Skipper Tamim Iqbal backs Mushfiqur Rahim's wicketkeeping, urges Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar to deliver

WTC Final: Wriddhiman Saha endorses Rishabh Pant to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper

India wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Shaha believes that he is no longer the first choice as a wicket-keeper batsman for the national side and that young Rishabh Pant with his stellar performances in the recent past has now taken that place. “Rishabh Pant played the last few matches of the World Test Championship and he has done well,” Saha was quoted as saying to Sportskeeda. “He should be the first choice keeper of the team going in England,” added the veteran. Saha who remained the first choice keeper for India because of his stealthy footwork and seamless catching behind the wickets ever since MS Dhoni’s retirement in 2014, suddenly fell back due to a poor run of form with the bat outside India. Pant knocked on the doors and then got the door crashing with his match-winning knock at Gabba, following it with several exciting knocks against England at home. Talking about his role in the team on England tour, recently recovered from Covid-19, Saha said that he would keep on working hard and wait for his opportunity. “I will just wait and if any opportunity arises, would like to give my best shot at it. And not to mention, but I will keep practising hard to get that one chance,” he said. Having scored just a single fifty in his last 14 Test innings since 2017, Saha believes that it is not always possible to click and perform well, sometimes you get unlucky too. “We can only give our best sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn’t. I keep practising and I know there is a huge gulf between practice and real match situation. Ultimately it boils down to who delivers on the big stage and management takes a call based on that,” said the 36-year-old who has represented India in 38 Tests, hitting three centuries in his 11-year long career so far. The Indian team would play the World test Championship against New Zealand from June 18 in Southampton. After that, it would have an ample amount of time to practice before the start of the five-match Test series against hosts England.

Was planning to take a break from IPL 2021 when my parents got infected: Chahal

India RCB leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed that he would have taken a break from the IPL 2021 had the tournament not been cancelled. “I was planning to take a break from the IPL when I heard the news of my parents getting infected. It was difficult to focus on the game while your parents were alone at home,” Yuzvendra Chahal told India Today in an interview. The leggie further added that his father’s oxygen level had gone down and he hospitalised. “They tested positive on May 3, and a couple of days later, the tournament got postponed…My father’s oxygen level dropped to 85-86, and we had to shift him to the hospital. He had returned home yesterday, but his results are still positive.” “However, the good thing is that his oxygen level is around 95-96, which is quite a sigh of relief for us. It will take him another 7-10 days to recover,” he added. The IPL 2021 was finally suspended on May 4 after there were Covid-19 positive cases within the franchises. KKR’s Sandeep Warrior and Varun Chakravarthy, SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha, DC’s Amit Mishra and CSK’s bowling coach L.Balaji and later batting coach Mike Hussey had tested positive for Covid-19. RCB were having a decent run in the IPL 2021 with five wins and 10 points under their belt from 7 matches before the cash-rich league was suspended. The BCCI though had cleared that the tournament has only been put to halt and hasn’t been cancelled.

With dreams of playing Tests, Deepak Chahar backs Shikhar Dhawan as captain for Lanka tour

India limited-overs pacer Deepak Chahar believes that Shikhar Dhawan should be made the captain for the team’s upcoming Sri Lanka tour. Chahar, who had good IPL (8 wickets in 7 games) before the tournament was suspended is also hopeful that the Indian team would be victorious on the tour of the island nation. "Shikhar bhai will be a good choice (for captain),” the Rajasthan man told TOI. He further argued that not only is Shikhar in a good form but also has a lot of experience to gain players’ respect in the team. “He has been playing for a long time and has a lot of experience. For me, a senior person should become a captain. Because players see that player as a senior and respect him and obey him with honesty. Players should respect their captain. He (Dhawan) will be a good choice,” said Chahar. The Board of control for Cricket in India, after the suspension of IPL due to a rise in Covid cases in India, decided that a second strung Indian team would be sent to Sri Lanka in July. At the same time, the main team led by Virat Kohli would be on a tour of England for the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand and the subsequent five-match Test series against the host country. It has been a matter of debate as to who among Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer (if fully recovered)and Prithvi Shaw should be given the opportunity to lead the second-string Indian side on the Lankan shores. Although it is not yet decided Team India is likely to play three ODIs and an equal number of T20Is on the tour. Chahar, who is predominantly a swing bowler and burst onto the scene with his red ball exploits on Ranji Trophy wishes to make his Test debut for India sometime in near future as well. Wishing the best to the Test team in England, Chahar who has 126 First-Class wickets in 45 games with 8/10 as his best said, "Bowling in English conditions has its own charm. I have played in England and I have enjoyed bowling there. I am sure the selectors will give me a chance someday.” “I have played T20Is and ODIs and I have to prove myself a lot in these two formats and I hope I make it to the Test team someday. I look forward to playing Tests for the country," said the 28-year-old who has represented India in 13 T20Is and three ODIs and also holds the record for the best figures in T20Is. He took six wickets for seven runs against Bangladesh in Nagpur in a game played at Nagpur.

Shocked and dismayed, Sri Lankan players refuse to sign unfair central contracts

A day after Sri Lanka Cricket offered central contracts to its players, all the 24 of them in unison have refused to accept the contracts terming it as unfair and not in coherence with the demands of the players. The group of players through their attorney even alleged that they were being forced to sign the contracts in a haste on the day of their departure for the Bangladesh tour. In a Press Release, the players said that they are shocked and dismayed that the Management Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket chose to place the ‘graded’ contracts in front of the media, even before the players’ grievances were addressed. The release, undersigned by all three captains of the Sri Lanka national team in three different formats, Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka also alleged that the pay scale is in no way equal to what is paid to the players from other nations with respect to their board earnings. “Without placing the same (contracts) in the context of earnings of players in other cricketing nations, the entire earnings of Sri Lanka Cricket and also without disclosing the payments made to the officials/administrators, coaches and support staff of Sri Lanka Cricket, they made the players’ earnings public.” “The players categorically state that the conduct of the Management Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket greatly concerns the players and has affected their self-confidence and peace of mind,” the release added. While briefing the media about the new contracts, Tom Moody Director of Cricket, Sri Lanka and Arvinda de Silva, Chief of Technical Committee, said that the players have been graded on five different parameters and their pay scale has been decided through that. Challenging the grading system, the players alleged that it is not transparent. “None of the players have been provided with their individual assessment sheets setting out how points were awarded under the criteria of performance, fitness, leadership and professionalism,” said the release. “All national players, in unison, are of the view that the players should be made aware of the assessment scores of each player in order to ensure transparency of the categorization process,” it added. The release further goes on tearing apart the financial debauchery of the board where they are offering very little pay although the grant from the International Cricket Council has not decreased one bit. The players were also hurt by the fact that, unlike other top cricketing nations, SLC doesn’t even have a pension scheme for players. “FICA(Federation of International Cricketers’ Association), the new remuneration intimated to Sri Lankan players is substantially lower (more than threefold lower) in comparison with other global cricketing nations. FICA also confirms that the sums paid by ICC to cricketing boards has not reduced during the last year nor has a reduction been forecasted for the following year. No pension scheme has been set up in Sri Lanka for its players either.” In the end, the release reiterates that the players are NOT in agreement to sign unfair and non-transparent contracts, urging SLC to not hold the players at gunpoint or give them ultimatums. “Sri Lankan players will continue to be readily available to play and be selected for Sri Lanka,” it further said confirming that for players their nation comes first. The release was signed by Attorney-at-Law, Nishan Sydney Premathiratne. He is the official representative appointed by members of the Sri Lanka Cricket team, including Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, KusaI Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Danushka Gunathillaka, Ashen Bandara and Akila Dhananjaya.