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  As the Indian Premier League 2021 is all set to resume in UAE in September-October, it brought a few negatives with it as well. While England players wouldn’t take part in it, Australia pacer Pat Cummins, who is the key member of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, would not play in the remaining games in the UAE as well. As per the Sydney Morning Herald, Cummins has shared his decision, although he did not give any reason for this so far. “David Warner and Pat Cummins could be rested from the West Indies tour because of family reasons – others could follow after a draining year in several bubbles – and Cummins, despite a multimillion-dollar IPL contract, has already said he will not return to the T20 tournament this season,” shared the report. As far as England players are concerned, the decision has come after Ashley Giles, managing director of the England men’s team, had earlier said that the ECB wouldn’t change their schedule for the rest of the games of the 14th ed...

  Veteran India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has become a regular face in the squad across formats. However, the scene was different a few years ago. While he didn’t get to play in the 2018 Test tour of South Africa, he had to sit outside for the first 4 games against England as well. On the other hand, experienced R Ashwin’s poor form gave him a chance in the fifth Tests on the England tour which he grabbed quite well with 86* with the bat in the first innings and a total of 7 wickets as well. After that, Hardik Pandya’s injury helped him get a recall during the Asia Cup and sisnce then no looking back for him. Later, he stumped his authority in the 2019 World Cup squad too and became a regular member in the playing XI as well. “That Test changed everything for me, poora (complete) game — my performance, my confidence, everything. When you score in English conditions against the best bowling attack, it greatly impacts your confidence. It makes you feel your technique is good en...

  Former India captain MS Dhoni and current India skipper Virat Kohli’s friendship is known to all. Recently, in fan interaction, Virat Kohli described his bond with Dhoni as one of “trust” and “respect” as well. When he was asked during a question and answer session on Instagram to describe in two words his bond with the legendary MS Dhoni, he wrote: “Trust, Respect”. Meanwhile, during an Instagram chat with Ashwin last year, Kohli praised MS Dhoni, citing that he had “played a big role in him becoming the captain of the national team”. “I have always been inclined towards taking responsibility. After my debut for India, it just about wanted to play; it was about being in the Indian XI all the time. Then, with your intrigue in the game, you start talking to the captain regularly. I was always in MS’s ears, discussing different tactic,” Kohli had said. “I think he got a lot of confidence that I can do this after him. I think he played a big role in that (taking over the capta...

  Pace bowler Jaydev Unadkat was in great form during the Ranji season of 2019-20, where not only he claimed 67 wickets, but also led his side Saurashtra to the title win as well. He was in sensational form in the Indian Premier League this season as well until Covid-19 has brought everything to a standstill, including the Indian Premier League this season. With his stunning performance, the 29-year-old pacer was hoping for an India call-up, who has played his last Test in 2010 against South Africa as well. But unfortunately he couldn’t find a place – be it for the series against Australia or England, whereas youngsters were selected as well. Team India will soon tour to the UK where they will play the inaugural WTC final and a five-match Test series against England. Even, Jaydev Unadkat also expressed his disappointment recently in interviews as well. While speaking to the Times of India, the coach of Saurashtra during the successful run, Karsan Ghavri said: “I asked a sele...

  KC Kariappa, the little known spinner from Bengaluru made headlines in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 auctions after KKR bought him on the back of some fine performance in a zonal T20 league. He was 21-year old then. While his IPL career didn’t take off, he shared his experiences recently alongside his debut under the captain Gautam Gambhir and recalled the memories as well. “Gambhir was a very good captain. He was a little strict in terms of bowling discipline, and effort on the field was something he wouldn’t compromise,” Cariappa told Sportskeeda. “Outside the field, he didn’t bother you. On the field, you had to give your 100% and that’s what I loved.” Notably, Cariappa’s maiden wicket was none other than the legend AB de Villiers. However, later was replaced by Sunil Narine who soon came in the limelight with his stunning bowling. However, he revealed that he didn’t get too many chances in the IPL even when he had played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). H...

  Former Pakistan speedster Mohammad Amir made headlines ever since he announced his retirement in December 2020. However, he has also expressed his desire to play in the Indian Premier League . And, the 29-year-old pace bowler has revealed that he would try to get British citizenship and try to play in the cash-rich T20 league as well. However, another former pacer Shoaib Akhtar has reacted to these statements by Amir as well. “Sometimes you have good days and sometimes you have bad days. Amir should have realised that papa Mickey Arthur will not always be there to safeguard him. Sometimes you have to grow up. I am saying this for Amir. Sometimes you have to grow up. You don’t let it go but you mature enough to realise that the management is not according to my wishes, now I have to raise my performance and level of hard work,” Shoaib Akhtar said while speaking on PTV. Meanwhile, Akhtar gave the example of Hafeez, who silenced his critics by amassing crucial runs as well. His ...

  Talented India opener Shubman Gill has said that assessing the changing conditions in England and playing accordingly will be the key for him during the upcoming Test matches. While they will take on New Zealand in the much-awaited inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final in June, it will be followed by the fibe-match Test series against England in August-September as well. “As an opener, not just in England but everywhere, you need to know how to play out sessions. Playing sessions is very important. It has been seen in England that whenever it is cloudy, the ball swings a lot. When there is sun, the pitch becomes good for batting. It is necessary to assess conditions as opener,” said Shubman Gill while speaking to India TV. The 21-year-old youngster, who made his Test debut in Australia last year and has played seven Test matches so far, amassing 378 runs, has added that India’s performance in Australia where they won the Test series 2-1 will give them the much-neede...

  Rohit Sharma , one of the best limited-overs openers has started showing his capabilities in the longer format as well in recent times. While Team India are ready to tour England for six Tests starting June 18, Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad shared that he might face challenge there. However, so far, as an opener, Rohit has a sensational run in Test cricket but the swing-friendly conditions in England will test his temperament as well. While he may face some problems against the moving delivery, his coach believes he can adjust his game to fight against odds. Notably, Team India have been in a good form in the Tests as they beat Australia last year whereas thrashed England at home earlier this year as well. “He just has to focus harder there, play every ball to its merit because there will be significant movement,” Lad told Sportskeeda. “But talking about the recent home series against England on turning tracks, Rohit played proper cricketing shots while others ...

  Veteran New Zealand pace bowler Trent Boult, who will lead the pace attack for his team, has ended his mandatory isolation period in New Zealand after returning from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and he will bowl for a week in Mount Maunganui before leaving for England to join his teammates as well. Notably, New Zealand will first take on England for a two-match Tests series next month and then they will play the much-awaited inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final against India as well within a space of three weeks as well. Trent Boult, who did not travel to Maldives from India like his national teammates Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner and Kyle Jamieson did, will miss the first Test against England but he will be featured in the second Test which will be beginning June 10 as well. And, his absence will give an opportunity to the left-arm pacer Neil Wagner to play alongside Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson as well.   “One of the things that I’ve been doing s...

  New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has said that his team’s immediate focus is on the two-match Test series against England but there is a “lot of excitement” for the upcoming inaugural World Test Championship final against India which they will pay after the series. “The first challenge, which is the first Test against a very strong side (England), is what we need to be focussing on, and I know as a group that is what we will be talking about,” said Williamson on icc-cricket.com. “At the same time, we are playing three Tests quite close together so there is in the back of your mind an eye on that (WTC final), which is a really exciting opportunity.” New Zealand will play against England in the opening Test at Lord’s from June 2, while the second Test will be played at Birmingham from June 10. The Kiwis then play against India in the inaugural WTC final at Southampton from June 18-22 as well. However, the Williamson-led team is currently undergoing the quarantine period at t...

  Former Australia batsman as well as the batting coach of Chennai Super Kings, Michael Hussey has recently said that it would be difficult to play T20 World Cup in India this year because of the current situation in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, on May 4, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 was postponed due to the surge of COVID-19 cases inside the bio-bubbles. After it was postponed, Hussey, who earlier tested positive for coronavirus and later recovered has now finally returned to Australia. "I think it's going to be very difficult in my view to play T20 World Cup in India. We're talking about eight teams in the IPL . I think there are probably a similar number; maybe more teams coming in from overseas for the T20 World Cup, there'd be more venues. As I said earlier, if they're playing in different cities, that is when the risk goes up," Hussey told Fox Cricket. "I think they'll have to look some pretty big contingency p...

  Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has recently shared that India spinner Kuldeep Yadav is short of confidence and he can get back his rhythm by playing in the longest format as well. Notably, the young spinner has been going through a rough patch who found it difficult to get a place in the playing XI in India's recent series as well. He was dropped from the Test squad for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and then the five-match Test series against England as well. However, Butt, has reckoned that not getting to play many matches in the longer format has hampered his rhythm. However, he called Kudeep a "quality bowler" and also suggested that he should get back to domestic cricket to get back his form again. "At times, lesser appearances in the longer format haunt you. When you keep playing the shorter formats continuously, your line and length tend to get affected because you're always thinking of getting through your ...

  Despite having strong team, Virat Kohli-led Indian team has been struggling to win an ICC event. In the 2019 ODI World Cup, they had a balanced squad with in-form Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, hard-hitting all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and experienced campaigner MS Dhoni, in-form spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja along with pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. While everyone thought they would win the prestigious trophy, they failed to do so as they lost to New Zealand in the semis. It has been over 7 years since they won their last ICC event - and despite having one of the best teams in the world, Virat Kohli has come under the scanner for his inability to win an ICC trophy as well. However, in a recent interaction on Sports Today, a fan has asked former India player Deep Dasgupta if India are chokers in the ICC events. To which, Dasgupta gave a brilliant answer as well. "Think about the choker remark the fact is that India has ...

  Indian fast bowler, Umesh Yadav has recently shared how they could do well in the much-anticipated World Test Championship final in Southampton against New Zealand. While the inaugural edition’s final will be played at Lord’s, Yadav shared that they would try to get the wicket of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson as early as possible to get momentum in India’s favour as well. Umesh Yadav has so far played 48 Tests for India but he is yet to become a regular face in the playing XI. With young pacer like Mohammed Siraj making their mark on the international stage, the competition has become tougher too to cement the place in the playing eleven for Yadav. During a recent chat with The Telegraph, “We do have a fair idea about Kane’s game, though I don’t think he has too many weaknesses. Of course, any quality batsman can fall to a good delivery, so as a fast bowler, you should look to stick to your strong points and bowl more of those balls which can fetch you wickets.” He fu...

  New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is ready to take on India in the inaugural World Test Championships (WTC) final in June at Lord’s. He shared that playing against India will be a “fantastic challenge”. The final of the inaugural World Test Championships between India and New Zealand will be played in Southampton from June 18 as well. While India will play a five-match Test series against England soon after the end of the WTC final, New Zealand will play two Tests against the hosts before they take on Indi in the much-anticipated WTC final. “When we play against India, it has always been a fantastic challenge and so it is really exciting to be playing against them,” Kane Williamson said in a video posted by the ICC on its Twitter handle. “It’s really, really exciting to be involved in the final, obviously to win it would be that much better. We saw the contests in the WTC has brought real excitement.. the games were really tight such as in the India-Australia series and our...

  India’s limited-overs series against Sri Lanka is necessary to take place so that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) can make up for the loss of revenue that caused by last year’s cancelled tour, the Indian cricket board treasurer Arun Dhumal has recently revealed. Last year, India’s tour of Sri Lanka in June was cancelled owing to the rapid rise of Covid-19 pandemic, which left the entire Future Tours Programme (FTP) of the top cricketing countries out of order as well. On the other hand, this year, India’s tour to Sri Lanka is coinciding with the national team’s Test tour of England, where they will play the inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand and then a five-match Test series against England as well. “We had to Miss Sri Lanka tour last year also. So, we need to work out on that. Since our team that is going to England is primarily for Tests, we could have made up (sic) a team for these white-ball matches. So, that is why we thought we should do our bit to mak...

  Washington Sunder’s father M Sundar has played a huge role in the young all-rounder’s recent success so far and he is continuously doing so. As the youngster is preparing to take the flight to the UK for the all-important upcoming series, M Sundar is trying to do his best that his son doesn’t affect by the COVID-19 - at least from him. However, Washington Sundar has returned home after the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League got suspended due to the surge of positive cases inside the bio-bubble. But the senior Sundar, who works at the Income Tax department in Chennai, and goes to office for at least 2-3 days in a week, staying at another place. With the rising positive cases in Chennai, he knows he can contract the virus and pass it onto his son who is soon enter the Team India bio-bubble and at this stage any complacency can be costly for him as well. “Since Washington returned home from the IPL, I have been staying in another house. My wife and daughter are staying w...

  Former South Africa batting great AB de Villiers will not be returning to international cricket again. The earlier report revealed that there is a possibility of his return and don the national team’s jersey in the upcoming T20 World Cup in October which is all set to take place in India. But now as per the report by ESPN Cricinfo, Cricket South Africa has confirmed that AB de Villiers has decided “once and for all, that his retirement will remain final.” Earlier it was being reported that the he might return in the circuit to wear that dark green jersey as South Africa looked for him and his immense talent in the shortest format of the game as well. Even, he himself shared his desire to return as well. Moreover, he did exceptionally well while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the recently suspended Indian Premier League (IPL). In almost every game, he put up match-winning performances in the middle-order and helped his side win as well. And, his fine per...