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

Duanne Olivier quits international cricket, signs Kolpak deal with Yorkshire

• The Kolpak curse has struck again as South Africa have lost yet another player to the exodus which has rocked their cricket in the last few years.
• The latest high-profile player from the African country to join the list is fast-bowler Duanne Olivier.
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Reports: BCCI considered giving overseas players a choice between IPL and PSL

• If the Pulwama terror attack has further deteriorated the bilateral ties between India and Pakistan, then it looks like the relations between the arch-rivals is only going to head south.
• There has been a widespread outrage against Pakistan in the entire nation since the attack, carried out by Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-E-Mohammad claimed the lives of 44 CRPF personnel.
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England’s frequent collapses can put their World Cup chances at risk: Michael Vaughan

• England are the World number 1 side in the ODIs at the moment and the way they are playing, the Eoin Morgan-led side is definitely the favourite to win the World Cup.
• Having said that, they are currently not playing their best cricket in the Caribbean islands and the five-match series against them is locked at 1-1.
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Rohit Sharma set to create history in second T20I against Australia in Bengaluru

• Ace Indian opener Rohit Sharma is going through a tough phase of late and he also failed to score big in the first T20I against Australia in Vizag on Sunday.
• While the Men in Blue will look to redeem pride in the second and final game in Bengaluru, Rohit himself will also be achieving a personal milestone if he gets to play since the hosts are currently testing players as the final preparations for the ICC World Cup.
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Bumrah’s pace and accuracy makes him a serious threat irrespective of formats, says Pat Cummins

• Even though India failed to secure a win in their first T20I against Australia in Visakhapatnam on Sunday despite a lionhearted show by their bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah received special applause for his show in the match.
• The skiddy pacer, who played his first limited-over game of the year after a break, picked three wickets for 16 runs and tightened the noose around the Aussies in the penultimate over to almost winning the game for India.
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ICC bans Sanath Jayasuriya from all cricket for two years for breaching Anti-Corruption Code

• Sanath Jayasuriya has been banned from all cricket for two years after admitting breaching two counts of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.
• Mr Jayasuriya, the former Sri Lanka Cricket Chair of Selectors, admitted to being in breach of the following provisions of the Code.
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Vizag loss hasn’t hurt Team India’s momentum, says Krunal Pandya ahead of Bengaluru clash

• Indian fans might have been stunned by the loss their favourite team faced in the first T20I against Australia in Visakhapatnam on Sunday but all-rounder Krunal Pandya is not ready to give up yet in the series.
• India started off well in the game after Australia captain Aaron Finch won the toss and asked them to bat but a middle-order collapse saw the hosts getting restricted to a modest total of 126.
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Colin Ingram expresses his wish to play for South Africa again

• South Africa has suffered the most with its cricketers signing the Kolpak deal with the County teams in England.
• One such player is Colin Ingram who last played for the Proteas way back in 2013 after which he too signed a deal with Glamorgan and has been playing in the T20 leagues around the world.
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On their day, Windies can beat any opponent, says coach Richard Pybus

• The Windies are far from their days of glory in cricket nowadays. Last year, they even had to qualify for the World Cup that they had once won twice in a row and almost made a hat-trick.
• However, the Caribbeans have made a terrific turnaround in their ongoing home series against England and that gives their fans something to hope for ahead of this year’s showpiece event in England.
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In-form Shreyas Iyer doesn’t want to remember his maiden Indian team stint

• Along with Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer is also another name that symbolized the new breed of talents in Indian cricket.
• He made his debut in 2017 end but hasn’t again played for India in over a year.
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Jofra Archer on England’s radar for World Cup 2019, confirms Trevor Bayliss

• England is currently playing the five-match ODI series against the Windies in the Caribbean islands.
• The series is locked at 1-1 and the third match, on Monday, was washed out due to rain.
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India vs Australia: Bengaluru to offer sporting pitch for second T20I

• Contrary to how the games generally turn out on the batting-friendly pitches of India, the first T20I between the hosts and Australia yielded just 253 runs in the full quota of 40 overs. Asked to bat first, India could only post 126 for 7 on the sluggish Vizag pitch.
• At one stage when KL Rahul and Virat Kohli were hitting a flurry of boundaries, it looked like the Men in Blue are well on their way to score above 150.
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The most important people to please are your family: AB de Villiers on his sudden retirement

• AB de Villiers’ has been a globetrotter since hanging up his boots from international cricket last year.
• The South Africa legend dropped a huge bombshell last year when he announced his retirement out of the blow despite going strong with the bat.
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