Kohler-Cadmore, who will be rubbing shoulders with English white-ball captain Jos Butler in IPL 2024, will also share the dressing room with established international cricketers namely Ravi Ashwin, Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Ashwin, in particular, is quite excited for the 29-year old player, who was sold for his base price of INR 40 lakh in what will be his maiden season of the biggest T20 league across the globe. Ashwin, who has been representing the franchise since 2022, shared an interesting connection with Mick Kohler-Cadmore, Tom’s father, on his YouTube channel.

Tom, who plies his trade for Somerset at the moment, had made his county debut at Worcestershire a decade ago. Co-incidentally, Ashwin’s county debut had also happened at Worcestershire in 2017. In the video, Ashwin recalled how Kohler-Cadmore’s father helped him out in every single activity especially during his first 10 days.

“Mick Cadmore, Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s father, was my first-ever county stint dressing room attendant and helped me in the time I spent at county cricket in England. When I went to England to play county cricket, the first 10 days were very difficult to start with, as we needed to do everything for ourselves. Right from the laundry to food, his father helped me out in everything there for the first 10 days, and I am very grateful for him. In fact, when I went there, he had just moved to Yorkshire from Worcestershire. He’s a man of gold. An amazing human being. I’m so happy I’ll get to play with his son now,” Ashwin said.

RR, of late, have been quite keen on employing English cricketers. In the recent past, gun players in Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Liam Livingstone, Joe Root, etc. have all played for the Royals. This may also be indicative, in a way, of the presence of owners Manoj Badale, a British-Indian, and Lachlan Murdoch, an Australian-British-American businessmen.

Ever since Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty were ousted as their owners, Badale and Lachlan took over the franchise. Given their British roots, they might just have a closer view of domestic cricket in the country, enabling them to have their best picks.

Ravi Ashwin County Career Details

In his debut season for Worcestershire, Ashwin picked up three wickets against Gloucestershire. Aged 30 then, Ashwin had given county cricket a try to fulfill one of his dreams. He was instrumental in promoting the club to Division One by taking 20 wickets and averaging 42 with the bat in hand.

The following year, he was all set to go back to the same county after heaps of negotiations between the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and Matt Rawnsley, the then CEO of Worcestershire. However, he had to withdraw at the last moment due to a groin injury.

For the second half of County Championship 2019, Ashwin was signed by Nottinghamshire and he fared decently once again. He took 34 wickets and scored 339 runs at an average of 37.66. Slated to play for Yorkshire in 2020, the deal was called-off mutually amid the novel COVID-19 pandemic.

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Warne’s contract with RR was such that he was not just appointed as a captain-cum-coach, but also had a 0.75% stake in the franchise for each season he played in. The league grew leaps and bounds over the years which made Warne eligible to earn around $12 million in 2019.

Shane Warne Was Expected To Receive Around $12 Million From Rajasthan Royals

In addition to be named the captain, he also had the freedom to run the team according to his vision. Having said that, an incident had occurred before the first season leading to Warne threatening to leave the franchise.

Warne represented Royals for four seasons between 2008-2011. At the end of his journey, Warne had a 3% stake in the team. In 2019, the franchise was valued around $200 million. Warne expected this value to double in the next couple of years.

“Three percent of USD 400 million is all right [around $12 million],” Warne was quoted as saying by The Herald Sun.

It is noteworthy that Warne was signed by Rajasthan in IPL 2008 auction for his base price of $400,000. Other than icon players, who were signed directly by the franchises, the rest of the players were part of the auction pool. Readers must note that RR were even fined for not spending a minimum amount of $3 million during the first-ever auction.

Did Shane Warne Come Out Of Retirement To Play In The IPL?

Warne, whose first international match was the New Year’s Test of 1992 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, had last represented Australia during the New Year’s Test in 2007 at the same venue. He, however, came out of retirement to play for the Royals. For doing the same, Warne had earned a stake in addition to his IPL salary.

Following multiple IPL stints, Warne also joined home team Melbourne Stars as a marquee player in the inaugural Big Bash League season in 2011/12.

Even during the later stages of his career, Warne was aggressive on the field. His on-field spat with Marlon Samuels in the BBL is still remembered by many. He finally hung his boots after playing BBL 2012-13.

“I think the time is right for me to hang up my Big Bash boots – juggling business, family and commentary commitments across two continents is not easy,” Warne was quoted by Fox Cricket.

In spite of international retirement, Warne had an enjoyable ride in the shortest format of the game. In the IPL, he scalped 57 wickets in 55 matches at an economy rate of 7.27. Talking about the BBL, he took 11 wickets in 15 matches.

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With the duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma preferred over him, Samson is currently a reserve with the national team for Asia Cup 2023. While Yadav’s ODI average is just 24.33 despite regular chances, Varma is yet to play an ODI. Samson, meanwhile, averages 55.71 and strikes at 104 in the format.

Only if that Guy Rahul Dravid knew the concept of like to like replacement we would have seen Sanju Samson in playing xi against Pakistan. Sad some people don’t know about this beautiful concept. https://t.co/9wN4vLlPdN

— Archer (@poserarcher) August 29, 2023

With first-choice wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul ruled out of the first two Asia Cup matches, Samson would’ve been his ideal replacement at No. 5. However, the same wouldn’t be possible because of the selection committee’s decision earlier this month. Moreover, Ishan Kishan, who has excelled as an opener, will be forced to bat in the middle-order in the first round of the intercontinental tournament.

Rahul Dravid Had Offered Sanju Samson Rajasthan Royals Contract A Decade Ago

Dravid, who had represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first half of his Indian Premier League career, was leading Royals in what was his last season in the cash-rich league. While Dravid couldn’t lead RR to a title win, he managed to unearth a talent named Samson after the latter was selected in a trial camp organized by the franchise.

Interestingly, the same player went on to become Rajasthan’s sixth captain in 2021. Samson, who first represented the franchise between 2013-2015, was bought for a second stint during IPL 2018 mega auction.

In a conversation with Star Sports earlier this year, Samson narrated the whole incident leading up to his IPL debut over a decade ago. It is to be noted that former India pacer S Sreesanth had taken him to the trails. Samson, all of 18 then, believed that he played some of his best cricket at the time. As a result, Dravid and then-head coach Paddy Upton were highly and instantly impressed with him.

“It was a two-day trial which was very special as I have never batted like that ever again. Then Rahul [Dravid] sir came and told me, ‘You are definitely doing great. Would you like to play for RR?’ That gave me a huge confidence given that it came from Rahul sir.”

Samson’s rise in the sport can be judged by a rise in his salary as well. First bought by Royals for his base price of INR 10 lakh, the right-handed batter currently earns a hefty INR 14 crore annually from the IPL.

When Sanju Samson Let Down Rahul Dravid?

In 2021, India had toured Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI and T20I series each. With a majority of senior players rested, it gave the likes of Samson and others ample opportunities to showcase their talent. That said, Samson had failed to play according to his potential in the shortest format in spite of Dravid being the head coach.

In the ODIs, Samson got a solitary match where he scored 46 (46) with the help of five fours and a six. Having played all three T20Is, his 34 runs at a strike rate of 94.44 even included a duck.

Even though the wickets weren’t the easiest to bat on, Samson was still expected to leave a mark. Speaking in a virtual press conference back in the day, Dravid had told ANI that Samson would himself be “disappointed” because of his performances. Since that tour, Samson has played only 14 T20Is and 12 ODIs for the national team.

The post Rahul Dravid, Who Faces Criticism For Not Giving Enough Chances To Sanju Samson, Had Offered Him Rajasthan Royals Contract A Decade Ago appeared first on The SportsRush.

Kohli, along with wife and actor-producer Anushka Sharma, attended an event for sportswear company PUMA last month. The videos from that event are going viral across social media after being uploaded official on Friday. Both of them were at their candid best during the event and the joy on their faces speaks volumes about their relation.

Anushka was there to support Kohli in the majority of the games during the ongoing IPL 2023. At the event, a jolly Anushka was pulling Kohli’s leg as well where she imitated Kohli’s celebration saying that he, sometimes, celebrates more than the bowlers.

Virat Kohli Taunts RCB Fans For Laughing On His Golden Duck Vs RR At Chinnaswamy Stadium

Even though Kohli scored two consecutive centuries in the tournament, he could not help his team to reach the playoffs. In of the matches against Rajasthan Royals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli got out for a golden duck. It was the very first delivery of the match and visiting pacer Trent Boult bowled his trademark in-swinger. Kohli tried to flick the delivery but he missed and it was a plumb in front of the wickets.

During the interaction, Kohli was asked about his favourite IPL innings. However, the round was such that they had to give wrong answers only. Hence, he hilariously pointed out at his golden duck and the audience also started laughing. Seeing the audiences’ reaction and gestures signaling “zero”, Kohli was not able to control his emotions.

“Ye bangalore ka crowd hai. Abey tum Bangalore se ho, sharam karo, yaar! Kitne khush ho rahe hai, dikha bhi rahe hai zero, zero [This is Bangalore’s crowd and see how are they laughing. Have some shame],” Kohli said.

It is noteworthy that RCB had donned their Green Jersey in that game which they wear to create awareness around a “greener and sustainable” planet. Notwithstanding Kohli’s failure, the hosts ended up winning that match to further better their overall record in the green outfit.

How Many Times Has Virat Kohli Dismissed For 0 in IPL History?

Kohli has been dismissed on a duck for a total of 10 times across 16 IPL seasons. IPL 2022 was not a great one for Kohli and he could not open his account on three occasions. The same happened in 2014 as well. To see the full list of Kohli’s ducks in the IPL, you can click here.

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The Royals won four out of their initial five matches, and they were cruising towards the playoffs. However, in the last nine matches, they lost as many as six times. A thumping 112-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore at home hampered their Net Run Rate (NRR) to a large extent.

Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have sealed their place in the playoffs and they will play the Qualifier 1 in Chennai. Lucknow Super Giants have also sealed a berth for themselves. Rajasthan, Mumbai Indians and Bangalore are in a battle to become the last team to qualify for the playoffs.

What are Rajasthan Royals Chances of Qualifying for IPL 2023 Playoffs?

For Rajasthan to qualify, Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to beat Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. If Mumbai wins, they will reach 16 points and the Royals will get knocked out. Mumbai’s NRR is below Rajasthan, and if they lose, they will finish behind Rajasthan in the league table.

The last league match of the tournament is between Bangalore and Gujarat. Hence, Rajasthan would want Gujarat to win the match by a margin of at least five runs. Bangalore and Rajasthan are tied at points but RCB’s NRR is better than that of Rajasthan. If Gujarat wins by that margin, Rajasthan will qualify.

In short, Royals want both of the games on Sunday to go in their favour. If any of Mumbai or Bangalore wins, Rajasthan will get eliminated. Bangalore can qualify even after losing their last match, but by less than five runs.

When you are trying to tell everyone that Gujarati food should be our favourite and Telugu should become our teams official language for today. @rajasthanroyals #HallaBolkonjamnallabol #AavaDe #orangearmy pic.twitter.com/T9K3fMA4a7

— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) May 21, 2023

What Went Wrong for Rajasthan Royals?

There is no hiding to the fact that RR are themselves to blame for being in this situation. They have a great team, but failed to stand tall on their potential as IPL 2022 runners-up. All-rounder Jason Holder could not defend 17 runs in the last over against Mumbai. Pacer Sandeep Sharma bowled a no-ball on the last ball of the match. Furthermore, they got all out for just 59 runs against RCB.

Had Sanju Samson or his men managed to avoid any of these aforementioned errors, the situation would have been completely different for them on the last day of IPL 2023 league phase.

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Still not in the best of positions with respect to qualifying for the next round, captain Sanju Samson (2) and his men will have to anxiously wait for the results of the next four matches as the same will only determine their future in the tournament.

Runners-up of IPL 2022, Royals chased down a 188-run target with only a couple of balls remaining in the match. Individual half-centuries by top-order batters Yashasvi Jaiswal (50) and Devdutt Padikkal (51) were followed by impact-generating contributions from middle-order batters namely Shimron Hetmyer (46), Riyan Parag (20) and Dhruv Jurel (10*) to secure their seventh win of the season.

Jazba hai Rajasthani! pic.twitter.com/cYPL1OVVgR

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 19, 2023

Ideally, they would’ve have wanted to finish the match an over or so earlier in order to give a shot in the arm to their NRR (Net Run Rate).

How can Rajasthan Royals Qualify for Playoffs in IPL 2023?

With 14 points in front of their name, it is noteworthy that Rajasthan are currently at the fifth position on the points table. Their biggest two competitors at this point in time are Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

As a result, both RCB and MI will have to lose their last respective match of the season in a bid for RR to play the next round. Taking into consideration how Bangalore have a better NRR than Rajasthan at the moment, their loss will have to be big enough for that to change as well.

Mumbai, on the other hand, have a poorer NRR than Royals. Hence, even a minuscule loss for them will keep RR’s chances alive. With these three teams mostly fighting for one spot especially from Rajasthan’s perspective, they will get eliminated if even one out of Royal Challengers and Indians register a win on Sunday.

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Having won the toss and opted to field first, captain Sanju Samson didn’t remember all the changes as has become a custom since the Impact Player rule has been launched. However, Samson didn’t forget that ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin isn’t part of their Playing XI tonight.

“We will bowl. Looking at the dimensions and looking as to what we require in the tournament, it is better to bowl. We need to win the game. Then see how the other games go,” Samson told host broadcaster Star Sports Network at the toss.

Why is R Ashwin Not Playing Today vs Punjab Kings?

Second-highest wicket-taker for Royals this season on the back of his 14 wickets coming at an average of 26.28, an economy rate of 7.51 and a strike rate of 21, Ashwin isn’t playing a pivotal match of the season because of back spasm.

Other players who aren’t part of the starting XI are batters Joe Root and Dhruv Jural and pacer KM Asif. Batters Devdutt Padikkal and Riyan Parag and fast bowlers Navdeep Saini and Trent Boult have been handed opportunities in place of the above mentioned names. It is almost certain that Jurel will participate as a substitute in the second innings.

Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan, who had lost the match after electing to field first in their previous match at this venue on Wednesday, remained unperturbed about being invited in to bat first. Readers must note that the home team hasn’t made any change to their Playing XI. It’s just that batter Prabhsimran Singh is in the starting XI because they are batting first tonight.

“Dew wasn’t much [in the last match]. First batting or second, it shouldn’t change much. We will come and enjoy the game. Will try to give our best shot. We need to take more wickets in the first six overs,” Dhawan told Star Sports.

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Shikhar Dhawan has been pretty average as captain this season for the Kings. From complaining about not having an off-spinner to giving spinner Harpreet Brar the last over against Delhi Capitals, the decisions of Dhawan have been questionable. This team has some match-winners but they have not been able to step up at the right times.

The Royals had a blistering start to the season, but they completely lost it in the second half. They still are one of the most teams in the tournament. This is their last match of the tournament and they would want to stay in the tournament by winning here.

PBKS vs RR Pitch Report for IPL 2023 Match at Dharamsala Cricket Ground

A new surface has been laid in Dharamsala and it was clear in the last match that this is a marvelous track for batting. There is an even amount of bounce on the track which will be loved by the batters. The ball will come onto the bat very nicely and a high-scoring encounter can again be on the cards.

“It hasn’t had a lot of wear and tear. When you look at the surface, really hard, not a lot of movement in these cracks whatsoever. Will it be a good batting track? You bet! The par score should be around 180. The outfield looks absolutely magnificent,” Matthew Hayden said in his pitch assessment on Star Sports ahead of the PBKS vs DC match.

The spinners were taken to the cleaners in the last match and the captains will have to rotate their bowlers carefully. With a faster outfield, the fielders’ job will get tough. The average first innings score in IPL matches played here has been 179 runs. Out of ten matches, six have been won by the teams batting first.

One side of the ground is a bit on the bigger side with 76 metres boundary. The rest of the ground dimensions are very small and we can see a lot of sixes here. A high-scoring encounter is expected considering the quality of batters on both sides.

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RCB shared a video on their social media handles after a record win against Rajasthan in away conditions. The whole team was looking delighted in the video as they progressed one step towards the playoffs of the tournament. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell was heard saying that he planned about taking on the bowlers and was successful as well.

The morale in the dressing room looks really positive. With this big win, Royal Challengers’ NRR has improved significantly as well (from -0.345 to +0.166). They are currently at the fifth position with 12 points and can reach 16 points if they win both their remaining league games.

Virat Kohli Hilariously Trolls Rajasthan Royals After 59 All Out vs RCB

Kohli was seen mocking the Royals’ batters where he said that the whole team could have been dismissed for 40 runs if he would have taken the ball in his hands. He was in a joyous mood after the win.

“If I had bowled, they would have been all out for 40,” Virat Kohli said in the video.

Dressing Room Reactions RR v RCB

A near-perfect game, 2 points in the bag, positive NRR – that sums up the satisfying victory in Jaipur.

Parnell, Siraj, Maxwell, Bracewell and Anuj take us through the events that transpired and the road ahead.#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/cblwDrfVgd

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 15, 2023

Out of 59 runs, batter Shimron Hetmyer made 35 runs for the hosts. The remaining 10 batters managed to contribute just 21 runs (keeping 3 extras aside). The lowest score in the history of the IPL has been achieved by RCB when they were all out on 49 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Virat Kohli IPL bowling record

Kohli last bowled in IPL in 2016 where he gave away 13 runs in the only over he bowled. Overall, he has bowled 41.5 overs in the tournament and has scalped four wickets by conceding 368 runs at an average of 92.00. His bowling economy has been 8.80.

In IPL 2012, RCB were up against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. CSK required 43 runs off the last two overs to win the match. Surprisingly, Kohli was given the duty to bowl the 19th over, and Chennai’s all-rounder Albie Morkel smashed 28 runs in that over to script the highest successful T20 run chase at the Chepauk.

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Interestingly, both their lowest innings totals have come against Royal Challengers. With RCB having this unwanted record to their name, their name pops up in the Top Three Lowest Scores in IPL History.

RR, who scored one additional run than their previous worst performance, had scored their lowest innings total in Cape Town 14 years ago. Although he plays for Chennai Super Kings now, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is the only cricketer who is part of IPL 2023 squads from that Playing XI.

Speaking of the latest incident, a dismal batting performance from Royals not only hurt their chances of chasing a 172-run target but has also substantially hurt their chances of qualifying for IPL 2023 playoffs. Having lost seven matches with only one more league match to be played, Royals will find it almost impossible to qualify to the next round. In simple words, only a miracle will power to the playoffs from hereon.

Heavily-reliant on their top-order, Rajasthan were short of answers when the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (0), Jos Buttler (0) and Sanju Samson (4) were all dismissed within the first 10 balls of the innings. Not that Bangalore’s bowlers bowled unplayable lines and lengths, the home team seemed oblivious after being put into an unexpected situation by the opposition.

“I don’t think I have an answer to that [batting collapse] yet. We all know the nature of the IPL. We’ve seen some funny things happen in the league stage,” captain Samson told Star Sports Network whilst remaining hopeful of playoffs qualification after a gargantuan 112-run loss.

RR Lowest Score in IPL History

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