Let us look at some of the most-discussed cricket stories on the news on 3 August.
England’s tour of Bangladesh postponed to March
England limited-overs’ tour of Bangladesh, originally scheduled in September and October, will now take place from the first week of March in 2023, both the BCB and ECB have confirmed. The boards have mutually taken the decision due to the impact of Covid-19 and a jam-packed cricket calendar.
There will be three ODIs and as many T20Is in this tour. All three ODIs will be played in Dhaka, while the T20Is will be in Chittagong.
BCCI confirms England players’ availability in IPL’s UAE leg
The BCC has confirmed that the English players will be available for the remainder of the IPL 2021 in the UAE, starting 19 September. As per an ANI report, the BCCI have already received green signal from the England and Wales Cricket Board regarding the players’ participation in the tournament.
The recent postponement of England’s tour of Bangladesh paved the way for England’s IPL-bound players to feature in the competition in the UAE before moving to the T20 World Cup.
Paras Khadka retires from international cricket
Former Nepal captain Paras Khadka, arguably the greatest cricketer in the history of the country, announced retirement from international cricket. Khadka first played for Nepal at the Under-15 level in 2002.
Khaka played 10 ODIs and 33 T20Is, but more significantly, led the national side from 2009 to 2019, which made him the longest-serving captain in Associate cricket. Under his leadership, Nepal attained ODI status.
Khadka batted at No. 3 or No. 4 for the majority of his career. He aggregated 799 runs in T20Is and 315 runs in ODIs. He is the highest run-scorer for Nepal across both formats.
Purely my decision to opt out of KPL: Panesar
Monty Panesar tweeted that he was not blackmailed out of the Kashmir Premier League. The decision had been his: ‘I haven't been blackmailed by anyone. I have been given the advice I understand the consequences and it's my decision. So pipe down.’
Panesar slammed the critics who had blamed the BCCI for creating pressure on former cricketers, who were due to participate in the tournament.
‘I have decided not to participate in the KPL because of the political tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issues. I don't want to be in the middle of this, it would make me feel uncomfortable. #KPL2021,’ he added.
The six-team tournament is scheduled to begin on 6 August. All matches will be staged at PoK.