After Tendulkar, Yusuf Pathan also tests positive for Covid-19

Former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has tested positive for the Covid-19. This news comes in the wake of Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar testing positive for the dreaded virus. Confirming the news, the senior Pathan tweeted that he is quarantining at home with all necessary precautions and asked those who came in contact with him in the past few days to get themselves tested as well. 

Earlier today, Sachin had posted a similar tweet that he had contacted Covid-19 and was isolating himself at home and wishes poured in for the legend. 

Both these players were part of the Road Safety World Series which took place in Raipur, Chhattisgarh just recently. India Legends one of the six teams part of the tournament were crowned champions beating Sri Lanka Legends in the finals in a fully packed stadium with an estimated crowd attendance of more than 40,000. 

Kevin Pietersen, the skipper of the England Legends team, which also participated in the competition tweeted saying why do stars need to confirm that they have Covid and his tweet wasn’t considered to be in a good taste, especially because it came after Sachin’s confirmatory tweet.

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BCCI do away with soft signals for IPL 2021

The Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) has decided to end the system of soft signals for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. The BCCI took this decision after amending the law in Match Playing Conditions (MPC) of the IPL. Now, according to Appendix A in Clause 5.10, the definition of the soft signal is removed from MPC and further the updation of Appendix D in Clause 2.2.2 state that there is no need for soft signal in the IPL and it has hence been removed. Now if the on-field umpire has doubt while making any decision, he/she can directly consult the third umpire without providing any consult as to whether it is out or not out according to him. The soft signal became a debatable topic after debutant Suryakumar Yadav was caught at deep fine leg by Dawid Malan during the fourth T20I between Indian and England at Motera, Ahmedabad. Although there was no conclusive evidence to tell that it was a clean catch by Malan off the bowling of Sam Curran, the third umpire had to go by on-field umpire’s call of out as he did not have conclusive evidence to overturn the decision. Earlier on Thursday, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah during an ICC Board meeting had said there was a need to change the protocol regarding the soft signal. Another major change in the MPC is the inclusion of 20th over in the 90 minutes playing. Earlier the rule under MPC mandated that the 20th over must be started by 90 minutes excluding the five minutes of the Time Outs. Now according to Clause 12.7.1 in the new guidelines, the “20th over is included in the 90 minutes.”

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Amicable resolution leads to Chaminda Vaas withdrawing his resignation as bowling consultant

Chaminda Vaas the celebrated fast bowler of Sri Lanka has once again joined Sri Lanka Cricket’s position as Fast bowling consultant. This comes after he and SLC seemed to have amicably resolved a storm that saw Vaas resigning from his position of Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach, just days after being appointed. The dramatic event occurred just when the Sri Lankan team was to leave for its West Indies tour. "Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to inform you that pursuant to a meeting that was held between Mr Chaminda Vaas and the Management Team of Sri Lanka Cricket, the matters which led to his resignation were amicably resolved," a media release from SLC said. The board further said that Vaas has been a great servant of Sri Lanka Cricket and it recognises his contribution. "Sri Lanka Cricket acknowledges the valuable services rendered by Mr Vaas to SLC and the significant contribution he has made to the sport as an iconic player and wishes him well," the media release read. This release is in total contrast with the last release which the board had released just when Vaas had stepped down from his earlier position. The board had alleged the great fast bowler of keeping the game ‘at ransom’. Vaas, 47, on his part, had tweeted after his resignation saying, "I made a humble request to SLC and they turned it down. That's all I can say at the moment. Justice will prevail!" Although Vaas is no longer the fast bowling coach, he would help the fast bowlers of the national team as well as those coming through the ranks. Sri Lankan team is currently in West Indies and having lost the T20i series 1-2 and ODI 0-3, have drawn the first Test and will be playing the second Test and the final game of the tour in two days’ time.

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Jofra Archer to undergo surgery on right hand

England fast bowler Jofra Archer will undergo a surgery on his right hand following the scans. Though this is not the same injury that kept the right-arm pacer out of the ODI series against India. Jofra had suffered a cut in his hand while cleaning his room before flying to India for the Test series. The injury was then managed by the ECB’s medical staff then. The surgery in his right hand is scheduled so that he can recover during his planned break for elbow injury. "Further investigation and a specialist opinion was sought upon his return to the UK and, in conjunction with the ECB medical panel, it has been decided that surgery is the best option to manage his injury in the longer term," the ECB further said in a release. "Further detail will be provided in due course." Earlier, Jofra was ruled out of the ODI series against India after his elbow issue “deteriorated” during the T20I series. “Jofra Archer is returning to the UK for further management and investigation of his right elbow injury,” read a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board. “Jofra’s elbow issue has deteriorated over the course of the Twenty20 International series and made it increasingly challenging for him to maintain performance levels,” the statement added. England lost the T20I series 3-2 after getting hammered 1-3 in the Test. The three-match ODI series between the two sides in presently levelled at 1-1 with the deciding clash to take place on Sunday in Pune.

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South Africa's IPL-bound players to leave series against Pakistan mid way

South Africa’s IPL-bound players will be allowed to leave the bilateral tie against Pakistan and fly to India according to a report in ESPNCricinfo. The players will leave after the second ODI slated to take place on April 4 while the IPL starts on April 9 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on RCB in Chennai in the opener. According to the BCCI guidelines, the team members don’t need to go under a seven-day quarantine in their hotel rooms if they are moving from one biosecure team bubble to another via chartered flights. Some of the South African players who might have to leave the series against Pakistan include Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje (both Delhi Capitals), wicketkeeper batsman Quinton de Kock (Mumbai Indians), batsman David Miller (Rajasthan Royals) and pacer Lungi Ngidi (Chennai Super Kings). The three-match ODI series between South Africa and Pakistan begins on April 2 which will be followed by four-match T20I series scheduled to take place between April 10 to April 16. Coach Misbah ul Haq had earlier stated that Pakistan have had a decent run in limited-overs cricket in South Africa. “We always put up a decent show in white-ball cricket in South Africa. It is the Test cricket where we struggled. We won the ODI series there and even stretched the last series to the fifth ODI. We always found good conditions for white-ball cricket in South Africa. We have got a good balance this time,” he said.