Mushfiqur Rahim makes himself available for Zimbabwe T20Is with eye on Australia series

Shreyas Iyer to attend MCA's fitness camp ahead of IPL return

India batsman Shreyas Iyer has been included in the list of 45 players announced by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for its fitness camp. Iyer is recovering from a shoulder injury that he had sustained during the England series at home and has been out of action since. The right-handed batsman missed out on playing the first leg of the IPL for Delhi Capitals and the team was led by Rishabh Pant in his absence but later stated that he would return to play the second leg of the IPL. "My shoulder, yes, I think the healing process is done. Now it's the last stage of achieving strength and range. So that's going to take about a month and the training is obviously going on. Other than that, I feel, I will be there in the IPL," Iyer said on The Grade Cricketer's Podcast. The IPL was earlier suspended on May 4 after there was a Covid-19 outburst within the franchises. The cash-rich league will now resume in the UAE in September-October. Apart from Iyer, the list comprises some big names like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav. "The schedule of the fitness camp will be announced in due course of time," MCA said in a release on its website. Selected players: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Prithvi Shaw, Dhaval Kulkarni, Shivam Dube, Aditya Tare, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Arjun Tendulkar, Siddhesh Lad, Aakarshit Gomel, Pragnesh Kanpillewar, Divyansh Saxena, Chinmay Sutar, Arman Jaffer, Suved Parkar, Bhupen Lalwani, Hardik Tamore, Akash Parkar, Aman Khan, Shubham Ranjane, Sujit Nayak, Sairaj Patil, Prasad Pawar, Shams Mulani, Atharva Ankolekar, Dhrumil Matkar, Shreyas Gurav, Tanush Kotian, Ankush Jaiswal, Shashank Attarde, Prashant Solanki, Parikshit Valsangkar, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Awasthi, Nikhil Date, Roystan Dias, Atif Attarwala, Siddharth Raut, Kruthik Hanagawadi, Deepak Shetty, Ravi Solanki.

Just respect the Universe Boss - Chris Gayle aims World Cup spot after series victory

Universe Boss Chris Gayle was back not only with the bat in hand but also with the microphone at the post-match presentation after clobbering Australia all-around St Lucia and setting the platform for a convincing victory for the home team to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the 5 match series. After scoring a 37 balls 67, Chris Gayle took a direct dig at the commentators and pundits questioning him for lack of run-scoring form and asked them to let him enjoy the game at this ripe age of 42 and make peace with him missing out on occasions. The greatest ever T20 batsman to have graced the game, Gayle completed 14,000 T20 runs during the innings becoming the first to achieve that humungous landmark. Gayle is eyeing the T20 World Cup and wants to leave an impression in the showpiece event slated to be played in UAE later this year. "My main focus is the World Cup," he said at the post-match presentation ceremony. "Don't mind the numbers, Chris Gayle not getting the runs, soon to be 42. You guys should be happy to see Chris Gayle on the field still, hopefully, Chris will last as long as possible. Cherish those moments, commentators don't put up no stats about Chris Gayle not scoring a half-century. Just respect the Universe Boss, let him play cricket and have some fun. Enjoy the moment with Chris Gayle, a strong West Indies team and some good youngsters," Gayle added. Coming into the 3rd encounter, Gayle was woefully out of touch and several ex-cricketers have questioned his place in the side. However, Gayle responded in a fashion which only he can. Unlike most occasions where Gayle takes a little time to get going, he looked to unsettle the Aussie bowlers right from the outset taking Josh Hazlewood apart in the second over yielding 18 runs in 4 deliveries to set the ball rolling for the run-chase. After a period of lull in the middle overs, Gayle hammered Adam Zampa for three consecutive sixes before demolishing Riley Meredith for two sixes in the 13th over before perishing of a slower delivery from the speedster. By then the job was almost done with the hosts requiring just 30 odd runs with more than 7 overs remaining. The hard-hitting left-hander thanked regular skipper Kieron Pollard for showing faith in him and for making him understand his value in the team during a pep talk ahead of the encounter. The reception which Gayle received following his dismissal shows how popular he is in the dressing room. He dedicated his comeback knock to his teammates, Kieron Pollard in particular. "It's a great journey," he said at the presentation ceremony. "I'm so happy and so pleased to get a series win first of all. I just want to commend the stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran for winning a fantastic series against a great team. To Kieron Pollard, he played a big part as well even though he played in none of these games. You all knew I was struggling with the bat and to be able to get some runs today was very pleasing. "I want to dedicate this half-century and milestone to West Indies, my teammates, especially Kieron Pollard. We had a team meeting before the game and...he let me know where I stand within this team and he wanted me to go and express myself. So I'm very grateful for that pep talk because sometimes it doesn't matter how great you are, you need a bit of a talk sometimes,” he added.

Surprised Ben Stokes commends 'talented' squad for 'incredible achievement' against Pakistan

England stand-in skipper Ben Stokes is delighted that the fringe players who have made their way into the ODI side only after the first-choice players were ruled due to the Covid-19 crisis have been absolutely unfazed by the occasion of international cricket. He said that players coming from county cricket have bought into the ideas of playing a certain brand f cricket and have not made it look like a different team at all apart from the change in personnel. "With how vocal we have been in the media about how we want to play, I think players see that, read that and come in and buy into the mindset we have as a white-ball group. Everyone who has come into this squad has lived up to the reputation and mindset we have as an England team. It's different personnel but everyone has tried to play in the way we want,” Stokes said ahead of the final ODI of the series against Pakistan. "It's so pleasing to have a group of young players coming from county cricket and straight into international cricket and not let the occasion faze them whatsoever. I think how vocal we have been has definitely rubbed off onto the guys that have come in." Stokes conceded that he has been pleasantly surprised by the level of performances the players have put in the two ODIs against India although he always knew the squad that was picked at the last moment for the series against Pakistan would be a ‘strong and talented’ squad. He said that the attitude of players have established that the fearless approach that the England side have employed in the last four or five years have been received well by the players in the county circuit. "When I looked at the squad I thought that even though it was a last-minute thing, it was still a seriously strong and talented squad. I knew that we would be able to compete against Pakistan - but it would be a lie to say I am not surprised at how easily we have managed to do it,” Stokes said. "I think it's a reflection of the mindset England has when it comes to white-ball cricket - the modern way of playing is to go out and express yourselves, not worry about the occasion and be fearless. He credited the players for an ‘incredible achievement’ against a ‘very experienced’ Pakistan side in only two matches and rated players’ performance to turn things around in quick time a real positive for the overall state of England cricket. “A great thing to come out of the series is inexperienced guys performing on the biggest stage against a very experienced Pakistan side. To take the series two games in is massive credit to the team. With such a tight turnaround to get a group of players together, to be able to put all that to one side and put in the performances have done, is an incredible achievement,” Stokes added. “When you have a re-jig, a whole new squad comes in and puts in such good performances, that only adds to the expectations that get put onto the main guys' shoulders when they come back." Ben Stokes had injured his hand in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League and missed the Test series against New Zealand at the start of the summer. However, he was rushed to return to England side as the leader of the pack in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis in the camp.

Would be very frustrating to not be able to participate in The Hundred: Ben Stokes

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has said that the biosecure bubbles are meant for the cricketers’ safety but it would be "very frustrating to not be able to participate in The Hundred '' if the players had to enter the bio-bubble before the schedule for the Test series against India. "All these things are in place to make sure we're as safe as possible. I have no doubt things have had to go back to the drawing board. But everything is in place to ensure the safety of players and backroom staff," Stokes was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo."It would be very frustrating to not be able to participate in the Hundred," Stokes added. The left-handed batsman further went on to suggest that the franchise cricket does depend on big players. "It's a massive event for England and we want to be part of it. We know how big a role players have in making a franchise competition big and if the Test players were unable to play in it because of Covid that would be pretty devastating,” he said. Stokes was named the captain of the England team for the bilateral tie against Pakistan. The selectors were forced to announce a new squad for the Pakistan series following a Covid-19 outbreak within the team. Seven members of the side had tested positive for the virus while the others were isolated immediately considering that they were in close proximity. England presently lead the three-match ODI series 2-0 with the final encounter to take place on Tuesday (July 13, 2021) in Birmingham. The Hundred is slated to begin on July 22 where Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals lock horns with each other in the opener at the Oval.