The 2016 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Player Draft was held in Barbados on Thursday, with the six franchises flexed their financial muscles to rope in their desired cricketers.
The threat of West Indies being forced to field a second string side at the World Twenty20 was averted on Sunday when 12 of 13 players in the original squad signed the contracts which had caused a standoff with the board.
An inspired Yuvraj Singh once again led from the front with an all-round effort while leg-spinner Rahul Sharma produced a five-for as India 'A' cantered to a crushing 93-run win in the one-off Twenty20 match against the West Indies 'A'.
- 'We have great players, but great players don't win the World Cup, great teams do' - 'You need to have everybody contributing'
Lendl Simmons was a late replacement, but he led a charmed life to blast an unbeaten 82 and carry the West Indies to a thrilling seven-wicket victory over India in the second semi-final of the World Twenty20, the Wankhede Stadiumin Mumbai, on Thursday.
Leaving behind the bashing they suffered in the opening match, Indian bowlers bowled with supreme control to bundle out West Indies for 143 in the second and final Twenty20 international in Florida on Sunday. Leg spinner Amit Mishra (3/24) provided the opening breakthrough by dismissing Johnson Charles (43) and R Ashwin then combined with paceman Jasprit Bumrah to tighten the noose around the West Indies with regular strikes.
Two-time World Twenty20 champions the West Indies can leapfrog second-ranked India in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings when they go head-to-head in the two-match series in Lauderhill, Florida, on August 27 and 28.
A chanceless century by Kirk Edwards, followed by a fine display in the field, enabled West Indies 'A' beat India 'A' by 45 runs in the third and final one-dayer at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Thursday. The victory gave the West Indies a 2-1 triumph in the three-match List A series, following victories in the second and third unofficial ODIs.
High on confidence after their emphatic victory over England, the West Indies will once again look for an explosive knock from Chris Gayle to inch closer to a semi-final berth when they take on defending champions Sri Lanka in a World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 1 match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
New Zealand's Colin Munro and Ish Sodhi have started the year with a bang after vaulting to the top of the ICC T20I Player Rankings for batsmen and bowlers respectively, following stellar performances in the series against the West Indies, which recently concluded at Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.
A match-winning three-wicket bowling stint by Mitchell Marsh lifted Australia to a convincing victory by 58 runs against West Indies in the final of the triangular One-day international (ODI) series in Barbados on Sunday.
Australia's spin legend Shane Warne blamed a lacklustre performance with the ball as the main reason for India's defeat to the West Indies in Thursday's World T20 semi-final in Mumbai.
The second World Twenty20 semi-final is likely to hinge on who emerges on top in the battle between the big-hitting West Indian batsmen and India's wily spinners when the former champions clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
'We were in it to win it when we left the Caribbean' 'With all that happened before the tournament, the disrespect from journalists, and from our own cricket board. that was out of order. The only way we could make a statement is by winning this tournament'
'If you bowl a no ball and get a wicket off that no ball, then there is no one else to blame.'
With Yuvraj Singh's injury-forced ouster disturbing their settled line-up, India have been left with a selection dilemma to handle as they gear up to take on the flamboyant and unpredictable West Indies in what promises to be a battle of nerves in the World Twenty20 semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. Yuvraj, who has not got big runs but was involved in crucial stands with top performer Virat Kohli during the group stage matches, has been ruled out owing to an ankle injury that he sustained in the must-win game against Australia. Manish Pandey, not in the original 15, has been penciled in to replace the all-rounder in the squad although Ajinkya Rahane is also present as a viable alternative. But it remains to be seen whether skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chooses between the two or decides to go with rookie all-rounder Pawan Negi.
India's bowlers found the going tough after a good start as Jonathan Carter smashed his way to a remarkable century and took West Indies 'A' to 279 for 6, in the second unofficial one-dayer at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Carter dominated the West Indies innings, smashing the Indian attack to all corners of the ground, in an impressive 133 off 132 balls.
They dampened the local spirits by knocking out India but a resurrected West Indies cricket team will bring its own brand of joie-de-vivre to the ICC World Twenty20 summit clash when they take on a transformed England in what promises to be a battle of power-hitting at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Virat Kohli produced yet another masterclass as he smashed an unbeaten 47-ball 89 to guide India to a challenging 192 for two. against West Indies in the second semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 in Mumbai on Thursday.
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
Featuring India, the West Indies, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
India's batting sensation Virat Kohli, named player of the tournament, is also the most valuable player of World T20 2016. With a fifty and two wickets, England's Joe Root is just behind him.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
As the top 10 teams prepare to battle for the World T20 crown, Rajneesh Gupta breaks down each squad's T20 performance and their showing in previous editions of the event.
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