Let us look at some of the most-discussed cricket stories on the news on 2 August.
England’s Bangladesh tour postponed indefinitely
England's limited-overs tour of Bangladesh has been postponed indefinitely. The tour was originally scheduled for this September and October, just before the start of the T20 World Cup.
The postponement will now allow English players to take part in the remainder of the IPL, resuming 19 September in the UAE.
England are also scheduled to travel to Pakistan for two T20Is on 14 and 15 October as part of their World Cup preparations. The England and Wales Cricket Board have not made any update on that tour yet.
Emirates Cricket Board announces Premier League T20
As per a report of Cricbuzz, the Emirates Cricket Board has launched its own T20 championship, the Premier League T20. The six-team tournament will be played this January and February.
Two IPL franchise owners – the Red Chillies Entertainment, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, and GMR, Delhi Capitals’ shareholders – have already acquired two of the teams. The ECB are also reportedly in discussions with Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad owners for buying teams.
CPL: Saint Lucia Zouks renamed Saint Lucia Kings
Saint Lucia Zouks have changed their name to Saint Lucia Kings, as confirmed by the franchise in a media release. They will also use a new logo from now on. KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, owners of the IPL team Punjab Kings, bought the Saint Lucia franchise in 2020.
They will echo the name of Punjab Kings, who changed their name from Kings XI Punjab ahead of the 2021 IPL.
The Saint Lucia team is coached by Andy Flower and captained by Faf du Plessis. They will be boosted with the introduction of Darren Sammy as assistant coach and mentor from the next season onwards, which will begin on 26 August.
Ngidi, Plunkett ruled out of rest of Men’s 100
Southern Brave players Lungi Ngidi and Liam Plunkett will miss the rest of the Men’s Hundred due to personal reasons and injuries respectively. While Ngidi will be replaced by Jimmy Neesham, who has been playing for Essex in the Royal London Cup, no replacement has been named for Plunkett yet.
Plunkett picked up an injury after playing Fire’s opening match against Northern Superchargers, his first professional outing since Vitality T20 Blast. He conceded 42 from 15 balls.