Shoaib Akhtar slams PCB

We’re capable of scoring more than 300 on a wicket like this: Ben Stokes

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has admitted that the way the visitors batted was frustrating but also defended the team selection. England were bundled out for 205 in the first innings of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Stokes who top-scored with 55 said that the pitch is a better one as compared to the last match. “We felt that seam isn’t going to offer as much in terms of being a threat, it’s more of a holding role,” Stokes said. “It’s definitely a better wicket than the last test match. I think as the day progressed, you could see that the ball started to spin more, and had more bounce…In the previous match, spinners claimed 28 of the 30 wickets that tumbled in five sessions.” Stokes added that the side is capable of scoring more than 300 runs on this kind of a track. “We’re more than capable of scoring more than 300 on a wicket like that out here, it’s frustrating,” Stokes added. England trail the four-match series 1-2 and have been knocked out of the WTC after they lost the third match at the Narendra Modi Stadium. India, on the other hand, need to either win or draw this game to make a place for themselves in the final of WTC. But if the home side suffers a defeat in this match then Australia will march into the final and will be up against New Zealand in the title clash at Lord’s. India ended Day 1 at 24/1 with Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara still at the crease. Earlier, Axar Patel scalped four wickets while R Ashwin picked up three in the first innings.

Alex Hales takes a dig at PCB

England batsman Alex Hales has taken a dig at the PSL arrangements. Hales who is a part of Islamabad United posted a picture of food served to him. Earlier, in the day the PSL 2021 was put to halt after the rise in the COVID-19 cases in the tournament. "Following a meeting with the team owners and considering the health and wellbeing of all participants is paramount, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to postpone the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 with immediate effect," the PCB said in a statement. PCB CEO Wasim Khan expressed disappointment after the tournament had to be postponed. "It is a great disappointment for us and we find ourselves in a situation where we question whether we can provide full protection for players as their health and well being comes above everything else," said Khan. "We looked at the option of halting proceedings for a few days but in the last few days there was a huge concern even among the franchises and players," he added The United team was placed at number three position in the points table before the tournament was postponed. In four matches that they played, Islamabad United won three of them and had 6 points under their belt. They played their last encounter against Quetta Gladiators and won the match by 6 wickets and 18 balls to spare. Hales scored 23 off 13 in this match.

There’s no real emotional connection with RCB owners: Shane Watson

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson who has been a part of Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL has said that he did have a good experience with the RCB players but “there’s no real emotional connection with the owners”. “RCB was a great experience because of the calibre of players I played with. It was run by Diageo which is sort of a Johnny Walker company, so it was more corporately sort of run, which is different. There’s no real emotional connection with the owners who put in their heart and soul into it,” Watson was quoted as saying in a Grade Cricketer podcast. Watson hailed CSK coach Stephen Fleming and captain MS Dhoni. The former Aussie player rated Fleming as the “best coach” with whom he had worked. "CSK was an incredible experience – to be with a team that was ageing, because of the experience we had, to be led by MS Dhoni, to be coached by Stephen Fleming, who is the best coach I’ve ever worked with," Watson said. The right-handed batsman further said that the kind of connection Fleming has with Dhoni is good. "Fleming’s man-management skills, understanding of individuals and team environment, and also his cricket knowledge is ultimate. And, of course, the connection he had with MS Dhoni. That was a super cool experience," Watson added. Watson played 145 matches in the IPL scoring 3874 runs and picking up 92 wickets.

This isn't about a blame game: PCB CEO breaks silence

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) had to be postponed after a rise in the COVID-19 cases within the league. While the tournament has been put to a halt midway, Wasim Khan, the PCB's CEO in a press conference has said that "this isn't about a blame game”. "This isn't about a blame game, about who's to blame," Khan said. "This is a collective effort that we all had a responsibility to actually police and self-police that environment. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do it effectively enough. Hence we find ourselves in this situation today.” Khan further added that after having a chat with the franchise owners, the board decided to take the decision. "We had a discussion this morning with the franchise owners and we came to the conclusion that it was best to postpone the event. We entered that meeting with the franchisees with one or two possible solutions, one in terms of looking to halt proceedings for five days until we were able to make sense of what was going on and see whether we could move forward. There was a strong consensus that it was untenable to continue based on the fact that it was outside of ours and others reasonable sort of areas because of what had taken place." A PCB release stated earlier that the tournament has been postponed with immediate effect. "Following a meeting with the team owners and considering the health and wellbeing of all participants is paramount, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to postpone the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 with immediate effect. The decision was made after seven cases were reported in the competition, which had started on 20 February," the statement on the PSL official website read earlier.