England talent in IPL 2021: Moeen Ali makes debut for CSK, Tom Curran, Woakes earn DC caps

ECB's lack of commitment postpones Ireland - Pakistan T20 series scheduled for June 2021

A two-match long T20I series between Pakistan and Ireland that was scheduled to be played in England in June this year has been postponed once again. The series was initially agreed upon for the last year but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Cricket Ireland had held discussions with ECB to host Pakistan for the T20 series as one of their home ground at Clontarf was not ready for a game after the square was relaid. However, the ECB pulled its hand away from the commitment citing a busy schedule in June with the World Test Championship and a Test series against New Zealand being scheduled to be played in the same month. "We had agreements drawn up with two grounds but the ECB came back to us and said that they had so many international teams coming into the country already and that the logistics around bubbles and Covid protocols are such a significant operation that having another two countries in at that time was just too much,” Cricket Ireland's performance director, Richard Holdsworth, said ESPNcricinfo. Holdsworth expressed regret at missing out on a valuable opportunity to play against a top side in the year of the World T20. But, he has not given up on his plan to host Pakistan and they are still on the lookout for the options. He also expressed optimism that the other planned series against South Africa and Zimbabwe scheduled for August later this year will go as per the plans.

SA vs PAK | Mohammad Hafeez set to play 100 T20 internationals but ICC goofs up on history

Mohammad Hafeez is set to be only the second cricketer from Pakistan to play 100 T20I matches when South Africa will go head-on against the visitors in a four-match series starting April 10. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has stated that Hafeez will be the first Pakistani player to be playing his 100th T20Is (the tweet has been removed). Instead, he will join his countryman Shoaib Malik, on the list that also has Rohit Sharma, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan and Ross Taylor as players who have featured in 100 or more T20 international matches. Hafeez has been around for quite some time, and although his success in the longer format of the game dwindled leading to him hanging up his boots, his bat has silenced his critics every now and then in the shortest format. He has been in imperious touch with the bat in T20s on the tour of England last year and followed it up with another brilliant overseas tour of New Zealand. He played a splendid knock of 99 not out against the Kiwis in the second T20I of the series albeit Pakistan could not defend the score. Earlier in 2020, he had plundered English bowlers to all parts of the grounds to hit 36-ball-69 and 52-ball-86 in the two matches of the three-match series. Ahead of his 100th T20I against South Africa, Hafeez is aiming for a match-winning innings while if it turns out to be a century, it will be a ‘cherry on top.’ “A knock to help my side win the match would be amazing, there can’t be any better feeling than guiding your country to win and that too in an away game. A century on that occasion will be a cherry on top,” said Hafeez said in a virtual interaction with reporters from South Africa. Hafeez will be eager to maintain his top-notch form with the bat in the series against South Africa as there are two T20 World Cups lined up to be played in the next two years.

Personal milestones galore for MS Dhoni before CSK's opening game against Delhi Capitals

MS Dhoni is a bonafide legend in the history of the game, let alone the Indian Premier League. Now, as he is all set to feature in the 14th edition of the league, there are many records that MS Dhoni has ruled in his long career in the IPL. Dhoni has played as many as 204 IPL matches, the highest among all players to have played in the league. In his career, he has hit 209 sixes, which is the highest number of sixes hit by an Indian batsman and the third-highest overall in the IPL history. Out of those sixes, 23 sixes were hit for the Rising Pune Supergiants, and if he goes on to hit another 14 sixes this season, his account for the CSK will touch the 200 sixes-mark. Further, Dhoni, who has been known to be a superstar finisher in his career has 141 sixes against his name in the over between 17 to 20, which is the highest among any batsmen in the IPL. Also, on the overall runs scored, Dhoni is just 179 runs away from the iconic 7000 run-mark in the IPL. On the wicketkeeping front, Dhoni is just 2 dismissals away from affecting 150 dismissals— which will be the highest by any wicketkeeper in the history of the league. The Chennai Super Kings will start their campaign in the IPL 2021 against the Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on Saturday. The men in yellow will need Dhoni to come out all guns blazing after suffering a crumbling exit from the tournament last year.

IPL 2021: All officials entering Wankhede must produce COVID negative results

The second wave of COVID-19 has put extensive pressure on the organisers on how to cope with the situation and conduct the 14th edition of IPL without any fuss. After 10 ground staff and six event managers tested positive for the infection, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has come up with extensive rules and regulations in order to enter the Wankhede Stadium. MCA has asked its Apex Council Members to produce a COVID-19 negative certificate in order to eligible for entry in the Wankhede Stadium. The stadium is scheduled to hold 10 matches in the competition with the first match to be played between Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals later today, 10 April. "Dear Apex Council members. As per BCCI's protocol, all the officials who would be attending the IPL 2021 matches at Wankhede Stadium are required to produce a Negative report of RT-PCR test conducted within 48 hours of the matchday," MCA secretary Sanjay Naik, wrote in a note to all the members. The note further stated that the tests were mandatory even for the members who had already been vaccinated.