Indian players to be administered second dose of Covid vaccine in England: Reports

The Indian players, both Men and Women would be administered their second doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 in the United Kingdom itself by its health department. One of the sources close to the development confirmed the news.

“The team has already taken the first dose here after the government opened the vaccination process for all above 18. The second dose will be administered by the UK health department once the players are eligible to get the second jab as per rules,” the source told ANI.

Earlier, BCCI was planning to either get the second dose of vaccine from India itself so that there is no problem in the doses, which could then have been administered by the medical staff of the team. The second option was to get the doses in the UK itself as the brand of the vaccine that would most probably have been administered to the Indian players is also available in the British nation.

Both Indian Men’s and Women’s team would leave for England on June 2 from Mumbai, having spent two weeks in hard quarantine in India’s commercial capital. The teams would then undergo 10 more days of quarantine (milder than the previous one) in Southampton, England.

While the Men’s team would then prepare for the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand starting June 18 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, the Women’s team would get ready for their one-off Test against hosts England to be played at County Ground, Bristol from June 16.

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Ross Taylor hopeful of making the cut for the Test Championship final despite a calf injury

With England slated to host New Zealand for a two-match Test series starting June 2, premier Black Caps batsman Ross Taylor sounded optimistic about recovering from his calf strain and getting available for the Test series and the ICC World Test Championship final against India. In a bid to get acclimatised to the conditions in England ahead of the WTC final, New Zealand will play the two-match Test series against England just before the big match. Taylor who has been one of the most dependable Kiwi batsmen besides Kane Williamson recently suffered a calf strain during their training session at their high-performance centre at Lincoln earlier this month. “Obviously you don’t want to have those little niggles and this [calf] niggle came about trying to get the hamstring right,” Taylor was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo. “It’s part and parcel of being an international cricketer,” Taylor further added. The star batsman left for UK along with his teammates Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and BJ Watling on Monday. “More is made of it when you get older. If you get a calf or a hamstring injury at 32, nothing’s made of it, but when you’re 37, there’s a few more headlines, but it is what it is, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at,” quipped the attacking middle-order batsman. Taylor who kicked off his Test career in England way back in 2008 is hopeful of continuing his dominance. The swashbuckling batsman smashed an unbeaten 154 during his maiden Test series at Manchester. “[A] hundred-odd Tests later, [England is] still a great place to play cricket — probably one of the best tours to go on. Obviously being in a bubble is going to be a bit strange. Thirteen years ago, fond memories of that tour and still to date one of the best innings I’ve played in Manchester in the second Test,” Taylor concluded.

After Lisa Sthalekar’s criticism of BCCI, Veda Krishnamurthy tweets to thank Jay Shah and board

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Neil Wagner rates Indian pace cartel highly, hoping for a fascinating final

Acknowledging the depth of the Indian bowling attack, New Zealand left-arm speedster Neil Wagner feels that the final of the ICC World Test Championship final will be an evenly contested one. The left-arm pacer who has troubled several top-class batsmen with his pace and bounce is of the opinion that the final will be a battle between two bowling attack. “There are a lot of quality bowlers up on show. India has a number of quality fast bowlers in their side, who can perform anywhere around the world. They can make it (the ball) swing around under overcast conditions,” Wagner said in a video posted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on their official Twitter handle. India have picked a 20 man squad for the Test Championship final and the five-match Test series in England slated to be played in August. While there are six frontline pacers in the 20 man squad, India is carrying three standby pacers to support their cause if they are again marred with injuries similar to what happened in Australia. Barring the frontline pacers comprising of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, India also have the likes of Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj who has the ability to replace any of the three frontline pacers. On the other hand, New Zealand also boasts of a lethal pace attack led by Trent Boult and Tim Southee. In Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner, they have the perfect foil for Southee and Boult and will be raring to come good against India in the final. Wagner who will play a crucial role if New Zealand harbour hopes of winning their first ICC tournament feels that both teams need to adjust to the conditions in England as the weather and conditions can change within a session. “When the sun comes out, it (wicket) is flat and nothing happens again. “Conditions can change quickly throughout the day. They can start from being flat, nothing happening to suddenly starting to swing and nipping around within a session,” added Wagner. Wagner who loves bowling the short-pitched stuff encountered a famous battle with Steve Smith during their tour of Australia in the 2019-20 session. Wagner will try to trouble the Indian batsmen with his short-pitched stuff. However, Wagner is not overly bothered about the WTC final. “I am not getting carried away too much, trying to control the controllable,” said Wagner.