Cricket

LONDON: The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will look at the possibility of using COVID-19 passports to allow fans to return to stadiums for the upcoming domestic season, the governing body's managing director of county cricket Neil Snowball said. The new County Championship season will begin on ApR 8 with games initially being played without spectators. May 17 has been pencilled in as the date when the largest outdoor seated venues can allow up to 10,000 people or a quarter of capacity,

The Expo 2020 Dubai will be the principal sponsor of the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Taking place from October 1 2021 to March 31, 2022, Expo 2020 will welcome more than 190 nations and millions of people from across the globe to Dubai for 182 visually striking, intellectually enlightening and emotionally inspiring days. Visitors will experience a dynamic and diverse programme, including innovation, culture, art, food, music and sport from every corner

Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season after injuring his left shoulder during India’s one-day international series with England, his franchise the Delhi Capitals announced on Tuesday. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will captain the side in Iyer’s absence, the Capitals added. Iyer sustained the injury while diving to stop a shot by England opener Jonny Bairstow and India’s cricket board BCCI said he had partially dislocated his shoulder. “Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the

Former Indian cricketer and legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar has tested positive for COVID-19. Taking to social media, the Little Master informed that all other members at his home have returned a negative COVID result. "I have been testing myself and taking all the recommended precautions to ensure Covid is kept at bay. However, I've tested positive today following mild symptoms," Tendulkar said in a statement on Twitter. "All others at home have tested negative. I've quarantined myself at home and am following all

Yusuf Pathan, former India all-rounder, took to Twitter on Saturday to reveal that he has tested positive for coronavirus. Earlier in the day, legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had tested COVID-19 positive. Yusuf was part of the India Legends squad, captained by Tendulkar, during the recently-concluded Road Safety World Series T20 tournament. Yusuf said he has mild symptoms and is currently quarantining at home while taking all the precautions and medication.  "I've tested positive for COVID-19 today with mild symptoms. Post the confirmation, I have quarantined

Injured England speedster Jofra Archer, who has already been ruled out of the Indian Premier League, will undergo a surgery on his right hand on Monday. Archer played in two Test matches and five T20 Internationals against India before returning home a few days ago after the completion of the shortest format. He had four wickets in two Tests and seven more across five T20Is. “England fast bowler Jofra Archer will undergo a procedure to his right hand following a scan and subsequent Consultant review

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been fined 15% of his match fee for “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision” during Tuesday’s One Day International against Bangladesh in Christchurch, the governing International Cricket Council said. Jamieson had reacted angrily after the TV umpire ruled his return catch from Tamim Iqbal had not been taken cleanly. He admitted the offence and accepted the sanction, the ICC said in a statement. The 26-year-old also had one demerit point added to his disciplinary record. It

England skipper Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of the final two one-day internationals against India in Pune after splitting the webbing between his thumb and index finger in Tuesday’s opener, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday. Jos Buttler will be captain from Friday’s second match, while batsman Liam Livingstone is set to make his ODI debut. Wicketkeeper batsman Sam Billings, who has a bruised collar bone, will be sidelined on Friday, with a decision on his fitness for

PUNE, India: Debutant Prasidh Krishna and fellow seamer Shardul Thakur combined to derail England's chase and bowl India to a 66-run victory in the one-day series opener in Pune on Tuesday (Mar 23). Shikhar Dhawan made 98 but it was the blistering unbroken century-plus partnership between KL Rahul and debutant Krunal Pandya which helped India to a strong 317-5. Jonny Bairstow led England's robust reply with an incendiary 94 before the wheels came off their chase and the tourists folded for 251 in

Finn Allen has been called up for the first time as part of New Zealand's 13-man T20 International (T20I) squad to take on Bangladesh in the three-game series, starting this Sunday at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The 21-year-old opener was the stand-out player of this season's Dream11 Super Smash, amassing a league-leading 512 runs at an average of 56 and an incredible strike-rate of 193 - featuring a table-topping 56 fours and 25 sixes. The former New Zealand Under-19 representative is one of

Rahkeem Cornwall blasted a maiden Test half-century and dominated an eighth-wicket partnership of 90 with Joshua da Silva to lift the West Indies to 268 for eight in their first innings, a lead of 99 runs, at the close of the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Monday. Outstanding seam bowling by Suranga Lakmal, who claimed his fourth five-wicket innings haul in 64 Tests, had restricted the home side to 171

It was only the eighth time in 84 innings that Kohli opened batting Virat Kohli plans to reinvent himself as a Twenty20 opener with an eye on the 20-overs World Cup at home later this year, the India captain said after the team's series victory against England. Kohli joined deputy Rohit Sharma at the top in Saturday's decider. Their 94-run opening stand helped India amass 224-2, their highest total against England. It was only the eighth time in 84 innings that Kohli opened

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by India in October-November this year and Morgan expects English cricketers to take full advantage of the IPL. Captain Eoin Morgan wants England’s IPL-bound players to make the most of the opportunities in the upcoming T20 league as they prepare themselves for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in India later this year. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by India in October-November this year and Morgan expects English cricketers

India were just too good for England, who did well to hang in there for three-quarters of the match, and then fell apart. To the Virat, the spoils. Thanks for your company and your correspondence. A more Guardian-ish match report will be along soon, and we’ll be back on Tuesday with the first OBO of the ODI series in Pune, where play will start at 8am GMT sharp. Is there time to send for Alex Hales? The leading wicket-taker in the series was

SILIGURI, India - Batting great Sachin Tendulkar is convinced Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are good enough to be in the India squad when the nation hosts the Twenty20 World Cup later this year. Both the top-order batsmen made their India debut in the ongoing T20 series against England, with Kishan smashing an incendiary fifty in his first match. Yadav, who plays with Kishan for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, had to wait until his second match to get a bat

AHMEDABAD, India - India captain Virat Kohli has called for changes to the ‘soft-signal’ rule for outfield catches after team mate Suryakumar Yadav was controversially dismissed in Thursday’s Twenty20 International against England. Yadav smashed 57 before his pull shot sailed to deep square leg where Dawid Malan took a tumbling low catch. As England celebrated, on-field umpire K N Ananthapadmanabhan gave the soft signal of ‘out’ before sending the decision to TV umpire Virender Sharma. On-field umpires give a ‘soft signal’ based on

Buttler carried his bat through the innings to guide England to 158 for two with 10 balls to spare Jos Buttler hit a brilliant 83 as England beat India by eight wickets on Tuesday to take a 2-1 lead in their five-match Twenty20 series. Virat Kohli’s 77-run blitz saw India to 156-6 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad which was kept empty because of the rising number of coronavirus cases in India. Buttler carried his bat through the innings, smashing four sixes

South Africa Legends entered the semifinals of the Road Safety World Series T20 by beating Bangladesh Legends by 10 wickets here. Openers Andrew Puttick (84 not out off 54 balls; 9×4, 1×6) and Morne van Wyk (69 not out off 62 balls; 9×4) slammed unbeaten half centuries as South Africa Legends chased down the 161-run target in 19.2 overs late on Monday. The win helped the South Africans finish third with 16 points after India (20 points) and Sri Lanka (20 points). Earlier,

The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on April 9, and the final is scheduled for May 30. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced online brokerage firm Upstox as its official partner for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. This will be a multi-year partnership, according to a statement released on the IPL official website. The upcoming season of the tournament is slated to begin on April 9, and the final is scheduled for May 30. Upstox, backed

LONDON: The three remaining Twenty20 matches between India and England in Ahmedabad will be held behind closed doors due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Gujarat, the state's cricket association (GCA) said on Monday (Mar 15). A sizeable crowd attended the world's biggest cricket stadium for the first two matches of the series, with most fans in the stands not wearing masks. The series is tied at 1-1 and the final three games of the five-match series will be played on Tuesday,