Let us take a look at some of the important developments from the cricketing world that took place on Saturday, 15 May.
Bhuvneshwar rubbishes report of him not willing to play Test cricket
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has refuted the claim made by a leading newspaper that he has lost the drive to feature in Test cricket for the national side. He took to Twitter and stated that he has always prepared for all three formats of the game.
Bhuvneshwar could not make it to the 20-member squad that will be travelling to England for the World Test Championship final, against New Zealand, and the five-match Test series, against England.
The Indian seam attack consists of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj. Bhuvneshwar has not played Test cricket since 2018.
Bancroft reveals Australian bowlers were aware of ball-tampering
More than three years have passed since the infamous ball-tampering scandal at Cape Town. All involved in that incident have served their respective bans and returned to mainstream cricket.
Cameron Bancroft was the person who actually used the sandpaper. He has now made a startling revelation in his recent interview with The Guardian. Bancroft hinted that Australian bowlers were also aware of the whole incident.
‘Yeah, look, all I wanted to do was to be responsible and accountable for my own actions and part. Yeah, obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory,’ he said.
Malik lashes out at PCB, accuses the board of nepotism
Shoaib Malik has lambasted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for biased selection and ignoring Babar Azam’s suggestions for the recent tour to Zimbabwe.
Malik, who retired from the ODI cricket in 2019, said that connections are the key to make it to the Pakistan squad. He added that the captain should have some authority over the selection procedure, which is not quite the case in Pakistan.
Babar’s proposals for the Zimbabwe series were overlooked by the selection committee. Pakistan, however, easily won both T20I and the Test series.
Malik’s last appearance for the national side came in a T20 series against England last year. He feared that he might not get another chance, especially after publicly criticising the PCB's policy.
New Zealand depart for the UK
New Zealand Men have flown to the UK for a two-match Test series against England, followed by the inaugural World Test Championship final against India.
Skipper Kane Williamson, Kylie Jamieson and Mitchell Santner will reach there directly from Maldives. They are quarantined there after the IPL 2021 got suspended indefinitely.
The WTC final against India will be the last competitive match for BJ Watling, who wants to spend more time with his family.
Time to fly! ✈️ #ENGvNZ #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/1sgKyOBawH
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) May 15, 2021