Gully Point

RP Singh pushed for Bhuvneshwar Kumar's recall while Agarkar was chairman. He got blocked. Agarkar leaves, Ojha takes interim charge and the same name walks straight into the T20I squad.

Sarfaraz Khan hit a 63-ball hundred for India A against the senior side in Pretoria, then a 76-ball hundred in Beckenham. He wasn't picked for either senior tour. He now says he asks himself every morning "Why should I work hard?" All six of his Tests have come at home, and he says he has only heard selectors see him "more for Indian conditions." It looks like his overseas case deserves an answer from the selectors, even after a rough last Test series.

All six SA20 franchises are owned by IPL team owners. SA20 COO Lynn Naude says "It wasn't a conscious decision at all. It was a closed bidding process at the beginning, ahead of Season 1, and those were simply the strongest bids that came through." She calls the group "a superpower for us", with some owners having "20 years of experience in this space." SA20 holds its fifth player auction on Wednesday and wants to be the No. 2 T20 league behind the IPL. It looks like SA20's route to No. 2 runs through IPL owners.

Rishabh Pant failed a fitness test at the CoE in Bengaluru on Sunday. The BCCI medical staff reportedly want another test within two days. If he clears it, he joins India A in Lincoln for the third four-day game starting November 7, ahead of the first Test in Wellington on November 19. Dhruv Jurel has kept wicket and captained India A in both four-day games Pant has missed. It seems Jurel keeps the gloves for as long as Pant's fitness stays unanswered.

Kris Srikkanth says the very fact that Rohit Sharma is coming as Mumbai Indians captain means "there is something wrong with Hardik, and he won't be retained." He says Jasprit Bumrah was the "natural move" after Hardik, but that Rohit "might be the ideal man" to fix a team that has become "totally disoriented." MI are reportedly in talks with multiple franchises over a Hardik trade. The retention deadline is November 15. It seems MI are choosing the safe captain over the natural one.

Zubayr Hamza is back in a South Africa Test squad after almost two years. Tony de Zorzi returns from the hamstring injury that cost him the Australia series. Lungi Ngidi misses out as he continues his rehab, and will miss another two Tests at home. Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj are both in the 15 for the Bangladesh Tests, which start on November 15. It looks like Conrad has to answer the Harmer and Maharaj question again.

Lalit Modi says the IPL's April-May window was "never a declaration that these were the ideal months for Indian cricket for all time." He says 10 teams playing home and away means 94 matches, up from 59 in 2008. He wants an October to April window, and wants Jay Shah to use his ICC role to broker it with other boards. It seems the bilateral series are the ones that will be asked to make room.

Kris Srikkanth says India are mishandling Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old did not play the two T20Is against Ireland or the West Indies T20Is. He sat out the fifth T20I in Hamilton too, after India had already clinched the series. Srikkanth said "Give him a chance and groom him. Instead of encouraging him, you're discouraging that boy." It looks like the selectors owe him either a run of games or a clear plan.

Shubman Gill spent close to three hours at Eden Park on Monday, starting with throwdowns and moving on to a long fielding session. KL Rahul joined him at the nets. Virat Kohli did a gym session and left without batting or fielding. Rohit Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad stayed indoors. India have only one full-squad session left before the series opener on Wednesday. It sounds like Tuesday is when Kohli and Rohit pick up the bats.

Australia are resting Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for the three ODIs against England. Nathan Ellis is out with a side strain. Mahli Beardman looks set to make his ODI debut. Xavier Bartlett and Spencer Johnson lead the seam attack. Adam Zampa is the lone spinner. It looks like England will fancy their chances against an attack with this many gaps.

Irfan Pathan says the selectors made a mistake by playing Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the New Zealand T20Is. He says there is no question about Bhuvneshwar's skill. His issue is the timing, with the T20 World Cup nowhere near. Preparing him for the 50-over World Cup would have made sense. Pathan said "You missed a valuable opportunity for your fast bowlers to gain good experience on New Zealand soil." He named Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav. Bhuvneshwar's return came after four years away. It looks like the selectors now have to explain what it is preparing him for.

Marnus Labuschagne has not made a fifty in 16 Test innings since his Ashes recall. His average is 23.66. Andrew McDonald says "We believed in Marnus for this tour. We'll have to reassess that as we move forward." Simon Katich says the selectors have "potentially crucified a bloke's career" by not taking him out of the firing line sooner. McDonald doesn't think any opportunity to play for Australia "damages you." Katich might have a point.

CSK spent ₹14.2 crore each on Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer at the last IPL auction. Kartik scored 295 runs in 11 matches at 32.77. Veer managed 90 runs in five innings and didn't take a wicket. Now CSK are reportedly considering releasing Veer before the December 16 auction, with the possibility of buying him back for less. ₹14.2 crore for 90 runs and zero wickets is a tough return to defend. But if CSK still believe in Veer, releasing him and bidding again could be their way of fixing an expensive auction mistake.

143 T20Is. 151 wickets. Mitchell Santner is now New Zealand's most-capped men's T20I player, overtaking Ish Sodhi's 142 appearances. Just two days earlier, he became only the third New Zealand bowler to reach 150 T20I wickets. But his record-breaking appearance against India ended with 0/39 in four overs. Adam Milne took 4/19 on the same night. Santner has earned his place in New Zealand's history. His 143rd appearance, though, belonged to another bowler.

Pat Cummins says changes in style and personnel are possible after Australia lost two straight Tests to South Africa from 1-0 up. Marnus Labuschagne did not make a fifty in six innings in the series. Steve Smith may return from a neck injury, reportedly. It seems the first selection question will be Labuschagne or Smith.

Ayush Badoni walked off unbeaten on 115 against Gujarat on Day 1 and told his coach "Double karunga, sir." He got the double the next day. A week later in Ranchi, he did it again. Before the season he told his coach his IPL wasn't good, and he was dropped from India A. Then he spent hours in the nets against the new ball, learning to leave it. It looks like being dropped was the best thing that happened to his season.

Shukri Conrad left Keshav Maharaj out for Simon Harmer in two consecutive Tests against Australia. Harmer responded with 6/16 at Newlands and his first ten-wicket haul in Test cricket. But Conrad refused to use those figures to justify his selection. "It's not about the selection being justified by Simon doing what he did today. It's what we believed was the right call." Most coaches would be using 6/16 to silence their critics. Conrad was prepared to defend his decision even if Harmer had failed. You have to respect that conviction.

India won Asian Games gold, finished a five-match series against West Indies, and reached New Zealand on October 20. One practice session later, they were playing. Still, they won the first three T20Is, including a chase of 199 in just 13.2 overs. Gautam Gambhir called that "ruthlessness." Fair praise for a team with barely any preparation. But India then lost the last two matches and finished 3-2. That ruthlessness disappeared when they had the chance to finish the series unbeaten.

Virat Kohli needs just 75 runs to overtake Ricky Ponting as the highest ODI run-scorer against New Zealand. He's also just a few runs away from becoming the first batter with 13,000 ODI runs at No. 3. And 54 runs while chasing would make him the leading run-getter in ODI chases. Kohli doesn't even need a big series. Two or three good innings and he could have three more records to his name.

India have prioritised the New Zealand Tests, even splitting their ODI squads to manage preparations. But ask Gautam Gambhir about Rishabh Pant's availability and the answer is, "I dont have an update yet on Rishabh Pant, will share when I get." Pant was reportedly expected to join India A for the third unofficial Test, but his fitness status remains unclear. The Test series is approaching, and India still don't have clarity on one of their most important batters. If Gambhir is still waiting for a medical update, India's Test preparations aren't looking as organised as they should.

Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls in this T20 series. Now he heads to Lincoln for a four-day red-ball match, just to stay sharp before his ODI return on November 13. Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy are also being routed through India A to rebuild fitness and rhythm before the Tests. It seems India A is doing a lot of the selectors' work right now.