It seems that Pakistan's long-standing wait to end their drought of international cricket at home is finally coming to an end as West Indies are mulling to tour the country for the two-match T20 series in March this year, subject to an agreement from the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) and security clearance. "There is an offer [from the PCB] to play two T20 matches in Pakistan, subject to Players' Association agreement and security clearance," ESPNcricinfo quoted Roland Holder, WICB manager of cricket operations, as saying.
On a roll with four consecutive victories, two-time champions Mumbai Indians would look to continue the winning streak when they take on Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Indore, on Thursday.
Dynamic West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo's smash-hit rap 'Champion dance' during the opening ceremony and the use of LED light stumps are the two major attractions of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League, said tournament chairman Rajeev Shukla. Bravo, who will be playing for the new team Gujarat Lions, is expected to perform the 'Champion Dance' that has now become a rage among the cricket fans of India and IPL is trying to cash in on its popularity. "Dwayne Bravo is performing on Champion Dance during the opening ceremony of IPL-9 in Mumbai. His performance will be the special attraction and there might be a few more West Indies cricketers, who will perform alongside Bravo," IPL chairman Shukla told PTI on Wednesday. Shukla also informed that the LED stumps, which lights up and has been in use since 2014 across ICC's 20 and 50 over World Cups, will be used for the first time in the cash-rich league.
After playing another match-winning knock in the Indian Premier League, a visibly satisfied Chris Gayle "dedicated" his 56-ball-96 to his mother, who celebrated her birthday on Saturday.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin rebuilt West Indies' first innings with a 200-run partnership to guide their side to 289 for six at the close of play on the first day of the third and final Test against New Zealand on Thursday.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
India skipper Virat Kohli dropped hints that he would like to persist with K L Rahul, who seized the opportunity by scoring a hundred in the absence of the injured Murali Vijay in the second Test, in the third match of the series against the West Indies.
Rain forced the first Test between New Zealand and West Indies to be abandoned as a draw after tea on the fifth and final day at University Oval in Dunedin on Saturday.
The 2016 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Player Draft was held in Barbados on Thursday, with the six franchises flexed their financial muscles to rope in their desired cricketers.
Here is a lowdown of all the light-hearted, fun news from around the ICC World Cup.
Marouane Fellaini scored late in extra time to spare Everton's blushes as they came from a goal down to beat League One (third division) Stevenage 2-1 and reach the League Cup third round on Wednesday.
Chris Gayle accused the West Indies Cricket Board of victimisation after key all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were left out of the country's World Cup squad.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) showed it was willing to welcome back top players on Thursday when it cleared Darren Bravo to play in all forms of cricket after the batsman apologised to the board and its president, Dave Cameron, for a Twitter outburst.
Six people were pulled out of their homes after thunderstorms dumped up to six inches in the southern part of Oklahoma City, prompting authorities to issue a flood warning.
Kings XI Punjab will be aiming to continue their late surge against Rising Pune Supergiant in a 'winner takes it all' Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Sunday.
Of the 10 times India have made a fourth innings chase under Kohli, they have won only 1 and lost 7, with 2 draws. Rajneesh Gupta gives us all the numbers from a memorable game.
Chris Gayle hammered the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers into submission with a breathtaking 96 that guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a three-wicket victory in an Indian Premier League encounter at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will start favourites when they take on the struggling-for-survival Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Mohali, on Thursday.
Their confidence restored after a bumpy start, a transformed Delhi Daredevils will look to stretch Kings XI Punjab to the limit when they face off in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in New Delhi, on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Stokes was charged last week after a lengthy investigation into an incident outside a Bristol nightclub last September.
West Indies legend Brian Lara has called for the return of stars Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo for next month's one-day international tri-series against Australia and South Africa. Both Pollard and Bravo have been overlooked by selectors for the Windies ODI side since the abandoned tour of India in October 2014, despite still being chosen for Twenty20 International honours. "In terms of the tri-nations, I think it's going to be a pretty exciting tri-nations series," Lara said on Wednesday. "And hopefully we can have the likes of Pollard and Bravo - some guys who have not played that form of the game (recently) - back in the team because they are integral of any West Indies team. "Just to have them for the T20 version I think is doing a disservice to the West Indies cricket." Bravo was part of the Windies' World T20 title-winning XI, while Pollard was initially selected in the squad for the tournament before being forced to pull out due to his continued recovery from a knee injury suffered in South Africa's domestic T20 competition last November. However under the West Indies Cricket Board regulations, neither player is eligible for the tournament after failing to participate in January's domestic Super50 competition.
India crushed West Indies at the third Test in St Lucia on Saturday, clinching the series and prompting captain Virat Kohli to say his team are going from "strength to strength".
Adam Johnson's late winner earned Sunderland a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United.
West Indies women outclassed Australia by eight wickets to win their maiden ICC Women's World T20 championship in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Chris Gayle will return to the top of the batting order as West Indies look to continue their winning run and secure a semifinal berth when they take on South Africa in the ICC World Twenty20 in Nagpur, on Friday.
Pakistan wrapped up their tour of the West Indies with an 11-run win in the second Twenty20 international in St Vincent on Sunday to complete a One-day double over the world T20 champions.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to exploit the home advantage when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Controversial England batsman Kevin Pietersen will be one of the first players to go under the hammer, along with senior India discards Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, when the two-day auction for the cash-rich IPL commences in Bangalore on February 12. The initial list of 651 players was pruned to 514, including 219 capped players, by the IPL governing council.
Sunrisers Hyderabad surprised quite a few by opting to release the fast bowling duo of Ishant Sharma and Dale Steyn, while they also let go of England discard Kevin Pietersen.
All-rounder Andre Russell hit a whirlwind 13-ball 42 not out, including three sixes from a Sohail Khan over, before taking three wickets with the ball to help West Indies demolish Pakistan by a huge margin of 150 runs.
Pakistan's Test stalwart Younis Khan, who led the national team to its only World T20 title in 2009, remained unsold while captain Misbah-ul Haq was snapped up by the Islamabad franchise on the first day of the Players' Draft for the Pakistan Super League, on Monday.
Kings XI Punjab will once again be facing a 'do-or-die' situation during their penultimate round encounter against table toppers Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexual assaulting a woman journalist, is sticking to his version that whatever happened between the two was a "consensual act", a police officer said on Thursday.
Kings XI Punjab will look to go all guns blazing against down and out Gujarat Lions in Mohali.
The likes of Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, and Aaron Finch will be aiming to match the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Hashim Amla, and Marcus Stoinis stroke for stroke on what promises to be another belter of a track.
High on confidence after their emphatic victory over England, the West Indies will once again look for an explosive knock from Chris Gayle to inch closer to a semi-final berth when they take on defending champions Sri Lanka in a World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 1 match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Mohammed Shami was the wrecker-in-chief as India scored a resounding innings and 51-run victory over the West Indies in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. Victory, sealed with well over six sessions left, gave India its fifth Test win in a row, after the 4-0 whitewash of Australia earlier in the year.
India took a stranglehold over the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Having restricted the visitors to 234 in the first innings, the home team put up 37 without loss in 12 overs in reply by stumps.
The halcyon days of those thrilling 1980s and early 1990s teams, when Curtly Ambrose and his fellow pace demons inspired fear and batting blasters like Viv Richards looked so imperious on English tours, have never felt more like pre-history.
- 'We have great players, but great players don't win the World Cup, great teams do' - 'You need to have everybody contributing'
