Recovered from injury, 'focussed' Ajinkya Rahane hits nets in Durham

Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dickwella slapped with bans in bio-bubble breach case

Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella have been reportedly slapped with individual bans in the bio-bubble breach case. While Gunathilaka and Mendis have been handed a two-year cricket ban each, Dickwella has been banned from the game for 18 months. All three players have also been fined $ 25,000. Earlier, the images of the players had gone viral where they were seen roaming freely in Durham during Sri Lanka’s tour of England. The three cricketers were suspended by the board and were called back immediately from the tour. "The players have been suspended pending a full inquiry, but have confessed to having gone out," SLC vice-president Mohan de Silva had said earlier. "They are being recalled from the tour with immediate effect." The three players were issued a show-cause notice and their hearings were slated to begin on July 29. They were though allowed to bring their lawyers or representatives according to a report in Deccan Chronicle but they couldn’t intervene with the hearings. A panel comprising of Justice Nimal Dissanayaka (Retired Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka), Panduka Keerthinanda, (Attorney-at-Law), Asela Rekawa (Attorney-at-Law), Uchitha Wickremasinghe (Attorney-at-Law), and Major General (Retired) M. R. W. De Zoysa had to hear the plea in the matter.

Dom Bess will "never ever turn down" chance to play Ashes in Australia

After having a horrendous tour of India that led to exclusion from the Test side, England young off-spinner Dom Bess is not thinking twice over whether he should travel to Australia for the Ashes series irrespective of the Covid-19 norms imposed by the Australian government. He has said that the Ashes series has been a “pinnacle” and he would “never ever turn it down” albeit there are rumours about England players contemplating pulling out of the series due to the government’s policy. Calling the series an opportunity that gives him “goosebumps”, Bess emphasized that no one who can see a larger goal can deny the opportunity of going out there and defeating Australia in their own backyard. "It gives me goosebumps talking about it. It is the pinnacle. Just watching the 2005 Ashes and then being at school and staying up all night to watch 2010-11 when Cooky [Alastair Cook] scored hundred after hundred. That is the pinnacle of the career - everyone thinks about it. It is a tough ask," he added. "Obviously I don't know what will be happening about Australia and their regulations - but I think if your name was on the ticket and you were going to an Ashes series as a 24-year-old, a young lad, you would never ever turn that down,” Bess said. "I think it would be very tough leaving family and supporters at home, but it is an Ashes series away from home - something you dream of, playing against Australia in Australia and looking to win there. Certainly, you wouldn't turn that down. I don't think anyone who dreams of doing that would be able to turn that down." Bess was the leading England spinner until the start of the Test series against India but his inaccuracy with line and length did not make skipper Joe Root confident of his spinning abilities. He was dropped from the second Test after a relatively successful first Test with the ball and came back only in the final Test where his morale and confidence to land the ball in the right areas were certainly out of order. The career seemed to be out of track for Bess after the series as he expectedly did not find a place in the Test squad to face New Zealand at home. However, the disenchantment did not last longer for Bess as England have recalled him in the squad for the first two Tests against India. Bess has not had a great time with the ball in the initial phase of the County Championship either but a tally of 23 wickets from 10 games does not look terrible either on pitches not so much conducive for spin bowling. However, Bess is not at all putting a lot of pressure on himself leading up to the Test series against India and is instead willing to enjoy the series after having worked his way back to the side. "It is an exciting time but there is no pressure from me to put myself under. I just want to enjoy this series because I know how much I have worked this summer and what I have done,” Bess said. The Test series between India and England is scheduled to kick in from August 04 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham while the Ashes series is scheduled to start in the fag end of the year.

Indian players had dined together a day before Krunal Pandya tested positive for Covid-19

The eight Indian players who had missed the second T20I against Sri Lanka had dined together a day before all-rounder Krunal Pandya had tested positive for Covid-19 according to a report in The Indian Express. The players who didn’t feature in the second clash of the three-match series and are will be missing the third game as well are Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, K Gowtham and Ishan Kishan. All these players were kept in isolation after Krunal tested positive. The left-handed all-rounder had complained of a sore throat ahead of the second match and underwent a Rapid Antigen Test which returned positive. The match that was scheduled for Tuesday was subsequently postponed for Wednesday and all the Indian players underwent RT-PCR tests. The results of all others returned negative. The third and final T20I between the two sides will be played on Thursday in Colombo. Meanwhile, the Indian team is likely to take a chartered fight to Bangalore after the third T20I. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in continuous contact with the Sri Lankan board and the medical team is taking care of Krunal’s health. The board is also making arrangements for Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav who were earlier called-up for the Test series against England. The two batsmen will have to present three negative RT-PCR tests to join the squad in the UK.

Vinay Kumar set to be part of Mumbai Indians Talent Scout team

Former Indian pacer Vinay Kumar has been roped in as a Talent Scout for the five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians. Vinay Kumar who recently played for the India Legends in the Road Safety World Series is the latest entrant in the list of talent scouts. Former wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel was also appointed as a Talent Scout not long ago. Vinay Kumar despite not having an illustrious international career was one of the stalwarts in the domestic circuit. He led Karnataka to two Ranji Trophy titles and was also part of the Mumbai Indians squad when they won the title in 2015 and 2017. The medium-pacer bid adieu to professional cricket in February 2021. Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani expressed his delight at hiring Vinay Kumar in the talent scout programme. Vinay will be working closely with the coaching staff and the team management. “I am delighted to have Vinay join our talent scout programme. Mumbai Indians is established on strong fundamentals of discovering talent and belief in nurturing youth. I am confident Vinay will add value to our ideology and scouting strength,” Akash Ambani said. Having represented Mumbai Indians as a player, Vinay Kumar felt honoured at getting the opportunity to get associated with Mumbai Indians again. “I am honoured for this opportunity to associate with Mumbai Indians again. Mumbai Indians strives for excellence in every aspect of the game, and scouting talents is undoubtedly their key strength. It’s a new chapter and personally, I reckon it as an opportunity for me to give back to cricket,” Vinay Kumar said.