Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane get valuable insights from Vinod Kambli ahead of SA tour

KKR have played vital role in me adorning the blues: Venkatesh Iyer

All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has become a household name in the recent past especially after making some significant contributions for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the second leg of the IPL 2021. Owing to his good performance in the cash-rich league, Iyer was called-up in the T20I squad for the New Zealand series at home. Talking about his success, Iyer credited the Knight Riders for playing an important role. "The franchise has played a very vital role in me adorning the blues. I am looking forward to playing at Eden Gardens, it's always special to be there and to play in front of a packed crowd,” Iyer said in a video released by KKR. Iyer who plays for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit has been in terrific form in the on-going Vijay Hazare Trophy where he has already scored a couple of tons and a fifty in the first four matches that he played. Apart from his batting, the all-rounder has been among the wickets as well after he scalped 8 wickets in the first four appearances in the tournament.

Ben Stokes signs contract extension for three years with Durham

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has signed a contract extension for three years with Durham. Stokes had made a return to cricket after taking a mental health break. Stokes expressed his delight after signing an extension with the club. “I am delighted to commit to a further three years with Durham, I have had some fantastic memories playing for the Club over the years and I look forward to experiencing more of this in the future," Stokes said. Playing for Durham, the left-handed batsman has notched up 3611 first-class runs in 64 matches. Apart from this, Stokes has played 62 T20 Blast games. Director of Cricket, Marcus North also expressed his joy after the all-rounder agreed his future to Durham for a further 3 years. "Ben is one of the finest players in the world and while we may not see him as much as we would like, his influence around the club remains huge. It's fantastic to see Ben back fit and well following his time away from the game and now back playing for England in the Ashes. We are extremely happy that Ben has agreed his future to Durham for a further 3 years," added Marcus North.

The Ashes | David Warner to undergo fitness test before day-night Test in Adelaide

The hosts Australia are expecting David Warner to be fit and ready for the second Test of the Ashes series starting December 16 in Adelaide but the opener is racing against the time to recover from the rib injury he picked up in the first Test. He is set to undergo a fitness test tonight when Australia will hit the nets under lights to prepare for the Pink Ball Test against their arch-rivals, Fox Sports reported. The batting hero of the Gabba Test with a swashbuckling hundred, Travis Head has expressed expectations that Warner will be ready to play the second Test and that all he needed was rest to get back in the groove. He said that the opener is in good space and should bat at the top of the order at the Adelaide Oval. “I flew home with him a couple of days ago. His family have come into Adelaide which was nice,” Travis Head said. “And he felt like he was in a good space. Obviously, he was a little bit sore, we didn’t take any risks with him only needing 20. “He was going to bat but in the end, our bowlers did a fantastic job to give him a day off. So I think for him it was just rest. I think he’s ready to go. So no issues for David.” He was hit on the rib while batting in the first innings where he notched up 94 aggressive runs before getting dismissed off Ollie Robinson and did not bat in the second innings. As per reports, he was going through a lot of pain but was prepared to take a painkiller to bat in the chase of 20 runs to take Australia 1-0 up in the five-match series. Australia have had other injury concerns as well with Josh Hazlewood being ruled out of the second Test due to a side strain. His spot in the playing XI would go to one among Jhye Richardson and Michael Nesser with the former being frontrunner for his ability to swing the ball at a raw pace.

'This is a pleasant surprise' - Priyank Panchal on his maiden call-up to India's Test squad