Saina Nehwal rises to No. 2 in world rankings

New Delhi, Apr 28: West Indies flamboyant batsman Chris Gayle has lashed out at former teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan calling him 'worse than coronavirus'.

Gayle, the colossal figure in the shortest format of the game blamed Sarwan for his departure from Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Jamaica Tallawahs.

The left-handed batsman joined St Lucia Zouks as their marquee player for the 2020 CPL season after Tallawahs chose not to retain him.

Gayle has played for Tallawahs and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the past. He has won the CPL title twice with the Tallawahs and played in the final with the Patriots in 2017.

"The owner of the franchise is a very nice man, I have no problem with him. I think he was actually persuaded to get rid of Chris Gayle," Gayle said in three parts on his YouTube channel.

"So someone has to be in his years telling him to get rid of Gayle. Sarwan, you are worse than the coronavirus right now. What transpired with the Tallahwahs, you had a big part to play.

Sarwan, you are a snake. You know, you are not the most loved person in the Caribbean. You are still stabbing people in the back," he added.

Gayle is the leading T20 run-scorer of all time as well as the man with the most centuries in the format. He is also the leading CPL run-scorer of all time, having amassed 2,344 runs in the tournament.

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

Feb 29: India were all out for 242 in their first innings following a stunning battling collapse, triggered by paceman Kyle Jamieson on the opening day of the second cricket Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, here on Saturday.

India were steady at 194 for five at tea but lost wickets in quick succession after the play resumed. Jamieson returned figures of 14-3-45-5.

Hanuma Vihari top-scored for India with his combative 55 while Prithvi Shaw (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (54) hit contrasting half-centuries.

Virat Kohli's (3) poor run continued while his deputy Ajikya Rahane (7) also fell cheaply.

India lost last five wickets for 48 runs, of which 26 were contributed by last-wicket pair of Mohammed Shami (16) and Jasprit Bumrah (10).

Brief Scores:

India 1st innings: 242 all out in 63 overs. (H Vihari 55, P Shaw 54, C Pujara 54 batting; Kyle Jamieson 5/45, Tim Southee 2/38, ).