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IPL 2021: With massive spike in COVID cases, Women's T20 Challenge unlikely to take place

The Women’s T20 Challenge which is contested each year during the fag end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is unlikely to be held this year due to the massive spike in COVID cases in the country. With India recording over 3,50,000 cases each day, severe restrictions have been imposed by countries on air travel with India. 

Countries like Australia, England, South Africa and West Indies have suspended flights coming from India, putting the subcontinent on a travel red list. The three-team Women’s T20 Challenge which comprises some of the best women cricketers across the world might not materialise this year as any of the foreign cricketers will be able to travel to India because of the massive ruckus the second wave of COVID has created. 

"Getting Indian players quarantined is not an issue even now but no foreign player is keen to travel in the current climate. We can find a window later when things get better,” a top BCCI official was quoted as saying by PTI on the basis of anonymity. Meanwhile, the BCCI was planning to hold a camp for Indian women which has been halted due to the impending crisis. 

When the IPL was shifted to UAE last year, none of the Australian cricketers participated in the Women’s T20 Challenge as it was clashing with the Women’s Big Bash League. With UK, New Zealand and Australia all suspending flights from India, it is more or less impossible to hold the tournament. The three teams in contention are the Supernovas, Trailblazers and the Velocity. 

“Women’s T20 challenge was supposed to be entirely held in Delhi. Right now, everyone is scared to come to Delhi and you can’t fault them,” another BCCI source close to PTI added on the condition of anonymity.

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Nuwan Zoysa receives six year ban for breaching ICC Anti-Corruption Code

Former Sri Lankan left-arm pacer Nuwan Zoysa has been banned from all forms of cricket for the next six years after he was found breaching ICC’S Anti Corruption Code. Zoysa tried to fix matches and also failed to report corrupt approaches from an Indian bookie. The ban dates back to 31st October 2018 when the former pacer was provisionally suspended from the game for the alleged corrupt approaches. As per reports in the Cricbuzz, Zoysa has been charged with three offences under Article 2.1.1, 2.1.4 and 2.4.4. Article 2.1.1 - that being party to an effort to fix or contrive or to otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect of an International match. Article 2.1.4 - directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing or encouraging a player to breach Code Article 2.1.1. Article 2.4.4 - failing to disclose to the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in corrupt conduct. Zoysa was charged by the ICC back in 2018 on the behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board for breaching three counts of ECB’s Anti-Corruption Code. It was part of the T10 League and the proceedings are still going on. Alex Marshall who is the ICC General Manager of the Integrity Unit said that while Zoysa was expected to be role model as a national coach but what transpired was unacceptable. It must be noted Zoysa had played in 30 Tests and 95 ODI’s for Sri Lanka. "Nuwan played 125 matches for Sri Lanka, attending a number of anti-corruption sessions during a decade-long international career. In his role as a national coach, he should have acted as a role model. Instead, he became involved with a corrupter and attempted to corrupt others," Marshall said. Back in November 2020, Zoysa breached several clauses by the ICC Anti-Corruption Code by an independent tribunal. He was actually charged under the Anti-Corruption Code back in 2018. The left-arm pacer has used his right to a hearing.

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Usman Khawaja signs up for Islamabad United, to ply trade for the city of his birth

Usman Khawaja, the Australian middle-order batsman will finally get a chance to play in Pakistan, the country of his birth. The southpaw who has been in and around the Australian circuit for quite some now will be part of the Islamabad United franchise in the remainder of PSL that is slated to resume in June. Khawaja who was born in Islamabad is excited to be part of a club that represents the city of his birth. Meanwhile, he will also be joined by other Australian teammates Callum Ferguson, Joe Burns and James Faulkner. All these three players will ply their trade for the Lahore Qalandars. The 6th edition of the tournament was halted in March after several breaches in the bio-bubble protocols. Many players started testing positive for the virus and the organisers had no other option to postpone the tournament after 14 matches. As per the new schedule, the remaining 20 matches will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi in June. The news comes after three Australian players including Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa and Andrew Tye opted out of the remainder of the IPL. The second wave of Covid-19 has created a ruckus in India and the tension has ignited among the franchises as well. Earlier Ravichandran Ashwin and Liam Livingstone also pulled out of the tournament midway. It will be a big opportunity for Khawaja to play for Islamabad, the city of his birth. The southpaw had emigrated to Australia with his family at the age of five. The PSL schedule generally clashes with the Australian domestic calendar so Khawaja didn’t get a chance to play in the tournament before. "As long as I'm playing domestic cricket in Australia I won't get the opportunity to play in the PSL," Khawaja told cricket.com.au earlier this month. "This might be a little blessing in disguise to play over there. I'd love to go over there and play." Khawaja added. "I've played in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh but I've never played in Pakistan where I was born and it's something I would love to do, to go home to where it all began for myself, my family," he told the media wing of CA. "I love cricket returning to that region, too, because I think they're doing some really, really good stuff over there, doing some really hard work to get people to come over there and play." Khawaja has earlier played in the Indian Premier League. He was part of the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 and played six games for the franchise. He had to warm the benches for the whole 2017 season and has not been part of the tournament since. Khawaja feels that at the end of the day many people don’t like talking about the money but it is what it is. "Personally, if the PSL had as much money as the IPL there's no doubt all the international players would be going there," Khawaja was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "At the end of the day, people don't want to talk about it but it's all about cash. Cash is king. It's the reason, when at times there have been some red flags travelling to the subcontinent people have always pushed the barriers, the boundaries a little bit because everyone has a price," Khawaja spoke about the understated motivation behind playing the franchise leagues. "That's just the nature of the beast but the way the Pakistanis, what they're doing with security – I think England is going over there and I'd love to see an Australian team tour to Pakistan in the not too distant future," he opined on the possibility of a national tour to Pakistan. "Hopefully in the next couple of years would be ideal but I guess it needs a bit of buy in from the players too," Khawaja concluded.

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IPL 2021 | MI vs RR: Unpredictable Royals, inconsistent Mumbai seeking turnaround at new venue

When Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals will come head to head for the first time in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, both their captains - Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson would be aware of the fact that they will be running out of time to resurrect their sides, very soon in the tournament. Both Mumbai and Rajasthan have tasted wins only on two occasions and have lost three matches each, to find themselves tottering in the ongoing edition. The Mumbai Indians have suffered due to inconsistency of their in-form batsmen and an ailing lower order which has been their strength in the past few seasons. On the other hand, the Royals have struggled to find ways of winning the games in absence of two of its marquee players Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. Both the sides have had some great eye-catching performances as well but those had been scattered around some average display of cricket to leave themselves without any cover in the second half of their campaign. ‘Pandya sized’ problem for Mumbai Indians Like many promising all-rounders who disappeared from the scene in Indian cricket after an injury, Hardik Pandya’s journey is dangerously walking towards the same territory. He did not bowl a single ball in the last edition and the story is similar so far in the ongoing edition. His batting prowess made life easier for the Mumbai Indians as they were finding herculean efforts from his bat last season. However, the story has changed this season as Hardik has looked a pale shadow of himself in the five matches so far. In the five matches, he has amassed a mere 36 runs with a top score of 15. He bats lower down the prolific batting order that is comprised of Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, and Suryakumar Yadav and hence it is understandable that he does not get a lot of opportunities to face more balls and build a substantive innings. Inconsistency of the top order and pitches in Chennai solved that riddle for him as he got the opportunity to bat with overs left in the game. However, his effect has dipped sharply and so are the fortunes of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL so far. It’s highly unlikely he will be axed anytime soon in this tournament, but Hardik needs to turn a corner with performances with the bat. Or else, with lack of fitness with respect to bowling and lack of runs from the bat will make him a liability for the Mumbai Indians. Aggressor or anchor—which Samson will turn up? Sanju Samson lit up the IPL 2021 with a swashbuckling century against the Punjab Kings but drew criticism and debate after he denied Chris Morris a single on the penultimate delivery and instead backed himself to hit a six and win the Royals that game. As the dust settled on the game, Samson could not replicate his form and perished in the process of bringing up his best performances. He failed for three games on the trot in attacking fashion and in the wake of criticism for being too aggressive in his approach, he defended putting his wicket on the line more often than not. However, in the last game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sanju Samson brought his anchoring game to the fore and took the Royals over the line. Chasing a low total helped his cause but the change in approach and adaptation he brought to his game would have been a big welcome sign for the Royals. Jos Buttler’s form—another worry for Royals The Royals were depleted even before the start of the IPL this year as Jofra Archer was ruled out of the first half of the tournament. Their crisis deepened when Ben Stokes broke his arm and got out of the tournament followed by Archer’s unavailability for the whole tournament. The English trio of Stokes, Archer and Jos Buttler has been the core strength of the Royals over the past few seasons. With both Stokes and Archer missing from action, the onus was on Buttler to lead the way for the Royals at the top of the order where he has tasted success in the IPL. But, he has struggled with the loss of form and fluency as the batting concerns have gone deeper and deeper for the Royals. The Royals need to win five more games out of their remaining nine matches and it’s imperative that Buttler rediscover his mojo or else it would be curtains for the men in pink for the chance to advance into the playoff stage in yet another season. Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals: Match Details Match Number-24 Date and Time: April 29, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch and weather It will be the second match of the season to be played at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in New Delhi and the pitch is likely to move between a flat track and of spin-friendly nature. The pitches in Delhi have been slower and lower over the past few seasons when IPL matches have taken place and the script is unlikely to be any different on a scorching day on April 29 when Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson will walk for the toss. It will be a day game starting at 3.30 PM and the weather conditions will be hotter with maximum temperatures hovering around 43 degrees which in all likelihood will alter the preference of the captain after winning the toss. Team News Mumbai Indians The Mumbai Indians reached New Delhi on April 24 from Chennai where they could not as many games as the batting coach Robin Singh had expected out of them on surfaces that were not to their liking. However, he had highlighted some lessons that the batsmen might have learnt and they will have to put all of that to good use with pitches in New Delhi are to be on similar lines to that in Chennai. The men in blue have the luxury of choosing from an all-strength squad for the game against the Royals, but it’s unlikely that they will make any change in their playing XI from their last game against the Punjab Kings that ended in a horrible loss. Strongest XI Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult Rajasthan Royals The Royals have come from Mumbai where pitches were true in nature in the early part of the tournament and batsmen enjoyed pace on the surface and short boundaries at the Wankhede Stadium. The boundary dimensions will be the same in Arun Jaitely Stadium as well but the surface will demand a different brand of cricket from the Royals batsmen. The Royals have already made a choice of giving up on Manan Vohra, whose IPL career failed to take off except for few sparkling innings scattered around frustrating failures and investing in young talent in Yashasvi Jaiswal. The move is likely to continue as the left-hander showed promise in the last game against the Knight Riders taking on the likes of Pat Cummins with indomitable confidence. The Royals showed the richness of a rare breed of cricketers—left-arm pacers by playing the trio of Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakaria and Mustafizur Rahman in the last game. The team management will be tempted to unleash the pace of Kartik Tyagi on the Mumbai batting order but the repertoire of cutters and slower balls Unadkat has up his sleeves will make the choice difficult for them. Strongest XI Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), David Miller, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals: Dream XI/fantasy XI Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman, Rahul Chahar Captain: Suryakumar Yadav Vice-captain: Chris Morris