Nitish Kumar (cricketer)

Nitish Roenik Kumar (born 21 May 1994) is a Canadian cricketer who was the former captain of the national team.[1] Kumar was appointed as the national men's team captain in October 2016 at the age of 22. He bats right-handed and bowls right-arm off spin. After representing the country at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup in January, Kumar made his One Day International debut the following month, becoming the second-youngest player in the history of ODIs. When Canada participated in the 2011 World Cup Kumar became the youngest player to feature in the tournament. He played his first Twenty20 International in March 2012.

Nitish Kumar
Personal information
Full name
Nitish Roenik Kumar
Born (1994-05-21) 21 May 1994
Scarborough, Ontario
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBatsman
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 69)18 February 2010 v Afghanistan
Last ODI28 January 2014 v Netherlands
T20I debut (cap 33)13 March 2012 v Netherlands
Last T20I27 October 2019 v UAE
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2015Loughborough MCCU
2016ICC Americas
2016–2017St Lucia Zouks
2021Leeward Islands
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA
Matches 16 18 15 73
Runs scored 217 434 644 1,852
Batting average 15.50 31.00 29.27 26.84
100s/50s 0/0 0/3 2/2 3/10
Top score 38 83 141 129
Balls bowled 66 156 622 1,331
Wickets 2 7 11 29
Bowling average 31.50 22.85 48.63 38.24
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/40 2/18 3/58 5/72
Catches/stumpings 7/– 5/– 5/– 31/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 30 April 2020

Career

On 14 August 2009 Nitish Kumar played in a match, debuting in the same match as teammate Jimmy Hansra. The match was part of the 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup, and in the first innings against Kenya, Kumar made 12 runs before he was dismissed while in the second innings was out first ball.[2] Kumar made his One Day International debut six months later in February 2010 against Afghanistan, becoming the second youngest ODI player. In January 2010, Kumar represented Canada in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup hosted by New Zealand. The team finished in 11th place out of 16 teams.[3] Canada's participation in the 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup concluded in September 2010, when they finished bottom of the seven-team group stage. Kumar played in four Cup matches, amassing 117 runs with a highest score of 74 against Afghanistan (the eventual Cup winners).[4][5]

Canada qualified for the 2011 World Cup held between February and April in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The 15-man squad included five players under the age of 21 (including Kumar), all of whom had played in the Under-19 World Cup the previous year.[6] At the age of 16 years and 283 days, he became the youngest player ever to play in a World Cup when Canada lost to Zimbabwe on 28 February 2011.[7][8] As expected Canada failed to progress beyond the group stages of the tournament, but secured a victory against Kenya, the only other non-Test team in their group.[9] In July Ireland hosted the 2011 Under-19 World Cup Qualifier. Canada finished 8th out of ten teams, thereby failing to qualify for the tournament the following year.[10][11] Kumar was Canada's leading run-scorer in the qualifying tournament, and 4th overall with 370 runs including two centuries from nine matches.[12] His off-breaks also claimed eight scalps at an average of 22.87, making him Canada's 4th-highest wicket taker.[13] Canada's first match of the 2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup took place in August 2011.

The World Twenty20 Qualifier was held in March 2012. During Canada's opening match against the Netherlands, Kumar was one of thirteen plays to make their debut in Twenty20 Internationals. He was run out for a single.[14] His second match of the tournament was more successful, and he registered his highest score in twenty20 matches (it did not have T20I status) scoring 57 runs from 44 balls to help Canada to a 6-run victory over Papua New Guinea.[15] With 172 runs from 9 matches, Kumar was Canada's second-highest run-scorer in the competition.[16]

The 2013 matches of the 2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup offered Kumar further first-class experience, and he bettered his highest score in two consecutive matches. The first, against Kenya in March, saw Kumar score 89 which was the largest contribution to his team's score in the first innings, though Kenya went on to win the match.[17] In August that year Kumar scored his maiden century, this time reaching 103 against the United Arab Emirates.[18]

In January 2018, he was named as the captain of Canada's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.[19]

On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Toronto Nationals in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada tournament.[20][21]

In September 2018, he was named as the captain of Canada's squad for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Americas Qualifier tournament.[22] He was the leading wicket-taker for Canada in the tournament, with eleven dismissals in six matches.[23]

In October 2018, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2018–19 Regional Super50 tournament in the West Indies.[24] In April 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia.[25]

In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Brampton Wolves franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.[26] In August 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier tournament.[27] In September 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament.[28] In October 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[29] Canada won their first three matches of the tournament, with Kumar named as the player of the match in all three fixtures, after scoring three consecutive fifties.[30] He was the leading run-scorer for Canada in the tournament, with 245 runs in six matches.[31] Following the T20 World Cup, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019–20 Regional Super50 tournament in the West Indies.[32] He was the leading run-scorer for Canada in the tournament, with 265 runs in eight matches.[33]

In January 2021, ahead of the 2020–21 Regional Super50 in the West Indies, Kumar joined a training camp with the Leeward Islands cricket team.[34] In June 2021, he was selected to take part in the Minor League Cricket tournament in the United States following the players' draft.[35]

References
  1. "Nitish Kumar". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. First-class matches played by Nitish Kumar, CricketArchive, retrieved 17 August 2013
  3. Bangladesh take Plate championship, ESPNcricinfo, 28 January 2010, retrieved 20 September 2011
  4. Batting and fielding in ICC Inter-continental Cup 2009 to 2010 (ordered by average), CricketArchive, retrieved 17 August 2013
  5. f52289 Afghanistan v Canada: ICC Inter-Continental Cup 2009 to 2010, CricketArchive, retrieved 17 August 2013
  6. Ali, Umar (11 February 2011), Canada youngsters eager to perform, ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 20 September 2011
  7. "Cricket World Cup: Zimbabwe thrash Canada in Nagpur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  8. "Canada's Nitish Kumar youngest to play at WC". rediff.com. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  9. Veera, Sriram (22 March 2011), Multicultural hopes and dreams, ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 20 September 2011
  10. CC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier 2011, ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 20 September 2011
  11. Queensland to host Under-19 World Cup in 2012, ESPNcricinfo, 10 August 2011, retrieved 20 September 2011
  12. Records / ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier, 2011 / Most runs, ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 20 September 2011
  13. Records / ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier, 2011 / Most wickets, ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 20 September 2011
  14. tt2734 itt230 Canada v Netherlands: ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2011/12 (Group A), CricketArchive, retrieved 10 May 2012
  15. tt2738 Canada v Papua New Guinea: ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2011/12 (Group A), CricketArchive, retrieved 10 May 2012
  16. Batting and fielding in ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2011/12 (ordered by runs), CricketArchive, retrieved 10 May 2012
  17. f54736 Canada v Kenya: ICC Inter-Continental Cup 2011 to 2013, CricketArchive, retrieved 17 August 2013
  18. Kumar, Daesrath tons put Canada in command, ESPNcricinfo, 3 August 2013, retrieved 17 August 2013
  19. "Canadian squad for World Cricket League Division 2 tournament". Cricket Canada. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  20. "Global T20 Canada: Complete Squads". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  21. "Global T20 Canada League – Full Squads announced". CricTracker. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  22. "Canadian National Cricket Squad for ICC Americas World T20 SRQ & Schedule". Cricket Canada. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  23. "ICC World Twenty20 Americas Sub Regional Qualifier A, 2018 – Canada: Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  24. "Cricket Canada announces squad for Super 50 Cup". Cricket Canada. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  25. "Cricket Canada announces the Senior National Squad for the ICC WCL Division 2, Namibia". Cricket Canada. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  26. "Global T20 draft streamed live". Canada Cricket Online. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  27. "Squad selected for the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier – Americas Final 2019, Bermuda". Cricket Canada. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  28. "Canada squad for the ICC CWC Challenge League A, Malaysia". Cricket Canada. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  29. "Canadian squad for ICC T20 World Cup qualifier". Cricket Canada. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  30. "Nitish Kumar hits third consecutive fifty as Canada beat Ireland to go top". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  31. "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier, 2019/20 – Canada: Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  32. "Canadian squad for West Indies Super50 Cup". Cricket Canada. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  33. "Super50 Cup, 2019/20 – Canada: Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  34. "Nitish Kumar to train with Leeward Island Hurricanes". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  35. "All 27 Teams Complete Initial Roster Selection Following Minor League Cricket Draft". USA Cricket. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.