Gavaskar reaches out to franchises

Sunil Gavaskar will hold his first media conference as the BCCI president - IPL in Dubai on Wednesday. There was some confusion ahead of that formal interaction, however, and possibly not of Gavaskar's making, emanating from a BCCI statement that said he had briefed franchises and held a discussion with them on Monday.

Franchises contacted by ESPNcricinfo denied there was any meeting held, except for a "courtesy" conference call in which Gavaskar and IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal spoke briefly.

"Mr Sunil Gavaskar, Interim President, BCCI - IPL, had a discussion with the franchises on Pepsi IPL 2014, earlier today," Monday's statement said. "He briefed them on the preparations for the 2014 season. The franchises shared their views and extended their support and cooperation for a successful Pepsi IPL 2014."

Five franchises said nothing of this sort had happened. "They are making it look like there was a meeting," one franchise head said. "There was a conference call that Gavaskar and Biswal had with franchises. It was a courtesy call and nothing else."

"I don't know of any meeting or any call," a co-owner of another franchise said.

It is understood, however, that Gavaskar has begun the process of talking to the owners separately. The chief executive of another franchise confirmed that his team's owner had spoken with Gavaskar.

Franchise officials indicated that Gavaskar, while he was keen to understand the kind of changes they wanted, was indirectly trying to assess their opinion of Sundar Raman, the IPL chief operating officer. "That call was almost hinting at what needs to be done with Sundar Raman," the franchise head said.

Gavaskar was acting on the instructions of the Supreme Court, which last week, while giving him charge of the BCCI's IPL functions, had asked him to work out whether he wanted the services of Raman, the de facto head of the tournament.

Raman, an advertising professional, had been hired by IPL founder-chairman Lalit Modi to be his right-hand man when the tournament started. After Modi's expulsion in 2010, Raman grew equally close to BCCI president N Srinivasan, whose ouster from the BCCI last week called Raman's position into question.

Raman has never been a favourite among franchise officials but they acknowledge he is indispensable to the tournament. "He has been there right from the beginning of the IPL," the franchise head said. "So he has grown into the manager who has made himself indispensable. The fear is if he goes, it might be more trouble than him being there. So let him at least be there."

In fact officials say the tournament's smooth running will minimise the scope for Gavaskar to make any difference. "This is too short a time for anybody to make an impact," the franchise owner said. "At the end of day IMG run the league operationally. IPL officials [the BCCI] have barely any role to play other than sending emails. Otherwise, ticketing, accreditations, matches, appointments of the officials is managed by IMG. So as far as leadership goes, there is hardly anything anyone can do."

The franchise executive said the one thing he could expect of Gavaskar was to help the IPL announce the final schedule for the second phase of the tournament. "Although the BCCI indicated that the second phase of the IPL would be played in India, we are still are waiting for the schedule," he said. "We can then plan our stuff and convince sponsors."

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Pakistan consumed by waves of panic

The performance against Australia gave Pakistan fans hope but, not for the first time, they produced a polar opposite display

Pakistan never fail to surprise us, do they? If you had come expecting a thriller between two similar, explosive T20 sides, what you got instead was Pakistan showing us multiple, and all equally self-destructive, states of panic.

Two of their best bowlers, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, cracked under pressure and gave away a combined 59 runs in three overs at the death. The top order went down heaving, and the middle order shut shop in response.

It was one of those nights from Pakistan. As was the night when they had sparked that incredible Australian collapse earlier in the tournament. We know both happened, separated by a matter of a few days. We also know Pakistan are capable of both kinds of displays within such a short span. We can try to delve into what happened and how it happened. Exactly why it happened, we will never really know.

Each wave of panic against West Indies only brought about another, albeit different one, from the following cast. When the opposition is 84 for 5 after 15 overs, and you have overs left from two of the most experienced and best T20 bowlers in the world, the last thing you are expecting is for both of them to lose it suddenly. And Gul lost it so much in the 18th over that as many as three fielders ran up to him at various points in the over with words of advice, or encouragement, or whatever it was that they felt could work at that moment.

Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir. All those interventions did not stop the over from going for 21. They also revealed Pakistan's state of mind at that point. When three different men are needed to rush to your premier fast bowler, all in the span of half an over, you tell the opposition you are on the edge, and are expecting the worst.

And the worst came in the next over. Ajmal is usually the master of these situations. He will toss one up a bit more, or he will hold it back a bit more, or he will bowl the one that turns the other way from which the batsman was expecting it to. And the batsman will have a clueless slog and fall. None of this was happening. Ajmal instead bowled short, he bowled flat, he bowled quickly. He became what your average spinner is usually at the death in limited-overs cricket - a massive risk. For that one over, he lost the aura that makes him Saeed Ajmal. He will doubtless regain that, as he did after the 2010 World T20 semi-final, but the damage had been done again.

Heaven knows how the Pakistanis felt walking off the field at the break, having allowed West Indies to nearly double their score in five overs. Heaven knows what was spoken in the Pakistan dugout at the break. All we saw was that their top order and middle order came out in two extreme states of trance - one suicidal by dint of action, one suicidal by dint of not acting at all.

Ahmed Shehzad can be excused for getting a ripper of an inswinging yorker first ball. Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik cannot be. Not for facing a collective, unproductive 14 deliveries between them. But for reacting in such a frenzied manner that would have you believe they had been collectively unproductive for 14 overs, and that frenzy was the only way out.

To be 13 for 4 in the sixth over is nowhere near the start you want when you are chasing 167 in a virtual quarter-final. To bottle up like Sohaib Maqsood, and particularly Hafeez, did is probably the worst response you want from your middle order when you are 13 for 4.

Pakistan consumed 40 deliveries before they hit their first boundary. One-third of a T20 innings without a single boundary. One-third of a 20 innings that had already seen a batsman heave to mid-off, and two batsmen stumped. And yet, there was not a single boundary during the fielding Restrictions. Maqsood and Hafeez added 24 in five overs. And then fell within an over of each other. It was like the cast of a play frozen in extreme stage fright after the opening acts had bungled their lines by trying too hard too soon.

If you admire Pakistan cricket for showing you the Australia collapse, tonight you were dealt so many shocks you went numb. You then attempted to make sense of each of them. Batsmen throw their bats around in T20, and as Dwayne Bravo said, even the best bowlers go for runs at the death. The top order had no choice but to try and make the most of the fielding restrictions. The downside was that they could fall while doing so, and they did. The middle order, as Hafeez said, was faced with too many jolts too soon and had absolutely no momentum to build on.

You weigh up all these arguments. Maybe they are justified standalone, maybe they are not. But how do you find explanations for such a collective and varied brain freeze? Which is why, exactly why it happened, we will never really know.

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Hafeez apologises for Pakistan performance

Mohammad Hafeez was asked pretty direct questions after Pakistan failed to make the World T20 semi-finals with a heavy defeat to West Indies.

He was asked if he was considering resigning as T20 captain and if he was the No. 3 batsman the side needed. He was asked why Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik were persevered with. He was asked if the Pakistan team management was good enough. In reply, Hafeez apologized to the people of Pakistan for his team's unsuccessful campaign and said that the entire team was collectively responsible.

"After a loss, such things come up," Hafeez said. "But you have to keep in mind that no team wins because of any one individual or loses because of any one individual. It was a good display overall, but in this match, we didn't play well. We take collective responsibility. It's not one person's responsibility. The entire management, all the players, are equally responsible.

"The management has worked hard with the players. All the plans, they were able to reach the players, gave us all the practice. At the end of the day, the players have to deliver, they have to execute the plans. In this tournament, especially in this match, if the execution wasn't good, then the responsibility lies with the players, not the management. But as a team, we didn't do well. All of us have to accept it.

"I apologise to the people of Pakistan as captain and on behalf of the team that we couldn't live up to their expectations. But these things happen in cricket. You are the same person who plays good and bad cricket. But it is important that you take the good things going forward and maintain that."

There were few good things for Pakistan against West Indies. They gave away too many runs at the death, lost too many early wickets, and could not get going in the chase at all. Hafeez said his batsmen's shot selection had been wrong. "The plans were in place but once the pressure got on to them, our best bowlers Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul didn't do the basics right. They leaked too many runs towards the end. We didn't get the momentum in our favour.

"We played some of the shots which were not there and losing too many wickets in the first six overs really cost the game. The batsmen have to take the responsibility. There was never any one innings that came forward. When the momentum is not with you, you get to see this kind of cricket where even good teams can collapse."

Hafeez had a disappointing World T20 personally as well, making 55 runs from four innings at a strike-rate of 72.36. While admitting that he could not perform in this tournament, Hafeez felt that overall, he had done alright in the position. "From the last one and a half years, I have been doing this for the team, playing at No. 3 because the management want me to do this and I have been doing very well at this. Unfortunately, in this tournament, I couldn't get the runs I wanted to. It happens sometimes in cricket - you try your level best but things don't work for you. This is one such tournament. I am disappointed with my own form, I couldn't score runs for the team. You have to accept it, you have to move forward from here."

When asked if moving forward meant dropping those who had not performed, Hafeez said that was the domain of the selectors. "Good and bad, you must take them together and look to the future. The selectors will look at it, they will see who are the players that need to be replaced. That is their job. The team is selected by the selection committee, but the responsibility is not any one individual's. If the players haven't played well, then they must take the responsibility."

Malik and Akmal had a poor World T20 as well, making 52 and 48 runs respectively in four innings each. Hafeez acknowledged that they had fallen short of expectations. "They will also be sad. The selectors have trusted and picked them for a big tournament like this. But they didn't live up to those expectations. They are good players, they have played well for Pakistan but you are right, in this tournament there were not good performances from them. But Kamran's keeping is a positive. He has kept well, there have always been question marks over his keeping. Unfortunately, as an opener, he didn't bat as well. As for Shoaib Malik, he is a senior player, both haven't done very well."

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West Indies bring back their fear factor

The ultimate entertainers, West Indies now have the batting power to match the threat their fast bowlers brought in the 1980s

Croft: Sammy and Bravo played with confidence

West Indies may have a formula for T20, or they may just let it flow through them. Modern players often talk about going out on the field and expressing themselves but it appears to be only the West Indies team that truly do so, at least in this format of the game.

Whether dancing to calypso, Korean pop or some local folk number, West Indies' style has proved just as catchy as it was two years ago. The energy levels as they celebrated a sensational torpedoing of Pakistan were a little down on the party-hard reaction to beating Australia a few days ago, with just a few perfunctory giddy-ups for the cameras, but West Indies emanate conviction that their method is as sound as their arms are strong. With or without all the carry on, they are the World T20 entertainers.

Darren Sammy has become as powerful a symbol of this as Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, stars of their triumphant 2012 World T20. Tony Cozier has written about his resurgence in the finisher's role - innings in Auckland and Antigua, Barbados and Mirpur over the last few months underscore the point with all the emphasis of one of Sammy's flat sixes - and here the captain gave another tingling display of his dead-eye death batting.

As Saeed Ajmal, the premier spinner in this format, was crunched back down the ground in the 19th over, Sammy celebrated banishing the ball from his presence by pumping his fist back and forth, as if ramming home the metaphorical advantage. Ajmal had already gone the distance twice before, at the hands of Dwayne Bravo, who also belaboured Umar Gul - the second-most successful T20 bowler around - for consecutive sixes. Bravo was run out at the start of the final over but Sammy drove remorselessly on, thumping and jiving.

Asked previously about West Indies preference for dots over dash, sixes over singles, Sammy said it was just a natural inclination as to how to play the game. Suresh Raina belittled the approach, to which Sammy responded: "If he thinks we are only six-hitters, then stop us from hitting sixes." India managed it, convincingly; Pakistan did not. Of West Indies' 166 for 6, 51 came in singles, twos and a three; 106 flowed in boundaries.

"In those situations, the best of them all go for runs," Bravo said of the disdain with which Ajmal and Gul were treated. "We had nothing to lose, we were under pressure. So I said to Sammy, as long as we stay still, don't worry about picking Ajmal or trying to rotate, just stay still, keep our eyes on the ball, we're powerful enough if we get close to the ball to hit it over the ropes. Our aim was to get at least 135 to 140 with the start we got but the self-belief we have, the form and the power we have, the momentum went with us, we finished positive and got to 160."

The power of West Indies' T20 batting - missing Kieron Pollard, too - has replaced the fear factor of their fast bowling in Tests 30 years ago. They use it to bludgeon opponents, intimidate them, shrugging off the chance to run ones and twos in favour of full-frontal assault. As with Samuels' tinderbox innings in the final of the last World T20, this match reinforced the sense that they are rarely ever out of a game.

From 84 for 5 at the end of the 15th over, Bravo and Sammy ran amok for another 82 runs from 30 balls. Perhaps the only way they could get better (other than jogging just a couple more singles) would be to implement a pre-War Test trick and reverse the batting order, somehow convincing Sammy to play each five-over block as if it were the last five overs - with the fall back of Gayle, Samuels and the rest to come in if he failed. Bradman would surely approve.

"This is the first game that we lost wickets in the first six overs, so we were trying to consolidate but at the same time whenever we got a boundary we keep losing a wicket again," Bravo said. "So in the middle overs, it calmed down. We've proved ourselves, in Twenty20 cricket we know how the game plays, if you take the game right down to the end anything is possible, as long as we don't give up and keep faith and have that self-belief that if we bat 20 overs we're going to get a decent total.

"But we have to bat 20 overs, so at no point can we let what happens in the middle overs get the better of us, that comes with experience and self-belief. We still had Andre Russell and Sunil Narine to bat. It's good we did not panic at 84 for 5 and take the game all the way down to the end. We showed in the Australia game what the difference can make as long as we have clean hitters at the wicket, so that's our aim, that's our strong point and we use it to the best of our ability."

Bravo, who is enjoying a purple patch in West Indies maroon, spoke of the team's passion and enjoyment for the game, something else that Twenty20 has helped to resurrect in the Caribbean. "All West Indians are like that, we just want to entertain our fans, most of all the people of Bangladesh come out every game and support the tournament so it's important that we give them their money's worth," he said. If West Indies' manage to carry off the title again, it will be in the manner of all great entertainers: leaving us wanting more.

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Captain Bailey's 'most disappointing game'

George Bailey has called Australia's big defeat to India in the World T20 the "most disappointing game" of his captaincy tenure. Australia were bowled out for 86 chasing 160, and Bailey was particularly gutted at the way his batsmen folded, saying they had failed to deliver the improvement that was asked of them after two close defeats to Pakistan and West Indies.

"Unexpected. Disappointing. I'd go so far as to say it is the most disappointing game that I've led from this team for three years," Bailey said. "I'll give all credit to the Indian bowlers, they obviously bowled well. I certainly do not think our batters can hold their heads particularly high in terms of our shot selection, our match awareness, our game sense, all the stuff that we spoke about in the last game that we were not particularly happy with. We asked for improvement and we certainly did not have that."

When asked if there was embarrassment in addition to the disappointment, Bailey said the former was limited only to himself. "If I was embarrassed I'd say it is with my own performance. I'm disappointed with the team, with the way we batted but I have got pretty big faith in these guys and I'm not sticking up for them in terms of ... we all could've made better decisions and done things differently if we had our chance again but I am not embarrassed for anyone, apart from myself."

Australia were not faced with a particularly demanding asking-rate at the start of their chase but they tried too many shots and lost half their side before the halfway mark. Bailey said while Australia's overall approach in the format was to be aggressive, it did not translate to being reckless.

"If I am thinking back to our T20 form over the last 12 months or so, I reckon that is the first time we have scored under 170. So yep, we certainly want to be aggressive and we want to dictate the game but there does have to be a back-up plan. That is the responsibility of us in the middle order to understand where the game is at and you have got a perfect example in the other side from the way Yuvraj (Singh) managed that innings from where India were. I think runs-wise, at about the tenth-over mark, we were roughly the same. We had lost three or four more wickets. That probably sums up our mindset and the mistakes that we made."

Australia needed Bangladesh to defeat Pakistan in the afternoon game for them to stay alive in the tournament, but that wasn't to be. When asked if having been knocked out before the start of the India game meant a dip in motivation levels, Bailey admitted his players' minds may not have been entirely on the match, but refused to accept that as a reason for not performing well.

"I hope not. Certainly not. Clichéd, but any team you are playing for Australia, you would hate to think that people need extra motivation... that is not an excuse. We feel like we played a couple of good games of cricket but we have been on the losing side of them so for us tonight ... without being disrespectful to Bangladesh, it would have been a shock to us if Bangladesh had beaten Pakistan so we were not arriving here expecting miracles.

"There was enough for us to prove by playing India and playing well against a side who we think are going to be close to tournament favourites, and to win that game and prove that we are a really good side over here and we deserve to go better, but not to be."

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Yuvraj fulfils weight of expectations

Probably as much as Yuvraj wanted to succeed, India also dearly wanted him to. His captain's faith in him was vindicated against Australia after a string of failures

India tick all boxes ahead of semi-finals

'Matter of one innings'. 'Matter of one innings'. They kept saying it, and we kept hearing it. Didn't come against Pakistan. Didn't come against West Indies. Didn't get a chance to come against Bangladesh.

Australia was the last chance. This had to be that one innings. And Yuvraj Singh made it count. Their senior batsman finding some form has to be the biggest takeaway for the Indians from this game, although they would have also been delighted with how their spinners confounded a batting line-up for the fourth successive time in the tournament.

Probably as much as Yuvraj wanted to succeed, India also dearly wanted him to. They did what they could in training, giving him several short, sharp stints of batting practice one day, a solo, longer one the other. During their training session before the Australia match, Yuvraj had an extended batting workout, fielding coach Trevor Penny's sidearm device giving him plenty of throwdowns. MS Dhoni usually watches his players practise from a distance, and does not get too involved, but this time, he stood right behind the single stump at the bowlers' end, watching Yuvraj closely.

Australia was to be the final opportunity before the knockouts, and Dhoni wanted to make sure his premier player was getting the most attention. After seeing him time a few drives and defend solidly, Dhoni even bowled a few offbreaks to Yuvraj.

India had also thrown their weight behind Yuvraj publicly. 'We all know what he can do once he gets going,' was the refrain. But even the best batsmen can stutter and stumble when they are out of touch, and when they are under pressure. That Yuvraj was feeling the pressure was evident. You did not need to see the way he had batted, particularly against West Indies, to realise that. It came across even in the way he was carrying himself on the field - brooding and seemingly occupied with himself. It came across when he reflected in disappointment at his struggle against West Indies even as his team-mates nearby celebrated India's second win of the tournament.

Till the time he whipped Brad Hodge to the deep midwicket boundary, Yuvraj was quite nervy. There were two close run-out calls where he slipped on the pitch, there were plays-and-misses against both spin and pace. Yuvraj was on 13 off 21 when he came down the track to Hodge. He then realised he was nowhere near the pitch. He stopped, adjusted his bat-swing and whipped it, against the turn. There was a fielder at long-on, but it was timed too well and had too much power - the combination that is the hallmark of Yuvraj when he is in flow.

Now he needed some fortune. James Muirhead provided him successive short balls that sat up and were smacked for sixes over deep midwicket. Early in his innings, Yuvraj had tried to do hit a Glenn Maxwell short ball but had missed it completely. That phase was over now, the nerves had been put away, and the confidence had been restored considerably.

Dhoni said with a smile that it was one question less that he would have to answer in press conferences now that Yuvraj had rediscovered his touch. "Yuvi's innings was brilliant," Dhoni said. "The way he paced his innings, and the best part was that an innings like this was needed for him, where he can be expressive and just be himself. It was an ideal opportunity today. He went and played a few deliveries and then he expressed himself. We all know the kind of batsman he is. He can clear any ground in the world and it does not matter whether it is a fast bowler or a spinner bowling. Initially he may struggle for the first five or seven deliveries. It is your good luck if you get him out, if not, he will take you out of the game."

It was also India's good luck that Yuvraj came good just in time for the semi-finals. Dhoni probably might not be bowling offbreaks to him in the nets again anytime soon.

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'The middle order was tested' - Dhoni

Everything is working like a charm for India in the World T20. They were able to do in their first three games what they like doing- win the toss, bowl, and restrict the opposition to a moderate target. With a semi-final spot earned after three successive wins, they wanted to bat first in their final group match against Australia. So George Bailey won the toss and asked India to do exactly that.

The top order had done most of the batting in the first three games, so India wanted the middle order, especially Yuvraj Singh, to be tested ahead of the knockouts. So Australia reduced them to 66 for 4. Yuvraj was not one of those four, and in the familiar company of MS Dhoni, revived India to 159 for 7, rediscovering his touch on way to making 60 off 43. No wonder Dhoni was pleased at the workout his batsmen, especially Yuvraj, got against Australia and felt the experience would help them in case they needed to set a target in the knockouts.

"We wanted to bat first in this game," Dhoni said. "Once we lost the toss it wasn't really in our control. Overall very happy that we were able to bat first and set the target. The middle order was tested. After we lost a couple of wickets, the ball wasn't really coming off the wicket, so it was slightly difficult for the batsmen to freely rotate. That's the kind of scenario that we may encounter in the coming game.

"There was no dew at all because of which the ball was gripping even more because of which shot-making wasn't easy at all. In this situation, 140-145 is a very good score. When you have 145 in mind and move forward and you have good batsmen in your side, then you end up with 155-160. In these wickets, 10-15 runs is a lot. I think we had the right approach because of which we could get nearly 160.

"Because the wickets are on the slower side and at times you tend to look at may be 160 is still a good score (to defend), you need to accelerate and you lose too many and you end up getting 130. I think in the middle period Yuvraj batted really well. He gave himself time. It was an ideal opportunity for him to see through the initial 10-15 deliveries and we all know the kind of batting line-up we have. Anyone who eats up the deliveries initially and stays till the end, he makes much more than the balls he faces. That's a big positive for us and overall the whole batting line-up got a bit of batting."

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Marsh gets CA contract, Doolan misses out

Alex Doolan has missed out on a Cricket Australia contract for 2014-15 despite being the incumbent No.3 in the Test team, while Shaun Marsh and Phillip Hughes have both been given deals. Cricket Australia has announced an 18-man contract list, down from 20 last year, with Ed Cowan, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Clint McKay and Matthew Wade all left out having been contracted last year.

Doolan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Usman Khawaja and Adam Voges had all been upgraded to full contracts during the year having made enough appearances for the national team, but all missed out on deals for next year. There were no additions from outside the group of contracted players, with Marsh, Steven Smith, Chris Rogers and Aaron Finch all holding on to their places having been upgraded throughout the year.

While most of the omissions were reasonably predictable, the absence of Doolan suggests that the selectors might look to Hughes or Marsh to fill the No.3 role when Australia next plays Test cricket, against Pakistan in the UAE in October. The fact that Hughes and Marsh are also considered ODI options may have helped their cause, given that Australia will host a World Cup during the next contract period.

Hughes was axed from the Test side during the unsuccessful Ashes campaign in England last year and has not worn the baggy green since, although he was part of the squad for the Test tour of South Africa and remains a prolific run scorer at domestic level. Marsh was recalled to the Test side in South Africa in spite of his lack of recent first-class runs and scored 148 in the win in Centurion, but was then dropped after making a pair in the next Test.

Doolan played all three Tests in South Africa and showed the kind of class that has appealed to observers of his Sheffield Shield form for Tasmania, but too often he squandered his starts and finished the trip averaging 31. John Inverarity, the national selector, said Doolan remained in the thoughts of the national selection panel (NSP) despite missing out on a contract.

"Alex Doolan was close to receiving a contract and he is highly regarded by the NSP as the incumbent number three batsman in our Test line-up," Inverarity said. "He made his Australian debut less than two months ago and we look forward to him building strongly on the promising start he made in the three Test series in South Africa."

The other player singled out by Inverarity as narrowly missing out on the 18-man group was Coulter-Nile, who has made himself a regular in the Twenty20 and one-day sides over the past year.

"Nathan Coulter-Nile also came close as he has had some impressive white-ball performances for Australia and was in the Test Squad for much of the Australian summer," Inverarity said. "The NSP would like to see Nathan continue to progress well and have another strong season in 2014-15."

The only contracted player who would be considered solely a short-form specialist was Finch, whose destructive batting at the top of the order in the T20 and ODI teams sits at odds with his struggle to perform for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield. George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell are likely to be more active in the short forms than Test cricket, although both men have worn the baggy green in the past 13 months.

Not surprisingly, Hilfenhaus and Cummins were cut having not represented Australia since 2012, while Cowan was unlikely to hold his deal having slipped out of the Test team after the first Ashes Test in England. McKay played 14 of a possible 16 ODIs since the current contract period began on July 1 last year but might face a challenge to retain his spot in the side, while Doherty has also fallen down the list.

Khawaja's absence from the list was expected after he was axed from the Test team in England, while Wade's demotion might raise the prospect of another gloveman such as Tim Paine challenging him for the position as backup to Brad Haddin. Voges was a solid ODI performer during the year but missed out on a deal, although it would not be surprising if he won an upgrade over the summer with a World Cup around the corner.

"This year, 18 [players] was deemed to be the natural cut-off point, and those who are on the brink and just outside will have the opportunity - if they earn selection - of being upgraded," Inverarity said. "It's up to them, those who are outside, to perform well, win selection and be upgraded."

The next contract period begins on July 1 this year and will include two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE, four Tests at home to India and a Test series away in the West Indies, and possibly the opening stages of the next Ashes series in England. The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is the major limited-overs event on the calendar, scheduled to take place in February-March.

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Logistics manager first India Cements employee to be withdrawn

MA Satish, India's logistics manager, has been withdrawn from India's squad in Bangladesh following a Supreme Court directive to not engage India Cements employees in any of BCCI's activities till further notice. Satish, a former Kerala player, will return to India as soon as his replacement joins the squad in Dhaka.

"I would like to inform all of you that Mr MA Satish (logistics manager of the Indian team) will be going back to India as soon as the replacement for him joins the Team. There has been a delay in the visa process for his replacement due to the weekend," RN Baba, media manager of the team, said in a media release.

This is the first bit of action after the Supreme Court directive to cut through the dual roles a handful enjoy in India Cements and the BCCI. BCCI president N Srinivasan is the vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements, which also owns Chennai Super Kings, the IPL team at the centre of alleged betting and spot-fixing controversy.

This conflict of interest has been questioned by the counsels representing Cricket Association of Bihar during the court case against the BCCI in the aftermath of the IPL corruption scandal. In its interim order on Friday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court said, "We also direct that till we deliver the judgement, none of the employees of India Cements Limited or its associate companies (except cricket players or commentators) will perform any of the duties assigned to them by the BCCI."

On Saturday, Sunil Gavaskar also assumed duties as the BCCI president as part of another Supreme Court directive. Earlier in the day Gavaskar said through a release he had met IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal and the management staff in Dubai, and had been briefed on various aspects of the 2014 season.

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England can hold heads high - Broad

Stuart Broad said England could leave the World T20 with their "heads high" despite going out of the competition after their second defeat in three games. Broad admitted to the wearying effects of a long and arduous winter of touring but was looking forward to the opportunity for rest and recovery before England begin a "new era" in May.

England lost by three runs to South Africa, ending their chances of reaching the semi-finals. A young and slightly experimental squad will play one more game, against Netherlands on Monday, before heading home as the ECB prepares to appoint a new head coach. Broad said he was uncertain about his own future as T20 captain and may miss the start of England's season as he attempts to get over a chronic knee injury.

"We've had a lot of positives come out of this World Cup but we can hold our heads high with some of the performances we've put in," Broad said. "If we had got out of the group there would have been a lot of surprised people. We're disappointed but we've done some good stuff with the squad available to us.

"We lost key men through injury. We can hold heads up high and at the end of the day T20 is an entertainment business and I don't think anybody is going to leave the ground today disappointed with nearly 400 runs scored, sixes, fours, and catches."

The county season gets underway next weekend, with the chance for several players to push for recognition as England look to begin afresh after losing heavily in Australia and following up with mixed results in the Caribbean and Bangladesh. Ashley Giles, the limited-overs coach, is favourite to succeed Andy Flower in charge of England across all three formats, with the ECB expected to hold interviews for the position in early April.

"It's going to be a new era of English cricket isn't it?" Broad said. "It has been a tough winter. We've been away a huge amount of time so there are some fantastic opportunities available for players in the summer. We don't know the shake-up of the Test side but you know the opportunities will arise and that's exciting for players to be involved in. I expect to see some excellent performances this summer, guys really desperate to play, hungry to succeed for England and we'll have to play some good cricket to beat Sri Lanka and India.

"It's an exciting time to be part of English cricket. Change is exciting from time to time. It's been a really tough winter, we've not had a huge amount of success. Australia was a really tough tour, back-to-back Ashes over the past nine months is as tough as it gets for a cricketer, not just on the field but off it too with all the hype that comes with Ashes cricket. So it has been a draining winter and I'll have to be honest, I'm looking forward to a bit of a break come Tuesday."

Broad has been T20 captain since 2011, when England experimented with a tripartite system. He has twice led England at the World T20, both times on the subcontinent, with the next tournament due to be held in India in 2016. Asked about continuing in the role, he said: "I don't know, there's going to be a decision made on coaching staff so there might be a few changes in the next two months or so. I'm probably going to be unavailable for the start of the season in one-day cricket to sort my knee out."

A period of rehabilitation will be required for Broad to get over his patellar tendonitis, an injury that has resulted from his heavy workload over the winter, and discussions with whoever is appointed to take charge of England will determine the way forward. England begin their season with an ODI against Scotland on May 9, followed by limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. The first Test of the summer begins on June 12.

"I need a rehab period on my tendonitis, which is generally about an eight-week period so whether I take just four weeks in April to play in May and then take a couple of months after the season I don't know but it's got to the stage where it's really sore and I need it sorting out. You know in international cricket you can't perform at your best when you're carrying an injury. We've managed it pretty well but it's in the hands of the medical staff and a bit of negotiation with the head coach when that's decided."

England made 193 for 7 against South Africa, their joint fifth-highest score batting second in T20s, despite no one scoring more than 38. The total surpassed their record chase against Sri Lanka from two nights ago but England paid for conceding 55 runs from the last three overs, as AB de Villiers scorched his way to an unbeaten 69 off 28 balls. Broad credited de Villiers for a match-winning innings as the bowlers, particularly Jade Dernbach, again came in for punishment.

"We've come up three runs short and there's some pretty clear ways we could have stopped those three runs," Broad said. "We didn't particularly field well, but that can happen in these conditions. We didn't have the one guy going to get the Hales-like knock like he did the other day or 60 or 70 you realistically need in these sorts of chases.

"But sometimes you have to hold your hands up and that knock from AB de Villiers is as good as you'll ever see. He hits the ball 360 degrees and targeted the short boundary with fantastic success. We tried to go for yorkers but in these conditions it's unrealistic to get your yorkers consistent with a bar of soap. He took it away from us in those last few overs. If we'd been chasing 170 it would have been pretty gettable."

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