Breaking: Delhi Capitals' Axar Patel tests Covid positive ahead of IPL 2021

Hardik Pandya hasn't lost his sheen as an all-rounder despite string of injuries: Shane Bond

One of the finest all-rounders of the modern generation, Hardik Pandya since making his comeback following a serious back injury has settled into the team quite nicely. While the return has been fruitful for Pandya and his team, but his all-round exploits haven’t been quite the same. All through the Australia series and the England series, Hardik didn’t bowl much and played primarily as a batsman. In the ODI series in Australia, Hardik did bowl a few overs but given the seriousness of his injury, he wasn’t rushed. Hardik bowled in all the 5 T20I matches but was taken off the workload in the first two ODIs. Captain Virat Kohli stated after the first ODI that the think tank needs to manage Hardik’s workload as they want him to be fit as an all-rounder during the ICC World Test Championship final in England. Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond feels that despite a string of injuries, Hardik Pandya hasn’t lost sheen as an all-rounder and will be a vital cog for the 5-time champions in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. “Our aim was to get him back in the process of returning as an all-rounder for India and he is coming to this IPL having done so against England,” Bond was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Hardik has been a sensation with the bat and Bond feels that his exploits with the bat have made him enjoy his bowling more. “When he was picked for India, he was seen as a genuine all-rounder. He can still do both equally well, but it’s his batting that has taken the pressure off his bowling. He knows he is one of the best white-ball batsmen in the world and that has made him more comfortable with his bowling.” “There was a point when I felt he was diving into the crease a little bit too much. He was also mindful of that and got the alignment a little straight and it worked.” Despite being one of the most prominent all-rounders in the Mumbai Indians set-up, Shane Bond feels that his workload needs to be managed well. “I understand that he is a brilliant fourth-pacer option batting at No. 7 in Tests, but I would think he is better off bowling 10 overs a day even when he is playing red-ball cricket, instead of 15-16. Ben Stokes, too, is doing the same,” Bond further added.

WI vs SL | 2nd Test: Karunaratne, Thirimanne keep Windies at bay; Test series ends without a result

Sri Lankan openers showed grit and determination to stop West Indies from claiming 10 wickets on the last day and seal the series. The pair of experienced batsmen Lahiru Thirimanne and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne set out a plan and churned out an invaluable partnership to lower the morale of Kraigg Brathwaite’s men who felt that they were on top at the end of day four. The opening wicket added 101 runs and delayed any prospect of a breakthrough by the 39th over. Even when Thirimanne was caught brilliantly at the slips by Rakheem Cornwall off Alzarri Joseph, the Sri Lankans didn’t let the pressure build as the new man in Oshada Fernando kept rotating the strikes after blocking balls en masse. By the time the skipper was dismissed by Kyle Mayers, Sri Lanka had consolidated their position, scoring just 146 in the chase of 377, but essentially blocking out almost 56 overs off the 80 that they were supposed to play (minus the extra hour of play). The pitch too played its part in confirmation of the draw as it did not break and remained a good slow batting track. Coupled with the inclement weather and injury to Shanon Gabriel, the Windies were unable to push on with the attack and Dinesh Chandimal and Oshada remained unbeaten at 10 and 66 respectively to see the islanders to a comfortable draw. Earlier Windies were late at declaring their second innings at 280-4 and with rain disturbing the match throughout, the Sri Lankans, even after getting out for 258 in the first innings in response to Windies’ 354, were able to save the game and draw the series. Brathwaite, who scored a century in the first innings and 85 in the second was adjudged Man of the Match. Suranga Lakmal, who is on a path to rediscover himself with fierce fast bowling was adjudged Man of the Series for taking 11 crucial wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

IPL 2021: Eight groundstaff members test positive for COVID-19 at the Wankhede Stadium

Eight ground staff members at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has tested positive for COVID-19 following the tests conducted ahead of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. As per the original schedule of the cash-rich league, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host 10 league games in the tournament from 10th to 25th April. As per reports in the Sportstar, it is learnt that all the 19 ground staff members at the Wankhede Stadium had to undergo RT-PCR tests over the course of the last week. Three of them were already tested positive when the tests were conducted on 26th March. In the new test conducted on 1st April, five of them returned positive again. With the IPL slated to begin barely in a week’s time, this development might push the tournament in jeopardy. The opening encounter of the 14th season of the IPL will be played between the five-time champions Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore on 9th April. Further reports suggest that the Mumbai Cricket Association may consider bringing in groundstaff from two of their other facilities- the Sharad Pawar Academy at the Bandra-Kurla Complex and Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana at the Kandivali to cover for the ground staff who has contracted COVID.

I consider it my World Cup: Winning WTC is the ultimate goal for ageing Umesh Yadav

India’s fast bowler, Umesh Yadav believes that for players who play very limited to no white-ball cricket, representing the country at the World Test Championship and winning it is the ultimate goal. At 33, Yadav hopes to make it to the playing XI in England and then perform his best to have a lasting memory of the showpiece Test event. "We have worked really hard to get there,” Yadav told ESPNCricinfo about the WTC finale in England. “With players like me who are not regulars in white-ball cricket, it is this that we consider our World Cup. If I am able to perform well in that match and we end up winning, being world champions will forever be a memory," he said. Considering that England is a place where India would like to play with four-seamers, Yadav sees himself being a part of the bowling lineup. "The match is in England, where swing and seam are important, so I definitely see myself in the playing XI for that game," said the Nagpur born. The WTC final is scheduled to take place between India and New Zealand from 18-22 June at Southampton in England. Talking about his future in cricket, Yadav said that he hardly has two to three years to push himself and if he could do that, it would ultimately be beneficial to the team. "I am 33 now and I know that I can mostly pull my body for another two or three years, and there will be some youngsters who will be arriving (to play). I feel this is just healthy because it ultimately ends up benefiting the team,” he said. The Vidarbha bowler who has so far taken 263 wickets in 130 appearances for India feels lucky that he hasn’t faced the brunt of injury as much as some of his peers have had to. “Relatively I haven't had that many injuries. And that is satisfying as a fast bowler, because once a fast bowler starts getting injured (regularly), he tends to start struggling, which ultimately reduces his (playing) life,” said Yadav, who will be playing for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming edition of the IPL.