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Ipl 2021 Dc Requests Vaccination For Players And Staff Bcci Denies Vaccination As Priority

IPL 2021: DC requests vaccination for players and staff; BCCI denies vaccination as priority

The Delhi Capitals Cheif Executive Officer (CEO) Colonel Vinod Bisht today confirmed that he has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to vaccinate against Covid-19, players and staff related to the upcoming IPL.

Stating that this edition of the IPL is going to be in a caravan format (many teams trave to together to a particular centre) makes it all the more important for vaccination, Bisht said, "It (vaccination) has been on top of our mind, especially in a scenario like the one we have this year where the IPL is in caravan model and we have to travel from one city to another. We made a request to the BCCI, I am pretty sure that the BCCI would have also put that request to the government, which I am not aware of.”

The DC CEO further said that the Indian government too would be aware of the issue at hand and would be more than welcome to initiate the plan. “I am sure the government has a priority which is set in. The Olympic athletes are the top priority and certainly, I feel the government will recognise that an event (IPL) of this nature requires that protection."

However, BCCI on the other hand has denied prioritising the vaccination program for people involved in the upcoming IPL. Rather it has denied any vaccination plan for the IPL players and staff.

"The vaccination program against COVID-19 is underway in India and vaccines are currently being administered to the at-risk population viz. front-line workers, health care professionals, people over the age of 60 years and those between the ages of 45-59 years who have comorbidities like cardiac ailments, diabetes, cancer, etc. Until most of the population is vaccinated and immune to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, precautions will need to be taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the community," Cricbuzz quoted BCCI’s stand on Covid-19 vaccination in a note accessed by it.

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Shreyas Iyer to continue as captain: Delhi Capitals CEO

Delhi Capitals will continue with Shreyas Iyer as the skipper of the side. The recruitment of Steve Smith had triggered an alteration in the captaincy duties but DC CEO Col. Vinod Bisht has made the air clear that Iyer will don the skipper’s armband. "We back Shreyas (Iyer) when we promoted him to be the captain. Under him, the team came third in 2019 and reached the final in 2020. He is growing as a leader. I am sure the team will continue to do well under his leadership," he was quoted as saying by the Times of India. The Delhi franchise has some experienced players in the lot and their experience would play a crucial role in the side’s IPL campaign. "Any of the seniors who come in, be it Rahane, Ashwin or Steve Smith, they have a lot of knowledge to impart to the young camp. We expect all the seniors will continue to do so, including Steve Smith," he said during the launch event of DC's new IPL jersey. "There was a lot of uncertainty. Idea is to have a balanced squad," Bisht added. Bisht admitted that the youngsters have been performing well for the team. "We had a young team which has been groomed for the last 3-4 years. Now they have flowered. If the youngsters continue to do well, we will look to have them with the two new teams coming in next year," he concluded. Iyer has been leading DC since Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the post during the 2018 season of the IPL. The last edition’s runners-up Delhi Capitals will begin the IPL 2021 campaign against Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai.

Australia to host Ireland next summer, Afghanistan Test scheduled before Ashes 2021-22

Ireland will play a Test match against Australia in the next Australian summer as per a Sydney Morning Herald report. It will be Ireland’s first-ever Test outside the United Kingdom, after getting the status of a Test-playing nation in 2017. The Leprechauns made their Test debut against England at Lord’s in 2019. The landmark Test for the European country will take place at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Suffering a massive dent in its reputation for overlooking weaker nations, Cricket Australia has drawn up plans to host ‘minnows’ over the next two seasons of cricket. As per those plans, the Test match between Australia and Afghanistan, initially scheduled for last year, could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That Test will now take place in the next season just before the home side locks horns with arch-rivals England in the Ashes. The move to host two minnows—Afghanistan and Irelan in two consecutive Australian summers has been taken in wake of Cricket Australia coming under pressure for overlooking weaker teams and dumping series planned as per the Future Tour Programme (FTP) of the ICC.

Series win against Zimbabwe good preparation towards World T20: Mohammad Nabi

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has said that winning the T20I series against Zimbabwe is a perfect build up towards the preparations for World T20. "Every series is important for Afghanistan and winning this series was very important and I feel it is really good preparation for the World Cup as well," Nabi said. Nabi further added that giving opportunities to youngsters and the team management is looking forward to them. "We have given chances to youngsters and we are looking forward to these youngsters [developing further] and hopefully we will have a good side in the World Cup." The right-handed also talked about the importance of playing in different leagues and franchises and how it has helped the players gain experience and exposure. "Franchise cricket is helping a lot as there are quality bowlers and batsmen and when we came back to the national side we take that experience and bring it here and share that experience for with the youngster as well and it help during the game,” he said. Afghanistan took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi after beating them by 45 runs in the second clash. Batting first Afghanistan posted 193/5 in 20 overs, courtesy a 38-ball 53 from Karim Janat and Usman Ghani’s 49 off 34. Later, the Asghar Afghan-led side bundled out Zimbabwe for 148. Spinner Rashid Khan scalped a three-for while Naveen-ul-Haq and Nabi picked up a couple of wickets apiece. The third and final T20I is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

NZ vs BAN | 1st ODI: Trent Boult, bowlers decimate Bangla Tigers in series opener

New Zealand bowlers demolished Bangladesh batsmen to set up a crushing win in the first ODI of the three-match series in Dunedin. The stand-in captain Tom Latham won the toss and decided to ask Bangladesh batsmen to come up with ‘big performances’ their coach had expected of him before the start of the series. Trent Boult and Matt Henry were dominating with the ball and the left-arm, in particular, was all over Tamim Iqbal with swinging deliveries. However, Iqbal was ambitious in his approach and capitalized on the short ball by Boult and leg-side delivery by Henry to help calm things down for the tourists. The Iqbal show was a short-lived affair though as Boult finally found him plumb in front of the stumps with the one that did not swing after testing the left-hander with outrageously swinging balls. Soumya Sarkar came to bat at the number three position as his technique has been rated high by the team, but he lacked temperament. He tried slicing Boult over the in-filed when the left-armer did not offer any sort of room. The old man Mushfiquer Rahim steadied the ship consuming a lot of deliveries while Liton Das itching to go for glory shots every now and then. Ultimately, Das went back to the pavilion courtesy of another soft dismissal for which he has been known for in the Bangladesh team set up and handed James Neesham an easy wicket. The next man in Mohammad Mithun and Mushfiqur Rahim carried on with the repair work as Latham continued operating with Neesham along with the introduction of left-armer spinner Mitchell Santner. Just when the pair started to look like settling into a good rhythm and Mushqfirur started finding crisp boundaries, Neesham struck again to send the former Bangladesh skipper back. Mushfiqur was soon followed by Mithun in one of the most unfortunate ways of getting out when Mahmudullah punched James Neesham’s delivery but only for the ball to hit the bowler’s hand and then on to the stumps. Bangladesh were halfway down at the halfway stage of the innings and all hopes were reliant on Mahmudulah’s shoulders to bail Bangladesh out of trouble and take them to a total. Wickets kept falling from the other end as Santner accounted for Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan and Mahmudullah was getting helpless at the other end. He decided to up the ante and smashed Kyle Jamieson for a big six but he could not prolong his efforts as Henry came back to taste success in the mid-innings. Boult came back to wipe up the tail and demolish Bangladesh’s attempt of challenging Kiwis in their home conditions. He finished with a four-wicket haul and won the Man of the Match for breaking the neck and back of the Bangladesh batting order. The target of 131 runs could never be challenging enough for New Zealand and any hopes of the tourists’ comeback were dashed quickly by Martin Guptill who has made a comeback to his best with the bat. A four and a six to start off against Mustafizur Rehman was a clear signal of dominance from Guptil as the hosts eased in their chasing effort. Another pacer Hasan Mahmud whom the head coach Russell Domingo rated very highly before the series for even harsher punishment form Guptill. In his first two overs, the right-hander hit as many as three fours and two sixes to crush Bangladesh’s hope and spirit. Pacer Taskin was introduced in the sixth over and got the better of Guptill, but the task was not too steep for Henry Nicholls and the debutant Devon Conway. Both left-handers made sure no slip-ups from the hosts and put on a 65 run partnership to seal the deal for the Blackcaps. The next two games of the series will be played on March 23 and 25 in Christchurch and Wellington respectively.