10 groundstaff, 6 Event Managers contract Covid, Hyderabad-Indore considered replacement for Mumbai

Eoin Morgan not bothered by criticism on Dawid Malan, hails him as an incredible player

England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan is not bothered by the constant criticism being levied on Dawid Malan who is currently the top-ranked batsmen in the ICC T20I rankings. Some sections of the media have come out hard at Malan for his relatively low returns in the limited-overs leg of the India tour. Despite all the criticism, Morgan is not bothered at all and hailed him as an “incredible batsman”. Malan has the best average and strike rate among the current England batsmen and has been churning out runs in this format on a consistent basis. His method of starting off slowly and then going after the bowlers and his indifferent record in international and domestic T20 competitions has made many experts question his role in the team. Malan doesn’t have much experience of playing in the subcontinent and had struggled for runs during the recently concluded T20I and ODI series. Not long ago, former England great Kevin Pietersen stated that he will prefer Stokes coming up the order and with Bairstow looking in ominous touch in this format, he will like him to bat at No 3. “I’d move [Stokes] up the order,” Pietersen said on the Sky Cricket Show. “I’d bat him at four. Bairstow is an opening batsman in the one-day game as we’ve seen, bats right at the top of the order, and having watched the display that he put on in Pune the other night in the one-dayer, it got me to a decision that for a T20 World Cup in India, I believe that he should be batting at three, Stokes should be batting at four. “Malan is a touch and feel player. He plays the short ball well. But when he’s got to go after the spinners, and when the pace is slowed down in the middle overs in the subcontinent, it’s difficult to bat, it’s difficult to continue hitting those boundaries, it’s difficult to continue hitting those sixes. And having experienced it in the last couple of weeks, I know exactly how hard it is to do that. So, as difficult a decision as it will be and it should be, I’d bat Bairstow at three and I’d have Stokes at 4.” Despite all these talks, Morgan said that he is not paying any heed to the media criticism and will back Malan given the form he has shown ever since coming into the team. “No I pay absolutely no attention to it, ” he said, also on the Sky Cricket Show, a week after Pietersen’s appearance. “It’s definitely not the mood in the camp. The mood in the camp is that Dawid is the No.1 ranked batsman in the world, the highest-ranked No.1 player of all time, which is an incredible achievement given the names that have been No.1 player in the world. “Looking at the way that he played and the manner in which he has played since he’s come into the side, it truly has been incredible. I’ve played with Dawid for a very long time, and to see him get even better than he has performed in a Middlesex shirt and in a Yorkshire shirt is both great to see and adds a huge amount of value to an already strong batting line-up.” Back in November 2019, rumours surfaced that Morgan and Malan were not getting along well following Malan’s fastest T2oI hundred in November 2019. Morgan criticised him for not pushing hard for a last-ball eye and was subsequently dropped for the final three T20I matches. However, Malan has quashed all these rumours and the ill feelings between the two.

Breaking: Delhi Capitals' Axar Patel tests Covid positive ahead of IPL 2021

Delhi Capitals and India spin bowling star Axar Patel has tested positive for novel coronavirus sending ripples of threat all across the Indian Premier League, merely a week ahead of its start. News agency ANI reported the news quoting a DC source, “Unfortunately Axar has tested positive for Covid. He is isolating and all protocols are being followed.” Axar, 27, is the second player to test positive for Covid-19 after KKR’s Nitish Rana, who after returning the second test as negative has joined the team bubble once again. With almost eight groundsmen testing positive for the dreaded virus only a day ago in Mumbai, this is the second major case of Covid-19 relating to IPL. Patel was not with the Indian Cricket team during the ODIs and joined the DC bubble on 28th March after being at home. With the IPL clause regarding Covid-19 maintaining that a person testing positive has to remain isolated for 10 days since the day of the results, Axar would now be remaining away from action for the next days and is likely to miss the first game of DC. Being an important member of the franchise, it is going to be a tough pill to swallow for the Delhi side and it might get tougher if the virus would have spread in the bubble.

Hardik Pandya hasn't lost his sheen as an all-rounder despite string of injuries: Shane Bond

One of the finest all-rounders of the modern generation, Hardik Pandya since making his comeback following a serious back injury has settled into the team quite nicely. While the return has been fruitful for Pandya and his team, but his all-round exploits haven’t been quite the same. All through the Australia series and the England series, Hardik didn’t bowl much and played primarily as a batsman. In the ODI series in Australia, Hardik did bowl a few overs but given the seriousness of his injury, he wasn’t rushed. Hardik bowled in all the 5 T20I matches but was taken off the workload in the first two ODIs. Captain Virat Kohli stated after the first ODI that the think tank needs to manage Hardik’s workload as they want him to be fit as an all-rounder during the ICC World Test Championship final in England. Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond feels that despite a string of injuries, Hardik Pandya hasn’t lost sheen as an all-rounder and will be a vital cog for the 5-time champions in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. “Our aim was to get him back in the process of returning as an all-rounder for India and he is coming to this IPL having done so against England,” Bond was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Hardik has been a sensation with the bat and Bond feels that his exploits with the bat have made him enjoy his bowling more. “When he was picked for India, he was seen as a genuine all-rounder. He can still do both equally well, but it’s his batting that has taken the pressure off his bowling. He knows he is one of the best white-ball batsmen in the world and that has made him more comfortable with his bowling.” “There was a point when I felt he was diving into the crease a little bit too much. He was also mindful of that and got the alignment a little straight and it worked.” Despite being one of the most prominent all-rounders in the Mumbai Indians set-up, Shane Bond feels that his workload needs to be managed well. “I understand that he is a brilliant fourth-pacer option batting at No. 7 in Tests, but I would think he is better off bowling 10 overs a day even when he is playing red-ball cricket, instead of 15-16. Ben Stokes, too, is doing the same,” Bond further added.

WI vs SL | 2nd Test: Karunaratne, Thirimanne keep Windies at bay; Test series ends without a result

Sri Lankan openers showed grit and determination to stop West Indies from claiming 10 wickets on the last day and seal the series. The pair of experienced batsmen Lahiru Thirimanne and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne set out a plan and churned out an invaluable partnership to lower the morale of Kraigg Brathwaite’s men who felt that they were on top at the end of day four. The opening wicket added 101 runs and delayed any prospect of a breakthrough by the 39th over. Even when Thirimanne was caught brilliantly at the slips by Rakheem Cornwall off Alzarri Joseph, the Sri Lankans didn’t let the pressure build as the new man in Oshada Fernando kept rotating the strikes after blocking balls en masse. By the time the skipper was dismissed by Kyle Mayers, Sri Lanka had consolidated their position, scoring just 146 in the chase of 377, but essentially blocking out almost 56 overs off the 80 that they were supposed to play (minus the extra hour of play). The pitch too played its part in confirmation of the draw as it did not break and remained a good slow batting track. Coupled with the inclement weather and injury to Shanon Gabriel, the Windies were unable to push on with the attack and Dinesh Chandimal and Oshada remained unbeaten at 10 and 66 respectively to see the islanders to a comfortable draw. Earlier Windies were late at declaring their second innings at 280-4 and with rain disturbing the match throughout, the Sri Lankans, even after getting out for 258 in the first innings in response to Windies’ 354, were able to save the game and draw the series. Brathwaite, who scored a century in the first innings and 85 in the second was adjudged Man of the Match. Suranga Lakmal, who is on a path to rediscover himself with fierce fast bowling was adjudged Man of the Series for taking 11 crucial wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.