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The allrounder is averaging 28 with the bat and 59 with the ball this season but could feature in Sydney as Australia attempt to level the series

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-20184:04

‘There are holes in India’s batting as well’ – Paine

Australia have added allrounder Marnus Labuschagne to their squad for the final Test against India in Sydney which they need to win to level the series, with captain Tim Paine admitting “a lot of things are on table” following the batting slump at the MCG.Labuschagne made his debut in the UAE earlier this year and played both Tests against Pakistan where he showed some promise with bat and ball, making a top score of 43 alongside claiming seven wickets with his legspin.However, a poor start to the Sheffield Shield cost him the chance of being part of the India series from the beginning and his first-class numbers for the season are an underwhelming average of 28.22 with the bat and 59.60 with the ball.It is Labuschagne’s bowling as much as his batting which has brought him back into contention as Australia battle to balance their side amid the struggles of Mitchell Marsh, question marks over Aaron Finch as an opener and workload of the quick bowlers.”I think there’ll be a lot of things on the table in the next day or two and I’ve got some thoughts on what I think but I think I’ll share that with JL [Justin Langer] and a few other guys before I share it here,” Paine said. “We’ve got the best group of players available to us at the moment and we’ll pick the best combination out of that group that we think will win this last Test.Marnus Labuschagne steers the ball past silly mid-off•Getty Images

“We’ll get up to Sydney and have a look at the conditions, I think we’re hearing it will spin quite a bit, so once we see that for ourselves we can try to think about the best combination to win that Test. From what I’m hearing it will be dry, spin quite a bit, a bit like the old SCG used to be.”Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins had almost two days in the field as India piled up 7 for 443 and were then back out again by the final session of the third day after Australia folded for 151 in their first innings.”Physically they’re all fine,” Paine said. “We’ll have a look at the conditions before we name our XI. There’s no problem with any of them at the moment.”Mitchell Marsh performed a handy role with the ball in Melbourne, sending down 26 tight overs over the opening two days, but had an awful time with the bat as he twice fell trying to attack Ravinda Jadeja. It takes his Test run tally in his last five matches to 74 runs at 7.40.”As we’ve said all along, we know Mitch at his best can offer a lot to Australian cricket,” Paine said. “We just need to make sure he’s at his best more often than not and like the rest of us the gap between his best and his worst gets smaller all the time.”No one has been dropped from the squad named before the Melbourne Test which means Peter Handscomb, who was omitted in favour of Marsh, retains his place. Peter Siddle, who will play Big Bash for Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve, remains the spare pace bowler.Finch’s role as opener is also being hotly debated following a double failure at the MCG, and though he has been retained in the squad, his role in Sydney could range from the status quo, to dropping into the middle or being left out altogether.

Zimbabwe’s batting coach has said his team’s aggressive approach against West Indies’ bowlers was planned, but the execution was off

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo22-Oct-2017Zimbabwe batting coach Lance Klusener has blamed soft dismissals for his batsmen’s capitulation on the second day at Queens Sports Club and denied that the home side’s preparation of a spinning track had backfired.”There were about eight soft dismissals in our innings,” Klusener said. “Way too many soft dismissals, and the boys are upset with themselves. That wasn’t how we wanted to play.”But we saw it [the spinning track] as an opportunity to try and nail the first Test match. Had we applied ourselves a little better and got a little bit of a lead, that would have gone to plan. We played reasonably well in Sri Lanka and we’d like to think that going forward [playing spin] is a strength of ours. But it isn’t easy to bat out there. Having won the toss would have helped as well.”Zimbabwe were bowled out for 159 on day two, with Devendra Bishoo’s legspin and reverse-swing from a three-pronged pace attack doing the damage. Zimbabwe’s batsmen also continued to play their strokes, even as wickets started to tumble. Solomon Mire was caught slogging to deep midwicket, while Brendan Taylor reverse-swept to slip, Sean Williams was caught flashing outside off stump, and Sikandar Raza skied a drive to long-off.The shots were part of the plan, Klusener suggested, but Zimbabwe’s execution was off. “We do want to score runs, it’s how we want to play Test cricket. We want to be aggressive. We’d like to make smarter decisions, way smarter decisions than what we saw today.”Solomon plays a lot of one-day cricket, he plays attacking cricket, and we don’t want to change too much about the way he plays. Raza would be the first one to tell you that that wasn’t the greatest of shots or the greatest decision. We’re striving to make better decisions more often as a team, and if we do that then we won’t have as many soft dismissals.”Klusener also reiterated the need for Zimbabwe to play more long-form cricket in order to push for future success. This is Zimbabwe’s second Test this year, and just their sixth Test in the last three years.”I’d like to see us playing more Test cricket,” he said. “It’s not an excuse, but it is important. Our one-day cricket has been excellent, but we need to play more Test matches. The more we play and the more we get an opportunity to apply our plans, the better we’ll get. It’s about quality match-time, more Test matches, spending time in the middle.”We’ve come a long way in terms of playing spin, we’ve come a long way as a team. But it is international cricket, and it’s important that players do stand up and score a gutsy fifty or a hundred, whatever we need. So that’s the frustration the boys are feeling. They’re not proud of the way they played, but we’ve done a lot of work and we can play better. And we will play better.”

Half-centuries from Kedar Jadhav and Shreyas Iyer gave India A a bonus-point win over Australia’s National Performance Squad in their Quadrangular A-Team One-Day Series clash

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Kedar Jadhav’s unbeaten 93 gave India A a bonus-point win over NPS, and took them to the final of the quadrangular series•AFP

Half-centuries from Kedar Jadhav and Shreyas Iyer gave India A a bonus-point win over Australia’s National Performance Squad in their Quadrangular A-Team One-Day Series clash on Saturday. By virtue of the win, India became the first team to seal their spot in the final of the tournament, to be played on September 4.Jadhav’s unbeaten 93 and Iyer’s 62 helped India A knock off a 208-run target in 38.2 overs with six wickets in hand in Mackay. That was after the bowlers had combined for a collective effort to keep NPS to 207 for 8 in 50 overs.Iyer and Jadhav were left to reconstruct India A’s innings after left-arm medium pacer Tom O’Donnell’s early strikes left them 41 for 3 in the 11th over of the chase. The two added 135 for the fourth wicket in 23.1 overs. It took O’Donnell again to separate the duo when he struck at the end of the 34th over, having Iyer caught. But at that point, India A were comfortably placed and needed 32 more from 16 overs. Hardik Pandya joined Jadhav and the two knocked off the remaining runs in 26 balls. Iyer’s 62 took 93 balls and contained four fours. Jadhav faced 83 balls for his unbeaten 93 and struck 10 fours.O’Donnell was the only NPS bowler among the wickets and finished with 4 for 28 in nine overs.NPS were rocked early when they batted after Varun Aaron struck first ball to dismiss Caleb Jewell for a duck. Matt Renshaw and wicketkeeper Sam Harper then got together for a 76-run second-wicket stand that came in 93 balls. After Renshaw was trapped lbw by Jayant Yadav, Harper added 52 more with captain Matthew Short. Harper’s dismissal for 72 – the highest score of the innings – ended the association. Short was caught behind off Aaron for 30 and Clint Hinchliffe lent a solid hand with 43. NPS’ lower order, however, made scant contributions, resulting in a weak finish.Aaron took three wickets, but was expensive and leaked 58 runs in nine overs. Pandya, Axar Patel, Yadav and Iyer took a wicket apiece.India A are on top of the table with 16 points from five matches. NPS trail them with 10 points from five games. India A will next face Australia A on Tuesday, while NPS face off against South Africa A the following day.

India had been scheduled to train at the Premadasa Stadium, but when early morning drizzle worsened into showers, they switched to the indoor nets

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Aug-2015The sun has shone in daylight hours in the week preceding the India team’s arrival in Colombo, but as so often happens on the island, rains lie in ambush for the first sign of cricket. The visitors had been scheduled to train at the Premadasa Stadium, but when early morning drizzle worsened into showers, they switched to the indoor nets, partway across town at the Nondescripts Cricket Club.So when M Vijay was asked before this training session how well he was hitting the ball, “I don’t know – the rain spoiled the previous training” was all the reply he could offer. It was a low-key reply to what has so far been a low-key arrival. The series is sure to heat up when Kumar Sangakkara returns to the country and marches into that final series. But for now, Colombo has switched cricket off, and turned attentions to the general election, which takes place in between the first and second Test.When it does begin, following the three-day warm up starting on Friday, the series is sure to be a juicy one. Both teams are rebuilding, but are going about it in different ways. While Angelo Mathews has eyed gradual improvement, Virat Kohli heads a team that aims to be forceful and dynamic, though they haven’t yet had much success overseas.Among Kohli’s plans for the series may be the use of five bowlers in his XI. It is a strategy India trialled in Bangladesh, with roughly good results, but not one they had usually used under MS Dhoni. The flip side of that, of course, is the extra strain on the batsmen, which Vijay said was no strain at all.”Playing with five bowlers is not demanding for batsmen,” he said. “Batting is our role. If any one of us click it’s going to be good for the team and we’re going to be in a much more comfortable position. It’s a good responsibility to have on your shoulders – to go in and bat. If you’re going to dominate a Test match we should work according to the plans.”Vijay, now a relative senior in the batting unit, will be expected to provide some of the runs a No. 7 might have hit, particularly as his recent overseas record has been outstanding. He is grateful that, following his nine-month Test hiatus in 2013, his return to top-level cricket was gradual.”That nine month period I was out of the team – I had my wrist injury at the same time,” he said. “It’s not an easy period for any sportsperson, carrying an injury. I had to go through the regime of rehabilitation. Once I got my rhythm back in my batting it helped to play one format of the game and not play the other two. I had a little more time to work on my fitness and stuff, during that period. “While the teams’ captains have contrasting virtues, there is symmetry at the top of the innings. Vijay has often played within himself while Shikhar Dhawan broke loose at the other. Sri Lanka have set out with a similar pair – Kaushal Silva doing the Geoffrey Boycott impression, as Dimuth Karunaratne flashes his blade.”There’s a lot of talent” in the Sri Lanka batting order, Vijay said, but perhaps because these teams play each other so rarely in Tests, he could not say much more. “Angelo Mathews is doing a great job, and Lahiru Thirimanne and the opener – I don’t know the exact name,” he said. If the rains relent, they will get to know each other a little better as the tour wears on.

There’s nothing like being picked while in form, and Phillip Hughes is in the one-day form of his life

Brydon Coverdale08-Jan-2013There’s nothing like being picked while in form, and Phillip Hughes is in the one-day form of his life. If Bradman had played 50-over cricket he might have produced the kind of scores that Hughes has in the past two years. Consider this remarkable figure: in 14 of his past 20 one-day innings, Hughes has scored at least a half-century. In that time, a period that stretches back to December 2010, he has averaged 90.28. Among Australians, only Michael Bevan has a higher List A average than Hughes.And yet until now, Hughes has been considered a Test specialist by Australia’s selectors. When he walks out at the MCG on Friday in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, it will be his first limited-overs game for his country. Of course, it’s not easy breaking in to a top order that usually features David Warner, Shane Watson and Michael Clarke. But none of those men, nor Matthew Wade, are part of this ODI squad.It means Australia will likely employ a top three consisting entirely of uncapped men: Hughes, Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja. The selectors are juggling a number of factors – resting some players, keeping Hughes and Khawaja away from the BBL in preparation for the India tour, planning ahead to the 2015 World Cup. Not all of the new men will keep their places, but Hughes hopes he can do enough to remain in the side when others return.”It’s an opportunity for guys coming in now, there’s a few new faces around the squad,” Hughes said. “For those guys resting for the first couple of games, they play that much cricket and I’m sure they’ll come back fresh and bigger and better. It does allow guys now to get that opportunity … now given this opportunity I’m grateful for it and hopefully I can stamp my authority in this format.”My focus has been all three formats. I want to be that complete batsman playing three forms hopefully one day. There’s still work I’ve got to do but for this opportunity to come up I’m grateful for it. I’ve had a fair taste of Test cricket now but never in the short format, so that’s why I’m rapt about getting this chance.”There is nothing about Hughes’ game that suggests he should ever have been considered a Test-only player. Powerful through the off side and naturally aggressive, Hughes bats in a way that should transfer to ODI cricket. His style has helped him score 114, 95 not out and 73 from three of his five Ryobi Cup innings this summer, and he was one of the leading scorers in the Clydesdale Bank 40-over competition last year, playing for Worcestershire.”It’s a format that you’ve got to really attack and that’s probably my natural game,” Hughes said. “The instincts take over and I really like to attack and get on that front foot and take the game forward. I feel like I’ve worked on a number of shots, especially through the leg side, over the last six to 12 months. Hopefully I can take that into this series.”I feel like I’ve come a long way in one-day cricket. I had a stint in county cricket with Worcestershire and I felt like I performed quite well, and at the start of the season for South Australia. There’s work that I had to do and I feel like I’m quite confident in my one-day game now. I’m really grateful for this opportunity and hopefully I can make the most of it.”Although the Australians have not yet confirmed a batting order, the likelihood is that Hughes will open with Finch, although Khawaja is another option, having opened for Queensland with success this season. All three are likely to make their debuts on Friday, while the Queensland bowling allrounder Ben Cutting is also a chance to earn his first ODI cap, in a side that will be captained by George Bailey.

Johan Botha has been released to play for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, and been asked to return to South Africa in time for the ODI series against Sri Lanka

Firdose Moonda09-Dec-2011Offspinner Johan Botha has received official notice that he is not part of South Africa’s plans for the Test series against Sri Lanka. He has been released for two and a half weeks to play for Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s Big Bash League, and been asked to return to South Africa in time for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, which starts on January 11.”Right now, we would not need his services in Test cricket,” Andrew Hudson, the national convenor of selectors, told ESPNcricinfo. “I wouldn’t rule him out totally, but we are comfortable to release him for this period. I’d say that if we need him, something drastic would have to happen to the other guys.”South Africa’s first-choice Test spinner is Pakistan-born Imran Tahir, who made his debut against Australia in November. Left-arm spinner Paul Harris is the official back-up, having been included in the squad against Australia, although he did not play a match. Harris was left out of the squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, but is part of the SA Invitation XI that is playing a warm-up match against the visitors. Botha played five Tests for South Africa but is behind in the spin queue, which prompted his decision to take part in the BBL.”Gary [Kirsten] was involved in the decision and spoke to Johan about what his role is in the ODI and T20 formats, and where he is in terms of Test cricket in South Africa,” Hudson said. “We are happy for him to learn and develop his skills elsewhere.”The Warriors franchise, to which Botha is contracted, also had to agree to his release, which they did. Botha will miss three of the franchise’s first-class fixtures while he is in Australia, a loss to the team, which is struggling at the bottom of the SuperSport Series table.Questions were raised about the decision Botha made to leave a domestic competition at home to play a lucrative event in a foreign country. “It is a little bit concerning because it opens the door for other players to do the same,” Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, said. “As long as these decisions are taken with cricketing facts in mind, for example, Herschelle Gibbs is also playing over there, although he is not really in the international frame anymore.”Hudson agreed that the era of the T20 professional could pose problems for less glamorous domestic competitions and even national teams. “What CSA will have to do is understand what this concept of ‘a free agent’ means,” he said. “Some players who don’t play in all the formats might request that they are not bound by certain clauses of a national contract. There needs to be some way forward and it brings into the spotlight the structure of a national contract, which may have to have different terms in future.”

Round-up of the third day of matches in the Caribbean T20 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2011Defending champions Guyana clinched a thrilling one-run win over Somerset at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Guyana won the toss and elected to bat, but it was a decision that backfired as none of their batsmen, bar Ramnaresh Sarwan could get going.The Somerset bowlers lead by Alfonso Thomas, who picked up three wickets, strangled the Guyana batsmen and at 51 for 5 Guyana looked in grave trouble. A 36-run partnership between Sarwan and Royston Crandon inched them towards the 100-run mark. Sarwan fell for 59 and Guyana managed to reach a below-par 112 for 8 off their allotted overs.However, that total proved enough to thwart Somerset who started their chase in positive fashion. At 105 for 3 in the 18th over, they looked to be cruising to victory. However, as a result of some tight Guyana bowling and sharp fielding, they suffered a spectacular collapse to lose seven wickets for six runs. Two wickets to Esuan Crandon, one to Veerasammy Permaul, who had earlier dismissed opener Peter Trego, four run-outs and it was all over for Somerset as they were bowled out for 111 to hand Guyana their first points of the tournament.In the second game in Antigua, Combined Colleges and Campuses beat Jamaica by seven wickets. Jamaica, who beat Guyana in their first game, won the toss and elected to bat.They got off to a sluggish start when Gilford Moore dismissed Xavier Marshall in the third over and were 43 for 2 in their first 10 overs. However, the arrival of No. 3 Marlon Samuels swung the momentum in Jamaica’s favour. He was aggressive, taking the attack to the CCC bowlers as he raced to 50 in 44 balls. He clouted 30 runs off the next 10 balls he faced to end unbeaten on 80 off 54 balls which included five fours and five sixes. Wavell Hinds made 21 off 18 balls as Jamaica reached 138 for 4 in their 20 overs.CCC’s chase started poorly as Romel Currency was dismissed in the second over with just five runs on the board. However, Miles Bascombe, William Perkins and Kyle Hope all chipped in with solid thirties as CCC made short work of the Jamaica total. They reached their target in 19 overs for the loss of three wickets to earn their first points in this competition.

Mohammad Kaif scored his maiden first-class double century to boost Central Zone to a massive total on the third day

Cricinfo staff21-Jan-2010
Scorecard
Fog and bad light continued to eat away at match hours in Amritsar, where Mohammad Kaif scored his maiden first-class double-century to boost Central Zone to a massive total on the third day.The entire morning session was lost to bad light, after which Kaif and Naman Ojha guided Central past 400. Their partnership had grown to 64 when Ojha fell to medium-pacer Dhiraj Goswami. Piyush Chawla chipped in with a quickfire 27 but it was Kaif who was the star of the day, going on to become only the fourth Central Zone batsman to cross 200. Central declared soon after the milestone was reached, in the hope of giving their bowlers enough time to dismiss East Zone and progress on the first-innings lead.East made an assured start to their reply, with openers Dheeraj Jadhav and Arindham Das putting on 62. Jadhav was dismissed by Sanjay Bangar for 28, and East had progressed to 64 for 1 before bad light caused play to be called off.

Former England opener declines Notts contract to take up opportunities in MLC and CPL

Matt Roller17-Feb-2025Alex Hales is set to skip both the T20 Blast and the Hundred after signing a deal which will see him represent Knight Riders franchises in both Major League Cricket and the Caribbean Premier League.Hales, 36, retired from international cricket in 2023 but has continued to play franchise cricket around the world, and became the second-highest run-scorer in T20 history earlier this month. He has played for Nottinghamshire since 2008 but has recently relocated to Dubai and will not return to the club this summer after opting not to sign a new contract.The decision will put Hales’ long-term association with Trent Bridge on hold, though he has not ruled out a future return. He has called the venue home throughout his professional career and is the leading run-scorer for both Notts (in the Blast) and Trent Rockets (in the Hundred), winning titles with both teams.Last year, Hales missed six of Nottinghamshire’s 14 group games in the Blast to fulfil a contract at the Lanka Premier League but the ECB has since tightened regulations on No-Objection Certificates (NOCs). As a result, signing a contract with either Notts or Trent Rockets would likely have rendered Hales unable to play overseas throughout the English season.Related

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ESPNcricinfo has learned that he will instead take up an offer from the Knight Riders franchise, which will see him play for their Los Angeles and Trinbago teams in MLC and the CPL respectively. Depending on final dates, he may also return to the LPL in between the two tournaments, or alternatively feature in the new European T20 Premier League in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.Knight Riders own four teams around the world – Los Angeles, Trinbago, Kolkata and Abu Dhabi – and several players have represented them in two or more territories, including Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Venky Mysore, their chief executive, has previously suggested that players signing year-round contracts with an IPL franchise would be “nirvana” and Hales’ move appears to be another step towards that.”The last 17 years playing at Trent Bridge for Notts have been an absolute pleasure, and it remains my favourite place in the world to play cricket,” Hales said in a statement. “Some of my best memories have come in a Notts shirt, and some of my closest friendships in the game have been made in that home dressing room.”Having spent more and more time playing around the world in recent years, heading back to Trent Bridge has always been something I’ve looked forward to. But given the current landscape of the global game as well as having recently moved abroad, unfortunately I won’t be able to return this season… Hopefully I will be able to return at some point in the future.”Mick Newell, Notts’ director of cricket, said that Hales would be welcome to return to the club if his schedule allows in future. “While he won’t be joining us this summer, we are by no means closing the door on him making a return to Notts at some stage in the future, and his achievements mean he will forever have a place in Trent Bridge history,” Newell said.”Both his life and the global cricketing landscape have changed immeasurably since he made his debut 17 years ago. We appreciate the challenge he has faced in balancing his personal life, having recently married his South African fiancée and moved abroad, with the opportunities that a player of his calibre earns across the globe.”Hales will become the second Englishman to feature in MLC after Jason Roy, who terminated his ECB incremental deal early in order to play in the first season. Roy featured for Knight Riders again last year but has not been retained for 2025, and is likely to play for Surrey throughout the Blast season.He will still require a “No Objection Letter” from the ECB to play overseas but is not anticipating any issues, despite recent changes in the board’s policy. Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive, told talkSPORT in December: “If [players] choose not to have a contract with a county and they want to be a complete global freelancer, that’s fine.”The changes – which Gould said are designed to “defend our game” from the threat of franchise cricket – played a role in James Vince’s decision to quit first-class cricket this season in favour of the Pakistan Super League. Tom Kohler-Cadmore will also play in the PSL, and has therefore been renegotiating his Somerset contract accordingly.

Gladiators are hoping to turn their form around after finishing in the bottom two of the PSL in each of the last four seasons

Danyal Rasool19-Dec-2023Quetta Gladiators are thinking about Sarfaraz Ahmed’s future as captain of the side. While the timeline on the final decision is not yet clear, ESPNcricinfo understands that the general consensus at the franchise is that he should be replaced, ending an eight-year stint at the helm.Gladiators had announced Sarfaraz as their captain on PSL draft day. It is customary for franchises to announce their captain for the purposes of the draft, though changes can be made after that.The franchise has already reshuffled their backroom staff, most notably with Moin Khan moving on from head coach to a directorship role. He has been replaced by former Gladiators player Shane Watson as coach. Former Pakistan bowling coach Shaun Tait has also been appointed as the side’s fast-bowling coach as Gladiators look to turn around their fortunes – they have gone from being the most consistent PSL side to the most underperforming over the past four years.It is understood that Watson will be sounded out for his opinion on the situation. There is no concrete information around a possible replacement, but Rilee Rossouw, who returned to Gladiators after a stint with Multan Sultans, and Saud Shakeel, whose leadership is rated highly in domestic circles, are likely to be among the frontrunners.Related

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Gladiators owner Nadeem Omar told the Relukattay podcast earlier this week that he remained “double-minded” over whether to replace Sarfaraz as captain. There is no desire to cast out the only captain the franchise has ever known, with Omar criticising the PCB for doing just that when Sarfaraz was sacked as Pakistan skipper. He said it “would be nicer” if Sarfaraz handed Gladiators captaincy away on his own, and that Sarfaraz had even agreed to do so if required.”It is the elephant in the room,” Omar said. “Wherever I go, people ask me this. But our franchise is a bit different from the others in the sense that we have a very intimate relationship with these players. I understand cricketers have a shelf life, but I think over Pakistan history, we tend to dump players unceremoniously.”Sarfaraz has been off the boil over the last couple of years. There are a lot of reasons for that – the way he was unceremoniously ousted by the PCB didn’t help, especially when he had a few more years. We won’t dump him unceremoniously. We haven’t decided yet, but we’ll give him full honours. Sarfaraz told me he would be happy to step aside if Quetta wants to make a change. We have a call with Shane Watson in a couple of days, and then we’ll decide.”Sarfaraz, 36, was appointed Gladiators captain when the league was inaugurated in 2016, and led his side to the final. Weeks later, he was appointed Pakistan’s white-ball captain, and led the national side to the 2017 Champions Trophy title. He led Gladiators to the PSL title in 2019, but fading form saw him sacked as Pakistan captain from all three formats within a year, and he was dropped from the national side.But Gladiators’ form has fallen away dramatically since. They have missed qualifying for the playoffs the last four years, and finished bottom or second from bottom each time.Sarfaraz is currently in Australia with Pakistan’s Test side, and played the opening Test in Perth, which Australia won by 360 runs.