Players freely went outside of bio-bubble: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has spoken about the postponement of the PSL 2021 due to the rise in COVID-19 cases and claimed that the players roamed freely outside the bio-bubble.

“Some players freely went outside of the bubble, whilst some people from outside came in and out of the bubble. What exactly was this bubble about?,” questioned Inzi.

The former right-handed batsman also emphasised that the postponement of the tournament might also create problems in future as the touring teams can be reluctant of travelling to the country.

“Players can say that the arrangements in Pakistan are not adequate. This happened last time as well. This can create future problems. Other teams might have issues now. We are already hearing that some players have returned their tickets, citing either their board or country as the source that is warning them. The doors of cricket had opened in Pakistan. Now, will other countries send their players to our country?,” Inzamam further said.

Inzamam further went on to say that the culprits should be identified and strict actions should be taken against them.

“This is a point to ponder. Just because we needed to hold this tournament to satisfy the sponsors, our mistakes have cost us in such a massive manner. If we don’t take this matter seriously and try to sweep it under the rug then in the future this will happen again. They should pinpoint the culprits and distance them from the entire thing,” he said.

Discover more

England batsmen are not good enough in Indian conditions: Andrew Strauss

Former England captain Andrew Strauss has made a bold statement and has said that the English batsmen are “not good enough” to play in the Indian conditions. The visitors were bundled out for 205 in the first innings of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday. “Let’s not hide away from the truth. England’s batting quite frankly is not good enough in these conditions,” Strauss was quoted as saying by ‘Channel 4’. “You can talk about the pitch and about the ball and about anything else, but you have to find a way to score first innings runs and they have got very few to play with.” Talking about the mindset, Strauss said that the batsmen are committing the similar mistakes that they have throughout the series. “England are making the same mistakes they have made throughout the whole series. The non-turning ball has left them non-plussed.” While England managed to score 205 on Day 1, India ended the day’s proceedings at 24/1. Stokes top-scored for England with 55 while it was Axar Patel and R Ashwin once again who dominated with the ball for India. Patel scalped a four-wicket haul while Ashwin bagged three wickets during the course. The home side leads the four-match series 2-1 and needs to either win or draw this final clash in Ahmedabad to register a place in the WTC final to be played against New Zealand at Lord’s. But if India suffer a defeat in this match then Australia will march into the finals to face the Blackcaps.

We’re capable of scoring more than 300 on a wicket like this: Ben Stokes

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has admitted that the way the visitors batted was frustrating but also defended the team selection. England were bundled out for 205 in the first innings of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Stokes who top-scored with 55 said that the pitch is a better one as compared to the last match. “We felt that seam isn’t going to offer as much in terms of being a threat, it’s more of a holding role,” Stokes said. “It’s definitely a better wicket than the last test match. I think as the day progressed, you could see that the ball started to spin more, and had more bounce…In the previous match, spinners claimed 28 of the 30 wickets that tumbled in five sessions.” Stokes added that the side is capable of scoring more than 300 runs on this kind of a track. “We’re more than capable of scoring more than 300 on a wicket like that out here, it’s frustrating,” Stokes added. England trail the four-match series 1-2 and have been knocked out of the WTC after they lost the third match at the Narendra Modi Stadium. India, on the other hand, need to either win or draw this game to make a place for themselves in the final of WTC. But if the home side suffers a defeat in this match then Australia will march into the final and will be up against New Zealand in the title clash at Lord’s. India ended Day 1 at 24/1 with Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara still at the crease. Earlier, Axar Patel scalped four wickets while R Ashwin picked up three in the first innings.

Alex Hales takes a dig at PCB

England batsman Alex Hales has taken a dig at the PSL arrangements. Hales who is a part of Islamabad United posted a picture of food served to him. Earlier, in the day the PSL 2021 was put to halt after the rise in the COVID-19 cases in the tournament. "Following a meeting with the team owners and considering the health and wellbeing of all participants is paramount, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to postpone the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 with immediate effect," the PCB said in a statement. PCB CEO Wasim Khan expressed disappointment after the tournament had to be postponed. "It is a great disappointment for us and we find ourselves in a situation where we question whether we can provide full protection for players as their health and well being comes above everything else," said Khan. "We looked at the option of halting proceedings for a few days but in the last few days there was a huge concern even among the franchises and players," he added The United team was placed at number three position in the points table before the tournament was postponed. In four matches that they played, Islamabad United won three of them and had 6 points under their belt. They played their last encounter against Quetta Gladiators and won the match by 6 wickets and 18 balls to spare. Hales scored 23 off 13 in this match.

There’s no real emotional connection with RCB owners: Shane Watson

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson who has been a part of Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL has said that he did have a good experience with the RCB players but “there’s no real emotional connection with the owners”. “RCB was a great experience because of the calibre of players I played with. It was run by Diageo which is sort of a Johnny Walker company, so it was more corporately sort of run, which is different. There’s no real emotional connection with the owners who put in their heart and soul into it,” Watson was quoted as saying in a Grade Cricketer podcast. Watson hailed CSK coach Stephen Fleming and captain MS Dhoni. The former Aussie player rated Fleming as the “best coach” with whom he had worked. "CSK was an incredible experience – to be with a team that was ageing, because of the experience we had, to be led by MS Dhoni, to be coached by Stephen Fleming, who is the best coach I’ve ever worked with," Watson said. The right-handed batsman further said that the kind of connection Fleming has with Dhoni is good. "Fleming’s man-management skills, understanding of individuals and team environment, and also his cricket knowledge is ultimate. And, of course, the connection he had with MS Dhoni. That was a super cool experience," Watson added. Watson played 145 matches in the IPL scoring 3874 runs and picking up 92 wickets.