Prolific Australia opener David Warner says he may have to reconsider his future as an international cricketer owing to the global COVID-19 restrictions that will require him to travel without family to fulfil stringent quarantine conditions.
Warner, who made a successful return to international cricket after serving a one-year ban for ball tampering, has three daughters with wife Candice. The 33-year-old said staying away from family will not be an easy task.
"Obviously three daughters and my wife, who I owe a lot to, has been a big part of my playing career. You've always got to look out for your family first, and with cricket and these unprecedented times, you've got to weigh up these decisions," Warner was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"Look, at the moment, I'll keep continuing to aim for that. Obviously the T20 (World Cup) is not here at home, which would have been ideal to play that and win that here. Now that gets pushed back. I will have to have a rethink about that when it comes to India.
"I'll see where I am and where the girls are at with school as well. A lot of that is a big part of my decision. It's not just when the games are being played and how much cricket's being played. It's a big family decision for myself."
Cricket is taking small steps towards resumption amid the raging pandemic, putting in place tough quarantine rules and creating bio bubbles to negate the threat of infection.
In Australia, Warner said cricketers do not have many options apart from training in their home states as of now.
"We're obviously unsure and unclear given states are in lockdown or not letting people from other states go interstate. We have to sit back and wait for the government and states to see what the regulations are behind that," he said.
"All we can do really is train with our states and prepare as well as we can on the wickets provided to get ready for the season."
With cases rising in Victoria, Warner feels the state may miss out on hosting international fixtures, including the Boxing Day Test.
"It's going to be challenging for everyone. I think we spoke about state cricket. That's the perfect example. How is Victoria going to be able to start (Sheffield) Shield cricket down there. At the moment, it seems like it'll be impossible."
Warner is also worried about lack of red-ball preparation ahead of the Test series against Afghanistan and India since they will be playing too many limited-overs matches in lead of up to the Test series.
Australia are scheduled to travel to England in September. Some players, including Warner, will then head to the UAE for the delayed IPL before hosting Afghanistan and India.
"Usually you have a couple of Shield games leading into a Test series, especially at home," he said.
"So I think the unique thing about it is the Indian team and ourselves are going to be in the same boat really.
"We're going to have a lack of red-ball cricket preparation and end of the day we have to make the most of that time training in the lead up to the Test series."
Lanka Premier League to begin next month, says board
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has said the inaugural Lanka Premier League Twenty 20 tournament will be held from August 28 to September 20, with over 70 international players and 10 top coaches having confirmed their availability.
The board said in a statement after Monday's Executive Committee meeting that it had given the go-ahead for the league, which will feature five teams from Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.
A total of 23 matches would be held at four venues across the country, it said.
Domestic cricket in Sri Lanka had resumed earlier this month without spectators amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdown and curfews have ceased in the country, where more than 2,800 people have been infected.
Cricket South Africa holds first cricket for social justice meeting
In order to address the issues of discrimination, Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Sunday arranged its first cricket for social justice and nation-building (SJN) meeting with more than 30 former cricketers and coaches of colour.
The apex body of cricket in South Africa held the meeting to affirm its support towards the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and its relevance in South Africa.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the inaugural session was chaired by outgoing CSA President Chris Nenzani and the transformation committee head Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw.
Director of cricket Graeme Smith and CEO Jacques Faul didn't attend the meeting as the board wanted to allow the former players the freedom to talk.
"They felt that many 'talk shops' have taken place in the past and that this time urgent action and implementation was needed to address their concerns," ESPNcricinfo quoted a representative from the group as saying.
"It was a board engagement, and we decided to host it as such. We could not throw our colleague (Smith) under the bus. We wanted the players to be free to talk," said Kula-Ameyaw.
Faul said that he along with Smith wanted to attend the meeting but realise that they may need to wait in order to engage with former players of colour on what is a sensitive issue.
"We were invited but then the board explained to us that it would be better if we don't attend the first meeting so we allow the opportunity for players to speak freely," ESPNcricinfo quoted Faul as saying.
Earlier, 31 former and current Proteas cricketers had signed a letter showcasing their support towards the Black Lives Matter campaign and pacer Lungi Ngidi.
Stranded Tahir leaves for South Africa after four months
South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir finally flew out of Pakistan after being stuck in the country since March due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pakistan-born South African bowler flew on Sunday directly to the West Indies where he will compete in the Caribbean Premier League.
Tahir who had come to Pakistan to take part in the Pakistan Super League got stuck in Lahore when the government-imposed travel restrictions soon after the suspension of the tournament due to the pandemic.
"He belongs to Lahore so he remained here until the travel restrictions were lifted," a source close to the cricketer said.
ACB sacks its CEO for mismanagement, unsatisfactory performance and misbehaviour
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has sacked its chief executive officer Lutfullah Stanikzai for "mismanagement", "unsatisfactory performance," and "misbehavior with managers."
Stanikzai had a three-year contract with ACB. He was hired in July last year following Afghanistan's poor show at the 50 over World Cup where they failed to win a single match and finished at the bottom.
"This is to inform you that this letter serves as confirmation that your employment contract in the capacity of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Afghanistan Cricket Board is terminated effectively. Your last employment date with ACB is July 29, 2020," ACB chairman Farhan Yusefzai said in a letter to Stanikzai on Monday.
"The reasons of your contract termination is as below: Mismanagement, unsatisfactory performance, misbehaviour with managers."
Yousefzai advised Stanikzai "to handover the entire documents and equipment to the board till July 29, 2020."
The ACB statement also said that Stanekzai was earlier "issued verbal and written warnings."
