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Ramiz Raja Urges Western Countries To Laud Subcontinent Teams For Their Commitment To The Game

Ramiz Raja urges western countries to laud subcontinent teams for their commitment to the game

Former Pakistan batsman turned commentator Ramiz Raza has taken an indirect dig at the England Cricket Board (ECB) for maintaining double standards in tacking the COVID situation. Raja said that the western countries need to start acknowledging the subcontinent and their commitment to the game.

He pointed out that despite seven personnel from the England team testing positive for the novel coronavirus, the Pakistan team has decided to stay back and continue with their white-ball tour. England were forced to name a completely new squad for the ODI series against Pakistan as all the members from the squad which played against Sri Lanka had to go undergo mandatory 10-day isolation.

The English team had left a tour of South Africa midway last year when COVID-19 had breached through the South African team bubble. However, in a similar circumstance this time around, Pakistan decided to stay back and continued with the England tour.

“England team suffer at the hands of COVID yet Pakistan team stays. South Africa had one player with symptoms of covid in Dec and England chose to leave quoting mental challenges. West needs to acknowledge the spirit of the subcontinent and commitment to the game… nahin?? (isn’t it?)," he asked on Twitter.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is satisfied with ECB’s arrangements after the COVID scare.

“The PCB is satisfied by the assurances and guarantees provided by the ECB on behalf of its medical panel, and feels comfortable with the existing protocols that have been put in place to ensure all the Pakistan players and player support staff remain safe and secure throughout the duration of the series, which commences on Thursday, July 8, in Cardiff," the PCB said in its official statement.

“The PCB has also been in touch with its team management and has advised them to exercise extra caution while in the hotel or at the match venue," it added.

Meanwhile, the new-look England team will be led by Ben Stokes with as many as 9 uncapped players in the 18 member squad. Three of the English cricketers and four support staff tested positive for COVID-19 just 48 hours before the commencement of the first game and the whole squad which were supposed to take on Pakistan has gone into isolation. The three-match ODI series commences from 8 July (Thursday) with the final match of the tour slated to be played on 20th July.

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Indian players to get their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 7th and 9th July

The UK bound Indian players who are currently enjoying their break in England ahead of the five-match Test series against England will get their second jab of the COVID-19 vaccine on 7th and 9th July. Sources close to the development told ANI that the second dose of the vaccination has been planned for the team. "The second dosage has been planned for the cricketers and they will be vaccinated on Wednesday and Friday," the source was quoted as saying by ANI. The Indian players are currently enjoying their time in different parts of England after the final of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship. They are set to rejoin the bio-bubble on 14th July, 20 days prior to the first Test. At the request of BCCI, ECB has arranged a practice game for the Indians before the first Test commences on 4th August. Indian skipper Virat Kohli had expressed his desire during a virtual press conference after the WTC final that his side wanted first-class games ahead of the England series which was not given to them due to some unknown reasons. Despite the COVID protocols in place, ECB has managed to organise a practice match for the touring side. The touring side has been dealt with a major blow after opener Shubman Gill was ruled out of the five-match series and will head back home recently. He sustained a shin injury earlier which got aggravated during the WTC final which will prevent him from taking the field for atleast 8 weeks.

29 Sri Lanka players give into pressure; sign contract ahead of India series

Former Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews have declined to sign the new tour contract for the forthcoming limited-overs series against India and have opted out of both the ODI and the T20I series after he was offered a tour contract for the India series. He is the only member of the 30 member group to opt-out of the contract. The rest of the 29 players might have signed the contract for the India series but Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s (SLC) decision to not continue with the annual contracts has put several players in a precarious situation. Test specialists like Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Dinesh Chandimal will be without a contract until November when they are due to play their next Test. Meanwhile coming to the decision taken by Mathews, SLC released a statement where they mentioned that Mathews had requested them to relieve him from the national duties for the India series citing personal reasons. SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said that this the board’s way of penalising the players who refused to sign the central contracts making several demands over the same. He said that the players will only be offered tour contracts until this year as they had enough time to sign the contracts but they didn’t. There is distress among the Sri Lankan cricketers and it will be interesting to see how they deal with it. "I don't know how there can be unity in the team while all this is going on," a senior player was quoted by the ESPNcricinfo. "Some players are being blamed for being the first to sign the tour contracts, and others are defending themselves for doing that,” he added. Meanwhile, it must be noted that the Lankan players had decided to sign the annual contract midway through their tour of England but by the time they returned, SLC had already made their decision to withdraw the central contracts. De Silva said that the central contracts will again be in place from 2022.

Frustrated Angelo Mathews takes sabbatical from international cricket

Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has taken a sabbatical from international cricket and have opted out from the limited-overs series against India. However, his Sri Lankan teammates have signed the tour contract ahead of the series against India which was confirmed by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) on Wednesday. Mathews who has been one of the most consistent performers for his national side was considered among the 30 nominated by the board for the white ball series against India. While 29 of them have signed the contract, Mathews has opted out of the c0ntract citing personal reasons. "Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that 29 players, out of the 30 members nominated by the cricket selectors to be considered for the white-ball series against India, have signed the tour contract," the SLC said in a statement. "Angelo Mathews... requested Sri Lanka Cricket to relieve him from national duties, owing to personal reasons, until further notice,” the statement added. The former Sri Lankan skipper last played for the national side during the Caribbean tour earlier this year. He was subsequently dropped in May with several other senior cricketers as the selectors wanted to move forward keeping an eye on the ODI World Cup slated to be played in India in 2023. The Sri Lankan cricket team are currently going through their toughest phases in international cricket. They were thumped by England in both ODI and the T20I series as they never managed to show any sort of resistance whatsoever. Meanwhile, vice-captain Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka and wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella was sent back home midway through the tour after they breached the bio-bubble protocols. They could be in line for a lengthy suspension. The limited-overs series involving Sri Lanka and India kicks off on 13th July with three ODIs and the same number of T20s. The Indian side will be led by Shikhar Dhawan in the absence of several of their first-choice players. Despite sending a second-string side, India will start as outright favourites and will look to ease past the struggling Lankans.

Our performances are not consistent due to poor selection policy: Shahid Afridi lambasts PCB

One of the biggest names of Pakistan cricketing circuit, Shahid Afridi has questioned the selection process of the Pakistan players and said that it has become too easy to represent the nation. The former all-rounder said that a player must spend atleast two seasons in the domestic circuit and perform before getting picked in the national team. During a function in Pakistan, Pakistan spoke about how it has become so easy for the young generation to play for Pakistan. He expressed his surprise at how the players were chopped and changed with debuts being handed over to several players in the white-ball format. "It has become so easy to play for the national team whereas in the past playing for the Pakistan team was the ultimate for any professional cricketer,” Afridi said. The former swashbuckling all-rounder said that the selection criteria had become so easy that people with very little domestic experience is rushed into the national side and then shown the door at a haste. “That is why our performances are not consistent with the amount of cricket we play in Pakistan,” Afridi said. "Why have we made it so really easy for players to represent their country. I am sad to see that a player gives one or two good performances in domestic cricket or the PSL and he is in the national team.” “What is this? You should make your cricketers play domestic cricket,” he further added Afridi feels that a player’s temperament, talent and ability to cope with pressure can only be analysed after he has spent atleast two to three years in the domestic circuit. He added on the mental quotient which he feels is much more important when it comes to international cricket. He feels for a player to be more technically equipped he must toil hard in the domestic arena before being considered for national selection. "We must now judge the difference between just talent and mental strength of a player,” Afridi added. He feels that a selector gets an opportunity to judge the temperament of a player only after he has played two-three years in the domestic circuit. He further urged the coaches and the selectors to not show the door to players after a few blip ups. "If you give a chance to a player and he doesn’t perform, he should be sent back into domestic cricket. Don’t make playing for Pakistan so easy. Players must know the value of international cricket. I am totally against players coming into the side on just one or two performances,” Afridi concluded.