Shahid Afridi denied entry in UAE

IPL 2021 player auctions on 18th February

The Indian Premier League governing council has confirmed the dates of the player auctions for the 2021 season of the league. The auctions will take place on 18th February in Chennai. The announcement was made through the official Twitter handle of the IPL. The IPL auction is going to be an interesting affair as a lot of teams have released star players who would be bidded for heavily on the 18th of the upcoming month. While teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Mumbai Indians have retained most of their squad, others like Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, and Chennai Super Kings would be looking to fill in the gaps that have been created due to forced changes. The Kings XI will enter the auction with the biggest purse of 53 crores followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore who have 35.9 crores and Rajasthan Royals with 34.8 crores. The biggest players to look out for would be the players who have made themselves in the BBL10 as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. Apart from these players others like Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Tom Banton, Nathan Coulter Nile, Aaron Finch, and Chris Morris would be on top o the team's list.

Head coach Chris Silverwood expects England to be at full-strength to take on India

As the full squad has reached India for the four-match Test series against the home side, the touring England side is confident of having all the first choice players available for the first Test starting February 05 in Chennai. Among players who were not in Sri Lanka, Ben Stokes, Rory Burns and Jofra Archer have arrived straight from England are under strict quarantine away from the contingent who were on the tour of Sri Lanka where the team management had the liabilities of some illness and fitness issues with some players. Two of the important members of the squad who were there in Sri Lanka were unavailable for selection—Ollie Pope and Moeen Ali should be ready to play in Chennai in the words of head coach Chris Silverwood. Pope was undergoing rehabilitation of his shoulder injury that needed surgeries, while Moeen Ali contracted the new variant of Covid-19 and tested positive upon arrival in the island nation. "I'm hoping Ollie will be able to throw his hat in the ring for that first Test. The sooner we can get him back the better it is for us. Moeen should be available for the first Test, too. He's been through everything he needs to go through and is progressing nicely,” Silverwood said in Galle after the completion of the Test series against Sri Lanka. It is understood that Rory Burns who was on paternity leave during Sri Lanka will return at the top of the order with Dominic Sibley while Zak Crawley who was shifted up the order in the absence of Burns will reclaim his number three slot. Jonny Bairstow has been excluded from the squad for the first two Tests of the series and it would mean Root, Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope will form the middle order for the England side in Chennai. Jos Buttler is all but set to don the gloves in the first two Tests against India while Ben Foakes will wait for his chances. The return of Stokes will provide Root and Silverwood with the chance of playing two spinners and find a perfect balance with him being the third seamer. Two spinners in Jack Leach and Dom Bess bowled brilliantly in Sri Lanka and hence it would be a tough call for the management whenever they face that decision of playing only one among them with the return of Moeen Ali who will also provide batting support to the team. Pacer Jofra Archer will replace Mark Wood in the pace department while the English team management is likely to rotate old horses in James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The England team management is already under criticism from former players for not fielding their best XI and focussing too far ahead on winning the Ashes and the return of first-choice players will boost Root and Silverwood’s chance of selecting the best eleven to challenge India in their own backyard.

Kuldeep would be the man to watch out for: Bharat Arun warns England

Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun has warned the England team about India chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav saying that he is going to be one of the most lethal bowlers for India against the English side. Kuldeep, 26, didn’t play in any of the Tests against Australia, Arun said it wasn’t because of the lack of talent or form but mostly because the team went horses for courses. "Horses for courses is the best thing and when he gets a chance to play, he will show what he can do because he is bowling magnificently now and in India when we play these four Tests (against England) it will be his time,” Arun said. Talking about the rotation policy, Arun, a former fast bowler for Team India said that to keep the bowlers fresh, rotation is the only way out. "Now we are blessed with great bench strength. This tour has taken a lot out of the boys, but now in the future when you have seven fast bowlers raring to play for the country.” With the number of Tests we are going to play four against England here and five in England it will be very handy. They will all be rotated and we will make sure the best team is put forward," added the 58-year-old. With Jadeja out of contention due to a fractured thumb, Kuldeep might get a chance of making his first appearance in whites for India after two year’s time. In six Tests that he has played so far, the Uttar Pradesh man has taken 24 wickets with an average of 24.12.

Want to be a proper all-rounder in future: Rashid Khan

Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan has made a good name for himself all around the globe but the spinner wants to be known as a “proper all-rounder”. ''Exactly (I see myself as an all-rounder). I said earlier that I started my career as a batsman. But later I worked more on my bowling. I am working on my batting now and I have got areas to improve on and I want to be a proper all-rounder in future,'' said Rashid. Rashid scored a 40-ball 48 against Ireland in the third ODI and followed it with a four-for to anchor Afghanistan to a win eventually. “When the team needs me I have to deliver. At the end when we need 40 or 50 runs then you have to stand up and deliver for the team. Yes I am considering myself as a proper all-rounder and whenever I get an opportunity, doesn't matter if I come at number eight or number nine, I just need to have that mentality that I have got skills and talents and I have to just go and express that,'' he said. Rashid also talked about his own bowling and suggested that he doesn’t really need to change a lot of things. ''I don't think I have to change my mindset because mostly I am bowling at the end of the innings, when teams and the players are going after the bowlers and they want to score runs,'' said Rashid. 'You will see that I am bowling my last four overs in last 10, and at the same time I am bowling short spells of about two-three overs. I don't think like it's a T20 or ODI, I just try to keep it simple for myself. I know my plans and I know my line and length matters whichever format I am playing, because as long as you are bowling your best delivery it is the best in any format,'' he said.