Fate of 2021 T20 World Cup to be decided by ICC on June 1

Jofra Archer to undergo elbow surgery inside two months from finger surgery

England pacer Jofra Archer is set to undergo surgery tomorrow on his right elbow that has troubled him over the last couple of years, Sky Sports reported. Earlier this week, the resurfacing of the same injury ruled Archer out of the upcoming Test series against New Zealand at home. Archer has been struggling with fitness for a very long time. He had to sit out of the two Tests on the tour of India due to the elbow injury and also a finger injury that was later revealed to be a freakish one that he picked at home. He played the five-match long T20 series against India but was ruled out of the ODI series and returned to England for surgery on his finger. After rehabilitation from the finger surgery, Archer returned to the action in the county championship for Sussex in the game against Kent. He started well with the bowl and picked up two wickets before the right elbow troubled him again. England have maintained that Archer is central to their plans for the near future such as the ICC World T20 and Ashes series and hence the timing of the surgery is important as it would allow him time to get back into grooves before those marquee events.

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.