IPL HARMING WEST INDIES CRICKET: CARL HOOPER
RAJKOT: Former West Indies all-rounder Carl Hooper says the lure of bagging an IPL contract has hurt the West Indies in Test cricket as most talented youngsters’ “ultimate goal” is to play in the cash-rich T20 league. The past disputes between the players and West Indies Cricket Board are well-documented and IPL has contributed to the team’s travails in the longest format, feels Hooper. “We should have seen this coming (IPL impact on West Indies cricket). T20 cricket is here to stay. You got more leagues in play than what it was five years ago. It is going to affect us because for most young West Indies players the ultimate aim is sign a contract with an IPL side,” he said. 9.30am: 1st Test, Day 2, live on Star Sports 1, SS 1HD, SS 1 Hindi, SS 1 HD Hindi & SS1 Tamil 12.30am (Sat): Brighton v West Ham, live on Star Sports Select 1 & SS Select 1HD 7.30pm: Kerala Blasters v Mumbai City, live on Star Sports 1, SS 1HD, SS 3, SS 1 Hindi, SS 1 HD Hindi & SS1 Tamil 6.25am onwards: Japanese GP Free Practice 1 & 2; live on Star
Sports Select 2 &
SHD2 RAJKOT: When Sachin Tendulkar was exiting international cricket after playing his last Test series — against West Indies in 2013 — little did the Calypso Kings know that there was a 14-year-old from Mumbai who would become their tormentor in the years to come. Five years after Prithvi Shaw struck 546 in a minor cricket competition, within days of Tendulkar calling it a day in 2013, the Mumbai batsman emerged a potential successor to the legendary batsman’s legacy on Thursday, smashing 134 on Test debut.
The 18-year-old Shaw, one of the architects of India’s title triumph in the U-19 World Cup last year, marched into the annals of Test history, becoming the fourth youngest batsman to score a century on debut, powering the home team to 364/4 at stumps on Day One of the opening Test against the West Indies.
Shaw, who could be the answer to India’s opening woes, did what was expected of him, and aided by Cheteshwar Pujara’s 86 and Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 72, India look set for a mammoth total.
While Shaw gave full respect to West Indies’ in-form bowler Shannon Gabriel, he treated with disdain the other bowlers who drifted outside off or targeted his pads. On a hot day at the SCA stadium, he showed his dexterity by playing some delectable strokes both on the front and back-foot. Call it the exuberance of youth, or having endured the energy sapping Mumbai heat day in, day
Batsman
YOUNGEST TO SCORE CENTURY ON TEST DEBUT
Mohammad Ashraful (B’desh) Hamilton Masakadza (Zim) Saleem Malik (Pak) Prithvi Shaw (Ind) Mohammad Wasim (Pak) 18 years & 329 days