Home
Cricket News
Nationwide Lockdown Imposed In Bangladesh Casts Doubt On Teams Sri Lanka Tour

Nationwide lockdown imposed in Bangladesh, casts doubt on team’s Sri Lanka tour

The Bangladesh Cricket team would be returning home from their tour of New Zealand and would be welcomed by a nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to curtail the ever-rising cases of Covid-19. The returning players were to join the players in the Test squad after spending some time with their families, but now it all seems to be threatened. Even the team’s ever pending Sri Lanka tour is now under threat as well.

BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury though is hopeful that the team would be allowed to tour the island nation, but cannot help himself from casting certain doubts at it. "All the arrangements (for the tour) are in place but at the moment we are focusing on observing the condition of the country,” Cricbuzz quoted him as saying. "I cannot say it is doubtful at the moment considering the government just announced the lockdown,” Chowdhary added.

Bangladesh were originally scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match test series in June- July 2020. However, due to Covid-19, the series was postponed to November- December 2020 and then eventually to April 2021.

Taking the situation into account, Chowdhary said that BCB would have a discussion with all the stakeholders before allowing the team to embark on the journey to Sri Lanka for the two Tests at Pallekelle.

"We will understand where we stand within a few days and a decision in this regard will be taken after consulting with respective authorities (government) as well as discussing with our Sri Lankan counterpart as well," Chowdhary said.

The two-match series begins with the first Test starting on April 21. The second Test begins on April 29.

Discover more

IPL 2021: Gurkeerat Mann replaces injured Rinku Singh at KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders have roped in India and Punjab all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann as a replacement for injured Rinku Singh for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. The development took place late at night on April 3. The 30-year-old Gurkeerat was previously with Royal Challengers Bangalore and has represented Kings XI Punjab, now known as Punjab Kings as well as Delhi Daredevils now called Delhi Capitals, in the past. Gurkeerat having made an international debut for India was base-priced at Rs 50 lakhs and has been acquired for that by the Shah-Rukh Khan owned side. The Sri Muktsar Sahib born has so far played 41 IPL games and in them, he has scored 511 runs at a lowly strike rate of 121 and has also taken five wickets whit his occasional off-spin. The Punjab middle-order permanent stay has played three ODIs for India and in them has only been able to score 13 runs. KKR begin their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 11.

I asked Dravid, who is this guy?: When Billings saw young Pant destroying Morris and Coulter-Nile in nets

English wicket-keeper batsman Sam Billings feels lucky to be back at Delhi Capitals from where he started his IPL career. Remembering the time when he first saw Rishabh Pant, now the captain of the side, Billings said, “We had a hit in the middle in my first season here. I had never heard of Rishabh before. He hit [Chris] Morris, [Nathan] Coulter-Nile and lots of people everywhere.” “I asked [Rahul] Dravid, ‘who is this guy?’ Well, now we all know who Rishabh Pant is.” The 29-year-old further went on to say that he had called Rishabh Pant the best young cricketer that he had ever seen. Billings is one of the three English players in the side alongside Chris Woakes and Tom Curran. He felt overwhelmed by how the team has been welcoming of him and Curran, the two new foreign signings alongside Steve Smith. “It’s great to be here in Delhi. Obviously, I started my IPL journey here[in 2016 with Delhi Daredevils]. There is a great group of players and obviously, they have all been welcoming of me and TC (Tom Curran),” said Billings who has so far scored 334 runs in 22 matches with three fifties and at a strike rate of 133. Billings who is a big FIFA and Twitch gaming fan have started his video channel and also uploads there, his adventures with the drone. But all that has not distracted him from the task at hand he can’t just wait to get on the field. “I love the IPL. It’s one of the great competitions in the world. There is so much enthusiasm and buzz around the IPL, you can’t get it anywhere else. I am very much looking forward to it and offering as much as possible to the team, whether or not I am in the team or not,” said the Kent cricketer. The Capitals start their IPL campaign against the Chennai Super Kings on April 10 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Sanju Samson would be good enough: Rajasthan skipper shrugs of the title Captain Cool 2.0

Rajasthan Royals would be entering the Indian Premier League 2021, with a new captain, new coach and newer possibilities. Sanju Samson, the leader of the Royals though is not afraid of taking on the challenge of captaincy and carrying a million Rajasthani dreams on his shoulders. Being a wicket-keeper batsman who is calm in the field and aggressive with bat, comparisons with legendary Indian skipper MS Dhoni were natural. However, Samson, 26, refused to be compared to the CSK skipper saying, “I don’t think anybody could be like MS Dhoni. I would like to be myself, Sanj Samson would be good enough.” Talking about the opportunity to be coached by the legendary Sri Lankan skipper and wicket-keeper batsman Kumara Sangakkara, Kerala born said, “This is a dream come true and it was very exciting to know that I will be working so closely with a legend like Kumar Sangakkara.” “My first memory of Sanga is definitely his cover drive and I loved his batting,” he added. Sanju was announced captain of the side s the team decided to let go of the former skipper Steve Smith and have a new beginning. Talking about the leadership challenge and how did he land the role, he said, “To be very honest, till last year, I didn’t possibly felt that I would be leading the Royals.” “Our lead owner Manoj Badale told me that our franchise wants me to lead the team and asked me to take up the role.” Rajasthan open their IPL campaign against the Punjab Kings on April 12 at the Wankhede Stadium.

Watch: What happened when Dhoni of 2005 met Dhoni of 2021

One of the most successful captains of the Indian cricket team and arguably of the entire world, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the hope that all Chennai Super Kings fans would be clinging on to ahead of the IPL 2021. To boost those hopes, MSD of 2021-the calm, composed and enigmatic personality had a meeting with the Mahi of 2005, the long brown-haired flamboyant Dhoni that hit sixes for fun and didn’t care about the situation or the opposition. All of this took place in an advertisement for an engine oil brand. In the ad, the Dhoni of yesteryears, a bit shy, with a teasing smile is conversing with a Dhoni of 2021, bulkier, probably with experience and the burden of carrying the most loved team in the world and the most loved club in the IPL on his shoulders for more than 13 years now. The 2005 Dhoni is surprised to know that he would be winning two World Cups, a Champions Trophy and three IPL titles along with a Champions League. He also comes to know that he would be giving up on his favourite things like Butter Chicken. It is the chemistry between the two Dhonis that would pull viewers towards the video. At one instant, the 2005 version Dhoni says, “I am learning a lot from seniors and the coaches and trying to improve my game and slowly and steadily I will catch up,”. There is tension in his eyes and evidently in his sly smile, to which Dhoni of today replies, “Just relax a bit” and the 2005 Dhoni says, “Thank You Sir.” The innocence with which he says that 'Thank You Sir' will transfer you back in time and take you to the Jaipurs, the Vishakhapatnams and Rawalpindis where we saw that raw Dhoni for the first time. CSK plays its first encounter of the IPL 2021 against Delhi Capitals on 10th April at the Wankhede.