New Zealand names Patel among 20-man squad for England tour
WELLINGTON: Spinner Ajaz Patel, who is one of only three players to have taken 10 wickets in a Test innings, will return to the New Zealand cricket team for its three-test tour to England next month.
Patel joined Jim Laker of England and Anil Kumble of India in an elite club when he took 10-119 in New Zealand's second Test against India in Wankhede in December.
The left-armer hasn't played a Test since. He was left out of tests against Bangladesh and South Africa at home last summer as New Zealand opted for all-pace attacks. Patel returns as New Zealand's front-line spinner for the England series.
New Zealand on Wednesday named an extended 20-man squad for the tour, designed to cover the early absence of players involved in the Indian Premier League.
Those players will miss New
Zealand's warm-up matches and the squad will be trimmed to 15 before the first test against England starting June 2 at Lord's.
New Zealand beat England 1-0 when the teams last met in a test series in England last year, prior to New Zealand's win over India in the final of inaugural World Test Championship.
The current squad includes 13 of the 15 players who took part in that series.
MUMBAI: The BCCI has imposed a two-year ban on Boria Majumdar for “bullying” senior wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and barred him from interviewing registered players and entering stadiums in the country.
According to an internal communication by BCCI, sent to its state units on May 3, Majumdar won't be given media accreditation for two years as part of the sanctions ratified by the Apex Council of the cricketing body. On February 25, the BCCI had formed a three-member committee a few days after Saha alleged on social media that he was bullied for an interview.
While Saha had initially refused to name the journalist, he later identified the scribe as Majumdar while deposing before the three-member committee, which comprised BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal and BCCI councillor Prabhtej Singh Bhatia.
Majumdar could not be reached for a comment following BCCI directive but a few days back he had accused Saha of doctoring and tampering with the screenshots of his WhatsApp chats with the cricketer for damaging his reputation.
BCCI interim CEO and IPL COO Hemang Amin in a letter to the state units wrote, “Mr Wriddiman Saha has shared screenshots of messages sent by a journalist on social media platform, Twitter, wherein he stated that he felt bullied by the conduct of the said journalist. Mr Saha in the hearing named Mr Boria Majumdar as the journalist.”