Ross Taylor suffers grade one calf strain ahead of England tour

PSL 6: Franchises want tournament in UAE after spike in Covid cases in Pakistan

The Covid-19 which forced the postponement of the Pakistan Super League’s sixth edition has once again come back before the restart of the same season to haunt the franchises and the board. With more than 4500 Covid-19 cases being reported daily for the past week, the country is now seeing a new surge, which might be the second wave. Due to this rise in the Covid cases, the franchises have asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to relook its decision of holding the league in Karachi and given the United Arab Emirates as the alternate choice, as reported by ESPNCricinfo. The PSL is to resume on June 2 with 16 league-stage matches slotted between June 2 to June 14 at the National Stadium in Karachi. All the players have been asked to assemble by May 23 for mandatory seven-day quarantine. The playoffs are scheduled for June 16 and June 18, and the final on June 20. The problem in taking league is not only financial but the heat of June is almost intolerable in the Emirates and not at all fit for playing sports. The sixth edition of the PSL was postponed due to a rise in covid cases in the bio-bubble. A total of 14 league matches were played between February 20 and March 3. Recently, PSL held a draft and picked new foreign recruits to fill in the loopholes of the teams as most of the foreign stars earlier part of various teams are now busy in County cricket and international duties.

Hampshire rope in Colin de Grandhomme for 2021 T20 Blast

Hampshire have included New Zealand’s Colin de Grandhomme for the 2021 T20 Blast. He has been out of the international action due to an ankle injury and missed out on the home fixtures against West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia in 2020-21. But he has been playing domestic cricket. He had begun the training last month after the surgery and is in line of getting a recall for the two-match Test series against England and the WTC final that is scheduled to take place against India next month at Lord’s. He last featured in a game for New Zealand back in March 2020 against India and was associated with Birmingham Bears for two years in 2017 and 2018 in T20 Blast. He has donned the New Zealand jersey in 24 Tests where he as scored 1185 runs and picked up 47 wickets while has been capped 42 times in ODIs and 36 times in the T20Is. In ODIs, De Grandhomme has notched up 722 runs and has scalped 27 wickets while in the T20Is, he has scored 487 runs and has 11 dismissals to his name. The all-rounder has also been associated with the IPL teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the past.

CSA ensures safe return of players, support staff

The Cricket South Africa (CSA) has ensured that all the players and support staff will return home after the IPL 2021 was suspended for an indefinite time on Tuesday. The CSA has further said that it is in constant touch with the franchises to ensure that the South African players and support staff return back home safely and also supported BCCI’s decision. “CSA supports the decision to put the health and safety interests of all involved in the tournament first and foremost and has made contact with all of the relevant franchises to ensure the expedited travel of all South African players and support staff back to our shores,” a tweet read. The players and other members who will be travelling back to South Africa will have to undergo a mandatory home quarantine. Earlier, on Tuesday, the BCCI had suspended the IPL after there was a rise in COVID-19 cases within the franchise teams. SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha, DC’s Amit Mishra and KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrior and CSK’s bowling coach L. Balaji had tested positive. The clash between KKR and RCB which was scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad on Monday was the first match that was initially rescheduled while the encounter between SRH and MI slated to take place in Delhi on Tuesday was suspended later. Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi are some of the prominent players from South Africa who are a part f the IPL 2021.

IPL 2021: CA won’t seek exemption from May 15 deadline for safe home return of Australian cricketers

Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association in a joint statement has confirmed that they are in touch with the Australian players present in the IPL bio-bubble after the indefinite suspension of the tournament. It further confirmed that it would not ask for an exemption from May 15 deadline set by the Australian government for a ban on travel to and from India. Terming the decision of BCCI to indefinitely postpone the 2021 Indian Premier League as being in favour of the safety and wellbeing of all participants, CA added that the Indian board is working closely to ensure the safe return of Aussie cricketers back home. "CA is in direct contact with the BCCI as they work through plans to ensure the safe accommodation and repatriation of Australian players, coaches, match officials and commentators back home to Australia,” the joint statement released on Tuesday, May 4, read. "CA and the ACA respect the decision of the Australian Government to pause travel from India until at least May 15 and will not seek exemptions. CA and the ACA thank the BCCI for their efforts and cooperation for the safe repatriation of all participants at the IPL," it added. Earlier in the day, the BCCI and IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel released a statement saying the tournament, which was scheduled to be played till May 30, has been suspended indefinitely. "The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stakeholders in mind,” the statement read. "The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021," it said regarding the foreigners involved in the league.