St Kitts and Nevis Patriots name the players retained for the upcoming season

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

Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal had come hard at his teammates after a disastrous tour of New Zealand where they could not muster even a single win across ODI and T20I series. But now as Tamim Iqbal is gearing up for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka, the left-hander has come in support of experienced Mushfiqur Rahim and the dashing duo of Litton Das and Somya Sarkar. Tamim has said that dropped catches and missed chnaces are part of the game and that he and the coach Russell Domingo fully trust Mushfiqur Rahim behind the wickets for Bangladesh. He commended Rahim for serving the team well for the last 13-14 years with the gloves and valued his experience more than the recent failings. “I am very happy with his wicketkeeping. Chances and dropped catches are part of the game. I know how hard he works, so I have no complaints. The team management, coach and I definitely want him to keep wickets in the three ODIs,” Tamim Iqbal said in a press conference. “You are talking about some dropped catches but he has done a wonderful job as a wicketkeeper over the last 13-14 years. I have complete trust in him and give him my full support. I think he should continue to keep wickets for Bangladesh." He also referred to Rahim as a role model for a consistent batsmen and suggested the batsmen with ‘tremendous potential’ such as Liton Das and Somya Sarkar to deliver match-winning performances. Iqbal said that the duo has shown sparks of their potential and now is the time for them to replicate those potential into performances. "I hope they take the lead. They have tremendous amount of potential, but they have to deliver big time. We have seen glimpses from Liton and Soumya but if they do well now, it will help the team. They understand they should be more consistent - like Mushfiqur Rahim, for example. If they become consistent, we will be a better ODI team at home and away,” Iqbal said in the post-match conference. The three-match ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is scheduled to commence from May 23 in Dhaka.

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.