IPL 2021 | Suresh Raina returns to IPL with thumping half century

England talent in IPL 2021: Moeen Ali makes debut for CSK, Tom Curran, Woakes earn DC caps

Two all-rounders and a pacer from England have found places in the respective teams in the second game of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. The Delhi Capitals have handed a debut to Chris Woakes while Moeen Ali will make his debut for the Chennai Super Kings. Moeen Ali was bought by the CSK in the auction earlier this year for Rs 7 crore while Woakes finally came to the Capitals camp after opting out of the league last year. Tom Curran was bought by the Delhi Capitals for Rs 5.25 crore after having an average season last year with the Rajasthan Royals. The Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant made his captaincy debut by winning the toss and elected to field first at the Wankhede Stadium. The Chennai Super Kings were knocked out of the race to the playoffs last year for the first time in their rich history while the Delhi Capitals came second only to the champion side of the Mumbai Indians. Hence, both MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant would be eager to start their campaign with a win. In the head to head battle, the CSK have had a significant dominance over the Capitals, winning 15 out of 23 matches played between them. However, in both the encounters last year, the team from India’s capital city defeated the team from South India.

IPL 2021 | Rishabh Pant needed an arm around his shoulder, reveals Suresh Raina

When you look at Rishabh Pant the first thing which comes to mind is the audacity with which he plays his shots. He has the uncanny ability to take on world-class bowlers and it was quite evident during England’s tour of India when Pant played two of the most audacious shots against two of the greatest speedsters James Anderson and Jofra Archer. With the 14th edition of IPL having just begun, star CSK batsman Suresh Raina spilt beans to Bharat Sundaresan on his relationship with the Indian stumper who has currently being elevated as the captain of the Delhi Capitals. "BHAIYA, I want to be the best wicket-keeper batsman in the world,” Pant had told Raina during their time spent in Ghaziabad. All Pant wanted was Raina to listen to what he had to offer during the week-long period where the two southpaws spent together in Ghaziabad and Delhi back in July last year. That was a period that helped Pant relax himself and set his aims high which eventually transpired in Australia and against England. Raina felt that Pant needed an arm around his shoulder and Raina continued doing his duty as an elder brother. "I really didn't have much to do with it. He is a young cricketer bursting with talent who in my view is set to become a great player for India. Back in June, he'd just come off a not so good time with the bat. There was a lot of talk about him. So, he just wanted a break from it all, from the media and from everything. All he wanted me to do was listen. He wasn't looking for me to give anything, forget a solution," Raina told Cricbuzz. Raina further recalled that Pant had a lot to say and he just allowed the youngster to vent out whatever he had to offer. It was a month before Raina announced his retirement along with MS Dhoni. Besides spending several hours in the nets and sweating it out, the brotherly bonding kept growing as the two would indulge in leisurely activities. From watching Netflix together to going out on rides to playing with Raina’s kids they gelled along nicely. "When we weren't at training, he would be home all day, playing with my kids, chatting with the wife. We watched a lot of comedies on Netflix, ate a lot of good food, whatever he felt like eating, and just chatted away," says Raina. "We would go for drives around the city, either in his yellow car or at times in mine. We would listen to the music that we both enjoy. It was all so positive and even during those drives, he would open up a lot, and all I did was let him talk," he adds. Raina and Pant spent the majority of their time at the training centre in Ghaziabad where they put their heart and soul to training. "It's been a good experience because with him (Raina) you can learn a lot of things. He is a left-handed batsman. You have got that brotherhood. He teaches me a lot of things, on and off the field situations. We discuss a lot of things and it's helping me," Pant said about Raina during an Instagram chat on the official Chennai Super Kings channel. "He's amazing. He's a top guy and I want him to be who he is. He has been performing, scoring lot of runs for Delhi and of course for the Indian team. I just want him to be the best batsman for his calibre and I hope he will make you all proud," was Raina's response during the same interview last year. Meanwhile, Raina also recalled the fact that the Pant’s sole focus was how to improve his fitness rather than improving on any technical aspects. Pant has been criticised in the past for his fitness problems and he wanted to prove all his critics wrong. "He did a lot of fitness work with me. With his batting, it wasn't technical at all. It was more about getting into the right mindset and feeling good about his cricket and his enjoying his game," Raina revealed during his interaction with Cricbuzz.

ECB's lack of commitment postpones Ireland - Pakistan T20 series scheduled for June 2021

A two-match long T20I series between Pakistan and Ireland that was scheduled to be played in England in June this year has been postponed once again. The series was initially agreed upon for the last year but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Cricket Ireland had held discussions with ECB to host Pakistan for the T20 series as one of their home ground at Clontarf was not ready for a game after the square was relaid. However, the ECB pulled its hand away from the commitment citing a busy schedule in June with the World Test Championship and a Test series against New Zealand being scheduled to be played in the same month. "We had agreements drawn up with two grounds but the ECB came back to us and said that they had so many international teams coming into the country already and that the logistics around bubbles and Covid protocols are such a significant operation that having another two countries in at that time was just too much,” Cricket Ireland's performance director, Richard Holdsworth, said ESPNcricinfo. Holdsworth expressed regret at missing out on a valuable opportunity to play against a top side in the year of the World T20. But, he has not given up on his plan to host Pakistan and they are still on the lookout for the options. He also expressed optimism that the other planned series against South Africa and Zimbabwe scheduled for August later this year will go as per the plans.

SA vs PAK | Mohammad Hafeez set to play 100 T20 internationals but ICC goofs up on history

Mohammad Hafeez is set to be only the second cricketer from Pakistan to play 100 T20I matches when South Africa will go head-on against the visitors in a four-match series starting April 10. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has stated that Hafeez will be the first Pakistani player to be playing his 100th T20Is (the tweet has been removed). Instead, he will join his countryman Shoaib Malik, on the list that also has Rohit Sharma, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan and Ross Taylor as players who have featured in 100 or more T20 international matches. Hafeez has been around for quite some time, and although his success in the longer format of the game dwindled leading to him hanging up his boots, his bat has silenced his critics every now and then in the shortest format. He has been in imperious touch with the bat in T20s on the tour of England last year and followed it up with another brilliant overseas tour of New Zealand. He played a splendid knock of 99 not out against the Kiwis in the second T20I of the series albeit Pakistan could not defend the score. Earlier in 2020, he had plundered English bowlers to all parts of the grounds to hit 36-ball-69 and 52-ball-86 in the two matches of the three-match series. Ahead of his 100th T20I against South Africa, Hafeez is aiming for a match-winning innings while if it turns out to be a century, it will be a ‘cherry on top.’ “A knock to help my side win the match would be amazing, there can’t be any better feeling than guiding your country to win and that too in an away game. A century on that occasion will be a cherry on top,” said Hafeez said in a virtual interaction with reporters from South Africa. Hafeez will be eager to maintain his top-notch form with the bat in the series against South Africa as there are two T20 World Cups lined up to be played in the next two years.