With 68 wickets at the ridiculous average of 8.53, the Bihar left-arm spinner has gone past Bishan Singh Bedi’s 44-year-old mark of 64 wickets in a season

Sreshth Shah09-Jan-2019When the 32-year-old Ashutosh Aman decided to switch from Services to Bihar at the start of the 2018-19 domestic season, he had little idea that he’d end up in the record books by the end of it. Against Manipur this week, he went past fellow left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi’s tally of most Ranji Trophy wickets in a single season, when he trapped Manipur’s Sagatpam Singh lbw for his 65th wicket.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn 1974-75, Bedi took his 64 wickets at the ludicrous average of 8.53. Aman’s numbers this season are even more extraordinary – after day three of Bihar’s match against Manipur in Patna, he has 68 wickets at an average of .An employee of the Indian Air Force, Aman says he didn’t even know of the record in sight up until a week or so ago, but was delighted to have gone past the “legendary” Bedi.”When I had around 50 wickets, that’s when my team-mates told me that there’s a record that’s there to be broken,” Aman tells ESPNcricinfo. “That’s when I pushed myself. I told myself that since I’ve come so close, then if I put some extra effort, then I could perhaps break the record.”Hailing from Bihar’s Gaya, Aman started playing cricket as a teenager for his district. And within three years, he had made his way to Delhi in a bid to further his cricketing ambitions. He joined the Indian Air Force’s accounts department under their sports-quota scheme, and began playing for Services.”I used to earlier play in Gaya itself, from the age of 14, but there was no Ranji Trophy in Bihar back then, so at 17 I joined the Air Force,” Aman says. “After that, whatever cricket I’ve played and learnt is under the Air Force’s aegis. But the competition was high in Services, so I wasn’t getting the opportunity to play Ranji cricket there. My dream was to play days (first-class) cricket, and that’s why I made the switch.”I have a job at the Air Force, so there I wasn’t getting much opportunities with Services, and therefore I came to Bihar since I live in Gaya anyway. I did well in the districts, so then they called me for the one-dayers. I had the best economy in Vijay Hazare Trophy (2.10 in eight games) so then they asked me to play Ranji Trophy. Then I did a camp with Subroto Banerjee, our coach. He liked me, so together with our captain Pragyan Ojha – who is another left-arm spinner like me – they chose me.”

Ashutosh Aman that's what you call a flying start! Brilliant spell. Congratulations. pic.twitter.com/6UX5PztL4w

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) January 10, 2019

Aman mentions Ojha’s influence often, and says the former India spinner has helped him become a more tactically aware bowler.”Pragyan Ojha is a simple and reachable man,” Aman says. “He’s an India player, such a big name, so we remained slightly shy. But he’s a professional, talks to everyone daily, and now we’ve come together very well. He said, (your deliveries should have some life and bounce in them),” and after that my focus has been on that. So he said “even if the ball isn’t turning, your bounce should hurry the batsmen up.””I prefer varying my pace because I’m not a big turner of the ball. My arm ball comes inwards, so I flight and vary my pace by seeding doubt in the batsman. My focus has always remained on bowling accurate deliveries.”Aman’s record-breaking feats have come in the Ranji Trophy’s Plate Division, which includes seven first-time teams. Aman says he can only bowl at the opponents he comes up against, but admits that the quality of opposition may not be as good as it might be in the top tier.

“Sometimes there’s a season written in a person’s forehead, when whatever they do turns out to be positive. I hope it continues this way for me.”Ashutosh Aman

“I’ve played Elite cricket (one-dayers for Services) too, and that’s definitely tougher than Plate Division,” he says. “In Elite cricket, we need to work harder to take wickets there. Honestly, there’s some truth to the difference in levels between Elite and Plate. In Elite cricket, batsmen are of a higher caliber, so you need to adjust and bowl accordingly. Fitness levels and batting techniques are also higher, so there’s definitely a difference. But what to do? The decision to group teams this way wasn’t my choice.”Despite being thrust so suddenly into the limelight, Aman isn’t looking too far ahead. He calls himself “a simple man'” who just wants to continue enjoying the sport. But he hopes he can get more white-ball opportunities, including a shot at the IPL.

Busting some myths about the supposed ‘biggest game of the tournament’

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2019Do one billion people really watch India-Pakistan games?
Not quite. The estimated viewership for the 2017 Champions Trophy final was around 400 million. The group game in the same tournament was watched by 324 million people, slightly more than the 313 million that watched the group game in the 2015 World Cup. The 2011 World Cup semi-final remains the second-most watched cricket game in history, with 495 million viewers.Is this game really ‘bigger than the semis and final’?
Only if India don’t make it that far. It’s no secret that a large percentage of global cricket viewership comes from India, but it’s not true that Indians will take watching an India-Pakistan group game over an India knockout match. More Indians watched the India-Australia semi-final in the 2015 World Cup than the India-Pakistan group game. And in 2011, the India-Sri Lanka final was watched by 558 million people, making it the most watched cricket game in history.Forget the viewership numbers. Has this rivalry lost steam in terms of competitiveness?
We’ll let the stats tell the story here. In the last 10 years, India have won nine of the 14 matches between the two teams, and six of those victories have come by margins of more than 50 runs or five wickets. The matches Pakistan have won have also been mostly one-sided games, including the Champions Trophy final, which they won by 180 runs.In contrast, India and England have won six each of the last 12 ODIs between the two teams. Their last two bilateral series have been hotly contested with three tight matches in India, in 2017, followed by a battle of spin in England in 2018. Against Australia, India have won 10 and lost 11 ODIs in the past five years, with each team winning away series earlier this year.Have there been any close India-Pakistan games at all recently?
You’d have to go back to the 2014 Asia Cup, when Pakistan scored 13 off the last over to win by one wicket, with two balls to spare. Shahid Afridi was the hero with his 34 off 18 balls, which included two sixes in the last over. Before that, the last bilateral series between the two teams, in 2013, produced a low-scoring thriller in Delhi, though the match was a dead rubber as Pakistan were 2-0 up in the three-match ODI series.Is this a mismatch? Are India too strong for this to be considered a rivalry?
India were already favourites going in to the 2017 Champions Trophy final, but after losing it, they have gotten stronger, thanks in part to the addition of two wristspinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Since that final, India have won 10 of 12 ODI series (including the 2018 Asia Cup) and have had a win-loss ratio of 3.076. Pakistan have not built on their Champions Trophy success and have won just two of the eight series or tournaments they have participated in since that win. They have have had a win-loss ratio of just 0.695 and came in to the World Cup on a 10-match losing streak.The ICC team rankings table has India 29 rating points ahead of Pakistan, which is the same as the gap between Pakistan and 10th-ranked Afghanistan.What’s gone wrong for Pakistan since the Champions Trophy?
Their star of that tournament, Hasan Ali, has had a torrid year. He’s averaging 90.16 with the ball and going at 6.32 an over in 2019. Mohammad Amir couldn’t buy a wicket last year – he averaged 100.66 with the ball – and his selection for this World Cup was in doubt. With the bat, there has been an over-reliance on the top three, with none of the middle order batsmen averaging more than 36 since the Champions Trophy.It’s worth noting, though, that Amir’s form has been much better during this World Cup – he took 5 for 30 in Pakistan’s last match – and both Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfaraz Ahmed have found their touch in the middle order.

What do the qualifying scenarios look like for Sunrisers, KKR, Kings XI and Royals?

S Rajesh03-May-2019While the top three teams have distanced themselves from the rest of the pack, there’s plenty at stake in the lower half of the table, with four teams still in the hunt for the last playoff spot. Ahead of the Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders game, here is a look at how that race could pan out.Knight Riders and Kings XI are both on 10 points, and while Knight Riders have the better net run-rate (0.1 to -0.296), that factor is unlikely to come into play, given that Sunrisers Hyderabad are so far ahead at 0.653.Hence, Friday’s game is a virtual eliminator. If Knight Riders lose on Friday, even by a slim margin of, say, five runs, they will have to win their last game – away, against Mumbai Indians – by about 75 runs and hope that Sunrisers lose to Royal Challengers Bangalore by around the same margin, to squeeze past Sunrisers on NRR (The sum of the margins needs to be around 150, so if Sunrisers lose by 50, Knight Riders will have to win by 100.) For Kings XI, the margins are even more improbable: if they lose by five runs, then the sum of the margins will need to be around 240 for them to go through. That is, if Kings XI beat Chennai Super Kings by 100 runs in their last game, they will need Sunrisers to lose to Royal Challengers by 140 runs.This means it’s more than likely that it’s the end of the road for whoever loses Friday’s game. Even the winners of Friday’s game will have to wait on the result of Sunrisers’ final league game to know their chances of qualifying. If Sunrisers win, they will almost certainly take the fourth playoff spot. If, for example, Sunrisers end up beating Royal Challengers by five runs, Knight Riders will have to win each of their two remaining matches by around 75 runs to surpass Sunrisers’ NRR.If Sunrisers lose to Royal Challengers, then the winner of the Kings XI-Knight Riders game will make the playoffs if they also win their last league game. The other team in the hunt for a playoff spot is Rajasthan Royals, who are on 11 points with a game to play, against Delhi Capitals (away) on Saturday. Mumbai Indians’ Super Over win on Thursday means Royals still have a chance of qualifying. That will only happen if they beat Capitals, if Sunrisers lose to Royal Challengers, and if the winners of the Kings XI-Knight Riders game lose their last match.

In the right corner, a team that meticulously plans and steadily impresses. In the left, one with raging mood swings and an inclination to blow one’s mind. Welcome to Sri Lanka v New Zealand

The preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Aug-2019Some teams are chartable. They are open to analysis. The spreadsheets make sense. The planning leads somewhere. Gains are built upon. Weaknesses are minimised. They may retain the capacity to surprise, but they are not, at their core, out to shock.New Zealand is one of these. They’ve arrived in Sri Lanka with a plan. Having studied England’s 3-0 Test series victory on the island last year, New Zealand have picked a squad that could push as many as three frontline fingerspinners into the playing XI in Galle. They also have a recent record that suggests they are one of the more reliable non-Asian teams in Asia, having defeated Pakistan 2-1 in the UAE last year, as well as having drawn a Test series in Sri Lanka on their most-recent visit, in 2012. There is plenty of experience in their batting order. And both Tim Southee and Trent Boult have delivered outstanding Test spells on the island.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are an acid trip in cricketing form. Incremental progress? Ha ha. What is that? Consistent selection? Get out of here with that nonsense. They are either a garbage heap festering away in the afternoon sun, as was the case on their Test tour of Australia earlier this year when they were smashed 2-0, and sacked and dropped their captain, and lost their entire fast-bowling attack to injury. Or they are a rapturous weeks-long party, as was the case in South Africa just after, when one of their most unreliable batsmen produced possibly the greatest Test innings of all time, before they went on to become the first Asian team to clinch a Test series in South Africa, whilst their coach was looking over his back wondering whether he was himself going to be fired, and a new captain was handed what had seemed to be the most abject of losing hands.While Sri Lanka Cricket is now trying to find the legal means to rid itself of that coach – yes, the one who presided over one of their greatest series wins of all time in their most-recent Test outing – New Zealand have a coach in Gary Stead who has come up through their domestic system, has helped develop outstanding talent in Canterbury, and has begun to prove a worthy successor to Mike Hesson – another coach whose domestic experience in New Zealand proved valuable in his record-breaking run at the helm. Hathurusingha’s Sri Lankan-ness, meanwhile, has essentially now become a stick to beat him with, as the Sri Lanka sports minister and board officials round on him for the size of his salary, which is an indignity no foreign coach had ever been subjected to.Getty ImagesOn the captaincy front, Sri Lanka and New Zealand could in some ways be no further apart. Kane Williamson was groomed for leadership for years, and has been the unquestioned leader of the side since Brendon McCullum’s retirement in early 2016. Dimuth Karunaratne, however, has been catapulted into the leadership of the Test team, rocket-launched into the ODI captaincy despite not having played ODIs for four years leading up to May 2019, and so far has done a decent enough job on both fronts to retain the mantle. Sri Lanka’s is a captain who will understand that he could be disposed of as soon – and rapidly – as he arrived. In September last year, Angelo Mathews was ditched as ODI captain, then dumped from the team entirely. In February this year, Test captain Dinesh Chandimal suffered a near-identical fate.To even label New Zealand the straight man and Sri Lanka the joker is to do injustice to Sri Lanka’s raging mood swings. If these two sides were a comedic double act, Sri Lanka would dazzle on some evenings, the audience in stitches, tears spilling down their cheeks. On other nights, Sri Lanka would be in full-scale meltdown, setting the venue ablaze, sending paying customers to fiery graves. For this series, among their two best spinners (the players who will most define Tests in Sri Lanka) is an offspinner (Akila Dananjaya) who also bowls legbreaks and googlies, but over whom a cloud hangs right now because he’s just come back from an elbow-flexion related suspension. The other is a left-arm spinner (Lasith Embuldeniya) who has played all of two Tests, and only bowled nine overs in one of those before he fractured a finger and played no part in the remainder of that game.As both teams prepare for this series, they can be sure that the pitch in Galle will take substantial turn, and that the surface at the P Sara Oval for the second Test will give the seamers more bounce than virtually any other South Asian pitch. Beyond that, there is nothing about Sri Lanka’s cricket right now that can be seriously analysed or prophesised about.New Zealand are professional. They adapt better than arguably any team going around. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are playing under an interim coach for the umpteenth time this decade. So, who can actually bloody work out what they will be like? It hurts your head to even try.

The BCCI anti-doping manager believes more ‘target testing’ and not just random tests is the way forward

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Jul-2019How well educated are the players about anti-doping at all levels?The BCCI accepted the ICC’s anti-doping code as per WADA standard in 2009. We did not carry out testing straightaway because the then BCCI president (N Srinivasan) wanted us to educate the players on anti-doping code before testing them. So in 2010, the anti-doping education programme was started. It was mandatory to all players, including the coaching and support staff.The testing process started in 2012 with domestic cricket, even though in the IPL, it was being done since 2008. Among all the ICC member countries, India has been conducting the most number of tests and that can be verified from the annual data WADA releases every year.ALSO READ: How the BCCI worked out Prithvi Shaw’s suspensionAlso during the off-season – between July and September – the board’s anti-doping cell visits all the state associations and conducts workshops. We provide all the players, both men and women, senior and junior categories, an anti-doping pocket guide which contains a list of the prohibited substances, along with the process, what are their rights and responsibilities. The guide, which is in Hindi as well as English, is sent out every year after WADA updates the list of prohibited substances annually. The guide also contains the 24×7 helpline number where players can verify the medicine they are taking has a prohibited substance or not.Is there an anti-doping programme at the state level?No. The BCCI conducts the programme and oversees the process. Currently it is only me who travels across the country and also communicate directly to the players.Can you tell us about terbutaline, which both Shaw and Yusuf took after buying over-the-counter cough syrups – how does it actually impact a cricketer?Terbutaline helps to open the airways and thereby ventilate the lungs effectively. It may be beneficial to cyclists, runners, etc., but wouldn’t really help a cricketer perform better.

People tend to think it is okay it is just a cough syrup, how can it contain a banned substance? And then make the mistake

In your report on Shaw, you mentioned that it was the first offence and he had only attended a few anti-doping lectures. Despite being just 19 years old, Shaw is an international cricketer. Shouldn’t he have known better?As I said, I try and explain to the players in each and every possible language, to the best way they can understand the importance of anti-doping programme. But at times you know some cricketers tend to overlook. Having said that, there are many junior and young players, who call me regularly from different parts of the country, even Under-16 and Under-14 at times. On a daily basis, I get 20-25 queries on the helpline.I am sure Prithvi knew about BCCI having an anti-doping programme and the helpline. He attended at least three anti-doping education programmes with us. He might have even attended the ICC’s programme conducted at the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. So he was well aware, but probably he just overlooked it and thought to himself “okay, the cough syrup shouldn’t be that dangerous”.I keep telling the players even if it is paracetamol, which is not banned, even if it is a tablet for fever, call me. I won’t be irritated. I am there to help you. But somewhere people tend to think it is okay it is just a cough syrup. How can it contain a banned substance? And then make the mistake.What is interesting is that all the three players now and even others in the past, like Yusuf and Abhishek, took the banned substances inadvertently. And each of them went by the advice of a third party and not a medical professional assigned to their teams. Is that just an oversight on the part of the player? Or is the message you are trying to send out not getting through?Earlier, people were casual and did not bother checking all the medicines they were consuming. Yusuf’s case was an eye-opener for everyone. Other cricketers realised that they needed to be careful, too. That’s when people who did not call earlier started checking their medicines regularly.If you look at the number of cricketers at all age groups, men and women, in India, this is the first time three cases have come up. Earlier it was the one-odd case. That speaks for our education programme. Sheer number of people calling in, the number of people being aware are far more than the number of people testing positive.

In future, probably we could train more people who can communicate with the players in their local language because there could be cases where a person does not understand the message we are sending out in Hindi and English

Another key factor, which could be scary, is all these players have been picked randomly for the tests. Is it fair to assume that there could be several more cases of players consuming medicines or anything that might contain prohibited substances. How does one detect that?True. All these three were picked randomly, but we also do target testing. It is not possible to test each and every player. Compared to other sports, cricket is a low-risk sport when it comes to doping – honestly, I don’t feel there are many substances which will actually enhance a cricketer’s performance. Terbutaline is not going to make someone a better cricketer. Cricket is a skill-based game and you still have to practice the skill to get better.Other than Shaw, two other players, Akshay Dullarwar of Vidarbha and Divya Gajraj of Rajasthan took medicines that contained banned substances. All the three sought outside help for their ailments without seeking out the team’s medical staff. Doesn’t that seem odd?After returning home to Rajasthan, the eye injury [Gajraj had] sustained in Kalyani [in Bengal] worsened, so he consulted an ophthalmologist who prescribed him a diuretic to reduce his raised intraocular pressure.Okay, that is an exception. But Shaw and Dullarwar, they did violate the rule that they should not seek outside help and turn to you first?Absolutely, that is the point we stress at all times. Even at home, your parent might get you a medicine or your local doctor might give something, but you have got to get it checked first.And you believe their mistakes were innocent?Absolutely. These were inadvertent mistakes. And I don’t see how they were used for enhancing performance.What is your message to players?The message has always been clear and the same: they have to contact us before taking any medicine. It could be the simplest of medicines, but you should still check with the BCCI anti-doping helpline. The player can check even with the team’s medical staff, but the BCCI’s anti-doping cell is the best place to check at all times. Even when people call me for queries, I ask them to write to me so that I respond in writing that this medicine is not banned or otherwise, so they have that proof as well.Is there a lesson in this for the BCCI too?BCCI’s planning and implementation of the anti-doping programme is already the best it can have. In future, probably we could train more people who can communicate with the players in their local language because there could be cases where a person does not understand the message we are sending out in Hindi and English. Also, going forward, we could do target testing and less of random tests because that is where the world of anti-doping is leading to.

Thanks to their vastly improved bowling attack, they are far ahead of Indian sides of the past, and their numbers are up there with those of the great Australian teams

Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Sep-2019Under Virat Kohli, India average 26.33 with the ball in Test cricket. Among all teams led by one captain in 30 or more Tests, only four have ever done better: Viv Richards’ West Indies, Hansie Cronje’s South Africa, and the England sides led by Mike Brearley and Peter May.By this crude metric, Kohli has led better bowling attacks than Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting did. This is why Kohli, upon becoming India’s most successful captain, at the conclusion of their recent tour of the West Indies, turned the attention away from himself and towards his bowlers when asked about his achievement.Watch cricket on ESPN+

India v South Africa is available in the US on Hotstar and ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the three Tests.

“Captaincy is just a ‘c’ in front of your name, honestly,” he told Ian Bishop at the presentation ceremony at Sabina Park. “It’s the collective effort that matters. It’s a byproduct of this quality team that we have here. If we didn’t have the bowlers that we have, I don’t think the results would have been possible.”ALSO READ: Attention: India’s bowling attack is the best, most versatile in the worldThe results have been remarkable, and unprecedented in an Indian context. Kohli has won 28 of his 48 Tests as captain, achieving a win percentage (58.33) that is behind only Waugh and Ponting among the 50 captains who have led their teams in 30 or more Tests. MS Dhoni, the next Indian on that list, is in 20th place, at 45.00%, and Sourav Ganguly is 22nd, at 42.86%.