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Icc Crowns Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020 21 As The Ultimate Test Series

ICC crowns Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 as 'The Ultimate Test Series'

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has crowned the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 played between India and Australia as the 'The Ultimate Test Series.' The ICC had shortlisted 16 series and asked the fans to vote for deciding which series among some of the most riveting ones in the history of the game as the best.

“We whittled it down to a shortlist of 16 and from there we let you take over. Across 15 head-to-heads, over seven million votes were cast as the 16 series were knocked out one by one until there was only one left standing - the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” the ICC said.

In the latest edition of the Border Gavaskar Trophy held earlier this year, the Indian team defended the title in Australia beating the Tim Paine-led side 2-1 in a four-match series.

India were down and out in the first Test of the series after getting knocked out for 36 in an innings and the always growing list of unavailable players throughout the series made it a stiff challenge for the men in blue. Skipper Virat Kohli had returned home for the birth of his child and Rahane took over reigns from him to win India a series that now has found a special place in the history of the game and rivalry between India and Australia.

Rahane’s problems began to accumulate with every passing day of the series as the Indian team lost key players after they sustained respective injuries. The likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul and Hanuma Vihari were ruled out of the series.

In absence of those big guns, young players such as Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur chipped in with remarkable performances that eventually helped India to win the series.

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India tour of Australia 2020-21

WTC final | ICC announces Michael Gough, Richard Illingworth as on-field umpires

The International Cricket Council has announced the list of match officials for the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand. As per the release, Englishman Chris Broad has been nominated Match Referee while Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth have been nominated as the on-field umpires. Richard Kettleborough has been appointed the third umpire while Alex Wharf has been designated as the fourth umpire for the iconic clash scheduled to take place in Southampton from June 18. “We are pleased to announce an experienced team of match officials for the final of the World Test Championship. It has not been an easy time with the pandemic, but we are fortunate to have a group of officials at the top of their field who have been consistent over the years in this momentous fixture. We wish them all the very best,” ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees, Adrian Griffith said in the ICC statement. Indian team has reached Southampton for the WTC final while New Zealand are playing the hosts England in a Test series before they will travel to Southampton for the marquee clash. There are huge expectations among fans and pundits about the WTC final as both Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have spoken of their confidence leading up to the final.

Dom Bess deactivates Twitter account hours after getting call-up for second Test vs NZ

England off-spinner Dom Bess has been included in the squad as a cover for Jack Leach for the second Test against New Zealand scheduled to begin on June 10 in Birmingham. The spinner however has deactivated his Twitter account a few hours after he was called-up. “The reason we have added Dom is that any cover we may need has to be in here with us. If Jack was to feature, we would need back-up for him in terms of concussion replacements and things like that,” England coach Chris Silverwood told the media. In a recent development, wisden.com has shared a racist tweet from an English player without mentioning his name. The ECB is investigating the matter according to some reports. Earlier, fast bowler Ollie Robinson who made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s in the first match was suspended after some of his racist and sexist tweets surfaced again. The tweets were pretty old. Robinson had a pretty impressive debut game after he picked up a total of 7 wickets in two innings including the scalps of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Bess, on the other hand hasn’t featured in any international fixture for England after the side toured India earlier this year.

India to tour Sri Lanka for three ODIs & as many T20Is in July

India are set to play three ODIs and as many T20Is on their tour to Sri Lanka. Broadcaster Sony made the announcement that the tour will be held between July 13 to 25. “Indian waves will crash against the Sri Lankan shore with #JeetneKiZid,” the channel tweeted with the schedule. The ODIs are scheduled to take place on July 13, 16 and 18 while the two teams will lock horns in the T20Is on July 21, 23 and 25. While the Virat Kohl-led team is in the UK for the final of the inaugural World Test Championship against New Zealand and a five-match Test series against England, another Indian team will travel to Sri Lanka for the limited-overs fixtures. SLC Administrative Committee chairman Arjuna de Silva had earlier said that the board is planning to hold the matches at one venue. "We plan to host the entire series at one venue. As of now, it has been decided that the Premadasa Stadium will host the fixtures. Obviously, it depends on how the situation is around that time," Arjuna de Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket's (SLC) Administrative Committee chairman, told Sportstar. "With the Covid situation fluid, we cannot allow fans yet, so all the matches will be closed-door affairs," De Silva said. The venues for the India-Sri Lanka series haven’t been revealed yet. The Indian selectors are also yet to announce the squad which will travel to Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Kohli’s men will be battling it out against the Blackcaps in the WTC final in Southampton scheduled to begin on June 18 while the Test series against the English team is slated to take place in August.

After Ollie Robinson, another historic tweet of England player surfaces, ECB 'looking into it'

The issue of ‘racist’ tweets done by the players when in teenage does not seem to be stopping any soon as a tweet from another player has emerged on social media. Wisden.com published a snapshot of a tweet done by a player, which it said would have been under 16-17 years of age at the time of tweeting. However, the publication chose to hide the identity of the player who tweeted. The ECB has taken cognisance of this emerging issue as well while the investigation for Ollie Robinson’s historic tweets is still underway. “It has been brought to our attention that an England player has posted historic offensive material on their social media account. We are looking into it and will make a further comment in due course,” an ECB spokesperson said. England coach Chris Silverwood emphasized the need for education to bring an end to discrimination in the game. He said that the England team is striving to make the sport ‘inclusive’ for everyone involved. “The big thing for us all is education,” he said. “We are all striving to be better, none of us are perfect, and we all need to make sure we are learning all the time. We can make sure the world is a better place. Most importantly, we can work hard to ensure that this great game is inclusive for everybody and there’s no form of discrimination whatsoever. The issue first popped up in the public eye on the first day of the first Test between England and New Zealand when Ollie Robinson made his Test debut.