Didn’t receive any request from BCCI on tweaking Test series: ECB

India doubled matches to help recover our financial losses: New SLC President

Newly elected Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva revealed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) managed to increase the number of games in Sri Lanka from three to six as per SLC’s request. Talking to the reporters after assuming office in Colombo, Silva said that the board has been hit majorly by pandemic as now crowds are allowed in the stadium and many teams cancelling tours meant little broadcast revenue as well. "India agreed to double the number of matches in their upcoming tour and this means we will get more revenue from television rights," said the 60-year-old veteran administrator. The Indian team’s tour would begin with the first of three ODIs on July 13 and end with the third and final T20I of the three-match series on July 27. The SLC chief further went on to say that it would request all visiting teams to increase the number of games on their tour to Sri Lanka. While the island nation will host South Africa in August, Scotland would tour the nation in September. After the T20 World Cup, the Lankans would play host to fellow SAARC member Afghanistan for their first-ever bilateral tour to the country in November. Currently, the Kusla Perera lead ODI team of Sri Lanka is in Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series which would begin May 23 with the first ODI, a day-night affair at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

Back stress fracture curtails Billy Stanlake's stint with Derbyshire in County Championship

A back stress fracture has ended Australian pacer Billy Stanlake stint in the ongoing edition of the County championship with Derbyshire. He will now return to his home state Queensland in Australia to undergo rehabilitation. The injury to Stanlake would be particularly disappointing for Derbyshire as the tall pacer could feature in only one game for the side this season. He bowled 17 overs in Derbyshire’s Championship fixture against Essex and accounted for their openers, Nick Browne and Alastair Cook in the first innings although the side lost the game by an innings and 15 runs. Derbyshire county said that the search for his replacement has already been started. "We're hugely disappointed that we won't get to see more of Billy this year. He's been a model professional during his time with us and we wish him all the best in his recovery. Our search for a replacement has already begun and we are hopeful of bringing in another bowler in the not-too-distant future who can contribute in all formats this summer,” Derbyshire's head of cricket, Dave Houghton, said. Stanlake, 26, has been rated very highly for his raw pace and the ability to extract bounce off the surface. However, progress has been stalled by repetitive injuries in the near past and the latest stress fracture will only complicate the matter for the Queensland man.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's father passes away due to liver ailments

India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s father Kiran Pal Singh passed away on Thursday at his Meerut residence. The right-arm bowler’s father was suffering from liver cancer. Kiran Pal Singh was detected in September 2020. He had undergone treatment, including chemotherapy, at the All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi. He was a retired sub-inspector in the Uttar Pradesh Police department and is survived by his wife, Indresh Devi, and children - Bhuvneshwar and Rekha. Bhuvneshwar was omitted from India’s Test squad for England tour where the team will face New Zealand in the WTC final in Southampton next month. The WTC title clash will be followed by a five-match series against England. The right-arm bowler was out of the Indian team due to injury concerns after he last represented the country in the longer format in January 2018 against South Africa. The 31-year-old had a decent run during the England series at home. Earlier, in the day India represent Abhinav Mukund’s grandfather succumbed to Covid-19. Mukund took to social media and tweeted, “With great sadness, I would like to inform you all that I have lost my grandfather, Mr TK Subbarao, to CoVid19. He was 95. A man known for his discipline and his exemplary routines,was otherwise hale and healthy till the virus took him away. Om Shanti!”. Abhinav made his Test debut for India in 2011 and was capped 7 times scoring 320 runs during the course. He has played 145 First-Class matches and has notched up over 10000 runs for Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lanka cricket offers innovative retainer contracts; Dickewella and de Silva get top grades

In a recent move by Sri Lanka Cricket, the board has announced retainer contracts to 24 Men’s players, which is eight less than the previous year’s 32. While wicket-keeper batsman and all format player Nirisan Dickwella along with all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva got the top A1 grade and would be paid remuneration worth USD 100,000 for the 2021-22 season, Veteran batsman Dinesh Chandimal was pushed to C2, the fifth-lowest grading on a 12 point grading system. Tom Moody, the Director of Cricket Sri Lanka and Arvinda de Silva, Cricket Technical Committee chief explained the grading system which was an accumulation of 100 points earned by a player through parameters such as Performance (out of 50), Fitness (out of 20), Leadership (out of 10), Professionalism (out of 10) and Future Potential and Adaptability (out of 10). While the Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne is in A3 grade and the ODI skipper Kusal Perera is in A2, the surprising part is the grade of B1 given to T20I skipper Dasun Shanaka. To finalise this year’s contract, previous year’s and 2019-20 season’s performances were considered for grading. All players will have to sign their contracts by June 3. Apart from the national contracts, there is also a provision for a Domestic annually renewable Development Contract which will be available to six players aged under 25 and will be renewed for three years after which those players would not get that contract any further. There is also a provision for Incremental Contract for players who do not have either national or domestic development contracts. To gain this, a player must gain 10 points on a system that would give three points for a Test appearance and one point each for T20I and ODI appearance. Players like Praveen Jayawickrama, who recently made a sensational debut in Test cricket picking a five-for in his very first innings against Bangladesh could benefit from the Incremental contract as he has not been placed in any grade of the central contract for this year. The Sri Lankan ODI team is currently in Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series against the hosts beginning May 23. Contract Grade Breakdown A1 (USD 100,000): Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella A2 (USD 80,000): Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews A3 (USD 70,000): Kusal Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne B1 (USD 65,000): Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka B2 (USD 60,000): Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya B3 (USD 55,000): Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne C1 (USD 50,000): Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha C2 (USD 45,000): Dinesh Chandimal, Lakshan Sandakan C3 (USD 40,000): Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana D1 (USD 35,000): Ramesh Mendis, Oshada Fernando D2 (USD 30,000): Danushka Gunathilaka, Lahiru Kumara D3 (USD 25,000): Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya