TKR head coach Brendon McCullum unavailable for CPL 2021 due to personal reasons

Important to manage Hardik Pandya's bowling workload: Paras Mhambrey

Paras Mhambrey, who was India's bowling coach during the Sri Lanka tour has said that the management is looking to manage all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s bowling workload considering that the World T20 is coming up and the right-hander is going to play a key role for the side. "With Hardik, we are obviously slowly taking it forward. I am not going to push him in terms of the number of overs to be bowled. He is pretty much being monitored on how much we are going to push him. We have to slowly build up. The World Cup is coming. For us, knowing that he is going to play a very crucial role for us, it is important to manage his bowling workload very well," said Mhambrey. Talking about Hardik’s role, Mhambrey admitted that the all-rounder does have a lot to offer with the bat, but if he is fit to bowl, then it would give a different dimension. "We know the batting that he offers you. But if we add bowling to it, he brings a different dimension. In that sense, we are working on it. Everyone -- strength & conditioning department and the physios -- is in sync and we have chatted it out," Mhambrey told IANS. Pandya had been troubled with a back injury for quite some time. However, post-recovery, he did bowl a bit in the series against Sri Lanka but failed to complete his quota of overs in any of the fixtures. The right-handed cricketer is expected to bowl in IPL that will resume on September 19 in the UAE where Mumbai Indians will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings. The tournament was suspended after there was a Covid-19 outbreak within the franchises in May this year. The IPL will be followed by the World T20 that will be hosted by the UAE and Oman. The first match of the competition will be played on October 17 where co-host Oman will be up against PNG. India will begin the campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai.

'Excited, honoured & thrilled': Wanindu Hasaranga expresses delight after joining RCB

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) recruited three overseas players, all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, and Singapore's Tim David for the remainder of the IPL 2021 that will now be played in the UAE. Hasaranga, who has been making headlines with his bowling performance for quite some time, took to social media and expressed his delight to become a part of the RCB franchise. “From sitting at home and watching them, to being a part of an amazing team. I am excited, honoured and thrilled all at once,” Hasaranga wrote on Instagram. The Sri Lankan all-rounder has replaced Australia’s Adam Zampa in the squad who had earlier opted out citing personal reasons while Chameera and David have been roped in the team in place of Daniel Sams and Finn Allen respectively. The IPL 2021 was earlier suspended on May 4 after there was a Covid-19 outburst within the franchises. The tournament will now resume in the UAE on September 19 where Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings while the final will be played on October 15, a couple of days ahead of the start of World T20. The World T20 is slated to be played in the UAE and Oman. The Bangalore-based franchise has had a decent tournament so far in this edition of the IPL, winning five of the seven matches that the side has played and were placed at the number three spot in the points table before the competition was halted.

WI vs PAK | 2nd Test: Day 2 abandoned due to rain, wet outfield in Jamaica

The second day of the second Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies got washed away due to rain in Jamaica. The visitors had a dismal start to the proceedings on Day 1 after they were reduced to 2/3 before captain Babar Azam and Fawad Alam resisted against the West Indies bowling and stitched a stand of 158 runs. But the Pakistan side then suffered a blow when Fawad had to walk back to the pavilion after getting retired hurt as he had fallen to humidity while he was batting on a personal score of 76. Later, Babar departed for 75 when the team score read 168 and the visitors had two new batsmen at the crease in Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf. The two batsmen made sure that Pakistan didn’t lose any further wickets in the middle. While Rizwan was at 22, Ashraf had scored 23 before the stumps were called on Day 1. For West Indies, it was Kemar Roach who returned with a three-for at the end of the day’s play. The second day of the play was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain and wet outfield but in the latest update, Fawad Alam is fit and would bat again. The home side is leading the two-match series 1-0 after they clinched a victory by 1 wicket in a nail-biting finish.

The Hundred Men | Final: Southern Brave crowned inaugural champions courtesy Sterling and Whiteley show

Paul Stirling's menace with the bat and then a super throw from Tim David to get Liam Livingstone of Birmingham Phoenix run out meant that Southern Brave was crowned the inaugural champions of the Men’s Hundred. They thrashed Phoenix by 32 runs in the finale at Lord’s. Riding on two exceptional knocks from Paul Stirling and Ross Whiteley, the Southern Brave managed to post a commendable 168 on the board in their allotted hundred deliveries and in the end, their bowlers were up to the mark and managed to restrict the Phoenix to 136 runs, thus winning the Final by a convincing 32 runs. After being put in to bat by the Phoenix skipper Moeen Ali, the Southern Brave were under early pressure, losing South African Quinton de Kock early on in the game. After the southpaw smashed a maximum, it was Kiwi speedster Adam Milne who brought about his dismissal as de Kock tried to help one over the short fine leg fielder. Skipper James Vince couldn’t do much to a googly from Imran Tahir which castled him to put Brave under all sorts of pressure. From there on it was Paul Stirling who ensured that Brave's were well and truly in the game smashing the Phoenix bowlers all around Lord’s en route to his 36 balls 61. His innings was studded with a couple of fours and six humungous sixes. Some of his shots over the midwicket and square leg region were a sheer personification of brute force. It was Benny Howell who finally dismissed Stirling at a very crucial juncture of the game. Tim David, who was roped in by Brave for the Knockouts in place of Colin de Grandhomme after his great showing during the Royal London Cup, hit 15 runs off just six balls. However, the real impetus to push the score over the 160 mark was done by Ross Whiteley who blazed his way to a 19 balls unbeaten 44 which was laced with four fours and as many sixes. Right from the word go it was a dream spell from Milne who finished his 20 deliveries by conceding just 8 runs and scalping out two crucial wickets. A target of 169 was always going to be a challenging ask for the Phoenix. Phoenix needed big knocks from Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali to get near the target. Both the batsmen kept their team in the game but in the end, it was too little too late. David Bedingham and Will Smeed were dismissed early on to reduce the Pheonix to 14/2. However, Livingstone who has been in a stupendous form off late had other ideas. He started belting the Southern Brave’s bowler all around the park and in no time was near his half-century mark. After surviving a close shave at deep cover, he was eventually dismissed on the same delivery as Tim David inflicted an exceptional direct throw from the deep. From there on it was a matter of whether or not Moeen Ali can take the rest along with him. But Jake Lintott, the highest wicket-taker for the Brave this season got him out. After his dismissal, it was always going to be an uphill task for the Pheonix. Some tight bowling in the death ensured that the target remained well away from their grasp. Three boundaries came in the final set of five of the tournament, but that wasn’t enough to get the Pheonix score to the victory target.