It's selector's call to not send any openers to England says Sourav Ganguly

BCCI President and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly have finally given his opinion about the controversy surrounding the selector’s decision to decline the request made by Kohli and Ravi Shastri to send Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal to England as a replacement of the injured Sbubman Gill who has been forced to return home.

Ganguly said that it was a matter of the selection panel to decide what they feel good for the team. It was learnt that the Indian team management via administrative manager Girish Dongre requested for a couple of openers as replacements preferring Shaw and Padikkal.

However the chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma hadn’t replied to the mail. It is believed that the selectors want Abhimanyu Easwaran who is a part of the extended squad to be included in the main team.

With already four opening options available, the selection panel didn’t feel necessary to send either Prithvi Shaw or Devdutt Padikkal who are currently in Sri Lanka preparing for six white-ball matches. Speaking on the same Ganguly said, "That is the selectors' call.”

Speaking on conducting tournaments amidst the pandemic the former Indian skipper said, "Nothing can be done with this Covid-19 situation, so it is closed doors only. Cricket is obviously started, India is in England, then we will have IPL and then there is T20 World Cup. Cricket won't stop and it will go on."

"These are exceptional circumstances. Last year World Cup got cancelled. This year if again it gets cancelled because of Covid, then it is a massive loss for the game. That is why it is being taken to a safer place," he added.

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ENG vs PAK: Pakistan fold for a disappointing 141 as Saqib Mahmood bags four-wicket haul

Pakistan did what they are known for, throwing up surprises in the most uncanny of ways. A batting lineup having the number one ODI batter in Babar Azam, the battery with most runs in T20s this year, Mohammad Rizwan failed to even make a mark in Cardiff as the whole team folded for a disappointing 141. Fakhar Zaman was the highest scorer with 47 from 67 balls, but he dealt his team a heavy blow by running out Sohaib Maqsood. Maqsood, who was making his international comeback after five years, looked good for his short stay at the crease (19 runs). Apart from these two, Shadab Khan was the only one that seemed to have got the hang of the Sophia Gardens wicket which was slow and had double bounce. Saqib Mahmood, the only English pacer in the squad with some experience of playing against all these Pakistan batters in the PSL first leg, ripped through the top order of the visitors. He got Imam ul Haq on the very first ball while Babar Azam nicked an unplayable delivery to give Mahmood his second scalp in the very first over of the innings. Among the other two wickets of the 24-year-old Lancashire bowler were debutant Saud Shakeel and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf. Along with Mahmood, Craig Overton and Matthew Parkinson picked two wickets while Lewis Gregory got the solitary wicket of Rizwan. With only 141 to defend, the Pakistan bowlers have their task cut out. Even a greatly inexperienced England team would fancy itself to get the work done as soon as possible.

Derbyshire ropes in Ravi Rampaul for T20 Blast and Royal London Cup

Ravi Rampaul has been resigned by Derbyshire for the final three group games in this year’s Vitality T20 Blast and also the Royal London Cup. Rampaul who was the leading wicket-taker in the 2019 edition of the T20 Blast has spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Derbyshire as Kolpak registration players. However, he didn’t return last summer for the T20 Blast owing to the strict covid restrictions in place. Rampaul has been going through a purple patch in the recent past and was the leading wicket-taker in the Regional Super50 competition. He also plied his trade for the Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. He was snapped up by the Trinbago Knight Riders and will play for them in the upcoming edition of the tournament. This is the first time, the fast bowler has received a CPL contract since 2017. Speaking on his association with Derbyshire, Rampaul said, "I loved my first spell with Derbyshire and I'm looking forward to getting started again in familiar surroundings. I know most of the players still, and there's a few new faces who are really exciting young players. If I can help them along in training and in games, I will do that, and hopefully we can get on a roll and challenge for the knockouts." Derbyshire director Dave Houghton said that Rampaul will add variety to the squad having had great success with the county in earlier editions. He said that having someone of Rampaul’s abilities will be highly beneficial for Debyshire. "I've always felt that we had some unfinished business. Ravi had such a good season in 2019 - he was club player of the year - but we lost him for a year due to the pandemic. Our bowlers have come on leaps and bounds this year, but to have someone of Ravi's ability and class opening and closing the innings for us, which is something we've missed this season, is going to be fantastic, “Houghton said.

Five member panel formed by SLC to investigate on bio-bubble breach in England

The Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) has formed a five-member panel to conduct a probe in the recent bio-bubble breach of the three Sri Lankan players namely Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis. The trio was sent back home from England after videos surfaced of the three moving around in Durham without following the stringent Covid protocols. All three has been suspended pending an inquiry on the bubble breach. Meanwhile, the five-member committee formed for the inquiry comprises of Justice Nimal Dissanayaka who is a retired judge of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, three attorneys at law namely Asela Rekawa, Uchitha Wickremasinghe and Panduka Keerthinanda. The final member is a retired major general MRW De Zoysa. The medical staff of the Sri Lanka team found out about the bubble breach from social media when a video emerged of the trio out in a public place. As per the SLC officials, the trio admitted to visiting the Durham City Centre which was forbidden under the COVID protocols. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan team looks in turmoil with batting coach Grant Flower testing positive for COVID-19 just days before the limited-overs series against India. While the SLC officials are hopeful of the tour going ahead, it will only be possible if all other squad members return negative RT-PCR tests.

Sri Lanka batting coach Grant Flower tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of SL-IND series

In what could potentially jeopardise the India-Sri Lanka limited over series, Sri Lanka batting coach Grant Flower has tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday just days before the start of the ODI series against India. The whole squad returned from England three days back and it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the coming days. Flower is currently the only active member of the squad testing positive for the virus and Sri Lanka’s medical staff is hopeful of the fact that it won’t impact the white-ball series against India. It is believed that Flower hasn’t been in close contact with the rest of the squad members in the last few days. The Sri Lankan players are currently isolating themselves in separate rooms but had travelled together from England. If the result is not a false positive, the Sri Lankan medical staff feels that Flower contracted the virus in England. "We have to find out how Flower got infected, and also which variant of the virus he has been infected with," a member of Sri Lanka's medical was quoted as saying by the ESPNcricinfo. As per the original plan, the team was supposed to come out of isolation on Friday but that has been put to hold until the next round of RT-PCR test results.