Michael Hussey will take commercial flight but to reach together with Maldives contingent on May 17

Mahi sir’s advice helped me: Jharkhand’s Indrani Roy after getting maiden India call-up

It is not often that you play your first tournament for the senior state team, become top scorer and get a maiden India call-up as well. While for some it sounds ridiculously difficult, Jharkhand’s Indrani Roy begs to differ. Indrani, who is still to get an Indian Passport has been picked in all three teams (ODI, Tests and T20Is) for India Women’s England tour in June. The young wicketkeeper-batter credited legendary India Men’s skipper, MS Dhoni, for his advice, which helped her maximise her potential. Talking about a chance meeting with the former India player and current skipper of the Chennai Super Kings, Indrani said, “During a training session in Ranchi sometime last year, I had a long conversation with Mahi Sir about how to improve my game.” “He had told me that I should ensure that I improve my reflexes and movement in the five-metre radius. For wicketkeepers, that’s a key thing and he advised me that I should try and get better. That actually helped me,” she added while speaking to Sportstar. Roy, who was born Lilua of Howrah district in West Bengal, moved to Jharkhand at a young age to pursue her cricketing career as she and her parents believed that the neighbouring state had greater opportunities than their own. The decision is seemed to bearing fruit as in her very first tournament for Jharkhand, the 23-year-old became one of the main reasons for the state’s first-ever appearance in the final of the prestigious Senior Women’s One Day Trophy. “Learning a thing or two from a legend like Mahi Sir is a privilege and his advice actually helped me improve my game. Every time I hit the ground, I try to remember his tips,” said Roy who scored 456 runs in eight matches at an outstanding average of 76 and with two hundred in her kitty.

Never used the term prima donna: WV Raman issues clarification on letter to BCCI Chief Ganguly

WV Raman the former India Women’s coach has issued a clarification on his letters to Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid regarding the team’s culture and unhealthy system. The 55-year-old, who refused to indulge in the letter any further in a Tweet a few days ago, said that he wanted both the senior cricketers, who are now in a position of power to do course correction for the betterment of players. “My writing to Sourav was to propel him into action to course-correct if required. The letter dealt with the need for the system to encourage or ensure players adhere to healthy team culture,” the Chennai born told Cricbuzz in an interview. The former India player further clarified his adding of adding Dravid in the letter. He said, “Ganguly has seen it all as a former player and captain, and therefore, I felt it was better to get him into the frame. I also added Dravid because he handles cricketers of the future and might make certain aspects a part of the curriculum in the NCA if he hasn't already.” Raman had stormed a controversy in Women Cricket when he wrote to BCCI President Ganguly and Chairman of the National Cricket Academy Dravid regarding the ‘Prima-Donna’ culture in the Indian Women’s team and how it is making the dressing room situation unhealthy. Explaining his prima-donna comment which was the main reason for controversy, Raman said, “Typical of the current era, the phrase prima donna, which has never figured in the letter, has hogged the headlines! The whole point of the letter was to appraise Sourav about certain practices that need to be reviewed and rectified if he so deemed fit.” Ramesh Powar was appointed as India Women's coach after Raman's extended tenure ended in April this year. Raman had guided India Women's to their first-ever appearance in the Final of WT20 in 2020 when they were defeated by hosts Australia in iconic MCG. The match was attended by record audiences for any women's game in history.

Joe Root asks England to be at their peak for 'pinnacle' Ashes in Australia

England are set to host New Zealand and India in consecutive Test series spanning from early June to early September but the skipper Joe Root has his eyes set on the most vouched target for an English skipper—The Ashes, scheduled for the end of this year. Joe Root said that the Test team has made good strides over the last couple of years albeit they were defeated badly in India. Joe Root conceded that England did not ‘sail’ through but also saw improvement even in the face of defeats against India. He asked his teammates to get at the peak of their prowess when they face Australia in the Ashes series that will be the ‘pinnacle’ of the contest they have faced in the last couple of years since the Ashes series in 2019. "We've made good strides over the last couple of years as a Test team. It's not been plain sailing, we've not had it all our own way, but we still improved. I truly believe we are making good strides in the right direction, and now we've got an opportunity to keep improving, keep getting better and peak for Australia, which is the pinnacle for us,” Root told Sky Sports during the county championship game against Glamorgan. ECB director of cricket, Ashley Giles had said that England would not force a fasten return of players who were in India for the IPL in the series against New Zealand. He had also said raised that England would try new talents that meant the new windows of opportunities for fringe players such as Ollie Robbinson and James Bracey. However, Root conceded that the new selection committee headed by an all-powerful coach Chris Silverwood will have their task cut out while deciding between handing opportunities to new players and giving sufficient game time to established players before the all-important tour of Australia. “It's very difficult at the minute, the circumstances make it very tricky. You've got to factor in so many different things and the welfare of the players is obviously paramount. But this is what you play for, years like this one. You want to pit yourself against the best, you want to be successful against the best, and this is the opportunity to do it,” Root added. England will face New Zealand in the two-match long Test series starting June 2 at the Lord’s while the series against India will commence on August 04 at in Nottingham.

Tim Southee rates Test cricket as 'most treasured' format ahead of WTC final against India

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee is ecstatic at the prospect of playing the final of the World Test Championship in the format he said is most treasured for him. He said that it will be an unusual setting to face the Indian side in England but the highly competitive nature of both sides is expected to offer a great contest in the WTC final. "I love Test cricket. For me, it's my most treasured format. I love all three, but Test cricket is something that really gets the blood boiling. Being the first [World Test Championship final] it will be pretty special as well. India in England is unusual on its own, but it's great to test yourself against one of the best sides and they have been for a long period of time. It should be a great match,” Southee said in an interview with stuff.co.nz. Tim Southee made his Test debut way back in 2008 against England and the 32-year-old often face the question of how long can he continue playing for the Blackcaps. Dismissing talks surrounding his age, Southee said that age is just a number as long as an individual is able to match the high standards of international cricket. He also pointed to the example of James Anderson and said that the Englishman is still ruling the world at the age of 38 years. "As long as you’re still able to perform and reach those high standards it takes to represent your country then I think age is only a number. You look at the likes of James Anderson who is 38. He’s still arguably bowling as well as he ever has. Think cricketers in general look after themselves a lot better. We're a lot fitter as a group; we train a lot on the strength and conditioning side of things. I think you’ll see players play for longer," the Kiwi quick added. Southee will be facing England in a two-match long Test series starting June 02 before the WTC final against India. He has done well against England in the past and Kane Williamson will bank on him to swing games in Blackcaps’ favour in the series against England and WTC final against India.