Top Stories: Things that made news in the cricket world today

Shahzaib Hasan’s ban increased from one to four years

• The problems for Pakistan cricketer Shahzaib Hasan are increased even more as an independent adjudicator has increased his ban to four years in the spot-fixing probe.
• He was earlier banned for 1 year and fined Rs 1 Million by Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-corruption tribunal earlier this year for his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal which hit the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2017.
• (Read more about the story here)

Former Bangladesh sensation Mohammad Ashraful nears ban end; eyes international return

• Mohammad Ashraful, once known to be Bangladesh’s teen sensation, is hoping to return to international cricket as his five-year ban for charges related to match-fixing and spot-fixing is nearing its end.
• Ashraful, 34 now, was banned from Bangladesh’s domestic cricket for three years and international cricket for five years for fixing charges in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League.
• (Read more about the story here)

Zaheer Abbas terms the current Indian player as a legend

• The first day of the second Test between India and England was washed out due to the persistent drizzle and the fans had to wait for the intriguing action to begin.
• Zaheer Abbas, the former Pakistan cricketer, was also one of them as he was about to leave for the ground but had to stay at his home in London because of the rain.
• (Read more about the story here)

Doors of Test team aren’t shut for Dawid Malan, insists Ed Smith

• England dropped Dawid Malan for the second Test against India after enduring a tough outing at Edgbaston and included the young Ollie Pope in the line-up.
• The left-hander though was left disappointed as he was axed only after failing in a couple of innings.
• (Read more about the story here)

England vs India: Sunil Gavaskar bats for inclusion of extra batsman in low-scoring series

• Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar predicted the ongoing Test series between India and England could be a low-scoring affair unless there are belters of pitches on offer and batted for inclusion of an extra batsman in the Indian side.
• The legendary opening batsman also had an advice or two for the visitors who struggled to reach a moderate target of 194 in the first Test in Birmingham and lost the Test by 31 runs to concede a 0-1 lead.
• (Read more about the story here)

Shaun Pollock wants Hardik Pandya to focus only on one aspect of his game

• Hardik Pandya has played almost every game ever since he has made his debut in international cricket.
• He is one of those rare fast bowling all-rounders which the Indian team wanted for a long time and no wonder the management back him a lot.
• (Read more about the story here)

Billy Stanlake prepares himself for Australia A tour of India with advice from seniors

• Australia ‘A’ are scheduled to tour India for a quadrangular series, involving South Africa ‘A’, India ‘A’ and India ‘B’.
• The series is set to get underway from August 17 and will continue till August 29. Andhra Pradesh and Vijayawada are the venues for the encounters.
• (Read more about the story here)

For former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf, Virat Kohli is a ‘complete package’

• When it comes to choosing the best batsman in international cricket at the moment, former Pakistan captain and batsman Mohammad Yousuf is no exception from several others and votes for Indian captain Virat Kohli.
• He even called Kohli a batsman who belongs to a class different from other batsmen of his era and someone who others should aim to copy.
• (Read more about the story here)

Chris Gayle names the greatest ever T20 player

• The shortest format of the game gained popularity quickly over the last few years as compared to the other two forms.
• The increasing leagues around the world have shifted the focus of the fans who love to watch the 40 overs of action instead of spending a whole day waiting for the result.
• (Read more about the story here)

VVS Laxman doesn’t understand the logic for axing Shikhar Dhawan

• The current generation of Indian batsmen has a poor record overseas against the moving ball especially those who bat at the top.
• They have all struggled to get bat to ball and whenever it did make contact, more often than not the edge carried behind the stumps.
• (Read more about the story here)

Sangakkara was always watching me and trying to help during Surrey Stint: Ollie Pope

• With the first day completely washed out at Lords, the cricketing action began on Day 2.
• England won the toss as Joe Root elected to bowl first with overcast conditions and certain possibility of rain.
• (Read more about the story here)

England vs India: Nasser Hussain points out the change in Cheteshwar Pujara’s approach

• The Indian team made a couple of changes for the 2nd Test, undoing their mistakes from the first match, Cheteshwar Pujara was back at his spot, No.3 and young Kuldeep Yadav was included as the second spinner.
• Joe Root won the toss and asked the Indian batsmen to face his fast bowlers with overcast conditions overhead.
• (Read more about the story here)

Alec Stewart vows to bring Virat Kohli back to Surrey for a county stint

• There was a lot of hype regarding Virat Kohli‘s Surrey stint as he has signed up to play for the County in June.
• Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as the Indian skipper was injured and hence had to opt out.
• (Read more about the story here)

Navjot Sidhu and Kapil Dev to grace their presence in Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony

• The general elections in Pakistan took place on July 25 and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, headed by the enigmatic former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, comprehensively won the same by defeating Pakistan’s Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (PML).
• Khan retired from international cricket after captaining the national team to glory in the 1992 World Cup in Down Under.
• (Read more about the story here)

Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan gifts Imran Khan a special memento from the Indian team

• Former Pakistan cricketer Imran Khan who is soon to become the Prime Minister of the country received a pleasant gift from the Indian side today.
• Imran who leads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was the biggest figure in the recently held general elections.
• (Read more about the story here)