IPL 2021: WTC stand-by Prasidh Krishna becomes 4th KKR player to test Covid-19 positive

Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma raise Rs 3.6 Cr in 24 hours in fight against COVID-19

India captain Virat Kohli and his better half and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma have come in to lend a helping hand in the fight against COVID-19 in the country. The couple who aims to to raise Rs 7 crore has made a donation of Rs 2 crore in the fundraiser #InThisTogether while the total amount that has been collected so far has gone up to Rs 3.6 crore. Kohli in a social media post wrote that it’s an overwhelming response. “3.6 crores in less than 24 hours! Overwhelmed with the response. Let’s keep fighting to meet our target and help the country. Thank you.” Anushka had earlier shared a video saying that she and Kohli pledged their support to Covid-19 relief work. “As our country battles the second wave of Covid-19, and our healthcare systems are facing extreme challenges, it breaks my heart to see our people suffering. So, Virat and I have initiated a campaign #InThisTogether, with Ketto, to raise funds for Covid-19 relief,” she said. Earlier, the IPL 2021 was also suspended with immediate effect for an indefinite time after there was a rise in the COVID-19 within the franchise teams. SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha, DC’s Amit Mishra, KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrior and CSK’s bowling coach L.Balaji had tested positive. The Virat Kohl-led RCB had a decent run so far in this edition after they won five of the seven matches that they played and were placed at the third spot before the tournament was put to a halt. The country has seen a sudden rise in the positive cases in the past few weeks while a number of players have come in support to help India in these tough times. Australia and KKR bowler Pat Cummins donated $50,000 to purchase oxygen supplies for hospitals in India while Shikhar Dhawan donated ₹20 lakh to an NGO for buying oxygen cylinders and concentrators. Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar gave Rs 1 Cr to the same organisation. The decision of resumption of IPL 2021 is yet to be taken by the BCCI.

'Too early' says BCCI on English counties' offer for IPL 2021; outlines World T20 as top priority

The treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Arun Singh Dhumal has said that it is too early to discuss offer from English counties to host the remainder of the IPL 2021 in England in the month of September this year. Instead, he said, the BCCI is focused on ensuring perfect preparation to host another marquee event in the form of ICC World T20 scheduled to be played in the country later this year. "We will explore all the options and see when it's feasible to play those matches and take a call at the right time. Their offer has not been discussed yet. It's too early. Right now, our immediate plan is finalise the preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup in India later this year," Reuters quoted Arun Singh Dhumal as saying. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka too has thrown their hat in the ring with a proposal to host the unfinished portion of the tournament postponed ‘indefinitely’ in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in biosecure bubbles of various franchises. Yes, we can certainly provide a window to host the IPL in the month of September. We hear the UAE is their one option but Sri Lanka can not be ignored for all reasons. We are planning to host the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in July-August and the grounds and other infrastructure will be ready for the IPL in September", the chief of the managing committee of the SLC, Prof. Arjuna de Silva, told Deccan Chronicle from Colombo. Notably, an early estimate by the BCCI suggests that it will incur a loss of a whopping Rs 2500 crore if the IPL 2021 does complete and hence the board will be eager to find alternative venues for its most financially rewarding tournament.

IPL 2021: New Zealand Cricket promises full support after KKR’s Tim Seifert tests positive for Covid-19

New Zealand and Kolkata Knight Riders’ Tim Seifert has tested positive for the Covid-19. After Sandeep Warrier and Varun Chakravarthy, Seifert is the third player in the Kolkata based franchise’ IPL camp to test positive for the virus. New Zealand Cricket, the governing body of cricket in the Kiwi nation, has promised full support to Siefert and his family during the testing times. “It’s really unfortunate for Tim and we’ll do everything for him that we can from this end, and hopefully he will be able to test negative, and be cleared and approved for discharge as soon as he’s well again,” NZC chief executive David White said to the official Blackcaps website. The wicket-keeper batsman was bound to return to his home one of the two New Zealand bound charter flights arranged by the IPL Governing Council and BCCI. Now that he has tested positive, the 26-year-old would rather be transported to Chennai where he would be treated in the same private hospital as former Australia international and Chennai Super Kings’ assistant coach Michael Hussey. The Whanganui born player failed both his pre-departure RT-PCR tests and is said to be experiencing moderate symptoms. White, the NZC chief further said that they are in contact with both Siefert and his family and hope that he would get well soon to return back home. “Since receiving the news, we’ve organised support for Tim and have also – via the players association, been in contact with his family to ensure they’re kept fully informed and updated on developments,” he said. According to NZC, Kiwi players who are part of the World Test Championship squad, including skipper Kane Williamson, Kyle Jamieson, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner along with one physio would be moved to Maldive from New Delhi and from there they will catch their England bound flight.

End of great Hardik Pandya project in Test cricket?

The squad for the World Test Championship final was more or less on expected lines barring few outlandish issues that have not been addressed for so long by the national selection committee. Out of all, the flip flops over the selection of Hardik Pandya is the most pertinent one. Once touted as the man who would revolutionise Indian cricket like Kapil Dev, Pandya has not found a place in the 20-man squad for the World Test Championship final. After playing in the limited-overs fixtures in the Australia series, Pandya had to head back home given he was not part of the Test squad. Virat Kohli and team management at that point in time had stated that they will ease Pandya into his full stature, given he had not bowled a single ball in the Indian Premier League preceding in tour Down Under. When he was added to the Indian Test team for the home series against England earlier this year, there were hopes of his return in the longest format. However, all those hopes are set to be shattered as BCCI is all but certain not to consider Pandya for Test cricket, and it is evident with him not finding a place in the Test squad for the WTC final and England tour. A BCCI official has said that the experiment to prepare him with 'workload management' has failed badly and hence he will not be considered for the longest format. “Hardik Pandya is still not in a position to bowl. The experiment of selectors to keep him during England Tests and prepare him with bowling workload has failed miserably. He will henceforth not be considered for Test cricket,” a BCCI source told PTI. There’s also a case of judicious utilisation of Pandya’s talent and hence selection committee is not ready to risk him in Test cricket in the year of an ICC World T20. A TOI report has suggested that BCCI is not considering Pandya for the Test format as they are giving him time off to give rest to both the troubling aspects of his body—back and shoulder in order to be in perfect shape come the ICC World T20 later this year. “Even Hardik Pandya realizes that he is vulnerable if he pushes himself with the ball. He is now focusing a lot more on his batting. The team management understands that with the T20 World Cup coming later in the year, it’s better to give him more time off so that he could be in the best shape for the marquee event. He will be used sparingly depending on the match situation,” TOI quoted a BCCI source as saying. Notably, Pandya has not played the longest format since the fourth Test on India’s last tour of England in 2018 due to recurrent injury concerns. His back was troubling him and he went under the knife to get over it. However, as he recovered from a troubling back, his shoulders started to open up his position in Test cricket.