Top Stories: Things that made news in the cricket world today

Jofra Archer earns England Test and white-ball contracts for 2019-20 season

• Barbados-born England fast bowler Jofra Archer has made everyone sit up and take notice of his immense talent as a genuinely quick bowler.
• He was fast-forwarded into the England team after his exploits in the T20 leagues in Australia and India and in English county cricket.
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Eoin Morgan to lead England in T20 World Cup in 2020, announces Ashley Giles

• England cricket was on a roll till July when they won the ICC World Cup for the first time but failed to back it up with an Ashes win.
• They drew the five-match series against Australia 2-2 by winning the crucial fifth match at the Oval.
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Sunil Gavaskar feels MS Dhoni should bow out of cricket with grace instead of being pushed out

• Former India captain MS Dhoni has been AWOL from the cricket field ever since the ICC World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand which India lost and crashed out of the tournament.
• He excused himself from the limited-overs tour to West Indies and instead served the Indian Army for 15 days.
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India vs South Africa: VVS Laxman impressed with Deepak Chahar and Sundar’s performance in Mohali

• India is currently hosting South Africa for a three-match T20I series and as many Tests. On Wednesday, the 2nd match of the series was played in Mohali.
• The duo Deepak Chahar and Washington Sundar caught everyone’s eyes with their phenomenal performances which created pressure on the visitors and they were unsuccessful in gaining the momentum towards the 2nd half of the innings.
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My batting is good at the Test level, reckons a confident Kuldeep Yadav

• Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were the most entertaining and impressive bowlers in limited-overs scene since 2017 for the Indian team.
• The duo helped the Indian team regain their dominant position in ODI and T20I cricket after the disappointing loss in the Champions Trophy 2017 final.
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Marnus Labuschagne backs struggling David Warner to make a strong comeback

• Marnus Labuschagne hit the spotlight during the recently concluded Ashes.
• He was the first concussion substitute in the history of Test cricket after Steve Smith was ruled out of the action post Jofra Archer‘s bouncer that hit him in the neck at Lord’s.
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Barinder Sran moves to Chandigarh after being ignored by Punjab for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019

• Barinder Sran, the left-arm pacer has decided to move on from his home side of Punjab, after the selectors ignored him for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, which marks the beginning of the Indian domestic cricket season 2019-20.
• Sran has also played six ODIs and two T20Is for India, picking a total of 13 wickets including the best bowling figure of 4/10 in T20Is.
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Riding on superb county form, former South Africa spinner Simon Harmer eyeing to play for England

• England’s ‘rainbow squad’ that helped them win their maiden ICC World Cup has bolstered others to play for the Three Lions at the international level.
• Arrangements like Kolpak and fast-tracking talents like Jofra Archer have made cricketers from other nations encouraged to appear for England and one among them is spinner Simon Harmer.
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Sarfaraz Ahmed should be relieved from Test captaincy, reckon Pakistan greats Shahid Afridi and Zaheer Abbas

• Sarfaraz Ahmed has come under severe criticism for the way Pakistani team performed in the ICC World Cup 2019.
• The Men in Green struggled for a good start, losing their first three matches on the trot including the one to India, in which Ahmed’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss was even mocked by PM Imran Khan.
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India vs South Africa: Pitch invaders in the Mohali T20I behind the bars

• The second T20I between India and South Africa at the PCA Stadium in Mohali was marred by a minor controversy.
• Three pitch invaders, who halted play on Wednesday’s encounter have been put behind the bars.
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We have been grooming backups for Rishabh Pant across all formats, says MSK Prasad

• Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant’s miserable form continues and the shot selection of the flamboyant batsman has come under the scanner.
• He is being looked at as MS Dhoni’s successor behind the stumps for India.
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Michael Hussey picks the best ODI captain between MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting

• MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting have many things in common.
• Both have been excellent with the bat in all the three formats of the game, while as a captain, the duo has won multiple championships including the ICC World Cup.
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“Had given up on cricket”- Gautam Gambhir after 2007 World Cup snub

• Gautam Gambhir retired from all forms of cricket back in December 2018 after representing Delhi in one of the matches in the Ranji Trophy at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
• Albeit he wasn’t a regular member of the national team in the last few years, he would still be remembered as someone, who played two match-winning knocks in the final of the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup.
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