Author: Kashish Chadha

West Indies’ two-time T20 World Cup-winning skipper, Daren Sammy, will no longer turn up as captain and player for St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League but will remain part of the franchise’s set-up in a new role. Ahead of the forthcoming season of the CPL, it was confirmed on Tuesday, Sammy will now be a T20 Cricket Consultant and Brand Ambassador for the Zouks. The announcement from Sammy and Zouks came as they retained their core group of players for the CPL 2021. Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase will continue to represent Zouks. The franchise will soon announce the names…

Famed bowling quartet who made up Australia’s first-choice attack at the controversial Cape Town 2018 Test versus South Africa, responded firmly on Tuesday to allegations of their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering incident. The four primary members of Australia’s Test match bowling unit had been facing question marks over their integrity amidst media and the wider public since Cameron Bancroft’s hinted at their involvement in the Sandpaper Gate. During an interview with the Guardian, Bancroft said it’s “self-explanatory” that it wasn’t just him, the then captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner who were aware of the ploy to rub sandpaper on the ball against South Africa. …

Despite hinting on multiple occasions in recent years that he is interested in representing South Africa again, AB de Villiers put an end to speculation, announcing that “once and for all, that his retirement will remain final”. De Villiers’ final stance on the matter was confirmed by Cricket South Africa via a statement on Twitter as the board picked the Proteas’ squads for the forthcoming tours to Ireland and West Indies. https://twitter.com/OfficialCSA/status/1394623182221549572 It was only a month back when he was playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021 that De Villiers told the press he was in discussion with South…

Earlier this week, Sri Lanka Cricket’s introduced a new points-based grading system that would act as a means to determine a player’s annual salaries. It is creating a ruffle among players, who are reportedly threatening to retire unless SLC are willing to be more transparent. With the new system influencing their earnings significantly, Sri Lankan players have demanded greater clarity about the process of how they are being graded. According to the new system, the cricketers under the Sri Lankan board will be categorized into four groups: fitness, discipline, how they fared in international and domestic cricket in the last…

Indian women team’s teen batting sensation, Shafali Verma, wishes to learn the art of batting long hours at the crease after her inclusion in the Test squad for the first time ahead of the tour of England. Shafali, who has been outstanding for India in the T20Is, earned her maiden Test and ODI call-up as she featured in the common 18-member squad announced for the UK trip by the selectors for the two formats. A firm believer in practising hard and not leaving a stone unturned in preparations, Shafali said she is keen to strengthen her resolve and range as…

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels it would be a move “backwards” for the Aussies if they reinstate Smith at the helm. Smith, who was banned from representing Australia after proven involvement in the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering incident, was also barred from captaining the nation for two years by Cricket Australia. Since then, Aaron Finch in white-ball cricket and Tim Paine in Tests have been captains for Australia. However, with the two, especially Paine, reaching the fag end of their careers, there have been calls from certain sections to have Smith back. Chappell, though, feels Australia should be wary of going…

The BCCI was set to add two new teams to its marquee T20 league from next year onwards, with a mega auction also scheduled ahead of IPL 2022. The board put plans on hold after the suspension of the league’s 14th edition. But with the surge of COVID-19 positive cases resulting in IPL 2021 getting postponed, the Indian board is reportedly keener to find a new window for the same rather than go ahead with its planning for next season. “Time is not right to even talk about the new IPL teams at this stage. We have to first decide…

Former India batsman Virender Sehwag heaped effusive praise on Punjab Kings’ youngster Shahrukh Khan, likening him to Mumbai Indians’ renowned power-hitter Kieron Pollard. Sehwag is very impressed with Shahrukh’s ball-striking ability on show during the recently suspended IPL 2021 as he compared him with how a young Pollard was in his early years in the league. The 25-year-old hit the ball hard in his role of a middle-order batsman for PBKS. He was selfless in his approach through his seven outings before the competition was postponed indefinitely due to a surge of COVID-19 positive cases inside different teams’ bubbles. “He…

As India’s experienced paceman, Mohammad Shami, recognises his role in the setup very well and said he is always willing to share his knowledge with the team’s young speedsters.  Shami, who has played 50 Tests, 79 ODIs and 12 T20Is for India, will be making his comeback to the national side after a six-month injury layoff. The 30-year-old quick sustained a fracture on his bowling arm while batting in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia late last year. He subsequently missed the next three Tests on the tour and also the entire all-format series at home versus…

Having been part of the Indian Premier League for five years, Rajasthan Royals explosive England batter, Jos Buttler, picked his all-time league XI, featuring some outstanding performers over the years. Buttler made his IPL debut back in 2016 for Mumbai Indians before joining the Royals’ camp in 2018. The aggressive right-hand batter has made 1,968 runs from his 68 IPL games at an average of 35.14 and strike-rate of 150.00. Buttler is one of those rare gents, who can pick themselves in an all-time IPL XI, and he did so during a conversation on Cricbuzz Plus.  The Englishman picked MI’s…