Chevrons coach disappointed as India call off tour

MUMBAI. — Zimbabwe cricket coach, Lalchand Rajput, says he is sad that global powerhouse India have called off their tour.

The Board of Control for Cricket of India announced yesterday the team would not proceed with their short tour of Zimbabwe in August due to the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Rajput, who is an Indian national, said this had left him “saddened.”

Starting from August 22, India were supposed to play three ODIs in Zimbabwe.

“It’s sad and unfortunate that this tour has been cancelled . . . wld love to play against India.

“My players would’ve loved the opportunity to play against the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav.’’

This is the second time that Zimbabwe have been denied a chance to play Team India.

They were supposed to tour India for a three T20 International series, but the BCCI replaced Zimbabwe after the southern African country was suspended from international cricket.

“Maybe, we’ll be third time lucky with India,” hoped Rajput.

The BCCI added they it would not “rush into any decision” about resuming training camps for India’s players.

After Sri Lanka’s board revealed on Thursday that this month’s visit by India was off, the tour of Zimbabwe in August had also looked in jeopardy.

“The Indian cricket team will not travel to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe owing to the current threat of Covid-19,” a BCCI statement said.

India had been due to travel to Sri Lanka on 24 June for three ODIs and three Twenty20s, and then launch a three-ODI Zimbabwe tour on 22 August.

The BCCI are hoping to squeeze in the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, on hold since March, before the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in October and November.

India’s next trip is a major, money-spinning tour of Australia for three ODIs, four Tests and three T20s starting in October.

Although India’s government has allowed stadiums to reopen during the national coronavirus lockdown, the BCCI said it was not about to resume training.

“The BCCI will conduct a camp for its contracted players only when it is completely safe to train outdoors,” said BCCI.

“The BCCI is determined to take steps towards the resumption of international and domestic cricket, but it will not rush into any decision that will jeopardize the efforts put in by the central and state governments.”

India has been reporting almost 10 000 new cases every day, with the total death toll standing at about 8 500 at the time this article was published.

Meanwhile, Pakistan have recalled fast bowler Sohail Khan for the upcoming tour of the UK, naming the 36-year-old in a large 29-player squad that will stay together for the entire duration of three Tests and three T20Is.

The extended squad, featuring a mix of Azhar Ali-led Test and Babar Azam-led T20I players, has been named to address the SOP and quarantine requirements for the Covid19 pandemic.

The squad, picked with “one eye on the future”, also features Pakistan U19 player Haider Ali, who impressed in the latest edition of the U19 World Cup and then for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League shortly after. Kashif Bhatti is the other uncapped player in the squad.

While this is a maiden call-up for Ali, Bhatti has been a part of the squad against Australia and Sri Lanka and couldn’t get a chance to feature in the playing XI.

Sohail last played Test cricket in 2016, and had two five-wicket hauls on Pakistan’s tour of England that same year.

In the latest edition of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Sohail picked 22 wickets in nine matches — a statistic that doesn’t quite reflect his performance.

“The selectors also felt he bowled much better in the 2019-20 domestic season than his figures reflected,” head coach and selector Misbah-ul-Haq argued.

Apart from two uncapped players and centrally contracted players, the squad is further populated by Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Imran Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz.

The selectors have also named four reserve players in Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz.

In case any of the main squad players fail the pre-tour Covid-19 testing scheduled on June 20 and 25, the reserve players will slot right in.

Hasan Ali, recovering from a back injury, was unavailable for selection while Mohammad Amir and Haris Sohail pulled out of contention owing to personal reasons.

“The selectors have picked a squad which gives us the best chance of success in England,” Misbah said. “It was a challenging process as the players have not played for an extended period of time, but nevertheless, with the month that we will have in England and the intense training we will undergo, we are confident we will get the players up to the mark to be ready for the three Tests.

The backroom staff boasts of Pakistan legends Younis Khan (batting coach for the tour), Mushtaq Ahmed (spin bowling coach for the tour) and Waqar Younis (bowling coach) apart from a host of other former players, from whom Misbah wants the squad “to acquire as much cricket knowledge as possible.” — Times of India/SuperSport/ Cricbuzz