NZ vs WI: Grandhomme, Patel ruled out of Test; Santner, Mitchell called up

New Zealand has suffered a body blow ahead of the international season as all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel have been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against West Indies. De Grandhomme suffered an injury in his right foot while Patel tore his calf muscle, as per an Associated Press report. The team management has roped in allrounders Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santer as replacements for the injured duo. Both Mitchell and Santner are part of the T20 squad that will take on West Indies in a series starting November 27.

“Mitch and Daryl will be available for the final T20 game before linking up with the test squad on Tuesday where we will monitor them closely to ensure they’re fit and fresh ahead of the first Test,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.

Daryl Mitchell had made his debut last year against England and proved his worth with the bat, scoring 73 runs in Hamilton while Santner has enjoyed an impressive season since he scored a century against England last year.
“They both proved last summer in the Tests against England what they can do in our conditions with Mitch scoring a century and claiming three wickets at Bay Oval, while Daryl produced a polished half-century on debut at Seddon Park,” Gary Stead added.

Meanwhile, Gary Stead has also said that Mitchell Santner will lead the Blackcaps in the third T20 against West Indies with regular T20 captain Tim Southee leaving early from the series to prepare for the Test series that will follow the white-ball series. "His calm demeanour along with the sheer amount of international experience will hold him in good stead," Stead said on Santner's credential to lead the team.

New Zealand will take on West Indies in a two-match Test series starting December 03 at Seddon Park in Hamilton followed by the last Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington from December 11.

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Suresh Raina seeks to promote cricket in J&K, signs MoU with govt.

Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has come very close to realizing his long-cherished dream of training cricketers in his ancestral native place, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the J&K Sports Council in presence of the Governor of the UT and former Railway Minister Manoj Sinha, a native of Ghazipur, located in Raina’s home state of Uttar Pradesh. Announcing the news the 33-year-old tweeted, “Extremely delighted to sign the MoU with J&K Sports Council for training budding cricketers across the Union Territory. In presence of J&K Lt. Governor @manojsinha, Chief Secretary BVR Subramaniam and Principal Secretary to LG @nitishwarKumar. Great beginnings & things ahead.” Earlier Raina had expressed the desire of helping J&K in various ways after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written a letter to him on the announcement of his retirement. The former UP captain had shared his vision of playing a major role in developing cricket and cricket infrastructure in his ancestral region of Jammu and Kashmir, seeking govt.’s assistance in it. Former India all-rounder and a player of Jammu Kashmir at one point of time in his career, Irfan Pathan congratulated Raina on his success and wished him luck in his endeavor. Raina, who surprised all by announcing his international retirement, just minutes after his teammate and good friend MS Dhoni, represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is scoring a total of 7988 runs. A good enough part-time bowler, Raina also took 62 international wickets.

Pak invite Afghans for first official tour after PM Imran's Kabul visit

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has invited the Afghanistan National side for a cricket series for the first time ever. The tour is likely to happen in 2021; if not then it would most definitely happen in 2022. The news was announced by the Pak board after the country’s Prime Minister and its first and only 50 overs World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan made an official tour to the country across the Durand line. "We'll try to look for a possible window for this tour -- and if not 2021, we'll definitely try to plan a series in 2022 season," PCB chief executive Wasim Khan was quoted as saying to AFP. He further said that a cricket series between Pakistan and Afghanistan could be a ‘harbinger of love and peace between the two countries’. The two sides have so far engaged in only five official matches a T20I and four 50 over encounters, all of which have been won by the senior Pakistan team. However, during the last year’s World Cup warm-up matches, Afghanistan had defeated Pakistan, sending the cricket-crazy nation into jubilations. It even resulted in missiles being launched in the city of Kabul in mad celebrations that lasted the entire night. The game of cricket was introduced to the Afghans when they came to live in refugee camps set up in Peshawar, the bustling city of Pakistan during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan and subsequent Russo-Taliban war of the 1980s. Putting emphasis on the fact that Pakistan will keep on supporting Afghanistan’s rise in cricket, Wasim said, "A strong Afghanistan means a strong Asian block... so Pakistan will continue to play its part and help Afghan cricket." The Men in Green are supposed to play Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series as part of the 2023 World Cup Super League as well and most likely the matches would take place in UAE.

New Zealand’s new T20I kit is a mixture of nostalgia and modernity

The New Zealand team revealed the new T20I kit for their upcoming limited-overs series against West Indies at home. The new dress’ look was unveiled by the Blackcaps team on their official website by posting photos of the well-known Kiwi players. The photos were shared by the International Cricket Council’s official Twitter handle with the caption, “New Zealand’s new T20I playing kit for the West Indies series. Rate this jersey on a scale of 'Smiling face with open mouth' to 'Star-struck' @BLACKCAPS| #NZvWI.“ The theme of the new dress is based on touching the nostalgic spot of the cricket fans with a small imprint of the Kiwi wings and a huge shade of grey from the retro days of the early 90s. While the Blackcaps theme of wearing pure black has also been mixed with that grey, it all together looks like the combination to keep those older fans nostalgic and yet engage with the new generation cricket-loving fraternity of New Zealand. Earlier their opponents, West Indies too had launched a totally different-looking range of kits for this t20 series and they were unveiled on Twitter as well. The series between the Kiwis and the Windies begin on 27th November with the first T20I taking place in Eden Park Auckland. The New Zealand team would be without the services of their regular captain Kane Williamson and strike bowler Trent Boult and Tim Southee will captain the side against Keiron Pollard led Windies team.

Kagiso Rabada likens bio-bubbles to luxury prisons

South African speedster, Kagiso Rabada compared the bio-bubble, which has been the new normal in the pandemic ridden sports world as a luxury prison where one is provided with all amenities except the fact that one can’t move out. Speaking on the eve of the series beginner at Boland Par, Paarl, between his team South Africa and England, where the 25-year-old would be joining yet another bubble, his second after the IPL one, said, "It can be quite tough. You can't interact. You've basically lost your freedom. It's almost like luxury prisons we are in. But we have to remind ourselves that we are fortunate.” At the same time he said that one must also be grateful for the fact that in times when people are losing jobs, international cricketers could still do what they love and get paid for it. "People have lost their jobs, people are struggling at the moment, so we must be grateful for the opportunity we have been given to make some money and to do what we love," said the Johannesburg born. Addressing the pressing issue of the Black Lives Matter, Rabada much like Chris Jordan of England said that he definably supports the movement, but not kneeling down was a team decision conveyed by coach Mark Boucher and he readily agreed to that. "It was a team decision not to kneel and to look at gender-based violence and devote ourselves to another cause. However, BLM is one-hundred percent something I will always stand for and I speak for myself. But, Mark has stated that the team will not be kneeling and that's how it's going to be," he said. The Proteas play England in two limited-overs series of three-match each (one T20I and one ODI).