I'm still an international player: Alex Hales

Shaw, Surya’s England trip under threat as eight players identified close contact to Krunal Pandya

In a press release, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has informed that eight players have been identified as close contact to Krunal Panday who tested Covid-19 positive on the morning of July 27. Pandya along with all the team members and support staff underwent Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) ahead of the 2nd T20I scheduled to take place Tuesday evening i.e. July 27. Prithvi and Surya were announced as replacements to Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar in India’s Test squad. They were to leave for England directly from Sri Lanka on July 28. However, now that all the Indian squad will undergo RTPCR tests to ascertain the positivity among other players, it seems very difficult for Shaw and Surya to be able to join the squad before the start of the Test series on August 04. According to the rules and regulations of the United Kingdom government, even the close contacts of Covid positive person have to undergo 10-day isolation and hence, even if Shaw and Surya test negative on July 28, they won’t be able to leave before July 29 and hence 10das isolation in the UK would mean that they would be able to join the Indian side only after the end of the first Test at Nottingham.

IND vs SL: Krunal Pandya tests positive for Covid-19

All-rounder Krunal Pandya has tested positive for Covid-19 and the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka has been postponed. The game is likely to take place on Wednesday if the other players return negative tests.

It's important to stay patient & wait for my turn: KL Rahul on playing Test cricket

India batsman KL Rahul has said that it is important for him to be patient and wait for his turn in Test cricket. The right-handed batsman scored some runs during the warm-up match against County Select XI for the Indians after he notched up a century. "It's always good to get runs in the white kit. It's been a while since I'd played a red-ball game, so it was very nice to be out there, and score runs. It's important to stay patient and wait for my turn," Rahul told bcci.tv. “I'm just enjoying my game. I've made mistakes, I've learnt from them. I get stronger. Like I said this is a good opportunity again, hopefully fingers crossed I can do the job for the team," he added. Rahul kept wickets during the warm-up match in the absence of Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha. Pant had tested positive for Covid-19 earlier and missed the game while Saha had to undergo a mandatory 10-day isolation after he had come in contact with training assistant/net bowler Dayanand Garani, who had tested positive. Talking about his role as a wicket-keeper batsman, Rahul added that it was a good test for his body and wicket-keeping skills. "It's a good opportunity to test my body and wicketkeeping skills. The added responsibility made me really sore (laughs) but apart from that, it was good time out and it gives me good opportunity to stay in the game,” Rahul said. India and England will begin the five-match series on August 4 in Nottingham. Both Pant and Saha have joined the team and it would be interesting to see who makes it to the XI when the two sides lock horns with each other in the first encounter.

Ramiz Raja lashes out at Sri Lanka batting line-up for failing to chase 164 in opening T20

Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja has lambasted Sri Lanka for their under-par performance against India in the opening T20I after they failed to chase down 165 to win the match. Raja questioned Sri Lanka’s approach and intent in a video posted on his youtube channel. Raja felt that there was zero strategies or planning from Sri Lanka as none of the set batsmen took the responsibility of tracking their team over the finishing line. It was an impressive bowling performance from the hosts restricting India to just 164 in their 20 overs. However, the batting line-up was nowhere close to where they needed to be and despite some useful knocks from the blade of Charith Asalanka and Avishka Fernando, they folded out for 126. “When India scored 160-odd, they would have thought of winning this because you can expect Sri Lanka to commit mistakes frequently. To chase a target like this, you needed one or two partnerships. At least one batsman should have scored 70-odd runs and you could have crossed the line. If you can’t chase 160 at home, where will you? And losing a game shatters the confidence of the team,” Ramiz Raja said. On the back of two impressive knocks from Suryakumar Yadav and Shikhar Dhawan, India managed to score 164 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga were the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers bagging two wickets each. In the second innings, Sri Lanka got off to a steady start courtesy Avishka Fernando. He played some delightful shots en route to his brief knock of 26 before his dismissal. It was Asalanka who kept Sri Lanka in the game with some lusty blow. His dismissal was the final nail in the coffin as Sri Lanka kept losing wickets at regular intervals eventually losing by 38 runs.