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Ollie Pope in the spotlight as England choose not to bowl final 22 overs of third day

Matt Roller31-Aug-2024Eoin Morgan criticised England and Ollie Pope for a lack of killer instinct with “everything in their favour”, as their refusal to continue bowling spin from both ends brought the third day of their second Test against Sri Lanka to a premature close at Lord’s.Pope brought on Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root to bowl in tandem for three overs with Sri Lanka 24 for 1, after umpires Paul Reiffel and Joel Wilson determined that the light was too poor for seamers to bowl. It briefly improved enough for Matthew Potts and Olly Stone to return – with Stone dismissing Pathum Nissanka – before Bashir and Root returned for five further overs.With 22 overs left in the day, the players then left the field – with Pope seemingly keen to avoid further wear on the new ball – and did not return for the rest of the day. It was a notable contrast to his decision to stay on the field in similar bad light in the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford, where Root and Bashir bowled 12 consecutive overs of spin as Sri Lanka’s No.9 Milan Rathnayake made 72 in his debut innings.”I think it’s a questionable decision,” Morgan, who spent seven years as England’s white-ball captain, said on Sky Sports’ coverage. “The reason behind that is just the whole context of the last hour or so: it is dark. There’s a reason the seamers can’t bowl: it is dangerous for everybody concerned.”If you’re sitting in Sri Lanka’s changing room, you’re thinking, ‘Jeez the last place I want to be is out there with the bat in hand – facing anybody.’ It’s a lose-lose situation. I totally understand the concern for the condition of the ball, but you’re talking about England’s premium fingerspinner in Shoaib Bashir, who needs to bowl. The ball is turning and bouncing.”Sri Lanka had promoted Prabath Jayasuriya, who batted at No. 9 in the first innings, to No. 4 in a bid to reach the close of play unscathed. “They’re bowling at a No. 9 at one end. Everything is in England’s favour,” Morgan said. “I question the decision… you have runs to play with, you have two or three new balls, everything in your favour. And yet you’re sitting in the changing room.”Related

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England’s decision to come off meant a near-capacity crowd at Lord’s headed home early – in the face of the team’s stated desire to entertain. “We pride ourselves on wanting people to come into the ground and feel like they’ve had a really enjoyable day of cricket, and can walk away wanting to come back for more Test cricket,” Joe Root said, after the early close.Pope, who is deputising for Ben Stokes against Sri Lanka, has already come in for heavy criticism as captain, with Michael Vaughan suggesting that he is “not the kind of personality” for the role. After he was caught in the deep for 17 on Saturday when attempting to upper-cut Asitha Fernando over point, he has now scored 30 runs in four innings across the first two Tests.Jayasuriya successfully saw out 23 balls as Sri Lanka’s ‘lightwatchman’, with Dimuth Karunaratne 23 not out overnight. Sri Lanka still require a further 430 runs across the final two days for an improbable series-squaring win, but their batting coach Ian Bell suggested they still have some hope of saving the game.”The more we can spend time in the middle and that ball gets a bit softer…” Bell said. “This wicket has been quite a new-ball wicket, if you can get through that. There’s still plenty of batting, and that’s probably been the strength so far this tour: that middle-lower order have got some good runs. Tomorrow, the first hour is important and we’ll go from there.”Bell said he was pleased with the “character” that Sri Lanka showed on the third day: “What we asked the guys last night was to come in with the attitude that we saw in Manchester… A bit unfortunate to lose a second wicket in that little period of an over or two in between the bad light, but more of the same tomorrow.”It’s more the character we want to see, that we’ve seen so far in this tour. Obviously, you want to win games, but also want to see the guys fight for everything they’ve got in these conditions, which are a bit more tricky than what they play in in Sri Lanka.”

يظل الفرنسي زين الدين زيدان غائبًا عن مقاعد التدريب منذ ترك منصبه كمدير فني لفريق ريال مدريد، وكشفت تقارير عن وجهة غير متوقعه له.

زيدان سبق وتولى تدريب ريال مدريد على فترتين، وحقق خلالهما الفوز بثلاثة ألقاب لدوري أبطال أوروبا، وغادر منصبه في عام 2021.

ومنذ ذلك الحين، لم يتول زيدان تدريب أي نادٍ رغم ارتباطه بالكثير منها مثل مانشستر يونايتد ويوفنتوس، بالإضافة لارتباطه بتدريب منتخب فرنسا.

وبحسب ما أفادت صحيفة “بيلد” الألمانية نقلاً عن تقارير تركية، نادي فناربخشة التركي توصل إلى اتفاق مبدئي مع زين الدين زيدان لتدريب الفريق وخلافة المدرب البرتغالي جوزيه مورينيو.

وتركزت المحادثات بين الطرفين على الراتب وتفاصيل العقد، وبمجرد انتهاء هذه المحادثات، قد يتوجه زيدان إلى تركيا استعدادًا لتدريب الفريق.

وكان فناربخشة قد انفصل عن جوزيه مورينيو بنهاية شهر أغسطس عقب فشله في تصفيات دوري أبطال أوروبا ضد بنفيكا وانتقاداته للاعبين ومجلس إدارة النادي.

وارتبط فناربخشة بعدة مدربين بما في ذلك الإيطالي لوتشيانو سباليتي المدرب السابق لمنتخب إيطاليا، والذي رفض العرض لرغبته في البقاء مع عائلته.

كانت هناك أسماء أخرى أيضًا على طاولة فناربخشة، مثل أنجي بوستيكوجلو، مدرب توتنهام السابق، ودومينيكو تيديسكو، والمدرب التركي إسماعيل كارتال.

West Brom are showing an interest in completing the loan signing of a “sublime” Premier League player this summer, according to a new update.

West Brom eye signings ahead of Mason's first season

The Baggies will once again be among the favourites to seal a top six finish in the Championship next season, as is so often the case, with new manager Ryan Mason admitting he is excited about getting started at The Hawthorns.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have been appointed Head Coach of West Bromwich Albion. This is a huge club with a fantastic infrastructure and an incredible fan base and I am excited about what we can achieve together. Having spoken at length to the board and those at the club I am convinced that Albion is the perfect place for me to be and I can’t wait to get started. I will bring with me a huge amount of enthusiasm, dedication and ambition and look forward to a positive future together at such a fantastic club.”

Mason will know that some new signings will be needed this summer, though, in order to aid West Brom’s promotion push, with Rangers forward Tom Lawrence mentioned as an experienced option who has proven himself in the past in the Championship.

Nottingham Forest left-back Harry Toffolo has also emerged as a rumoured option for West Brom, following his departure from the City Ground, with the Englishman set to be a free agent. Now, another name has been thrown into the hat for the Baggies.

West Brom want to sign "sublime" Premier League ace

According to a new update from The Express & Star, West Brom are considering the loan signing of Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks in the summer window, having joined them for £11.5m seven years ago.

The report states that a lack of regular starts for the Cherries last season means that “a departure from the Vitality Stadium, if only on a short-term basis, is considered a possibility this summer.”

Brooks, who scored for Southampton at The Hawthorns in a 2-0 win last year, could be a brilliant addition for West Brom, even if it’s just on loan, with the 27-year-old a gifted footballer who has been highly-rated for years, being lauded by Eddie Howe back in 2018:

“He has played ever so well for us, he has got a creative flair, non-stop energy and he took his goals really well today. He is a player that can do a little bit of everything, he is very good offensively, is creative, turns well with the ball and is very intelligent. His first goal was sublime and his second was very clever because he was running at an angle and just directed it backwards behind him which was really impressive.”

Appearances

29

Starts

9

Minutes played

952

Goals

2

Assists

0

Shots per game

0.9

Key passes per game

0.7

Pass completion rate

82.2%

The fact that Brooks is struggling to be a key starter for Bournemouth means that a temporary move away could appeal to him, and he has the technical quality to be an influential performer for West Brom, helping inspire them to a return to the Premier League.

Leeds United left it late on the final day of the Championship season but Manor Solomon’s dramatic strike right at the death would secure Daniel Farke’s men the title.

Amazingly, both the Whites and their nearest competitors in Burnley would end their mightily impressive campaigns on 100 points each, but Leeds’ sturdy goal difference would hand the esteemed honours over to Farke and Co, instead of more party celebrations taking place at Turf Moor.

But, as much as the West Yorkshire titans have been able to blow teams away with ease in the second tier, the Premier League is a different kettle of fish altogether.

Therefore, some potential attacking recruits are now being linked with a switch to Elland Road to help navigate the tricky step-up in quality.

Leeds' list of attacking targets

Already, Leeds have been linked with a whole host of new faces up top, with reports suggesting that the newly crowned champions might look to snap up Omari Hutchinson from recently relegated Ipswich Town.

Moreover, other rumours indicate that Leeds are intrigued by the prospect of bringing AZ Alkmaar goal machine Troy Parrott back to England, meaning the striker department would also be given a potential facelift.

Yet, there’s one name that sticks out as a top buy away from both Hutchinson and Parrott, with TBR Football revealing that Farke and Co are looking at a number of targets from Celtic, including Hoops attacking hotshot Nicolas Kuhn.

The Whites have had success when shopping from the Glasgow giants in the past, with Whites legend Mark Viduka once plying for his trade for the Scottish titans before becoming a fan’s favourite at Leeds. So, there’s clearly a proven recipe for success right here.

How Kuhn could be even better than James

If Kuhn can lift his game to be on the same level as Viduka’s – who would score a colossal 72 strikes for Leeds – he would further go down as a more impressive winger than Dan James over time, even with the Welshman fresh off just winning the Whites’ Player of the Year accolade.

James should be commended for how he’s managed to turn around his up-and-down stay at Elland Road, with the ex-Manchester United attacker undoubtedly a top-drawer talent in the EFL having previously struggled in the top-flight.

Indeed, the blistering number seven has tallied up a sizeable 41 goal contributions in league action over the last two seasons, but there will be a concern in the air lingering that the 56-time Wales international isn’t cut out for the bright lights of the Premier League.

Indeed, his best tally for a campaign up a division currently sits at a mere four goals and five assists.

On the flip side, Kuhn has proven again and again for Brendan Rodgers’ men – albeit in a far less strenuous top division in the Scottish Premiership – that he can dazzle defences under immense pressure. He’s even scored in the Champions League.

Staggeringly, across all competitions this campaign, including on Europe’s grandest stage, the German forward has amassed a bumper 34 goals and assists from 47 clashes, with a chance in the Premier League to come a deserved next step for the former RB Leipzig winger.

Kuhn’s numbers this season by competition (24/25)

Competition

Games

Goals

Assists

SPL

29

12

8

Champions League

10

3

1

SFA Cup

4

0

1

League Cup

4

5

4

Sourced by Transfermarkt

In contrast, James accumulated a lesser 21 from ten fewer clashes, meaning he could take a back-seat now down the right flank for the “breathtaking” winger, as he’s been lauded in the past by pundit Marvin Bartley, to take over.

Obviously, it isn’t set in stone that Kuhn will be able to instantly acclimatise to the pressures of the Premier League, but history might well repeat itself here, especially if the Hoops number 10 can prove he belongs at the daunting level like Viduka before him.

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Posts ByDan Emery May 5, 2025

And what’s the highest ODI total without a century?

Steven Lynch03-Jun-2025Harshal Patel recently took his 150th wicket in the IPL. How many have reached this landmark? asked Mohan Arshad from India
The Sunrisers seamer Harshal Patel reached 150 IPL wickets when he dismissed the Super Giants opener Aiden Markram in Lucknow last week.Harshal was the 13th to reach 150 wickets in the IPL. Legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal leads the way with 220 as I write, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (196) and Sunil Narine (192) lurking in the 190s. All Narine’s 192 came for Kolkata Knight Riders, the record for one franchise, while Chahal is currently the leading wicket-taker for two, with 139 for Royal Challengers Bangalore and 66 for Rajasthan Royals.The next to 150 will probably be the Rajasthan Royals seamer Sandeep Sharma, who currently sits on 146. Umesh Yadav, who did not appear in the 2025 IPL, has 144 wickets, while New Zealand’s Trent Boult has 143.Was England’s 400 the other day the highest ODI total without a century? asked Michael Robertson from England
England’s 400 for 8 against West Indies at Edgbaston last week was the 28th total of 400 or more in one-day internationals (but the first one of exactly 400).It was indeed the highest ODI total without a century, the highest individual contribution being Jacob Bethell’s 82. The previous highest was South Africa’s 392 for 6 against Pakistan in Centurion in 2007, when Jacques Kallis finished with 88 not out. It was also the highest ODI total without a hundred partnership – just: when England made 399 for 9 against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2016, the biggest stand was one of 97.All of England’s top seven at Edgbaston reached 30, another first for ODIs. The nearest approach before was by South Africa against England in Bloemfontein in 2023, when Heinrich Klaasen was out for 27 and the rest all passed 30. That was one of 16 instances of six of the top seven all reaching 30. In four of those cases only six men batted and all of them made it to 30.Harry Brook took five catches in the field at Edgbaston. Was this an ODI record? asked Jamie Salisbury from England
Yorkshire’s Harry Brook marked his first match as England’s official white-ball captain (he also stood in for Jos Buttler last year) by hanging on to five catches as West Indies subsided to 162 all out at Edgbaston last week. He was only the second outfielder to take five catches in an ODI innings, after Jonty Rhodes for South Africa against West Indies at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in 1993. Rhodes also scored 40, so Brook – who crunched a rapid 58 – is the first to combine five catches in an ODI with a half-century.Brook was the second outfielder to take five catches in an ODI innings, but the first to combine it with a fifty•PA Photos/Getty ImagesJayden Seales top-scored from No. 11 in the Edgbaston ODI. Has this happened before? asked Keeley White from England
Jayden Seales hit 29 not out after coming in at No. 11 for West Indies at Edgbaston last week, the highest score in their underwhelming innings of 162. Seales was the seventh No. 11 to top-score in a men’s ODI innings. The first to do it was New Zealand’s Chris Pringle, against West Indies in Guwahati in 1994, and he has been followed by Peter Ongondo for Kenya vs West Indies in Nairobi in 2001, Shane Bond for New Zealand vs Australia in the Champions Trophy in Colombo in 2002, Shoaib Akhtar for Pakistan vs England in Cape Town during the 2003 World Cup (his 43 was the highest score involved in this record), Rumman Raees for Pakistan vs New Zealand in Dunedin in 2018, and Craig Young for Ireland vs South Africa in Abu Dhabi in 2024.There have also been two instances of joint top scores from the No. 11: by Joel Garner with 37 for West Indies against India at Old Trafford during the 1983 World Cup, when No. 9 Andy Roberts scored 37 not out, and Mohammad Amir for Pakistan vs England at Trent Bridge in 2016, when Sharjeel Khan also made 58.It has also happened 12 times in men’s Tests.There’s even been an instance in a men’s T20I : when West Indies struggled to 125 for 9 against New Zealand in Kingston in 2022, the highest score came from Obed McCoy at No. 11. There are two other borderline cases: Rwanda’s 115 against Malawi in Kigali in 2021 included 20s from No. 9 Zappy Bimenyimana and Pankaj Vekaria at No. 11. And when Afghanistan were skittled for 116 by Pakistan in Sharjah in 2023, the highest score was 21 from Azmatullah Omarzai at No. 11 – but a batter had retired hurt earlier, and a concussion substitute came in after Omarzai at No. 12!I spotted that Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook shared century opening partnerships in both innings of a Test twice, both against Australia. Have any other pair of openers done this twice? asked AK Srivastava from India
Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook put on opening stands of 137 and 100 for England against Australia in Adelaide early in 1947, and the following August shared stands of 168 and 129 in the Ashes Test at Headingley – the match famously won by Australia, who chased down 404 on the final day.The feat of century opening stands in both innings has been achieved only 12 times in all Tests, and Hutton and Washbrook are the only pair to have done it twice. The only other name to appear twice is Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique, who has been involved in the last two instances: against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2021 he put on 146 and 151 with Abid Ali, while against Australia in Rawalpindi in 2022 he shared first-wicket stands of 105 and 252 (unbroken) with Imam-ul-Haq.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

After his IPL retirement, the question facing CSK was: who would bowl the difficult overs?

Deivarayan Muthu22-May-2023Dwayne Bravo usually came to life at the death during his ten-season IPL stint as a player with Chennai Super Kings. Is it really a surprise then that the team he is now coaching has the joint-most wickets in the death overs in IPL 2023?April 3, 2023. CSK are back at Chepauk after four years, and the noise from the crowd is deafening. Tushar Deshpande would later admit he “couldn’t hear anything”. Lucknow Super Giants are 136 for 5 in 14 overs, chasing 218. Nicholas Pooran has zipped away to 18 off ten balls. CSK take a strategic time-out. Bravo runs on to the field with a message for Deshpande for his battle against his CPL team-mate: stack the off side, and bowl wide yorkers.The yorker doesn’t come naturally to Deshpande, but Bravo, having worked with him since IPL 2021, when Deshpande was a net bowler with the side, backs his rookie seamer to execute the plan. Immediately after the time-out, Pooran lays into the left-arm fingerspin of Ravindra Jadeja for two sixes.Related

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Despite that 14-run over from Jadeja and despite Deshpande leaking 18 runs in an 11-ball over in the powerplay, CSK stick to the plan. MS Dhoni gives Deshpande three fielders on the off-side boundary – deep point, deep cover and long-off – including two of his best in Mitchell Santner and Ben Stokes.Deshpande nails the wide yorker and has Pooran carving a catch to Stokes at wide long-off. Job well done. Rajvardhan Hangargekar also executes the wide-yorker plan well in that game. Two uncapped Indian seamers were performing the most difficult role in T20 cricket with remarkable composure.”I feel he is a legend,” Deshpande recently told CSK TV about Bravo. “He’s the No.1 [now No. 2] wicket-taker in the history of the IPL. So he’s got tons of experience to share with our bowling group. He’s pretty chilled out, so whenever he’s around you or standing near your bowling mark, you feel that you’re clear on top of your mark.”Just when it felt like pieces were falling into place in CSK’s bowling jigsaw, injuries to their spearhead Deepak Chahar and Sisanda Magala, a death-bowling specialist for South Africa and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20, shook things up. CSK were already without Mukesh Choudhary and Kyle Jamieson, who were both sidelined from the entire tournament with injuries. Matheesha Pathirana wasn’t rushed into action because he was on the road to recovery, having tested positive for Covid-19 in New Zealand.Powerplay wickets in IPL 2023 league stage•ESPNcricinfo LtdPathirana slotted into the side for the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Despite a blazing start from Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, Pathirana closed out the game for CSK with his variations from a unique side-arm action.Whenever Deshpande or Pathirana have operated at the death this season, Bravo has walked out of the dugout and stationed himself at the boundary to keep a close eye on his boys. At Chepauk, he often sits down near the straight boundary along with the ball boys, and watches Pathirana and Deshpande do the dirty work that he himself used to do.At the CSK nets too, he gets Pathirana and Deshpande to execute yorkers with the old ball while Eric Simons, the bowling consultant, polishes their new-ball skills.Even at the CPL, during his stint with St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Bravo often posted himself at mid-on or mid-off, and mentored left-arm seam-bowling allrounder Dominic Drakes. Bravo has also mentored young West Indies bowlers at the Super50 competition, and has become the go-to man for the up-and-coming bowlers across the world.When Chahar was out injured, Bravo helped Akash Singh settle into the side. The camaraderie between the two was on display when Akash pulled off an impersonation of Bravo’s jig on his 21st birthday. This video, released by CSK, ends with Bravo joking, “I’m not teaching you anything again”.Like Pathirana, Akash wasn’t rushed into action. After Chahar had hurt his hamstring, he had recommended his former Rajasthan team-mate Akash’s name to the CSK management. Akash had a fairly smooth initiation: after trialling with CSK, he bowled regularly at their nets and gained confidence before making his franchise debut for them this season.Death-overs wickets this season•ESPNcricinfo LtdAkash joined Deshpande, Choudhary, Prashant Solanki and Nishant Sindhu as net bowlers who have recently made it to the main side. And at a press conference, Simons suggested that they’re big on the growth of their net bowlers.”We often talk about trying to create a family at CSK, and part of our family are the net bowlers,” Simons had said earlier this month. “They’re not just guys who just come and bowl. We chat with them, and we advise them as much as we can. All the time we’re looking [for the next CSK bowler].”In this country, there are so many unbelievable cricketers out there who bowl to us in the nets, and sometimes you unearth them for different reasons. Sometimes it’s just their mindset, sometimes it’s the way they do certain things, but I like to believe they feel comfortable in our environment, and feel it’s not just a case of serving the batsmen but also serving for them to grow. That environment is the initial simulation for them.”Once Chahar was fit again, he took over from Akash and took care of the powerplay, which allowed Dhoni to reserve Pathirana for the second half of the innings. Chahar’s return also enabled Dhoni to hold back an over or two of mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana for the death. And as the season progressed, Deshpande improved in the slog overs. In the first seven games of the season, he conceded 12.32 an over during this phase, but that economy rate dropped to an acceptable 9.81 in the second half of the league stage.”I think when it comes to death bowling, confidence is a very important factor,” Dhoni said after CSK had sealed their playoffs spot. “If you see Tushar from the first game till now, he’s somebody who has developed that death-overs bowling. And I feel the main reason is that confidence. They all execute what is needed but how many times you can execute under pressure – that’s the main thing. When you have that confidence behind you, you can execute more often than not.”So I feel when you keep playing with the same guys… that also helps. But behind the scenes, a lot of work goes on death bowling as to what needs to be done, and I feel the bowlers have taken that responsibility. Not to forget, Pathirana is someone who is quite natural when it comes to the last three-four five overs, so that is one less headache.”After Bravo’s IPL retirement – and the auction that followed – the biggest question facing CSK was: who would bowl the difficult overs for them? A rookie Sri Lankan fast bowler, who has a bit of Lasith Malinga about him, and an uncapped Indian seamer, who has a bit of Shardul Thakur about him, have answered that question, with help from Bravo himself.

The USA batter is the fourth man to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket, after Gibbs, Yuvraj and Pollard

Daya Sagar11-Sep-2021As you would expect after equalling an international record previously achieved only by Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh and Kieron Pollard, there are 4000-5000 unread WhatsApp messages on Jaskaran Malhotra’s phone. One of the first to congratulate Malhotra after he hit six sixes in an over for USA against Papua New Guinea was Pollard, who was also his captain at St Lucia Stars during the 2018 edition of the CPL.Like his more famous colleagues at the Stars from that year, like David Warner, Daren Sammy and Lendl Simmons, 31-year-old Malhotra aspires to play in the IPL one day, his early ambition of turning out for India having come to nothing. That said, there is pride and satisfaction of being a part of an improving USA outfit.Related

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“It’s quite amazing, really. I had not planned on any such thing when I went in to bat,” Malhotra told ESPNcricinfo about his innings of 173* (in 124 balls, with four fours and 16 sixes), also the first ODI century in men’s cricket for USA. “I entered the field with our team in a spot of bother, having lost three wickets for 29 inside the first ten overs. My first target was to just stay till the end. As the innings progressed, I got the confidence to play my shots.”In the final over (bowled by the unfortunate Gaudi Toka), once I was able to hit four sixes, that’s when the thought of six sixes first came in. I am grateful that I was able to equal this record.”Of the six sixes, which took USA to 271 for 9 and a 134-run win, Malhotra picked out the second as his best, having gone inside-out over cover. Shades of the third one Yuvraj had hit off Stuart Broad back in that 2007 T20 World Cup game there.And though there has been a surfeit of messages and calls since September 9, the one Malhotra has been waiting for hasn’t. “I know Yuvi (Yuvraj) will also be calling me soon. I am eagerly looking forward to that.”It’s a long way, that international fixture – his 13th across ODIs and T20Is – in Al Amerat from his formative years playing in Himachal Pradesh.”I captained Himachal Pradesh at Under-15 and Under-17 levels. I was also the most prolific domestic wicketkeeper-batter at Under-17 level. In fact, I was rewarded with a place among the 20 probables for the Under-19 World Cup in 2008, and was part of the NCA camp,” Malhotra said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the final 16, which won the tournament under Virat Kohli.”Malhotra did, however, find a place in the Himachal Pradesh senior team, but never got a look-in at the first-class level. A chance encounter with cricket in the USA came after the 2010 domestic season in India, when he was visiting a relative in America, ended up playing in a local tournament while there, and did well.After that, there were invitations each year from cricket bodies in the USA, and simultaneously a drop in the likelihood of ever making it big in India.In 2014, Malhotra decided to make his move to the USA. Permanently.”I did dream of playing for India at the highest level, but playing for USA in international cricket has been very satisfying too,” he said. “Cricket here is on the right track, and with possible inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, it will give us a chance to take on the best on a global stage quite soon.”Besides this, we need to make the most of the qualifying rounds for World Cups in T20 and 50-over formats, so that we can get better exposure at the highest level.”