Barely two days after Greg Chappell brought his old spat with Sourav Ganguly back to life, his brother Ian has praised the Indian bowling battery ahead of the World Test Championship final. Ian Chappel, who captained Australia from 1971 to 1975, is a popular commentator on TV, and has played 75 Tests and 16 ODIs. “This was highlighted in the last Australia-India series, where the home side used the same fast-bowling trio in all four Tests. As the Australian pace bowlers wore down in the final stages of the series, their Indian counterparts may have caught a break as injuries meant they had to constantly change personnel. India is one of the few teams who have enough skilled quick bowlers in reserve to meet the challenges of the schedule and still remain competitive,” he wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
Such encouraging words will serve as a much-needed shot in the arm for the Indian bowling battery, comprising Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohamed Shami, Mohamed. Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. The standby bowlers are Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla and Prasidh Krsihna.
India and New Zealand square off in the WTC final on June 18 in Southampton. But before that the Black Caps are expected to play two Test matches versus England, starting June 2.
Varun Chakravarthy on Covid-19 recovery
When the Indian Premier League 2021 was called off earlier this month, there were many names who had contracted Covid-19. One of them was Kolkata Knight Riders’ Varun Chakravarthy. The spin bowler has an update on his health. “I'm now doing well and recovering at home. I still haven't been able to resume training full tilt because of post Covid-19 symptoms. Although I don't have cough or fever, there is weakness and dizziness. The loss of smell and taste is still intermittent, but I'm confident of being able to resume training soon,” he told ESPNCricinfo.
He also has a message for other his fellow cricketers who are recovering from Covid-19. “The thing I've learnt and would like to tell other athletes and individuals recovering from Covid-19 is to give your body at least two weeks to fully recover after you test negative,” he said.
Among other cricketers who had tested positive were Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, Chennai Super Kings bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji and KKR bowler Sandeep Warrier.
