🔥 NEWS REPORT🔥

1. 🇮🇳 INDIA’S SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT

Well, well, well…, as mentioned in the previous edition of Matchup Monday (MM#4), the middle/lower order slot was in contention between Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube, ‘depending on the selector’s mood’, and I was right. Everyone mentioned in the lineup has made it into the official squad.

Turns out Ajit Agarkar was vibing with Dube recently, due to his superior experience compared to Rinku Singh, thus, he travelling as a reserve, as a ‘just-in-case’ man.

I believe that the problem with the current Indian Team is that there is very little to no diversity regarding experienced all-rounders. Look at Hardik Pandya, his captaincy has been terrible, his bowling is par, and his batting is unworthy of being considered.

Yet he still has been selected, along with Axar and Jadeja, as very safe options, but not in-form options.

Critics have been criticising the IPL’s flat wickets and the high-scoring games it has delivered. The all-rounders listed above have not been thriving in such conditions, making the selectors tentative.

There is nothing much we can do now, as the T20 WC is about to begin, but in future, here is a solution to the current selection dilemma between raw talent and proven experience.

It is imperative that BCCI begin to nurture potential such as Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, with many more to list. These people have the capacity to bowl and provide a more diverse line-up of all-rounders, which will make their inclusion more valuable. With a healthy mixture of experienced players and raw talent, this is how India will be able to win big matches, something they have been struggling for the past few decades.

2. Rest of the WC Squad Selections

Rather than boring you with a full-depth analysis of all the squads released, I will outline the highlights.

• McGurk’s Exclusion: This has genuinely shocked me as this man rocked up to the IPL casually and is hitting bowlers all over the place, from the first match onwards. For me, he should be opening with Warner, Head at 3, Marsh at 4, Inglis at 5, Stoinis at 6, Green at 7, Cummins at 8, Starc at 10 and Zampa at 11.

• Sunil Narine’s Retirement Stubbornness: To some extent, I have respect for his efforts for his country and his decision to stay retired, however witnessing the downfall of Windies cricket, he would internally wish to set things correctly, on his home soil, right? His performance has been nothing short of admirable, a classy all-rounder for KKR.

3. Team Kit Releases

A very standard kit from Australia, nothing too special, except for the darker green approach, a slight change that I believe is refreshing, taking into account the years of yellow we have been receiving.

In honest terms, this looks like the board officials (if they have any) took a quick search on Fiverr for the cheapest graphic designer to make a jersey. You can even see the lack of clarity in the text ‘Namibia’. This is a problem that is not necessarily theirs but cricket’s lack of diversity regarding wealth.

I personally am a fan of the attention to detail they have included with the mountains at the bottom, an icon symbolically representing Nepal’s pride and gratitude they have, being gifted with a picturesque landscape, spanning across the nation.

Another gem in the pool of jerseys, a throwback to 25 years ago, when coloured jerseys were still becoming a thing. I guess in this tournament, they will not be the ‘all-blacks’, but recently that colour scheme hasn’t been working for them, so a change-up might do the trick.

Attention to detail with the tri-colour stripe on the left shoulder as well as the faint silhouette of proteas underneath ‘South Africa’ are to be noted with this kit, otherwise, a very well-rounded kit by SA.

My God.

If this kit is released, I wouldn’t even wear it if somebody gave it for free.

Is this a training kit… or a match kit?

In reality, this is 99% likely to be a training kit, if it wasn’t, where is the ‘T20 World Cup’ branding?

As a training kit, it’s probably the best it could be, as it includes the Indian stripes along the collar and the colour scheme looks acceptable.