India, who suffered a limited-overs series defeat against Bangladesh last year, are back in the country, with the added twist of Asia Cup and World T20 implications

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu in Dhaka23-Feb-2016Match factsWednesday, February 24, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1330 GMT)4:18

Agarkar: Good test for all teams ahead of World T20

Big PictureIt was all telenovela in 2015. MS Dhoni as the hero who had gone on to be perceived as villain. “If I am the reason for all the bad that is happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step away.” R Ashwin was the steadfast sidekick. “If my captain asks me to die on the field, I’ll do it.” And Mustafizur Rahman was the shy, rising star; he had become a world-record holder after playing two ODIs and you could barely get two words out of him. All he would do was flash that big, toothy grin and say he was happy to perform for the team. There is no sign of a resumption of the ad wars, but the rest of the protagonists are back for season two, with the added twist of an Asia Cup and World T20 implications.Bangladesh’s limited-overs team has maintained their Mirpur stronghold jealously since failing to chase 106 against India in 2014. They have played 19 matches and won 14 of them. The trouble is, out of those five losses, three have come in T20Is. With their one-day cricket in prime order, the coach Chandika Hathurusingha has been concentrating on building skills that are vital to success in the shortest format. The team goes into the Asia Cup after a couple of camps in Khulna and Chittagong.India are not light on preparation either. They have been playing T20 cricket since the start of the year (the carnival continues through to May with the IPL) and are quite certain of their first XI. The only issue might be some of the players in that XI have not had enough match practice. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and the returning Virat Kohli have been merciless in their plunder of runs that the middle order has not had much to do. Over six matches, Yuvraj Singh has faced only 26 balls and rookie allrounder Hardik Pandya 18. India do not seem to be worried though, as both Dhoni and Kohli have said their players are well tuned to T20 cricket thanks to the IPL.Form Guide
(last five completed matches)India WWLWW
Bangladesh LLWWLWatch out forYuvraj Singh signs in at the dotted line under returning old favourites. Fifteen years since his international debut, he is still madly sought after. The last three IPL auctions have netted him a whopping Rs 37 crores. At the team hotel in Dhaka, he was spirited aside by a few players from the Oman team to take some pictures and share some secrets. It is unlikely that anyone will ever forget what happened the last time he was in these parts, but with a Sri Lanka rematch and a clash with Pakistan around the corner, maybe he has the opportunity to do something about that.Mahmudullah signs in at the dotted line under captain’s understudy. He is seen as an option to take over Bangladesh after Mashrafe Mortaza having led Barisal Bulls, a team sans any big names, into the final of the Bangladesh Premier League. But he is not seen as the best fit for T20s. He tends to be grilled about his strike-rate a lot and when the question was put forward this time, he quipped that he will try to hit the first ball he faces in the Asia Cup for six.Team newsDhoni returned fitter and leaner after a rare break from international cricket just before the Australia tour in January, but suffered an onset of back spasms two days out from India’s first match of the Asia Cup and three weeks out from their first match of the World T20. The team management said he was recovering well and will be assessed before the match. If he is not fit, Parthiv Patel, who last played for India in 2012, has arrived as back-up. But if Parthiv is brought in, will he fit in the middle order or at the top where he’s had most of his success in domestic limited-overs cricket?India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk)/Parthiv Patel, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish NehraCoach Hathurusingha was impressed by Mohammad Mithun in the Chittagong camp, so he could get a first look in ahead of Imrul Kayes. Both Taskin Ahmed and Abu Hider might miss out while Nasir Hossain too could be benched with Nurul Hasan taking wicketkeeping and late-hitting duties.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Soumya Sarkar, 2 Mohammad Mithun, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Arafat Sunny, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Al-Amin HossainPitch and conditionsMirpur sprung a green pitch on India’s juniors at the Under-19 World Cup and more recently, the final game of the Asia Cup qualifiers played under lights helped the new ball dart around considerably. If the early phase is seen through, however, lots of runs are on offer. There is also the slim possibility of rain playing spoilsport.Stats and trivia Since 2014, Bangladesh batsman have scored at 132.33 in the last four overs, which is the worst among Full Members in T20Is. In the Powerplay, the Bangladesh batsmen’s strike-rate of 112 is second worst after Pakistan’s. In T20Is since 2014, India’s No. 5 to No. 7 have averaged just 16.78 – only Hong Kong, Nepal and Papua New Guinea have averaged worse.Quotes”As many different teams as we play before the World T20, it gives us an opportunity to assess what the teams are like, what the balance is like, what their strengths and weaknesses are and where we stand against them.”
“We had all our experiments done against Zimbabwe in January. There’s no room for any such experiments in the Asia Cup. This is a very important tournament ahead of the World T20.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened pulling out of the World Twenty20 if they did not get a clear message about the security situation from the Indian government

Umar Farooq03-Mar-2016The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened pulling out of the World Twenty20 if they did not get a clear message about the security situation from the Indian government. Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, called for India to publicly acknowledge Pakistan’s participation in the tournament and to also promise full security to their cricket team.No Plan B – Anurag Thakur

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur is confident that the India-Pakistan match on March 19 will take place in Dharamsala. Thakur said that Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had, on Wednesday, assured him that he would facilitate the staging of the marquee match of the tournament.
According to Thakur, Virbhadra assured him that he would speak to families of the martyrs who lost their lives fighting in the Pathankot terrorist attacks recently as well as in Jammu & Kashmir in the past. “I am very hopeful [of the match taking place],” Thakur said at a media briefing while announcing a BCCI tie-up with a sponsor in Delhi. “The meeting [with the CM yesterday] was held in a very positive atmosphere. The state government will also try and speak to those [families and few others] who have raised concerns. I am very hopeful of a positive outcome. The state government have to announce that the match is on. From the BCCI’s side, the match is on,” Thakur said.
Thakur pointed out that while he “condemned” the Pathankot attacks, it was not appropriate to mix politics and sport. Even though Virbhadra had sent a missive to the Indian Home Minister few days ago stating the Himachal government was not in a position to provide security for the match, Thakur said the chief minister had told him the state had an adequate safety mechanism in place. “I asked the CM that if there is a shortage of security personnel in HP, you can also take the help of the central government. But he has assured that the state has enough policemen to provide security,” Thakur said.
Thakur made it clear that that the BCCI had no back-up plan or venue for the match. “There is no Plan B. It is anyway not easy to make changes at the last moment.”

The Pakistan government had initially granted the PCB permission to play in India, but the board has decided to put the visit on hold until they are guaranteed foolproof security. The PCB’s move was prompted after the Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had expressed his state government’s difficulty in providing security for the India-Pakistan clash in Dharamsala, on March 19.”We have concerns and the threats are Pakistan-specific. Even now, the Himachal Pradesh chief minister has also said that they will not guarantee the security,” Shaharyar said during a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. “We have been informing the ICC on a daily basis about these threats which is not encouraging for us.”Although our government has already given permission, these latest threats need to be taken seriously. Political parties like Shiv Sena [threatened us], now even the Congress has also said they will not let us play along with some other groups. Those are the ones creating agitation.”It has been reported that Virbhadra, who heads the Congress government in the northern state, wrote to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) saying that the match should not be played in Dharamsala. Virbhadra’s concerns were regarding the prevailing local sentiment in Himachal over recent terrorist attacks in Pathankot, which lies close to the Pakistan border near the intersection of the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.”We have told the ICC that there is only one step that the Indian government needs to take and that is to issue a public statement that they are ready to welcome Pakistan and ensure full security for our team, which hasn’t come as yet,” Shaharyar said.”We have already been given permission [to travel] and we want to come, but we need reassurance and they should give a statement that will create a sense of security among us. I spoke to the BCCI and they are giving us a private assurance, claiming that it’s all about internal politics, nothing else, and that Pakistan should come.”But a public statement is important and it should come, as there are threats and we can see them. We have written to the ICC that they should come forward and we’ve asked the Indian government to assure us and give a statement. If they won’t give the statement, then I see it’s very difficult to go to India. There is no deadline in making the decision but we will have to monitor till the end and can even pull out at the eleventh hour.”Pakistan are currently in Bangladesh, where they failed to qualify for the final of the ongoing Asia Cup. They are set to return to Lahore on March 5. Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan’s interior minister, said that a report about the team’s visit to India will be presented to the Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif after consulting with Shaharyar.

Arsenal owe much of their success to the perseverance of Mikel Arteta, to mould a team in an image that he knew would bring success.

His free-flowing football has captured the attention, and given their respective Premier League positions, has even seemingly surpassed Pep Guardiola's Manchester City for this campaign.

It is a philosophy built upon versatility and the interchangeability of roles, hence why so many of those within his squad are able to play in so many positions.

Arguably the best example of this is Oleksandr Zinchenko, who stars at left back despite enjoying plenty of his earlier career in attacking midfield.

However, another example has emerged this year, as Ben White has deputised well at right back.

Despite starring for both Leeds United and Brighton and Hove Albion at centre-back, Arteta once again saw something that few others did, and it has brought immeasurable success.

Perhaps they could look to finally unlock him in his favoured position though, by unleashing a versatile academy graduate who perfectly encapsulates the characteristics of this title-chasing team.

That man is James Sweet.

Who is James Sweet?

Having joined the academy aged just eight, the 19-year-old has grown into an exceptionally capable right-back after enjoying most of his youth career in midfield, like Zinchenko.

His attacking impetus is impressive, and just last season he recorded an impressive nine assists from right midfield as his development into a defender accelerated.

The teenager has since featured nine times in Premier League 2 this season, where he continues to excel as a creative influence from deep.

Lauded on Arsenal's official website, the Hale End youngster is described as an 'indefatigable midfielder with exceptional technical quality.' To translate this sort of talent to right back is exactly what Arteta will crave, as his technical quality will be far beyond those also vying for his position.

Should Sweet be moved there, it would perhaps offer an even fiercer battle for those centre-back spots by pushing White into the fold alongside William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, increasing performances even more.

During his loan spell at Elland Road, the 25-year-old maintained a 7.06 average rating, and his sole season within the Seagulls' first team spurred the Gunners to unload £50m for his services. This money was spent to secure a central defender, and they could finally get one as there is now a viable alternative for him set to emerge on the right side of the defence in the coming years.

Although he will have to fight Coventry City loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy for a place in the future, it would see the 6 foot 1 White handed the chance to shine in his favoured role again, whilst adding a Zinchenko clone to the opposite flank.

his could be one of Arteta's boldest decisions yet, to offer such a young player an important role, but it would offer the perfect balance to his otherwise unstoppable outfit.

While in the short-term Everton boss Sean Dyche will be looking to steer the club to safety following what has been another turbulent campaign, the Englishman will also likely need to look beyond this season and consider how he can build a brighter future for the struggling outfit moving forward.

If the former Burnley boss is looking to carry out something of a squad overhaul this summer, however, in order to spark that change, the club's financial woes may prove a notable stumbling block, with funds likely to be limited to spend on new recruits.

Instead of scouring the transfer market for new additions, the 51-year-old could instead look to the Toffees' academy ranks in order to find potential stars of the future who can be gradually eased into the first-team, with 19-year-old midfielder, Isaac Price, seemingly one such prospect who should be given a chance to shine.

Who is Everton's Isaac Price?

It does appear that the centre of the park is an area that is in need of a reshuffle at Goodison Park, with the likes of Tom Davies and Abdoulaye Doucoure set to be out of contract this summer and next summer, respectively, while at 33, Idrissa Gueye is also no long-term option.

While owner Farhad Moshiri did invest £15m to bring promising asset James Garner to Merseyside from Manchester United during the summer, the 22-year-old has thus far been unable to make his mark at the club, having been hampered by injury.

The England youth international has been restricted to just six Premier League appearances so far this term – all of which have come from the bench – with Everton yet to have seen the benefit in snapping up the youngster from Old Trafford.

Although the 6 foot 1 ace may still come good in his current surroundings, Garner may be fearful that he could see his chance of game time inhibited even further due to the presence of the aforementioned Price, with the teenager already making waves for both club and country.

Previously hailed as "terrific" by U23's boss David Unsworth and lauded as "talented" by journalist Joe Thomas, the midfield maestro has already made three appearances for the club at senior level, notably featuring off the bench against Arsenal at the end of last season.

The exciting talent was previously described as "outstanding" by teammate Asmir Begovic after starring in the mid-season friendly clash against Celtic back in November, with The Athletic's Patrick Boyland stating that the teen had made "made an impression on coaches + teammates during Everton's tour."

The Northern Irishman was also the recipient of praise from former boss Frank Lampard due to that impact during the World Cup break, with the one-time Chelsea man having stated: "His energy is amazing, wins a lot of second balls & is calm when he gets there. Finds passes & pockets which is natural knack. He puts himself in the frame now."

Clearly a highly-rated individual, Price was handed his senior international debut by Michael O'Neill against San Marino last week, before again featuring off the bench in the defeat to Finland just a few days later.

That follows the academy sensation's impressive form at youth level for the Toffees, as he has netted three goals and provided two assists in 18 Premier League 2 games this season, proving himself adept at making an impact in the final third.

With Dyche's men currently the joint-lowest scorers in the division, a figure such as Price could be just what Everton are in need of, with it looking as if he could be a star of the future.

Moshiri and co will first need to get the precocious talent tied down to a new deal sooner rather than later – with just a matter of months to run on his existing contract – although thankfully, discussions over an extension are "ongoing", according to Boyland.

Yorkshire have returned to profit for the first time since 2009, as the club’s on-field success was matched by an improved financial position. The positive news threatens to be overshadowed, however, by a disagreement with Geoff Boycott over his desire to rejoin the Yorkshire board.According to the , Boycott has gathered the necessary support to be stand for election at the forthcoming AGM but the club is resistant to a “destabilising” bid from the former England batsman.Boycott is understood to be concerned about a decline in membership, as well as the club’s level of debt, which stands at around £22m. However, Yorkshire chairman Steve Denison has written to members setting out reasons for opposing Boycott’s return – he served on the board between 2007 and 2012 and was elected president for 2012-13.These include the fact that Yorkshire subsequently won the Championship in 2014 and 2015 – having suffered relegation in 2011 – during which time there has been a clear operational divide between the board and team management. Denison said it would be “counter-productive to disrupt things now”.Boycott, a legendary figure around the club, has been offered a role as “global ambassador” but there remains the possibility of a clash reminiscent of the infamous 1980s struggles between Yorkshire and their star player ahead of the March 26 AGM.One of Boycott’s concerns has been the amount of money owed to former chairman Colin Graves and he has called on the club “to start living within our own means”. Graves, who saved Yorkshire from bankruptcy, is now chairman of the ECB and loans worth £18.9m have been divested into the independent Graves family trust.The announcement of a £368,000 profit for 2015 should go some way to easing concerns about the club’s financial position. That represents a significant turnaround from their 2014 losses and will encourage hopes that Yorkshire can be run as a sustainable business post-Graves.Denison described the surplus as a “significant milestone” but warned the club’s debt is likely to rise as it seeks to fund a rebuilt Football Stand at Headingley. Development of the ground is considered vital to maintaining its status as an international venue after Yorkshire’s staging agreement with the ECB runs out in 2019.Yorkshire’s income rose from £7.3m to £8.4m in 2015, with their continued supply of players to the England sides – including Test debuts for Adam Lyth and Adil Rashid – leading to increased ECB funding. That led to a rise in the club’s wage bill, with a bigger squad required to cover for absences.The club also agreed a loan repayment with Leeds City Council, which accepted £6.5m in settlement of the £7.4m capital outstanding. The restructuring of Yorkshire’s debts mean that annual interest has been reduced by £300,000 and there are no scheduled capital repayments until 2019.”We have made further progress in 2015 and to report an annual profit for the first time since 2009 is a significant step forward,” Paul Hudson, Yorkshire’s director of finance, said. “It is gratifying that turnover in all areas has increased consistently over the past three years and we expect this trend to continue in 2016.”The successful completion of the club’s refinancing was a watershed and we are confident that the existing debt is now at a manageable level. The club is in a stronger financial position than it has been at any time in recent years.”

Tim Southee won New Zealand a thriller the last time they met Australia in a T20I six years ago, but now, the stakes are almost as high as the altitude as they face off in a crucial encounter in Dharamsala

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale17-Mar-2016

Match facts

Friday, March 18, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0930 GMT)

Big picture

Six years ago, Australia and New Zealand played a highly entertaining T20 match at Lancaster Park in Christchurch. Brendon McCullum blasted a 56-ball 116 and scooped audaciously off Shaun Tait, New Zealand racked up 214, Australia matched them in the chase, and Tim Southee kept things tight in the Super Over to seal a memorable win for the home team. And they haven’t met in a T20 match since.Strange as it seems, February 28, 2010 was the last time these Trans-Tasman neighbours played each other in T20 cricket. Now they finally reconnect in the shortest format and the stakes are almost as high as the altitude. Dharamsala is the venue for Australia’s opening match of this World T20, but New Zealand already have a win on the board against hosts India. Another one here and they will be in prime position to progress to a World T20 semi-final for the first time since 2007.New Zealand’s spin success against India in Nagpur augurs well for their hopes in this tournament. Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum between them picked up nine out of ten wickets against India, and given that Australia can struggle against the turning ball in the short form it may just be advantage New Zealand. A few more runs from the top order would be handy, though – New Zealand were wobbling at 13 for 2 in the second over against India before recovering adequately.Quite what to expect from Australia remains a mystery. Punished at home by India in three T20s, they moved on to South Africa and found some form, but then were outdone by West Indies in a warm-up in Kolkata. They too have three spinners available, including the allrounder Glenn Maxwell, but neither Ashton Agar nor Adam Zampa had played a T20 international three weeks ago. This is a big step up. Australia are preaching “flexibility”, which is admirable, but there is something to be said for stability as well.

Form guide

Australia: WWLLL (last five completed matches)
New Zealand: WWWLW

Watch out for

David Warner has made his name as an opener but suddenly has become a floater in Australia’s T20 middle order. The switch worked well in South Africa, where he scored 20, 77 and 33, and although it is possible he could open again in this tournament, with other options such as Aaron Finch, Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja, that seems unlikely.Mitchell Santner‘s 4 for 11 against India was the best analysis by a New Zealand spinner in T20 internationals, and there is no reason to think he won’t cause problems for Australia’s batsmen as well. Santner has a certain about him – he just seems like a man for any occasion. And the big occasion hasn’t worried him yet.

Team news

There are so many possible combinations Australia could go with that choosing their final XI feels like something of a lottery, which their selection process has more or less been over the past six games. One question is whether to choose all three spinners, another is whether Usman Khawaja can squeeze into the top order, and another is how many fast men are required with a heavy complement of seaming allrounders.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 David Warner, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Nevill (wk), 9 Ashton Agar/John Hastings/Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.New Zealand may well be tempted to stick with their winning combination.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 Colin Munro, 4 Corey Anderson, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Mitchell Santner, 7 Grant Elliott, 8 Luke Ronchi (wk), 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Adam Milne, 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

A new pitch has been prepared, which may not turn as much as that used by the Associates recently, but spin is still expected to play more of a role than pace and bounce. There is some rain expected on Friday as well, which could lead to an abbreviated game.

Stats and trivia

• Australia and New Zealand have met five times in T20s for four wins to Australia; New Zealand’s only victory was in the Super Over in Christchurch in 2010
• Australia have played only six T20s in 2016 but have used a remarkable 25 players

Quotes

“Yeah, I think you have to have something in mind [for a shortened game]. I don’t think a lot of the game-plans or the way each individual plays changes too much but I think you do have to have a few different game-plans if the game is a bit shorter.”
.”It was definitely a lot of happy team-mates after the game [against India]. But we don’t want to get too carried away. It’s just one game in what is a short and condensed tournament. Lot of games to be played.”