Covid statistics
are alarming ~ 60578423 affected globally !
.. USA it is 128,51,208 with 180830 cases reported yesterday; India
92,66,705; Brazil 61,66,606; France
21,69,336; Russia 21,44,229 … while that
is top 5 – New Zealand has an envious story – new cases reported during past 24
hours 1; total active cases 60 !
The Indian men's cricket
team, who stayed away from international cricket for more than eight months due
to coronavirus crises, will return to action playing Australia in the opening
One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series tomorrow on November 27
at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Expectations
naturally run very high ! - In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal is
likely to partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order with KL Rahul
continuing to keep wicket and bat at No. 5. If India pick both Mohammed Shami
and Jasprit Bumrah, they will have to choose between Navdeep Saini's pace and
Shardul Thakur's lower-order batting for the third seamer's role. Also,
Chahal's IPL form may help him edge out Kuldeep Yadav for the lone
wristspinner's slot.
IPL was very
interesting but may not the guidebook of form and class …. A great player by every
standards Glenn Maxwell had an horror tournament with average of 15.42, a strike rate barely
scraping above a run-a-ball, and no sixes in 106 balls. .. yet he could be a
tormentor just as India looks to Hardik Pandya.
Hardeek didn't bowl a ball right
through IPL 2020, and while that didn't necessarily hurt the Mumbai Indians'
campaign, it could upset India's ODI balance given none of their other batsmen
is a viable sixth bowling option. Pandya was in terrific hitting form right
through the IPL, but he may have to show a little more versatility as a top-six
batsman in ODI cricket.
Virat Kohli will continue
to lead the Men in Blue in the 50-over format, while KL Rahul will serve as his
deputy in the absence of regular vice-captain Rohit Sharma. Australia's
blueprint to topple Virat Kohli has been revealed, with the host nation set to
relentlessly attack India's master batsman when the two nations open the
international summer at the SCG on Friday. In a year like no other, the
tourists and those Australians who had been in the Indian Premier League
emerged from a fortnight of quarantine at 4pm on Thursday and now prepare to
step into battle less than 24 hours later. While they have been able to train
in a bio-secure bubble, it's been far from a normal routine heading into the
first of three one-day internationals.
Indian captain Virat Kohli
has said that the entire episode surrounding Rohit Sharma's injury has been
"very confusing", exacerbated by a "lot of uncertainty and lack
of clarity". Speaking on the eve of India's ODI series opener against
Australia, Kohli said that ideally both Rohit and fast bowler Ishant Sharma
should have been in Australia to complete recovery from their respective
injuries which would have allowed them to play in the Test leg of the tour. Both
players were ruled out of the first two Tests of the four-match Border-Gavaskar
Trophy, which is scheduled to start with the day-night Test in Adelaide on
December 17.
Miles closer, another Asian
team, Pakistan is touring New Zealand. .. ..but - six members of Pakistan's
touring contingent in New Zealand have tested positive for Covid-19. According
to an NZC release, four are new cases, while two of the positive results have
been deemed "historical". It is unclear whether the six who tested
positive are players or other members of Pakistan's touring party. The results
are from tests conducted upon Pakistan's arrival in New Zealand on November 24.
Each member of the squad will have to undergo a minimum of four tests while in
managed isolation.
The six who tested positive have been moved to a different floor of the managed isolation facility in Christchurch where Pakistan are currently based. The team will not be able to train until investigations are completed, and their 14-day quarantine period has been reset, meaning it begins afresh. NZC also revealed that some members of the Pakistan contingent had "contravened protocols" on day one of their managed isolation. "We will be having discussions with the tourists to assist them in understanding the requirements," the release said.
Pakistan Cricket Board CEO
Wasim Khan was told by the New Zealand government that one more breach of New
Zealand's Covid-19 protocols by the Pakistan squad would result in the entire
travelling party being deported. In a WhatsApp voice message to the travelling
players which ESPNcricinfo has obtained, the PCB CEO addressed his players
candidly, telling them being sent back home would be "hugely
embarrassing". "Boys, I spoke to the New Zealand government and they
told us there were three or four breaches of protocols," Wasim Khan said
in the voice note. "They have a zero-tolerance
policy and they've given us a final warning. We understand that this is a
difficult time for you, and you went through similar conditions in England.
It's not easy. But this is a matter of the nation's respect and credibility.
Observe these 14 days and then you'll have the freedom to go to restaurants and
roam about freely. They have told me in clear terms that if we commit one more
breach, they'll send us home."
The Pakistan squad is due
to play three T20s and two Tests in New Zealand, and landed in Auckland on a
chartered flight with special permission obtained from the New Zealand
government. They moved on to Christchurch, where they were set to undergo 14
days of strict isolation. The arrangements, however, got off to a rocky start
when six players returned positive Covid-19 tests upon landing in New Zealand;
the PCB had claimed there were no positive tests in the travelling party in
Lahore, from where the team flew. The six players were moved into a separate
isolation facility.
More significantly, New
Zealand Cricket issued a statement revealing several players had breached
quarantine regulations, and that the team would be put on a "final
warning". It prompted a rebuke from New Zealand's director general of
health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, who said it was "a privilege to come to New
Zealand to play sport, but in return teams must stick to the rules that are
designed to keep Covid-19 out of our communities".
Interesting !
With regards – S.Sampathkumar
26.11.2020
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