Cummins out with back injury
sydney: Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins on Tuesday was added to the growing list of injured players in the IPL after he was ruled out of the T20 league with a recurring back injury. Cummins was bought by the Mumbai Indians for ` 5.4 crore. He joins his Australian teammate Mitchell Starc in the list of injured players who will not take part in the IPL. The others are Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Kedar Jadhav. Cummins has a history of back issues and he picked up the injury during the fourth Test between Australia and South Africa. "Pat experienced some back soreness during the fourth Test in South Africa. Follow-up scans have confirmed that he has bone oedema in his vertebrae," said Australian team physio David Beakley. "It is important that Pat has time off bowling, to prevent the injury becoming more serious and consequently we have made the decision to rule Pat out of the IPL," he said.
Nabi wants to shine with bat
mumbai: Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, apart from bowling, wants to contribute handsomely with the bat in the Indian Premier League. "(The) expectation is that our team will perform in the whole (entire) league. We have a new captain (in) Kane Williamson, who also played for last few years for SRH. In my opinion, my goal is to perform in batting, if I get chances and also perform in bowling," the 33-year-old right-handed batsman said. Nabi, who holds the record of scoring the fastest T 20 fifty for Afghanistan, said that he would try to achieve a similar feat in the IPL. "Yes, I will try my best, if I get a chance in batting, to get a fastest fifty in the IPL," he quipped. Nabi also bowls off spin and says his bowling would also be an important aspect for the team. "First my bowling is very important for the team to put the opposition under pressure and then it is my batting," he added. Nabi said the IPL has aided Afghanistan players in terms of experience and boosting their confidence level. "IPL has helped a lot (to Afghanistan cricket). Last year there were two Afghanistan players, this year there are four and hopefully six or seven next year. "Because this experience (of the IPL) when we take back home, to the youngsters, or to the (training) academies or inside the national team, and the confidence-level will be high," he added.
Massive protest in Chennai
chennai: Massive anti-IPL protests by pro-Tamil groups erupted here on Tuesday with scores of activists including film directors being detained even as police chased away agitators in some places. One incident of protesters burning yellow jerseys, the attire of Chennai Super Kings players, was witnessed. Pro-Tamil groups like Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) and a newly launched forum of Tamil directors had given a boycott call of the popular Indian Premier League. They alleged that the game was being organised to divert attention from the raging Cauvery protests across the state. Hundreds of activists of outfits like TVK, VCK, besides some Muslim groups, staged road blockade at the arterial Anna Salai and TTK Salai, affecting traffic movement, police said.