Watch: Saud Shakeel’s emotional video call to mother after being confirmed of Pakistan debut

It's selector's call to not send any openers to England says Sourav Ganguly

BCCI President and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly have finally given his opinion about the controversy surrounding the selector’s decision to decline the request made by Kohli and Ravi Shastri to send Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal to England as a replacement of the injured Sbubman Gill who has been forced to return home. Ganguly said that it was a matter of the selection panel to decide what they feel good for the team. It was learnt that the Indian team management via administrative manager Girish Dongre requested for a couple of openers as replacements preferring Shaw and Padikkal. However the chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma hadn’t replied to the mail. It is believed that the selectors want Abhimanyu Easwaran who is a part of the extended squad to be included in the main team. With already four opening options available, the selection panel didn’t feel necessary to send either Prithvi Shaw or Devdutt Padikkal who are currently in Sri Lanka preparing for six white-ball matches. Speaking on the same Ganguly said, "That is the selectors' call.” Speaking on conducting tournaments amidst the pandemic the former Indian skipper said, "Nothing can be done with this Covid-19 situation, so it is closed doors only. Cricket is obviously started, India is in England, then we will have IPL and then there is T20 World Cup. Cricket won't stop and it will go on." "These are exceptional circumstances. Last year World Cup got cancelled. This year if again it gets cancelled because of Covid, then it is a massive loss for the game. That is why it is being taken to a safer place," he added.

ENG vs PAK: Mahmood, Malan and Crawley shine as second string England blanks Pakistan

It was a shambolic display of batting and bowling by Pakistan but a terrific one by their opponent England, who were playing with a second-string team after the entire first-team squad had to be replaced due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the camp. The second string though turned out to be more than enough for Babar Azam's men who were blanked by nine wickets in the series opener, much to the disbelief of their fans. It wasn't just the batting that flopped for Pakistan, the bowlers turned out to be equally ineffective. Chasing a lowly total of 142, England lost Phil Salt early as he was removed for seven by Shaheen Afridi. However, that remained the only wicket that England would lose in their entire chase as debutant Zak Crawley and experienced Malan saw England home, without even the slightest bit to bother about. The duo chased down the total in only 22 overs and ended a miserable day for the visitors, who disturbed the woodwork just once when a Hasan Ali Yorker was too hot to handle for Crawley. Unfortunately, though it came off a free hit. While Crawley remained unbeaten on 58, Malan, the number one T20I batter scored 69 balls 68. Earlier in the day, Pakistan got off to the worst possible start after being asked to bat first by Ben Stokes at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. After losing Imam ul Haq and Babar Azam in the very first over of the innings, Pakistan could never recover, eventually getting all out for 141 in the 36th over. Fakhar Zaman was the highest run-scorer for the Men in Green with his 67 balls 47. Saqib Mahmood who bamboozled the Pak batting order with his four-wicket haul (4-42) was rightfully awarded Man of the Match. Stokes, the English skipper was might pleased by his team's efforts. "Any game where you get the opposition out so early, you're always ahead of the game," Stokes said in the post-match interview. "I just told the boys to do what they've been doing all summer for their counties. Don't change anything," added the winning captain. For Babar, though it was a day to forget, both as a batter and captain. As he said in the post-match interview, he could do nothing else but look forward to the next game. The second ODI would take place at Lord's on July 10.

ENG vs PAK: Pakistan fold for a disappointing 141 as Saqib Mahmood bags four-wicket haul

Pakistan did what they are known for, throwing up surprises in the most uncanny of ways. A batting lineup having the number one ODI batter in Babar Azam, the battery with most runs in T20s this year, Mohammad Rizwan failed to even make a mark in Cardiff as the whole team folded for a disappointing 141. Fakhar Zaman was the highest scorer with 47 from 67 balls, but he dealt his team a heavy blow by running out Sohaib Maqsood. Maqsood, who was making his international comeback after five years, looked good for his short stay at the crease (19 runs). Apart from these two, Shadab Khan was the only one that seemed to have got the hang of the Sophia Gardens wicket which was slow and had double bounce. Saqib Mahmood, the only English pacer in the squad with some experience of playing against all these Pakistan batters in the PSL first leg, ripped through the top order of the visitors. He got Imam ul Haq on the very first ball while Babar Azam nicked an unplayable delivery to give Mahmood his second scalp in the very first over of the innings. Among the other two wickets of the 24-year-old Lancashire bowler were debutant Saud Shakeel and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf. Along with Mahmood, Craig Overton and Matthew Parkinson picked two wickets while Lewis Gregory got the solitary wicket of Rizwan. With only 141 to defend, the Pakistan bowlers have their task cut out. Even a greatly inexperienced England team would fancy itself to get the work done as soon as possible.

Derbyshire ropes in Ravi Rampaul for T20 Blast and Royal London Cup

Ravi Rampaul has been resigned by Derbyshire for the final three group games in this year’s Vitality T20 Blast and also the Royal London Cup. Rampaul who was the leading wicket-taker in the 2019 edition of the T20 Blast has spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Derbyshire as Kolpak registration players. However, he didn’t return last summer for the T20 Blast owing to the strict covid restrictions in place. Rampaul has been going through a purple patch in the recent past and was the leading wicket-taker in the Regional Super50 competition. He also plied his trade for the Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. He was snapped up by the Trinbago Knight Riders and will play for them in the upcoming edition of the tournament. This is the first time, the fast bowler has received a CPL contract since 2017. Speaking on his association with Derbyshire, Rampaul said, "I loved my first spell with Derbyshire and I'm looking forward to getting started again in familiar surroundings. I know most of the players still, and there's a few new faces who are really exciting young players. If I can help them along in training and in games, I will do that, and hopefully we can get on a roll and challenge for the knockouts." Derbyshire director Dave Houghton said that Rampaul will add variety to the squad having had great success with the county in earlier editions. He said that having someone of Rampaul’s abilities will be highly beneficial for Debyshire. "I've always felt that we had some unfinished business. Ravi had such a good season in 2019 - he was club player of the year - but we lost him for a year due to the pandemic. Our bowlers have come on leaps and bounds this year, but to have someone of Ravi's ability and class opening and closing the innings for us, which is something we've missed this season, is going to be fantastic, “Houghton said.