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Fans Want Me To Play In Psl 2021 Rashid Khan

Fans want me to play in PSL 2021: Rashid Khan

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has decided to opt for PSL and put his contract with County side Sussex on hold. The right-arm bowler has stated that he has opted to be a part of the PSL for his fans.

"Unfortunately, I only played two games in PSL 6 and had to go away for national duty. Now I had the option to stay back in England and here I must appreciate Sussex for their help and understanding as I had to decide between missing five games with the county or playing a whole tournament like PSL which seemed like a better option, especially as the fans wanted me to play in the PSL," said Rashid.

The right-arm bowler further added that the PSL is a good opportunity for the Afghanistan players to compete with some of the best cricketers in the world and improve themselves.

"All the players who have come from Afghanistan and are playing the PSL, this is a great opportunity for them to come and play alongside top players and to improve their own cricket,” he said.

Talking about the pressure, the spinner was of the opinion that he is more focused on the process of getting better. ‘‘I don’t put too much pressure on myself by thinking about the expectations,” he said.

‘‘I want to concentrate on the process. If the process is right, the results will come automatically,’’ Rashid added.

The PSL 2021 which was suspended in March due to Covid-19 cases within the franchise teams will now resume in Abu Dhabi on June 9.

Earlier, the tournament had to resume in Karachi from June 1 with all the matches slated to take place at the same venue including the final but the franchises requested the PCB to move it out of Pakistan due to the Covid-19 condition in the country.

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Quality fast bowlers are its gem: Faf du Plessis compares PSL and IPL

South Africa international Faf du Plessis, who has plied his trade in both Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League fees that in terms of talent, PSL has a great quality of fast bowlers while IPL offers greater variety in spin bowling. “The standard of PSL is really good and the thing that has impressed me the most about this tournament is the fast bowlers,” du Plessis said in an interview with Cricket Pakistan. “Coming from South Africa where you face a lot once, I was surprised to see the number of guys that could tick 140 plus in PSL,” he added. Talking about the IPL’s speciality, the 36-year-old Chennai Super Kings player said, “While India has a huge variety of spin to offer, the real gem of the PSL is its pace bowlers.” The former South Africa captain has travelled a lot for the franchise leagues and is now in UAE to play the PSL. In this Covid ridden world, du Plessis feels that more time is being spent quarantining than in nets. Du Plessis, who has so far played 246 T20s and scored more than 6000 runs, further explained what led to the bubble breach in IPL this year, which led to its suspension. “Travelling part of the IPL was where Covid-19 entered the bubble,” he said.

Tim Southee picks up five-wicket haul, goes up on the Lord's Honours Boards for second time

Pacer Tim Southee bowled exceedingly well on the fourth day and picked a five-wicket haul to put New Zealand in a commanding position in the first Test against England at Lord’s. He went on to the Lord’s Honours Boards once again after his maiden appearance in 2013. It was his 12th five-wicket haul in the longest format. He picked the wicket of Zak Crawley on the second day of the Test and followed it up with the three big wickets of Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence and James Bracey in one spell to put England under real pressure. Till the fall of Ollie Robinson, Southee’s bowling figure read 22-8-37-5 and his control over swing and line and length broke the back of England’s batting on the fourth day. Starting the fourth day, England were rocked early by Kyle Jamieson who eliminated Joe Root on the very first ball of the day and Southee took it on from there to put New Zealand on the ascendency with a good chance of taking the first-innings lead. For England, Rory Burns has been the lone man standing at one end while his teammates have fallen to some intelligent bowling from the Kiwis and their poor application at the crease with the bat in hand.

"He does pack a powerful punch": Faf du Plessis credits Quetta compatriot, Pakistan select Azam Khan

Quetta Gladiators middle-order batsman Azam Khan recently received his maiden Pakistan call up when he was named into the T20I squads for the England and West indies tour of the men in green. His compatriot and one of the senior pros, South Africa’s Faf du Plessis believes that the youngster is one of the powerful hitters going around in the Pakistan Super League. “Yeah, he is a good hitter. I haven’t seen much of him be honest, but he got a fifty in near the end of the Karachi leg, and he does packs punch with a lot of physical power,” du Plessis said about the 22-year-old from Sindh. “He can tonk the ball long and it is interesting to see what he does in this last leg of the tournament,” added du Plessis who expects a refreshed and happy Azam to deliver for his side. Talking about realistic chances of three-time finalists and 2019 PSL winner, the Gladiators making to the Playoffs this season, du Plessis said, “In the last leg, we never really played that well with bat and ball together in one game. Now there are new players in all of the franchises due to various circumstance and it means almost a new competition in UAE. So we can try and play together and better.” The Gladiators, currently sitting at the bottom of the points table with just one win in five games, would play Islamabad United in their first game of the Abu Dhabi leg on June 11 at the Shiekh Zayed Stadium.

Sri Lanka players refuse to sign contracts, put tour of England in doubt

The Sri Lankan’s team tour to England is under some dark clouds after the players who are expected to be picked in the squad have refused to sign the tour contracts that have been offered by the Sri Lanka Cricket. A statement from the players suggested that the cricketers are not signing the contracts because of the problems with the transparency of the ratings system devised by SLC. "Because of the problems with the transparency of the ratings system devised by SLC, the players will not sign the [tour contract]," the release signed by 38 top players said. "In addition, the players have decided they will not sign the contracts until players who have performed well in past years are looked after fairly," the statement added. Further there is also a legal objection to the contracts as per their lawyer Nishan Premathiratne to ESPNcricinfo. "The tour contract also refers to matters of the annual [main] contract for 2021, which is yet unsigned," he said. "In the event, the annual contract is not settled and a dispute is pending, the validity of the tour contract referring to an unsigned contract is also an issue." List of players who are not ready to sign the tour contract: Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Danushka Gunathilaka, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya, Chamika Karunaratne, Asitha Fernando, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Avishka Fernando, Ishan Jayaratne, Charith Asalanka, Dananjaya Lakshan, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamil Mishara, Praveen Jayawickrama, Roshen Silva, Minod Bhanuka