After Padikkal and Axar Patel, Kiran More tests positive for COVID-19

The Hundred: Sarah Taylor joins Welsh fire, makes comeback after two-year break

Former England Women’s star cricketer Sarah Taylor has decided to make a comeback to competitive cricket as she joined Welsh Fire one of the eight franchise teams of The Hundred Women’s competition. "There has been a real buzz about The Hundred, and especially the women’s competition. We’ve got the best players from around the world involved and the temptation to be part of it was too great to resist,” Taylor was quoted as saying in Wales Cricket Board’s press release. Taylor, 31 had quit all forms of competitive cricket in 2019 citing that anxiety issues plaguing her personally. Back then she had said, “This has been a tough decision but I know it’s the right one, for me and for my health moving forward. I am extremely proud of my career.” Now, excited to play, Sarah wishes that Welsh Fire which play their first game against Northern Superchargers at Headingley, Leeds on July 24 could have a great first season. Commenting on the two times World Cup winner’s comeback to cricket, Beth Barrett-Wild, head of The Hundred Women’s competition said, "Sarah Taylor is a truly extraordinary cricketer, who has made a habit of breaking new ground in the game throughout her career.” “It’s highly appropriate therefore that she will feature in The Hundred this summer – a competition which has the potential to transform women’s cricket,” she added. The London born Taylor is one of the finest wicket-keeper batters to have ever graced women’s cricket. She has the second-highest number of dismissals in both ODIs and T20Is with the joint highest number of stumpings in both formats. In ODIs, she has 51 stumpings, equal to India’s Anju Jain while in T20Is too she has 51 stumpings, equal to Australia’s Alyssa Healy. Overall she has the most number stumpings for any women’s cricketer, all formats combined. The tally sits at 104, way ahead of Healy’s 74. Sarah also has to her kitty, 6533 runs, once again the most for any wicket-keeper batter in women’s game.

Who's faster between Kohli & Dhoni? Star Sports to introduce new metrics in IPL 14

One of the biggest stakeholders in the Indian Premier League since its inception are the fans. And for the second year in a row, the cash-rich league will be played without those ardent individuals with an eye on the COVID-19 situation. But host broadcaster Star India is keeping no stone unturned to ensure that the fan engagement rises to the next level after what was a terrific display of smart innovation to engage fans in the 13th edition in UAE. Just a few days before the start of the cash-rich league, Star Sports Head Sanjog Gupta has ascertained on how he wants to make sure that the spectators get an out of the box experience throughout the course of the tournament. "I can tell you that we are working very closely with our sound designers on enhancing the sound design from last year. There are going to be new chants as some of the rising players who are now not on the cusp of greatness are already in the midst of that journey. That forms a part of what we're calling our belief in verticals." Gupta said "So, there are three pillars or three verticals that form a part of the overall product experience, the first part is unique. The second one is interactivity. And the third one is emotion. In the viewing experience, we are looking at three components. One is the visual design, which is now that you do not have crowds in the stadium, you can get much closer to players with your camera angles, you can have a lot more replays. You can have many more ultra-motion and super slo-mo replays because you're not cutting around to the crowd." Gupta further added. The Star Sports head further revealed that the fans can actually get a proper understanding that who is the quicker between current India skipper Virat Kohli and the former India skipper MS Dhoni. This is among the many metrics that Star is looking to introduce in the upcoming edition of the extravaganza. "An interesting thing which I can tell you, which is more on the experience side is we are also looking at introducing new metrics for fielding so that we can objectively evaluate the fielding standards of teams and players. We are also looking at measuring certain skills that players have which are critical to the game, but have never been measured -- for example, running between the wickets." He explained that one the things Star is planning to do is to try and measure as much as possible, the speed of players both striker and non-striker. He stated that this will provide better data to the fans who want to know if it is MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli or for that matter AB de Villiers who runs the quickest between the wickets. "Here's an opportunity for us to take a scale of the game that's critical and measure it to figure out the answer to this question," Gupta concluded.

Batsman charged with attempt to murder; absconds from the scene after the incident

In what could be one of the most dramatic and brutal scenes on a cricket field, a batsman in a local tournament in Madhya Pradesh hit a fielder with the bat to such an extent that the fielder remains hospitalised and unconscious to date. The incident took place at Mela Ground in Gwalior under the limits of Gola Ka Mandir Police Station in Gwalior. Sanjay Palia, the 23-year-old batsman, after being caught at 49, rushed to the fielder identified as Sachin Prashar and kept on hitting him on his head with the bat. After the intervention of the teammates from both sides, Parashar was rushed to a government hospital in a critical condition. Paliya has been charged with an attempt to murder. City Superintendent of Police Ramnaresh Pachouri, while speaking on the matter said, “Paliya got angry after Parashar took his catch and got him out on 49, just one run short of a half-century. Paliya rushed towards Parashar and started hitting him on the head with his bat. Other players tried to stop Paliya. Parashar continues to be unconscious in hospital.” Since the batsman absconded from the scenes, efforts to nab him are on, added the CSP.

IPL 2021: Sanju Samson says captaincy is more of a service to the team

Newly appointed Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson is looking forward to his first stint as a captain in the Indian Premier League. He will be leading the Rajasthan Royals when the IPL extravaganza kicks off on 9th April. Even before being formally named the captain of Rajasthan Royals, Samson knew that he was going to be named the new captain. He couldn’t hold back his excitement and promptly shared the news with his parents and wide Charu. It was a big moment for Samson who has made a name for himself through this cash-rich league. “It was tough keeping it to myself,” Samson said with a smile. Following his official announcement, he got congratulatory tweets from some of the greats of the game. “I got some nice congratulatory messages from Virat Bhai, Rohit Bhai and Mahi Bhai,” Samson revealed. Samson stated that captaincy to him is more of a service to the team. The swashbuckling batsman has the experience of captaincy and had lead Kerala and it’s U-19 team earlier. Speaking on the leadership experience, Samson said it’s more about man-management skills and how you deal with a certain individual and try to get the best out of him. “I look at captaincy as more of a service to the team. A captain is someone who is there to provide the right kind of atmosphere that every individual requires in a team and backs each one of them. It’s a lot about man-management skills—giving positive feedback to your players, understanding where they are coming from. The fact that my team and the franchise trust me to do this job gives great confidence that there is something in me. I firmly believe that a captain is only good if the team is good. The Royals have a quality bunch of great players and amazing support staff backing them. I’ve known most of them for years; they are like family. So, I’m in a comfortable space with the people I have around me. I have been part of the Royals from my teen days in 2013. Playing for one team for this long to now becoming captain, it’s a proud moment,” Samson was quoted as saying during an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times. Ever since their historic win in the inaugural edition of the competition way back in 2008, Rajasthan Royals have been one of those very few teams who have consistently languished at the bottom half of the table. Even in the last season, RR finished at the bottom of the points table despite having a strong team in their arsenal. Despite finishing last in the previous season, Samson feels they didn’t do much wrong and will hoping for a turnaround in the upcoming season. “I don't think we did too much wrong in the last season. If you look at our XI on paper, we're one of the best. So I would like to tell everyone that we are a great bunch of players and we just need to play some good cricket. If we are in the right mindset as a team, I believe good things are ahead of us. This format demands a lot of fearless cricket, be it in batting, bowling or fielding. It's all about speed, power and expressing yourself. That's what I expect from my team.”