Chennai Super Kings batting coach Mike Hussey has tested positive for coronavirus but is still quarantine. “He tested negative before getting on an air ambulance from Delhi to Chennai (on Thursday). He is doing fine. All other overseas personnel have left, head coach Stephen Fleming will be flying out tomorrow,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI on Friday.
Williamson Leaves India Early: They were expected to leave India by May 11 but Kane Williamson, Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner are among four members of New Zealand contingent to have flown out of India early after feeling insecure. A mini bio-bubble was created for the four Kiwis in Delhi on Thursday but now it has emerged they have indeed left for Maldives.
KP Wants IPL 2021 in UK: A day after reports emerged of English counties willing to lend stadiums to BCCI for organising remainder of IPL 2021, Kevin Pietersen has backed the idea saying second half of September is the most opportune moment with India and England players already in England for the completion of the season. "There is a window in September after the England v India Test series has finished. All the best Indian players would already be there and all of the best English players would be available as well. Mid-to-late September is the most beautiful time in the UK. They could use Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and the two London grounds," Pietersen said.
In the eventuality that the league is indeed held provided the organisers manage to zero in on a free window, where exactly the matches be held? Considering the uncertainty over the progress of coronavirus pandemic, it’s anyone’s guess. Former England batter Kevin Pietersen is of the opinion that while many are suggesting UAE as the logical venue, he differs. As per Pietersen, who was in doing commentary duties in IPL 2021, the event should move to the United Kingdom.
Is it possible for remainder of IPL 2021 to be held this year? The opinions are divided but BCCI’s top-brass is positive that it will find a window for the league to be completed somewhere in the latter half of 2021 failing which it will be suffering losses to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore.
There was undeniable fear once COVID-19 found its way into IPL’s bio-bubble, some Indian players who participated in the recently-suspended T20 league have revealed with a couple of them also asserting that it wasn’t as “tight” as it was last year. The world’s biggest T20 league was forced to suspend proceedings indefinitely on Tuesday after four players and two coaches tested positive for COVID-19.
A few rookies could be given a try -- and in focus would be openers Abhimanyu Easwaran, Priyank Panchal and Devdutt Padikkal. Prithvi Shaw is also most likely to make a comeback.
After the unexpected end of the IPL for now, the focus shifts to the international series' that India is due to play. The management could include some youngsters who have been doing well in the domestics, and IPL.
“Along with the balance of the New Zealand-bound IPL players, support staff and commentators, Boult is scheduled to depart New Delhi tomorrow on one of two charter flights, arriving in Auckland on Saturday before undergoing managed isolation. All going as planned, the Kiwi kingpin will leave MIQ on May 22 and will spend a week at home with his family, training at Mt Maunganui before departing for the UK in early June,” the statement said.
The four will be a part of two-Test series against England, and the World Test Championship final against India. Meanwhile Trent Boult, who is scheduled to leave India on May 8, will head home to New Zealand, and will only fly to England in June. The speedster will spend some time with his family, before reuniting with the team in time for the WTC final.
“New Zealand’s IPL-based Test contingent will depart from India for the United Kingdom on May 11th – the earliest date an exemption for their arrival in England could be obtained. Williamson, Jamieson and Santner, as well as physio Tommy Simsek, will remain in a secure mini-bubble in New Delhi before departing for the UK,” the NZC said in a statement.
New Zealand Cricket on Friday confirmed that a few of their players have stayed back in Delhi and will leave for England on May 11. The arrangements have been made for the creation of a mini bio-secure bubble, of which Kane Williamson, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Santner and physio Tommy Simsek have become a part of.
“If it’s going to be a drain on resources or it’s not going to be safe, then I don’t think it’s right to play it over here. That’s the first question which needs to be answered,” he added. Cummins drew widespread praise when he allocated AUD 50,000 to UNICEF Australia’s India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal. The 27-year-old explained he wanted to do something in return for a country that has been ‘so good’ to him as a player.
While he reckons it will be too early to comment on such possibility, he wants authorities to work with the government and see what’s good for the Indian citizens. “It’s probably too early to say. It’s six months away. The priority should be for cricket authorities to work with the Indian government to see what’s best for the Indian people,” Cummins told The Age.
Australia pacer Pat Cummins reckons that should the organisation of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India this year outs extra burden on the resources or if it’s not safe then the marquee event shouldn’t be held there. Cummins was recently in India as part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the now-suspended IPL 2021.
The series will begin at Nottingham (Aug 4-8) and will be followed by matches at Lord’s (August 12-16), Leeds (Aug 25-29), Oval (Sep 2-6) and Manchester (Sep 10-14).A 14-day hard quarantine for passengers travelling from India to UK and the existing COVID-19 situation in the country has forced BCCI to pick at least 30 members in the squad which will have some automatic choices and the best performers from India.
A busy international calendar lies ahead of Team India. It would resume from World Test Championship final, and a full series against England. India could announce a 30-member squad.
After a tormenting time dealing with the Covid-19 crisis in India, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association on Thursday confirmed that all their players, officials, coaches and commentators have been transported from India to Maldives. The Aussies will remain there till the travel pause is lifted by their government.
Only Mike Hussey remains to stay in India after he tested positive for Covid-19. He is in close touch with officials at CSK, and the CA will work closely to bring the former batsman home safely.
India captain Virat Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma have donated Rs 2 crore to a fund-raising project, which will raise a total of Rs 7 crore to support the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The two are raising money through crowd-funding platform Ketto. “…Virat Kohli and Bollywood superstar Anushka Sharma are aiming to raise Rs. 7 crore for COVID relief in India,” a press release from the celebrity couple stated.
IPL 2021 Suspended, May 7 Highlights: Everyday brings something new. And such has been the case surrounding IPL 2021. Four members of New Zealand contingent in India left for Maldives in a flight today alongside CSK’s Australian players in a sudden development. Later in the day, reports emerged that CSK batting coach Mike Hussey has tested negative for the coronvirus but will continue to remain in quarantine.
There’s a lot happening in the world of cricket. Australia star bowler Pat Cummins has come forward and expressed his views about the T20I World Cup that is supposed to take place in India. He has said that the WC should not happen here, if it depletes resources of the country.
Earlier a report in ESPN Cricinfo stated that MCC, Surrey, Warwickshire and Lancashire have shot the letter to ECB about their plans to complete the event in two weeks in the second half of September this year. Meanwhile ECB and MCC haven’t made any specific comment whether they will be able to host the tournament. The Chief Executive Committee too met at ICC and IPL was understandably not on their agenda.
Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman has recounted the incidents of May 3rd as the news of CSK bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji and CEO Kasi Viswanathan testing positive for Covid-19 was brought to light. Laxman said the ‘apprehensions mounted’ once SRH camp was made aware of the news.“We had full confidence in the protocols that had been put in place even when we moved from one city to another, but once we learnt of the positive tests in the KKR and CSK camp, our apprehensions mounted,” he wrote in his column in TOI.“We [SRH] had just finished a match against CSK and several of us caught up with old friends, so there was understandable anxiety and unrest until the test results were out,” he added.
Chris Morris has reached South Africa following the suspension of IPL 2021 after multiple players who part of various teams’ bio-bubbles were tested positive for the coronavirus. Allrounder Morris, who was representing Rajasthan Royals, expressed sigh of relief while revealing how the players and support staff responded when they first heard of two Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers testing COVID-19 positive which led to postponement of a match scheduled for Monday evening in Ahmedabad.
“The moment we heard that, when players are testing positive, inside the bubble, then everyone starts asking questions,” Morris was quoted as saying by IOL. “The alarm bells definitely started going off for all of us.” By Monday when they postponed that game (KKR vs RCB), we knew the tournament was under pressure to continue,” he added.
Morris, the most expensive player ever bought at an IPL auction, revealed it became chaotic and England cricketers were panicking.
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