Massive setback for Rajasthan Royals; Jofra Archer likely to opt out of IPL 2021

Aleem Dar becomes first umpire to officiate in 400 international matches

Aleem Dar has become the first international umpire to officiate in 400 international matches when he stood as one of the on-field umpires in the second T20I between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in UAE. Dar has now gone so far beyond others on the list of umpires to have officiated in international games. He is followed by South Africa’s Rudi Koertzen who has stood in 331 games, Steve Bucknor with 309 games, Billy Bowden with 308 games, and Simon Taufel who officiated in 282 games at the international level. Dar made his umpiring debut in ODIs in 2000 and was promoted to ICC panel in 2002 that made the option of officiating in the ICC World Cup in 2003. He made his debut in Tests just next year while for the T20I debut, he had to wait till 2009.

IPL 2021: DC requests vaccination for players and staff; BCCI denies vaccination as priority

The Delhi Capitals Cheif Executive Officer (CEO) Colonel Vinod Bisht today confirmed that he has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to vaccinate against Covid-19, players and staff related to the upcoming IPL. Stating that this edition of the IPL is going to be in a caravan format (many teams trave to together to a particular centre) makes it all the more important for vaccination, Bisht said, "It (vaccination) has been on top of our mind, especially in a scenario like the one we have this year where the IPL is in caravan model and we have to travel from one city to another. We made a request to the BCCI, I am pretty sure that the BCCI would have also put that request to the government, which I am not aware of.” The DC CEO further said that the Indian government too would be aware of the issue at hand and would be more than welcome to initiate the plan. “I am sure the government has a priority which is set in. The Olympic athletes are the top priority and certainly, I feel the government will recognise that an event (IPL) of this nature requires that protection." However, BCCI on the other hand has denied prioritising the vaccination program for people involved in the upcoming IPL. Rather it has denied any vaccination plan for the IPL players and staff. "The vaccination program against COVID-19 is underway in India and vaccines are currently being administered to the at-risk population viz. front-line workers, health care professionals, people over the age of 60 years and those between the ages of 45-59 years who have comorbidities like cardiac ailments, diabetes, cancer, etc. Until most of the population is vaccinated and immune to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, precautions will need to be taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the community," Cricbuzz quoted BCCI’s stand on Covid-19 vaccination in a note accessed by it.

Shreyas Iyer to continue as captain: Delhi Capitals CEO

Delhi Capitals will continue with Shreyas Iyer as the skipper of the side. The recruitment of Steve Smith had triggered an alteration in the captaincy duties but DC CEO Col. Vinod Bisht has made the air clear that Iyer will don the skipper’s armband. "We back Shreyas (Iyer) when we promoted him to be the captain. Under him, the team came third in 2019 and reached the final in 2020. He is growing as a leader. I am sure the team will continue to do well under his leadership," he was quoted as saying by the Times of India. The Delhi franchise has some experienced players in the lot and their experience would play a crucial role in the side’s IPL campaign. "Any of the seniors who come in, be it Rahane, Ashwin or Steve Smith, they have a lot of knowledge to impart to the young camp. We expect all the seniors will continue to do so, including Steve Smith," he said during the launch event of DC's new IPL jersey. "There was a lot of uncertainty. Idea is to have a balanced squad," Bisht added. Bisht admitted that the youngsters have been performing well for the team. "We had a young team which has been groomed for the last 3-4 years. Now they have flowered. If the youngsters continue to do well, we will look to have them with the two new teams coming in next year," he concluded. Iyer has been leading DC since Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the post during the 2018 season of the IPL. The last edition’s runners-up Delhi Capitals will begin the IPL 2021 campaign against Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai.

Australia to host Ireland next summer, Afghanistan Test scheduled before Ashes 2021-22

Ireland will play a Test match against Australia in the next Australian summer as per a Sydney Morning Herald report. It will be Ireland’s first-ever Test outside the United Kingdom, after getting the status of a Test-playing nation in 2017. The Leprechauns made their Test debut against England at Lord’s in 2019. The landmark Test for the European country will take place at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Suffering a massive dent in its reputation for overlooking weaker nations, Cricket Australia has drawn up plans to host ‘minnows’ over the next two seasons of cricket. As per those plans, the Test match between Australia and Afghanistan, initially scheduled for last year, could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That Test will now take place in the next season just before the home side locks horns with arch-rivals England in the Ashes. The move to host two minnows—Afghanistan and Irelan in two consecutive Australian summers has been taken in wake of Cricket Australia coming under pressure for overlooking weaker teams and dumping series planned as per the Future Tour Programme (FTP) of the ICC.