BAN vs SL: 1st ODI goes ahead despite Covid-19 scare in both teams

Wriddhiman Saha feels UAE would have been a safer option for IPL 14

Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha who recently recovered from COVID-19 took an indirect dig at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for conducting the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India. During an interview with PTI, Saha said that the bio-bubble in UAE for the previous edition was much more foolproof than the one held in India. He also became the first cricketer to publicly come out and criticise BCCI. “It’s the job of the stakeholders to assess it, but the only thing I would say is that there was not a single individual during our training in UAE (last year), not even a ground staff. Here there would be people, kids peeping from nearby walls. I don’t want to comment much but we saw how the IPL went off smoothly in UAE in 2020 and then it started in India this year with cases on the rise,” Saha was quoted as saying by PTI. One of the finest wicket-keepers of the modern generation, Saha added that like the previous year, even this year’s tournament should have been held in UAE. “I don’t know what would have happened, but definitely I feel it would have been better off in UAE this time as well. It’s for the stakeholders to look into it,” Saha further added. The 14th edition of the tournament was being held under strict bio-security bubbles. Despite stringent measures, the deadly virus breached the bio-bubbles and the tournament had to be suspended indefinitely after cases were reported inside the bubbles among players and officials. Saha who was part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad tested positive for the virus on May 4, the day when the tournament was eventually disrupted. Out of the 60 scheduled games, only 29 games were played. With hardly any windows in between to conduct the rest of the IPL, BCCI faces a humungous task ahead of them to complete the tournament. If the tournament remains incomplete, the BCCI could incur huge losses.

Andre Russell retained by Jamaica Tallawahs despite his stern words last season

Flamboyant Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russell has been retained by Jamaica Tallawahs for tbe upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League. Along with Carlos Brathwaite, another hard-hitting all-rounder, Russell is among the seven players who were retained by the franchise ahead of the 9th edition of the tournament. Barring the big retentions, Tallawahs have also retained the likes of Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton and veteran fast bowler Fidel Edwards who made a return to CPL only last year. Meanwhile coming back to Russell, he had called the Tallawahs the weirdest franchise in the CPL he has been part of and conceded that 2020 was the last time he was plying his trade for the franchise. However now he has to be part of the franchise now despite some strong words last season. Left-arm spinner Verasammy Permaul and Ryan Persaud was brought back into the team. "The Tallawahs have 10 spots to fill to complete their squad and these will be announced in the coming weeks," the official CPL twitter handle wrote. Meanwhile St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will be bolstered by the inclusion of Dwayne Bravo who has been traded from the Trinbago Knight Riders. The 9th edition of the CPL is slated to kick off on 28th August with the final slated to be played on 19th September. All the 33 matches will take place at the Warner Park in St Kitts and Nevis.

Two additional players allowed for the PSL franchises for remaining season

All the Pakistan Super League (PSL ) teams have been given a new option to pick two more players in their respective squads. Earlier the franchises were expected to only carry 18 players in their final squad list. However, the new option allows the team to pick two more players and take the squad up to 20 players which include one local player and one foreign player. Earlier the squad combination only allowed 3 platinum players, 3 diamond players, 3 gold players, 5 silver players, 2 emerging players and 2 supplementary players. Following the conclusion of the player's replacement meeting, several new faces were picked by respective franchises. “All PSL teams now have the option to pick two additional players and take their squad up to 20 players for the remaining matches. Teams can pick one additional foreign player in these two picks #PSL6 #cricket,” reputed Pakistan journalist Saj Sadiq tweeted. The participation of the players depends on how they meet the travel and quarantine protocols required in the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament. Midway through March, the 6th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was suspended indefinitely after several cases of COVID-19 was reported among players and officials from respective bio-bubbles. As per the new schedule, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hoping to hold the remaining 20 matches in Abu Dhabi from 5th June. The new buys are as follows- Quetta Gladiators: Zahir Khan, Jack Wildermuth, Khurram Shehzad Karachi Kings: Mohammad Haris Lahore Qalandars: Tim David, Sultan Ahmed Peshawar Zalmi: Bismillah Khan Islamabad United: Mohammad Akhlaq

Mel Jones suggests naming India - Australia Women's Test series in line with Border-Gavaskar Trophy

A former Australian Women’s player and now a renowned face in the commentary box across the world, Mel Jones has suggested that a series between India Women and Australia Women should be given a permanent name just as it has been named Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the series between India Men and Australia Men. She said that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy represents the past landscape of the game between two countries just like The Ashes series but only of the men’s game and hence the women’s game need ‘something a little bit different' which the world will remember about in 100 years’ time. “It’s great to have something like Border-Gavaskar, but that’s the men’s lens of what’s happened in the past. So we should do it our way for the women’s game, and maybe can come up with something a little bit different,” Jones was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “Both the men’s and women’s games have got these magnificent storylines behind their Ashes trophies, and maybe we can create one just as special that is being talked about in 100 years’ time with the same sort of reverence as the Ashes.” She also suggested that the trophy can be named after the captains of both sides in the first-ever Test between the sides in 1977. India Women were led by Shantha Rangaswamy while Australia Women were led by Marg Jennings in a one-off Test played in Perth. “To talk about Shantha Ragaswamy and Marg Jennings and all those players from that first Test in Perth, to get those to the forefront again would be wonderful,” she said. India Women are set to tour Australia later this year and will play their first Day-Night Test.