The Year Ends: Major News From Cricket Nations In 2017

The year 2017 was an eventful one. It saw teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe upsetting heavyweights while the year also saw two nations getting Test status.

At one point in time, Australian players were left jobless while on the other, Indian players saw their salaries doubled.

Let’s have a look at the events which made news from cricket playing nations in 2017 -

India:

(Image credits: AFP)

On January 2, just the second day of the New Year, the Supreme Court of India sacked the President of BCCI, Anurag Thakur, for not complying with the rules of Lodha recommendations. Along with him Ajay Shirke –board’s Secretary – was also sacked, which marked a start to the year.

After few days, the Supreme Court appointed a four-member committee named as Committee of the Administrators (COA) headed by former CAG of India, Vinod Rai, to oversee the work of the board. Two of members of committee viz Ramachandra Guha and Vikram Limaye have stepped down from their positions and Rai, along with Diana Edulji, is one of the remaining members.

Till date, the board is yet to fall in line with the Lodha recommendations.

Dhoni drops a bombshell, relinquishes captaincy:

(Image credits: Getty Images)

MS Dhoni, India's most successful captain, dropped a bombshell in the first week of the year when he announced that he would not lead team India in limited overs format, anymore. He had delivered the message to the board in the month of November in 2016 but since India was not playing any ODI or T20I during that period, the news was kept private. Virat Kohli was the ultimate successor and still continues to lead the team.

Kohli-Kumble tussle:

(Image credits: AFP)

It was probably the worst thing that could have happened in the cricketing arena. Anil Kumble – the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests and ODIs – was appointed as the Head Coach of the team in June 2016. Virat Kohli and the team welcomed him with open arms.

Everything went smoothly until BCCI, just a few days before the end of Kumble’s term, advertised for the post of Head Coach of Indian cricket team. Kumble was given a direct entry in the race.

The very next day when the advertisement was posted, news emerged that everything was not well between the captain and the coach.

Team India had flown to England to play the ICC Champions Trophy and at the crucial juncture, the news was leaked. It was just matter of few days as after the end of the ICC tournament, Kumble stepped down from the post citing an untenable relation with the skipper. Kumble also revealed that he heard of the captain having ‘reservations’ with his style.

In reply, Kohli did not say much and just asked to maintain the sanctity of the dressing room, thus not exaggerating the matter. The matter had an abrupt end and Kohli’s side was not revealed at all.

Many Indian stalwarts have said that the way Kumble went away was quite unfortunate. In a period of less than a month, Ravi Shastri – Kohli's favourite - succeeded Kumble as the Head Coach until 2019.

Women in Blue shine in England:

(Image credits: Getty Images)

July 23, 2017, will be marked as a historic day in the history of women’s cricket. The Mithali Raj led side made history when they played the final for the second time. Though they could not cross the finishing line, their achievements were enough to draw attention of the public to women’s cricket.

Mithali Raj, who has been plying her trade in international cricket for the past 18 years, has become a household name and a star now, deservedly.

Courtesy social media: women’s team got the attention and respect which they deserved. However, a big bridge between team India’s next fixture has contributed to the decline in popularity of women cricket as well.

Australia –

Players go jobless:

(Image credits: Getty Images)

At one point of time in the year, Australian players were jobless as the pay talks between the players and the board failed to reach a conclusion. With the Ashes series just three and a half months away then, it was a bitter pill to swallow for the players and a total of 230 cricketers were affected by it. It was only after a month when the dispute was solved and everything was back to normal.

Bangladesh –

A year of success and failure:

(Image credits: AFP)

A year of both success and failure can define Bangladesh’s performance in 2017. In their 100th Test match, Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka and celebrated the big victory.

A few months later, they qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final, which again brought joy on the faces of players and fans. In the month of August, they defeated Australia in a Test match, which was well received by the Prime Minister of the country, who was present at the stadium to witness the historical moment.

In the first nine months, Bangladesh had achieved everything they could have dreamt of but then came the South Africa tour -- the worst nightmare for the cricketing country.

Bangladesh lost the Test, ODI and T20I series as well and remained without a win in seven games on the trot. They did not just lose the games but were drubbed and pushed to the lowest point, as a result of which, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided to replace the Test captain, Mushfiqur Rahim with Shakib Al Hasan, who is taking charge after a period of six years.

Sri Lanka-

The Nightmare year:

(Image credits: AFP)

The word nightmare can be easily attached to the fate that Sri Lanka had this year. After being whitewashed by South Africa in Test and ODI series right at the start of the year, they failed to win the series against Bangladesh as the visitors managed to draw the series in all formats.

In the ICC Champions trophy, their lone win came against India. In the month of July/August, Virat Kohli’s team took revenge of that loss in the ICC tournament by defeating the host in nine consecutive games across all formats.

Prior to this, they also lost an ODI series to minnows, Zimbabwe, which resulted in Angelo Mathews stepping down as the captain of the team across all formats.

Still, Sri Lanka’s party is a derailed one, which desperately needs a safe helmsman.

Pakistan –

Legends big adieu:

(Image credits: AFP/Getty Images)

Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan, two legendary players in the history of cricket, bade adieu to the game this year, leaving a big hole in Pakistani cricket. It could have been a great end to Misbah’s career had he converted those two scores of 99 into three figures. On one occasion, he ran out of partners while on the other, he was dismissed himself.

Younis, though was able to have the last say in his final game. There were just 12 balls left in the day and Pakistan needed one wicket to give a winning farewell to the legendary duo.

Shannon Gabriel, the batsmen, had played five balls before Yasir Shah, the bowler, was to bowl his last bowl of the Test series. He received some advice from Younis - who was standing at slips – and on the same delivery, Gabriel went for big heave and drew an edge onto the stumps.

Standing behind the wickets, Younis had noticed that batsman was not ready to defend now and he asked the bowler to entice him to play a big shot, which saw Windies losing the game.

The two legends were given perfect farewell and were carried on the shoulders by the players to give them the farewell which they deserved.

Winning ICC Champions trophy –

(Image credits: PA photos)

Team India had defeated Pakistan just two weeks ago in the league game in a one-sided affair. On that occasion, Virat Kohli’s men batted first and posted a total of more than 300 and on the final day, it was Pakistan that batted first and posted 300 and it was the game for them.

Team India never showed the zeal to chase down the target and within a matter of few opening overs, the defending champions bowed down to Mohammad Amir led bowling attack.

Pakistan wrested the ICC Champions Trophy from the Men in Blue and won the trophy for the first time.

Ireland and Afghanistan:

(Image credits: Peter Della Penna)

The biggest news came for both Ireland and Afghanistan in the month of June when these two countries were given the full status by ICC, thus making them the 11th and 12th nation to be allowed to play Test cricket.

While Ireland will face Pakistan in their first Test, Afghanistan will take on Indian cricket team in India in their debut Test. Being allowed to play Test cricket was the highest point in the careers of these two countries and now, it is a just a matter of a few months when these two nations will also be playing the longest format of the game.

Windies:

(Image credits: Marty Melville AFP/Getty Images)

The absence of Windies from the ICC Champions Trophy was the lowest point in their career. To see a team, which won first two editions of the World Cup, being absent from the tournament was not a good sight at all.

Their absence from the tournament was a blot on Windies cricket; courtesy the administration and players who are tilted more towards T20 leagues played around the world.

New Zealand –

The dark horse fails to deliver:

(Image credits: Getty Images)

The darkest horse in ICC tournaments, New Zealand, surprisingly failed to make it to the next round after failing to defeat Bangladesh in the do or die game in the league stage match. They have always marked their presence in ICC tournaments but this time, they failed the test...

England -

England goes to Root after Cook is cooked up:

(Image credits: Getty Images)

Just like India, England witnessed a shift in captaincy. Joe Root, who had grown in ranks of Alastair Cook, succeeded him as the Test captain of England.

Cook seemed to be cooked up after a loss by 4-0 in India and news of him stepping down from the captaincy post made the rounds. In the month of February, Cook made an official announcement and Root, the vice-captain, was the automatic choice but a formal announcement was made a week later, thus making him the second youngest Test captain.

South Africa –

AB de Villiers shrugs off captaincy pressure:

(Image credits: Getty Images)

South Africa was another team that saw a sudden captaincy shift, after AB de Villiers decided to solely focus on his batting. Right from 2016, he was under immense pressure to retire from Test format after he resigned as the captain. Finally, he stepped down from the post of ODI captaincy as well so as to focus on all formats of the game as a batsman. He is eyeing his Test return at the moment.

Zimbabwe –

Brendon Taylor comes out of international retirement -

(Image credits: Getty Images)

In 2015, the World Cup game between India and Zimbabwe was an emotional one. Brendon Taylor was playing his last international game and he marked an end to his career with a century.

He went on to play county cricket for Nottinghamshire for a better future but after a period two years, he came out of retirement along with Kyle Jarvis to make an international comeback. The former captain is now a member of the side and will look forward to playing until 2019.

Apart from that, a cash crunch, which has been a long issue in Zimbabwe cricket, also made highlights. This has already been seen the domestic games in Zimbabwe, which were cancelled due to lack of funds.

A series win against Sri Lanka was the best point in the year for the Zimbabwe team. That win was their first ever series against a full member nation after a period of 16 years.