Confident India aim to seal series in Indore

Karachi, Jul 6: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that questions will be raised if Indian Premier League is slotted in the window allotted to ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, which in all likelihood will be cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ICC is yet to decide the fate of the T20 World Cup in Australia which is scheduled to take place from October 18 to November 15.

"There are rumors that the World Cup was clashing with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Australia-India series, therefore, it (T20 World Cup) won't take place," Inzamam said in his YouTube channel on Sunday.

"The Indian board is strong and has control in the International Cricket Council (ICC). If Australia says that we cannot hold the World Cup because of the Covid-19 pandemic, then their stance will be easily accepted, but if any such kind event happens during the same time, then questions will be raised," he said.

The 50-year-old former batsman, who has scored 8,830 runs in 120 Tests and 11,739 runs in 378 ODIs for Pakistan, further said, "People will think, if a country could host 12 to 14 teams (16 teams), then why the ICC could not look after the teams, after all Australia is such an advanced country.

"Another thing is the ICC should not be allowed to give priority to private leagues (IPL) on international cricket. This will lead to young players forcing on private leagues other than international matches."

The former coach, however, agreed that it is not easy to host 16 nations during the T20 World Cup.

"Australia can say that it was difficult for it to manage 18 teams (16) for the mega event as it is not easy. Likewise, the Pakistan team was in England in a hotel and all the facilities were being provided there, therefore, it has not been easy to manage 18 teams (16)," he said.

The fate of Asia Cup which PCB will be hosting in a neutral country for security reason is also an issue as no one knows the fate of the tournament originally scheduled in September.

Inzamam said: "I have also heard that objections are also raised on the dates of the Asia Cup as it is clashing with some other event.

"The ICC, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and all cricket boards should sit together and give a strong message that any such kind of impression (giving priority to private leagues instead of international cricket), won't take place," he said.

Colombo, Mar 23: Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara has said he is currently in self-quarantine, following his government's guidelines for those recently returning from Europe, which has now become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities are concerned over people returning from the most-affected COVID-19 countries in Europe not registering with the police and practising isolation.

"I have no symptoms or anything like that, but I'm following government guidelines," Sangakkara told News First.

"I arrived from London over a week ago and the first thing was there was a news bulletin saying that anyone who had travelled from within March 1 to 15 should register themselves with the police and undergo self-quarantine. I registered myself with the police."

The former captain said this even as the government confirmed there have been at least three cases of recent returnees attempting to hide the novel coronavirus symptoms from authorities.

Both Sangakkara and his former teammate Mahela Jayawardene have been active on social media, urging Sri Lankans to avoid panic and to exercise proper social distancing, as the country went into curfew on Friday evening.

Sri Lanka has so far reported more than 80 active COVID-19 positive cases in the country.

Across the world, the number of infected has crossed three lakh besides a death toll of more than 14,000 people.

Meanwhile, former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie has also gone into a two-week isolation after returning from the United Kingdom.

Gillespie, who is the head coach at Sussex, had been in Cape Town with the team for a pre-season tour, which was cut short as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mumbai, Mar 6: Former India batsman Virender Sehwag expressed excitement over the upcoming Road Safety World Series and said he is looking forward to playing with Sachin Tendulkar again.

"I am very excited about this tournament because I will get another chance to play with Sachin. We have played many international matches together and there was a gap and then we played an All-Star match and now again getting a chance. I am looking forward to playing with Tendulkar," Sehwag told media persons.

In the opening match of the Road Safety World Series, India Legends will play against West Indies Legends on March 7. The main aim of the Series is to create awareness about road safety and change people's mindset towards their behaviour on the roads.

Sehwag hailed the initiative of Road Safety World Series and said: "I think it is a very good initiative by the government that they are working towards creating awareness regarding road safety. Awareness regarding road safety is important for everyone."

Road Safety World Series, a five-nation T20 cricket tournament, will showcase some of the biggest names in cricket from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and South Africa.

Players who will feature in this series include Tendulkar, Sehwag, Brian Lara, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brett Lee, Brad Hodge, Jonty Rhodes, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and many more. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is the Commissioner of the Series.