Instead, more than the runs or the form is this tangible sense that a break really might do him good, that what he needs most is to decompress. The last couple of years have been especially taxing and toxic. Stripped of the captaincy, given parts of it back, then having to let go again; poor results cascading in tune with administrative clownery; becoming the eye of every storm, whether it is the culture wars over his intent in T20s and ODIs, the obsessive, magnified dissection of his lack of Test runs, the dismissals of his insipid captaincy, or the growing talk of team factions and disunity. Against this, a break should be considered a period of convalescence.At the very least, it is a moment to pause and breathe and take in the giddying journey of his last few years. Hardly had he established himself as a Test batter in early 2019 than he was rising to all-format captain in 2020 and to global superstardom shortly thereafter. The relentless playing schedule, the burgeoning celebrity and its distorting effects since, have likely sheened onto this period a sense of unreality. It’s worth trying to unwrap that. Maybe even for him to tend to his primary occupation, by working on his batting with someone and rediscovering what made him so good.Since the start of January 2023, Babar has averaged 20, as against 49 before•AFP/Getty ImagesRisk is inherent, of course, in that genuine resets in the Pakistani context are rare, and in an environment as corrosive as the prevailing one… well, there’s as much chance he comes back broken as he does having not taken a meaningful break, and as captain. There’s a reason why so many Pakistani cricketers never willingly take a break, because they know well the vagaries of Pakistan selection.Which is why there is an overriding sense of sadness about all this. Babar wasn’t supposed to be just another talented Pakistani cricketer. It really did feel like he was the real deal, the batter who, one day, we would look back on as the undisputed greatest in Pakistan’s history, who rode out pace and bounce in Australia and South Africa, who coped expertly with seam and swing in England and New Zealand, who plundered at home and on the subcontinent, and who maybe even won a world title along the way.He may still get there eventually, but that road is a crooked one now. He’s been tarred with a little mortality, suddenly pervious to the tremors and jitters of ordinary cricketers. In the long term, and for a life away from the game, it is probably no bad thing. Call it a life lesson. In the short term, that’s hardly consolation.

The first ever bilateral series between the two teams will be played against the backdrop of severe criticism from one of South Africa’s top human rights organisations

Firdose Moonda17-Sep-2024South Africa play Afghanistan for the first time in a bilateral series against the backdrop of severe criticism from one of the country’s top human rights organisations, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR). On Tuesday, LHR released a statement calling the three-match series a “tacit endorsement of the Taliban’s repressive regime”.Cricket South Africa (CSA) has chosen not to respond but earlier in the week, the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) issued a statement in support of Afghan women, which was echoed by ODI captain Temba Bavuma (who, incidentally, will miss the first ODI because of illness, with Aiden Markram taking the reins).Not for the first time, Bavuma finds himself in the awkward position of having to discuss off-field issues while preparing for on-field ones. It was in the UAE in 2021 that Bavuma fronted the media when Quinton de Kock opted to sit out a T20 World Cup match against West Indies rather than follow a CSA directive to take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign.Now, CSA’s only instruction is to focus preparations on ODI cricket with the Champions Trophy looming. But the backlash at home is fierce as LHR has accused them of undermining the country’s “own values and human rights obligations”, and SACA asked CSA to use its leverage to highlight the situation facing Afghan women, who are banned from public life. It is understood there are internal discussions on whether and how CSA can speak out for women, but no decisions have been made yet.Instead, the focus will shift to three matches that will be played in Sharjah this week, with conditions, team combinations and tactics up for discussion.Related

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Who is more settled in Sharjah?

The UAE is one of Afghanistan’s adopted homes, and they have played 25 ODIs in Sharjah, dating back to 2010. Their most recent matches in the format, against Ireland, were also there. Of those, they’ve won 16 and lost nine, mostly to Zimbabwe and Ireland. Mohammad Nabi has played in all those matches and is Afghanistan’s second-leading runs-scorer at the ground with 557 runs, including two fifties and also their highest wicket-taker at the venue with 35 at an average of 22.02.On the other hand, South Africa have played 12 ODIs in Sharjah and won 10, but have not been to the venue since 2013. None of the current squad were at the series against Pakistan 11 years ago and David Miller, who is not involved in this series as he competes in the CPL, is the only player from that time who is still nationally contracted.

Batting in the spotlight: Beyond the top order

Though Afghanistan’s opening batter Ibrahim Zadran has been ruled out of the series with an ankle sprain, the presence of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, their first ODI centurion, still makes their top order a threat. Lungi Ngidi identified it as the area South Africa needed to target.”They seem to be very aggressive up front so the biggest thing for us is going to be to control the top end of their batting lineup,” Ngidi said, at a media engagement on Tuesday. “If you can take care of that and then make sure that you squeeze the lower half, it should be all right.”Afghanistan’s strength is arguably South Africa’s weakness as they navigate ODI cricket after de Kock’s retirement at the ODI World Cup last year. Bavuma, who entered that tournament in form but was then the only batter in the top six that did not score a century, has the opportunity to re-stake his claim as a leader in this format, when he’s back from his illness. Tony de Zorzi’s century against India in December has set him up for a long run in the format while Reeza Hendricks will also want to re-find form after a lean patch in the T20Is in the West Indies.South Africa will be wary of the threat posed by Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top of the order•Getty Images

How do the attacks stack up?

Variation is the best adjective to describe what both bowling line-ups look like with at least one left-arm seamer – Fazalhaq Farooqi and Fareed Ahmed for Afghanistan and Nandre Burger for South Africa – in either squad. Almost every member of the Afghan side can turn their arm over, which means they won’t be short of options, and Ngidi believes that’s where their advantage lies.”We know that their bowling is probably one of their strengths, so we’re going to have to make sure that whatever they get on the board, we can chase it down and that our batters don’t give them easy opportunities,” he said.South Africa will also know there is some inexperience especially among the young Afghan quicks – Bilal Sami and Naveed Zadran, who were part of their 2022 Under-19 World Cup squad – but will be more concerned with assessing the quality of their own seam-bowling allrounders. They have three in the squad for this series. Andile Phehlukwayo and Wiaan Mulder are well-known names who need to work on consistency while there could be a debut for Andile Simelane.Tristan Stubbs will be available for the ODIs, but South Africa will be without several other big names due to their participation in the ongoing CPL•AFP/Getty Images

Young spinners to look out for

Perhaps the most exciting component of the series will be to watch the progression of the young spinners on either side. For Afghanistan, it’s the offspinner AM Ghazanfar, who played at the 2024 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa and stunned New Zealand with three wickets upfront and is starting to find his feet in senior international cricket. He has two ODI caps to his name, both earned against Ireland in Sharjah in March, and is still searching for his first wicket.For South Africa, it’s the legspinner Nqabayomzi Peter, who was named the CSA’s domestic newcomer of the season and T20 challenge player of the season at the annual awards and who bowled his domestic team, the Lions, to victory in the T20 tournament. Peter made his international debut in West Indies and has limited experience in longer formats. To date, he only has six List A matches to his name and his seventh could well be an ODI.

Who is missing?

In a packed cricket calendar, there has to be some attention on those who sit out. Apart from Zadran, Afghanistan are also without Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has a finger injury. Of their CPL players, South Africa will only have Tristan Stubbs available for the ODIs, with Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and Anrich Nortje all at the tournament. Heinrich Klaasen is dealing with a family matter, Kagiso Rabada is being rested and Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee are in a conditioning block, and are expected to return only by November.That means South Africa are providing plenty of opportunity for the next tier of players, and Afghanistan could see that as a chance to earn their first win over them. These teams have only met at World Cups and South Africa have always taken maximum points. They beat Afghanistan at the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2010, 2016 and 2024 T20 World Cups.

They weren’t the only ones waving the flags of their country around as Mushfiqur Rahim scored 191

Mohammad Isam24-Aug-2024Mohammad Ismail and his family are sat in the Imran Khan enclosure, west of the Pavilion building at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. They are wearing Bangladesh jerseys and caps, with their umbrellas pulled down in the extreme heat. You could however see their smiles from underneath. There is a row of fans sitting with Bangladesh flags in their hands. There are more in the other stands, but interestingly not all of them are in the hands of Bangladeshis.Ismail works in the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad. He is sitting with warrant officer Sarwar Uddin. They are among a handful of families who live in Islamabad and traveled to Rawalpindi for this game. Many work in the high commission, while some are posted here on private jobs. Presently, they are enjoying the Mushfiqur Rahim-Mehidy Hasan Miraz 196-run partnership for the seventh wicket. As soon as we settle down, Mushfiqur paddle sweeps Salman Ali Agha for his 17th boundary.A big cheer goes up in the stands, which is surprising because the rest of those sitting in this enclosure are Pakistanis. It is a genuine cheer. It is not in jest. When Mushfiqur reached his eleventh Test century, there was a huge cheer around the ground. It is a sign of a decent crowd that cheers for both sides and that has surprised Ismail and Sarwar.”Many Pakistanis have carried Bangladesh flags to the stadium this time, to my surprise,” Ismail said. “I haven’t been here for a long time but I can safely say that it is a first. When we watched Asia Cup matches in Lahore, we waved Bangladesh flags. This time you can see a lot of locals actually bringing Bangladesh flags for genuine support.”One of those locals, a youngster named Abdullah, said that Rawalpindi fans often bring flags and posters of visiting players to the grounds. He said that this time the support is genuine as they enjoy Bangladesh’s cricket. Abdullah said he also followed the student protests in Bangladesh in the last few weeks, which made him more interested about the country. Everyone wants to know about August 5 and how it will shape Bangladesh’s future.Pakistan’s interest in Bangladesh cricket isn’t new though. Hundreds of Pakistani cricketers have played in the Dhaka Premier League since the 1980s while many have also played in the BPL since 2012. A good performance in the first Test in Rawalpindi has the potential of bringing more Pakistani fans to the ground, and perhaps some more supporting Bangladesh too.

Australia has been one of the hardest places in the past five years for visiting batters to set up a game in the first innings, and India have been especially patchy in this area this season

Alagappan Muthu09-Dec-20243:55

Rohit: We knew there would be challenges batting first

Indian cricket, for the longest time, has been riding on the shoulders of its batters. They are the big draw cards. The crowd-pullers. The game-breakers. The reason why work gets delayed or kids cut school. But they’re having a little bit of trouble right now.This tour of Australia has presented difficult conditions for them. It has pitted them against a fast-bowling attack capable of holding its own in any era. And it’s demanded they cope with not just the events that take place on the field but the drama that is forever brewing off it. There is also one other challenge: the first innings.Over the last five years, Australia has been the toughest place to score runs as an away team to set up a Test match. In 24 games, visiting batters have averaged just 21.75 across first innings with only two centuries – Jonny Bairstow’s 113 in Sydney the 2021-22 Ashes and Ajinkya Rahane’s 112 in Melbourne in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India were able to play catch-up quite nicely in Perth but Adelaide turned out very differently.Related

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So now, with the series locked at 1-1, the most crucial thing for India is to start a lot better with the bat. This season they’ve only scored one hundred in the first innings. R Ashwin’s against Bangladesh in Chennai. There have been 16 ducks.Conditions have played a part in that. There have been situations like the first innings against New Zealand in Bengaluru where almost nothing seemed to work. Rohit Sharma brought that up when he tried to explain why he isn’t too worried just yet about his team’s batting performances. He refused to entertain the notion that defeat in less than seven sessions of cricket was scarring.The India captain had a difficult return to the XI, going into a pink-ball game – which they don’t play very often – a little low on prep and suffering two single-digit scores. It felt like he had done the right thing, moving down to the middle order, both for himself and for the team, but whatever little advantage that they thought they were eking out still wasn’t enough.Watching Rohit almost being dismissed twice in the same innings – India’s second gig in Adelaide – which in the end was only 15 balls long, on the back of his struggles during the home season, when he made only one fifty in 10 innings, and remembering the other Rohit who went to England in 2021 and displayed excellent judgment of length and an incredible awareness about using soft hands makes it feel like something has gone missing from his game. Potentially the something that made him better at dealing with bowler-friendly conditions. Things that are lost can still be found though.Yashasvi Jaiswal’s sequence of scores this series so far: 0, 161, 0, 24 – both those ducks coming in the first innings•AFP/Getty ImagesVirat Kohli, as he has often been in the good times, is right there alongside his friend, in this tough one. He’s averaging 10 in the first innings from seven matches in the 2024-25 season; that’s a personal low. Rohit is averaging 8.66 in the first innings from six matches in the 2024-25 season. That would’ve been his personal low too if not for 2015-16, when he made three first-innings runs in two Tests against South Africa on extremely spin-friendly pitches.Kohli’s ability to raise his game to overcome any perils out in the middle is the stuff of legend. He’d shown glimpses of that even last year on tour in South Africa, weathering fiery spells from Kagiso Rabada with relative ease and creating the illusion that somehow he always had time to get behind the ball even on those fast and bouncy tracks. He didn’t make any big scores, but he looked really good in defence. Over here, and against New Zealand before this, he didn’t. The hundred in Perth came on a flat pitch against flagging bowlers – and in India’s second innings.

Even when they were winning, India’s top order sometimes had trouble putting up the runs that were expected of them, but their allrounders would step in and quickly fix things. Home comforts helped there. They are not available here.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has credit in the bank after his 161 in Perth but he is yet to get off the mark in the first innings this series.Shubman Gill looked good at training in Canberra in between Tests, in the practice game that followed, then in training in Adelaide and pretty much all the way up to the time he was dismissed in the Test match. He flattered to deceive.Even when they were winning, India’s top order sometimes had trouble putting up the runs that were expected of them, but their allrounders would step in and quickly fix things. Home comforts helped there. They are not available here.The switch to the red ball in Brisbane should come as a boost to India, in that they are back in more familiar territory. But if the batters do not do more in their first innings, this entire series might just devolve into Jasprit Bumrah vs Australia instead of India vs Australia.

Australia had a real chance of enforcing the follow-on – their best chance of winning the Test – when Jadeja fell, but India’s last-wicket pair spoilt their plans

Andrew McGlashan17-Dec-20240:59

What does saving the follow-on mean to India?

For a period late on the fourth day at the Gabba, a Test match that has endured endless stoppages for rain came to life as one of the curiosities of the sport was on full show – a team miles behind in the contest, yet being cheered as though they were winning. A game within a game.When Ravindra Jadeja hooked Pat Cummins to deep square-leg, where he was brilliantly caught by Mitchell Marsh, India still needed 33 to avoid the follow-on as Akash Deep (Test average 6.42) walked out to join Jasprit Bumrah (Test average of 6.97).”At that stage, I was thinking more about going and padding up and trying to go back to bat, probably,” KL Rahul said after play, with no disrespect meant to his two team-mates at the crease.Related

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Rahul and Jadeja fight to help India avoid follow-on

For Australia, the follow-on was their most realistic route to victory given the amount of time lost already and more rain forecast on the final day.”There was a desperation to get that final wicket and we thought we had a really good chance when Jadeja was dismissed,” assistant coach Daniel Vettori said.Bumrah hooked Cummins for six to take a useful chunk out of the runs needed, the day after he had referenced his batting ability when it was put to him that he may not be the ideal person to discuss the problems of India’s top order.”It’s an interesting that you are questioning my batting ability,” he said with a smile after the third day’s play. “You should use Google and see who’s got the most number of runs in a Test over.”That was, of course, referring to his 35-run over against Stuart Broad at Edgbaston in 2022, but he wasn’t going to try and save the follow-on in that fashion. Against relatively deep-set fields, he and Akash Deep chipped away at the runs required as the India supporters among a small crowd got increasingly excited, with forward defensives and back-foot blocks cheered among the precious runs.3:03

KL Rahul on the Akash Deep-Bumrah show: ‘I was thinking about padding up’

Occasionally, though, they went for their shots with Akash Deep scything a boundary down to deep third off Mitchell Starc and he also punched a brace of twos to get India closer. But with five needed to save the follow-on he nearly dragged on to his stumps as he looked to flay Starc away. A message came from the dressing room.”[You] don’t have to try and do it with a boundary,” Rahul revealed was the instruction. “You can still knock it around, get those singles, they’d spread the field. So the singles were there to be taken. So [it was] just to stay a bit more patient, because we saw just before the message went out, Akash tried to, I don’t know where he tried to hit it, but he tried to hit a boundary. So [it was] just a message to calm it down and see if they can get five or six singles and [avoid] the follow-on.”Vettori acknowledged that India’s last two batters were belying their career records, but it came as no surprise.”Don’t think we assume that anyone is going to live up to their average,” Vettori said. “Think you look at those averages and you think there’s not much there, but Bumrah has proven that he’s been able to put on partnerships, proven that he can attack and he can defend, and Akash Deep is better than a No. 11.”Akash Deep – and India’s tail – were put through a stern test, and passed with flying colours•Associated PressWith four needed, Akash Deep did it with a boundary, although it was more luck than a case of him ignoring advice as he jabbed at a short-of-a-length delivery from Starc, which flew over a leaping Nathan McSweeney at gully.A roar went up from the India supporters as though they had won the game. In the dressing room, Virat Kohli shared high-fives and captain Rohit Sharma had a huge smile on his face.”It’s always nice to see your bowlers going out there scoring some runs,” Rahul said. “They really put in the work in the nets. And when it mattered today, I’m happy that they could really play some shots, and very exciting shots. And it was a great contest at the end. The last half-an-hour when they batted, not just the runs that they got, just the heart that they showed to keep away the bouncers. There’s a lot of pace and bounce in the wicket.”To cap things off for India, Akash Deep, now freed of a little pressure, deposited Cummins over long-on for a huge six two balls before bad light ended play for the final time in the day. Normally, trailing by 193 runs is little cause for celebration, and Australia have been by far the better side, but you just never know how important those few overs could prove.

At 38, the record-breaking allrounder has made peace with the possibility of never playing for India, and continues to find ‘happiness and fulfillment’ in the game he loves

Shashank Kishore16-Feb-2025Since his first-class debut in December 2005, no one has taken more Ranji Trophy wickets than Jalaj Saxena. Nearly two decades into his career, he continues to push boundaries at an age where several of his contemporaries have long retired.Earlier this season, the Kerala allrounder became the first player to achieve the double of 6000 runs and 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. As Kerala prepare for their semi-final against Gujarat in Ahmedabad, Saxena chats with ESPNcricinfo about his career, the challenges he has faced, and what keeps him going.Nearly 7000 first-class runs, 478 wickets, 34 five-wicket hauls. At 38, what keeps you going?
I love this game and I want to keep playing as much as I can. That is the motivation. Also, I’ve never played for India and that fire is still there. As a professional, if that fire is not there you won’t be able to survive. Even if you’re 38-39 or 20-22, you have to push yourself. There has to be a goal; without an end goal you won’t be able to perform. I know it’s close to impossible to play for India now and I may just be dreaming, I know that. But if that dream dies, I won’t be able to perform.Has that feeling of having achieved something big never crossed your mind?
I really love first-class cricket, red-ball cricket. It’s easy for me to retire and just sign up with one of the many legends leagues for good money, instead of toiling all season-long in the domestic circuit. But I don’t find joy in doing that. I don’t think I’ll retire to play in those leagues only. I don’t think I’ll emotionally be happy doing that. Because my emotions, heart, everything is with first-class cricket. Playing top-flight cricket keeps that motivation alive – of wanting to develop new skillsets with the ball, staying fit and coming back again to perform. I find my mental peace and happiness in just bowling, taking wickets. I won’t have that contentment playing for easy money, the fun is in this grind and to be able to perform match after match.In 2023, you tweeted saying ‘I’m finding ways to be optimistic.’ Why did you feel that way?
That was a phase where it was difficult for me to find motivation. I was weighed down by the constant thought that I hadn’t played for India. Every selection meeting had rejection written all over it for me, despite performances. I let that pressure chew me, and I wasn’t enjoying my game. That season, I learnt to let go. I made peace with the possibility that it may not happen and I haven’t felt better on the cricket field. The motivation, hunger – it’s all there.

Out of all 50 wickets which i have taken last year in Ranji Trophy, This one is my fav. Finding ways to be optimisticpic.twitter.com/hctPR9FezZ

— Jalaj Saxena (@jalajsaxena33) June 14, 2023