New Zealand is a very strong team on New Zealand soil and it is not so easy that a team like Bangladesh will beat New Zealand on New Zealand soil. Bangladesh has gone to New Zealand to play many opposition series before and Bangladesh could not do well against New Zealand in any series. Bangladesh have lost two of the first two ODI matches and there is a good chance that Bangladesh will lose the third match. I can already say that 100% result of ODI series will go in favor of New Zealand and 100% T20 result will go in favor of New Zealand. Bangladesh should be thankful that New Zealand has not done to them what they did during the Kiwi tour of Bangladesh. If they want, New Zealand could have prepared tracks that would give unfair advantage to their pacers. But they have refrained from doing that. And even then, Bangladesh is performing poorly. Honestly, I am not sure what is the future for Bangladesh. They got the test status almost 2.5 decades ago, and even now they perform pathetically whenever they play outside the subcontinent. And once players such as Shakib, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur retire, it will be even worse. |
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Because all cricket boards never respected the market and its players. For IPL It will get much more juicier as there is already talk about increasing every team's purse. Right now every franchise can spend around INR 110 crore for a mega auction. One can see where is this heading in the future.
Having said that, i still think cricketers are not paid handsomely even in IPL because profit % sharing is close to 18-20% only, which is low atm if we compare IPL with other successful sports leagues and it should be increased to around 25-30%.
Compare football with cricket. The highest paid footballer has a salary of $215 million per year with additional perks (Cristiano Ronaldo in Al Nassr). On the other hand, the highest paid cricketer is paid around 1% of that amount. Mitchell Starc has now become the most expensive cricketer and his salary with Kolkata Knight Riders is worth $3.1 million per year). That means that most of the profits earned from the IPL goes to BCCI, who in turn spends this amount elsewhere. IPL media rights alone is worth around $1.2 billion per year. |
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In other News:
Donald Trump is facing exclusion from the voting ballot in the state of Colorado. It is still an ongoing news, but if there is something to anticipate from it is that Donald will get even more support from the fact there has been attempts to legally exclude him from being a valid candidate for the presidential election or the primaries of the party.
Obviously, now the betting and the stakes are put on the chances the Supreme Court of the United States steps forward with their decision to either allow or disqualify Trump.
I expect some civil unrest in the case he actually gets disqualified by the SCOTUS, what a weird times to live in...
All this drama will end up giving more mileage to Donald Trump. Removing a candidate from running for election is something that usually happens in authoritarian countries such as North Korea and Russia. If the Democrats are moving towards such a system, then it means that they are afraid of competition and want to ban the opposition. Democrats can't decide who will be the candidate from the GOP. And the most laughable thing is that they are doing this in Colorado, a state where Trump has minimal chances of winning. |
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Did anyone noticed that this thread is inching towards the post count of 10,000? If someone would tell me that a thread about Saudi Professional League would hit this mark one year ago, then I would have laughed. The entry of Cristiano Ronaldo changed everything and now SPL is one of the most popular leagues across the globe. And looks like this is one of the most popular football thread here. A few others have more posts, but they are quite old (such as the threads on La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga.etc).
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Kind of a weird argument, Being new does help, it could also backfire on debutants and there is no guarantee of success or failure. All teams use the same tactics against their opponents. Using footage, analyzing techniques of opponents etc. It even happens in a domestic circuit so it's not restricted to Australia only.
If Pakistan can't do the same against the Australian team then they have some serious problems and losing/winning/competing is not one of em. Agreed. Going with an inexperienced pace attack in Australia can easily backfire upon you. However, both Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal bowled really well in the first test. After the initial fireworks from David Warner, they managed to keep Australia under 500 (that itself if a big achievement). From 238/2, Australia ended up at 487 all out. The two experienced bowlers (Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf) were the weak links in Pakistan attack. The sole spinner (Agha Salman) also went wicketless in the first test. |
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The reason why new bowlers peform well in their initial games is because not much is known about their bowling techniques. Teams like Australia use technology to know in advance about bowling techniques of opponents. Shaheen won't be much useful in this series as necessary work has been done on how to handle him. Pakistan has got decent batting lineup that has experience of playing in Australia. There is still chance of Pakistan bouncing back in this series I don't have much faith in Shaheen Shah Afridi now. He has been performing quite poorly for the last few years. But the plus point for Pakistan is that Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal, the two debutants bowled exceptionally well during the first test. There are plenty of positives to take away from first test for Pakistan. But the problem for second test is that Shahzad will not be available. In all probability, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Aamer Jamal will open the bowling for Pakistan in the second test. Maybe Hasan Ali will be the third pacer. |
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Perth Scorchers won this match by 9 wickets against Hobart Hurricanes. Perth Scorchers batting performance is outstanding they chase down the 273 runs target in loss of 1 wicket in 16.1 overs. From Perth Scorchers Aaron Hardie bat well scored 85 runs unbeaten in just 45 balls ans Zak Crawley also batting good scored 65 runs not out in just 46 balls and helped his team to great victory. The player of the match is Jason Behrendorff for his amazing bowling performance picked 4 important wicktes by giving 25 runs in 4 overs and restricted Hobart Hurricanes to under 175 runs.
Hobart is at the bottom of the table and after this match, Perth Scorchers are no.2 in points table. Actually Hobart Hurricanes put up a decent total (172/8). But then Aaron Hardie just demolished the Hobart bowlers. Apart from Chris Jordan, hardly anyone had economy of less than 10 among the Hobart bowlers. And then Zak Crawley provided enough support to Hardie from the other end. BBL has just started, and Perth Scorchers have started their season on a positive note. Hobart as usual is in a horrible state. |
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What actually surprised me was seeing Mitchell being bought for a lower price than expected since he is in phenomenal form these days. SRH and KKR are desperate which is why they overpaid both Australians.
Also, another thing that surprised me was RCB buying Dayal for 5 cr and Joseph for almost 12 cr. Dumb management!
LOL.. Yash Dayal is the same guy who had a mental breakdown after conceding 31 runs in a single over against Kolkata Knight Riders. And then he remained in the media limelight after he posted an Islamophobic Instagram story. Paying 5 crore for this guy is just insane. He's not even worth 50 lakhs. And 12 crore for Alzarri Joseph? Seriously WTF? Alzarri is one of the most useless pacers in T20 circuit right now. He has raw pace, but he leaks a lot of runs and I don't think that he is suitable for T20 format. |
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Khurram Shahzad is a big no-no for Pakistan as he did not perform well in the first match against Australia and there is no guarantee that he will do well in the subsequent matches. So this is not a big bad news for Pakistan. I don't think Pakistan can win matches against Australia if Khurram Shahzad can play. So I don't think it will be a big loss for Pakistan if he is not fit to play the second match.
I am not sure whether you have watched the first test. Without any doubt, Khurram Shahzad was their best bowler. He got only two wickets in the first innings, but then he didn't had much luck. In the second innings he made up for it by taking 3 wickets. In the end Aamer Jamal was the one who emerged as the top wicket taker for Pakistan, but both him and Shaheen Shah Afridi were wayward at times. Only Shahzad bowled with some sort of discipline. And they are going to miss him sorely in the second match. |
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Soumya Sarkar 169 on just 151 balls went useless today. Bangladesh had adequate runs on the board yet they lost the game. Mushfiqur Rahim was the second one after Sarkar to score some runs. Bangladesh could have easily scored 325 runs if rest of batsmen also made some contribution. With this win New Zealand now has also won the series and there won't be much interest left in last game. 325 would have been good, but the pitch was offering support for the batsmen as well as the bowlers. And New Zealand had experienced pacer in the form of Adam Milne (who went for 74 runs in his 10 overs). But it was the inexperienced duo of William O’Rourke and Jacob Duffy who broke the backbone of Bangladeshi batters. Soumya Sarkar was the lone player who offered resistance. If he had received some support form the other batsmen, then Bangladesh would have easily made a total of 300 or more. |
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All the OPEC+ fiddling around trying to screw the world will only result in their revenues falling, while the US will increase its profits and earn "thanks to the efforts of OPEC+", as was already the case recently. It is not excluded a variant as it was in the 80s, when Saudi Arabia realizing that all "production cuts" and "embargoes" lead to one-time benefits but long-term losses, will start pumping oil again, trying to fill its budget. This will lead to a chain reaction and oil at 10 dollars per barrel will look very attractive to oil producing countries  PS Chinese economy is withering and shrinking, as evidenced by many indicators. And China was one of the countries that formed the key demand for oil. Now China can buy cheap oil from its raw material appendage, but ... China doesn't need that much oil anymore.... Well.. I am not going to complain if crude oil becomes available at $10 per barrel. Here in India, we import 85% of the crude oil that is consumed (the remainder comes from local oil fields in Bombay High and Assam). And if I remember correctly during the start of the COVID epidemic (April-May 2020), we had Brent crude at <$40 per barrel. But then the election of Joe Biden happened, which was followed by the Russo-Ukrainian war. In two years, the prices jumped from $40 per barrel to $120 per barrel. I just hope that crude will never again reach three digits. |
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As far as I know the deal is pretty safe between Ancelotti and Brazil although I don't know whether there have been any signings yet.
I assume that if Real Madrid can't find an alternative, maybe there will be compromise for one more season with Ancelotti. But he knows if he wants to prepare the Brazilian team for 2026, he can't wait any longer than until summer 2025. I am sure that coaching a national team at a World Cup is one of his big plans and getting the chance to take responsibility for the Brazilian team sounds like a great opportunity. But if he doesn't give it enough, time it might go wrong big time.
In the end, it is up to Carlo Ancelotti to decide whether he wants to go after the big bucks being offered by Real Madrid, or the fame that comes with the coaching role with Brazil. The latter option is more risky, I would say. Brazil is a time that is disintegrating and I am not very hopeful about their chances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. I would even go to the extent of saying that I am not even sure about Brazil qualifying for the 2026 event. At this point, they are no.6 in the CONMEBOL qualifiers after losing matches to Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina. |
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For me this will surely be implemented by first world countries like EU because adoption in electric vehicles even reached the third world countries like mine. The demand of electric vehicles here in my country is quiet increasing and the government also started to adopt this kind of technology to modernize the aging jeepneys. Though EV still is in the early stage of development and business but in the future it will revolutionize transportation all over the world.
The irony is that biggest jump in EV adoption is happening in some of the developing countries such as India and China, where EVs are competitively priced against the gasoline and diesel run vehicles. In the developed nations, EVs are a lot more costlier and therefore the adoption is much slower. And one additional factor that drives EV adoption is the fact that gasoline/diesel prices are much higher in countries such as India when compared to the United States. A lot of people prefer EVs as a countermeasure against rising fuel prices. |
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If Khurram Shahzad is indeed ruled out of the second Test, it will be very bad news for the Pakistan team. Because Khurram Shahzad performed brilliantly in the first Test. If he doesn't play in the second Test, it will be very damaging for the team. But starting with Shahensha Afridi would not be bad. Shahenshah is in great form. Australia batsmen performed very well in the first innings.If Khurram Shahzad is not able to play, it will be a lot of pressure for the Pakistan team because Pakistan did not bowl very well in the first innings, Australia batted well. Dude, are you serious? Do you really believe that Shaheen Shah Afridi is in great form? Ever since he lost his virginity, his bowling form has been pathetic. Even in the first test, it was the debut duo of Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal who did most of the heavy lifting. In case Shahzad is not fit, then I believe that Hasan Ali will be included in the playing XI. I am not sure whether they will prefer inexperienced Mir Hamza over Hasan. He has played just 3 test matches so far and all of them in sub-continental conditions. |
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The third and final ODI between India and South Africa will be played at Boland Park in Paarl tomorrow. At this point, the series is tied 1-1, so whomever wins tomorrow's match will be the series winners. India won the first match in a comprehensive manner, thanks to some spectacular performance by Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. But the Indian batsmen disintegrated against Nandre Burger in the second match. For the third match toss is going to be important, as those who have fielded first have won both the matches so far. Also, Sai Sudharsan has impressed everyone in his debut series. So far he has 117 runs from 2 matches.
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There were quite a few surprises from the IPL auction yesterday. Players who were retained would be complaining that the ones who got the bid this year benefitted a lot. Mitchell Starc setup a new record, with a bid of $2,980,000 from Kolkata Knight Riders. Pat Cummins was not far behind, with a bid of $2,470,000 from Sunrisers Hyderabad. But the real surprise package was Daryl Mitchell who got a bid of $1,687,000 from the Chennai Super Kings. Cricket Australia would be most happy, as they will receive a fraction of the contract amount (20%) as foreigner release fee.
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Bangladesh needed to have an experienced pace bowler in the squad on such a pitch. Shariful or Hasan are talented but not experienced enough. If Taskin was in the squad, maybe we would have seen the bowling of Bangladesh a little better. The target was not big. And so New Zealand's batsmen batted in a pressure free manner. A win with a target of 291 runs is certainly possible if the team's bowling attack is strong. Bangladesh's bowling attack is not strong. So it is much more difficult to win on a pitch that offers a target of less than 300.
If Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed were there, then things could have been a bit different. But that doesn't change the fact that Bangladesh doesn't have any world class pace bowlers. They have minefields at home which offer disproportionate support for the spin bowlers. This in turn discourages the pace bowlers. I would rather say that after the retirement of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Bangladesh never had a world class pacer in their squad. Well, that will work when playing in the subcontinent. But while playing in SENA nations, it will come back to bite you. |
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✂✂✂✂
It must be admitted that this is a big factor because the crazy transfers of several Saudi teams can affect the existing competition, but if you look at Al-Taawoun's performance, which did not bring in a single European player last summer, shouldn't they also not be able to compete at the top? So I think this is not entirely a factor in the transfer of the star player and more about how a team can adapt to a different competitive level. Al-Taawoun is one of the most under-rated clubs in the Saudi Professional League. Last season they finished at the 5th place and at the moment they are at the 4th position in points table (they have the same number of points as the third placed Al Ahli, but the latter is ahead in goal difference). Unlike some of the other Saudi clubs, Al-Taawoun doesn't have any superstars. All they have is Musa Barrow from Gambia and Álvaro Medrán from Spain. But despite all that they have performed above the expectations. |
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More bad news coming out for Pakistan cricket and Pakistani fans. Khurram Shahzad may not be fit to play the second test match. He has complained about a discomfort on his left side during the opening match. He has been sent for a MRI scan, results are still awaited. Pakistan already depleting bowling attack has become an issue. If he is out of the second test than PCB would need to find a suitable replacement for him. He was the one who took 5 wickets in the first test match. Shahzad was more disciplined compared to Aamer Jamal in the first test (although he was not as successful as Jamal). Now his absence is going to be a headache for Pakistan. Either they need to open the bowling with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Aamer Jamal, or they need to give the new ball to one of the bench pacers such as Hasan Ali. Personally I will not prefer Hasan Ali, because he has repeatedly failed against Australia. But if they don't have any other choice, then they will go with him. Second match will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and this ground always offer some assistance for the spinners as well. |
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He is a good ODI and test player but he is not good with T20 cricket. He takes time to settle as a batter and when he settles he keeps on scoring runs. The problem with T20 is that a batter cannot take time to settle. He has to start scoring runs from the first ball itself, his name came up for auction but none of the franchise showed any interest in him. Once you remain unsold you won't get a chance in the next auction. That is why he might not play IPL anymore but he stiil can go for other leagues.
If you remember, last month he participated in the T20I series against India. Did a decent job back then. Played two matches at Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram respectively. In the first match, he scored 52 from 41 balls and he opened the batting for Australia. However in the second match, he could score only 19. And he is not participating in the ongoing season of the Big Bash League (BBL). He played one match for Sydney Sixers and scored 61 from 42 balls against Melbourne Renegades, but after that he didn't played any BBL matches. |
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