Sourav Ganguly health update: Ganguly Covid negative; stable after surgery

Dale Steyn decides not to play for RCB in IPL 2021

South African speedster Dale Steyn has decided that he would not be playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League as he wishes to invest his time in something that he wanted to do for quite some time. Announcing his decision of not playing this year’s IPL, Steyn tweeted, "Just a short message to let everyone know that I've made myself unavailable for RCB at this years IPL, I'm also not planning on playing for another team, just taking some time off during that period," the tweet read. "Thank you to RCB for understanding. No I'm not retired." The 37-year old however made sure that nobody took this message of his as a sign of retirement by saying, "I will be playing in other leagues, nicely spaced out to give myself a opportunity to do something's I've been excited about as well as continue to play the game I love so much. NO, I'm NOT retired. Here's to a great 2021.” Steyn has not really been able to mirror or even get close to his Test form in the Indian T20 league. This decision might make things easy for the RCB team which was always under the pressure of playing the legend. In the 2020 edition of the IPL, he played only three games and picked a lone wicket.

Root says players can opt out of a tour at any stage

England captain Joe Root backed his players to pull out of the tour if they feel uncertain about touring in the times of the covid-19, especially with the rising cases back home. "Everyone is very aware that if at any stage it becomes too much they are entitled to get out and that's an important thing to remember,” said Root adding that players are not tied to playing for the nation all the time and that personal life too is an important aspect of a cricketer’s life. The England team has now added a Psychologist in their touring party of India and Sri Lanka and Root believes that it would give players someone to talk to. But he also emphasized the fact that the Psychologist should not be the only go-to person for the players. "There's going to be a little bit of extra support for the players in terms of a psychologist on the ground at all times making sure there's someone to speak to," said the skipper who turned 30 on Wednesday. "It's important they can say if they don't feel they're in the right space physically or mentally to go out and represent their country. As players, you have a responsibility to speak up, not just use the staff but the other guys around you as well," he said. The Yorkshire man believes that him being the captain has an added responsibility to make sure that players are in good spirits. "As captain that's a big part of my role to make sure people are comfortable in the environment, in a position to be at the top of their game and play Test cricket to the best of their ability. It's a huge part of the role anyway but it's certainly heightened more in times like these,” he said. On their tour to Sri Lanka, the England team would play two Tests starting with the first one in Galle from 14th January.

NZ vs Pak: Babar Azam ruled out of second Test

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand slated to take place in Christchurch on Sunday, 3rd January 2021. Azam, who had sustained the injury after fracturing his right thumb during the practice session in Queenstown, hasn’t recovered sufficiently to be declared fit for the upcoming Test. “We have seen improvement in Babar Azam’s injury but he is yet to fully recover. He is our captain and the most important batsman in the lineup, so we do not want to take any risk,” said Dr Sohail Saleem, the appointed doctor for the Pakistan cricket team. Mohammad Rizwan will continue to lead the side in Azam’s absence. Pakistan lost the first Test by 101 runs after failing to chase down a target of 373 runs at Bay Oval. Fawad Alam scored a ton while stand-in captain Rizwan notched up 60 during the course but failed to go over the line. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson scored a hundred in the same match that fetched him the first spot in ICC Test rankings. Earlier, the hosts suffered a blow after Neil Wagner was ruled out of the second Test. Wagner had injured his toe during the first clash. “Neil hasn’t travelled with us. The injections he was getting were wearing off and we can’t let him go through that again,” coach Garry Stead said to reporters. Matt Henry is likely to replace Wagner in the playing XI.

BBL10: All-round performance from Hobart Hurricanes hand them comfortable win

Hobart Hurricanes produced a thoroughly perfect win by 21 runs against Melbourne Stars in the ongoing season of the KFC Big Bash League, courtesy a fine all-round performance from the side. Hobart handed Stars a target of 165 in 20 overs and restricted them to 143/9. Scott Boland and Nathan Ellis were the pick of the bowlers for Hobart. Boland returned with figures of 3/22 in 4 overs while Ellis picked up a couple of wickets at the cost of just 11 runs in 4 overs. Boland was later adjudged Man of the Match for his performance. Stars had a disappointing start to the chase as they lost Marcus Stoinis and Andre Fletcher early in the innings. The Melbourne side then had a couple of steady stands after Glenn Maxwell first put up a 23-run stand with Hilton Cartwright and then 72 runs with Nicholas Pooran for the fourth wicket respectively. But Maxwell’s departure at a team score of 112 saw a flurry of wickets they were soon reduced to 138/9 at the end of the 18th over. They lost a total of 6 wickets in a span of 26 runs in 27 balls. Earlier, England and Hobart batsman Dawid Malan continued his form as he struck 75 off 56 that had three sixes and seven boundaries during the course. Apart from Malan, McDermott scored 31 off 35 before getting cleaned up by Billy Stanlake while Colin Ingram put 26 in 12 deliveries on the board. Ingram smacked three sixes during his brisk knock. For Stars, Stanlake was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with figures of 3/25 in 4 overs while Maxwell picked up a wicket at the cost of 13 runs in 2 overs. This is the fifth win for Hobart and they are placed at the second spot in the points table. They now have 5 wins and 18 points from 7 matches. Melbourne Stars are at the fifth position with 10 points to their name in 6 matches. The Stars have disappointed their fans after losing three games on the trot despite being in front. The two teams will now face each other on Monday in Brisbane.