TKR head coach Brendon McCullum unavailable for CPL 2021 due to personal reasons

Jasprit Bumrah should needle the opposition: Zaheer Khan

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has lauded Jasprit Bumrah for his calibre and said that the right-arm quick bowler should “at times needle the opposition” if that brings the best out of him. "If by getting angry, he can carry himself and perform like this, I believe he should at times needle the opposition. See, in the first innings, he had gone wicketless and being the class bowler that he is, I’m sure it must have bothered him," Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz. The Indian and England players were involved in an altercation on the field during the second Test at Lord’s that visitors eventually won. India were in a spot of bother in the second innings of the Lord's Test at one stage after getting reduced to 209/8. However, Bumrah and Mohammed Shami frustrated the England bowlers with an unbeaten stand of 89 runs for the ninth wicket. The Indian bowling attack then unleashed a riveting performance with the ball and thoroughly dominated the home side. Chasing 272, England were bundled out for 120 in the second innings and suffered a defeat by 151 runs. Talking about the way Bumrah bowled in the second innings, Zaheer said that the pacer channelised his anger in the right manner. "After the whole Anderson episode that unfolded, the bouncers he bowled to him and then while batting, the manner in which the England pacer went after him all those things motivated him, and he channelised that anger in the right way,” he added. The two sides will now meet each other for the third Test in Leeds scheduled to begin on August 25.

Important to manage Hardik Pandya's bowling workload: Paras Mhambrey

Paras Mhambrey, who was India's bowling coach during the Sri Lanka tour has said that the management is looking to manage all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s bowling workload considering that the World T20 is coming up and the right-hander is going to play a key role for the side. "With Hardik, we are obviously slowly taking it forward. I am not going to push him in terms of the number of overs to be bowled. He is pretty much being monitored on how much we are going to push him. We have to slowly build up. The World Cup is coming. For us, knowing that he is going to play a very crucial role for us, it is important to manage his bowling workload very well," said Mhambrey. Talking about Hardik’s role, Mhambrey admitted that the all-rounder does have a lot to offer with the bat, but if he is fit to bowl, then it would give a different dimension. "We know the batting that he offers you. But if we add bowling to it, he brings a different dimension. In that sense, we are working on it. Everyone -- strength & conditioning department and the physios -- is in sync and we have chatted it out," Mhambrey told IANS. Pandya had been troubled with a back injury for quite some time. However, post-recovery, he did bowl a bit in the series against Sri Lanka but failed to complete his quota of overs in any of the fixtures. The right-handed cricketer is expected to bowl in IPL that will resume on September 19 in the UAE where Mumbai Indians will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings. The tournament was suspended after there was a Covid-19 outbreak within the franchises in May this year. The IPL will be followed by the World T20 that will be hosted by the UAE and Oman. The first match of the competition will be played on October 17 where co-host Oman will be up against PNG. India will begin the campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai.

'Excited, honoured & thrilled': Wanindu Hasaranga expresses delight after joining RCB

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) recruited three overseas players, all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, and Singapore's Tim David for the remainder of the IPL 2021 that will now be played in the UAE. Hasaranga, who has been making headlines with his bowling performance for quite some time, took to social media and expressed his delight to become a part of the RCB franchise. “From sitting at home and watching them, to being a part of an amazing team. I am excited, honoured and thrilled all at once,” Hasaranga wrote on Instagram. The Sri Lankan all-rounder has replaced Australia’s Adam Zampa in the squad who had earlier opted out citing personal reasons while Chameera and David have been roped in the team in place of Daniel Sams and Finn Allen respectively. The IPL 2021 was earlier suspended on May 4 after there was a Covid-19 outburst within the franchises. The tournament will now resume in the UAE on September 19 where Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings while the final will be played on October 15, a couple of days ahead of the start of World T20. The World T20 is slated to be played in the UAE and Oman. The Bangalore-based franchise has had a decent tournament so far in this edition of the IPL, winning five of the seven matches that the side has played and were placed at the number three spot in the points table before the competition was halted.

WI vs PAK | 2nd Test: Day 2 abandoned due to rain, wet outfield in Jamaica

The second day of the second Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies got washed away due to rain in Jamaica. The visitors had a dismal start to the proceedings on Day 1 after they were reduced to 2/3 before captain Babar Azam and Fawad Alam resisted against the West Indies bowling and stitched a stand of 158 runs. But the Pakistan side then suffered a blow when Fawad had to walk back to the pavilion after getting retired hurt as he had fallen to humidity while he was batting on a personal score of 76. Later, Babar departed for 75 when the team score read 168 and the visitors had two new batsmen at the crease in Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf. The two batsmen made sure that Pakistan didn’t lose any further wickets in the middle. While Rizwan was at 22, Ashraf had scored 23 before the stumps were called on Day 1. For West Indies, it was Kemar Roach who returned with a three-for at the end of the day’s play. The second day of the play was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain and wet outfield but in the latest update, Fawad Alam is fit and would bat again. The home side is leading the two-match series 1-0 after they clinched a victory by 1 wicket in a nail-biting finish.