The sound of leather against willow will be heard for the first time at an Asian Games next year after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced that cricket had been added to the programme on Wednesday.
China will make its bow in international cricket on Saturday amid high-pitched excitement and huge expectations at the sport's Asian Games debut.
Due to multiplying cases of COVID-19, Sri Lankan government has put a 10-day ban on international air travel.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has not given up hope of playing India in a Test series next year, revealed Chairman Zaka Ashraf.
The possibility of an India-Pakistan bilateral series next year has all but ended after the Asian Cricket Council decided to schedule the Asia Cup from March 12 to 22 in Dhaka.
PCB's senior officials will travel to Singapore to take part in an Asian Cricket Council meeting, hoping to get some confirmation from the BCCI on resumption of bilateral series between the two countries.
Ranbir Singh Mahendra said the BCCI was negotiating the game with the Asian Cricket Council and the ICC.
In keeping with the main theme of 'Tides Surging in Asia', the ceremony was about the intermingling of China, Asia and the world in the new era
The BCCI chief was made the ACC president-designate after Dalmiya stepped down after the recent BCCI elections.
Eden Gardens is the likely venue for next month's return game between a World team and an Asia XI to raise funds for victims of the south Asian tsunami disaster.
PCB acting chairman Zaka Ashraf will push for the country's ODI World Cup matches at neutral venues at the ICC meetings in Durban this week.
Bangladesh will take on Scotland in the tournament opener in an afternoon fixture followed by a clash between Asian teams Pakistan and Sri Lanka later in the day at Sharjah.
ACC president Jay Shah attributed the body's decision to host Asia Cup matches in Sri Lanka on teams' reluctance to play ODIs in the UAE heat.
Pakistan officials will meet Sri Lankan counterparts this week in a bid to save next month's tour after the sacking of Sri Lanka's interim cricket board. Pakistan hope to convince Sri Lanka in talks at the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur to proceed with the tour amid concerns it will be scrapped by the new administrators.
'Certainly, Pakistan should be playing in the World Cup, even in India.'
The Asian Cricket Council rejected a complaint from Bangladesh that Pakistani pacer Aizaz Cheema deliberately blocked their batsman, Mahmudullah Riyad, in the last over during the tense chase in the Asia Cup final.
India have won the Asia Cup on seven occasions, Sri Lanka on five occasions, with Pakistan winning it twice.
Bangladesh might not feature in the Asia Cup one-day tournament planned next year in Malaysia due to prior international commitments.
'...we say that sport is this great phenomenon that is so wonderful and it's healthy and it's good for us all. Let's make sure that it doesn't bring suffering or disadvantage to anybody because of a major event that's come.'
The second match between the Rest of the World XI and Asian XI was called off due to the heat and humidity in April.
In the absence of bilateral series, both teams have only met in ICC and Asian Cricket Council multilateral events, most recently in the Asia Cup held in the UAE last September.
Pakistan will host the Asia Cup cricket tournament from June 25 in Karachi and Lahore, it was decided at a meeting between Cricket Board Chairman Nasim Ashraf and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) officials in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
Contradicting reports have emerged about the ACC suggesting postponing the Asia Cup with India unable to travel.
The next year's Asia Cup T20 tournament will be held in Bangladesh in February with India hosting the 2018 edition of the marquee event, said Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur.
Controversial Pakistani pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will be under the spotlight in the Asia Cup starting Tuesday in Sri Lanka after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has decided to conduct random dope tests during the four-nation tournament.
Deepti Sharma has climbed to second spot and has the top position in her sights
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said that questions will be raised if Indian Premier League is slotted in the window allotted to ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, which in all likelihood will be cancelled in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The ICC is yet to decide the fate of the T20 World Cup in Australia which is scheduled to take place from October 18 to November 15.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi is exploring all options as far as this year's Asia Cup in Pakistan and ODI World Cup in India are concerned, saying it's time to "take a clear position".
The Asian Cricket Council said it scrapped the Afro-Asia Cup telecast deal with Nimbus because it did not fulfill contractual obligations.
Nimbus, which bagged the television rights for the inter-continental event from the Asian Cricket Council, said the relevant terms of the contract do not apply anymore since the matches were originally scheduled for last year.
Opener Shubman Gill attained a career-best second position and is the highest-ranked among three India players who are now in the top 10.
BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said there is nothing new about it as Pakistan are not staging the tournament.
The former India stumper will prepare the team for the June 12-22 Asian Cricket Council Trophy in Malaysia.
Sri Lanka captain will lead the Asian team in a three-match ODI series for the Afro-Asian Cup.
Led by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, India will seek to showcase its ascendency as a sporting power at the Asian Games, which opens formally on Saturday after an unprecedented one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Often criticised for not being able to make cricket a global sport, the ICC has pinned its hopes on South Asian migrants in Germany and USA to expand the game's footprint in the untapped markets of Europe and Americas.
The next edition of the Asia Cup One-day tournament is likely to be held next year.
With all the big four Asian sides having packed schedules until the end of the year, finding a window for the tournament this year would have been extremely difficult.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ramiz Raja says the PCB can 'collapse' if India wants as 90 per cent of the ICC's funding comes from that country, which effectively means that the sport is being run by 'India's business houses'.
BCCI honourary secretary Jay Shah provived updates on the Asia Cup venue, WPL and India's preparations for the ODI World Cup.
