Cricket news round-up – November 14: Kohli says Maxwell has set ‘right example’

Virat Kohli said Glenn Maxwell had set an example for cricketers “all over the world” after speaking out about his mental health struggles and taking a break from the game. Elsewhere, Will Pucovski withdrew from Test contention due to his own struggles, while Nicholas Pooran will miss the T20Is against Afghanistan after being suspended for attempting to “change the condition of the ball.”

Kohli says ‘Maxwell has set right example’ for all cricketers

Virat Kohli, the India captain, lent his support to Australia star Glenn Maxwell, who took a break from the game for mental health reasons. The Indian captain said this should be accepted and adopted across the international game.

“What Glenn has done is remarkable, and it sets the right example for cricketers all over the world,” said Kohli. “If you’re not in the best frame of mind, you try, you try, you try. But I think, as human beings, you reach a tipping point at some stage and you need some time away from the game.

“These things should be respected, and not taken in a negative way at all because this is happening at a human level, it’s got nothing to do with what you do on the field. [It is] just not having the capacity anymore to deal with things, which I think can happen to anyone.”

Pucovski withdraws from Test contention for mental health reasons

Australia batsman Will Pucovski has requested Cricket Australia to not consider him for Test selection for the series against Pakistan.

Pucovski was in contention with Travis Head for a spot in the Test team, but the CA revealed his request on Thursday, November 14. He has earlier spent time away from the game during the Sri Lanka Tests early in 2019. He becomes the third Australian in recent weeks to reach out to the board for mental health reasons.

Australia named Head in their squad for the Pakistan series, along with Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns and Michael Neser.  

Nicholas Pooran suspended for ball tampering

Nicholas Pooran has been suspended for West Indies’ four-match T20I series against Afghanistan after he was charged with attempting to change the condition of the ball.

According to the ICC release, “video footage showed him scratching the surface of the ball with his thumbnail. He will now miss the next four T20I games for the West Indies and will have five demerit points added to his record.”

Pooran admitted the sanction, and said: “I want to issue a sincere apology to my teammates, supporters and the Afghanistan team for what transpired on the field of play on Monday in Lucknow. I recognise that I made an extreme error in judgement and I fully accept the ICC penalty.”

Steyn, Munro, Roy enter PSL 2020 draft

The Pakistan Super League 2020 will be held fully in Pakistan next year, and in a boost to the league, that didn’t stop the likes of Dale Steyn, Colin Munro, Alex Hales and Jason Roy entering the draft for the tournament.

Each PSL team will be required to form a squad of 16 players, with the squad limitations being a maximum five foreign players and 11 local cricketers. Steyn and Co have all registered for the Platinum category in the drafts.

Teams can retain up to eight players from their existing squad, and the rest will be released to the pool. The trading window, should franchises wish to exchange players, will be open till December 1.