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.

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India tour of Sri Lanka | Three-match long ODI, T20I series to start on July 13

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had announced India’s tour of Sri Lanka in July this year and there is clarity on the fixture and itinerary of the tour that will comprise of three-match ODI and an equally long T20I series. As per an ESPNcricinfo report citing the itinerary sent by the Sri Lanka Cricket to the BCCI, the tour will begin with the ODI series on July 13 with the other two matches scheduled to be played on July 16 and 19. The ODI series will immediately be followed by a T20I series with matches on July 22, 24, 27. The venues for all six matches have not been finalized yet, as per ESPNcricinfo. Indian team without the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant will reach the island nation on July 5 while their departure will be on July 28 post the completion of the series. Ganguly had already said that none of the Test specialists or players who will travel to the UK for the World Test Championship final will make it to Sri Lanka and it is all likely that there will be a new captain leading an all-new team for both ODIs and T20Is against Sri Lanka. The ODIs and T20Is could well be the opportunity for the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal and Sanju Samson who have been in good form with the bat in the IPL 2021. On the bowling front, the tour to Sri Lanka can provide an opening for the young crop of pacers such as Chetan Sakariya and Kartik Tyagi.

Doug Crowell continuing professional cricket at the age of 91

The ball might not be zipping past the bat to thud into the keeper’s gloves or the batsmen might not be able to play those big shots but the 91 year old Doug Crowell might be the oldest Australian cricketer to don the state whites at the Veteran’s level cricket and seem to be enjoying his game just like the way he did seven decades ago. He still takes up the challenge of fielding at first slip or short midwicket and looks so enthusiastic even at this ripe age. Crowell had started cricket just with the hope of passing some time in the aftermath of World War || but after seventy years he still cherishes playing at the state level. "I think I might be the oldest player in Australia; I don't think anyone else would go out there and still do what I do and love it as much as what I do. But I'm 91 ... I think I might have another couple of years left in me yet,” Crowell had said a month ago. In a recent video shared by ABC 730, Crowell is seen enjoying his time with his friends on the cricket field. Speaking on his experience of playing cricket at the twilight of his life, Crowell said that he is still enjoying the game and until he is getting picked, he hopes to continue playing. “I keep saying that a couple of years might pull me up but who knows. The body is good, I still fit enough to enjoy myself and whenever I get picked I will turn up,” Crowell stated in the video posted on ABC 730. Speaking on his age, Crowell felt that he might be the oldest ever cricketer saying that he hasn’t heard any cricketer still playing professional cricketer after passing 90. It’s indeed a great achievement for Bracewell. He also recalled the fact that he has never scored a century but that was never his aim. “I think I could be the oldest cricketer. I don’t guarantee anything but I haven’t heard of anyone thats playing in their 90s, still playing competitive cricket. It’s for the people that gave up their cricketing career when they were in their 30s and then they had an urge to want to keep fit so they joined the Veterans Cricket,” Crowell further added. Not only cricket but Crowell also plays tennis three days a week which keeps him fit even at 91. Moreover, he is still enjoying his time in any sport he plays. “I have got good genes and I play tennis three times a week to keep fit. I just that there’s so much to be gained out of cricket because of the people you still stay friends with over the years. People say you’re, you know, you are playing the wrong shots but its the shots I have played for seventy years so I will stick with them," Crowell signed off.

People will watch football if one-sided matches like Pakistan-Zimbabwe continue in Tests: Ramiz Raja

Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja has not liked the idea of a Test series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe one bit. He has refuted the long-standing idea that when a small team play against well-established ones they understand and develop their skills by looking at players and the approach of those teams. He said that the host Zimbabwe showed no signs of learning from the Pakistan team and rather were humiliated in both the Tests of the series. He said there should be no sense of idealism in organising matches between two mismatched teams as it will force people to switch to other sports such as football for lack of competitiveness in the game. “Some people are of the opinion that when a weak team plays a strong one, you need to focus on what you learn from it rather than the outcome of the match. You learn from the stronger team’s process and the way it adapts to the changing situation of a game. But I don’t think Zimbabwe learned anything from this series because they were continuously dominated by Pakistan. Also, there was no difference in their performance in the second Test as compared to the first one,” said Raja on his official YouTube channel. “Such mismatch series should not take place. Test cricket is already under pressure and very few people watch it. If you show them such one-sided matches, then they will switch to watching football or other sports. Three-day Test match is a joke,” he added. Notably, Pakistan handed Zimbabwe innings defeat in both the Tests played in Harare.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam wins ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for April

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for April for his consistent and outstanding performances across all formats in the recently concluded series against South Africa. Babar was in superb form with the bat against the Proteas and scored a match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI of the series followed by another match-winning innings of 122 runs from just 59 balls. He defeated his fellow countryman Fakhar Zaman and Nepal’s Kushal Bhurtel to clinch the Player of the Month title for April. The Player of the Month is chosen by fans and the ICC voting academy and former Pakistan batsman Ramiz Raja while representing the academy said that Babar Azam has a different flair of batting and dominating bowling atatcks and he richly deserves the player of the month award. “The world bats in two ways in white ball cricket. One way is to destroy attacks with muscle and force and then there is the Babar Azam way, like conducting a batting symphony with punch, panache and flair, and he deserves to win this award,” Raja said. In the calendar month of April, Babar Azam scored 228 runs across three-match long ODI series with an astounding average of 76 runs per innings. He followed it with another dominating series with the bat in the T20Is and piled on 305 runs across four T20Is at an average fo 43.57.