“What happened with Kohli there – Kohli was bang out of order. Virat Kohli should have been banned for what he did. You know how much I love Virat Kohli and what he has done for the game, but there’s a line, and you do not cross it,” Harmison told the talkSPORT Cricket podcast.

Following the incident, the International Cricket Council (ICC) fined Kohli 20 per cent of his match fee. This was done so because Kohli had made physical contact with Konstas and his actions breached ICC’s Code of Conduct.

Harmison also advised Konstas to improve his defensive technique rather than trying to emulate former Australia opener David Warner and his attacking playstyle.

“Sam has got the scoops, he’s got the big shots. But does he have the defensive technique for Test match cricket against the world’s best? That’s something he needs to figure out. If he gets it right, he has a great chance because he can be aggressive and has a good mindset for attacking the ball. But I just think he wants to be David Warner, and technically, he’s nowhere near as good as Warner,” Harmison said.

“If he’s opening the batting against England, I’d be happy. I really would. But he’s only 19, and he’s going to improve. However, if he continues to be aggressive verbally, he’ll face consequences. India is one thing, but the Ashes – with all the pressure it brings – is another level entirely. I’ve no issue with him having a go at India; he tried to rile them up because they were wasting time, and India got Khawaja out and won. But the Ashes will be a different challenge,” Harmison said.

The post ‘Should have been banned…’: Ex-England star’s BLUNT verdict on the Virat Kohli-Sam Konstas spat appeared first on Cricket Country.

According to Ponting, Kohli is trying too hard which has been resulting in him being hurt. After he nicked the ball to the slips during India’s second innings of the Sydney test, he was spotted expressing his frustration.

“…The challenge is, and I can see it with Virat now, you can see how much he wants it. He’s trying so hard that actually makes batting harder. The harder you try sometimes with batting, the less success you’re going to have. I started thinking more about not getting out rather than scoring runs and that might sound strange but that’s what it was. I was trying to be so perfect set the right example play exactly the way my team needed me all the time but when I was playing my best I didn’t think about any of that.,” Ponting told ICC.

“I just walked out and thought about scoring runs. I can just see a little bit of that with Virat now. Even the way that he’s getting out you can see he doesn’t want to be playing at those balls he’s trying not to do it but he’s there’s some mental block there that’s making him feel for that one outside the off stump,” he added.

According to Ponting, Kohli needs a kind of vacation from the game, as the star batter is unable to play freely because of the pressure of expectations and ongoing failure.

“A break can only help the Indian legend. He had a mental break (in the past) where he stepped away for a while and then came back and find the love for the game again. So right now it just seems like that real love of the game for him is not there because he’s making it too hard to enjoy. So if he wants to continue playing Test match cricket, he might just need to have a little spell for a while, find the love for the game again,” Ponting told ICC.

After India had an England tour in 2022, Kohli had been in a similar situation where he could not perform well, and hence he took a 42-day vacation. The star batter stated that it was the first time in his career where he had not touched the bat for 30 days. After that he made a comeback in the sport and had impressive outcomes, which might happen once again if he goes on according to the advice of the former Australian captain.

The post ‘Making it too hard to enjoy…’: Ricky Ponting advices Virat Kohli to ‘Take a Break’ in order to surpass his Lean patch appeared first on Cricket Country.

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Australia skipper Pat Cummins were both among the star performers in BGT and thus rightfully received their nominations. South Africa pacer Dane Paterson, who played a key role in the Proteas’ victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, was also nominated for the award.

Bumrah claimed a highly impressive 22 scalps in Test matches during December. He rattled the Australian batters whenever he got the chance to do so and was undoubtedly India’s best player throughout the series. He was also awarded with the Player of the Series award for his sensational bowling performances.

On the other hand, Cummins was a standout performer with both the bat and the ball in the series against India and massively helped in guiding his team to the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Cummins showcased his fine form by claiming 17 wickets across 3 Tests against India in December at an impressive average of 17.64. The Australia skipper also played important knocks of 49 and 41 in the Melbourne Test.

Finally, Paterson played a crucial role in South Africa securing their place in the WTC final with victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan. His figures of 5/71 against the Lankan Lions and 5/61 against the Men in Green played a key role in the Proteas’ triumphs.

The post Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC Player of the Month award, to compete against THESE cricketers appeared first on Cricket Country.

The West indies great stated that this plan violates the significance of a global game, and will have a bad effect towards the growth of the sport. He also expressed concern about the marginalization that is possible towards the small cricketing nations.

“I think it will be terrible for all those countries who work so hard to get to Test match status and now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section,” Lloyd was quoted as saying in the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian.

“You could imagine they’re talking about dismantling the West Indies, that is not the way to go. The way to go is to give them (West Indies and other teams) the same amount of money so they can improve their facilities, get better systems in place so that they can improve their cricket,” the 80-year-old added.

The Sydney Morning Herald had reported that later this month ICC Chairman Jay Shah will have a meeting with the officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia Chairman Mike Baird, and England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Richard Thompson in order to go over the specifics.

The post ICC’s plan to introduce 2-Tier cricket gets called “Terrible” by World Cup winning Legendary captain appeared first on Cricket Country.

India’s performance in the red-ball cricket has attracted a lot of criticism in the recent times as they have faced back-to-back series defeats. Now, all the eyes will be on the ICC Champions Trophy, which is marking its return after eight long years.

The whole tournament was initially supposed to be held only in Pakistan, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send the Indian team to the neighbouring nation, which caused ICC to make arrangements for India’s matches to be held in Dubai. The Champions Trophy is going to take place from Frbuyary 19.

Rumours have been circulating for India’s squad for Champions Trophy, and now it has been reported that ICC has a deadline of January 12 for submission of provisional squads, with allowance to the teams to make changes until February 13.

“All teams need to submit their provisional squads by January 12 but (are) allowed to make changes till February 13,” said an ICC official.

The official also stated that it is their individual decision of the teams if they wish to announce their squad or not, as the ICC will eventually announce the squads on February 13.

“It is up to the teams whether they want to announce the squad or or not as the International Cricket Council (ICC) will release the submitted squads only on February 13,” the official added.

The team management is reported to consider Bumrah taking the vice-captaincy for the Champions Trophy, as he gave out impressive outcomes when captaining the Indian side in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

The post ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Selection Committee expected to announce the Indian squad soon? Report appeared first on Cricket Country.

If the story is to be believed, this action comes after the record-breaking attendance of spectators during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), that featured five Test matches between India and Australia. There were a total of 837,879 spectators in stadiums, which made the BGT the most-attended non-Ashes series in the history of Australian cricket. This season of BGT was the fourth highest attended series in Australian cricket history after the Ashes series in 1936-37, 2017-18, and 2946-47.

2-tier former and its working:
According to the two-tier system, the top teams in cricket today, including India, Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand, will play against each other more frequently.
Other teams such as Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe are not known for their skills in Test cricket, and would be assigned to the second division of the format.

The teams that have not had much success in recent times like Bangladesh and West Indies may fall under this category. Though the low-tier teams will only play within their division, but the top-tier clubs will face one another in this format.

Possible teams in the structure:

1st Division:
South Africa, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakista

2nd Division:
West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

The post Jay Shah might take BIG step as the ICC Chairman: Can probably introduce 2-tier Test cricket appeared first on Cricket Country.

Pakistan team has done well in their recent ODI matches, as they have defeated Australia and South Africa. Before the Champions Trophy, he Men in Green will lock horns with New Zealand and South Africa in a tri-series.

The Pakistan squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 has not been officially announced, but it looks like it should not be very different from the team that has played in South Africa.

Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Harris Rauf are certain to feature in the squad, along with Saim Ayub also confirming his place in the squad as he scored two centuries in the ODIs against South Africa.

Abdullah Shaqifue is likely going to be dropped because he had a horrible outing in the three ODIs, getting dismissed three times on ducks. Fakhar Zaman is likely going to replace him.
Muhammad Irfan Khan and Kamran Ghulam might get retained in the squad as they have shown remarkable performance in the middle order.
Usman Khan might be the one to serve as the backup keeper.

Main concern for Pakistan team lies in the spin bowling. Agha Salman has done well as an all-rounder, but there is no surity that he alone will be able to handle the spin bowling responsibilities. Pakistan can even consider bringing back veteran all-rounder Shadab Khan in the squad, while Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain will be the pacers.

Pakistan’s expected squad for Champions Trophy 2025:
Mohammad Rizwan (captain & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wk)

The post 2 Player Rested: Pakistan’s Expected squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025 appeared first on Cricket Country.

The global governing body of the sport has decided to go with a Hybrid model for the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy, with India going to play their matches at a neutral venue in Dubai.

“It’s unfortunate that things have worked out that way for sure. But there’s no doubt that what everyone loves seeing — the India-Pakistan games. Whenever they come together, whether it’s an ICC event, it is a really special time because we’ve got a sense of what’s on the line,” Watson told the media.

“It’s unfortunate that India aren’t travelling to Pakistan for this Champions Trophy. But, unfortunately, that’s just the way it is right now,” he added.

The Champions Trophy 2025 is going to begin in February and India’s matches will be played in Dubai. If India manages to qualify for semi-final and final, both the matches will be also held in Dubai, otherwise, the matches will be held in Pakistan itself.

India’s schedule for Champions Trophy 2025:
India vs Bangladesh: February 20 in Dubai
India vs Pakistan: February 23 in Dubai
India vs New Zealand: March 2 in Dubai
Semi-final (if qualified): March 4 in Dubai
Final (if qualified): March 9 in Dubai

The post Shane Watson calls it “Unfortunate” as India declined travelling to Pakistan for Champions Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

Kohli then eventually got charged with breaking Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. This charge was given by the on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, along with third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Shawn Craig.

“Virat Kohli has been fined 20 percent of his match fee and awarded one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct,” the ICC said.

A player can get maximum of two demerit points in case of Level 1 offense. Four demerit points are given in case of Level 2 offence. Four demerit points in span of 2 years lead to a suspension of one Test. This is the first demerit point that Kohli has got since 2019. It is, however, rare for a player to get four demerit points at one go in order of break of code of conduct.

Kohli’s match fee for he game was to be Rs. 15 lakh, but now has been reduced to Rs. 12 lakh because of the fine. As they punished Kohli, ICC mentioned Article 2.12 of the Code of Conduct in their press conference.

As per Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct: “Inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match.”

“Note: Any form of inappropriate physical contact is prohibited in cricket. Without limitation, Players will breach this regulation if they deliberately, recklessly and/or negligently walk or run into or shoulder another Player or Umpire,” the rule further adds.

“When assessing the seriousness of the breach, the following factors (without limitation) shall be taken into account: (i) the context of the particular situation, including, without limitation, whether the contact was deliberate (i.e. intentional), reckless, negligent, and/or avoidable; (ii) the force of the contact; (iii) any resulting injury to the person with whom contact was made; and (iv) the person with whom contact was made.”

The ICC further state that Level 1 and Level 2 breach will be applied “in the case of contact with Players, Player Support Personnel or any other person.”
Level 3 and Level 4 breach will be applied “in the case of contact with Umpires and Match Referees.”

The post How did Virat Kohli escape ICC Ban after ‘Physical Contact’ with Sam Konstas in Boxing-Day Test? Explained appeared first on Cricket Country.

Following the incident, former India head coach Ravi Shastri slammed the Indian batter for his ‘unnecessary’ actions towards 19-year-old Konstas. Shastri also termed the incident as ‘something you don’t want to see’.

“It’s unnecessary, totally unnecessary. You don’t want to see that. Virat is a senior player, he’s been captain of the side. He’ll have his own explanations as regards that. But it’s something you don’t want to see. One person who will be watching, his eyes will be locked into the proceedings, Andy Pycroft,” Shastri said.

Kohli was fined by 20 per cent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) following his heated exchange with Konstas. The India cricketer was also handed a demerit point by the global body.

Meanwhile, Konstas made headlines with his highly impressive debut knock of 60 runs from only 65 deliveries which included 2 unreal sixes to India seamer Jasprit Bumrah, who has proved to be a nightmare for almost every Australia batter throughout the series so far.

The post ‘It’s totally unnecessary…’: Ex-India star SLAMS Virat Kohli for Sam Konstas incident appeared first on Cricket Country.