World T20 2021 | Rishabh Pant gets wicket-keeping lessons from 'mentor' Dhoni; watch video

World T20 2021 | England to take knee in first game against West Indies, Eoin Morgan confirms

England players will take their knees in their first clash of the T20 World Cup against West Indies, captain Eoin Morgan has confirmed. The move has come in the aftermath of West Indies captain Kieron Pollard announcing that Windies players will take a knee in the tournament. “We have heard from the West Indies that they will be taking a knee and we will be joining them for the first game,” Morgan said on Tuesday. England were quick to support the ‘Black Lives Matter’ and took knees during the West Indies tour of England last summer but abandoned the gesture afterwards. Morgan said that the England team will take a knee in the first game and will carry on with their usual ‘moment of unity’ gesture going ahead in the tournament. He said that the ICC is yet to give its go-ahead for the gesture in during the tournament. “Games going on from there, we’ve been speaking to the ICC about the potential moment of unity before the game that we’ve been doing as part of our own piece at home,” Morgan added. “It hasn’t been cleared up whether that’s a possibility yet.” England and West Indies will open their campaign on October 23.

World T20 2021 | Shakib Al Hasan highlights scope for improvement after desperate win over Oman

Re-establishing his all-around credentials and reclaiming his status as Bangladesh’ biggest match-winner, Shakib Al Hasan put his hands up just at the right time for his side in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Bangladesh have not been at their best in the ongoing T20 World Cup but just when they were on the verge of another shocking loss that could have ended their journey in the tournament inside the first round, Shakib Al Hasan shone bright both with the ball and bat to help them get over the line against the hosts Oman. They had suffered an embarrassing defeat against Scotland and found themselves under enormous pressure once again before Shakib forged an 80 run partnership with the opener Mohammad Naim. He later came back with the ball and took three wickets including the crucial wicket of Jatinder Singh, who was looking set on a 32-ball 40. He was awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round contribution to Bangladesh’s win over Oman. He outlined the role played by the duo of Mohammad Saifuddin and Mahedi Hasan and said that their spells that yielded only 30 runs for the opposition brought them back in the game. He also said that the morale in the Bangladesh camp would be lighter after a much-needed win that keeps them going in the tournament. "I think the bowling of Saifuddin and Mahedi was the turning point as they probably had given less than 30 runs to bring us back in the game. I think the win is certainly relieving and I feel the atmosphere in the dressing room will be better after this win," Shakib said. However, he did not overlook the struggle of his side so far in the tournament and outlined their loss at the hands of Scotland and the hard work required for the win over Oman. He did not fall short of praise for the Scotts though and said that there are no favourites in the format and that any team who get two or three best performances on a particular day can defeat anyone. "I think the loss against Scotland was disappointing and we must credit them while even today we had to work hard to earn the win against Oman. Look, we must credit the associate countries as they play despite all the hurdles and they are playing good cricket so I feel they deserve all the credit. In the T20 format there is no favourite as everyone has to play well and as this is a short format only one or two players can change the momentum or have a huge impact behind a win,” Shakib added. Bangladesh have been found wanting in the tournament so far, especially in the batting department and Shakib conceded the scope of improvement for his fellow batsmen in the side. He said that the batsmen are underperforming both at the start and towards the end of an innings. He highlighted the target of 170 runs that would be sufficient for the bowlers to win them the game as a major goal going forward. "There is room for improvement in the batting as we have scored 150 runs and we can add 20 to 25 runs to it. If we can add 15 runs in the power play and 10 runs at the end it can be done and we are capable of it. If we can score 170 runs with the bowling attack we can fight against any team and we need this improvement,” Shakib concluded. Bangladesh are set to play their last game against Papua New Guinea and a win over them will ost certainly seal a place for them in the super 12 phase of the competition.

World T20 2021 | Fabian Allen ruled out, West Indies bring Akeal Hosein as his replacement

The defending champions West Indies have suffered a big setback in the form of an ankle injury to all-rounder Fabian Allen and he has been ruled out of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman. He has been replaced by the left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and his entry into the West Indies 15-man squad has been approved by the ICC Event Technical Committee. Hosein was in the reserve list of the West Indies squad and now he will be placed by Gudakesh Motie, ICC said. Allen’s absence will be a huge miss for the Windies as his left-arm spin bowling in the format would have brought much-sought balance to the playing XI while his agile fielding and ability to soak up the pressure with the bat in the end overs of the game would have bolstered the batting department. He has been an experienced campaigner and holds a T20I bowling average of 27.05 and an economy rate of 7.21 while batting with a strike rate of 138.88 and an average of 17.85 while being a firm contender for the title of the world’s greatest fielder. West Indies are scheduled to start their defence of the championship with the clash against England, the team they had defeated in the finals of the last edition to lift the trophy for the second time in 2016 in India.

James Pattinson retires from Test cricket, unavailable for upcoming Ashes series: Report

In what would come as a shocking development for Australian cricket, fast bowler James Pattinson has decided to take retirement from the longest format of the game, The Australian reported. He has communicated his decision to the national selectors about his unavailability for the upcoming home season including an Ashes series. Pattinson’s career has gone through on and off path due to recurrent injuries and rising stocks of other pace bowlers in the Australian camp. Pattinson made his Test debut way back in 2011 against New Zealand in Brisbane and started his career on high against India later that summer. His last Test appearance too came against the Blackcaps in early 2020 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In his 10-year long career, Pattinson has managed to play only 21 Tests where he has taken 81 wickets at 26.33 apiece and a strike rate of 48.90. Pattinson’s retirement from the format will contemplate the team management led by Justin Langer and Time Paine in case they will need to strengthen the pace department after the trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.