Afg vs Pak series shifted to Pakistan from Sri Lanka due to Taliban situation

South Africa’s assistant coach resigns after being sidelined by Mark Boucher and Co.

South Africa cricket team’s assistant coach Enoch Nkwe has resigned from his position after being sidelined in decision making and treated as Conor boy. If reports are to be believed, he will not be travelling with the team to Sri Lanka for the limited-over series scheduled to take place from September 2 to 14 in Colombo “TimesLIVE can exclusively reveal that Nkwe has quit the Proteas and stated in his resignation letter that the working environment within the team management has become a contaminated space for him to continue to work in,” a South African media house reported. Quoting sources, the media house further said that Cricket South Africa has refused to accept the resignation of the former Lions player and coach, citing that is a grave matter and has summoned the coach for a meeting with the board members. “The board, after hearing of his resignation refused to accept it and instead summoned the assistant coach to come and state his case before them, because his reasons for leaving are serious and very concerning,” the report quoted a source as saying. Nkwe, who was appointed as head coach of the team after a disastrous 2019 World Cup, headed the team only for its India tour where the Proteas lost the Test series 0-3 and drew the T20I series 1-1 with a comparatively new set-up. The Black coach of the team was then suddenly demoted to the position of assistant coach and Director of Cricket of CSA, Graeme Smith appointed former South Africa player Mark Boucher as the coach of the Head coach even though he didn’t possess the desired qualifications. The 38-year-old Nkwe was once again not part of the team’s West Indies tour in May-June this year and the reason offered by CSA were family responsibility leave. But now as things are developing, it seemed there were other hidden reasons. “Nkwe feels that his inputs as an assistant coach are not valued and taken into consideration. He feels he has been reduced to being a ‘cones boy’. He does not feel he is part of the team,” the report said. The South Africa team would leave for Sri Lanka on August 25. CSA on its part said accepted that Nkwe indeed approached them with his resignation letter. "Nkwe has indeed signalled an intention to resign, and this matter is being considered by the Board. A further statement will be made when these consultations have been concluded," said the CSA in its statement.

My family has sacrificed a lot for my cricket: Jos Buttler indicates he might miss Ashes

England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler is considering pulling out of Ashes too after having already ditched the remainder of IPL to spend time with his family, especially his wife, who is expecting their second child. "One of the challenges is working out where the line is where you say I can't do that. I've sacrificed a lot for cricket and my wife and family have sacrificed a lot,” Buttler was quoted as saying to Sunday Times. The 30-year-old, who has been in a rugged form in Test cricket, further said that saying no should be an option for players, especially at times when bubble life is actually troubling people to maintain a healthy work-life balance. "You have to be open to saying no. It would be incredibly disappointing if some players feel like they can't do it, but we're in a world at the moment where that is a possibility,” he said. Talking about going to Australia for the Ashes, Buttler said that he would only be able to make a decision once Cricket Australia confirms about families travelling with the players. "Covid is incredibly challenging for everyone and Australia has a very strict policy in how they've tried to deal with it. Until we get more information about what it [the Australia tour] might look like, it's impossible to know what decision you're making,” he said. It is also not clear whether Buttler would play the last Test between England and India also, as he would likely take leave to be with his wife.

Vice captain Ajinkya Rahane not concerned about criticism ahead of third Test

Brushing aside the criticism he received for three bad innings in the first two Tests of the ongoing five-match series against England, Ajinkya Rahane said that he hardly cares for what people say. “I am happy people are talking about me. I believe people talk about important people and I am not too concerned about that,” Rahane said during the virtual press conference before the third Test at Headingley beginning on August 25. Rahane, whoever played a crucial 146 ball 61 run knock in India’s second innings in the Lord’s Test and added 100 runs, most importantly consumed 297 balls together with Cheteshwar Pujara to keep the team in the match. “It was really satisfying, I always believe in contribution and for me, I always think about the team and my innings of 61 was really important. Team performance is always the ultimate goal,” said the 33-year-old. “It’s all about contributing to the team. Pujara and I know how to handle pressure. What I cannot control, I am not worried about,” he further added. Talking about the next game, India’s vice-captain said that he and the team are in a good headspace and want to encash on the confidence booster come from behind win at Lord’s. “Not thinking too much about conditions. All players are in a good headspace and it’s all about having confidence and putting the best foot forward,” said Rahane. The right-hander also went on to confirm that Shardul Thakur, who missed the second Test due to injury was available for selection in the third Test. "Shardul Thakur is fit and available for selection for the 3rd Test. Now, we have to look at which combination we are going with. All the fast bowlers are ready to play and they want to play as the break after the 2nd Test helped," he said.

Son, you will score a century today: Fawad Alam credits mom’s blessings for Sabina Park ton

Whan Fawad Alam got the hundred by pulling a bouncer from Kyle Mayers towards the square leg boundary, it was his fifth Test century in Test cricket and fourth in a span of just eight Tests and 10 months. Crediting his mother for her blessing, Fawad said it was because of his parents that he has been able to fight it out and never give up on the dream to play for Pakistan again. “First of all, I would like to inform all that my mom called before the start of the first day of this second Test. It was eight am here and six pm back home, and she just said in Urdu, ‘Jao aaj tum century banaoge’, today you will score a century,” Fawad said in a video uploaded by the Pakistan Cricket Board on their official Twitter handle. “So I don’t know what got into her, but I guess it’s all because of her blessings,” he added. But it wasn’t only his mother said the 35-year-old as he went on to describe a chant he had with his father on the same day. “I also talked to my father on the and he said, ‘West Indies me bhi ek dafa ball lehrao yaar’ ‘make a century in the West Indies too man’. So you know, these feelings that you get from your loved ones, these are very strong feelings,” he said. Fawad, who is now the 23rd Pakistan player to make five-Test centuries and the fastest among them all to do so, said, “When you have the blessings of your parents, especially your mother, you sail through all obstacles no matter what.” The southpaw after playing his first three Tests way back in 2009, didn’t get a chance to feature in another Test for Pakistan until 2020. Talking about his motivation during such times, Fawad said, “My father had been cricketer during his time and knew about the ups and downs of a sportsperson’s career. So he helped me in having a levelled head.” “There are others too who kept on encouraging me. They never said that your tome is up, they kept on saying, keep playing your time will come, and Inshallah it has worked,” Fawad continued. Talking about his unique celebration style which is inspired by the Turkish show Ertuğrul Gazi, Fawad said, “When I and Azhar Ali were playing a four-day match in New Zealand, then we decided on our celebrations that we would do if we scored a century in the New Zealand series. Luckily I did and hence the celebration has carried on from there. It is the victory sign of Gazi as you know.”