An update on anti-corruption measures and the progress report of Bangladesh's preparedness for next year's World Twenty20 will be top of the agenda when the International Cricket Council's Board gathers in London for a two-day meet starting Saturday.
The ICC announced ESPN-Star Sports as its global media and production partner for its audio-visual rights for ICC events from late 2007 to 2015.
The ICC's decision to award six points to Pakistan after the Indian women's team was deemed to have forfeited each of the three matches of the ICC Women's Championship was a result of non-communication from the BCCI about the team's participation. A well-informed source told PTI that there were multiple e-mail communication from ICC, but there was no response to any of the e-mails to provide reasons for not playing the series against Pakistan, which was scheduled to be held between 1 August and 31 October.
ICC chief executive David Richardson warned that the growing popularity of the domestic Twenty20 leagues like the Indian Premier League, Big Bash and Caribbean Premier League are threatening the survival of bilateral series.
The International Cricket Council Chief Executive (CEO) Dave Richardson has made it clear that the sport's governing body cannot force India to play bilateral matches with Pakistan.
They jumped a rung to fourth in the latest update after their win over England in the ongoing Champions Trophy.
'If the BCCI fails to agree to the terms of the MPA, it will of course mean that they could not continue as one of the joint hosts of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011,' the ICC said in a statement.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan has refused to follow in the footsteps of Pakistan Hockey Federation which announced this week that it would boycott future international events in India.
The team includes four Pakistanis, three Indians, three Englishmen and one Bangladeshi, with Kane Williamson of New Zealand as 12th man.
The seventh edition of the World Twenty20 Championship next year is all set to be scrapped and pushed to 2020 as the top member nations will be busy with bilateral commitments in 2018.
The decision was reached after ICC's commercial arm IDI received an update on the progress of the negotiations with Global Cricket Corporation.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken up the issue of cancellation of bilateral series with India last December, as per an MOU signed between the two boards in 2014 to play six bilateral series, with the International Cricket Council. An official in the board told PTI that chairman Shaharyar Khan had brought up the issue at the recent ICC board meeting in Dubai and stressed the need for boards to respect bilateral agreements. "Shaharyar did take up this issue at the ICC meeting and pointed out that India had not played Pakistan in a bilateral series since 2007 and it had caused loss of millions of dollars to the PCB in estimated revenues," the official said. He said Shaharyar made the point that if the BCCI had to seek government clearance to play Pakistan in a bilateral series it should not have signed the MOU in the first place.
Indian limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has identified consistency as the key to retain the ICC Champions Trophy they had won in 2013.
The Delhi high court dismissed an interim application seeking to restrain Britannia Industries from using the logo, mark and mascot of the 2003 World Cup in its promotional campaigns.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
India are in the middle of a phenomenal run in the shortest format of the game, and Team Director Ravi Shastri on Wednesday said that he expects his side to maintain consistency and make winning a habit to clinch a big tournaments like the World T20. Shastri said that India have got the right balance in the team and most of the big players are in form at the right time ahead of the ICC event. "We have got into a good habit of winning games. You might get the odd hiccup on the way. But it's important to maintain a level of consistency and treat every game as an important game. Every game is important from here on," he told a news conference. "To win a big tournament you need seven-eight individuals performing consistently. We are not a team of individuals. We are the Indian cricket team. "Virat (Kohli) is in outstanding form, and so is Rohit (Sharma)... MS (Dhoni) has done well lower down the order. Yuvraj (Singh) has struck form. Shikhar (Dhawan) has had his moments," Shastri said ahead of the World T20 warm-up game against the West Indies.
The new ICC chief said India had agreed to the contract with the GCC.
Yuvraj Singh is hopeful that he can make a 'meaningful contribution' in India's Champions Trophy title defence during the June 1-18 marquee event in England.
While notable participants among 22 state units were acting president CK Khanna (Delhi), cornered treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry (Haryana) and current CAB president Sourav Ganguly (joining on tele-conference), the acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary (Jharkhand) chose to skip the informal gathering keeping a distance from the revolters.
India skipper Virat Kohli should avoid making any changes to the team for the Champions Trophy summit clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, believes former captain Rahul Dravid.
India captain Virat Kohli shrugged off concerns about his team's lower-middle order ahead of their ICC Champions Trophy semi-final with Bangladesh on Thursday and called for complete focus against their "dangerous" opponents.
'I had a good two months in India with the Indian Premier League and we are really excited about this tournament'
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has clarified his recent comment on agreeing to play series in India, saying that it was related to the contract signed between his board and the Board of control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2014.
Once renowned stars of their own sporting arena, former India hockey players Gagan Ajit Singh and Rajpal Singh will be in incharge of security at the PCA stadium, in Mohali, during ongoing ICC World Twenty20.
Sources in the PCB said that alternate venues such as Mohali and Kolkata had been discussed by Manohar and Shaharyar Khan but nothing was final as yet.
Talking to the media in Lahore on Tuesday, Shaharyar Khan adopted damage control mode, insisting that if India did not play the planned series with Pakistan in December he alone cannot decide the next course of action.
West Indies is likely to send a second-string side to the World T20 as the top players failed to reach an agreement in their contract impasse with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
After a bitter split with sponsors Sahara, the BCCI on Saturday invited tenders for the sponsorship rights of the Indian team for all the Board, ICC and Asian Cricket Council events from January 2014 to March 2017.
Notwithstanding India's delay in giving a go-ahead for the proposed Indo-Pak bilateral series this month, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has advised the PCB against thinking about a boycott of the World T20 in India in March-April next year.
Legendary cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Ian Chappell tipped India as favourites in their much anticipated World Cup clash against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan ready to play in India, says PCB chief
Pakistan women cricket team's head coach New Zealander Mark Coles has resigned on Thursday, months before the ICC World T20 in Australia.
Scathing in its criticism after Pakistan's loss to India in a World Twenty20 match, the media here came down heavily on national coach Waqar Younis and skipper Shahid Afridi for their "faulty gameplan" and team selection. In a low-scoring rain-curtailed 18-over-a-side showdown t the hallowed Eden Gardens last night, India first restricted Pakistan to 118 for five and then overhauled the target in 15.5 overs on a turning track. With a moisture-laden pitch on offer following rains, Pakistan went by their strength and included four seamers in the playing eleven, leaving out left-arm spinner Imad Wasim. But the plan backfired as, to the surprise of all and sundry, the wicket turned from the first over itself. In a sarcastic article, the 'Express Tribune' newspaper criticised the Pakistan team's tactics and questioned the logic behind including four seamers on a turning wicket.
Akram slams PCB for calling back Sarfaraz from South Africa
Pakistan youngsters are keen to make an impression against the arch-rivals in their opening fixture at the Adelaide Oval.
Afghanistan roared into the main draw of the World Twenty20 with an emphatic 59-run victory over Zimbabwe in a first round Group B match on Saturday. Mohammad Shahzad (40) gave Afghanistan a flying start before Mohammad Nabi (52) and Samiullah Shenwari (43) added 98 runs off 64 balls to power them to 186-6, their highest total in this format. The associate nation then returned to bowl out Zimbabwe for 127 to register a memorable victory over a full-member nation and join England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka in Group One of the Super 10 stage of the tournament. "This was a very important match for us. People in Afghanistan are crazy about cricket. They love the game, so (winning it) was very important for us," victorious captain Asghar Stanikzai said. With a place in the main draw at stake, Stanikzai opted to bat and was vindicated as Shahzad set alight Nagpur's VCA Stadium with his swashbuckling batting. The portly 28-year-old hit Tendai Chatara for four successive boundaries after a quiet opening over, forcing the pacer off attack. Donald Tiripano was pressed into service but there was no respite from Shahzad who hit him for three successive fours. Shahzad greeted left-arm spinner Sean Williams by hitting his first delivery for a six but fell in the same over after a 23-ball blitz attempting a reverse sweep.
A 27-member Pakistan cricket contingent left for India to take part in the Twenty20 World Cup, finally ending days of uncertainty over their participation in the mega event. The team will be reaching Kolkata via Abu Dhabi. The Pakistan squad including 15 players, 12 officials and support staff reached the Allama Iqbal international airport amidst tight security and boarded a flight hours after the Pakistan government finally gave the PCB the green signal to fly to India to take part in the ICC event. Due to a long stay in Abu Dhabi the squad will reach Kolkata later this evening. Head coach Waqar Younis, before departing for India, left a message on his Twitter account calling for unity in the team. "Come on together we can do it," he tweeted a message aimed at motivating the players. He told the media that though the departure of the team for India had been hit by uncertainty and security issues, the focus of the players now would only be on cricket and doing well in the world event.
Former Test player and coach Mudassar Nazar feels BCCI has been unfair to Pakistan and advised the Pakistan Cricket Board to look after its own interests where cricket ties with India are concerned. "The present situation is really sad for me. It leaves me disappointed. Because I have played a lot against India in India, Pakistan and Sharjah and I know how important these matches are for development of a player and raising resources for the boards," Mudassar, who is now Director Academies in the board, told PTI in an interview.
Australia remain optimistic about their Twenty20 World Cup campaign despite being shown up in all facets by India in the opening two matches of their current series. With Steve Smith leading an advanced party to New Zealand for the forthcoming ODI series, the Australians have made more changes to their XI, with Shane Watson to lead the side after skipper Aaron Finch suffered a hamstring injury in Friday night's second T20 defeat. In-form top-order batsman Usman Khawaja comes into the squad as Finch's replacement, and will likely open the batting alongside Shaun Marsh. Finch is awaiting scan results and the Australia camp is bullish he will be able to return before the start of the World Cup in India on March 8.
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