International cricket will gingerly ease out of a 117-day shutdown in Southampton next week but the scars of the COVID-19 pandemic will be clearly evident at the Ageas Bowl. An encounter between the fourth and eighth ranked teams in Test cricket is hardly a pinnacle but England's series against West Indies could offer a glimpse into a future where the game plods on under the shadow of the new coronavirus.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India sprang no surprises in the list of central retainership contracts which was announced on Friday by including all their star players in the top group.
>Deep was picked ahead of Bengal team-mate Mukesh Kumar after his impressive performances for India 'A' against England Lions, when he took 13 wickets in three games and for his consistent performances for Bengal in domestic cricket.
Interest of the players contracted with terminated IPL franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala will be protected, assured the league's new boss Rajiv Shukla who on Thursday promised to make the cash-rich event more attractive by bringing in "new ideas and elements."
Batsman Alastair Cook and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar have been awarded 12-month central contracts after impressive starts to their England careers this year.
Australian cricketers might have to accept a pay cut due to the coronavirus pandemic, conceded Test captain Tim Paine but insisted that making financial sacrifices is a "small thing" in the current situation and they are prepared to "do their bit". A pay cut for the top cricketers seems to be on the cards with Cricket Australia delaying annual contracts for both the men's and women's national teams. CA is preparing for the possibility of a severely-affected home summer due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Having turned down an IPL contract in season-II for the sake of Ashes, England paceman Stuart Broad is now eyeing his maiden stint in Twenty20 tournament in its third edition next year.
Out-of-favour opener Usman Khawaja, who clashed with Justin Langer during Australia's tour of UAE in 2018, has backed the embattled coach to continue in the position through the Ashes and urged the payers to stop undermining him.
Cricket Australia has made an attempt to lure away its key players from the lucrative Indian Premier League by offering them multi-year central contracts, a report has claimed.
Archer was released by the franchise last week. His name doesn't figure in the list of players who have registered for the IPL auction, set to be held on December 19 in Dubai.
For the world's women cricketers, financial parity with their male counterparts remains a distant dream but India's decision to boost the pay packets of its top female players is further evidence that the winds of change are blowing through the game.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) said on Friday it will halve salaries for staff and players for up to six months as it struggles to deal with the "debilitating economic challenges" caused by the coronavirus pandemic. CWI said it had delayed the 50% salary cut for staff, players, umpires and coaches, to take effect from July 1, as long as possible and hoped the temporary measure would not last more than three to six months.
Dhoni's contract not being renewed is not exactly a surprise as he has not played a competitive game since that World Cup semifinal on July
Bangladesh batsman, coaching staff contract COVID.
Darren Lehmann has extended his contact as Australia's head coach until 2019 to cover the World Cup and the Ashes series in England that year, the country's cricket board (CA) said on Monday. The 46-year-old former left-handed batsman took on the role on the eve of the 2013 Ashes and despite losing 3-0 in England, he went on to guide the team to series wins over South Africa, England, India, New Zealand and West Indies. He also won the 2015 World Cup on home soil with Australia, who currently top the ICC rankings in both test and one-day international cricket.
PCB supremo Zaka Ashraf in his desperate bid to do damage control after indirectly terming India "enemy nation", hailed the warm reception that was accorded to the Pakistani team.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann has urged cricket's governing body to help reduce the workload on players competing in all three forms of the game as he fears the current packed schedule is unsustainable.
Pakistan's head coach Waqar Younis said he was focussing on preparations for the Asia Cup and World T20 events and not thinking about an extension of his coaching contract that expires in May. "I have still three to four months of my contract left and right now I haven't given a thought to the future," he told reporters here yesterday. Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shahryar Khan has said that the board had decided to extend the contract of Waqar for the tour to England which lasts from July to September. "Coaching of any team is always a tough job. It doesn't matter whether you do well or disappoint. It is a tough job and I knew about this when I accepted this challenge. I enjoy taking up tough challenges," Waqar said. The former Pakistan captain said at present, he was only focusing on preparations for the Asia Cup and World T20 events and not thinking about his contract. He said when the time came, he will think about it.
Kashvee Gautam becomes first uncapped player to fetch Rs 2 cr
India's cricketers will not be rushed back into training even after the country gave the green light on Sunday for sports facilities to open, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said. India has extended a nationwide lockdown to May 31 as it tries to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, and while stadiums and sports complexes are reopening to allow athletes to train there will be no events staged that would draw spectators.
Former BCCI president N K P Salve and five former cricketers, including Kapil Dev, have challenged the contracts on the ground that they impose unreasonable conditions on Indian players.
Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League match against Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar hailed skipper Shreyas Iyer for his mental strength and positive approach to life.
Former India captain and team director Ravi Shastri said Cheteshwar Pujara, who was not picked up by any of the teams for this year's Indian Premier League, deserves to be compensated handsomely as a reward for his consistent contributions to the Test team's success this home season.
Pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was promoted to Grade A, but Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir, who have lost favour with the selectors, were dropped from the list of BCCI's contracted players for 2014-15.
BCCI's two-member panel and a few senior players will hold discussions on the contracts issue in Bangalore.
Banned former captains Mohammad Yousuf, Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik, as well as maverick pacer Shoaib Akhtar, were dropped from the list of players awarded central contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The PCB, however, gave central contracts to Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal, who were fined after a probe into Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia in January-February.
Chris Jordan, who previously had an increment deal, was not awarded a contract of any kind, despite being England's leading wicket-taker of all time in men's Twenty20 Internationals.
CA put out an advertisement for the new position of a 'Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead', who will report to the board's head of sports science and medicine Alex Kountouris.
However, Faul did not reveal if any player returned a positive result.
Wayne Parnell, aged 19, became the youngest South African cricketer to be awarded central contracts by the cricket board on Tuesday.
BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi said two or three Australian players have already signed up with IPL and more are likely in the next 24 hours.
Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) have signed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stars players for the inaugural season of the MLC, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Mosharraf is doing fine and has self-isolated himself at home after receiving the result of his COVID test on Sunday.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said ECB should consider shortening the County Championship this season along with scrapping of overseas recruits for the next two years to reduce costs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has already suspended all cricket activities till July 1 due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than three million people globally.
Young Indian-origin Australian fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu has reportedly received a special marketing contract from Cricket Australia (CA) as it aims to attract more Australians of Asian descent to the game.
Dhoni started training with his state team Jharkhand from Thursday with an eye on IPL comeback for Chennai Super Kings.
'So we are missing players. Evin Lewis just decided to push back on a central contract. He is good enough to play Test cricket. So the shorter versions of the game curtail our progress. Having said that, it would be unfair to blame the players for making the choice (of playing IPL). We all want to be financially secure at the end of the day'
In the IPL 2024 auction, some notable players went unsold, facing unexpected outcomes despite their credentials.
They signed the contract only after declaring their non-acceptance to a few contentious clauses, sources said.
'I do a lot of hard work to ensure I look after my body to be able to play this brilliant game we love so much.'
