Virat Kohli was on Monday rewarded for his stupendous performance in India's clean sweep against Australia in the T20 internationals as he replaced Aaron Finch as the top-ranked batsman in the International Cricket Council list for the shortest format.
In a significant push to popularise cricket in the US, a $120 million funding has been secured from prominent Indian-American business leaders, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, to launch the first professional T20 league in the US. Major League Cricket (MLC), the first professional Twenty20 Cricket League in the US, announced Thursday that it has completed an initial close of a $44 million Series A and A1 Fundraising Round led by a group of America's leading business leaders. It said that with an additional commitment of $76 million in further fundraising over the next 12 months in place, MLC plans to deploy more than $120 million to launch the country's first-ever professional T20 league.
A fit again South African pacer Dale Steyn on Wednesday said that New Zealand's decision to play three spinners against India in the World Twenty20 opener paid off as the Kiwis posted a comfortable 47-run win over the hosts. Chasing a mere 127 runs for victory, favourites India were bundled out for 79 in 18.1 overs on a turning track at Nagpur last night with the Kiwi spinners sharing as many as nine wickets among them. "I guess New Zealand thinking was correct. Playing with three spinners paid off. We would probably go with spin, I don't know. But as a seamer I have to back myself. Bowl fast cutters. It is really difficult to hit out when the ball is coming at 140-145, its gripping and stopping," Steyn told reporters on the sidelines of his team's practice session at the Brabourne stadium on Wednesday. Steyn, who had suffered a shoulder injury, said he was now fully fit and things were coming up nicely.
A contract row threatened West Indies' participation in the upcoming World T20 in India with the head of the region's cricket board saying the players will be thrown off the squad for the big-ticket event if they do not agree to the financial terms by Sunday's deadline.
A miffed Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi abandoned a press conference midway in Lahore on Wednesday after he had a verbal spat with a reporter leading to a partial protest by the media demanding an apology from the flamboyant all-rounder.
West Indies rode on its fast-bowling arsenal to win the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup for the first time with a tense five-wicket victory over three-time winner India in the final in Mirpur on Sunday.
The controlling body of the ICC Cricket World Cup has said that the 50-over format of the game is still the most popular form of cricket in the world, adding that it is confident that fans will flock to the games in 2015 because it is ''real''.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain praised Malan for his versatile style and consistency.
Stand-in skipper AB de Villiers knocked the stuffing out of England attack with a blistering 28-ball 69 before the bowlers chipped in with useful contributions to propel South Africa to a three-run win and a semifinal berth at the ICC World T20 in Chittagong on Saturday.
England stormed into the final of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 after an all-round effort gave them a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the first semi-final in Colombo, on Thursday.
ICC's Event Technical Committee of the ongoing World Twenty20 on Tuesday approved Reema Malhotra as the replacement player for an ill Gouhar Sultana in the Indian women's cricket squad for the tournament.
Two giant-killers who have a reputation of disturbing set calculations will be up against each other when New Zealand and Bangladesh clash in their opening Group D match of the World Twenty20 in Pallekele on Friday.
Terming the controversial pull-out by West Indies midway their India tour as "unacceptable", the ICC has warned players against taking contractual matters into their own hands and hinted that they could be penalized by disallowing them to play in domestic tournaments like IPL if they repeat such acts in future.
Having managed to field a strong side in the last minute amid a contract row with their Board (WICB), West Indies captain Darren Sammy today said their aim is to bring back the World Twenty20 title to restore the faith among the Caribbean fans. "As of now we are in the World Twenty20 and that's what our focus is on. It's just cricket. At the end we are professionals, but this event means a lot to us as a group. The next World Twenty20 is in 2020 and a few of our guys won't be part of that event so this one is very important for us," Sammy said. "Everyone's focus is on winning. A win here will mean a lot to us and people at home, especially in the current situation of our cricket. It's not just about the men team but the women team as well. "The message is cricket. Once you step out on the cricket field you should not be worried about contracts and other stuff. It's about making your country proud," the skipper of the 2012 World T20 champion side in Sri Lanka told reporters in Kolkata. Presently ranked world no 2 in Twenty20 rankings, West Indies cricket was in serious crisis involving players' contracts in the run up to the upcoming event and a second string side was expected to be named had the row been not resolved at the last minut
India's white ball squad, led by Shikhar Dhawan, will quarantine in Mumbai from June 14 to 28 and undergo six RT-PCR tests on alternate days before flying off to Colombo for the six-match series against Sri Lanka, starting on July 13.
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.
Last month, Bangladesh agreed to play T20 matches in Pakistan but said Tests would have to be played at a neutral venue because of security concerns.
With more Twenty20 games under their belt, India have a slight edge over the other teams in the ICC World T20 Championship starting on June 5, feels New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori.
England held their nerve to beat Sri Lanka by 10 runs in a thrilling World Twenty20 Group One match on Saturday, reaching the semi-finals and knocking the defending champions out of the tournament.
England will play three-Test series against West Indies and South Africa next year separated by a five-match One-day series against Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.
Test cricket must adapt to survive in the face of the ever-tightening squeeze from shorter, more lucrative, forms of the game, both England and South Africa's captains said on Wednesday.
Reader Chintan Goswami spotted former Pakistan all-rounder Wasim Akram in England.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni credited his bowling arsenal for the 3-0 Twenty20 series whitewash over Australia and cited the contributions of young Jasprit Bumrah and experienced Ashish Nehra as being crucial to India's win in the series.
India to play warm-up games against ahead of England limited overs series
Steve Bucknor, Aleem Dar, Rudi Koertzen, Billy Bowden and match referee Jeff Crowe will be left out of the Twenty20 World Cup as punishment for their mistake in the World Cup final.
In awe of Virat Kohli's batting genius in the World Twenty20 win over arch-rivals Pakistan, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said the elegant right-hander's willingness to take challenges head on sets him apart from others.
South African batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis are the only candidates to replace retiring captain Graeme Smith as the Test skipper of their team, according to a report.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday insisted that Virat Kohli's IPL captaincy will not have an impact in the World Cup as he enjoys a good record as the skippers in One-Day Internationals.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com lists five matches you can't afford to miss out at the ICC's marquee event.
Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan has criticised his Australia counterpart Tim Paine for questioning the Asian team's right to participate in major events such as the Twenty20 World Cup.
After their not so memorable outing in the just-concluded ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka, it will be a test of character for the Indian boys in the Champions League Twenty20, which commences on Saturday.
Australia got the better of West Indies by 28 runs in the second semifinal to set up a title clash against England in the final of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 in Colombo.
Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee for breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during his side's 16-run defeat against Sri Lanka in the first semi-final of the World Twenty20 in Colombo.
Brendon McCullum became the first cricketer to score two centuries in Twenty20 Internationals as New Zealand launched their ICC World T20 campaign with a crushing 59-run victory over Bangladesh in Pallekele.
Student Holly Colvin came away with top marks as England easily accounted for title rival India by 10 wickets on the opening day of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 2009 tournament in Taunton on Thursday. The 19-year-old Colvin, bowling slow left arm, took 3-20 as the World Cup holders restricted India to 112-8 before captain Charlotte Edwards (61 off 53 balls) and fellow-opener Sarah Taylor (50 off 41) cruised home with 26 balls to spare in Group B.
Steve Smith capped a remarkable season by sweeping the main awards at the annual Allan Border Medal ceremony
In the final, Gambhir had played a match-winning knock of 75 runs off just 54 balls.
A crammed international calendar in three formats of the game and the added strain of playing in biosecure bubbles during the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed players like Trent Boult to breaking point.
Leg-spinning all-rounder Todd Astle is a surprise call-up to New Zealand's Test squad for their November tour of Sri Lanka, while former captain Daniel Vettori has not been considered as he battles an Achilles' injury.
Off-spinner Diana David wreaked havoc as India crushed Sri Lanka by 71 runs in a lop-sided Group B encounter of the Women's Twenty20 World Cup at Basseterre.
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