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    IPL 2021: CSK’s Josh Hazlewood Pulls Out of the Tournament

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    Josh Hazlewood
    Josh Hazlewood

    Ahead of IPL 2021, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Josh Hazlewood has pulled out of the season in order to spend some time with his family. The MS Dhoni-led CSK faced the same issues in the previous year’s IPL where star players like Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh have been pulled out of the tournament.

    The three-time champions CSK created an unwanted history in the IPL 2020 by not qualifying for the playoff of the season.

    Josh Hazlewood Pulls out of IPL 2021

    Josh Hazlewood’s decision of pulling out of the IPL 2021 will definitely make an impact in CSK’s game plan.

    “It’s been a long 10 months in bubbles and quarantine at different times, so I decided to have a rest from cricket and spend some time at home and in Australia in the next two months. We’ve got a big winter ahead too. The West Indies is going to be a long tour, with Bangladesh T20 tour potentially thrown on the end of that,” cricket.com.au quoted Hazlewood as saying.

    “Then potentially the T20 World Cup leading into the Ashes, so it’s a big 12 months, as it always is with Australia, and I want to give myself the best chance to be mentally and physically ready for that. That’s the decision I’ve made, and it sits pretty well with me,” he added.

    Hazlewood had played just three games for CSK in IPL 2020 and this year, he would have been competing with Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Lungi Ngidi, and Dwayne Bravo for a spot in the playing XI.

    Other Players to withdraw from IPL 2021

    On Wednesday, SunRisers Hyderabad all-rounder Mitchell Marsh had also pulled out of this year’s IPL, and the franchise named Jason Roy as his replacement. Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman Joshua Philippe had also chosen to give this year’s IPL a miss, citing personal reasons.

    Also, check the full list of players to withdraw from IPL 2021

    IPL 2021 is scheduled to play from April 9, 2021. The cash-rich league starts with the first match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) a Chennai. All the matches of the IPL 2021 will be played behind closed doors under strict bio-secure bubble conditions.

    IPL 2021: Harbhajan Singh Opens the Reason for Playing at the Age of 40

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    Harbhajan Singh
    Harbhajan Singh

    Harbhajan Singh is set to be back on the cricket field with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, scheduled to start on April 9.

    Harbhajan, who didn’t play IPL 2020 due to personal reasons, was signed by KKR during the IPL 2021 auction.

    Harbhajan Singh on playing IPL 2021

    Harbhajan, who hasn’t played professional cricket since the final of IPL 2019, received backing from KKR captain Eoin Morgan as he said that he adds plenty of experience and value to the team.

    Now, Harbhajan has said that many have asked why he is still playing at the age of 40 but added he is not here to prove anything to anyone but for his own satisfaction.

    Harbhajan Singh roped by KKR in IPL 2021 Auction
    Harbhajan Singh roped by KKR in IPL 2021 Auction

    “A lot of people think ‘Bhai yeh kyun khel raha hain?’ Arrey bhai ye unki soch hai, meri naahi. Meri soch hai ki main abhi khel sakta hoon, toh main khelunga (People think ‘why is he playing’ but that’s your opinion. From where I see myself, I want to play and I will play),” Harbhajan told PTI in an interview.

    “I have got nothing to prove to anyone. My intention is to play well, enjoy my stint out there in the middle, and playing cricket still gives me that satisfaction.

    “I have set a standard for myself and if I don’t meet that, I don’t need anyone else but I will blame myself. I need to ask myself, did I put in the optimum effort that was required,” he said just before moving into the team bubble.”

    Harbhajan Singh
    Harbhajan Singh with MS Dhoni while playing for CSK

    Harbhajan will join the likes of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav among others in the spin-heavy KKR outfit. The 40-year-old sounded confident ahead of IPL 2021 as he said with experience under his belt, he knows what to do in what conditions.

    “These questions are asked because I haven’t played a lot of cricket of late so teams are a bit defensive at auction and they don’t want to bid for me,” Harbhajan said.

    “But let me remind you all that when I did well for CSK in the 2019 IPL, I hadn’t played any domestic cricket. I came to the camp, prepared, and went into the match. At my level and experience, I know what needs to be done.

    “I don’t need to play domestic cricket for Punjab and stop a young talent from flourishing. That boy needs that chance more than me,” he added.

    IPL 2021: Suresh Raina MS Dhoni Starts Training at Mumbai

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    MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina starts training for the IPL 2021
    MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina at Mumbai

    CSK satisfied the expectations of their fans by releasing the joint training session of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. CSK skipper MS Dhoni is the first person to reach the training centre at Chennai and later moved to Mumbai along with the CSK team for their first match.

    MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina training 

    In a video shared by the franchise on Thursday morning, ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni and ‘Chinna Thala’ Suresh Raina took to the nets to get into the groove ahead of the season opener.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Chennai Super Kings (@chennaiipl)

    Both the players could be seen having a go at the ball in the nets. They could also be seen going through the fielding drills along with other team-mates.

    Suresh Raina Promises to present a bat for Faf du Plessis

    Earlier before arriving to the training camp CSK all rounder Suresh Raina promises to present a BAT for his IPL teammate Faf du Plessis.

    Suresh Raina wrote as “Last session before joining the team! All geared up for IPL. Can’t wait!,” in the caption of the Instagram video.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Suresh Raina (@sureshraina3)

    Faf du Plessis Reply

    As soon as he posted the video one of his fellow teammate Faf du Plessis made a quick reply to exhibit the joy of his arrival. The South African wrote, “See you soon, brother”.

    Soon Raina made a reply to show his brotherhood. Raina replies as “Done brother! Getting a bat for you,”. 

    Suresh Raina Reply to faf du plessis
    Suresh Raina Reply to faf du Plessis

    The crispy conversation shows the brotherhood that they share in the CSK’s camp. Though they were from different countries as many said “IPL unites players across the world together”.

    Besides retaining Raina for the 2021 season, CSK had signed six players at the IPL auction last month. While England all-rounder Moeen Ali was roped in by CSK for INR 7 crore, off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham joined CSK for INR 9.25 crore. Veteran Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will also play for the Dhoni-led side in the next season of the IPL.

    Final squad of CSK for IPL 2021

    MS Dhoni (C & WK), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Krishnappa Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.

    Dhanashree Verma, Shikhar Dhawan Made a Bhangra Dance Video

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    Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal's wife Dhanashree Verma's
    Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal's wife Dhanashree Verma dance

    Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal’s wife Dhanashree Verma were seen dancing “Bhangra”.

    Dhanashree Verma dance with Shikhar Dhawan 

    The Bhangra dance video was shared by both Shikhar Dhawan and Dhanashree Verma on their respective Instagram handles. Dhanashree wrote in the caption: Bhangra in gabbar style @shikhardofficial Setting Instagram reels on fire together Like I mentioned before- Energy speaks volumes Edited by: @kishh.t Music: boliyan @lehmberhussainpuri. #shikhardhawan #dhanashreeverma #bhangra #punjabi #dance #reels

    Dhanashree, who is also a Dentist by profession got married to Yuzvendra Chahal on December 22, 2020, in a private ceremony with family and close friends in attendance. The wedding took place in Gurgaon.

    Dhanashree Verma was with Yuzvendra Chahal during the India-England series. The couple, along with Mohammed Siraj on Tuesday left Pune to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad ahead of the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League.

    Dhawan, who hit scores of 98 and 67 during the ODI series against England, will join up with the Delhi Capitals squad.

    Shreyas Iyer dancing with Dhanashree Verma

    Shreyas Iyer shared a video of him dancing alongside his teammate and senior Yuzvendra Chahal’s wife. The video has gone viral and is getting a lot appreciation from the fans. Iyer’s dance moves are so good that for once he looks like overshadowing Dhanashree Verma, who is a choreographer by profession.

    In just 8 hours has got over 6 lakh likes.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Shreyas Iyer (@shreyas41)

    R Sridhar hailed the performance as “too good”, stating that he watched the video on loop. “Too good…watched it on loop,” said the Team India fielding coach.

    Shreyas Iyer has been named as the captain of Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy which starts from February 20. Prithvi Shaw will be his deputy. The Salil Ankola-led selection committee on Wednesday announced a 22-member squad for the tournament.

    Shreyas earlier captained Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), before the Australia tour. The batsman led from the front as the Delhi-based franchise reached their first-ever final of the cash-rich league.

    The 26-year-old finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the edition of the tournament, accumulating 519 runs in 17 matches. Shreyas scored these runs at an average of 34.60 and strike rate of 123.27.

    Also read: IPL 2021 – Full schedule, Squad Details (Updated)

    Russell Domingo Slams DLS Decision in the 2nd T20I vs New Zealand

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    Russell Domingo
    Russell Domingo

    Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo express his frustration after the faulty DLS decision in the 2nd T20I against New Zealand.

    New Zealand scored 173 for the loss of 5 wickets in 17.5 overs and after the following rain the big screen at McLean Park in Napier, the official BlackCaps Twitter handle, and the ICC website all said Bangladesh’s target after DLS calculations were 148 in 16.

    However, the play halted just 9 balls after Bangladesh’s run-chase started. The match officials came up with a revised target of 170 runs in 16 overs. The target was increased by one more run after another revision after the 13th over.

    Do you what is DLS Method and how it is calculated?. Check the full detailed description by clicking here.

    Russell Domingo slams DLS decision 2nd T20I vs New Zealand

    “There was an operational issue at the ground, which meant the DLS sheet could not be handed over to the teams. The target score was verbally communicated to the umpires at the start of the innings. However, play had to be halted after 1.3 overs as the teams requested for the DLS sheet to know the targets at different points during the innings. Play was resumed once the DLS sheets were provided to the teams,” an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo.

    West Indies vs Bangladesh 2nd T20I
    West Indies vs Bangladesh 2nd T20I

    Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo has been left ‘frustrated’ due to the bizarre DLS drama on Tuesday. He said that he has never been part of a match where the batsmen start the run-chase uncertain about the DLS target. He asserted that the chase should not at all have started without any clear confirmation of the actual target.

    “I don’t think I have been involved in a game before where batters go out and don’t know what the DLS target is,” Domingo said. “There was a lot of rain around. Nobody had any idea of how many we needed after five or six overs. I don’t think the game should have started until it was finalised, before there was a clear indication of what is required, and what we needed at certain stages. I don’t quite think it [the conduct of the match] was good enough this evening.

    “[When we met the match referee] they were still waiting for the printouts and calculations to take place. I think if you are waiting, the game can’t start before you get it. What was explained now was that they normally get it one or two balls into the innings, but hadn’t received it yet. They were waiting for it. There were delays and all sorts of stuff. No excuses [for the defeat], but this is just very frustrating for us.

    “They couldn’t delay the game much longer, because they were running out of overs.

    “I don’t think a team fields for that long in that much rain,” Domingo said, also questioning the conditions in which the game was played. “It was slippery. The ball was wet. No excuses but it all seemed to be stacked against us this evening in terms of the conditions. I have never seen a game starting in rain when we came out for four or five overs. I don’t think the rules have changed but I was under the impression the covers don’t come off until rain stops,” Russell Domingo said.

    The hosts managed to restrict Bangladesh to 142 for 7 in 16 overs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series.

    Sarandeep Singh Explains the Reason for Backing Rishabh Pant

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    Rishabh Pant
    Rishabh Pant

    Former India cricketer and selector Sarandeep Singh praised Rishabh Pant for fighting through fitness issues and improving his technique to make a stunning comeback in international cricket.

    Commenting on the never-ending debate on India’s first-choice keeper in Tests, Sarandeep said Pant can give India 10 years but the same cannot be said about Wriddhiman Saha. Post MS Dhoni’s retirement announcement India struggles to find a replica for the former Indian skipper who can play multiple roles on the field.

    Sarandeep Singh praises Rishabh Pant

    Pant performed superbly in the limited-overs format against England as well and has become the topic of discussion ahead of IPL 2021.

    Rishabh Pant
    Rishabh Pant

    “No praise will be enough for Pant. He had some fitness issues, worked on that, and worked on his shot selection. If you expect a 21-year-old to play like a 30-year-old, it is tough to start with. You see Hardik (Pandya), the way he bats now with experience, the same thing has been seen in Pant now in the last six months or so,” Sarandeep Singh told news agency PTI.

    “He was out of the team which was good for him. There is a right time and right ball to hit. The way he played in Australia shows he has gained a lot of experience. He is picking and choosing,” he added.

    “He can give you 10 years in Test cricket, Saha cannot and he has become the number one choice,” Sarandeep added.

    “In ODIs, Shreyas got injured so Rishabh played. When he is back, KL should be the wicketkeeper because he has been keeping wickets for a long time and is doing a fine job,” he further said.

    KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant
    KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant

    Pant will turn up for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 as their new captain as regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.

    IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant Replaced as Delhi Capitals Skipper

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    Rishabh Pant
    Rishabh Pant

    Rishabh Pant has been appointed the Delhi Capitals captain for the IPL 2021. The development comes in the wake of the Capitals’ regular captain Shreyas Iyer being ruled of the season after he dislocated his left shoulder during the ODI series against England.

    Rishabh Pant appoints as Delhi Capitals Skipper

    This is the first captaincy assignment for Pant in the IPL, who was bought by the Capitals before the 2016 IPL and then became the first player to be retained ahead of the 2018 mega auction.

    On his new role, Pant in a statement had said, “Delhi is where I grew up, and where my IPL journey began six years ago. To lead this team one day is a dream I`ve always harboured. And today, as that dream comes true, I feel humbled. I am truly grateful, especially to our team owners, who considered me capable enough for this role. With an amazing coaching staff and a plethora of accomplished seniors around me, I can`t wait to give my absolute best for Delhi Capitals.”

    At 23, Pant will become the fifth-youngest captain in the IPL after Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Suresh Raina, and Shreyas Iyer. While Virat Kohli and Steve Smith assumed leadership at 22, Raina and Iyer were 23 too but younger in terms of days than Pant.

    IPL 2021 is scheduled to kick start from April 9, 2021. The opening match is scheduled to play between Mumbai Indians(MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) at Chennai.

    Kohli, ABD and Devdutt Padikkal Participate in a Race Ahead of IPL 2021

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    Virat Kohli, ABD and Padikkal gets in friendly race
    Virat Kohli, ABD and Padikkal gets in friendly race

    RCB skipper Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers(ABD), and Devdutt Padikkal get in a friendly race and Kohli announced the result for the game via his Twitter account.

    Virat Kohli, ABD and Devdutt Padikkal gets in Challenge

    It started when Kohli took to Twitter and posted a video where he can be seen running on a treadmill. The South African – who shares a good bind with Kohli – challenged the RCB skipper for a race.

    As usual, the video went viral and attracts his one of the best friend AB de Villiers. The South African batsman comment as “Loving the form @imVkohli.. I’m all packed to join the team”. 

    Soon Virat Kohli replied as “Hope you’re still fast between the wickets”. RCB’s opening batsmen Devdutt Padikkal registered his presence by commenting as “Can’t wait to train with you both again @imVkohli @ABdeVilliers17. I’m in.”

    Loving the form @imVkohli .. I’m all packed to join the team pic.twitter.com/6rBIV3T3EH

    Finally, RCB’s official Twitter handling admin interrupt to settle this friendly challenge. RCB’s official Twitter handling admin mentioned that “Alright, we see you. Fast and Furious, the RCB edition is officially happening! #PlayBold. 

    Virat Kohli announces the Result

    Soon after this Virat Kohli again hit his Twitter account with a new video where he quoted as “One of us wins, all of us win. Am I right? Hello, @RCBTweets’s newest and fastest teammate @pumacricket”.

    Former Cricketer Irfan Pathan Tested Positive for Coronavirus

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    Irfan Pathan
    Irfan Pathan

    Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan has become the fourth cricketer from the Road Safety World Series (RSWS) to have tested positive for the coronavirus.

    On Saturday, Sachin Tendulkar announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus, and his announcement was followed by similar ones from Irfan’s half-brother Yusuf Pathan, and S Badrinath.

    Irfan Pathan Tested Coronavirus Positive 

    Irfan said he was showing no symptoms and had isolated himself at home, making the announcement of his positive test on Twitter, like Sachin Tendulkar, Yusuf Pathan, and S Badrinath had.

    “I have tested positive for COVID-19 with no symptoms and have isolated myself and quarantined at home. I would request those who came in contact with me in the recent past to please get themselves tested. Urging all to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Wishing you all good health,” Irfan tweeted late Monday.

    In the final of the Road Safety World Series, an all-round show by Yusuf Pathan helped India Legends beat Sri Lanka Legends by 14 runs. Put in to bat first, India made 181 for 4 with Yusuf smashing an unbeaten 62 off 36 and Yuvraj making 60 off 41.

    In reply, Sri Lanka made 167 for 7 with Yusuf returning figures of 2 for 26 while Irfan Pathan got 2 for 29.

    India Legends won the 2021 Road Safety World series
    India Legends

    Yusuf was the man of the final. India were reduced to 35 for 2 with Virender Sehwag and S Badrinath falling cheaply but Sachin Tendulkar provided a stable base making 30 off 23. Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf then carried on, Yusuf accelerating towards the end to power India to a huge score.

    Sri Lanka got a stable start with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya adding 62 for the opening wicket but they collapsed in the middle to be reduced to 91 for 4. Yusuf made the crucial breakthroughs, dismissing both Dilshan and Jayasuriya.

    Chinthaka Jayasinghe (30) and Kaushalya Weeraratne (38 off 15) stretched the game but Manpreet Gony, Irfan Pathan, and Munaf Patel held their nerves in the end to win the trophy for India.

    IPL 2021: Punjab Kings(PK) Unveils their New Jersey

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    Punjab Kings introduced their new jersey ahead of IPL 2021
    Punjab King's New Jersey for IPL 2021

    IPL franchise Punjab Kings introduced their new jersey for the upcoming IPL 2021. In prior to the IPL 2021 players Auction Punjab-based franchise changed their team name as “Punjab Kings” from “Kings XI Punjab”.

    Punjab Kings launches new Jersey

    Punjab Kings in their official Twitter account introduced the new jersey to the fans. Punjab Kings wrote “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫! Reveal kar rahe hain assi, saddi new jersey”.

    Not only Punjab Kings, but many IPL franchises also introduced their new jersey for the IPL 2021 tournament. Earlier on 25th March CSK skipper MS Dhoni introduced the new CSK jersey by unboxing his jersey.

    Following a two days gap, Mumbai Indians introduced their new jersey for their fans via official accounts in social media.

    Players brought by Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 Auction

    Shahrukh Khan has been outstanding for Tamil Nadu in Indian domestic cricket and Punjab gifted him with a deal of INR 5.25 crores from his base price of INR 20 lakhs. Moises Henriques has been a key member of Australia and the Sydney Sixers. Punjab shelled out INR 4.20 crores for the Portugal-born cricketer.

    Riley Meredith
    Riley Meredith
    • Shahrukh Khan has been roped for Rs. 5.25 Crores.
    • Jyke Richardson roped for Rs. 14 Crores.
    • Dawid Malan roped for Rs. 1.5 Crores.
    • Riley Meredith roped for Rs. 8 Crores.
    • Moises Henriques roped for 4.2 Crores.
    • Jalaj Saxena- INR 30 lakhs.
    • Utkarsh Singh- INR 20 lakhs.
    • Fabian Allen- INR 75 lakhs.
    • Saurabh Kumar- INR 20 lakhs.

    Players retained

    KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle, Prabhsimran Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Harpreet Brar, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Ishan Porel, Murugan Ashwin, and Darshan Nalkande.

    Players Released

    Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, K Gowtham, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jimmy Neesham & Karun Nair, Hardus Viljoen.

    Final squad of Punjab Kings for IPL 2021 

    KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Ishan Porel, Sarfaraz Khan, Murugan Ashwin, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar.

    Former India Captain Dilip Vengsarkar Praises Ravichandran Ashwin

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    Dilip Vengsarkar
    Dilip Vengsarkar

    Former India captain and chief of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar has advocated for the inclusion of out-of-favour Ravichandran Ashwin in the limited-overs set-up.

    Dilip Vengsarkar praises Ravichandran Ashwin

    Once a regular across formats, Ashwin has now been reduced to a red-ball specialist for India but with India struggling on spin front as far as white-ball cricket goes, the calls for bringing back the veteran have only grown in recent times.

    Take for example the recently concluded three-match ODI series against England. Kuldeep Yadav had a nightmare of the series and was dropped after two wicketless, expensive outings while Yuzvendra Chahal wasn’t even given one match. Allrounder Krunal Pandya made waves but only with the bat.

    Vengsarkar says had he been the chief selector, Ashwin would be back playing limited-overs cricket for India. “If I were the chief selector, I would have brought Ashwin back,” Vengsarkar told The Indian Express.

    Ashwin
    Ashwin

    “Why not? Because he is such an experienced bowler and he has variety. As they say, spinners mature late and he has done so well over the years. He is in terrific form in red ball cricket. I think it will suit the team if he is brought back.”

    Recently, India captain Virat Kohli had taken exception to a query as to why Ashwin, despite being a consistent performer in Test cricket, continues to be ignored for ODIs and T20Is.

    “Washington (Sundar) has been doing really well for us. So you cannot have two players of the same discipline, playing in one spot. So unless Washy has a drastically horrible season and things go south for him (this will not happen),” Kohli had said earlier this month.

    But Vengsarkar disagrees with Virat Kohli arguing Sundar is no away closer to Ashwin when taken purely as a bowler.

    Washington Sundar
    Washington Sundar

    “Washington Sundar is no match if you compare him with Ashwin purely as a bowler. Where is the comparison?” Vengsarkar said.

    He even said that it’s possible for Sundar and Ashwin to coexist. “In the ODIs, when the spinners bowl, their job is to get wickets in the middle overs. If they fail to get wickets, then the opposition can score a huge total, with wickets in hand. So basically Ashwin’s job will be to get wickets and he is good at that,” the 64-year-old explained.

    “The variety he has, he would be a very good attacking option and very few can match his variety. As far as spinners are concerned, you don’t contain the batsmen (in this format), especially in the middle overs,” he added.

    Glenn Maxwell, Jimmy Neesham Engage in Banter

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    Jimmy Neesham and Glenn Maxwell were involved in some funny banter on Twitter
    Glenn Maxwell and Jimmy Neesham holding each others jersey

    A quality banter is never far away when an Australian(Glenn Maxwell) and a New Zealander(Jimmy Neesham) engage in a conversation.

    On Monday Glenn Maxwell and Jimmy Neesham decided to entertain the fans with a hilarious conversation on Twitter. It was Maxwell who started it all by taking a cheeky dig at Neesham but the latter had the last laugh.

    Glenn Maxwell & Jimmy Neesham friendly banter

    Responding to a user who asked him when he will be joining the Mumbai Indians squad ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Neesham tweeted saying “I’m coming but I’m stuck behind this bloody cargo ship.”

    Neesham’s tweet referred to the Suez Canal being blocked by a cargo ship.

    Maxwell took his time and responded to this tweet, saying: “Must be hard carrying bags that are 46,44,46.” He was referring to that over where he belted the Kiwi all-rounder for 28 runs. This happened when Australia toured New Zealand last month and Maxwell belted the Kiwi all-rounder in the third T20I.

    It was a five-match series and the third and fourth T20Is between New Zealand and Australia was played behind closed doors.

    The first and second T20I between New Zealand Women (White Ferns) and England Women will also be played behind closed doors following the change to New Zealand’s alert levels with an eye on the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The decision regarding the fifth T20I between New Zealand and Australia and the third T20I between White Ferns and England will be taken later on.

    Neesham was snapped up by defending champions Mumbai Indians, Maxwell was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2021 Auction. As per IPL 2021 Schedule Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will face each other on April 9.