Hanuma Vihari endures horrible duck on county debut after one-handed catch in field

Ben Stokes out of action for up to 12 weeks with index finger fracture, to undergo surgery

Ben Stokes has been ruled out of action for a period up to 12 weeks after a repeat X-ray and CT scan done on April 15 revealed a fracture of his left index finger. Following the confirmation of fracture, Stokes who is in India for the 14th edition of IPL will head back to England and will undergo surgery on April 19. Notably, Stokes had injured his hand while attempting to catch off mishit from the bat of the Punjab Kings batsman Chris Gayle. He was ruled out of the tournament the next day but the extent of his injury was not clear. “England all-rounder Ben Stokes will be out for up to 12 weeks after a repeat X-ray and CT scan on Thursday revealed that he has a fracture of his left index finger. Stokes, who is currently in India with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, will fly home tomorrow. He will have surgery in Leeds on Monday,” the ECB said. Stokes’ injury has come as a killer blow to the Rajasthan Royals who are already without Jofra SArcher for the first half of the IPL 2021. The finger injury and subsequent surgery will also put him out of the Test series against New Zealand which he could have missed anyway if his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals would have made it to the final rounds of the tournament.

We want to be consistent and create a winning culture: AB de Villiers

The Royal Challengers Bangalore had a decent start to the IPL 2021 campaign after they won both the first two matches on the trot. In a video released by the franchise on their official social media handle, RCB’s mainstay AB de Villiers talks about batting combination, his advice to Virat Kohli during the England series and youngsters to watch out for in this edition. Kohli’s side etched victory in the first match riding on some fine batting from AB de Villiers against Mumbai Indians and then defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad after defending 149 in 20 overs. “There came a time when we as a batting unit felt something special and now the consistency and sustainability of that is important. If we do it three or four times we will start believing that,” he said. “You want to get into the winning culture and where you feel like if I don’t do it, he will do it. You get this beautiful flow going in the team,” he added. India skipper Kohli faced some problems initially while facing the England bowlers and subsequently the right-handed batsman had a chat with ABD about what to do. When asked about his conversation with Kohli, de Villiers said that he mentioned about four points and further asked the Indian mainstay to stick to the basics. “I have been watching him for quite a while, I was watching him for a few months looking like he was quite intense at the crease. So, I wasn’t really surprised when I got his message. I knew immediately all he needs to hear is the basic stuff,” the former South Africa captain said. RCB have a few youngsters in the side. Talking about Rajat Patidar, the right-handed batsman said that he is someone to watch out for this year. “Rajat made his debut the other night. I haven’t seen him play a big innings yet but I have watched him in the nets yesterday. He is a very promising talent, looks calm at the wicket and very good striker of the ball,” de Villiers said.

IPL petitioner Aditya Verma writes to BCCI, wants them to intervene for betterment of Bihar Cricket

The Bihar Cricket Association faces a major jolt and their destiny will depend upon the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Apex Council Assembly on Friday. The Bihar Cricket Association refused to take notice of BCCI’s warning to not host the Bihar Cricket League (BCL). Meanwhile, IPL petitioner Aditya Verma hopes that the board forms an ad-hoc committee to resolve the tumultuous times in Bihar Cricket. The Cricket Affiliation of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma in a letter to BCCI secretary Jay Shah and its Apex Council members to form an ad-hoc committee in an order to improve Bihar Cricket. As per reports, it is learnt that Verma sighted some illegal administrative policies that are being followed under the supervision of BCA chief Rakesh Tiwary since 29th September. It also included the organisation of the Bihar T20 League despite receiving a mail from the BCCI warning them against hosting the competition. Meanwhile, BCA chief Tiwari gave a response in his defence and said that it was merely a case of misunderstanding that resulted due to the lack of communication from the BCCI. The initial letter had already asked the BCA to comply by all the rules and if the following was reverted back to the association. Verma stated that not getting a reply from BCCI didn’t mean that was a go-ahead for the tournament. He further added that the BCA officials should be punished but the participants can be allowed to carry on their cricketing activities as they were not informed correctly about BCCI’s approval. "Not getting a reply does not mean permission to go ahead and host the tournament. They should have waited for a reply. Action must be taken against the officials by BCCI as it will otherwise set a bad precedent. The players can be forgiven as they were misinformed by BCA officials that the league had BCCI's approval," he said. It must be noted that the Bihar Cricket League (BCL) was conducted in Patna from 20th to 26th March. The event featured five teams including the Dharbhanga Diamonds, Gaya Gladiators, Patna Pilots, Angika Avengers and the Bhagalpur Bulls.

IPL 2021 | Mohammed Shami relishing his return to cricket after long lay off

The world came crashing down on Mohammed Shami after he was ruled out of the series against Australia having faced a blow on his hand against Pat Cummins. He was one of the main bowlers India were relying on in the series against Australia, and the injury proved to be tough to digest for Shami himself. Discussing his mental state after the injury and return to India, Shami said that the tour ended on a very disappointing note, and more so frustratingly as it was not a physical injury that ruled him away from the game. Rather, he was struck on his hand while batting and as it was the first instance of him facing such injury and it was tough for him to manage the consequences. “Obviously it was disappointing to come back from the series. I had never come back before. It was difficult to understand. It never happened to me. I was injured while batting, if you see I was not physically injured. It was very difficult to make myself understand that but it’s part of the game. Anything can happen,” Shami said in a video released on the Punjab Kings Twitter timeline. Mohammed Shami could not recover well in time to become part of the Indian team for the series against England that followed the tour of Australia. However, he used the extra time to prepare for the 14th edition of the IPL considering his progress of recovery was slow for him to make it to the England series. Shami also said that the newly-renamed Punjab Kings side have become a well-oiled side having played the last season just four months back. Also, he said that the team is all in readiness to take on the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming battle.