Preview of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors in Ranchi

The Preview by Nikita Bastian14-May-2013

Match facts

May 15, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Can Pune Warriors’ season get any worse?•BCCI

Big Picture

It’s hard for the average fan to find much significance in this game, but Kolkata Knight Riders would disagree. Their chances of progressing to the playoffs are mighty slim at the moment, but it’s still mathematically possible. And they have been keeping that flickering hope alive by winning their previous two matches, while others have done their bit for them, too – Mumbai Indians came from behind to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Kings XI Punjab, who are also trying to fight their way out of a very tight corner, handed Royal Challengers Bangalore their first defeat of the year at the Chinnaswamy stadium. Knight Riders have to win their remaining two matches now, and do it with as big a margin as possible to boost their net run rate, and hope Sunrisers and Royal Challengers keep losing.Knight Riders will be glad that one of their two upcoming must-wins is against Pune Warriors. Bottom-of-the-table Warriors have long since been out of this tournament, and have looked clueless more often than not. For them, this match is all about preventing their losing streak from extending into double digits: they have lost nine in a row since showing so much promise by beating Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk. Considering they have lost 33 out of 44 IPL matches (10 wins, 1 no result) overall, and 21 off the previous 23, any victory however insignificant would be most welcome.

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders: WWLWL (most recent first)
Pune Warriors: LLLLL

In the spotlight

How will the pitch at the JSCA International Stadium play? On IPL debut, the Ranchi track proved to be quite hard for Knight Riders and Royal Challengers to handle, with the latter scratching to 115 for 9 before the ‘hosts’ got across the line with only four balls to spare. While Murali Kartik said it was difficult to judge with its slowness and two-paced nature, Jacques Kallis said the surface wasn’t quite fit for T20 cricket. Even Royal Challengers franchise owner Siddharth Mallya was critical of the pitch, tweeting “The JSCA int’ stadium in Ranchi is simply outstanding…Best in India after Chinnaswamy by far…Shame about the wicket tho…” But curator Shyam Bahadur Singh, while defending the pitch, has confirmed that the same strip will be used on Wednesday; the teams, and the fans in Ranchi, will be hoping it plays a bit better this time round.

Stats and trivia

• Pune Warriors’ win/loss ratio in the IPL is a woeful 0.30. That’s far worse than even the two now-defunct franchises, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Deccan Chargers, who had ratios of 0.75 and 0.63 respectively
• After four matches, Warriors are yet to beat Knight Riders
• Fourteen games into their season, none of the Knight Riders batsmen have an average of 30 or more (three matches minimum)

Quotes

“Today we didn’t make enough runs. Last match we went for too many runs in the death. It’s a mixture of a lot of things.”
“Be it any situation, we as a team enter the ground thinking about a victory. We do not play to participate.”

In the feudal world of cricket, an Associate nation has never beaten a Full Member in an international series, but Ireland came desperately close to beating Pakistan before a breathtaking partnership took the game, and series, away

The Report by Ger Siggins26-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEd Joyce’s unbeaten ton went in vain•AFP

In the feudal world of cricket, an Associate nation has never beaten a Full Member in an international series, but Ireland came desperately close to beating Pakistan before a breathtaking partnership took the game, and series, away.Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz came together with just under 100 needed off 13 overs. Kamran is experienced in Irish conditions, having played with the Limavady club in 2002 and 2003, and with his young colleague he went about repairing the early damage wreaked by the Irish seamers. But Kamran is a wily performer and eased into destructive mode as the bowlers struggled to find their lengths.Wahab took nine balls to get off the mark but his demolition of Tim Murtagh in the 47th over proved decisive and he made an ODI career best 47 not out. Murtagh, a Middlesex seamer, is the leading championship performer this season but he was taken apart by clean hitting as the over went 2,6,6,0,4,6 with the maximums soaring over long-off and square leg.With just eight needed off three overs, Kamran tried to finish it off and lost his wicket, but Wahab and Junaid Khan saw Pakistan home. The decisive eighth wicket partnership of 93 took just 62 balls. “Two special innings took it away from us”, admitted Kevin O’Brien, who took the Man-of the-Series award.Ireland had a special innings of their own to enjoy. Ed Joyce walked to the wicket in Clontarf after just five balls of Ireland’s innings, and left it unbeaten 49.1 overs later. His highest score of 116 was an innings of high quality from a player who became only the second man to make an ODI century for two countries. The first was also an Irishman, Eoin Morgan, who is playing for England.Pakistan made three changes to their bowling attack, bringing in debutant Asad Ali, Wahab Riaz and Abdur Rehman for Mohammed Irfan, Saeed Ajmal and Ehsan Adil. Ireland, too, called upon a newbie in James Shannon, who came in for club-mate Andrew White.And Ali quickly showed his great promise, finding extravagant seam movement as he reeled off three maidens to open his international career. Ireland were quickly 4 for 2, but the experienced southpaws Joyce and Niall O’Brien stitched the ideal partnership for the situation and battled their way through to see off Ali and Junaid Khan, with the debutant’s opening spell reading 6-4-4-1.When he reached 33, Joyce passed 1000 runs in ODIs, 471 of which he made for England. The pair was batting with increasing confidence when Riaz found the edge of O’Brien’s bat. Gary Wilson perished soon after when he ballooned an attempted reverse sweep to slip, but Joyce found a steady partner in Kevin O’Brien.Kevin has often been accused of inconsistency, but he continued here as he finished Thursday’s tie. He played several powerful drives and was looking set to make back-to-back ODI fifties for the first time since the 2007 World Cup when he holed out on the midwicket boundary.Joyce rode his luck – an entertaining juggling act from Mohammed Hafeez spilled to earth after five attempts when he was on 61 – and moved serenely towards his century. Kevin’s departure seemed to cause panic in the Irish lower order and four wickets fell for 11 as Rehman found some turn. Trent Johnston fell to the first leg-before decision of the series but Murtagh hung around long enough to see his former Middlesex colleague into three figures, which Joyce raised with his only six, over midwicket.Ireland had switched pitches two days before the game, banking on a greener track to negate the Pakistan spinners. The 7,000 euro bill for moving the scaffolding and grandstands looked money well spent until those last ten overs. Trent Johnston and Tim Murtagh found extravagant seam and played havoc with the Pakistan top order, reducing them to 17 for 4.  That score could have been worse had two catches not been forsaken off Johnston to dismiss Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik before they had scored.But experienced players of the Pakistan middle order battled their way back with stands of 43, 52 and 21. Misbah and Shoaib were able to settle in when the Irish opening bowlers were removed and the pressure slipped a little. George Dockrell turned back on the heat with a spell of 8-2-16-1, but by the time he came back for his last two overs, Kamran was eyeing up the ropes.Skipper William Porterfield knows how close his team came to a historic series victory. “We’re pretty dejected at the minute because of the position we got ourselves in,” he said. “We’re very disappointed not to win.”

Virat Kohli, in his second match as captain, smacked an 83-ball 102 to power India to a tall score against West Indies, but he said more than his innings, India earning a bonus point was more satisfying

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2013Virat Kohli, in his second match as captain, smacked an 83-ball 102 to power India to a tall score against West Indies, but he said that earning a bonus point was more satisfying than his innings.India were in a difficult position in the tri-series before the start of the match because they had lost their first two games – the second against Sri Lanka being one of their heaviest defeats – and needed to win this match to keep their chances afloat. India’s much-vaunted batting line-up had struggled for fluency at Sabina Park, but at Queen’s Park Oval the openers responded with a 123-run opening stand to set an ideal platform. Kohli, despite limited support from other middle-order batsmen, ensured it wasn’t wasted.”We got a good start. It’s a bit of a tricky situation if you go in after a good start,” Kohli said. “You don’t know whether to play yourself in or go after the bowlers. To get a hundred in my second game as captain, I am pretty happy. I was getting good starts, but hitting that one shot straight to the fielder, so I was waiting for this big innings. But more than the hundred, I am happy we won with a bonus point.”Darren Sammy credited Kohli for lifting India’s score beyond 300, but said that West Indies’ bowlers could have bowled better. The fast bowlers were expensive and even Sunil Narine wasn’t able to control the flow of runs, giving away 35 in his five overs.”We have to give credit to Kohli and the Indians for the way they played. We did not bowl as well as we know we can,” Sammy said. “That is one area where we went wrong today. India played really well. They knew they had to come hard at us, to get a win and stay in the tournament, and they did just that.”Chasing 312, West Indies lost Chris Gayle early to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who struck again in his next over to dismiss Darren Bravo. A rain disruption added to West Indies’ woes as the target was readjusted to 274 off 39 overs, but none of the West Indian batsmen stayed long enough to put up a challenge.”The way Kohli played just goes to show what can happen when a set batsman stays in to the end of the innings,” Sammy said. “We had two very good innings in Jamaica when Chris [Gayle] got a hundred against Sri Lanka and [Johnson] Charles got 90 against India to win those two matches for us, but we did not get any real big partnerships going today.”West Indies are still placed at the top of the table with nine points and need to win their next match against Sri Lanka to confirm their entry into the final.”We are still very much in the tournament. Today we lost but there is need to panic,” Sammy said. “We are still at the top of the points table and we have all to play for when we face Sri Lanka on Sunday. We still believe we can win this tournament. We will regroup and look to bounce back when we meet Sri Lanka on Sunday and look to move into the final.”

Alastair Cook believes his England side are ready to create history and shed their unwanted record as they prepare to meet India in the final of the Champions Trophy.

George Dobell22-Jun-2013Alastair Cook believes his England side are ready to create history and shed their unwanted record as they prepare to meet India in the final of the Champions Trophy.England are the only side involved in the tournament never to have won a global ODI competition. They have reached the finals of three World Cups (1979, 1987 and 1992) and one previous Champions Trophy (2004) but have always finished runners-up.While Cook accepted that India deserve to go into Sunday’s final as favourites, he expressed confidence in his team’s ability to prevail and admitted victory would rank as highly as any achievement in his England career to date.”I’m fully confident in our guys that we can upset India here,” Cook said. “India are unbeaten and have played some very good cricket. But I’m fully confident in our guys. The lads have delivered two excellent performances under pressure in the last two games and I can see no reason why we can’t do it tomorrow.”We’ve been playing some good cricket and it’s an opportunity we’re desperate not to let go. The lads are ready. I’ve never seen them as relaxed as we have been leading up to a big game. But I’m looking around in the guys’ eyes and I know they’re ready to play.”We haven’t won a global 50 over tournament, as everyone keeps reminding me. So we’re desperately keen to try and change that. It would be a great achievement if we can win and one which we will cherish. There’s certain moments in your career where you remember more than others, and if we can win this then I think that would be right up there.”It will be of little consolation if they fall at the final hurdle, but England can take some satisfaction from their progress to the final.After years of modest ODI form, England have developed a side that has shown they can challenge in global tournaments. While they were well-beaten by Sri Lanka, they have subsequently won what amounted to two knock-out games in succession and can look ahead to the 2015 World Cup knowing that the vast majority of this squad should still be available.

England’s near misses

• 1979 World Cup: Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott gave England a great start before it all went wrong chasing a Viv Richards-inspired West Indies

• 1987 World Cup: England were cruising at 135 for 2 in pursuit of Australia’s 254 but the chase blew up after reverse-sweep from Mike Gatting.

• 1992 World Cup: Again England were asked to chase and again faltered, this time to Pakistan galvanised by Imran Khan.

• 2004 Champions Trophy: England had all but won defending 218 against West Indies but Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw played the innings of their lives.

England have also progressed without two of their best players. Kevin Pietersen has missed the whole event, while Graeme Swann has played just once.It appears Swann may well not play in the final, either. Not only did Cook reiterate the view that Swann will not be risked if there is even “a slight doubt” over his fitness, but James Tredwell’s fine form has alleviated any need to rush Swann back. Indeed, there are many who feel that Tredwell deserves his place on merit, whether or not Swann is available. Swann bowled “a few balls” in the nets on Saturday and was described as “recovering well” by Cook.Tim Bresnan is also available having missed the semi-final to witness the birth of his first child. Bresnan was replaced for that game by Steven Finn, who took the vital wicket of Hashim Amla, but England have huge respect for Bresnan’s skills with bat and ball and he could well return.A new pitch has been allocated for the final but, in common with most modern pitches at Edgbaston, it is still likely to aid spin and, perhaps, reverse swing. Having been under the covers for much of the last couple of days, it may also prove helpful to the seamers for the first hour. As of Saturday afternoon, the groundstaff at Edgbaston were very happy with the state of the outfield and reported no drainage problems. But the weather forecast is not promising.A shared title – the scenario if no result is possible on Sunday – would be an unsatisfactory conclusion to a successful tournament. While it would, in theory, end England’s winless run in global ODI events, would do so in hollow fashion. The ICC insist there is no precedent for having reserve days in the Champions Trophy – there actually was a reserve day in 2002 – but it does seem a shame an extra day could not be found for the final, at least. While England and New Zealand begin a largely meaningless two-match T20I series on Tuesday, the make-up of the sides is vastly different.There are those who suggest that, so often does the weather intervene in England and Wales, that they are not suitable venues for such competitions. It is an understandable reaction, but perhaps the positives of England and Wales hosting events – full houses for games between neutral countries and enthusiastic multicultural crowds – should not be dismissed. It does rain in other countries, too. The 2007 World Cup final, in the Caribbean, was interrupted by rain, while the 2002 Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka was shared between India and Sri Lanka after poor weather interrupted play on two successive days.Cook suggested that England could take confidence from their recent home record against India, but such analysis could equally work the other way. While it is true that India failed to win a single game on their 2011 tour, England have won only five of the last 20 ODIs between the sides going back to the start of 2008. What is more, India would appear to have the batting firepower to adapt should the game be reduced in overs. For India to come to England – where their record is modest – and win such a tournament with a newly restructured team would represent a fine achievement.In some ways, this match represents a clash of ODI cultures. While the India side is packed with explosive batting talent, England possess several technically correct, patient players who will build innings in quite a different way. Their critics say it is an outdated method but, should they win, they will have strong evidence to vindicate their strategy.

Heather Knight made her first Test century as England continued their dogged rearguard action well into the third day at Wormsley

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2013
ScorecardHeather Knight and Laura Marsh put on a record-breaking partnership for the seventh wicket•Getty Images

Heather Knight made her first Test century as England continued their dogged rearguard action well into the third day at Wormsley. Knight’s 157 from 338 balls was the seventh-highest Test score by an England woman and she was joined by the equally obdurate Laura Marsh in a stand of 156 – England’s best for the seventh wicket and one run shy of the Test record – that went a long way to staving off the threat of defeat to Australia.With six points on offer in these multi-format Ashes, the incentive to win was clear and evinced by Jodie Fields’ decision to declare with her team six down on the second day. But with the prospect of defeat coming at such a price – a draw will give each side two points – England have knuckled down in an attempt to make sure they don’t lose. Australia had extended their lead to 81 by reaching 64 for 1 by the close, making a draw the most likely result.Resuming on a perilous 172 for 6, still 149 runs behind, Knight and Marsh forged on in the same manner in which they had gone about their business on the on previous evening. The pair soaked up 73 overs of pressure before Knight was run out after being sent back looking for a single.Knight was dropped on 105, wicketkeeper Fields missing a chance down the leg side, but by then she had long-since surpassed her previous best innings, in her only other Test, of 19. She hit 20 fours in all and was particularly strong off her pads in making the third-highest individual total for England against Australia.Marsh, 13 from 114 balls at the start of the day, had progressed to 35 when she lost her partner and Katherine Brunt, who hit her first ball for four, went soon after. But Danielle Hazell stuck around for another 20 overs as Marsh went to her first Test half-century, eventually facing 304 balls for her 55. By the time Australia claimed the final wicket, Erin Osborne finishing with 4 for 67, the deficit was just 17.”I’m really pleased, I think when I went in we were pretty up against it,” Marsh said. “I was just really pleased to be able to hang in there with Heather and support her.”It was the job the team needed and I tried to stick in there and be disciplined with my decision-making. It was really helpful to have Heather at the other end for the vast amount of the time I was there because she just played brilliantly and we kept each other going.”I tried to be positive in defence and approach it that way and pick up runs when they became available.”With a slim lead and a potentially tricky couple of hours to negotiate amid rain showers, Australia’s openers began at a similarly watchful pace, reaching 40 before Jenny Gunn removed Rachael Haynes. First-innings centurion Sarah Elliott accompanied Meg Lanning safely to the close but it will take something special from the usually attacking Fields to force a result.

Ajay Jadeja, the former India batsman, played for Haryana in a match against Hyderabad in the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai fuelling speculation of his return to domestic cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2013Ajay Jadeja, the former India batsman, played for Haryana in a match against Hyderabad in the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai fuelling speculation of his return to domestic cricket. Jadeja, in his first competitive outing after a six-year hiatus, scored 37, and put up a 75-run fourth-wicket stand with opener Sunny Singh, to guide Haryana to a 67-run victory.Anirudh Chaudhary, the Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) secretary, however, insisted that it was too early to comment on Jadeja’s immediate future. “I have spoken to some players there and they have said that having Ajay around has been a learning experience for them,” Chaudhary said. “Ajay has got a busy schedule, and already has a lot of other commitments. We at present are looking at him to mentor a few extremely talented players through different cricketing situations. As far as him playing for Haryana is concerned, it will depend on the selectors and also on Jadeja’s availability.”Jadeja, who made his first class debut for Haryana in 1988, was a prominent member of the Indian team in the 1990s. With 5359 runs, he is India’s eighth-highest run-getter in the ODIs and featured in three World Cups. He received a five-year ban in December 2000 for his alleged involvement in match-fixing.A plea by him seeking permission to play international cricket was dismissed by the Delhi High Court in November 2004, but he went on to play for Delhi a year later.

Yuvraj Singh has made a comeback to India’s limited-overs squad for the Twenty20 and first three ODIs of the home series against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2013

India squad for T20 and first three ODIs

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat
Out from Champions Trophy: Umesh Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, Irfan Pathan
In from Champions Trophy: Yuvraj Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami

Yuvraj Singh has made a comeback to India’s limited-overs squad for the Twenty20 and first three ODIs of the home series against Australia. There were four changes made to India’s last first-choice ODI squad, the one that won the Champions Trophy in England. Yuvraj replaced opener M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik lost out to his Mumbai Indians team-mate Ambati Rayudu, the injured Irfan Pathan made way for Mohammed Shami, and Jaydev Unadkat’s left-arm seam was preferred to Umesh Yadav’s erratic-at-times pace.”I am happy the selectors have reposed faith in me. Now, I have to deliver,” Yuvraj told , after news of his selection broke. “My footwork and timing are alright. The bat swing is in order as well. That is why I got runs against the West Indies and New Zealand A teams. That gave me confidence. Now, I have to capitalise on the opportunity.”Yuvraj’s last ODI was against England in Dharamsala in January 2013. He was dropped from the squad for the Champions Trophy and did not feature in the Zimbabwe series either, when India had rested several first-choice players. However, following a fitness programme in France, he has shown a return to top form in List A cricket. He was the leading run-getter for India A in the limited-overs series against the touring West Indies A, with 224 runs from three matches, including one hundred and a fifty at an average of 74.66. He also scored a half-century for India Blue in the Challenger Trophy, a domestic 50-overs tournament.A fit Yuvraj is seen as a bigger asset than Karthik. Karthik had a decent run in England and in Zimbabwe, but he failed to reach 50 in the tri-series in the West Indies. In effect, Karthik has lost out to Rayudu, who scored 101 runs off 163 balls at an average of 50.5 against Zimbabwe.Two other changes from the Champions Trophy squad mostly explain themselves. Vijay struggled in the West Indies, and Irfan is injured. Yadav, though, remains a curious case. He cannot have been considered unfit because he played the Challenger Trophy last week. He cannot have been rested because he is just coming out of a break. The selectors have either begun to look at him as a Test-only prospect or it was his performance in the Champions Trophy that has got him the axe: four wickets and an economy rate of 5.55 in a mostly low-scoring tournament. His economy rate in the West Indies tri-series hovered around the same mark. His career economy rate also stands at over six, and an average of 41.58 doesn’t do him any favours.The seam-bowling replacements, Shami and Unadkat, played all the five ODIs in Zimbabwe, and have been retained. Mohit, who played two of them and was Man of the Match in the first of them, was expected to replace Vinay Kumar, but the Karnataka quick has retained his place. Vinay went at 6.03 in the recently concluded Challenger Trophy, although he did pick up eight wickets in three matches.Batsmen Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, seamer Mohit and spinner Parvez Rasool missed out from the team that played Zimbabwe.

West Indies legspinner Samuel Badree will mentor Australia’s young spinners as part of Cricket Australia’s spin camp this year

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2015West Indies legspinner Samuel Badree will mentor Australia’s young spinners as part of Cricket Australia’s spin camp this year. Badree, currently, ranked the No.1 Twenty20 international bowler in the world, will work alongside Cricket Australia’s head spin coach John Davison at the training camp in Brisbane in May.”The knowledge and experience that Sammy Badree can share with our young spinners will be a quality extension to previous programs,” Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s team performance manager, said. “The spin camp looks to extend the work being done in states and to challenge players on different ways to assess the game and grow personally.”We’re delighted to have Sammy join John Davison and some of the country’s best young spinners for the week, and to build on the expertise Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralidaran have brought to our spin program in the last two seasons.”Badree said: “I am looking forward to being involved in this program to share my experiences and philosophies with the young spinners of Australia and hopefully impart something to them that would make them better players. It’s my first visit to Australia as well and I look forward to the experience.”My greatest success has been in the shorter versions of the game so I hope to impart knowledge based on that, the importance of control when bowling, adapting to different conditions and taking wickets through guile is crucial.”I look forward to being part of the spin week and sharing reasons for success, the pressures of the international game, various T20 leagues and being the No.1 T20 bowler in the world.”A group of 24 spinners will take part in the program, most of whom are yet to play state cricket. However, legspinner Cameron Boyce, who made his T20 international debut last year, is part of the squad, along with Clive Rose, Will Bosisto, Jason Floros and Beau Webster.

Mohammad Amir’s possible appearance in the Big Bash League didn’t materialise as Sydney Thunder weren’t keen on signing the fast bowler

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Mohammad Amir’s possible appearance in the Big Bash League didn’t materialise as Sydney Thunder weren’t keen on signing the fast bowler. Amir’s London-based agents contacted Thunder to find out their interest in Amir, but the franchise’s general manager Nick Cummins said they were looking for an allrounder rather than a bowler to join Jacques Kallis as their second International player.”We approached the Sydney Thunder and at that point we thought they still had a spot left for a similar type of player,” Simon Auteri, whose company Insignia Sports International represents Amir, was quoted as saying in the . “With the World Twenty20 coming up early next year we thought it might have been a decent fit.””We appreciate with a lot of these teams abroad it will probably be a tough sell especially until he gets back playing at the highest level. He’s back fully playing and he wants to play abroad, and he’s still so young. We think that he does deserve another go and that’s what we’re trying to do.”Amir, banned for five years in 2010 for his role in spot-fixing, was allowed an early return to domestic cricket in January after he adhered to criteria stipulated by the new anti-corruption code. He picked up three wickets in a Grade-2 game, his first competitive fixture since 2010. Amir also turned up for Rawalpindi Rams in the Super 8 T20 Cup.

Sri Lanka Cricket has launched a year-long soft skills development programme for players of all age groups

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Sri Lanka Cricket has launched a year-long soft skills development programme for players of all age groups. The program aims to cover a wide range of activities to help players enhance life skills.The human resource department of SLC identified 11 key areas – general english, presentation skills development, sports psychology, social etiquette, personal grooming, basic IT skills, leadership training, finance, investment management, cricket history and spirit of the game based on in-depth research about the knowledge gaps between team members. Yoga was also incorporated as one of the modules.The SLC also planned to conduct a similar program for the wives of players which will include nutrition, stress management and performance life cycle, in line with the program conducted by Cricket Australia.