When Malik became captain, I had thoughts of quitting cricket: Shahid Afridi

Michael Hussey will take commercial flight but to reach together with Maldives contingent on May 17

A large contingent of Australian players, umpires and commentators, who were stranded in Maldives in order to be eligible to enter Australia following the travel ban from India, is set to reach the country on Monday, May 17 via a chartered flight arranged by the BCCI. The contingent includes the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steven Smith and Michael Slater will be taken to Sydney where they will be put under quarantine in a hotel before they can head back to their homes. On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings coach Michael Hussey, who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection, will head back to Australia in a comerical flight via Qatar. The future of the players and all other participants of the IPL were unclear after the Australian federal government had imposed a travel ban on all travel, including its own citizens from India. Then, the BCCI arranged a chartered flight for them to assemble in Maldives before heading back to their homes.

Mahi sir’s advice helped me: Jharkhand’s Indrani Roy after getting maiden India call-up

It is not often that you play your first tournament for the senior state team, become top scorer and get a maiden India call-up as well. While for some it sounds ridiculously difficult, Jharkhand’s Indrani Roy begs to differ. Indrani, who is still to get an Indian Passport has been picked in all three teams (ODI, Tests and T20Is) for India Women’s England tour in June. The young wicketkeeper-batter credited legendary India Men’s skipper, MS Dhoni, for his advice, which helped her maximise her potential. Talking about a chance meeting with the former India player and current skipper of the Chennai Super Kings, Indrani said, “During a training session in Ranchi sometime last year, I had a long conversation with Mahi Sir about how to improve my game.” “He had told me that I should ensure that I improve my reflexes and movement in the five-metre radius. For wicketkeepers, that’s a key thing and he advised me that I should try and get better. That actually helped me,” she added while speaking to Sportstar. Roy, who was born Lilua of Howrah district in West Bengal, moved to Jharkhand at a young age to pursue her cricketing career as she and her parents believed that the neighbouring state had greater opportunities than their own. The decision is seemed to bearing fruit as in her very first tournament for Jharkhand, the 23-year-old became one of the main reasons for the state’s first-ever appearance in the final of the prestigious Senior Women’s One Day Trophy. “Learning a thing or two from a legend like Mahi Sir is a privilege and his advice actually helped me improve my game. Every time I hit the ground, I try to remember his tips,” said Roy who scored 456 runs in eight matches at an outstanding average of 76 and with two hundred in her kitty.

Never used the term prima donna: WV Raman issues clarification on letter to BCCI Chief Ganguly

WV Raman the former India Women’s coach has issued a clarification on his letters to Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid regarding the team’s culture and unhealthy system. The 55-year-old, who refused to indulge in the letter any further in a Tweet a few days ago, said that he wanted both the senior cricketers, who are now in a position of power to do course correction for the betterment of players. “My writing to Sourav was to propel him into action to course-correct if required. The letter dealt with the need for the system to encourage or ensure players adhere to healthy team culture,” the Chennai born told Cricbuzz in an interview. The former India player further clarified his adding of adding Dravid in the letter. He said, “Ganguly has seen it all as a former player and captain, and therefore, I felt it was better to get him into the frame. I also added Dravid because he handles cricketers of the future and might make certain aspects a part of the curriculum in the NCA if he hasn't already.” Raman had stormed a controversy in Women Cricket when he wrote to BCCI President Ganguly and Chairman of the National Cricket Academy Dravid regarding the ‘Prima-Donna’ culture in the Indian Women’s team and how it is making the dressing room situation unhealthy. Explaining his prima-donna comment which was the main reason for controversy, Raman said, “Typical of the current era, the phrase prima donna, which has never figured in the letter, has hogged the headlines! The whole point of the letter was to appraise Sourav about certain practices that need to be reviewed and rectified if he so deemed fit.” Ramesh Powar was appointed as India Women's coach after Raman's extended tenure ended in April this year. Raman had guided India Women's to their first-ever appearance in the Final of WT20 in 2020 when they were defeated by hosts Australia in iconic MCG. The match was attended by record audiences for any women's game in history.

Joe Root asks England to be at their peak for 'pinnacle' Ashes in Australia

England are set to host New Zealand and India in consecutive Test series spanning from early June to early September but the skipper Joe Root has his eyes set on the most vouched target for an English skipper—The Ashes, scheduled for the end of this year. Joe Root said that the Test team has made good strides over the last couple of years albeit they were defeated badly in India. Joe Root conceded that England did not ‘sail’ through but also saw improvement even in the face of defeats against India. He asked his teammates to get at the peak of their prowess when they face Australia in the Ashes series that will be the ‘pinnacle’ of the contest they have faced in the last couple of years since the Ashes series in 2019. "We've made good strides over the last couple of years as a Test team. It's not been plain sailing, we've not had it all our own way, but we still improved. I truly believe we are making good strides in the right direction, and now we've got an opportunity to keep improving, keep getting better and peak for Australia, which is the pinnacle for us,” Root told Sky Sports during the county championship game against Glamorgan. ECB director of cricket, Ashley Giles had said that England would not force a fasten return of players who were in India for the IPL in the series against New Zealand. He had also said raised that England would try new talents that meant the new windows of opportunities for fringe players such as Ollie Robbinson and James Bracey. However, Root conceded that the new selection committee headed by an all-powerful coach Chris Silverwood will have their task cut out while deciding between handing opportunities to new players and giving sufficient game time to established players before the all-important tour of Australia. “It's very difficult at the minute, the circumstances make it very tricky. You've got to factor in so many different things and the welfare of the players is obviously paramount. But this is what you play for, years like this one. You want to pit yourself against the best, you want to be successful against the best, and this is the opportunity to do it,” Root added. England will face New Zealand in the two-match long Test series starting June 2 at the Lord’s while the series against India will commence on August 04 at in Nottingham.