IPL bubble is the most vulnerable: Adam Zampa

Australia and RCB spinner Adam Zampa has backed his decision of leaving the Indian Premier League midway with the reasoning that he wasn’t finding enough motivation to stay in the bubble. The leggie also went on to say that the IPL bubble was the most vulnerable he had been a part of since the Covid outbreak.

“We’ve been in a few [bubbles] now, and I feel like this is probably the most vulnerable,” Zampa was quoted as saying by India Today.

Terming the Covid situation in Inda as ‘pretty dire’, Zampa said, “I just felt, rocking up to training and stuff, obviously, I wasn’t playing in the team as well, I was going to training and I wasn’t finding the motivation.”

Reasoning that the travel ban by Australia for all the flights coming from India put pressure on his decision-making the 29-year-old said, “[There were] a few other things like bubble fatigue and the chance to get home, once all the news broke about the flights and everything. I thought this was the best time to make the call.”

The Melbourne Stars player further went on to express his views on how an IPL in Dubai could have been a preferred option, saying that hygiene and personal safety-wise, Dubai is a better place compared to India.

“Personally, I feel like that would have been a better option originally for this IPL but obviously, there’s a lot of political stuff that goes into it,” he said.

Saying that World T20 is going to be the next big decision in the cricketing World, Zampa believes that cricket in times of such devastating covid attack in India might not be the right thing to carry forward. “Someone who has a family member on their deathbed probably doesn’t care about the cricket,” said the legging who is still stuck in Mumbai due to the flight ban.

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IPL 2021: Axar Patel- Avesh Khan bromance continue as Capitals face Challengers

Axar Patel on his return to the Delhi Capitals continued with his show ‘Dhai Akshar Game ke’, which he hosts for the social media accounts of the franchise. On this week’s edition, he had Avesh Khan as a guest, the breakthrough bowler for the Capitals this season. Avesh praised the Gujarat born all-rounder who returned to the DC folds with roaring super over victory in his kitty. He was the hero of the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, conceding just seven runs against international superstars like Kane Williamson and David Warner. The eight runs target was chased by the Capitals at the last ball of the game. In the interview, Axar asked Avesh, who was actually slated to bowl the Super Over, but could not due to last-minute intervention of the left-arm spinner, whether he was upset with the ball being taken away from him? Replying to this, Avesh, who has so far taken 11 wickets and is on the list of the race to the Purple Cap, said, “I was actually blank and didn’t know what to do. The coach had asked me to be ready for the Super Over. Since you got it and the match got tensed while we were batting, the coach once again asked me to be ready for another over, but thankfully we got over the line.” Avesh, 24, also said that he missed Axar not being part of the team and thanked him for joining back to the DC unit after recovering from Covid-19. To this Axar, 27, teased Avesh for his funky night suit, asking, “Did you start wearing this thing after taking wickets or did you start taking wickets after wearing this funky gown?” The Capitals are up against Royal Challengers Bangalore in an exciting affair at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera tonight.

CA confirms Australian players willing to complete the entire IPL

The Cricket Australia and Australian Cricketers Association have confirmed that they are in touch with the Australian cricketers taking part in the Indian Premier League and are sure that the players are well taken care of by the BCCI and IPL Governing Council. "Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association are in regular dialogue with players, coaches, match officials and commentators on the ground in India regarding the current situation and we will assist where possible," the CA said in an official statement. The Australian government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison banned travel from Indian starting today till May 15. While announcing the ban, Morrison speaking about the Aussie players said, "They're under their own resources. And they'll be using those resources to, I'm sure, to see them return to Australia in accordance with their own arrangements." CA reacting to the ban said that they are doing everything possible to mitigate any or all problems related to the Aussie players. "We will continue to liaise closely with the Australian Government following today's announcement that direct flights from India to Australia will be paused until May 15, and monitor the situation between now and the tournament's scheduled conclusion on May 30," said CA. "We thank the BCCI and IPL for their efforts to keep everyone safe in the tournament's bio-secure bubble," Australia’s cricket administrator added saying that their thoughts are with Indian people during this pandemic. While ANI quoted a source close to saying that the Aussie players are intending to remain until the end of the tournament unless something changes dramatically. “The media reports citing otherwise are incorrect," the CA source added.

PSL to have replacement draft before the tournament resumes

The Pakistan Super league (PSL) will have a replacement draft for the six franchises on Tuesday evening. The teams will be able to complete their squads through the process. PSL was earlier suspended with immediate effect after there was a rise in COVID-19 cases among the players and staff. The tournament will now resume on June 2 while the final is scheduled to take place on June 20. All the matches are slated to take place in Karachi while the teams will have to reach the venue on May 23 to commence the mandatory seven-day quarantine. A number of international players who had featured earlier before the tournament was postponed will be missing. While the England players will be busy with the Vitality Blast T20, others would be on assignments with their respective national teams. There would be 134 players in the mini draft. West Indies will have the highest number of players, 25, followed by Sri Lanka who will have 24 cricketers in the draft. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa will have 10, 12 and 18 players respectively. There will be 6 players from Zimbabwe, 16 from Afghanistan, 5 from Ireland, four from Scotland, and one each from Nepal and Oman. Among these are some big names like Andre Russell, Martin Guptill, Shakib Al Hasan in the platinum category, and Usman Khawaja, Adam Milne, Morne Morkel, Tamim Iqbal, James Faulkner and Joe Burns in the diamond category. Lahore Qalandars Players unavailable: Rashid Khan (Platinum), Samit Patel (Gold), David Wiese (Diamond), Tom Abell (Silver), Joe Denly Karachi Kings Players unavailable: Colin Ingram (Platinum), Mohammad Nabi (Diamond), Dan Christian (Diamond), Joe Clarke (Silver) Islamabad United Players unavailable: Alex Hales (Platinum), Lewis Gregory (Diamond), Phil Salt (Gold) Quetta Gladiators Players unavailable: Tom Banton (Platinum) Peshawar Zalmi Players unavailable: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Diamond), Liam Livingstone (Gold), Saqib Mahmood (Silver), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Silver) Multan Sultans Players unavailable: Chris Lynn (Platinum), James Vince (Gold), Adam Lyth (Silver), Carlos Brathwaite (Supplement),

Far bigger than cricket, far bigger than KKR: Knight Riders’ emotional appeal to fight against Covid-19

As the pandemic raises its ugly head in one of the World’s most populous countries, its most known and famous brand of sports- the Indian Premier League and its franchisees are coming up with innovative and emotional appeals for people to stay indoors, wear masks and make sure that they fight the Covid-19 with all preventive measures. In an emotional video uploaded by the Kolkata Knight Riders, the players and staff are seen urging the people to wear masks and maintain social distancing and venture as little as possible outside their homes. “I know the people out there are struggling with what’s going out there in terms of the pandemic and the situation, not just here in India but also abroad,” Brendon McCullum, chief coach of the Kolkata based franchise is heard saying to his players. He further urges the players to play a brand of cricket that gives hope and something to look forward to in these grim times, even if it is only for 3-4 hours. “The situation no doubt is heightened in India and these are difficult times. We are going to do our best to try and play a brand of cricket that gives those people back home, something to look forward to, even if it is just for a three or four hour period,” McCullum, 39, said. Saying that the players are in a very privileged position, the coach asks them to, ‘give a little bit of hope even in these difficult times’ to all the people in India. This video comes as a ray of hope in times where players are leaving the IPL midway, countries are banning travel to and from India and the BCCI is going out of the way to assure players that they would do everything to make sure that players are safe in the bubble and reach their homes safer once the IPL is over.