Avishka Gunawardene cleared of corruption charges by independent tribunal

R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo to host whole India- Sri Lanka series

Upcoming India’s tour of Sri Lanka is set to be limited to the capital Colombo as all the six games of the ODI and T20I series are all but finalised to be played at the Premadasa Stadium only, Sportstar reported quoting Sri Lanka Cricket official. "We plan to host the entire series at one venue. As of now, it has been decided that the Premadasa Stadium will host the fixtures. Obviously, it depends on how the situation is around that time," Professor Arjuna de Silva, SLC's Administrative Committee chairman, told Sportstar. Discussing the modalities of the biosecure bubbles and planning behind the tour in terms of quarantine of players and biosecure bubbles. De Silva said that Indian players will have to go through a hard quarantine for the first three days followed by the last four days when they will be allowed to train. However, he did not rule out any change in the plan and said if the health ministry revises its guidelines, the SLC will have to follow. “As of now, we will stick to the protocol where the players will have to undergo hard quarantine for the first three days and in the next four days, they will be allowed to train. However, if there are any revised guidelines by the health ministry around that time, we will have to follow that," he added. Notably, India’s tour of Sri Lanka was announced by the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who also confirmed that none of the Indian players on the tour of the UK will be able to return for the series against Sri Lanka. Hence, India are likely to send a completely new squad to the island nation which will only have Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as experienced players.

England won't rush back IPL returnees to Test squad, will consider 'new faces' against New Zealand

England all-format players who have returned to the UK following the suspension of the IPL will not be rushed back to the Test squad for the series against New Zealand, ECB’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles has confirmed. He said that it will be up to players’ individual choice on whether they want to play in the series or take some time off with a lot of matches line up going forward this year. "All these guys are currently in quarantine and have had a number of spells in quarantine and bubbles in this last period. Some of it's their choice, I get that. We need to look after them, with the amount of cricket they've got coming up. We're not going to rush or force them back into cricket,” Gile said. Instead, he said, England will blood in some new faces from county cricket in order to strengthen their bench strength in the season that will also have an Ashes series at the end of the year. "What we do know and what's not going to change is that given the weight of cricket, given the Ashes series, and we don't know what conditions that's going to be played in with regard to a Covid environment, we are going to need a bigger group of players. We may also choose against New Zealand to look at some new faces,” Giles added. It would open a window of opportunity for players such as Ollie Robinson and James Bracey, who have an excellent track record in the county circuit to deserve a place in the squad to face New Zealand. Robinson, 27, has played 62 first-class matches and scalped 275 wickets at a phenomenal average of 21.05 runs per wicket and strike rate of 42 balls per wicket. On the other hand, Bracey has amassed 2574 runs from 44 games at an average of 37 runs per innings six centuries and 12 fifties. England played both Jos Buttler and Ben Foakes at different times during the tour of India and with the former under quarantine and Gile’s insisting on not rushing them back, it could well be the first opportunity for Foakes to play a Test match in England.

IPL 2021 faces another setback, England stars to miss second half due to busy schedule

England men's director of cricket, Ashley Giles has confirmed that England stars in the IPL such as Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran are likely to unavailable for the second half of the IPL if at all it is played at sometime later this year. Reportedly, the BCCI is exploring a window in September-October this year to complete the 14th edition of the league that was postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak in biosecure bubbles of various teams. England are scheduled to tour Pakistan and Bangladesh in September-October and Gilles said that he expects to send a full-strength squad on those tours. "We're planning on the involvement of England players in England matches. We've got a full FTP schedule. So if those tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh are going ahead, I'd expect the players to be there,” Gilles said. Gilles also cited uncertainty around the second half of the IPL and lamented a highly busy schedule starting the series against New Zealand that will also include the T20 World Cup and the Ashes at the end of the year behind England players’ unavailability in the IPL. "None of us knows what a rearranged IPL looks like at the moment; where it's going to be or when. But from when we start this summer against New Zealand, our programme is incredibly busy. We've got a lot of important, high-profile cricket including the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. And we're going to have to look after our players." ECB management including Gilles himself attracted severe criticism for allowing players such as Buttler, Stokes and others to play the full season of the IPL at the cost of missing New Zealand Tests. However, Gilles said that the series against players were given NOCs for participation in the full season of the IPL way before the series against the Blackcaps was finalised by the ECB. "The New Zealand scenario was very different. Those Test matches were formalised at the end of January, by which time all those contracts and NOCs were signed for full involvement in the IPL,” Gilles added. England will host a full-strength New Zealand side for two-match Test series starting June 02 at the Lord’s.

BCCI issues ultimatum to players in squad for UK tour : "Tour over if found positive in Mumbai"

After cases of Covid-19 burst the biosecure bubble leading to suspension of the Indian Premier League, the BCCI is double cautious to avert a similar situation again. Hence, players and support staffs who have to embark on the tour of England for the World Test Championship final and Test series have been strictly told by the board that their journey will be cut short even before the start if they test positive in Mumbai, The Indian Express reported. The BCCI has given the option of car or air travel to reach Mumbai but there is no option in terms of carrying RT-PCR test results as they have been asked to carry two negative results before they can enter the biosecure bubble. “The players have been informed to consider their tour over if they are found positive on their arrival in Mumbai as BCCI will not arrange another charter flight for any cricketer,” a source in the Indian board informed. The board has made it absolutely clear that the service of chartered flight for an individual or a group of players is not available and hence players testing positive for the novel coronavirus will have to be left behind in India only, the report added. “The players, support staff and families will be tested and two negative reports are required before they leave for Mumbai. It will be done in order to ensure that they are coming into the bubble without any infection. The players have also been given the option to travel by air or car to reach Mumbai,” The Indian Express quoted an unnamed BCCI source in its report. Notably, the selection committee has selected a 20-man strong squad for the WTC final and the five-match long Test series against the host England. Team India is set to embark on the tour of the UK on June 2 while the WTC final is scheduled to commence on June 18.