With 'no scope for growth', Jackson retires from Indian limited-overs cricket

Sheldon Jackson, the Saurashtra batter, has called time on his limited-overs career. He retires with 2792 runs in 84 innings, the highlight being his unbeaten 133 to help Saurashtra win their second Vijay Hazare Trophy crown in 2022. He hit nine centuries and 14 half-centuries in all.While the announcement came in the middle of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, Jackson had been contemplating retirement for a while. He announced his decision to the team management prior to Saurashtra’s fixture against Punjab on December 31. Jackson featured in five one-day games this season, with the 71 he made against Puducherry in their tournament opener his highest.”It’d been at the back of my mind from even before the tournament and I kept taking it game by game, but before the Punjab match, I told the team, but they wanted me to bow out on the field,” Jackson told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a very gracious move from them and I’m really thankful for that gesture.”Saurashtra’s performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, where they won six out of seven group-stage fixtures to storm into the quarter-finals, convinced Jackson that he was done.”The way Saurashtra’s youngsters played during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy convinced me my time was up,” he said. “I didn’t find it right to be blocking someone’s spot. At 37-38, even if I score 5000 runs, I wasn’t going to be in the reckoning for the national team. Or say I scored ten ducks, the worse that would’ve happened is I’d be out of the state team.”In that sense, there was no scope for growth. What’s the point in me holding on to my spot when it wasn’t going to lead me anywhere? I rang up Jaydev Shah [the Saurashtra Cricket Association president, who is currently in Australia as the India team manager] and expressed my thoughts and then communicated it to the captain [Jaydev Unadkat] and the coach [Niraj Odedra].”Jackson didn’t feature in any of the T20 games at the Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It’s believed the team management had been keen on blooding younger players. As it turned out, a number of them, like Jay Gohil, Ruchit Ahir and Sammar Gajjar broke through.”For the past two years, I hadn’t even been registering for the IPL auction,” Jackson said. “And in all honesty, the motivation for someone to be a part of SMAT, especially if you’re not in the reckoning for the Indian team, is to get an IPL gig. If I wasn’t even in the auctions, it felt pointless to simply soldier on and block a spot.Sheldon Jackson has won two Ranji Trophy titles with Saurashtra•Shashank Kishore/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Because even if I wasn’t going to be in the XI, chances are I’d be in the 15. And that’d mean blocking the place of one young player. So, in that sense, it really wasn’t a hard decision, the time was right.”I’d communicated the same to the selectors a week before SMAT. I’m not entirely sure how it would’ve played out – whether I made their decision easier or if it was already decided I won’t be a part of it – but I’d decided the best thing to do was communicate clearly.”Jackson isn’t done just yet with first-class cricket. A two-time Ranji Trophy winner and a veteran of 103 first-class games, he’s hopeful of being able to give Saurashtra a chance of winning their third title, however tough it may seem at this point. Saurashtra are currently jostling mid-table in Elite Group D and need to win both their remaining games, against Delhi and Assam, to have a chance of making the knockouts.”I still want to keep going in first-class cricket, at least for these two games, and then take it from there,” Jackson said. “I really don’t know for how long. But my immediate focus is to try and see if I can help contribute towards us making the knockouts. It’s tough but it’s still possible. And from there, I’ll reassess after the two games about my red-ball future. I’ve had the complete support of the team and Jaydev and Niranjan Shah. I hope I can finish on a high.”

Cummins hopes for more proactive Labuschagne in pink-ball Test

Pat Cummins expects to see a more proactive Marnus Labuschagne at the crease in Adelaide as Australia’s No. 3 searches for a revival of fortunes, but it appears less likely he will be used extensively as a medium-pace bowler despite question marks over how many overs Mitchell Marsh has in him.Labuschagne has come in for significant scrutiny after his first innings in Perth where he made 2 off 52 balls, which was followed by shouldering arms to Jasprit Bumrah in the second and being lbw for 3. However, analysis has shown it was a wicked delivery from Bumrah that skidded through low and Labuschagne was within his rights to believe it would have missed the stumps.Still, his form has been troublesome for a while with 90 of the 123 runs he has made in his last ten Tests coming from one innings in Christchurch. During his net sessions in Adelaide, there has been a noticeable urgency to his strokeplay and indications he is looking for ways to rotate the strike. Labuschagne has an impressive record at Adelaide Oval with an average of 71.75 and three centuries.Related

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“He’s training well like he always does, hitting millions of balls,” Cummins said. “It’s pretty impossible to kind of dismiss or ignore some of the commentary about perhaps being a little bit more proactive, so I think you’ve seen that side of it in the nets. The challenge is always going out there and making sure you have that mindset. But he’s been great like he always is. Always working on things, trying to plan how he’s going to score his hundred this Test.”While accepting that Australia were not up to the mark in Perth, Cummins was hopeful that the batters would be better for having faced the India attack, most significantly Jasprit Bumrah, even though it did not go well.”I hope there’s some lessons learnt,” he said. “The good thing is, batting and bowling we’ve now had a look at them, they’ve had a look at us as well, but you get a look at some of the bowling plans that you want to implement. The same with the batters, they know how they are going to be attacked first up. I’m sure – well, I really hope – everyone’s kind of learnt a bit and come back here slightly better prepared having had a look at what they are going to throw at us.”Marsh, meanwhile, was locked in Australia’s XI 24 hours out from the Test – the only change being Scott Boland replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood – and Cummins, who confirmed Marsh had been battling back stiffness since the white-ball tour of the UK, was confident the allrounder would be able to be part of the attack despite not doing any bowling in the lead-up.”[We] made the call with the medical staff over the last couple of days to give him a couple of days off bowling, but expect him to warm up and if required [he] will bowl,” Cummins said. “Guessing he would be required at some point… prioritise his overs for the games rather than kind of using up some of them in the nets.”In Perth, Labuschagne was used as a bouncer bowler until reverting to legspin late in India’s second innings but Cummins indicated that any extra overs required in this match would likely be soaked up by the four main bowlers if Marsh was limited in his output.”I’d say more likely turn to the fast bowlers a bit more,” Cummins said. “In Perth, Joshy was getting a little bit sore as well there towards the end, so there’s a bit of preservation there. Whereas this Test everyone’s fit and firing so if that remains the case as a general rule you try and rely on your four main guys.”1:42

McGlashan: Crucial few days in Adelaide for Australia

Significantly, Cummins made mention of Boland’s ability to bowl long spells as he returns to the Test side for the first time since last year’s Ashes.”All last summer he was geared up to go and no one fell over,” Cummins said. “Feels like it’s been quite a while [since he’s played]. As a captain, it’s pretty awesome to have someone like Scotty come straight in, you know he can bowl a huge amount of overs if you need. He’s super consistent, he’s performed at this level and looks ready to go.”However, there is increasing confidence that Hazlewood could be ready to return for the third Test in Brisbane after he bowled during training on Wednesday. Cummins explained that Hazlewood had initially continued to bowl after first feeling the side issue in Perth before the decision was taken not to push him through the problem.”That’s probably the right call in hindsight,” he said. “I think in previous years where he’s kept bowling, it’s probably turned that one week injury into a three or four or five week injury whereas this year seems a little bit different and he’s really confident.”

BCB removes 11 directors, including Nazmul Hassan; three more resign

The BCB has removed 11 directors from the board after they failed to attend three or more consecutive meetings, in accordance with the board constitution. The list includes former president Nazmul Hassan and BPL chairman Sheikh Sohel.The others are Manzur Kader, AJM Nasir Uddin, Anwarul Islam, Shafiul Alam Chowdhury, Ismail Haider Mallick, Tanvir Ahmed, Obeid Nizam, Gazi Golam Murtoza and Nazib Ahmed. In addition to the 11, the BCB accepted resignations from three other directors: Naimur Rahman, Khaled Mahmud and Enayet Hossain Siraj.All of the above names have been missing in action since the Awami League government was dethroned on August 5 following a violent student uprising. They have direct or indirect connections with the Awami League. Nazmul was the sports minister, Shafiul an Awami League MP while Nasir was a former Chattogram mayor during the Awami League’s 15-year reign. Sohel and Nazib are relatives of Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister, while Mallick was Nazmul’s close associate.The BCB had 25 directors in all before the fall of the government and 10 remain after the departure of those 14, as one had passed away before August.The BCB also formed a constitution amendment committee headed by director Nazmul Abedeen. According to the press release, “the committee will be responsible for assessing the current BCB constitution, identifying areas of improvement and proposing amendments that align with the strategic goals and evolving needs of the BCB”.Two weeks after an interim government was sworn in on August 8, the BCB directors elected Faruque Ahmed, the former Bangladesh captain, as the president while Abedeen, the renowned coach, also became a director. They took the places of Jalal Yunus who resigned as a director and Ahmed Sajjadul Alam was removed as director.

Matt Taylor pegs home side back after bright start

After a frustrating day of no action on day one, Gloucester won the toss and put Glamorgan in to bat on a dampish pitch at Sophia Gardens.With the previous day’s torrential rain a thing of the past, the home side started well when play began at midday, but then found themselves pinned back by another great spell from Matt Taylor.Having picked up three wickets for 18 runs in the T20 Vitality Blast final triumph over Somerset, he broke up a flourishing partnership between opener Asa Tribe and Colin Ingram that had accumulated 129 runs for the second wicket with the ninth ball after tea when he trapped Tribe lbw for 70.Ingram, the first player to reach 1,000 first-class runs this season, was at his fluent best and hit 12 fours as he faced 96 balls in an innings that lasted just over two hours.Better was to follow from Taylor when he bowled the dangerous Ingram for 84 in the 50th over to make it 209 for 3. Two overs later he had Kiran Carlson caught at the wicket by James Bracey for 1. That made it 210 for 4 to temporarily put the brakes on Glamorgan.Taylor ended the day with figures of 3 for 43 from 14 overs, including three maidens. The other wicket to fall went to fellow paceman Tom Price, who removed opener Will Smale for 41 thanks to a catch by his brother, Ollie Price.Smale laid a solid foundation with Tribe as they put on 79 for the first wicket in 17.3 overs. Had the catching by the visitors been sharper then Glamorgan would have had a tougher day. No fewer than five catching chances went down.Skipper Sam Northeast and Chris Cooke then got together and put on an enterprising and unbeaten 73 for the fifth wicket before rain stopped play once again at 5.39pm. Cooke plundered seven fours in his 43* in 54 balls, while Northeast was for once the more silent partner with three boundaries in his 27 as Glamorgan reached 283 for 4 before the day was closed at 5.54pm.

Alex Davies passes 1000 runs but Worcestershire edge rain-shortened day

Warwickshire captain Alex Davies became the first player to score 1,000 runs in Division One of the Vitality County Championship this summer on a severely truncated second day against local rivals Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.The 30-year-old began his innings needing a further 34 and turned Logan van Beek square of the wicket for a boundary to reach the milestone during the morning session.Surrey batter Rory Burns started the day as Davies’ nearest challenger but he was dismissed for 21 against Somerset with his total on 974.It was the second time Davies had completed 1,000 runs in a campaign after, in 2017, becoming the first Lancashire wicket-keeper to achieve the feat.He moved to Warwickshire for the 2022 season and the first two years at Edgbaston produced first class returns of 649 at 28.21 and 437 at 25.70.This summer he has struck four centuries and averages 56.88.He eventually fell to Ethan Brookes who delivered an impressive nine-over spell which yielded two wickets before bad light and rain ended play for the day at 2.15pm after 37 overs were possible.Those spectators who waited until the play was officially called off were entertained via the club PA to a series of weather anthems including ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ and ‘It’s Raining Men.’Warwickshire needed only four overs to polish off the Worcestershire first innings but not before the home side had secured a second batting point.Jack Home, who was making his Championship debut, pulled Chris Rushworth for successive boundaries to bring up the 300.But then Rushworth struck twice in the space of three balls.He ended a stand of 65 between Tom Taylor and Home by trapping the latter lbw for 29 and then knocked out the off stump of on loan Surrey spinner Amar Virdi.It left Taylor unbeaten on 36 from 49 balls.Taylor then took the new ball but only five balls were possible before bad light stopped play with Warwickshire 6-0.When play resumed after a short delay, Taylor made the first breakthrough when Rob Yates tried to work the ball on the leg side and was caught off a leading edge at mid on by Virdi.Taylor bowled an excellent opening spell and constantly beat the bat.Davies went to his four-figure milestone in spectacular fashion against Logan van Beek during his first over.He twice hit the New Zealander for sixes backward of square and then a square drive to the boundary took him past 1,000 in an over costing 16 runs.Davies completed a 59-ball half-century with three sixes and six fours as Warwickshire reached 76 for 1 off 20 overs by lunch.But former Warwickshire all-rounder Ethan Brookes struck with the first delivery after the resumption when Will Rhodes aimed to work to leg and inside edged through to keeper Gareth Roderick moving away to his right.There was more joy for Brookes with the prized scalp of Davies (58) who went for a drive but took his one hand off the bat and inside-edged onto his stumps at 91 for 3.Van Beek switched ends and claimed his first scalp when Sam Hain (11) tried to turn a delivery on the on-side and was bowled shortly before the players left the field for the final time.

Paine makes rapid climb to Adelaide Strikers head coach

Former Australia captain Tim Paine has been named Adelaide Strikers’ new BBL head coach less than two years after he finished his professional career.Paine, who was Jason Gillespie’s assistant last season, will take the role vacated by Gillespie’s departure with the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) deciding to split the state and BBL jobs. Last week Ryan Harris was confirmed as South Australia’s new head coach.Related

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Paine has moved rapidly through the coaching system. He is currently working with NT Strike in the Top End T20 series, last season was an assistant to Adam Voges for Australia A and has also worked with the Under-19 set up and the women’s team. He had previously spoken about his interest in the BBL role if the two men’s coaching jobs were broken up.”I am honoured and excited by the opportunity to coach such a well-established and strongly supported club, and I can’t wait for the start of BBL|14 in December,” Paine said.”After spending time in Adelaide last year, I believe the Strikers team and the whole of South Australian cricket has huge potential and I’m looking forward to being part of taking it forward and winning a few trophies.”Last season Strikers went on a late run with four consecutive victories to squeeze into the finals where they defeated defending champions Perth Scorchers in the Knockout before falling to eventual winners Brisbane Heat in the Challenger.Paine’s international career ended controversially when he resigned on the eve of the 2021-22 Ashes.His first major duty will be overseeing the BBL draft alongside Strikers’ captain Matt Short on September 1. The club have yet to confirm a pre-draft signing and will have picks 5, 11, 20 and 29.Rashid Khan has been a long-time figure at Strikers and had been due to return last season before being ruled out through injury. He will be part of MI Cape Town in the SA20 which overlaps with the BBL during January and it has yet to be confirmed whether he will nominate this year.Strikers will be boosted by Chris Lynn being available for the entire tournament after he signed a new one-year deal having previously left the BBL early to play in the ILT20.Current Adelaide Strikers BBL squad: James Bazley, Jordan Buckingham, Cameron Boyce, Brendan Doggett, Chris Lynn, Lloyd Pope, Alex Ross, D’Arcy Short, Matt Short, Henry Thornton, Jake Weatherald

'I put his batting in my mind' – Wellalage turns to Nissanka for inspiration

Dunith Wellalage, all of 21, produced an exemplary all-round performance on a tough pitch at Khettarama. Batting at No. 7, he played Sri Lanka’s best innings, hitting 67 not out off 65, in a total of 230 for 8 in the first ODI.When defending, the left-arm spinner took 2 for 39 off nine overs, taking the crucial wicket of Rohit Sharma, who was India’s best batter on the evening, and Sri Lanka went on to tie the game.On the batting front, Wellalage had started watchfully after coming in at 101 for 5 in the 27th over, but on a surface on which no one truly looked set, he seemed the most comfortable batter across both teams, even striking powerful boundaries at the close. For this innings, he took inspiration from a Sri Lanka team-mate, he said.Related

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Pathum Nissanka, who hit another fifty on Friday, has been the hosts’ best batter of the tour so far, having also made runs in the T20Is.”They have a lot of experienced bowlers, so the more we can limit our mistakes, the more we can put pressure on them,” Wellalage said of his thinking during his innings. “I was watching Pathum Nissanka bat quite a lot. I put his batting in my mind as I came up with a plan. If you take the pitch, it was one that supported spin bowling. I tried to put as much pressure on the bowler and build partnerships.”With the ball, he perhaps struck the most important blow of the night. Rohit was threatening to make easy work of the target when he galloped to his fifty off 33 balls. But in the 15th over, Wellalage beat him in flight, and struck Rohit in front of the stumps as he attempted a sweep shot, cutting that innings short for 58 off 47.This is after he’d also dismissed Shubman Gill, again with a nicely flighted delivery that Gill top edged high enough for the keeper to track it down. Wellalage had been the first spinner to be introduced, inside the powerplay.”We knew that the wicket was spinning. So Charith Asalanka had told me that I would be bowling in the powerplay. I had good support from the wicket too.”With Rohit at the time, I was trying just to bowl wicket-to-wicket, because I knew how much assistance there was from the pitch.”The middle to late overs, were all Wanindu Hasaranga and Asalanka, said Wellalage. Those two bowlers took three wickets apiece, with Asalanka providing the final touches, taking two wickets in the 48th over when India had already tied the game. Having Axar Patel caught behind was his other wicket.Earlier, Hasaranga had removed Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav.”When we bowled, the game changed with the wickets that Wanindu and Charith took. They took wickets at very difficult times, and that’s how we were able to at least keep it to this score. If you take Axar Patel and KL Rahul, these are batters who have finished a lot of matches.”At that time we needed to get the bowlers in, and when Charith got Axar out and Wanindu got KL Rahul out. It was important to stay calm at that stage, and the match turned our way.”

Keaton Jennings leads from the front as Lancashire top the North

Lancashire Lightning began this Vitality Blast North group visit to Trent Bridge with the best record of all 18 counties in the 2024 T20 campaign to date and Nottinghamshire Outlaws with the worst.Choosing to bat, Outlaws eventually rose to 153 foe 8 despite expert containment from Chris Green, the Australia T20 international, with 2 for 16 in his four overs of off-spin. Jack Haynes reached 45 before becoming one of two run outs in a sometimes naïve display and Liam Patterson-White, batting at No7 on debut in this format, made a fine, unbeaten 44 from 21 balls.But with Keaton Jennings making a skipper’s 64 to leave victory in sight, Lighting romped home by six wickets in the penultimate over as the Outlaws completed their first five games with a sobering fifth defeat.Lightning’s chase began stutteringly with both openers dismissed by the fifth over when Josh Bohannon sliced Matt Montgomery, the South African who plays for Germany and offers off-spin from an idiosyncratic action, to the infield. Olly Stone’s first ball, two overs before, had done Vince Wells for pace when he top-edged a hook to square leg.But Jennings smashed the first ball of Stone’s next over for six and Lancashire reached the end of their ninth over with 82 for 2 where Nottinghamshire had laboured in contrast to just 46 for 4 at the same stage earlier.Patterson-White’s left-arm spin was then introduced on a used pitch and his maiden performance grew yet more impressive when he removed Tom Bruce’s middle stump for 22 with his second ball.Lightning, however, still posted their hundred by the 13th over with fully 47 balls available for their last 54 runs and Jennings close to a fifty he then brought up with some ease from 41 balls as Stone’s third over (the 15th) went for eleven, leaving the target just 31 runs distant.But to his very evident annoyance at not finishing the job, Jennings, the captain, was bowled by Calvin Harrison, one of the six spinners employed in the match, and it was left to Matty Hurst and Steven Croft, 19 years his senior, to take them home with nine balls to spare. Hurst finished unbeaten on 33.In two of their previous four games, the Outlaws had begun well but crashed catastrophically from 104 for 1 to 154 all out and 54 for 0 to 127 all out. This time the start proved a disaster.Joe Clarke faced one ball from which he took a leg-bye before being run out in the opening over, attempting to come back for a second for Alex Hales after a misfield at mid-wicket. Hales then sliced to the backward point boundary for four in the fourth over from Saqib Mahmood whose fourth ball earlier was a lifting beauty that had undone Will Young.From 22 for 3 it became 45 for 4 when Matt Montgomery, swinging across the line, was leg-before to a Wells leg-break and though 32 followed in 20 balls, a Lyndon James reverse-swipe saw him comprehensively bowled by Green before, next over, further confusion found Haynes run out as the non-striker when seeking a single that Tom Moores never considered.With 41 balls left, at 80 for 6, late runs were at last sporadically plundered thanks to Patterson-White, one Jack Blatherwick over conceding 21 and the last, from Mahmood taken for 18, but a target of 154 never looked enough.

Injured Ross Adair ruled out of Bangladesh T20Is

Ross Adair, the Ireland opener, has been ruled out of his team’s upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh due to a bone stress in the knee. Jordan Neill will stay on after the upcoming two Tests and replace Adair in the T20I squad.Adair, who scored a memorable 58-ball hundred against South Africa last year, has had to overcome a few injury concerns in recent months. In his three T20Is this year, he had found some form with 48 against West Indies, and 26 and 33 against England. However, his withdrawal from the Bangladesh tour will now likely see him return to the national fold only in time for next year’s T20 World Cup.Related

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Neill was selected as part of the 15-man Test squad for the upcoming Bangladesh tour, and now will stay on to be part of the T20I squad. Neill made his international debut for Ireland in May this year, however suffered an injury in the field and missed a decent part of the home season.”It’s very unfortunate to have lost Ross on the eve of the Bangladesh tour, he really demonstrated his value at the top of the T20I order during the few chances he had in 2025, and we were looking forward to seeing him perform against Bangladesh,” Andrew White, Ireland s national selector, said.”There are a couple of combinations that we are keen to explore as we build up to next year’s T20 World Cup. Jordan Neill will stay on as part of the T20I squad to provide valuable cover to the wider group. We have players that in the past showed they are capable of deputising at the top of the order – this allows us to adjust the batting line-up and create greater flexibility through the middle and late overs.”The left-handed Ben Calitz coming into the middle order will provide us with the variety we have struggled with over recent years – and this tour gives us a much-needed opportunity to see how a number of players adapt to different situations and conditions.”Ireland will kick off their tour of Bangladesh with the first Test in Sylhet on November 11, before moving to Mirpur for the second Test on November 19. The two teams will then play a three-match T20I series starting November 27.

Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen makes taunting apology to PCB

The Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen has apologised to the PCB in their ongoing dispute concerning the PSL, though in a manner that could escalate rather than defuse matters. The PCB had sent Tareen a legal notice charging him with breaching a clause in their franchise agreement and demanding an apology for his recent public criticism of the league.In a nearly five-minute-long video released on his social media accounts, Tareen apologised for his comments on the PCB in a tone heavy with sarcasm, while continuing to taunt the board, claiming it wanted to be surrounded by “yes-men and minions”.”You don’t even want to work with your stakeholders,” Tareen said, while flashing the legal notice the PCB sent him. “You cannot bear any criticism from anyone. If you were even remotely competent, you would have known this is not the way to manage things.”Only a big man apologises. I apologise for wanting to make the PSL better. I apologise for raising my voice when I saw problems. It is my fault, not yours, that I was dissatisfied with your mediocre mindset. I apologise for being unhappy that you give yourselves so much credit for doing so little.”Related

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He went on to further criticise the handling of the PSL, referring to the player draft, where issues with microphones persisted through the event, and for lip-syncing rather than live singing through the opening ceremony.He concluded the video by saying, “I hope you like my apology video,” holding the legal notice up to the camera and ripping it in half.ESPNcricinfo reached out to the PCB for comment, and understands the board will consult with its legal team before determining what, if any, further action to take, or whether to accept Tareen’s “apology”. While it does technically satisfy the PCB’s legal demand for a public apology, it appears set to only escalate the feud between the two sides.ESPNcricinfo has also seen a copy of the legal notice the PCB sent to Tareen on September 12. It accuses Tareen of breaching his franchise agreement and making “false, malicious, baseless, and defamatory allegations” in the build-up to the tenth season of the PSL. In the weeks leading up to the tournament, Tareen had become increasingly trenchant in his public criticism of the PSL management for what he believed was a lack of communication, ambition or transparency from the league, while deriding them for their incompetence.While the PCB had maintained a public silence in the months since, the legal notice threatens the most severe action the board, and the league, are in a position to take: blacklisting Tareen from franchise ownership, effectively stripping Multan Sultans away from him. Most seriously, Tareen is accused of deliberately seeking to devalue the PSL brand – with each franchise set for reevaluation at the end of the year – in order to pick up ownership rights to the Sultans at a lower value.The PCB also claims other franchise owners had urged action against Tareen earlier “for deliberately attempting to sabotage the marketing campaign and value of the PSL brand.”Amid the serious legal language, there are also allegations that display the triviality to which this feud between league and franchise owner has devolved. The PCB letter mentioned a video in which Tareen was filmed speaking to the Sultans players, telling them to target the opposition batters with bouncers in exchange for financial reward if they hit the helmet. The PCB called this “reprehensible,” accusing Tareen of disregarding players’ mental health and seeking to destroy their livelihoods.Tareen claimed the video was a joke and taken down, with Multans Sultans telling ESPNcricinfo their bowlers had bowled “the fewest bouncers in the league” last season, and accusing the PCB of desperation in their attempts to malign Tareen.Some aspects of the feud also appear to boil down to personal tastes. In the letter, the PSL called their trophy reveal at the opening ceremony “creative”. The trophy was unveiled as part of a short film that depicted it as lost at sea, with a military helicopter and expert divers sent to retrieve it. Tareen sarcastically called it a “game-changer” saying that it “gave me goosebumps”.While the nature of the feud may have become petty, its consequences are potentially severe for both the league and Tareen. The PSL could, in theory, preclude Tareen from rebidding to purchase Multan Sultans, meaning he would not be a part of the PSL as owner in the upcoming season. There remain plenty of unanswered questions for the PSL, too. Two new teams are to take part in the upcoming season but the PCB has not made any public statement revealing their identity or the date of the PSL draft.

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