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England Confirms Pakistan Tour In October But Only After Venue Is Changed

England confirms Pakistan tour in October, but only after venue is changed

The England men’s and women’s teams will tour Pakistan in October. The men’s teams will take on each other in a couple of T20Is while the women’s teams are slated to play two T20Is and three ODIs.

The fixtures will be held at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium. The T20I encounters will be double-headers which will take place on October 13 and 14 while the women’s ODI series will be played on October 17, 19 and 21 respectively. England's men's team will then take the flight to Dubai on October 15.

The England teams will arrive in Islamabad on October 9. The English senior team (men or women) will be touring Pakistan for the first time since 2005-06.

The matches were earlier scheduled to take place in Karachi on October 14 and 15 but had to be shifted due to "operational and logistical reasons".

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan expressed delight while confirming the tour. The tour looked in jeopardy after the World Cup schedule was announced as the dates were too close for England to risk travelling to two nations in a short span at such times when Covid is still more than prevalent.

"We are delighted to welcome both the England men's team for what will be their first tour to Pakistan since 2005 and the England women's team, who will be touring Pakistan for the first time. Both are additional tours with England men's side scheduled to return to Pakistan in the last quarter of 2022 for white-ball and ICC World Test Championship fixtures," Khan said.

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Was Krunal Pandya's Covid-19 testing delayed despite showing symptoms in SL?

India all-rounder Krunal Pandya had tested positive for Covid-19 in Sri Lanka while the team was touring the island nation for a three-match ODI series and as many T20Is. While Krunal and his close contacts were isolated and missed the last two fixtures of the T20I series that India eventually lost, questions are now being raised on BCCI’s medical officer in Sri Lanka for delaying the RT-PCR test. “Krunal had throat pain on July 26 and he followed the protocol informing the medical officer. It is strange that he should have been immediately isolated with a Rapid Antigen Test (self-test kit) done. But nothing of that sort happened,” a BCCI source privy to developments in Sri Lanka was quoted as saying by PTI. The source admitted that the rapid antigen test isn’t as conclusive but as per the protocols, it is the first step. “Although the Rapid Antigen Test is not conclusive, it’s the first part of the protocol. But I can confirm, Krunal despite throat pain attended a team meeting," added the source. Another concern being raised is on the timing and schedule of testing by the BCCI medical team during the Sri Lanka series. “In fact, another question that’s being raised is how come BCCI’s medical team in Sri Lanka agreed to test every fifth day whereas, in IPL, testing is done every third day,” asked the source. After Krunal, Krishnappa Gowtham and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had also tested positive. The three players have now returned home after recovering.

England wear special jersey to support 'Red for Ruth' day at Lord's

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It was the best I have seen KL Rahul bat: Rohit Sharma

India opener KL Rahul unleashed a brilliant knock on the first day of the second Test against England at Lord’s, notching up a century to get his name on the Honours board. Rahul remained unbeaten at 127 at the end of the day’s play. His opening partner Rohit Sharma lavished praise on the right-hand batter, saying that it was probably his best performance to date. “It was probably the best I have seen KL bat and he was in control from ball one till we finished the day today. Very much in control,” Rohit said after the day’s play on Thursday. “At no given point, it looked like he was confused or thinking too much. He was very clear with his plans and when you trust your plans, it definitely works,” India's limited-overs vice-captain added. Earlier in the day, after India lost the toss, Rohit and Rahul began the proceedings in a cautious manner and never really let the England bowlers take the upper hand during the course. The two batsmen put up 126 for the first wicket before Sharma was undone by James Anderson for 83. India then lost Cheteshwar Pujara in quick succession but Rahul held the other end and stitched a partnership of 117 runs for the third wicket with skipper Virat Kohli. India were 276/3 with Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane unbeaten at the crease on Day 1.

Plan was to bowl around fourth, fifth stump: Ollie Robinson on Kohli's dismissal

England fast bowler Ollie Robinson scalped the important wicket of Indian skipper Virat Kohli on the first day of the second Test between England and India at Lord’s on Thursday. Robinson revealed how he succeeded in executing the plans but also lauded the Indian batsmen for their efforts. Talking about the dismissal in a virtual press conference after the day’s play, Robinson said, "It was huge and gave us a bit of momentum for the morning. The plan to him was always fourth, fifth stump, back of a length... luckily the plan worked." "We toiled hard today against their batters and to be fair, they played well," added the young bowler. The right-handed batsman had a cautious start to his innings and scored 42 off 103 balls before he was sent back to the pavilion. The visitors had a brilliant day at the office though, putting up 276/3 on the first day of the second clash. India were put into bat by England captain Joe Root and openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma provided a steady start. The two batsmen put together 126 for the first wicket before Sharma departed for a well compiled 83 while Rahul went on to score a ton to get his name on the Honours Board at Home of Cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara came in at number three, but failed to leave a mark and was dismissed for 9 by James Anderson who eventually returned with figures of 2/52 in 20 overs.