Had to give up on IPL 2021 with World T20, Ashes lined up: Chris Woakes

Gary Kirsten not looking to make a comeback as India coach

Gary Kirsten has said that he is not looking to take up India’s head coach position. The Indian coaching staff is slated to get revamped after the World T20 2021 as the contracts of head coach Ravi Shastri and other coaches will end as soon as the tournament concludes. “Not at this stage. I'm involved in a business called CoachED (www.coachedcricket.com) which focuses on providing access to online coaching certification for coaches in academies, schools and associate countries,” Kirsten said during a conversation with Timesnownews.com. Kirsten has worked with Virat Kohli during stint as a coach of Team India as well as in RCB. Talking about the Indian captain, the former South Africa batsman lauded Kohli’s “fantastic job” as a skipper. “I have really only done one season with him as captain. He is doing a fantastic job for his country. Like any young captain, with more experience and understanding of what it takes, he has got better and better. The are many fantastic match-winners in the Indian team, currently,” he said. Kirsten was Team India’s coach when the side lifted the 50-over World Cup in 2011 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. This was the second instance after 1983 when India were crowned champions in a one-day World Cup tournament.

CPL 2021 | 2nd Semi-final Preview: Warriors, Patriots battle it out for a place in the final

Guyana Amazon Warriors will be up against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Wednesday in the second semi-final of the CPL 2021 in St Kitts. The Warriors ended the league stage at number two position after beating Jamaica Tallawahs in their last respective game. Patriots on the other side who had been in some form in the competition suffered a defeat in their last match against Trinbago Knight Riders and were pushed to number three spot in the points table. Though, both the sides that will be locking horns in the second semi-final match ended the league fixtures with the same number of wins and points but the Warriors had a better run-rate. Guyana are coming into this game on the back of a win against Jamaica after their bowlers rattled the Tallawahs batting line up and bundled them out for 128 while defending a target of 143. But the Warriors too struggled with the bat initially and it was Romario Shepherd who first chipped in with an unbeaten 72 off 31 and then scalped three wickets during the course to script a brilliant win for his side. The Guyana side needs to make some tweaks with their batting line up and the middle-order needs to be among some runs in the all important semi-final against SKNP. The Patriots on the other hand also struggled with their batting in the last match and were restricted to 147/7 in 20 overs. Later, the bowlers did try to restrict the opposition but TKR skipper Kieron Pollard took the game away from them after he notched up a 22-ball 51. Nevertheless, with the likes of Chris Gayle, Rutherford, Bravo in the line up, the Patriots do have some superb stroke players who can turn the game on its head on the give day. Rutherford had been in good touch for the team in the initial part of the tournament and the SKNP team management would want him to get back in the groove. Match Details Match: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, CPL 2021 2nd semi-final Date: September 14, Tuesday Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts Telecast: Star Sports Network Pitch Report The track might have something on offer for the bowlers, especially spinners in the initial part of the game. So, if you win the toss, elect to bowl first. Probable XI GAW: Brandon King, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Shoaib Malik, Nicholas Pooran (c), Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Anthony Bramble (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Naveen-ul-Haq, Imran Tahir SKNP: Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Joshua Da Silva(wk), Jonathan Carter, Sherfane Rutherford, Dwayne Bravo ( c ), Fabian Allen, Dominic Drakes, Jon Russ-Jaggesar, Sheldon Cottrell, Paul van Meekeran Fantasy XI Pooran, Hemraj, King, Lewis, Gayle, Rutherford (VC), Smith, Drakes, Tahir (C), Shepherd, Ahmed

IPL 2021 | Great to be together as a team says old RCB guard AB de Villiers

IPL star and one of the most followed international cricketers in India, AB de Villiers has said that he liked being back in the miz and getting reunited with his teammates. The IPL had to be postponed after it was marred by Covid-19 in May this year during its India leg. Now that the league is restarting in UAE once again from where it had left India, de Villiers, who has travelled all the way from South Africa is getting ready to face the heat. "I have covered a couple of guys tonight and it's nice to hear all the stories and what they got up to in the last couple of months. There's some interesting stuff that has happened and, it's great to be together as a team again,” the former South Africa captain said in a video posted by RCB at their official Twitter handle. “I have missed the guys. I have caught up with a couple of individuals and I will get to meet up with the older guys over the next few days,” he added talking about meeting the likes of RCB skipper Virat Kohli who is still in isolation having travelled from England after early after the cancellation of the fifth Test. The 37-year-old de Villiers was speaking on the sidelines of a bet session and he said that although he enjoyed it a lot, but is getting old to be batting in such humid conditions. “Bowlers bowled very well and it's humid here, we are gonna sweat a lot which is good for losing a bit of weight but for an old man like me, I need to stay fresh as much as I can," he said. RCB, who are currently placed third in the points table, open their campaign in UAE against Kolkata Knight Riders, who are placed seventh.

We offer ECB two extra T20Is to cover up losses from Old Trafford Test: Jay Shah

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has offered two extra T20Is to be played between England and India when the Indian team travels to England next year, so as to cover the losses that have been incurred to ECB due to the cancellation of the Old Trafford Test, which was also the fifth and final Test of the five-match series. "It is correct that we have offered to play two extra T20Is when we visit England next July (only for the white-ball games). Instead of three T20Is, we will play five T20Is,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz. However, there is a condition that if India plays two extra T20Is or a one-off Test in July 2022, it wants ECB to not ask for forfeiture of the fifth Test (which was cancelled in 2021). “Alternately, we will be willing to play a one-off Test as well. It is up to them to choose either of the offers,” Shah added. The fifth Test between the two sides was cancelled after Team India decided not to field a playing XI due to increasing Covid-19 cases in its camp. It is reported that ECB had to incur losses of up to 40 Million Pounds due to this decision by BCCI and Virat Kohli lead Indian side.