Cyclone Gulab delays start of Indian domestic season in most part of the country

Sydney Sixers pick up Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav for WBBL 2021

India’s star opener in the white-ball format Shafali Verma has joined the Women’s Big Bash League and is set to play for the Sydney Sixers in the 2021 edition, the seventh season of the tournament. Along with Verma, the Sixers have picked up India left-arm orthodox Radha Yadav as their main left arm off-spinner for the season. Verma and Yadav will join the likes of Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy Ash Gardner and Stella Campbell and will hope to transformer the two-time champion into the first three-time league winners in the women’s competition. Shafali Verma’s stocks in world cricket has risen rapidly after she debuted as with the Indian women’s team back in 2019. She was just 17 then. Verma will be key in forming the top order along with Perry and Healy alongside her. Radha Yadav on the other hand might not be an assured starter like Verma but would bring in a different skillset for the Sixers, but her recent form might be a worry for the Perry-led side. In the six WT20I matches she has played in 2021, she has picked just three wickets and has not been exceptional economical in any of those games. However, the 2018 WT20 WC star certainly has the potential and a lot of time to better her game. The Women’s BBL competition starts on 14 October with Sydney Sixers taking on Melbourne Stars.

BCCI, Emirates Cricket Board eager to host World T20 final in front of capacity crowd

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has sought permission from the UAE government to host a capacity crowd on the night of the T20 World Cup final scheduled to be played at the Dubai Internation Stadium on November 14, ANI reported. The BCCI is the hosting board of the global event although it has been shifted away from India due to Covid-19 related issues in the country. "The BCCI and the ECB is keen to have a capacity crowd for the final. It would be an electric atmosphere if permission for the same if granted keeping all protocols in mind. The boards have sought permission from the authorities, keeping fingers crossed," ANI quoted an unknown source as saying. The idea of hosting crowds at the stadium must have come on the back of the BCCI hosting crowds at the three venues during the second phase of the Indian Premier League. India were the host of the last T20 World Cup played in 2016 as well which was won by the Daren Sammy-led West Indies. India will begin their world cup campaign against the arch-rivals Pakistan on October 17. The first semi-final of the tournament will be played on November 10 in Abu Dhabi while the second semi-final and the big final will be played in Dubai on November 14.

IPL 2021 | KKR vs DC: Refreshed Knight Riders search turnaround, in-form Delhi seek consolidation

The second phase of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League is up and running and so are the contenders for the top four spots on the points table. The Delhi Capitals and the Chennai Super Kings have maintained their form and momentum from the first phase while others such as the Kolkata Knight Riders have used the break well to finetune their tactics in the run for the playoff stage. The Kolkata Knight Riders have finally started playing the brand of cricket their skipper, Eoin Morgan and coach Brendan McCullum are known for, and no wonder the aggressive approach has brought them back in the reckoning for a spot in the final four. They have started to look like a fearless batting group with the likes of Shubman Gill taking the game to the opposition while the emergence of young Venkatesh Iyer has provided a lease of life to the Knight Riders top order. Their bowling attack perfectly mixed up of experienced campaigners and new blokes on the bloc are not leaving any stone unturned to stop the opposition batsmen. On the other hand, the Capitals have been an indomitable force like all the past few seasons. They have bettered the opposition side in all aspects of the game with significant ease. If the batsmen have clicked, they have made a light work of the opposition bowling attack while the ever so reliant bowling attack led by the express duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje leaves nothing to chance. Wiliness of Ravichandran Ashwin and the immaculate control of Axar Patel gives them immense depth in the bowling attack. The Knight Riders were resurgent at the second phase of the tournament but they have been unlucky in terms of schedule by having two consecutive games against the most functional teams of the competitions. They fought hard against the all-around brilliant Super Kings side and came second only on the final ball which should give them and their fans a lot of confidence going into the next match against another behemoth of the tournament in Delhi Capitals. They have a lot of worries to sort as well with two of their biggest match-winners with the bat under some doubt. Andre Russell injured his hamstring against the Super Kings and might miss the big game while the Knight Riders will also be concerned about the harrowing run of form of their captain Morgan. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals: Match Details Match no.: 41 Date and time: September 28, 15:30 IST (10:00 GMT), 14:00 LOCAL Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium Pitch and weather The scene of batsmen clearing their front foot and hitting the bowlers outside off the ground that was so prevalent last season has become part of a distant memory in the few matches of this season. Instead, the batsmen have struggled to get off the square at Sharjah and the trend is likely to continue in the upcoming game as well. In all the matches that have been played so far in the season, teams have tried their best to maximised the fielding restriction and hard, new ball which has also opened up wicket-taking opportunities for bowlers. The Capitals have a well-rounded bowling attack with the likes of Avesh Khan exploiting the new ball and the Rabada-Nortje duo exploiting the eagerness of batsmen to hit big shots against the new ball. The pitches have gripped and Rishabh Pant would bank on his spinners, especially, Ashwin to spin a web around the Knight Riders batsmen. Team News Kolkata Knight Riders The injury to Russell will come as a huge setback for the Knight Riders but it can also open a door of opportunity for Shakib Al Hassan and the Bangladesh all-rounder could not ask for any better conditions than the one at Sharjah to leave a lasting impression on the KKR management. The men in purple and gold would also be worried over the lack of form and batting rhythm of Eoin Morga, who has not managed too many runs in this edition. Prasidh Krishna was very poor both in execution and Morgan could think of bringing either Sandeep Warrier or Shivam Mavi back in the playing XI. Probable XI Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sandeep Warrier Delhi Capitals Of the two teams, the Capitals have a lot less to worry about going into the game against the Knight Riders, but the lack of firepower in the lower middle order will be a cause of concern. They missed the flamboyance of Marcus Stoinis in the last game against the Rajasthan Royals and the issue was compounded with even Rishabh Pant finding it tough to time the ball. Shimron Hetmyer batted at number six position and the Capitals were on course for a big total till he was at the crease and after his departure, Lalit Yadav failed to provide perfect tempo to the batting. They need Axar Patel, the batsman to stand up in the absence of Stoinis to lif the team’s total and chances of winning in the last few overs. Avesh Khan has been good with both new and old ball in the tournament but the Capitals could consider bringing Amit Mishra as a horse for course with an eye on the pitch at Sharjah. Probable XI Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan KKR vs DC: Fantasy XI Rishabh Pant, Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Sunil Narine, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna Captain: Kagiso Rabada Vice-captain: Varun Chakravarthy

Kuldeep Yadav returns home after injuring knee, set to miss remainder of IPL 2021

India and Kolkata Knight Riders’ spinner Kuldeep Yadav has sustained a “serious” knee injury and will miss the remainder of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League after having returned to India, as per a PTI report. He is all but likely to miss a significant part of the Indian domestic cricket season starting in a few months time. "Yes, we got the information that Kuldeep sustained a nasty knee injury during a practice session in UAE. Apparently while fielding, he twisted his knee and it was really bad at that point. There was no chance that he could have taken any further part and was sent back to India," PTI quoted an unnamed BCCI official as saying. The left-arm wrist-spinner was not finding place in the Knight Riders playing XI after having gone out of favour from the Indian team for all formats. He last played for India in the home Test series against England where he was deemed good enough to play only one out of the four-match long series. Kuldeep rose to prominence due to his wrist spin after India decided to move away from the finger spinner duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja after a big loss to Pakistan in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. However, he could not sustain form for a long time and lost his way after the ICC ODI World Cup in 2019 and the injury to Hardik Pandya that disturbed the balance of the team nailed a final blow to him and his bowling partner Yuzvendra Chahal. From playing together as spin twins, only one of them could be fitted in the playing XI as India had to go back to Ravindra Jadeja to bring the balance back to the team with Hardik, not bowling.