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England won't rush back IPL returnees to Test squad, will consider 'new faces' against New Zealand

England all-format players who have returned to the UK following the suspension of the IPL will not be rushed back to the Test squad for the series against New Zealand, ECB’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles has confirmed. He said that it will be up to players’ individual choice on whether they want to play in the series or take some time off with a lot of matches line up going forward this year.

"All these guys are currently in quarantine and have had a number of spells in quarantine and bubbles in this last period. Some of it's their choice, I get that. We need to look after them, with the amount of cricket they've got coming up. We're not going to rush or force them back into cricket,” Gile said.

Instead, he said, England will blood in some new faces from county cricket in order to strengthen their bench strength in the season that will also have an Ashes series at the end of the year.

"What we do know and what's not going to change is that given the weight of cricket, given the Ashes series, and we don't know what conditions that's going to be played in with regard to a Covid environment, we are going to need a bigger group of players. We may also choose against New Zealand to look at some new faces,” Giles added.

It would open a window of opportunity for players such as Ollie Robinson and James Bracey, who have an excellent track record in the county circuit to deserve a place in the squad to face New Zealand. Robinson, 27, has played 62 first-class matches and scalped 275 wickets at a phenomenal average of 21.05 runs per wicket and strike rate of 42 balls per wicket. On the other hand, Bracey has amassed 2574 runs from 44 games at an average of 37 runs per innings six centuries and 12 fifties.

England played both Jos Buttler and Ben Foakes at different times during the tour of India and with the former under quarantine and Gile’s insisting on not rushing them back, it could well be the first opportunity for Foakes to play a Test match in England.

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IPL 2021 faces another setback, England stars to miss second half due to busy schedule

England men's director of cricket, Ashley Giles has confirmed that England stars in the IPL such as Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran are likely to unavailable for the second half of the IPL if at all it is played at sometime later this year. Reportedly, the BCCI is exploring a window in September-October this year to complete the 14th edition of the league that was postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak in biosecure bubbles of various teams. England are scheduled to tour Pakistan and Bangladesh in September-October and Gilles said that he expects to send a full-strength squad on those tours. "We're planning on the involvement of England players in England matches. We've got a full FTP schedule. So if those tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh are going ahead, I'd expect the players to be there,” Gilles said. Gilles also cited uncertainty around the second half of the IPL and lamented a highly busy schedule starting the series against New Zealand that will also include the T20 World Cup and the Ashes at the end of the year behind England players’ unavailability in the IPL. "None of us knows what a rearranged IPL looks like at the moment; where it's going to be or when. But from when we start this summer against New Zealand, our programme is incredibly busy. We've got a lot of important, high-profile cricket including the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. And we're going to have to look after our players." ECB management including Gilles himself attracted severe criticism for allowing players such as Buttler, Stokes and others to play the full season of the IPL at the cost of missing New Zealand Tests. However, Gilles said that the series against players were given NOCs for participation in the full season of the IPL way before the series against the Blackcaps was finalised by the ECB. "The New Zealand scenario was very different. Those Test matches were formalised at the end of January, by which time all those contracts and NOCs were signed for full involvement in the IPL,” Gilles added. England will host a full-strength New Zealand side for two-match Test series starting June 02 at the Lord’s.

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BCCI issues ultimatum to players in squad for UK tour : "Tour over if found positive in Mumbai"

After cases of Covid-19 burst the biosecure bubble leading to suspension of the Indian Premier League, the BCCI is double cautious to avert a similar situation again. Hence, players and support staffs who have to embark on the tour of England for the World Test Championship final and Test series have been strictly told by the board that their journey will be cut short even before the start if they test positive in Mumbai, The Indian Express reported. The BCCI has given the option of car or air travel to reach Mumbai but there is no option in terms of carrying RT-PCR test results as they have been asked to carry two negative results before they can enter the biosecure bubble. “The players have been informed to consider their tour over if they are found positive on their arrival in Mumbai as BCCI will not arrange another charter flight for any cricketer,” a source in the Indian board informed. The board has made it absolutely clear that the service of chartered flight for an individual or a group of players is not available and hence players testing positive for the novel coronavirus will have to be left behind in India only, the report added. “The players, support staff and families will be tested and two negative reports are required before they leave for Mumbai. It will be done in order to ensure that they are coming into the bubble without any infection. The players have also been given the option to travel by air or car to reach Mumbai,” The Indian Express quoted an unnamed BCCI source in its report. Notably, the selection committee has selected a 20-man strong squad for the WTC final and the five-match long Test series against the host England. Team India is set to embark on the tour of the UK on June 2 while the WTC final is scheduled to commence on June 18.

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Can Shikhar Dhawan's IPL prowess find him a place in the T20 World Cup squad?

x“It was a conscious effort from my side and I started taking more risks. I’m not afraid of changes,” this is what Shikhar Dhawan had to say when he was asked about his change of approach in the T20 format after an IPL game this year. “I’m always open towards changes and I make sure I give it a good try in the nets and then in the games. I’m not scared of getting out. I’ve worked on the leg-side shots, coming in the crease, using the pace of the bowler,” he had added. Dhawan mused in a post-match interview after carrying his bat against Punjab on Sunday, 2 May. Despite playing second fiddle to a bludgeoning Prithvi Shaw, who was seeing it like a beachball, Dhawan capped his innings off with a brilliant 69 off 47 balls, striking at 146.81. Dhawan had been doing the same for some time now, an year to be precise, where the Indian Premier League had been the star of the show in the covid stricken world. In the last edition of the tournament, the Delhi-born Southpaw had notched up a total of 618 runs in 17 matches, once again at a strike rate of mid 140s. The unwritten rule in the world of T20 cricket is that a combined total of 170 (average + strike-rate) is a mark of a great batsman. If we were to go by that metric and that metric alone, Dhawan, in last seasons has excelled with flying colours. In the current suspended IPL season, Dhawan records an average of 54.28 and an SR of 134.27, while in the UAE version of the IPL he scored at an average of 44.14 with a SR of 144.73. You obviously can do the math. This comes in sharp contrast to what he had been doing before in the shortest format of the game. With the rising demand in intent inside the powerplay and more scrutiny of the boundary counts, a battle-hardened Dhawan decided to shake up his game. This clearly proves a point about Dhawan that even at the fag end of his illustrious international career, he is ready to mould his game for the sake of his team. Not thinking about his own strengths and weakness, Dhawan has tried to figure out what was actually halting him from scoring runs consistently in this format and at a brisk pace. Warming the benches is never an easy task for a player who has been a match-winner for India in the limited-overs format for nearly a decade now. However, Shikhar Dhawan’s below-par returns in the T20 format especially in national colours meant that he had to warm the benches in the T20I series against England. He wasn’t included in the XI for any of the five matches but his sublime touch in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League has presented him with a strong case for his inclusion in the World Cup squad for the event slated to be held later this year in India. The event was called off midway due to cases being reported with the franchise bio-bubbles. However, in just 7 matches, Dhawan presented a strong case for himself with some exceptional knocks. He made runs consistently, which not only made for good viewing, but he scored at a brisk rate and played the situations to perfection. He forged a great opening camaraderie with Prithvi Shaw and got the Delhi Capitals off to brisk starts quite consistently. He made match-winning contributions for his team and what works in favour of Dhawan is that this is not the first edition where he has scored a truckload of runs. His strike rate has made a major difference in the last two years, making him such an integral part of the Capitals set-up. The revelation of Dhawan in this format Dhawan tends to go under the radar and unlike star performers and big names like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Dhawan is not considered in the same league despite producing match-winning performances consistently. He has been a sensational white-ball format batsman ever since making his debut. Though his T20 record hasn’t been anywhere close to the class he possesses, he must consider that his relatively poor record in the shortest format has been largely due to his mode of batting before 2017. The changes in his batting especially for T20 cricket happened post the 2016 T20 World Cup so one shouldn’t look too much into his record especially when it comes to the mega event. Coming to his record in the Indian Premier League, Dhawan’s strike rate never crossed the 130 mark before the 2018 edition. However, he improved dramatically in the next three seasons scoring at a strike rate of over 134 in all seasons since 2018. Not only his strike rate has improved, but Dhawan also became the first-ever batsman in IPL history to smash two consecutive centuries and played a stellar role in DC’s astonishing rise in the tournament. Dhawan’s staggering run in ICC tournaments While it cannot be denied that Dhawan’s record in the T20 World Cup has been far from impressive, it cannot be denied either that he has been India’s most prolific run-scorers when it comes to ICC tournaments. It will be unjust on Dhawan to consider his potential in the shortest format given his record of 74 runs in 7 innings. When the T20 World Cup was played in 2016 for the last time, Dhawan 2.0 was yet to unleash his exploits on the field. The southpaw hadn’t rediscovered himself as a T20 batsman back then. However, in the last three years, he has been nothing short of exceptional even in national colours. In the year 2018, Dhawan finished as the leading run-getter for India scoring 689 runs at a healthy average of 40 and a strike rate of 147.22. This run tally remains the highest by any batsman in a calendar year. When it comes to ICC tournaments, Dhawan has been a notch above others. Right from the 2013 Champions Trophy to the 2015 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy, Dhawan has been quite phenomenal with the bat. Even in the 2019 World Cup, Dhawan scored a century against Australia before succumbing to injury and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament. While the Indian skipper Virat Kohli has clearly said that he will like to open with Rohit Sharma going forward, a Shikhar Dhawan comeback at the top of the order for the T20 World Cup cannot be ruled out either especially given his record in ICC trophies. Comparison with fellow openers While there can be no questions raised on the credentials of both Dhawan and KL Rahul, it has been Rohit Sharma’s prowess in the limited-overs format which hasn’t allowed either of them to cement their spots in the T20 format. After Rahul’s horrific run against England in the T20 series, Dhawan might get an opportunity in the World Cup squad and could well be the opening partner for Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul has been a prolific run-scorer for whichever teams he has played for. However, it has been his strike rate that has been an issue with his batting especially in the IPL. He bagged the Orange Cap last season but his modest strike rate didn’t really help his side in the long run as the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) didn’t manage to qualify for the playoffs. On the other hand, Dhawan at the top of the order has been stupendous for the Delhi Capitals since his reinvention. He has been instrumental in DC’s change of fortunes in the last three years and who knows he can be the go-to man for India if they harbour hopes of winning an ICC trophy after the 2013 Champions Trophy. What makes Dhawan a vital cog for a team he plays for? It’s not how he scores runs, it’s not the rate at which he scores or how much he scores? What makes him special is the willingness to improve on the deficiencies. Dhawan himself admitted that he worked on quite a few things in his game as with age one needs to mould their game and make sure that they are making winning contributions. India might look to go with a tested combination in a bid to win their first ICC title since 2013 and Dhawan could solve the woes for the Men in Blue. While there is no denying Rahul’s prowess at the top of the order, he might still make the XI albeit in a different role. He has adjusted himself in the role of a finisher in the 50 overs format so it remains a viable option for India to go with both. The icing on the cake Dhawan’s ability to manoeuvre the field and adjust his game to the situation has set him apart from the rest of the players. The southpaw as mentioned early has done considerable changes in his game which has resulted in consistent performances in this format. With India all set to send a second-string Indian side for the limited-overs against Sri Lanka in July, Dhawan will look to seize the opportunity and make the opening position his very own. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed that they will be sending a second-string team for the tour of Sri Lanka and it presents an opportunity for many players to make a strong case for themselves with Dhawan being the prominent one. There are realistic chances that in the absence of the stalwarts of the Indian team, Dhawan could be asked to lead the side which could well be a blessing in disguise for him. If he makes the opportunity count, it will be too hard for the selectors to leave him out of the T20 World Cup squad.