SPORTS

India and New Zealand will play the inaugural World Test Championship final on June 18 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. India and New Zealand are the best two Test sides in the world in terms of ICC rankings and the contest between is expected to be an exciting one. There are several match-winners in the team with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kyle Jamieson, Rohit Sharma, Tom Latham, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Ross Taylor. Both teams are led by talismanic captains in Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson.

Batting great Sachin Tendulkar had a decorated career in which he achieved milestones at will and dominated some of the best in the business. Tendulkar was part of what is being labelled as one of India's most productive eras as he shared the dressing room with some of the other big names, including Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Anik Kumble and Mohammad Azharuddin to name a few.

However, Tendulkar has revealed that he regrets not having played alongside his childhood hero Sunil Gavaskar for India. Tendulkar made his debut for India in 1989, 2 years after Gavaskar brought down the curtains on his celebrated career.

Wasim Akram is not fazed by any challenge. He played like a lion and it was the batsman across the world who did all the catch up while facing him.

But it is hard to imagine that even a guy like him could be so fearful that he would altogether avoid taking up the role of Pakistan coach. Well, Akram has now come out and said that rude fans were the reason behind his inaction.

“I am not a fool. I keep on hearing and seeing the way people misbehave with their coaches and seniors. Coach isn’t the one playing. The players do that. The coach can only help with planning so if the team loses, I don’t think the coach is not as accountable as we hold him as a nation,” Akram told Cricket Pakistan in an interview.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 which had got suspended after the bio-bubble was breached and players and support staff from various franchises contracted the COVID-19 virus, will mostly resume in September-October before the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

The remaining decision about the cash-rich tournament will be taken in the meeting of the Board’s Special General Assembly (SGM) which will be held on May 29. Earlier, the BCCI had chalked out a plan to conduct the remainder of the season in the UAE in a one-month window between September 15 and October 15.

However, apart from IPL, there will also be a bilateral series in the UAE. In such a situation, it would be difficult for the UAE to host the T20 World Cup.

Members of the Indian cricket team have kickstarted their fitness regimes before the England tour. While the men in blue are still in their hard quarantine but they are leaving no stone unturned as they sweat it out in the gym, ensuring they are in the best shape once they get out of quarantine in England ahead of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video on its official social media where the likes of Shubman Gill, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma, and others were spotted going through their paces.