Amidst cancelled tours and heartbreaks, PCB rope in Pakistan stars to cheer up fans in National T20

IPL 2021 | RCB vs KKR: What Experts said as Knight Riders rip open worst of Royal Challengers

England call off scheduled tour of Pakistan, PCB chief Ramiz Raja fumes in disappointment

England have refused to travel to Pakistan for their upcoming series against the hosts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement. Calling players’ safety their “highest priority”, the ECB said that touring under current circumstances is not a good idea as “there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region”. "The mental and physical well-being of our players and support staff remains our highest priority and this is even more critical given the times we are currently living in. We know there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region and believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments,” ECB said. More to follow

Williamson hopes for no 'lasting impact' on Pakistan cricket after New Zealand's abandoned tour

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has extended his best wishes to Pakistan cricket in the aftermath of his team’s withdrawal from the country without playing a single game of a full-fledged scheduled tour. Williamson reiterated that players’ safety is “paramount” and they should not be blamed for the “sudden call” of withdrawal from the series as that decision was taken by the government. He confirmed that players were ready to go to the ground before the message came from the New Zealand government. "It was a sudden call, but obviously a real shame. Cricket in Pakistan is an amazing thing and so well supported. There is so much passion there and I think the guys will be gutted to not have started and played the whole series,” Williamson said to Sportstar. “You want to be playing the game in all countries. It is an international game and there is so much passion for it around the world, particularly in Pakistan. It was really exciting to see the series go back there and I know our team was looking forward to it. Players’ safety is paramount and when you hear messages going through from the government, it is certainly above the players’ heads.” Williamson also expressed hope that their pull out from the series will not have a “lasting impact” on the game in Pakistan as it has been a “special place” for the game of cricket. “They were obviously over there, ready to go to the ground. It is a sudden thing that happened. I certainly hope there is no lasting impact from it because it is a special place for cricket to be and there have been a lot of strides forward to see cricket go back into Pakistan and play there safely. We have seen that happen on a number of occasions, so hopefully, there is plenty more cricket there to come,” he concluded. Williamson was not travelling with the New Zealand side and he is with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing edition of the IPL in UAE. Meanwhile, the CEO of the New Zealand Cricket, David White confirmed a “specific credible” threat against the Blackcaps which forced them with no other options but to abandon the tour. He said that the board received risk assessments from both their security agency and independent sources before asking the players to come back. However, he commended the Pakistan Cricket Board for professional behaviour in tough times and promised to find a way to tour the country again next year. He expressed hope of finding a “window” to make up for the abandoned series next year when they are scheduled to tour for a full series including two Test matches. “It’s really disappointing for Pakistan cricket, but we had no option but to leave the tour, unfortunately. I was at home and we got a call from a government agency on Friday afternoon informing us of a specific credible threat against the team. I contacted our security person in Pakistan, which was at 3 am in the morning, and we just worked through it with him on the ground and other independent sources as well,” White said on Mornings with Ian Smith show on SEN Radio. “I’m sure we’ll find a window. We are scheduled to play them next year in January and February, two Test matches as part of the World Test Championships and some ODIs, so maybe we can wrap the games around those series.” New Zealand’s decision of leaving the series and Pakistan has not gone down well with the PCB and the newly-appointed chairman Ramiz Raja has threatened to “see” them at the ICC.

IPL 2021 | KKR vs RCB: Wanindu Hasaranga, KS Bharat debut for RCB, Venkatesh Iyer for KKR

World number two T20I bowler Wanindu Harasnga will make his debut in the richest T20 league of the world, the Indian Premier League as the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore begin at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in the United Arab Emirates. The Sri Lankan will be playing for RCB under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, who is also playing his 200th IPL game. Along with Harasrnga, wicket-keeper batter KS Bharath will also be making his IPL debut for the RCB. The Andhra batter, who has so far played 48 T20s in his eight-year-long domestic career, has scored 730 runs at a paltry strike rate of 106. But his selection has been on the recent spike in his variation shots and of course brilliant wicket-keeping abilities. While there are two debutants for RCB the KKR have given Madhya Pradesh batter Venkatesh Iyer an opportunity to make his debut in the IPL as well. He will be opening the batting alongside Shubman Gill. Apart from being a beautiful driver of the ball and having a good T20 record with 724 runs in 32 T20 innings with an average of 36.20 and strike rate of 137, the 26-year-old is also a superb fielder. RCB won the toss and decided to bat first in what is going to be the second game of the UAE leg of the IPL.