Former India cricketer to be a part of Bigg Boss 12, BCCI sends five bowlers with the Indian team for Asia Cup and more - Cricket News Today, 15 September 2018

The 2018 Asia Cup has got underway as Lasith Malinga, who is making a comeback to international cricket after one year, has proved that he is still the same old bowler as he took two wickets in two balls in the very first over of the tournament.

Malinga sent back Bangladesh opener Liton Das and Shakib-al-Hasan off the last two balls of the first over before Tamim Iqbal was taken off the field after injuring his wrist which added to Bangladesh's misery. Bangladesh are reeling at 6/2 in four overs in the first match of the tournament.

Apart from this, there are a lot more happening in the world of cricket. Let us take a look at five things that have happened in cricket over the last 24 hours.

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Moeen Ali accuses Aussie cricketer of calling him Osama

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Three

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has allegedly accused an Australian player of racially abusing him during the 2015 Ashes. Moeen revealed that he was referred by the name of the founder of Al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden, who was shot to death by the US armed forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan in 2011.

The incident is supposed to have taken place during the first Test in Cardiff, where the Moeen had scored a crucial 77 with the bat and claimed five wickets in the game, helping his team post a 169-run win. He also complained about the incident after which the Australian player denied the allegations.

"It was a great first Ashes Test in terms of my personal performance. However, there was one incident which had distracted me. An Australian player had turned to me on the field and said, 'Take that, Osama.' I could not believe what I had heard. I remember going really red. I have never been so angry on a cricket field. I told a couple of the guys what the player had said to me and I think Trevor Bayliss [the England coach] must have raised it with Darren Lehmann, the Australians' coach. "Lehmann asked the player, 'Did you call Moeen Osama?' He denied it, saying, 'No, I said, 'Take that, you part-timer.'' I must say I was amused when I heard that, obviously I had to take the player's word for it, though for the rest of the match I was angry," he wrote in his autobiography.

2018 CPL finalists confirmed

Trinbago Knight Riders v St Kitts and Nevis Patriots - 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Tournament

The 2018 Carribean Premier League is in its business end as the finalists for the coveted prize have been finalized. Guyana Amazon Warriors, who have got a direct entry to the final, will take on Trinbago Knight Riders in the summit clash tomorrow. Trinbago lost the Qualifier 1 against Guyana and beat St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, who beat Jamaica Tallawahs in the eliminator, in the Qualifier 2 to book their place in the final.

Brendon McCullum's 43 and some later cameo from Dwayne Bravo helped Trinbago post 165/6 in their 20 overs. Chasing 166, Patriots managed just 145 in their quota of 20 overs, handing the hosts a 20-run win. Fawad Ahmed, Ali Khan and Sunil Narine bowled brilliantly and conceded just 58 runs and took six wickets in their 12 overs and that proved to be the turning point as Trinbago raced away to an easy victory.

S Sreesanth to be a part of Bigg Boss 12?

England v India: 4th

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Test - Day Two

Popular reality TV show Big Boss, which is hosted by Bollywood actor Salman Khan, is set to enter the 12th season soon and the premiere for the show has already been released by the broadcasters, Colors. If the things in the teaser are to go by, the upcoming season could feature Indian fast bowler S Sreesanth in it.

Colors’ Twitter handle has also released a short video with the caption: “#BiggBoss12 ke ghar mein aa raha hai cricket ka ek superstar, girane sabka wicket. 16th September se har raat 9 baje. #BB12.” Colors also released a short clip of the cricketer where Sreesanth could be heard saying, “For me, life was always a cricket field, but now I want to be the king of the Bigg Boss house.”

Sourav Ganguly picks the winner of 2018 Asia Cup

England v India: 2nd Investec Test - Day Five

The Indian team will defend their Asia Cup crown when they take on five other teams including their arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2018 Asia Cup that got underway earlier today in UAE. India will be without their star batsman Virat Kohli for the tournament and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly still feels that Rohit Sharma can lead India to victory in the tournament.

“India could not do that well in England but in limited overs, they are a top side. The team is much stronger with Virat but Rohit has a very good record as captain so I expect him to do well too. They are capable of winning (the Asia Cup),” Ganguly was quoted as saying in Times Now.

Indian team takes five net bowlers for Asia Cup

England v India - 3rd Vitality International T20

The Indian team will be playing two matches in two matches in the group stages of the Asia Cup and can potentially play as many as six matches in a space of ten days. In order to avoid the burn out of the bowlers in the squad, the Indian team has taken as many as five fringe players as net bowlers for the Asia Cup.

The five bowlers include Karnakataka's Prasidh Krishna, Madhya Pradesh's Avesh Khan, Jharkhand's Shahbaz Nadeem and Punjab duo of Mayank Markande and Siddarth Kaul. All these five bowlers have done well in the recent past and Siddarth Kaul is the only bowler among the five to have represented India in international cricket.

"Not everywhere do you get quality net bowlers and it becomes a problem for the senior team during practice sessions. With back to back games, you don't expect a Bhuvneshwar Kumar or a Jasprit Bumrah to bowl flat out at the nets. Also, the young academy bowlers at times can't provide quality practice. Hence we have got some of our next line of bowlers," a BCCI official confirmed.