Tom Banton stays as England name unchanged squad for ODI series against Pakistan

My ears were numb: Ishan Kishan reveals his first meeting with legend Sachin Tendulkar

India wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan cannot forget the moment when he first met legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, someone who he worshipped as a child. Revealing his first meeting with the master, Ishan said that he couldn’t even listen to Sachin’s words because his ears were just buzzing with excitement and nervousness. “The most exciting moment was when I saw Sachin Paaji. It was the first practice game for me when I was selected for Mumbai Indians and he came to oversee the session and I was batting with Rohit Sharma,” Ishan said in an interview with Cricbuzz. “I asked Rohit [Bhaiya] how to talk to a godly figure like Sachin and he said just relax and talk to him. Eventually, Sachin came to me when I was sitting alone. We had a great chat, only that my ears were numb and I don’t remember any word of that chat and afterwards I tried to copy his style of talking [laughs],” he added. Asked about why he chose to be a wicket-keeper the Patna born blamed it on a chance intervention by luck as the reason. “In a game, I was asked to keep as our designated wicketkeeper didn’t turn up. Since I was a good fielder so they thought I would be good with the gloves as well. I took two catches and did a stumping as well. I started enjoying and thus began the journey,” said Ishan. Ishan has always mentioned his love for Jharkhand and India legend MS Dhoni and thus, there was no doubt on who his idol was. “Always MS Dhoni because I learn a lot from him and the way he carries himself. That one year when I scored around 800 runs in First Class, Dhoni had given me a lot of tips,’ said the 22-year-old, who also represents Jharkhand, the state that MS Dhoni played for. Talking about a meeting with Dhoni and how the former India captain helped him, Ishan said, “I asked him that ‘Bhaiya, I get the start but am not able to convert it’, so he replied, ‘No doubt you are an attacking batter but in days’ game, switching on and switching off is a process which you would have to understand.’ and that sort of helped me a lot.” Once the captain of the India Under-19 team under the coaching of Rahul Dravid, Kishan would be vying for a place in the senior ODI team of India under the same coach in Sri Lanka. The Mumbai Indians star batsman had something to say about Dravid as well. “Rahul sir is a legend, I used to enjoy a lot being with him during the U-19 days. He has a unique style of addressing players, he would always say, ‘Boss, what are you doing?’. He always told us how to read the game and how to take it forward instead of forcing us to make any changes in the technique,” said Ishan, who has so far represented India in two T20Is.

ENG vs SL | 3rd ODI: Changes on the card for hosts, visitors look for consolation

The Sri Lankan team has been making headlines for the past sometime but for all disappointing reasons. While they have had a dismal run on the field against England in away fixtures, the off-field issues have also become a cause of concern for the board as well as the team management. Sri Lankan batting line up has failed miserably in these white-ball fixtures against the English barring one or two players while the bowlers on the other side have tried to put in a lot of efforts to negotiate the dissatisfying run with the willow. In the last encounter as well at Kennington Oval, the visitors lost the top order early in the innings and it was Dhananjaya de Silva and Shanaka who steadied the ship for the side and anchored them to a decent total. Later, Sri Lanka did manage to scalp a couple of wickets that could have pushed the hosts on the backfoot but an unbeaten stand of 140 runs between captain Eoin Morgan and Test skipper Joe Root took them home and handed them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. England on the other hand are looking pretty stable now especially the way they fared in the last match. While Root continued his form, skipper Morgan was among some runs as well. The fast bowlers have been in fine touch and have bowled some brilliant line and length to create problems for the Sri Lankan batting unit. Match Details Match – England vs Sri Lanka – 3rd match Venue – County Ground, Bristol Time – 03:30 PM IST, 11:00 AM Local Where to watch live – Sony Sports Network and Sony Liv Pitch Report The pitch in Bristol might have something on offer to the batsmen. The teams can stick to the basics in this match. If you win the toss, bat first and post a good total on the board to push the opposition on backfoot. Team News England: England are looking pretty sorted with their batting as well as bowling. The likes of Root and Morgan scored runs in the last match while the bowlers have given a hard time to the Sri Lankan batsmen on this tour. The hosts would now look to complete a clean sweep win in the series just as they did in the T20Is. But as they have sealed the series, there are chances that the English team might make some changes in the XI as well. In fact Goerge Garton is likely to make his debut for England in this final encounter. Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka’s struggle both on and off the field are not coming to an end. While three of their players were suspended and sent back from the tour for breaching bio-bubble, the on field show has been disheartening. The batsmen have struggled to get any form. Sri Lanka would now look to conclude the tour with some good performance in this last ODI. While the bowlers have been taking up some onus, the visitors only need their batsmen especially the top-order to compliment them and put some runs on the board. Probable XI England: Jonny Bairstow(wk), Liam Livingstone, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, George Garton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera (C), Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Ramesh Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama Fantasy XI Jonny Bairstow, Kusal Perera, Joe Root, Dasun Shanaka, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dananjaya De Silva (VC), George Garton, Mark Wood, Dushmantha Chameera

Ranji Trophy makes a comeback to India’s domestic season as BCCI announces 2021-22 calendar

After a long hiatus of almost six months, the Indian domestic cricket season will finally be making a comeback and this time in its full vigour as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced the calendar for the upcoming 2021-22 season. The much anticipated Ranji Trophy would be making a comeback to the domestic season after being ignored for the 2020-21 season due to the Covid-19. The season will commence on September 21, 2021, with the Senior Women's One Day League. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will mark the start of the season for the Men’s in domestic competition with the first set of matches being played October 20, 2021, and the final on November 12, 2021. Post the SMAT, the multi-day tournament, Ranji Trophy would begin from November 16, 2021, and go on till February 19, 2022. The 50 over the tournament, known as the Vijay Hazare Trophy will take place from February 23, 2022, to March 26, 2022. This promises a bumper season as it will also see the return of the Women’s 20 over the tournament as well as a full blast U-23, U-19 tournaments for the Women’s as well as a U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy (Multi-Day). In total 2127 domestic games will be played across all categories during the six moth bonanza season. “The BCCI is confident of hosting the domestic season with health and safety of players and all people involved being paramount,” the board said in a statement.

Ollie Robinson free to resume career immediately

A Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) Panel on Saturday announced the decision on the charges brought against England’s Ollie Robinson. The fast bowler had posted sexist and racist tweets when he was a teenager and the posts had resurfaced on social media during the series against New Zealand. “Following a hearing on 30 June, the Panel decided that Robinson should be suspended from playing cricket for eight matches, five of which will be suspended for two years,” a release from the England and Wales Cricket Board said. “As regards the three matches which are the subject of immediate suspension, the Panel has taken into account the suspension imposed by the England Team from the secondTest against New Zealand, together with two of the Vitality Blast T20 matches from which Robinson voluntarily withdrew himself from selection for Sussex CCC due to the impact of these proceedings,” it added. The fast bowler who was also fined £3,200 is now free to play the game with immediate effect. Robinson had an impressive start to his Test career after he scalped 7 wickets in two innings against the Blackcaps but was then suspended from the side following the controversy. ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said that the board has accepted the decision made by the panel. “We accept the decisions made by the Cricket Discipline Commission and the sanctions they have imposed,”he said. Robinson himself admitted that he was ashamed about the tweets and apologised for the same. “I fully accept the CDC’s decision. As I have said previously, I am incredibly embarrassed and ashamed about the tweets I posted many years ago and apologise unreservedly for their contents,” the bowler said,