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Was Shattered To Hear About It Tim Paine On Will Pucovskis Concussion

Was shattered to hear about it: Tim Paine on Will Pucovski's concussion

Australia’s young batsman Will Pucovski's bad luck with head injuries doesn't seem to be ending as he has suffered another instance of concussion after taking a hit in the indoor nets of Victoria, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. He is showing minor signs of concussion, the report added.

The latest episode of concussion put his overall well-being in jeopardy while his participation in the Australian Test squad for the upcoming Ashes series has also taken a massive hit.

Notably, the latest bout of injury is the 10th instance of head injury for the 23-year old batting prodigy, and it’s unlikely that Cricket Victoria will risk his health and well being by rushing his return. Even Aussie Test skipper Tim Paine is of the opinion that Will should not be rushed to the Test arena given his history with concussions.

"I've spoken to him a bit the last few days, he's improving slowly, I don't think it's as bad as some of the others he's had before," Paine was quoted as saying to SEN Hobart. "But obviously, with his history, we have to be very careful with anything around the brain. There's no need to rush him at the moment. He's still 22-23 years of age, so he's got a long time in the game if we get it right," he added.

Pucovski was hit on the head while representing Australia A last summer and it delayed his imminent Test debut. He waited and debuted only in the third Test of the series against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but the instance of bad luck did not leave him alone. He dislocated his shoulder while attempting to stop a ball from going towards the boundary and missed the remainder of the series.

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Bullish on future, Babar Azam chooses to ignore Pakistan's World Cup past against India

A lot of things will be stacked against Babar Azam in the very first game as Pakistan captain for the first time in an ICC event as Pakistan are scheduled to start their campaign with a clash against their arch-rivals India on October 24. Pakistan have never defeated India in a world cup game in their decade-old history of rivalry, but Babar is not looking back on the past and instead is very optimistic about the future. He accepted that the game against India will be a high-pressure clash but assured that his players will be up to the challenge to break the unassailable record of India over them. "I am very happy and proud to go to the T20 World Cup as a captain," he said at Pakistan's pre-departure press conference. We know the pressure and the high intensity of each game, especially the first one. Hopefully, we can win the match and carry the momentum forward." Babar pointed out that his side have more experience of playing games in the UAE and said that the players are very confident before the tournament. He said that batsmen are aware of the adjustments they will have to make on the pitches in UAE and Oman and made a bullish prediction of winning the high octane clash against India. "Your belief and confidence as a group matter a lot before a tournament," he said. "As a team, our confidence and morale are really high. We are not thinking of the past but the future. We are preparing for that. I am fully confident that we are well prepared and will play good cricket on the day." "We've been playing cricket in UAE for the past 3-4 years and we know the conditions really well," said Azam. "We know how the wicket will behave and the adjustments batters will have to make. On the day who plays the better cricket, wins the match. If you ask me, we will win." Pakistan have brought back experienced players such as Shoaib Malik for the tournament and Babar will bank on their experience to calm the nerves in the dressing room.

Kane Williamson's injury not serious, on path of quick recovery, says New Zealand coach Gary Stead

In what would come as welcome news for New Zealand in the upcoming T20 World Cup, sipper Kane Williamson did not suffer serious injury and is well and truly on the path of full fitness, coach Gary Stead said. Kane Williamson missed the final game for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League but Stead said that he suffered a minor hamstring twinge and that the move was taken considering it to be inconsequential game. “Kane's fine,” Stead told New Zealand Cricket. “He's just had a very, very slight hamstring twinge, but he's getting through everything at the moment, he's feeling good. “They [Sunrisers Hyderabad] were out of the competition as well, so I'm not sure if that was something he had to play in.” Williamson has joined the Blackcaps camp in Dubai after his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad were knocked out of the IPL 2021. Williamson will be a key figure in the New Zealand side for the world cup as his experience of batting on the same pitches in IPL where world cup games will be played will be a massive boost for them. He was not in great form with the bat for the Sunrisers, but the Blackcaps would hope he has regained form with more experience of the conditions.

“I am doing what has been asked of me," says Venkatesh Iyer after match-winning performance

Young sensation Venkatesh Iyer, who has played an instrumental role in scripting a turnaround of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League said that his batting style and methods are reflections of the team management’s confidence and clear strategy. Iyer was fantastic with the bat in the second qualifier of the tournament against the Delhi Capitals and batted fluently on a pitch where almost all other batsmen struggled to bat with control. He scored a fifty at the top of the order and it made a huge difference to the Knight Riders’ fortunes on the night as they were chasing a tricky total of 136 runs to go through their only third final in the history of the league. Righty, he was adjudged Man of the Match. “I am doing what has been asked of me. I am very happy that we ended on the winning side. There is no difference. I came out and played the way I wanted to play. I am grateful to the management. It is a wonderful place to come and play," Iyer said. The Knight Riders’ skipper Eoin Morgan too had words of praise for the young man and he commended him to be an imposing force at the top of the order. He said that Iyer made the difference with the bat by batting distinctively better than others and appeared to be batting on a different pitch than the others.

Rahul Dravid refuses full time coaching offer, but likely to be interim coach for New Zealand series

Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid has once again refused to take the responsibility of a full time coaching role with the senior India side after the upcoming T20 World Cup, The Indian Express reported. However, he is likely to be approached by the BCCI for the role of an interim coach of the side for the home series against New Zealand that will follow the global T20 event. The tenure of Ravi Shastri is set to end after the T20 World Cup and the BCCI approached Dravid for the role, which he declined citing his unwillingness to do a lot of travelling, the report added. It will be his second stint in the role this year as he was the man leading the support staff on India’s tour of Sri Lanka in July when Ravi Shastri and company were in the UK with the Test side. Dravid currently heads the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and has no ambitions of taking up a full time coaching role for India in the near future. Dravid has been in the scheme of things as a coach in the Indian setup but his involvement has been limited to India U-19 and India A sides over the past many years.