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IPL 2024 – Wanidu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa released, Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana retained by CSK

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Royal Challengers Bangalore have released Wanidu Hasaranga [file pic]

With the retention dealine for IPL 2024 ending today (26), it has been reported that , Wanidu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa have been released by Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings respectively while Chennai Super Kings have retained Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana.

The full list of retentions and releases follows,

Gujarat Titans: Hardik retained for now

In the lead-up to the player retention deadline, it was reported that Hardik Pandya would be leaving Gujarat Titans and returning to Mumbai Indians. But on the day of the deadline, Titans retained Hardik and listed him as their captain for now. Hardik could yet move back to Mumbai, with the trading window active until December 12, a week before the player auction on December 19.

Titans have retained the core of the squad that won them the IPL title in 2022 and took them to the finals in 2023.

Players released: Alzarri Joseph, Odean Smith, Dasun Shanaka, Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan

Players retained: David Miller, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Hazlewood, Hasaranga, Harshal out

RCB are set to overhaul their bowling attack, having released Wanindu Hasaranga, recent ODI World-Cup winner Josh Hazlewood, David Willey and Wayne Parnell. They have retained England left-arm quick Reece Topley, but he is prone to injuries. Mohammed Siraj is the only certain starter among bowlers in their list of retained players.

Players released: Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Kedar Jadhav

Players traded out: Shahbaz Ahmed

Players traded in: Mayank Dagar

Players retained: Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Vyshak Vijaykumar

Purse for the auction: 40.75 CR

Mumbai Indians: Archer headlines 11 player exodus

Mumbai don’t have the services of their old boy Hardik just yet. They released as many as 11 players – including Jofra Archer, who was bought for INR 8 crore at the 2022 auction – to free up their purse in case the trade for Hardik goes ahead before the auction.

Players released: Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep Warrier

Players traded in: Romario Shepherd

Players retained: Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Cameron Green, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorf

Chennai Super Kings: Stokes released

As expected CSK released Stokes, who had opted out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload. The departure of both Stokes (INR 16.25 crore) and Rayudu (INR 6.75 crore), who has retired from the IPL, will allow CSK to bid aggressively for overseas allrounders and quicks at the auction.

Players released: Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Dwaine Pretorious, Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati, Akash Singh, Kyle Jamieson, Sisanda Magala

Players retained: MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Chowdhary, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw stays

Capitals have placed faith in Shaw once again despite his poor season in 2023, but they lack power in the middle order following the release of Rovman Powell. They will be on the lookout for a finisher and a fast bowler.

Players released: Rilee Rossouw, Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Phil Salt, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Priyam Garg

Players retained: Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar

Rajasthan Royals: Holder, Root released

Royals had hoped Jason Holder would lend balance and depth to their side last season, but they barely used him with the bat and failed to get the best out of him with the ball. A gun overseas allrounder will be top priority on their shopping list at the auction.

Players released: Joe Root, Abdul Basith, Jason Holder, Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, M Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif

Players traded out : Devdutt Padikkal

Players traded in : Avesh Khan

Players retained: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Prasidh Krishna\

Punjab Kings: Shahrukh, a surprise release

Releasing Shahrukh Khan (INR 9 crore) into the auction pool has allowed Kings to retain allrounder Sam Curran, who had become the most expensive player in the IPL (INR 18.5 crore) at the previous auction. If Kings can’t buy Shahrukh back at a lower price, they need a new domestic finisher.

Players released: Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Baltej Dhanda, Mohit Rathee, Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Players retained: Shikhar Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Bhatia

Kolkata Knight Riders: Several quicks among 12 players let go

KKR, like RCB, have overhauled their pace department, letting Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur and Tim Southee go among others. They also need a back-up wicketkeeper batter for Rahmanullah Gurbaz, having released both Litton Das and N Jagadeesan.

Players released: Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, N Jagadeesan, David Wiese, Aarya Desai, Litton Das, Johnson Charles, Shakib Al Hasan

Players retained: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, , Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, Andre Russel, Venkatesh Iyer, Suyash Sharma, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Brook cut loose

Harry Brook headlines Sunrisers’ list of released players, but they already have a ready middle-order replacement for him in Glenn Phillips. Their spin attack, though, appears thin following the releases of Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein and Mayank Dagar, who was traded for Shahbaz Ahmed.

Players released: Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein, Karthik Tyagi, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas

Players traded out: Mayank Dagar

Players traded in: Shahbaz Ahmed

Players retained: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande

Lucknow Super Giants: Unadkat, Sams let go

LSG released eight players – none of whom can lay claim to being first-XI players, though new coach Justin Langer said it was hard for the franchise to let Daniel Sams go. Having also traded Romario Shepherd to Mumbai, LSG will eye overseas allrounders at the auction.

Players released: Daniel Sams, Karun Nair, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Swapnil Singh, Arpit Guleria

Players traded out : Romario Shepherd, Avesh Khan

Players traded in : Devdutt Padikkal

Players retained: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-Haq

(Cricinfo)



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Twelve sentenced to death by Gampaha High Court

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The Gampaha High Court has sentenced Twelve (12) individuals to death over the 2022 murder of former Polonnaruwa District Member of Parliament Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer.

 

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Ghosts of 2016 writ large as England, West Indies meet again

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Gudakesh Motie sends one down in the nets on match eve [Cricinfo]

In a tournament that has so far been characterised by plucky challenges from unfancied underdogs, here’s a clash of big beasts to whet the appetite. Okay, so West Indies may not be among the big hitters on a global scale any more – hell, they didn’t even qualify for the ICC’s last two 50-over tournaments. But in a 20-over gunfight, they’ve proven time and again that their particular brand of physical might is right. Not least against Wednesday’s familiar foes at the Wankhede.

A clash of England and West Indies in a T20 World Cup is an inevitable opportunity to revisit one of the greatest finales of all time. Ten years ago in Kolkata, not quite to the month, Carlos Brathwaite launched Ben Stokes into the stratosphere time and time again to swipe the 2016 trophy from England’s grasp, almost as the engraver was getting to work.

But if the raw aggression of that moment left England feeling robbed, they could not say that they hadn’t been warned. For it was at the Wankhede, in their very first match of that same campaign, that they came a cropper in the face of an even more ferocious beating, as the mighty Chris Gayle blitzed 11 massive sixes in his 47-ball hundred.

Fittingly, those were the only two defeats of England’s knowingly naïve campaign. Perhaps they came too early in their ongoing white-ball awakening for the players to possess the street-smarts required to bring down an IPL-trained mean machine. But the lessons they learned would be invaluable, especially when the 2019 World Cup reached its own clutch moments.

England still have two survivors from that campaign – Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler, whose recognition of the value of six-hitting was his single biggest takeaway from that tournament; that, for a player who trusts his ability to clear the ropes, even the steepest of chases can be broken down into a handful of big hits when the match-up is right.

But, as Sam Curran noted after his nerveless death over had saved the day against Nepal, the lessons of that tournament cut both ways as they continue to echo down the generations. “I weirdly thought of the 2016 final, when Carlos got hold of Stokesy,” he told the BBC afterwards. “I was thinking, ‘Well, if I execute, he’s not going to hit me for six.'”

As for West Indies, Johnson Charles and Jason Holder remain from that squad of ten years ago, alongside their head coach, Darren Sammy – whose captaincy proved instrumental in drawing his players together to fight for a common cause. As he demonstrated on match eve, shooting the breeze with the media in a 15-minute address that touched every issue imaginable in West Indies cricket, his class of 2026 are unlikely to lack for motivation against these opponents.

History and precedent aside, this is a significant match-up for more basic qualification reasons. On the face of it, the jeopardy in Group C has been reduced by Bangladesh’s decision to withdraw, but Nepal are clearly itching for an upset and, as Scotland showed with a comprehensive win over the likely stragglers Italy, they have embraced their unlikely opportunity with gusto.

It’s an occasion that deserves to be savoured. As the weeks of uncertainty over India versus Pakistan ended up demonstrating, there’s still something precious about proper historical rivalries on the grandest stages that the game can offer. England and West Indies have each won two T20 World Cup titles, tying them with India as the most successful teams in the tournament’s history. Their storied pasts will inform the present on Wednesday night, as each team seeks to stride on into the future.

One of the main reasons for England’s angst in that Nepal run-chase was the unexpectedly brutal treatment meted out on Adil Rashid. Not only did he go wicketless for the first time in 25 T20I innings, dating back to the last World Cup, he was launched at a rate of 14 runs an over, the second most expensive T20I spell of three or more overs in his career. Nepal’s ability to pick his variations was the clincher, borne no doubt of their own familiarity with the art of legspin, and given his form coming into the tournament, there’s no question of Harry Brook losing any faith in Rashid’s impact. As the man himself said on this site last week, “you have to have a big heart as a spinner”. It’s about to be tested once more.

Quality spin remains an Achilles heel for England’s heavy hitters, and in Gudakesh Motie, they’ll be reunited with a left-arm spinner who knows how to cramp their style. Ten of his 40 T20I wickets have come in his frequent clashes with England, including a matchwinning haul of 3 for 24 in Tarouba two years ago. He was recently left out of their tour of New Zealand after a dip in form linked to a technical flaw, but last month he reasserted his trump-card status with a matchwinning haul in a rain-reduced game against South Africa.

Once again, England were quick out of the blocks with their starting XI. Just the one change from that fraught opener against Nepal, with Luke Wood’s left-arm seam making way from the heavier deck-hitting capabilities of Jamie Overton. He hits a long ball too, which might be useful down the order, given West Indies’ own six-hitting reputation.

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell,  Tom Banton,  Harry Brook (capt),  Sam Curran, Will Jacks,  Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton,  Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

West Indies know their XI, but have chosen not to divulge it just yet. There was not much reason to change a winning formula from their tournament opener against Scotland.

West Indies (probable): Brandon King,  Shai Hope (capt & wk),  Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell,  Sherfane Rutherford,  Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde,  Jason Holder,  Akeal Hosain,  Shamar Joseph,  Gudakesh Motie.

[Cricinfo]

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Undermanned Australia get campaign going against dangerous Ireland

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Paul Stirling has not been in good touch of late [Cricket Ireland]

Australia are the last side to begin their T20 World Cup campaign and the late start plays heavily into their favour, given the injury issues they have had coming into the tournament.

They are already without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood after both were ruled out with injury, and Australia’s selectors have intriguingly not yet replaced Hazlewood in the 15 and will only have 13 to choose from for their opening match against Ireland with Tim David expected to miss the opening round as he continues to rehab his hamstring injury.

Had the first match been any earlier, there may have also been doubts on Nathan Ellis coming off a hamstring concern and Adam Zampa, who experienced some groin tightness in the last T20I of the tour of Pakistan a fortnight ago, which Australia lost 3-0.

Australia are also struggling for form, having been hammered in Pakistan despite many of them coming from the BBL. However Ellis, David and Glenn Maxwell were all absent from that trip while many of the World Cup squad only played one or two games in the series at most. The change in conditions will challenge them, as will Ireland’s spinners George Dockerell and Gareth Delany after both bowled well against Sri Lanka.

Ireland themselves will feel under some pressure after butchering a chance to beat Sri Lanka in Colombo in their tournament opener. They dropped seven catches and gave up 59 runs from their final four overs with the ball. They were 105 for 2, albeit with the required run-rate climbing, but lost 8 for 38 to lose the game by 20 runs.

In theory, Ireland have the advantage of being a slightly unknown quantity to Australia. The two teams have only met twice in T20Is and only once in all international cricket since 2016. They played at the Gabba in the 2022 T20 World Cup and eight of the Ireland XI that played against Sri Lanka played in that game too. However, Australia may only have four players in their XI who played four years ago, with a number of retirements and injuries changing the formation of Australia’s team.

The only other time the two teams met in the shortest format was in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Colombo. Paul Stirling, Dockrell and Maxwell all played in that game.

Can Glenn Maxwell go to the well one more time to produce a stunning World Cup for his nation? Given he turns 38 this year, it seems unlikely that he will play another one for Australia, having already retired from ODI cricket. But since a match-winning 62 not out against South Africa last August, he has had a very lean run in all T20s. In eight innings in the BBL when he got past 3 he remained unbeaten, but that only happened three times with a highest score of 39 not out. His bowling will also be vital in the tournament as he will likely be the lone spinning allrounder in the top seven for most of the event.

Ireland need skipper Paul Stirling to set the tone at the top of the order, particularly against an inexperienced new-ball attack for Australia. His returns have also been lean in recent times with scores of 21, 29, 38, 0, 23, 45, 8, 14, and 6 in his last nine T20Is, striking at just 125.17. His 6 off 13 against Sri Lanka was not the start to the tournament he or Ireland were hoping for.

Australia appear set to play two specialist spinners in Matt Kuhnemann and Zampa. It will mean one of Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis will miss out. There is another option Australia could take with Cooper Connolly playing at No. 8 to lengthen the batting, but that appears unlikely based on form. David’s absence will likely give Matt Renshaw a chance in the middle order. The combination of the top seven is likely to be fluid with the potential of elevating Maxwell early against spin.

Australia (probable): Travis Head,  Mitchell Marsh (capt), Cameron Green,  Josh Inglis (wk), Matt Renshaw,  Glenn Maxwell,  Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett/Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis,  Matt Kuhnemann,  Adam Zampa

There could be a temptation to bring in left-arm seamer Josh Little, who bowled very well against Australia four years ago, but he has gone wicketless in his last four T20Is. Ireland will more than likely remain unchanged given catching was the major issue against Sri Lanka.

Ireland (probable): Paul Stirling (capt),  Ross Adair,  Harry Tector,  Lorcan Tucker (wk),  Curtis Campher,  Ben Calitz,  George Dockrell,  Gareth Delany,  Mark Adair,  Barry McCarthy,  Matthew Humphreys

[Cricinfo]

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