Brijesh Patel set to be NCA director

Brijesh Patel, the former India opener, is set to occupy the position of the National Cricket Academy director, which has been vacant for more than a year and half. This will be Patel's second stint as NCA director, after serving between 2001 to 2004, during the early years of the academy.

The decision was taken during the NCA Board meeting that was held in Bangalore on Friday. Patel, who heads Royal Challengers Bangalore's cricket operations, will take charge soon after the conclusion of the IPL.

The NCA director's post has been vacant since Sandeep Patil was appointed as the chairman of the national selection panel in October 2012. It is understood that the BCCI hierarchy were trying to convince Rahul Dravid to take over from Patil. Once the talks with Dravid didn't materialise, Patel's name came up next as the NCA Board preferred a candidate based in Bangalore. Patel, who took over the Karnataka State Cricket Association administration last year thus realigning himself with the BCCI bosses, was thus a "natural choice", according to an NCA Board member.

The NCA, which has primarily been converted into a rehab centre for centrally-contracted players of the BCCI, has been in a transition phase for almost a year. NCA chairman TC Mathew has been wanting to implement the plan set in motion by his predecessor Ranjib Biswal to set up five zonal academies and streamline coaching methods to avoid junior cricketers being confused by various coaches. It remains to be seen if Patel pushes the proposals that were passed more than a year ago but haven't been implemented so far.

Amol Karhadkar is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

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Chennai may lose IPL games

The decision over whether Chennai could host IPL games in 2014 is likely to be made on Saturday in a meeting between the IPL authorities and representatives of the Chennai municipal

corporation. An apex court bench which has been hearing dispute over the legality of reconstruction of three stands and a gymnasium at the MA Chidambaram Stadium has ordered both the parties to reach an amicable settlement with regard to staging IPL matches.

The meeting will be held in Mumbai and if Chepauk, the home of the controversial yet successful Chennai Super Kings franchise, is ruled out to host any of the five matches - three home games of Super Kings, a qualifier and the eliminator - then the Jharkhand State Cricket Association stadium in Ranchi will be the likely replacement.

The home ground of Super Kings and India captain MS Dhoni, which was Super Kings' base during last year's Champions League, has been allotted two of the five home games for the IPL side this season.

The legality of the reconstruction of stands has been questioned ever since the Chepauk was renovated ahead of the 2011 World Cup. Most of the matches played in Chennai after the World Cup have been played with the disputed stands locked out.

Amol Karhadkar is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

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How the IPL can be made transparent

On April 29, Adam Silver, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) imposed a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine on the oldest team owner in the league - Donald Sterling of the Los Angeles Clippers - who was found using "deeply offensive and hurtful language" towards Afro-Americans. Silver announced the ban, unprecedented in the history of American sport, within four days of starting investigations.

The speed, weight and transparency of Silver's decisions took the sports world by surprise and led, in India, to talk of what the IPL could learn from it to reach that level of executive efficiency. One radical thought came from the IPL's founder and former chairman Lalit Modi: set up an autonomous body to run the IPL, independent of the BCCI.

Modi, who has begun his return to Indian cricket administration with a controversial and contested election as RCA president, was inspired in setting up the IPL by borrowing ideas from well-established models including the NBA, Major League Baseball and the Formula 1.

"I would remove the IPL from under the BCCI and put it in the hands of a separate company," Modi told ESPNcricinfo. "They can have the ownership, let them earn the revenue but allow autonomy to the independent company. Bring in professionals that have nothing else but to run the IPL."

It is important, Modi said, to involve the primary stakeholders - the franchise owners - in the decision-making process. "The league's board would have franchise owners on it. And the company would then send in an annual report to the BCCI. That is how it should be. The owners need to have a big say in it. You cannot have a system that keeps changing rules like retention to suit one's own needs," Modi said.

It is a moot point, though, whether the BCCI would want to divest power into the hands of an independent authority or even equip a chairman or appoint a commissioner who could have complete powers as Silver enjoys in the NBA. Tim Wright, who was CEO of the former IPL franchise Deccan Chargers in 2009, said Modi's suggestion would not be bought by the BCCI.

"The IPL could not have been created without BCCI money, without the state associations' stadia and many other things," Wright said. "Would the BCCI be willing to reduce its ability to control the IPL and by so doing, reduce its ability to control the India national team? Of course it is not."

Wright, who has worked previously with IMG, raised the example of Formula 1, where the administrative and financial or commercial powers are split between two bodies.

"The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile governs the rules but the commercial side of the sport is owned and run by a private equity firm," Wright said. "The chief executive of Formula One is independent of the governing body and the teams.

"The BCCI's only motive to do something similar would be to crystallise the brand value of IPL, as Formula One has done, but I do not see that as imminent or likely even in the medium or long term because of the BCCI's broader interest and role in the sport."

Modi also advocated a "strong person" at the helm of the IPL: "You need to address the issue, take the bull by the horns, and do what needs to be done"

Wright, too, pointed out that the franchise agreements give the BCCI's chairman the power to shape the key relationship between the IPL teams and BCCI. "That the chairman should be free of influence from any one team seems obvious," Wright said.

The IPL has long suffered from a lack of leadership. In 2008, when Modi was the league chairman, the BCCI constitution was amended to allow N Srinivasan, then the board secretary, to have a stake in a franchise. Modi now concedes he had made a mistake but believes the Mudgal Commission, which was appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate mismanagement of an earlier BCCI probe verifying allegations of corruption during the 2013 edition of the tournament, will correct that mistake.

Silver followed up his action against Sterling by making public the NBA constitution, so long available only within the league. It's worth noting that neither the BCCI's constitution nor its annual accounts are accessible to the public. That might be a good place to start.

Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Taijul eight-for derails South Zone

Taijul Islam saved his best for the Bangladesh Cricket League final, picking up a career-best 8 for 86 as North Zone took the upper hand against South Zone on the first day in Mirpur.

The left-arm spinner, who was already the tournament's highest wicket-taker at the start of this game, took the first five South Zone wickets, preying on the aggression of the batsmen. He took another three by the end of the innings, with Sanjamul Islam picking up the remaining two wickets. This was his fourth consecutive five-for, and his fifth in six BCL innings to date.

Taijul was modest about his performance, although he struggled slightly as he bowled 28 overs on a hot day in Dhaka. He pointed out that the batsmen were far too aggressive on a good batting track.

"They were bowled out trying to force the issue," Taijul said. "But I am enjoying the time. It always feels great to take wickets. My captain and seniors are helping me a lot. There was a time when I was feeling bad out in the middle, but since I was getting the wickets, I could avoid it.

"If the batsmen are playing at every ball, it helps to get wickets. Since the wicket was good, our plan was to cut out the runs as much as possible. I didn't really think I would bowl so well, but it is not impossible to get the amount of wickets."

Put into bat first, South Zone started off well as Imrul Kayes dominated the opening stand with Anamul Haque. But the latter was caught by Farhad Hossain at cover as he tried to attack Taijul.

Imrul, who was responsible for the rapid start, was out for 38 as he too failed to loft Taijul and was caught at mid-on by Farhad Reza in the 18th over. Mithun Ali was caught at point by Sanjamul Islam, making it 91 for 3, after which Soumya Sarkar and Shuvagata Hom put together a recovery act.

The fourth-wicket pair added 89 runs for the fourth wicket when Soumya retired on 51 due to dehydration. Soon after, Shuvagata fell for 60 off 72 balls with seven fours and two sixes.

A mini-collapse ensued as South Zone slipped from 213-3 to 236-7 in 12.3 overs. Soumya returned to the crease and took his score to 70 off 131 balls before falling to yet another catch at long-on off Taijul.

The innings wrapped up quickly, and South Zone were bowled out for 271 with Naeem Islam taking a spectacular catch at long-on, juggling the ball while crossing the rope and jumping back before completing the catch to dismiss Mostafizur Rahman.

North Zone ended with 15 for no loss after the openers Maisuqur Rahman and Junaid Siddique batted for 8 overs.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

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Ramdin named WI Test captain

Denesh Ramdin, the West Indies wicketkeeper, has been named captain of the Test side and will take over from Darren Sammy, who will remain the T20 captain. This means West Indies have three separate captains for all three formats.

Ramdin's first assignment will be the home series against New Zealand which begins on June 8. He has led the national side in three T20s and an ODI. His experience with Trinidad & Tobago is more extensive with 37 matches at the helm across formats. He has 21 wins under his belt and took T&T to the semi-final of the Regional Four Day Competition this season.

This is the second time in as many years that Sammy has had to relinquish captaincy. Last May he had to make way for Dwayne Bravo to become ODI captain after criticism regarding his batting too low and his ability as a strike bowler.

Sammy's tenure as Test captain began in November 2010 when West Indies drew a three-match series against the hosts Sri Lanka. His best accomplishment as captain was when West Indies won six consecutive matches in 2012-13 which lifted the side to No. 5 in the rankings. But an overall record of 8 wins to 12 losses - including a spell of five defeats in their last six matches - has hurt his cause.

Sammy's three-year stint was marred by debate over his reliability as a player. He usually occupies No.8 in the batting order and has hit his only Test century and all five fifties in that position. But an average of 22.43 cites his lack of consistency and his straightforward medium pace, that fetched him 29 wickets in 10 matches, prompted several critics to question his impact as an allrounder.

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Miller, Sandeep set up massive win for Kings XI

Kings XI Punjab 198 for 8 (Miller 66, Sehwag 30, Chahal 2-23) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 143 for 8 (De Villiers 53, Sandeep 3-25, Shivam 2-26) by 32 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

When the two teams last met, Sandeep Sharma had dismissed Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli in the same over and set the tone for a convincing win for Kings XI Punjab. On Friday, Royal Challengers Bangalore were chasing rather than setting a target, but the same set of characters went through an eerily similar routine, right down to the questionable umpiring decision that did for Kohli, in an over that sent Kings XI on their way to a 32-run win that gave them sole occupancy of the top spot in the IPL table.

An innings of 66, off just 29 balls, from David Miller had powered Kings XI to a total of 198. If any team could chase it, though, it was Royal Challengers. They had been the only team to chase a 200-plus total on this ground, and they had done it against the same opponents, back in 2010. They faced a similar ask this time, and needed their top order to fire.

Sandeep had troubled Gayle with his swing right through his first over, beating him twice before failing to grab a difficult caught-and-bowled chance off the last ball. First ball of his second over, though, Sandeep had his man. The ball moved away from Gayle, who swung hard at it and edged to the keeper.

In walked Kohli. In Dubai, he had been out second ball to a debatable lbw decision, with the ball appearing to be headed down the leg side. This time, Sandeep dismissed him first ball, caught behind down the leg side. There was a sound as ball passed bat, but replays suggested the ball had brushed the ground just as Wriddhiman Saha scooped it up with the webbing of his right glove. Royal Challengers were 8 for 2, and 199 looked like 299.

They were never going to get close after that, and Sandeep dented them once again with the wicket of Parthiv Patel in his next over. Royal Challengers' subsequent struggles were encapsulated by Yuvraj Singh, who kept getting beaten by the spinners during a painful 11-ball stay that ended when he gave debutant offspinner Shivam Sharma his first wicket in senior cricket. It was 50 for 5 at that point, but AB de Villiers ensured Royal Challengers reached a respectable score with a 26-ball 53.

When his team was asked to bat, Kings XI captain George Bailey said it was hard to tell what a good score would be, considering the flat pitch and short boundaries at Chinnaswamy Stadium. His team never had to worry about their run-rate, though, after they reached 64 for 1 after 6 overs - it was the most they had made during the Powerplay this season.

Virender Sehwag had played some aggressive shots in that time, but hadn't really exploded. But the bowlers had helped Kings XI along, bowling eight extra balls in those first six overs. Amidst all that, Mitchell Starc and Albie Morkel had also discovered that this pitch had a little more help for the bowlers than it usually does, and were getting their cutters to grip and deviate.

Yuzvendra Chahal, the legspinner, also settled in nicely, and dismissed both Sehwag and Glenn Maxwell. Kings XI were scoring rapidly, but they were losing wickets. But they still had Miller, and he was in terrific form.

On this day, Miller hit only three sixes, but he was hitting the ball cleanly along the ground placing it with rare precision. He hit Varun Aaron for three fours in the 10th over, and smashed Starc for three fours in the 13th.

The bowler who suffered most, though, was Harshal Patel, who would eventually finish with figures of 2 for 56 in three overs. The Haryana seamer had conceded two fours in his first over - one each to Sehwag and Maxwell - and had taken a nine-over sabbatical before coming back on. Immediately, Miller laid into him, clouting him over a leaping deep midwicket for six, dumping him back over his head and onto the roof of the stadium, and pulling him behind square for four, off his first three deliveries. Wriddhiman Saha got into the act in the same over, slog-sweeping him for six.

Miller's dismissal in the next over saw Kings XI lose some momentum, at least relative to what had gone before. They made 28 off the last 21 balls of their innings, and Royal Challengers seemed to have done well to keep them to under 200. All of that, however, ceased to matter after that one over from Sandeep.

Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Super Kings look to set Mumbai record straight

Match facts

Saturday, May 10, 2014
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

	Praveen Kumar is likely to turn out for his third IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians © BCCI Enlarge
Related Links Audio/Video: Batsmanship in IPL is staggering - Fleming | We have improved after leaving UAE - Rohit Players/Officials: Praveen Kumar | Faf du Plessis Matches: Mumbai T20 v Chennai T20 at Mumbai Series/Tournaments: Indian T20 League Teams: Chennai T20 | India | Mumbai T20

Big picture

They may be at opposite ends of the points table but Mumbai Indians will go into Saturday's match against Chennai Super Kings aware of one record - they are the team to have defeated Super Kings the most number of times in the IPL, nine out of 16 encounters. In Mumbai, their IPL record against Super Kings stands 5-1. To top that off, Mumbai have won 10 successive IPL games in Mumbai.

While they would have come as immense confidence boosters, Mumbai's last two wins at home have only underlined how heavily reliant the batting is on Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard. The focus, though, will be on Mumbai's bowlers, fresh off having reined in Royal Challengers Bangalore. Harbhajan Singh had been economical through this tournament, but against Chris Gayle and co, he stepped up as the bowling leader Mumbai needed in the absence of Zaheer Khan. He and Lasith Malinga will have to take charge again - Praveen Kumar comes into the IPL with little cricket in recent months, and Jasprit Bumrah will be playing his first match against the formidable Super Kings.

It says something about the quality of your side when the world's best T20I bowler is warming the benches. It took an outrageous innings from Glenn Maxwell to halt Super Kings' six-match winning streak but on one of their worst days in the IPL, they also ended up scoring 187 for 6, despite the early loss of Dwayne Smith. Despite that failure, Smith will be a key player for them, with his familiarity of Mumbai's conditions and their bowling.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians: WWLLL
Chennai Super Kings: LWWWW

Where they stand

Mumbai Indians: 7th on the table with two wins in seven games
Chennai Super Kings: 2nd , with six wins in eight games

Previous encounter

In their match in Dubai, Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 71 set up Super Kings' chase of 142 after Mohit Sharma had dismantled Mumbai's batting with returns of 4 for 14. Rohit Sharma's 50 and Corey Anderson's 39 were the only substantial knocks in an otherwise average batting effort.

Watch out for

In the last three IPL seasons for Kings XI Punjab, Praveen Kumar picked up 31 wickets. In the lead-up to this IPL, he played seven limited overs matches in the 2013-14 domestic season and went unsold in the auction. His history of fitness and disciplinary issues is well documented but he has also stated in the past how important the IPL is in making a national comeback.

So strong has the Super Kings' top-order been in this IPL that Faf du Plessis' scores of 24, 7, 20 and 0 - all prior to the match against Kings XI Punjab - barely made a dent. In his last outing, du Plessis made use of the opportunity to play himself into form during an improbable chase and his 52 off 25 only adds muscle to an already robust line-up.

Stats and trivia

• Among bowlers who have bowled at least 50 overs, Mohit Sharma has the best overall strike rate in the IPL of 13.6
• Super Kings have 16 hundred-run partnerships in the IPL. Mumbai are second with 12
• MS Dhoni needs three more dismissals to overtake Adam Gilchrist as the most successful wicketkeeper in the IPL. Gilchrist has 67 dismissals, while Dhoni has 65

Quotes

"I guess the main thing is you don't panic. We have won two now and (teams on) the table are actually not that far apart. Anyone is sort of biding for that third or fourth spot at the moment."
Corey Anderson is hopeful of Mumbai Indians' bid for a playoff spot.

Rachna Shetty is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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