Broken Cricket Dreams Logo

An Open Letter From a Cricket Fan to Those In Charge of Indian Cricket

After the defeat, or ‘thrashing’ India received from England in the 2022 WC semi-finals, fans worldwide were frustrated at another disappointing finish. Here are my honest thoughts for Those Who Care and Run Indian Cricket. An open letter, “Enough is enough.”

Dear Indian Cricket Administrators,

Enough is enough.

2014 T20 World Cup Final. 2015 ODI World Cup Semi-Final.
2016 T20 World Cup Semi-Final. 2017 Champions Trophy Final.
2019 ODI World Cup Semi-Final. 2021 World Test Championship Final.
2022 T20 World Cup Semi-Final.

9 Long Years. 7 ICC knockout matches. 3 captains. Different coaches. Same result.
So close, yet so far.

When India suffered 0-4 losses to England & Australia in the 2011 disastrous Test tours, MS Dhoni frequently said, ‘It is the process that matters.’ The same talks continued throughout the decade.

Process. Journey. Learnings.
Yes, learning is good. Making mistakes is good…if and only if, they lead to tangible changes. Not if they result in the same mistakes again.

We have Questions. More questions. LOTS of questions.
What is the exact process? Who decides these processes? Because if the same story plays over and over again, and India keeps losing in key moments, then there is an inherent problem with the process itself.

Then the blame game starts. IPL vs internationals. Not able to play in overseas leagues. Injuries. Handling the ‘pressure.’ Retrospective selection debates. Rest & rotation.

Excuses. Enough is enough.

This letter is not to single out individuals, players, coaches, team management, or even the system. I’m not questioning the commitment or the lack of trying. These are professionals, and they try to do their best on and off the field.

Rather, I’m questioning the status quo.
The Hero Worship. Administrative bias. Selections and Experimentation. Media leaks. Lack of the winning mentality.

The current England team is doing something right. After the 2015 World Cup debacle, they took some tough decisions. The team of Eoin Morgan, Andrew Strauss, and Nathan Leamon invested in a system that would produce results and backed players that fit their system.

Enjoy the journey. Learn from the process. Keep improving.
All this is good, but at the end of the day, results matter. The IPL wouldn’t still exist if it wasn’t a profitable venture. Brazil (5), Germany (4), and Italy (4) wouldn’t be as feared in the soccer world if they hadn’t won that many trophies consistently over time.

You know why West Indies in the 2010s were so good? Because they won World Cups AND had fun doing it. That’s the ideal situation. Process plus results. Why can’t India get there? Why can’t India win both bilaterals and World Cups?

The Power of the IPL and depth of India’s pool of talent—A blessing and a disguise. There is a key difference between gradual progress and stagnation. It is high time that Team India starts converting this golden generation of players and financial power into trophies.

Lost opportunity. Enough is enough.

The fans are just as much as stakeholders in the game as the administrators and players themselves.

When Tendulkar hits a straight drive, a child smiles in Mumbai. When Kohli hits Haris Rauf for a straight six, a nation halts in awe. When India loses, the nation griefs in despair. Passion. The sport means the world to us. When the fans hope, the nation rises.

One of these days, the confidence in the team might be a disappear. The team needs to start winning world tournaments. That’s it.

And this is not to say that India is a bad team. Not even close. Coming to the semi-finals in almost every competition ten years in a row is no joke. However, the final hurdle is sometimes the most important step. And not getting over that step points to deeper issues.

It’s a well-known idiom to “Hope for the best and Prepare for the worst.” But maybe, just maybe, that is not the right way to go.

Don’t play safe. For once, just go all out. Try something new. Take some risks. Make courageous selections.

Indian fans can live with defeat. What they can’t live with is manner of defeats and making the same mistakes over and over again.

Something needs to change. Otherwise, all that will be left is Broken Dreams.

Because enough is enough.

Sincerely,
A Cricket Fan

Thanks for reading this letter on Indian Cricket. Remember to subscribe for more such articles and content

[jetpack_subscription_form show_subscribers_total=”true” button_on_newline=”false” custom_font_size=”13px” custom_border_radius=”0″ custom_border_weight=”1″ custom_button_width=”50%” custom_padding=”15″ custom_spacing=”10″ submit_button_classes=”has-13-px-font-size has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color has-background has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color” email_field_classes=”has-13-px-font-size has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color” show_only_email_and_button=”true” success_message=”Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm Follow' to start subscribing.”]
  • Photo Collage of All International Cricket Captains - Salary of Cricketer's from each country

    Salary of Cricketers (Men’s) from Each of the 12 Nations (2022)—The Complete Guide

  • Collage of Alastair Cook (left) on saxophone, Graeme Swann (middle left) - Lead singer, Curtly Ambrose (middle right) on bass guitar, and Omari Banks (bottom right) on guitar - Photos of cricketers with musical talent

    24 Cricketers with Musical Talent Who Will Rock You Ft. Don Bradman, Sreesanth, and AB De Villiers

  • Photo of Rahul Dravid With Text - 15 Things Cricket Has To Fix in the Next Decade

    15 Cricket Problems That Needs to Be Solved in the Next Decade | How to Fix Cricket 101

  • Image of Cricketers Who Retired Too Early

    Top 11 Cricketers Who Retired Too Early – The Lost Generation of Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Michael Clarke

  • Most Beautiful Cricket Stadiums In the World - Images

    Most Beautiful Cricket Stadium in Each of the 12 Countries – Lord’s, Newlands, MCG, Galle,…Which Is Your Favorite?

  • Photo of Kevin Pietersen - one of the South African born cricketers who played for other countries

    44 South African Born Cricketers Who Play for Other Countries: Can You Guess Them All?

  • Photo of the Golden Gate Bridge

    USA Cricket—The Complete Guide to Cricket in America (Updated 2023)

  • Photo of Simon Jones

    22 Unlucky Cricketers Wasted Talents: Alex Hales, Fawad Alam, Robin Uthappa, Can You Guess The Rest?

  • Photo of Rahul Dravid

    Rahul Dravid Biography: What Dravid Taught Me

  • Collage of Cricketers with Most Test Centuries

    Most Test Centuries in Cricket History| Top 25 Cricketers with Test Hundreds

  • WPL23 Auction - Compilation of Top 10 of the most expensive buys at the auction

    WPL23 Auction Takeaways: Women’s Premier League List of Players Sold, Squads, Surprises, Exclusions, and More!

  • Collage of the some of the greatest women cricketers of all time

    76 Greatest Women Cricketers of All Time: Who are the top female cricketers in history?

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2022. Originally published on 11/12/2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

Kaun Pravin Tambe? Movie Review: Does Shreyas Talpade Revive His Iqbal Magic?

By Nitesh Mathur, Broken Cricket Dreams, 04/01/2022

Actor Shreyas Talpade, from Iqbal fame, is back to portray this inspirational story of a man who realized his dream of playing cricket on the national stage at the age of 41.

Can Pravin Tambe’s unlikely journey capture the imagination of the public like other sports movies? Today we review this latest cricket movie released on Disney+HotstarDetails, Summary, Verdict, and most importantly, Life Lessons We All Can Learn from Pravin Tambe. There is also a section of most popular Pravin Tambe videos, his playing career, and stats at the very end.

Contents

  1. Kaun Pravin Tambe Detail & Information
  2. Kaun Pravin Tambe Summary and Review
    1. The Stories
    2. The Acting
  3. Verdict: To Watch or Not to Watch?
  4. 5 Life Lessons We All Can Learn from Pravin Tambe
    1. 1. Age Is Just a Number
    2. 2. Balancing Dreams with Practicality of Life
    3. 3. Be Open-Minded
    4. 4. Passion Makes Perfect
    5. 5. All You Need Is One Good Over. Never Give Up. Dreams Really Do Come True
  5. Pravin Tambe Videos and Interviews
  6. Who Is Pravin Vijay Tambe?
    1. Pravin Tambe Stats
    2. Pravin Tambe Major Teams

Also Read:

Kolkata Knight Riders just posted an emotional video on social media regarding a special screening of Kaun Pravin Tambe?, celebrating Pravin Tambe who is on KKR’s support staff in IPL 2022 (video of KKR’s special screening linked below).

Kaun Pravin Tambe Detail & Information

Title Name: Kaun Pravin Tambe? (Who is Pravin Tambe?)

Hotstar Summary: Relentless effort can make an underdog rise to the top, and cricketer Pravin Tambe’s extraordinary journey proves why age is just a number.

Protagonist: Shreyas Talpade as Pravin Tambe

Major Cast:

  • Ashish Vidyarthi as Coach Vidyadhar Paradkar
  • Parambrata Chatterjee as journalist Rajat Sanyal
  • Anjali Patil as wife Vaishali Tambe
  • Nitin Rao as teammate/friend/Mumbai selector/India player Abey Kuruvilla (Check Out Kuruvilla’s debut wicket against the West Indies)
  • Arif Zakaria as Jamil Jalali

Directed By: Jayprad Desai

Release Date: April 1, 2022

Length: 2 hour, 13 minutes

Language: Hindi (English subtitles available, also dubbed versions available in Telegu & Tamil)

Rating: 4.5/5

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Kaun Pravin Tambe Summary and Review

Kaun Pravin Tambe? begins with a clip of a Rahul Dravid, who is portraying Pravin Tambe as the embodiment of passion (full speech below). The movie then tries to answer the question for the audience, who is this Pravin Tambe that Dravid is talking about? Cricket fans have heard about with his exploits with the Rajasthan Royals between 2013 and 2015, but how did he start his career? Why did he have to wait for 20 years?

Also Read: What Rahul Dravid Taught Me

The film begins in the early 2010s, when Tambe is juggling his life as a construction supervisor, father, husband, and cricketer. After brief introduction of the Shreyas Talpade, the movie rewinds to Tambe’s childhood and develops chronologically. We see that at the age of 12, Tambe finds his life purpose—to play Ranji cricket for Mumbai. The essence of the plot is to fill the gap between ages 12 to 41.

The Stories

There are several mini-stories within the larger movie. Tambe begins his career as an all-rounder and specifically, a medium-pace allrounder. How does he then turn into this leg-spinner? (Don’t worry, will not spoil that for you here). Another plotline is the various jobs Tambe takes upon for the sake of financial stability, while still trying to give time to cricket. This is my favorite part of the movie.

Finally, the portrayal of the Mumbai grassroots cricket, Shivaji Park maidaans, and gully cricket is cherry on top of the cake. The actual cricket has the perfect screen time—not too much (like 83’s highlights reels), not too little, just right.

The Acting

What makes this a neat watch is Shreyas Talpade’s bowling action. I loved his bowling action in Iqbal and since Tambe started as a medium pacer, Talpade was a perfect fit. His acting is brilliant as usual, but the minor characters (older brother, childhood friend, wife Vaishali, Abey Kuruvilla, and Arif Zakaria as Jamil) are the heart of the film. Special mention to Ashish Vidyarthi, who does an excellent job portraying Vidyadhar Paradkar sir (influential coach for Zaheer Khan and other great Indian cricketers).

Finally, a note on Parambrata Chatterjee, who is a wonderful actor (you might know him as the police officer in Kahaani & Aranyak). However, his minor negative character as a journalist did not suit him or the script well.

Verdict: To Watch or Not to Watch?

At this moment, there is loads of cricket going on—2022 Women’s World Cup, IPL 2022, Australia Vs Pakistan ODIs, Bangladesh Vs South Africa Tests, Netherlands Vs New Zealand limited overs series, and the 2022 County Championship will begin in a week as well.

On top of this, I am sure you are busy with work, family, or school.

But if you can make time for two hours in this busy world, I hope you can set everything aside and give Kaun Pravin Tambe? a sincere watch. Good, light-hearted movie that will rejuvenate your belief in cricket, specifically grassroot & gully cricket.

My review for Kaun Pravin Tambe? is 4.5/5. Great watch. The only thing that took away from the film for me was the minor conflict with the journalist, which seemed a bit forced.

Before we move on to “Life Lessons we can learn from Pravin Tambe”, check out BCD’s social media pages and consider subscribing to our newsletter. It would really help support this website.

5 Life Lessons We All Can Learn from Pravin Tambe

Pravin Tambe symbolizes Broken Cricket Dreams. His journey has broken dreams, but his story is also full of inspiration, passion, hard work, modesty, and determination.

Tambe is one of the great stories of the IPL. Got his big break before playing a Ranji Trophy match. And guess what? After all his toil, results were evident – hat-trick vs KKR, highest wicket taker for Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and the Golden Wicket taker for RR in 2012 Champions League.

And he played till he was 49 across IPL, CPL, Abu Dhabi T10 leagues. I am sure he still plays a few gully cricket games here and there. Dedication to the max. Here are some of the other life lessons from Pravin Tambe we can apply to our lives.

1. Age Is Just a Number

After almost 30 years of toil, Tambe finally got selected for the Rajasthan Royals in 2013. A few months later, he would get his beloved Ranji Trophy cap.

In this day and age of the internet and focus on fitness, anything is possible. Tom Brady, Pravin Tambe, Brad Hogg, and Chris Gayle can still play professional sports at 42. With resources online, you can obtain a new skill, learn new things, change careers, or start a business. At any point in your life, age is no barrier.

2. Balancing Dreams with Practicality of Life

As Tambe entered his twenties, he assumed more responsibilities. He got married, had two kids, and had to pay bills. Usually, people give up dreams during this time for financial security.

Pravin Tambe did not. He worked multiple jobs instead.

Life is all about moderation and balance. And to survive, money is needed. If you can develop multiple streams of income, while still being within reach of your dream goal, that is the ideal zone.

3. Be Open-Minded

Pravin Tambe reluctantly switched from medium pace bowling to leg spin. And boy, did it pay dividends.

There is a fine line between persistence and inflexibility. Quitting should always be your last option, but if things are not working in your favor, be open to change. Being open minded in the micro can have large positive effects on the macro.

4. Passion Makes Perfect

Dravid’s speech illuminates on Pravin Tambe’s work ethic. Although he did not play much the first year, he attended every optional practice session, every gym session, and was always discussing how to improve his game with other players in the squad.

After his first man of the match award in the IPL, “he was weeping.” He cherished every moment of this journey. Although he has now assumed coaching roles, he still plays for his company (Kanga League, Time Shield) and still bowls 15-20 overs a day in three-day-games.

We usually say ‘Practice Makes Perfect.’ That is true, but what is more is that ‘Passion Makes Perfect.’ If you combine your love or passion for a certain activity and put in the practice and the hard yards, then you will be happy with all your efforts and gradually get closer to your dream.

5. All You Need Is One Good Over. Never Give Up. Dreams Really Do Come True

The main theme of Kaun Pravin Tambe can be summed up by one quote in the movie.

“Whether it is life or match, all you need is one good over.”

Pravin Tambe was in the 40 Probable’s List for a number of seasons, even as early as 2000.

But he had to wait. And Wait. Almost gave up. And had doubts cast upon from friends and society, but he kept on working relentlessly and kept on dreaming a dream till he got his big break that changed his life.

In Tambe’s own words, “Just never give up on your dreams. Really dreams do come true.”

Try, Try, and Try Again Until You Succeed. You may take rest but never quit. The light at the end of the tunnel may be bleak, but there is light, nevertheless.

Pravin Tambe Videos and Interviews

Here are some of my favorite Pravin Tambe videos. In his interview with Aakash Chopra, Tambe reveals that his IPL cap was not his biggest moment. Getting the Ranji cap for Mumbai from legend Wasim Jaffer was his most memorable moment.

Here below is one of his best innings of his career. So much spin! Beautiful.

Here is Tambe’s hat-trick and 5-wicket hall in a T10 match that featured wickets of Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan, and Kieron Pollard (Bowled!), Upul Tharanga – as a 47-year old. Wow!

Embed from Getty Images

Who Is Pravin Vijay Tambe?

Born: 8 October, 1971 (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)

Pravin Tambe Stats

T20s: 64 matches, 70 wickets, Best Innings – 4/13, 22.35 average, 6.92 economy

List A: 6 matches, 5 wickets, Best Innings – 2/26

First Class: 2 matches, 2 wickets, Best Innings – 2/127

  • First Indian and oldest player to play in the CPL.

Also Read: 5 Reasons Why BCCI Should Allow Players In Foreign Leagues? Learn From the West Indies

Pravin Tambe Major Teams

  • Indian Premier League (IPL): Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Lions, Sunrisers Hyderabad
  • Caribbean Premier League (CPL): Trinbago Knight Riders
  • Abu Dhabi T10 League: Sindhis
  • Domestic: Mumbai, Mumbai Cricket Association XI, Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Orient Shipping

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2021. Originally published on 04/01/2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

Image Courtesy:

20 Years of Mithali Raj And Jhulan Goswami: Eternal Legends for Indian & Women Cricket

Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami, the dynamic duo.

Sounds okay but could be better. Let us try again.

Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami—The Eternal Legends? Scratch that. How about

Goswami & Raj: Stalwarts that Let the Flame Burning for India’s Women Cricket.

I have to be brutally honest here. I had a tough time finishing this article.

It took me weeks. I mean how could I summarize such long careers, awe-aspiring legacies, and inspirational stories with a mere couple of phrases? In fact, it took me an entire day just to research just the sheer number of records and awards these two possess (all of them listed below).

103 days away from the 2022 Women’s ODI Cricket World Cup Final, let us look back at the glorious careers of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami—Where Did It all begin? Statistics and legacies, ups and downs, the final hurrah, and of course what can we learn from the lives of India’s best women batter and fastest bowler?

Table of Contents

  1. Table of Contents
  2. The Beginning
    1. Jhulan’s Inspiration
    2. Early Decisions, Discipline, and the Passion to Excel
    3. Debut
  3. Records and Statistics of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami
    1. Joint Records Held by Raj & Goswami
    2. Mithali Raj Stats
    3. Mithali Raj Records
      1. Tests
      2. ODIs
      3. T20Is
    4. Mithali Raj Awards
    5. Jhulan Goswami Stats
    6. Jhulan Goswami Records
      1. Tests
      2. ODIs
      3. T20Is
    7. Jhulan Goswami Awards
  4. International Success
  5. World Cup Dream
    1. Bright Promises
    2. Rock Bottom of 2009 & 2013
  6. 2017 World Cup and the Broken Dream
    1. T20 World Cups
  7. Captaincy & Controversies
    1. The Captaincy-Controversy Complex
  8. Women’s IPL Without Goswami & Raj Already a Failure for BCCI
  9. What Can We Learn from Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami?
    1. Life Lessons
    2. Quotes on Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami
  10. Final Hurrah for the Iconic Duo?
  11. Jhulan Goswami Videos and Articles
  12. Mithali Raj Videos, Articles, Book, and Biopic
  13. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  14. Further Reading: Women’s Cricket
  15. Further Reading: Cricketing Heroes

Also Read

Embed from Getty Images

The Beginning

It has been 8216 days and 7291 days since Mithali Raj’s and Jhulan Goswami’s debut respectively. That is a really long time, let alone for a sporting career. Let us trace back to where it all began.

Jhulan’s Inspiration

Jhulan Goswami did not actually start playing cricket till the relatively late age of 15. It was the 1997 ODI World Cup Final between Australia and New Zealand that sowed the seeds of cricket deep into her roots.

She was a ball picker in that World Cup final at the Eden Gardens when Australia’s World Cup winning celebrations ignited her passion to take up the sport.

It was now her dream to lift the World Cup trophy for India.

Mithali Raj’s talent was picked early, and she was in the national radar by the time she was 14. However, actually devoting her career to cricket was not such an easy decision.

Early Decisions, Discipline, and the Passion to Excel

In their interviews with Gaurav Kapur in Breakfast With Champions and Mithali Raj’s chat with Ravichandran Ashwin in DRS With Ash, we gain a bit of insight in their lives—Raj’s early interest & training in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, her fascination with books, and what obstacles both Goswami & Raj had to overcome during their journey.

Although both of their parents were supportive of their decisions to play cricket, there was backlash from extended family and the rest of society, especially when women’s cricket in India was in its infancy. Raj states that her toughest decision was to choose World Cup selection games over her 12th grade board exams. In any case, they both started training in cricket academies, disciplined their routines, and woke up around 4 AM to get ready for practice.

In Raj’s case, the discipline stemmed from an army family background. For Jhulan, originally from the small town of Chakdaha, it was the two hours travel by train for practice.

Debut

It was an evident in their early days of international cricket that these two were going to make an indelible impact in Indian cricket.

Opening the batting, Raj scored 114* against Ireland in her debut ODI on 26 June, 1999 just at the age of 16. Goswami would follow suit on January 5th, 2002, opening the bowling against England and returning with figures of 7-0-15-2. Her high arm release, bowling speed, and the beautiful smooth action would be a breath to behold in the years to come.

A few days later they would debut together against England in the first of only 12 Test matches.

Records and Statistics of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami

In these tributes, I usually like to add a statistics section to paint the whole picture of the cricketer, but this one is a bit unique. Since Raj & Goswami have played so much cricket & have been consistently excellent, they practically have all the individual records to their name.

Slowly scroll down, sit back, and just reflect how dominant these two legends have been for two decades.

Joint Records Held by Raj & Goswami

  • 2nd – Joint Longest Test Careers (debut 14 January, 2002)
  • 157 – Highest Partnership for the 7th Wicket in Test Cricket (Aug 14-17, 2002)

Mithali Raj Stats

MatchesRunsBestAverage100s50s
Tests1269921443.6814
ODIs2207391125*51.32759
T20Is89236497*37.52017
Mithali Raj Career Statistics

Mithali Raj Records

  • Leading scorer in women’s cricket across formats (10454+)
  • Only Indian captain to lead the country in two ODI World Cup finals

Tests

  • 3rd Youngest Test Captain (At 22)
  • Youngest Player to score 200+ (19)
  • 2nd Highest Individual Score (214)

ODIs

  • Most Runs (7391* and counting)
  • Longest ODI Career (Debut: 26 Jun 1999)
  • Most Career Matches (220)
  • Most Consecutive Matches (109 – Between April 2004-February 2013)
  • Youngest Player to score 100+ (16)
  • Hundred on Debut (114*)
  • Most consecutive 50s (7 between 7 Feb-25 June 2017, 70*, 64, 73*, 51*, 54, 62*, 71)
  • Joint Most 90s (5)
  • Most Matches as ODI Captain (143)
  • 2nd Most Innings Without Duck (74)
  • 4th Most Catches (58)
  • 5th Highest Career Batting Average (51.32)

T20Is

  • 2nd Fastest to 2000 Runs
  • 3rd Highest Average (37.52)
  • 2nd Most consecutive 50s (4 – 62, 73*, 54*, 76*)
Embed from Getty Images

Mithali Raj Awards

  • 2003 – Arjuna Award
  • 2005-2021 – ICC #1 ODI Batter (9 times in 15 Years)
  • 2015 – Padma Shri
  • 2017 – Wisden Leading Women Cricket in the World
  • 2017 – BBC 100 Women
  • 2021 – Khel Ratna

Jhulan Goswami Stats

MatchesWicketsBestAverageEconomy5W (Test)/
4 W (ODI/T20I)
10 W (Test)/
5 W (ODI/T20I)
RunsBest50s
Tests12445/25 (Innings)
10/78 (Match)
17.3631291692
ODIs1922406/3121.593.31721162571
T20Is68655/1121.945.450140537*0
Jhulan Goswami Career Statistics

Jhulan Goswami Records

Tests

  • Youngest player to take a 10-wicket haul in a women’s Test (23 years)
  • Most Wickets Taken LBW (18)

ODIs

  • Most Wickets (240)
  • Most Balls bowled in career (9387* and counting)
  • Highest Number of Days As #1 Bowler
  • 2nd Longest ODI career (debut 6 January, 2002)
  • Most Wickets Taken LBW (53)
  • 3rd – Most 4 wickets in an innings (9)
  • One of 10 players with 100+ wickets/1000+ Runs
  • 2nd Most Catches
  • Most ducks (17 – Ouch)

T20Is

  • 3rd Most maidens

Jhulan Goswami Awards

  • 2007 – ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year
  • 2010 – Arjuna Award
  • 2012 – Padma Sri
Embed from Getty Images

International Success

Mithali Raj became a core member in the early 2000s. Two of her most prominent innings in this phase was the 214 against England in Taunton and 91* vs New Zealand in the 2005 World Cup semi-final.

Jhulan Goswami’s best days came between 2006 & 2008. Her all-round form (3-46 & 2-62, 69 at #3, 5-33 & 5-45) helped India win a Test series in England on her way to become the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

World Cup Dream

Although Raj & Goswami have accomplished almost everything in the sport, there is one elusive achievement they have yet to realize—the World Cup dream.

Bright Promises

Mithali Raj has played in 5 ODI World Cups, dating back to the 2000 Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, when India made the semi-finals. Next time in 2005, both Jhulan & captain made the team. It would be India’s first run to the World Cup final, losing to Australia. Raj was India’s highest scorer with 199 runs (5th overall), and Jhulan was at #3 in the wickets (13 wickets).

Then followed two World Cups of relative disappointments.

Rock Bottom of 2009 & 2013

In 2009, India did not make it past the Super Six stage, but Raj made it into the Team of the tournament (247 runs, 2 – 50s, best of 75*). Goswami, who did not have a great time with the ball, was India’s captain during the tournament.

The 2013 Cricket World Cup, however, was arguably the lowest moment as India failed to get out of the qualifying stage. This time captaincy was back with Mithali Raj while Jhulan had a decent tournament with 9 wickets in just 4 games. Raj did score a 103* against Pakistan for the 7th Place Playoffs.

Embed from Getty Images

Around this time, Jhulan & Raj graduated to become the seniors in the Indian national setup. In the 2010 T20 World Cup, Goswami recalls a conversation with Raj,

“I think we should take women’s cricket to such a platform where the young girls can get inspired…People won’t recognize women’s cricket until we do something at the World Cup.”

2017 World Cup and the Broken Dream

The moment came in the form of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup, which was the watershed moment for world cricket and eventually lead to the grand success of the 2020 T20 World Cup final.

Post-2017, media coverage, funding, and women’s cricket grew in leaps and bounds. Mithali Raj herself reflects that she had more interviews after 2017 then in the first 18 years of her career.

India’s successful march to the finals was another great storyline of the tournament. By this time, a good core had formed around Raj & Goswami with Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, and Punam Raut all contributing with match -winning performances.

Raj followed up her consistent scores of 71, 45, 53, 69 with a 109-run knock against New Zealand. She ended up as the second highest run getter of the tournament with 409 runs (1 run behind Tammy Beaumont). Goswami had a decent run herself, taking 10 wickets overall with the best of 3/23 and providing India with miserly opening sells.

Despite the golden run, it was not to be as Anya Shrubsole’s magic deprived India of the World Cup victory.

So close, yet so far. Broken Cricket Dream.

T20 World Cups

India has not had the rub of the green in the T20 World Cups in T20 World Cups either. After qualifying for the semi-finals in 2009 & 2010, they crashed out in the group stages in 2012.

They did not get far in 2014 & 2016 either except that Mithali Raj was the 3rd highest run getter with 208 runs in 2014.

In 2018, India had a bright run with 4 wins in 4 matches in the group stage before crashing out in the semi-finals again. Mithali had retired by the time 2020 T20 World Cup came around and Jhulan did not play in a T20 World Cup since 2016.

Embed from Getty Images

Captaincy & Controversies

Jhulan Goswami was India’s captain briefly from 2008 to 2011, captaining India in 25 ODIs (W: 12, L: 13).

Mithali Raj, on the other hand, has had a couple of captaincy stints. First was around the 2005 ODI Women’s World Cup, the second stint during the 2013 World Cup, and the final one around the 2017 Women’s World Cup. In all, she captained India in 8 Tests (W:3, D: 4, L: 1) and 143 ODIs (W: 85, L: 55), the most by any Indian captain.

The Captaincy-Controversy Complex

These days India’s captaincy is synonymous with controversy. The same applies here as well.

Although Ramesh Powar is back as India’s head coach now and the relationship has reconciled, in 2018, a public battle of words between Raj & coach Ramesh Power took place. There was discussion on Raj’s strike rate and batting position during the 2018 T20 World Cup and she was eventually dropped from the 2018 semifinals, which India lost.

Eventually, Mithali Raj retired from the T20Is in 2019 and Harmanpreet Kaur replaced Mithali as captain.

Women’s IPL Without Goswami & Raj Already a Failure for BCCI

Women’s IPL or the lack of has been a hot topic of discussion lately.

However, it has already failed before it began. In order to cultivate a strong fan base, Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami would have been wonderful ambassadors as players. I am sure they will still be invovled in some way or the other, but without creating a team around them, the BCCI has already lost a golden opportunity.

They have given everything for Indian cricket. They deserve one final farewell, preferably in front of their home crowd.

What Can We Learn from Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami?

Just like the 1997 World Cup moment inspired her, Jhulan herself has inspired numerous other cricketers like Pakistan’s Kainat Imtiaz (who was a ball picker when India toured Pakistan in 2005).

The legacies of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami are far beyond the numbers. They have not only changed cricket but have also changed the perception of fans towards women’s cricket.

When they debuted, Indian women’s cricket was not at a great place. BCCI had not taken over women’s cricket yet, lots of the early tours required self-sponsoring, practices were on turf wickets, and the facilities/physios were not as prominent back then.

The fact that India has reached so many semi-finals & finals and a trophy seems to be right around the corner is credit to their work over the years. Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami have not only contributed by their own skills but have also mentored and brought others along the way.

Life Lessons

Longevity & consistency, coming back from disappointments, breaking barriers, mentoring others, staying focused on your goals, and always, always daring to dreamThis is what Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami teach me.

I hope their magnificent careers and lives teaches you some valuable life lessons as well.

Quotes on Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami

Here is some advice in their own words.

“Young boys and young girls saying – We saw your match, we want to play cricket, where can we go, and enroll ourselves? So that’s a success for me, because getting the girls to watch cricket is a big thing.’

– Mithali Raj on Breakfast with Champions

“”Be committed and persistent in what [you] do. Channel your energy and be consistent”

– Mithali Raj advice to young girls in DRS With Ash

“But winning the World Cup was a dream. You chase that dream. You wake up every day and think about lifting that trophy…But that blot will remain unless you win the World Cup. Irrespective of me being in the team or not.”

-Jhulan Goswami on the World Cup dream

“I live with this dream. I live with this passion and want to do something for women’s cricket.”

-Jhulan Goswami on Women’s Cricket

“You have been a trendsetter…an inspiration…and a role model.”

– R Ashwin on Mithali Raj

Final Hurrah for the Iconic Duo?

Raj & Goswami are still fit and raring to go as we saw against Australia series this year. Goswami redeemed herself from a high pressure last over no-ball with a match winning shot in the very next game. They still have it in them.

On March 5th, 2022, India begins its journey to the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup against Pakistan. Who knows, these might be the final 7 games that we might see of these legends.

We all hope that they can go two steps forward and achieve their World Cup dream. But even if they do not, it has been two delightful careers sandwiched in one that have mesmerized the fans for two decades.

Memories to behold.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Jhulan Goswami Videos and Articles

  1. Jaffa To dismiss Meg Lanning
  2. 2017 ODI World Cup – Jhulan Goswami Feature
  3. Through The Gates to Alyssa Healy in a T20I
  4. Goswami’s Redemption in the 3rd ODI vs Australia
  5. Article by Niyantha Shekhar (ESPNCricinfo’s Cricket Monthly)

Mithali Raj Videos, Articles, Book, and Biopic

  1. Mithali Raj Sixes
  2. Chat With Ravichandran Ashwin in DRS With Ash
  3. Breakfast With Champions
  4. Article by Shashank Kishore (ESPNCricinfo’s Cricket Monthly)
  5. Interview With Annesa Ghosh (ESPNCricinfo’s Cricket Monthly)
  6. Unguarded (Autobiography)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Where Is Mithali Raj from?

Mithali Raj was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India but currently resides in Hyderabad.

When is Mithali Raj’s Birthday?

Mithali Raj was born on December 3, 1982.

Where is Jhulan Goswami from?

Goswami was born in Chakdaha, West Bengal, India.

When is Jhulan Goswami’s Birthday?

Jhulan Goswami was born on November 25, 1983.

What teams has Jhulan Goswami played for?

Goswami has played for India, India Green, Asia Women XI, Bengal, East Zone, and the Trailblazers.

Which teams has Mithali Raj played for?

Raj has played for India, India Blue, Asia Women XI, Railways, Air India, and Velocity.

Further Reading: Women’s Cricket

Further Reading: Cricketing Heroes

[jetpack_subscription_form subscribe_placeholder=”Email Address” show_subscribers_total=”false” button_on_newline=”false” submit_button_text=”<strong>SUBSCRIBE</strong>” custom_font_size=”16px” custom_border_radius=”0″ custom_border_weight=”1″ custom_padding=”15″ custom_spacing=”10″ submit_button_classes=”has-vivid-red-border-color has-text-color has-white-color has-background has-vivid-red-background-color” email_field_classes=”has-vivid-red-border-color” show_only_email_and_button=”true” success_message=”Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm Follow' to start subscribing.”]

If you like this content on Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami, please subscribe above for FREE and follow us on our social media accounts.

Follow us here if you are on Medium or Bloglovin‘.

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2021. Originally published on 12/22/2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

Netflix ‘Bad Sport’ Fallen Idol Review: Must Watch for All Cricket Fans – How Will History Judge Hansie Cronje?

On the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s first ODI since international readmission on 10th November 1991 against India, we review Netflix’s Fallen Idol episode of their seriesBad Sport.’

This is Hansie Cronje’s story & his fall from grace during the infamous match-fixing scandal. What was going in Cronje’s mind? How did his teammates and family feel? What about the South African public? And most importantly, what was the investigation like?

Table of Contents

  1. Fallen Idol Detail & Information
  2. Hansie Cronje Fallen Idol Summary and Review
  3. Verdict: To Watch or Not To Watch?
  4. How will History Judge Hansie Cronje and Life Lessons We All Can Learn From Him
  5. Who Was Hansie Cronje?
    1. Hansie Cronje Stats
  6. Other Features on South African Cricket

Fallen Idol Detail & Information

Episode Name: Fallen Idol

Netflix Summary: Hansie Cronje captivates South Africa as the nation’s charismatic cricket captain, but allegations of match fixing besmirch his sterling reputation

Protagonist: Hansie Cronje

Major Characters: Allan Donald, Herschelle Gibbs, Jonathan Agnew, Cronje’s brother, sister, and wife, and Marlon Aronstam, bookie that started it all.

Release Date: October 6, 2021

Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes

Rating: 4.5/5

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Other Episodes: Hoop Schemes (USA college basketball), Need for Weed (Auto Racing), Soccergate (Juventus scandal), Gold War (2002 Winter Olympics), Horse hitman (Show Horses)

Embed from Getty Images

Hansie Cronje Fallen Idol Summary and Review

The episode begins by the dramatic introduction of Marlon Aronstam, the bookie himself, who admits that

“I should never have been able to get close to him.”

The addition of bookmaker, journalists, as well as Allan Donald & Herschelle Gibbs, Fallen Idol goes to the next level. With a series of interviews, we get to know who Hansie Cronje really was and the circumstances of that time.

The documentary traces it step back and walks us through the brief history of South African cricket circa 1992. Violence, apartheid, Nelson Mandela, and the reinstatement of South African cricket. Where did Cronje fit in this complex society?

Cronje’s character is painted as this prominent unifying figure of post-apartheid South Africa, whose stature is only next to the great Nelson Mandela.

Next, the series dives into the details of his rising captaincy & career. We swiftly get into the backdrop of India’s illegal betting environment along with Delhi police’s investigation into the matter of match-fixing.

Hansie Cronje’s untainted heroic figure comes crashing down as allegations surface. The film ends with his unfortunate death in a plane crash, but not before it all comes together at the end with the live jury video and Cronje’s confession.

“I cannot tell you the huge shame that it’s caused me, the great passion I have for my country, great passion have for my teammates, and the unfortunate love I have for money…Yes I accepted money from bookmakers. Yes, I was trying to feed them information. But I promise you every time I walked onto the field, I gave my all for South Africa.

– Hansie Cronje
Embed from Getty Images

Verdict: To Watch or Not To Watch?

Without a doubt, this is a must watch documentary episode on one of cricket’s most polarizing figures.

Think of this as extended YouTube highlights meshed into a professionally made documentary. There are highlight packages for the casual cricket fan to enjoy – SA vs Australia (Cronje’s captaincy debut), England vs SA (The infamous double forfeited Test feat Nasser Hussain), and SA’s tour of India.

What makes this a beautiful heartfelt documentary is the first hand experience of those closest to Cronje. How did they feel during the investigation and when he confessed? The fans and administrators were crushed for sure, but what is so revealing in the documentary is how his trusted friends and family felt.

I even had a couple of teardrops at the end. Keep a tissue nearby while watching this. Emotions Galore.

How will History Judge Hansie Cronje and Life Lessons We All Can Learn From Him

We can now reflect on South Africa’s readmission to cricket. 30 years on, wounds have not healed. They may have even become exacerbated. With Quinton de Kock & the knee affair in the T20 World Cup, the quota system, and racist allegations within the team surfacing in recent hearings, the fabric of South African cricket society is unraveling. The documentary hints that even though Cronje was a symbol of unity, he did pressure Herschelle Gibbs & Henry Williams, players of mixed and colored origin.

When the match-fixing saga happened, I was too little to remember anything. Later when I grew up, I always had a negative image of Cronje.

Objectively, Cronje damaged international cricket’s credibility and hurt fans all around the world.

However, what this documentary revealed to me is that there are several layers to consider before making a naive judgment. Hansie Cronje (and for that matter, Mohammad Azharuddin) were influential cultural icons of their time, beyond cricket.

Hansie Cronje was human. Humans have flaws. He confessed that he always gave it his all for the country, but money got the better of him. And that was his Achilles’ heel.

His brother mentioned towards the end that although South Africans have been through a lot, they are a forgiving society especially in context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Politicians with criminal background have been forgiven and are now parliamentary members.

Forgiveness is an important life lesson in all of this. At the end of the day, we can only come together and live peacefully, both internally and externally, if we forgive.

Will history forgive Hansie Cronje? Will you?

I will leave you all with this quote.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

– Martin luther king jr.

Who Was Hansie Cronje?

Hansie Cronje was without doubt one of the greatest captains in cricket, especially for South Africa. You probably remember the semi-final drama that ended South Africa’s WC dreams under his captaincy, but he was much more than that. Here are some stats and figures.

Born: 25 September, 1969

Died: 1 January, 2002 (32 years old)

Hansie Cronje Stats

Tests: 68 matches, 3714 runs, best of 135, 36.41 average, 100s/50s – 6/23, 43 wickets, Best Inn – 3/14, Best Match – 5/34

Captained: 53 Tests, Won 27, Lost 11

ODIs: 188 matches, 5565 runs, best of 112, 38.64 average, 100s/50s – 2/39, 114 wickets, Best – 5/32

Captained: 138 ODIs, 99 Wins, 1 Tie

  • Most consecutive matches as captain of an ODI Team (130 ODIs – and you guessed it right, the 2nd on this list is none other than Mohammad Azharuddin)
  • Test series win in India
  • Test series victory against all countries not named Australia
Embed from Getty Images

Other Features on South African Cricket

Also Read: 200th Article Special: 5 Things I have Learned From My Journey of Cricket Writing

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2021. Originally published on 11/11/2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

Image Courtesy: Ghaith baazaoui, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Indian Premier League Auction 2021 Review: Was Maxwell Overpriced & Alex Hales Unlucky?

Indian Premier League Auction 2021 – It is time for yet another iteration of the IPL.

The IPL held just last September provided joy to many amidst the pandemic, provided several life lessons, and had its share of Super Overs. Now, in the final season before the overhaul and big auction (may expand to 9 or 10 teams in 2022), a short auction was held last week.

The auction had its moments—Chris Morris, the most expensive player EVER, RCB splurging on lower order allrounders, and Sunrisers just present for the participation points (only bought 3 players).

Here is our review of Indian Premier League Auction 2021: The winners, the losers, early predictions, and expected starting XIs.

Also Read: Top 75 Indian Players: Depth of Indian Cricket, Everything You Need To Know About the PSL Quickly

IPL Auction 2021: Players Sold By Country

Here is a quick review of all the international players sold by country.

  • Afghanistan (Afg): Mujeeb Ur Rahman
  • Australia (Aus): Steven Smith, Ben Cutting, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christan, Riley Meredith, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jhye Richardson, Moises Henriques
  • Bangladesh (Ban): Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman
  • England (Eng): Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone
  • New Zealand (NZ): Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham
  • South Africa (SA): Chris Morris, Marco Jansen
  • West Indies (WI): Fabian Allen

Australia were the big gainers with 8 picks (even though the likes of Aaron Finch and Marcus Labuschagne did not find a team), while Sri Lanka had 0 picks. It seems that the era of West Indies T20 freelance monopoly is coming to an end. England is snatching this tag given their marvelous limited overs depth.

Indian Premier League Auction 2021: Auction Highlights, Starting XI, and Early Predictions

  • *Note: The prices are in Indian Rupees as in the auction (Conversion: $1 U.S. dollar = 73 Rupees)
  • *Teams highlighted in their respective jersey colors

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals: Cheteshwar Pujara (50 lac)
  • Indian Uncapped: Krishnappa Gowtham (9.25 crore), Harishankar Reddy (20 lac), Bhagath Verma (20 lac), C Hari Nishanth (20 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Moeen Ali – Eng (7 crore)

Verdict: Pujara finally gets an IPL deal while Gowtham & Moeen Ali can add the much needed zeal in the CSK lineup. Balanced bowling line up, local Chennai lads in the squad who lifted the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy, and experience in the batting. Final round for Dhoni, Bravo, Uthappa, and Tahir?

Early Prediction: Barely miss the top 4 due to net run rate (The irony)

Expected Starting XI

1. Faf Du Plessis, 2. Ambati Rayudu, 3. Suresh Raina, 4. Ruturaj Gaikwad/Robin Uthappa, 5. MS Dhoni (C/WK), 6. Ravindra Jadeja, 7. Moeen Ali/Sam Curran, 8. Deepak Chahar, 9. Shardul Thakur/ K Gowtham, 10. Imran Tahir, 11. Josh Hazlewood

Squad: Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, R Sai Kishore, Cheteshwar Pujara, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, KM Asif, C Hari Nishanth, Harisankar Reddy, K Bhagath Varma

Delhi Capitals (DC)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals: Umesh Yadav (1 crore)
  • Indian Uncapped: Ripal Patel (20 lac), Vishnu Vinod (20 lac), Lukman Meriwala (20 lac), M Siddharth (20 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Steven Smith – Aus (2.2 crore), Tom Curran (5.25 crore), Sam Billings (2 crore) – Eng

Verdict: Good buys for the reserves with Umesh, Steve Smith, Tom Curran, and Billings (Smith most likely to warm the bench). Settled XI, great balance, but can they capture the big moments and maintain momentum?

Early Prediction: The 2020 finalists go one step further? Champions?

Expected Starting XI

  1. Shikhar Dhawan, 2. Prithvi Shaw, 3. Shimron Hetmyer, 4, Shreyar Iyer (C), 5. Rishabh Pant (WK), 6. Marcus Stoinis, 7. Axar Patel, 8. Ravichandran Ashwin, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Amit Mishra/Ishant Sharma/Umesh Yadav

Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Sam Billings (WK), Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Avesh Khan, Lukman Meriwala, Lalit Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Praveen Dubey, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod (WK)

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals: Karun Nair (50 lac), Harbhajan Singh (2 crore), Pawan Negi (50 lac – 1 T20I)
  • Indian Uncapped: Sheldon Jackson (20 lac), Vaibhav Arora (20 lac), Venkatesh Iyer (20 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Shakib Al Hasan – Ban (3.2 crore), Ben Cutting – Aus (75 lac)

Verdict: Shakib & Ben Cutting big steals for KKR, but not too sure about Harbhajan Singh & Pawan Negi? Envious finishing prowess, inexperienced Indian fast bowlers the concern, but the real question is—will Brendon McCullum’s notes produce the correct line-up?

Early Prediction: Top 4 Finish

Expected Starting XI

  1. Shubman Gill, 2. Rahul Tripathi/Karun Nair, 3. Nitish Rana, 4. Shakib Al Hasan, 5. Dinesh Karthik (WK), 6. Eoin Morgan (C), 7. Andre Russell/ Ben Cutting, 8. Pat Cummins/ Lockie Ferguson, 9. Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Pawan Negi, 10.Varun Chakravarthy, 11. Prasidh Krishna/Kuldeep Yadav

Squad: Shivam Mavi, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert (WK), Harbhajan Singh, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Venkatesh Iyer

Mumbai Indians (MI)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals: Piyush Chawla (2.4 crore)
  • Indian Uncapped: Yudhvir Singh (20 lac), Arjun Tendulkar (20 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Adam Milne (3.2 crore), Jimmy Neesham (50 lac) – NZ, Nathan Coulter-Nile (5 crore), Marco Jansen (20 lac) – SA

Verdict: Backups in the form of Chawla, Milne, Neesham & Zaheer Khan the mastermind behind the 20 year old left arm pacer, Marco Jansen. IPL 2021 is just an exercise to see how many different ways Mumbai Indians can come with to win the trophy.

Early Prediction: Just to change things a bit, they fail to qualify for the Top 4. Champions in the reverse direction (Who am I kidding?)

Expected Starting XI

  1. Rohit Sharma (C), 2. Quinton de Kock (WK), 3. Ishan Kishan (WK), 4. Suryakumar Yadav, 5. Kieron Pollard, 6. Krunal Pandya, 7. Hardik Pandya, 8. Rahul Chahar, 9. Trent Boult, 10. Jasprit Bumrah, 11. Adam Milne/ Nathan Coulter-Nile

Squad: Dhawal Kulkarni, Saurabh Tiwary, Jimmy Neesham, Jayant Yadav, Aditya Tare (WK), Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Arjun Tendulkar, Marco Jansen, Mohsin Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals:
  • Indian Uncapped: Shahrukh Khan (5.25 crore), KC Cariappa (20 lac), Jalaj Saxena (30 lac), Utkarsh Singh (20 lac), Saurabh Kumar (20 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Jhye Richardson – Aus (14 crore), Riley Meredith – Aus (8 crore), Dawid Malan – Eng (1.5 crore), Moises Henriques – Aus (4.2 crore), Fabian Allen – WI (75 lac)

Verdict: Dawid Malan, current word’s best T20 batsman, & Fabian Allen were quite the deal. Looking forward to Shahrukh Khan, the finisher, and hopefully Jalaj Saxena, the first class veteran. Definite contenders this time around. The change of name to PBKS to bring the luck?

Early Prediction: Top 4 Finish

Expected Starting XI

  1. KL Rahul (C/WK), 2. Mayank Agarwal, 3. Dawid Malan/Chris Gayle, 4. Nicholas Pooran, 5. Deepak Hooda, 6. Shahrukh Khan, 7. Fabian Allen/ Moises Henriques, 8. Arshdeep Singh, 9. Chris Jordan/ Jhye Richardson, 10. Mohammad Shami, 11. Ravi Bishnoi

Squad: Murugan Ashwin, Prabhsimran Singh, Riley Meredith, Ishan Porel, Sarfaraz Khan (WK), Jalaj Saxena, Harpreet Brar, Darshan Nalkande, Saurabh Kumar, Utkarsh Singh

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals: Shivam Dube (4.4 crore)
  • Indian Uncapped: Chetan Sakariya (1.2 crore), Kuldip Yadav (20 lac), Akash Singh (20 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Chris Morris – SA (16.25 crore), Mustafizur Rahman – Ban (1 crore), Liam Livingstone (75 lac)

Verdict: All weak points from IPL 2020 fixed. With Shivam Dube and Chris Morris, the double Rs may not have to rely on Tewatia magic alone. The foreign 4 pick themselves, but Miller, Livingstone, the Fizz, and Andrew Tye are T20 specialists themselves.

Early Prediction: Top 4 Finish…in the first half. Then momentum is lost, and they end up in the bottom two. The usual.

Expected Starting XI

  1. Jos Buttler, 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal/ Manan Vohra, 3. Sanju Samson (C/WK), 4. Shivam Dube, 5. Ben Stokes, 6. Rahul Tewatia, 7. Chris Morris, 8. Jofra Archer, 9. Shreyas Gopal, 10. Kartik Tyagi, 11. Mayank Markande/Jaydev Unadkat

Squad: Riyan Parag, David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Mustafizur Rahman, Andrew Tye, KC Cariappa, Anuj Rawat, Chetan Sakariya,

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals:
  • Indian Uncapped: KS Bharat – WK (20 lac), Sachin Baby (20 lac), Rajit Patidar (20 lac), Mohammed Azharuddeen (20 lac), Suyash Prabhudessai (20 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Kyle Jamieson – NZ (15 crore), Glenn Maxwell – Aus (14.25 crore), Daniel Christian – Aus (4.8 crore)

Verdict: They won the Indian Premier League 2021 Auction battle—Maxwell, Kyle Jamieson, & Dan Christian. Finishing problems fixed. With basically the entire Indian bowling lineup returning from Australia’s success, promising uncapped openers, & the golden touch of Christian, RCB may finally cross the line.

Early Prediction: Finalists.

Expected Starting XI

1. Mohammed Azharudeen, 2. Devdutt Padikkal, 3. Virat Kohli (C), 4. AB de Villiers (WK), 5. Glenn Maxwell, 6. Daniel Christian, 7. Washington Sundar, 8. Kyle Jamieson/Daniel Sams, 9. Mohammed Siraj, 10. Navdeep Saini, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal

Squad: Harshal Patel, Joshua Phillippe (WK), Kane Richardson, Sachin Baby, Shahbaz Ahmed, KS Bharat (WK), Pavan Deshpande, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

Auction Highlights

  • Indian Internationals: Kedar Jadhav (2 crore)
  • Indian Uncapped: Jagadeesha Suchith (30 lac)
  • Foreign Recruits: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1.5 crore) – Afg

Verdict: Kedhar Jadhav is a good backup choice for Vijay Shankar in case of injuries & Nabi-Rashid-Mujeeb together in Hyderabad, wow! They have the options, but can they figure their best XI in time?

Early Prediction: SRH lose several matches at the start, out of contention early, but will break the dreams of the teams in the middle at the backend of the tournament. Bottom 4 Finish.

Expected Starting XI

  1. David Warner (C), 2. Wriddhiman Saha (WK), 3. Manish Pandey, 4. Kane Williamson, 5. Vijay Shankar/Kedar Jadhav, 6. Priyam Garg/Abdul Samad, 7. Rashid Khan, 8. Jason Holder/Mohammad Nabi/ Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. T Natarajan, 11. Sandeep Sharma

Squad: Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shrevats Goswami (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Tamphi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Virat Singh

The Broken Dream: Players That Went Unsold

Since this is the final IPL before the big auction in 2022, this small auction was expected to have several players unsold.

Broken Dreams of IPL 2021 Auctions:

  • Hanuma Vihari—hero of Sydney. Unpicked in the first couple of rounds, his name was called again for the final auction round. Still unsold. Insult to injury. Literally. (The only prominent currently in the Indian setup to not have a deal since Pujara was picked).
  • Aaron Finch—one of the best T20I players of all-time just could not manage a consistent IPL season.
  • Shaun Marsh, an end of an era. Along with Shane Watson, was the bright overseas star. KXIP stalwart in the early years, Orange Cap of IPL 2008, but could not buy any buyers.
  • Alex Hales. Enough said.

IPL Auction 2021: Entire Unsold List

Foreign: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Evin Lewis, Aaron Finch, Glenn Phillips, Alex Carey, Kusal Perera, Sheldon Cottrell, Adil Rashid, Ish Sodhi, Qais Ahmad, Sandeep Lamichhane, Rovman Powell, Shaun Marsh, Corey Anderson, Devon Conway, Darren Bravo, Rassie van der Dussen, Martin Guptill, Marnus Labuschagne, Oshane Thomas, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jason Behrendorff, Naveen Ul Haq, Ben Dwarshuis, Thisara Perera, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglish, Scott Kuggeleijn, Wayne Parnell, Reece Topley, Chris Green, Isuru Udana, George Linda, Jack Wildermuth, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David

Indian Internationals: Hanuma Vihari, Rahul Sharma, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron, Mohit Sharma

Indian Uncapped: Himanshu Rana, Gahlaut Singh, Atit Sheth, Himmat Singh, Vishnu Solanki, Ayush Badoni, Vivek Singh, Avi Barot, Kedhar Devdhar, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujtaba Yousuf, Kuldeep Sen, Tushar Deshpande, Karanveer Singh, Sudhesan Midhun, Tejas Baroka, Kaan Sharma, KL Shrijith, G Periyasamy, Siddhesh Lad, Tajinder Singh, Prerak Mankad, Simarjeet Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Ajay Dev Goud, Harsh Tyagi, Pratyush Singh

Your Opinion Matters: Was Maxwell Overpriced & Hales Unlucky?

Let us know what you thought about the auction by commenting here below:

  1. Was Glenn Maxwell overpriced? Is 2021 the year or are we still carrying IPL 2014 nostalgia?
  2. The likes of Adil Rashid and Alex Hales do not find a team. First team England ditch Hales & now after top scoring in the BBL, no buyers. Contender for the unluckiest player of All-Time?
  3. Steal of the Auction: Shakib Al Hasan, Dawid Malan, Fabian Allen, or Ben Cutting?
  4. KKR’s buy of Harbhajan Singh? Why?

Here were my biggest winners and losers from Indian Premier League 2021 Auction. What did you think? What are YOUR predictions? Comment Below!

[jetpack_subscription_form subscribe_placeholder=”Enter your email address” show_subscribers_total=”false” button_on_newline=”false” submit_button_text=”<strong>SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE</strong>” custom_font_size=”16px” custom_border_radius=”0″ custom_border_weight=”1″ custom_padding=”15″ custom_spacing=”10″ submit_button_classes=”has-text-color has-white-color has-background has-vivid-red-background-color” email_field_classes=”” show_only_email_and_button=”true”]

If you like this content, please subscribe above for FREE and follow us on our social media accounts.

Follow us here if you are on Medium or Bloglovin‘.

Copyright (2021: 2/21/2021)– @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X – bcd@brokokencricketdreams.com

Sources: Cricinfo

Indian Cricket Team Depth: List of Top 75 Players of Indian Cricket

Indian cricket climbed new heights at the Gabba. With a 2nd or 3rd string team. One of the greatest sporting stories of all time.

During that series, Australia announced a Test & T20I squad that would have been played at the same time (before Australia cancelled the South Africa tour of course).

These two events got me thinking—Can India field two Test XIs at the same time without overlapping players? How about an additional ODI & T20I team?

Today’s Twist

Build FOUR Indian National Cricket Teams Roster: 2 Test teams, an ODI, and a T20I XI so that (1) each team can field a team (wicketkeeper & 5 bowling options), and (2) a player is not repeated in any of the lists.

The Catch

  • Would you pick Virat Kohli for the Test team, ODI, or the T20I? Bumrah?
  • Can you make all 4 teams balanced? The goal is that each team is just as good and competitive on the international stage. The ODI & T20I teams should be good enough for the World Cups and the Test teams for the World Test Championship.
  • With so many spinners in the Indian cricket circuit and given recent history, does Kuldeep Yadav find a place in any of these XI?

India Cricket Teams

*uncapped player

Test Team 1

  1. 1. Mayank Agarwal
  2. 2. Shubman Gill
  3. 3. Cheteshwar Pujara
  4. 4. Virat Kohli (C)
  5. 5. Rishabh Pant (WK)
  6. 6. Hardik Pandya
  7. 7. Ravindra Jadeja
  8. 8. Ravichandran Ashwin
  9. 9. Ishant Sharma
  10. 10. Jasprit Bumrah
  11. 11. Kuldeep Yadav

Test Team 2

  1. 1. Prithvi Shaw
  2. 2. Abhimanyu Easwaran*
  3. 3. Hanuma Vihari
  4. 4. Ajinkya Rahane (C)
  5. 5. Karun Nair
  6. 6. Wriddhiman Saha (WK)
  7. 7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
  8. 8. Umesh Yadav
  9. 9. Mohammed Siraj
  10. 10. Navdeep Saini
  11. 11. Shahbaz Nadeem

Indian Cricket Limited Overs Teams:

ODI XI

  • 1. Shikhar Dhawan
  • 2. Rohit Sharma (C)
  • 3. Sanju Samson (WK)
  • 4. Shreyas Iyer
  • 5. Kedar Jadhav
  • 6. Vijay Shankar
  • 7. Axar Patel
  • 8. Deepak Chahar
  • 9. Mohammed Shami
  • 10. Khaleel Ahmed
  • 11. Yuzvendra Chahal

T20I XI

  1. 1. KL Rahul (WK)
  2. 2. Ishan Kishan*
  3. 3. Suryakumar Yadav*
  4. 4. Manish Pandey
  5. 5. Shivam Dube
  6. 6. Dinesh Karthik (C)
  7. 7. Krunal Pandya
  8. 8. Shardul Thakur
  9. 9. Varun Chakravarthy
  10. 10. Washington Sundar
  11. 11. Thangarasu Natarajan

India’s most successful Test skipper and the stand-in skipper in Australia are given the Test reins, while the most successful IPL captain & captain of the victorious Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy have been given limited overs captaincy duties. We made sure the limited overs team had plenty of 6th bowling options, an area Indian selection has recently struggled with.

Extended List of Prospects

These are just the 44 that are ready for the international level. Just like IPL 2020 showed, we can further create a squad just of the Emerging Players. Here is an extended list of players for the next decade.

Fringe Players: 45. Rahul Chahar, 46. KS Bharat (WK), 47. Kartik Tyagi, 48. Priyank Panchal (recent standby/India A players)

Youngsters to Watch Out: 49. Devdutt Padikkal, 50. Ruturaj Gaikwad, 51. Priyam Garg, 52. Abdul Samad, 53. Abhishek Sharma, 54. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 55. Shivam Mavi, 56. Ravi Bishnoi, 57. Arshdeep Singh, 58. Prasidh Krishna, 59. Mayank Markande, 60. Ishan Porel, 61. Shahbaz Ahmed, 62. Riyan Parag, 63. Sarfaraz Khan, 64. Nitish Rana, 65. Harshal Patel, 66. Deepak Hooda, 67. Narayan Jagadeesan, 68. R Sai Kishore

Others: 69. Jayant Yadav, 70. Jayadev Unadkat, 71. Siddharth Kaul, 72. Dhawal Kulkarni, 73. Sandeep Sharma, 74. Mandeep Singh (India caps, have age on their side, but out of favor & unlikely to get back in anytime soon)

*Note: Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, and Amit Mishra were not considered because they are almost at the end of the careers and are out of the favor with the selectors.

Conclusion

Problem of plenty for Team India.

We have all criticized Indian cricket selectors at some point in time, but we can clearly see it is difficult to give every player an extended run. Gone are the days where we can find players who play 2 or 3 formats for more than a decade. Virat Kohli maybe the last of his breed in India.

Next week, we will do a similar exercise with the England cricket team. Their limited overs depth is quite something, and they are a rising force in Test cricket as well.

What will your Indian XIs be? What do you think of Indian cricket right now? COMMENT BELOW! Would love to know your thoughts!

If you like this, check out the rest of our World XIs with Twists Here – Best Fielding XI, Best Commentators XI, and much more!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – Indian Cricket Team Squad Depth

How many Indian cricketers are there?

As of 2023, at least 75 Indian cricketers are fighting for a place in the national team. Today the Indian national cricket team player list is one of envy with its massive depth.

How many teams can Indian cricket team field?

At least four professional cricket side can be fielded with the talent of Indian cricket team depth. These includes a separate squad for Test matches, ODI tournaments, and T20 series.

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, LLC, 2023. Contact us at bcd@brokencricketdreams.com. Originally published on 02/03/2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

Image Courtesy: lensbug.chandru, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons