IPL 2021: Jaydev Unadkat hopeful of a turnaround for RR in Delhi

Russell Domingo lashes out at Bangladesh players for their poor mindset

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo lashed out at his Bangladesh boys after failing to win the opening Test against Sri Lanka. Despite dominating the first two days of the match, Bangladesh ended up conceding a huge lead as the match ended in a tame draw. Domingo feels that with the current mental state of the Bangladesh players, they won’t be successful in the longest formats. The mentality to not lose rather than going for the win won’t help Bangladesh going forward feels Domingo. The Bangla Tigers are currently at the bottom of the points table in the ICC Test Championship and is looking to sign off their campaign in the tourney with a victory under their belt. Ever since making their Test debut way back against India in 2000, Bangladesh have never managed to produce consistent performances in Tests. Bangladesh have won just 14 out of the 122 Tests they have played so far. Out of the 14 victories, 11 have come against Zimbabwe and West Indies. As per reports in the Cricbuzz, it is learnt that Domingo felt that Bangladesh should have declared at tea on the second day just after crossing the 500 mark but skipper Mominul Haque allowed the batters to keep batting which wasted a lot of time. The approach clearly didn’t impress Domingo despite the skipper lauding his team for drawing the match especially after some poor performances in the longest format. "It is disappointing when a drawn Test is seen as a massive success. I am not here for drawn Tests. We don't want to lose Tests but we should have a mental shift. We have to play to win, and not merely be happy with draws. I have had six or seven Tests with the team now, I think I understand our team and culture. I know the areas we need to improve on, particularly on the mental side of things in Tests,” Domingo was quoted as saying by the Cricbuzz. There's a long way to go. There's a fear of losing Tests, and that's something that we have to come away from. We have to play to win. At the moment I feel we are playing not to lose. It is a mental shift that we need to make. That mental shift will take a bit of time. Guys haven't been successful in Tests. Until we change that mindset, we will always be okay with mediocrity. It is not something I want to be part of," he further added. Domingo feels that there needs to be a serious change in the mindset of the players. The current Bangladesh team lacks the intent in winning Test matches. Rather than being happy with a draw, they have to start thinking of victories in the longest format. Their record in Tests despite playing this format for over two decades is dismal, to be honest. "We want to take the team forward and play the game to win. We have to bat first in tough conditions. We have to declare to give ourselves enough time to bowl sides out. Those are the shifts that you have to make to become a serious Test-playing nation," Domingo said. Bangladesh missed the likes of Shakib Al Hasan for the Test series owing to his IPL commitments. With Shakib out of contention, Domingo said that they need to play five bowlers in the absence of Shakib which gives them a better chance in the longest format. Over the years, Bangladesh have focussed on atleast 7-8 batsmen but playing 5 bowlers in the opening Test gave a fair idea about their changes in attitude. However, it wasn’t replicated on the field. "I need to chat with the selectors this afternoon, but I think that's the way forward. When you have Shakib in the team, it allows you to play seven batters. When you don't have that all-rounder, we have to be brave, and try to have five bowlers who can get us 20 wickets. If it was solely up to me, it would be the way to go, but there's a panel of selectors that need to be consulted with, and it got to be a decision that we all have to support," Domingo quipped. Under the coaching of Domingo, Bangladesh have just managed to win a solitary Test in 8 attempts. Despite not being happy with their performance in the opening Test, Domingo is hopeful of the fact that Bangladesh can win the Test series against Sri Lanka. "We want to try to win the series. It will be a great achievement for Bangladesh to win a series in Sri Lanka. Winning a Test series abroad is a goal that we have set ourselves. We have to play well over the five days. Sri Lanka are a tough side to beat, especially at home. Our focus is on starting the Test well, and one session at a time," Domingo signed off.

CSK vs SRH: Jonny Bairstow seeks reset in Delhi leg after tough first leg of tournament in Chennai

Sunrisers Hyderabad are not having a great time in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League as they find themselves languishing at the bottom of the points table. But, not all is doomed and gloomy for the men in orange as some players have tasted success with the roles they have been asked to perform for the team. One such member of the team is Jonny Bairstow who has been at his dominating best with the bat so far in the season and is looking to make it big in the upcoming matches as the Sunrisers have travelled to Delhi for the next leg of the tournament. He called the movement of the team to Delhi a fresh start and lamented the failures they had to deal with at slower and lower surfaces in Chennai. He said that the team is geared up for the challenge as they are looking to start off their second leg of the competition in Delhi against the Chennai Super Kings. “Obviously, we are coming to Delhi so it’s a fresh start. I think it is important for us to get few wins our way because Chennai didn’t necessarily go our way in few close games that we were on the wrong side of. Look, as I said it’s a fresh start, fresh leg of the competition and yes we are coming up against a strong Chennai side, so we need to put in a good performance,” Bairstow said in a video released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad on their Twitter timeline. “We are able to reset and go again and that has started with tonight’s training. Look we’ll turn up tomorrow and see how the pitch is and as always will try our best.” The Sunrisers will also bank on Kane Williamson who almost won the Sunrisers their last game against the Delhi Capitals but lack of support from other batsmen could not achieve the goal. Bairstow, along with David Warner will open against the Super Kings and will take on the new ball bowler Deepak Chahar who has been a shining light of his team just like the right-handed Yorkshireman has been for the Sunrisers.

New Zealand players might travel with Indian players for ICC Test Championship final

The New Zealand cricketers who are part of the Test squad for the ICC World Test Championship final against India might travel to UK with the Indian players afer the conclusion of the IPL. The Test Championship final is slated to be played between India and New Zealand at Southampton from 18th June. The Kiwi players who are part of the Test squad has to travel with the Indian players as they can’t come back home and then depart for England due to th strict quarantine rules in place. It was mentioned by New Zealand cricket team’s union chief. Among the 10 New Zealand players plying their trade in the IPL, four among them are part of the Test squad which includes the likes of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner. The Black Caps have named a 20 member Test squad for the two-match Test series against England starting from June 2 just ahead of the Test Championship final. The final squad for the ICC Test Championship final will be trimmed to 15. …they can’t very well come home, do the two weeks isolation and then go to England, so they’re going to have to be there (India) until the round-robin finishes, or the final series,” NZ Cricket Players Association chief executive Heath Mills said when he was asked whether the New Zealand players can go back and return in time. “Then we’ve got other players who are coming home – logistically there’s not a lot of flights. It’s not easy to sort out the logistics. We’re working closely with NZ Cricket and they’re in touch with the BCCI and the ICC,” Mills further added. Mills further explained the fact that the New Zealand Cricket Board has been in close contact with the players part of the IPL. They are also in regular talks with the BCCI, ICC and the England and the Wales Cricket Board. Tension has crept in after there was a huge surge in COVID-19 cases in India. Despite being anxious, Mills stated that none of the New Zealand players have expressed their desire to leave for home. “There’s no doubt they’re certainly anxious about what is happening in India and what they’re witnessing,” Mills said. “Whilst they’re anxious, they’re ok. No one has indicated yet that they want to go home.” At a time when Adam Zampa called the IPL bio- bubble in India as the most vulnerable he has been part of, Mills said that the players are well looked after by their IPL franchises and they feel safe in their respective bio-bubbles. “There’s four teams in a hotel and the hotel is locked down. The challenge is when they transfer from city to city, then they need to put on the PPE gear and that’s when they’re probably most at risk. “The players are in the safest place in India, in the team bubbles, which is the most important thing from my perspective.”

Cricket South Africa ducks an existential threat, accepts setting up majority independent board

In a move that would prevent the departure of South Africa from international cricket and snatching away of Cricket South Africa’s rights as the game governing body in the country, the members' council of the board has finally accepted the memorandum of incorporation that will allow setting up a majority independent board. All presidents of the 14 provinces voted in the favour of adopting the MOI to set up an independent board after only six of them had voted on a similar line in a special meeting arranged on April 17. As per a Cricbuzz report, the new board will be constituted by eight independent and five non-independent directors along with two senior CSA staff members in the leadership of one of the members of the CSA member council. The independent board will be overseeing the disciplinary hearings of former cricket South Africa staff such as the former acting CEO Kugandrie Govender and company secretary Welsh Gwaza, before their term ends on May 15. Notably, the sports minister of South Africa Nathi Mthethwa had threatened the CSA to accept the MOI in principle to set up an independent board failure of which would have led to the expulsion of CSA as the governing body of the game in the country which would have had ripple effects of the game globally.