BY SACNILK

Mumbai, June 1, 2021: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the return of the Champions Trophy which was scrapped after the 2017 edition won by Pakistan, in the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme. The eight-year cycle of the FTP starting from 2024 to 2031, will mark the return of the Champions Trophy after 8 years in 2025. ## The World Cricket Body has also approved 14 teams for the 50-over World Cup and 20 teams for the Twenty20 World Cup. The decisions were taken by the all-powerful executive board meeting of the ICC, which was held virtually on Tuesday (June 1). ## In the 50-over world cup, ICC has decided to follow the 2003 world cup format. The 14 teams will be split into two groups with the top three from each group making it to the Super Six. The four best teams will then proceed to the semi-final followed by the final. A total of 54 matches will be held in the ODI World Cup in 2027 and 2031. ## The T20 World Cup will see the 20 teams split into four groups with the top two teams from each group progressing to the next stage - the Super Eight - which will then be followed by the semifinals and the final. Four T20 World Cups have been scheduled to be held in 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030, will comprise 55 matches each. ## The ICC has also confirmed that the World Test Championship Final will be played in 2025, 2027, 2029, and in 2031. The hosts of the 12 ICC tournaments for the Men's events will be finalized in September this year with the selection process getting underway this month. ## "Having the ICC event schedule confirmed through to 2031 is a significant step forward for cricket and will form the basis of our growth strategy for the next decade", ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said. "The revised approach to selecting hosts for our events will give us much more flexibility to grow the game and engage new fans.## "There is a smaller pool of countries with the infrastructure needed to host our senior Men's events which narrows the selection process. Additionally, many of our members expressed interest in hosting Women's and U19 events which gives us a great opportunity to stage events in established and emerging cricket nations". ## Have a look at the ICC men's tournaments in the next cycle of FTP (2024-31) -## 2024 - T20 World Cup (20 teams and 55 matches)## 2025 - Champions Trophy (8 teams and 15 matches)## 2025 - World Test Championship final (2 teams and 1 match)## 2026 - T20 World Cup (20 teams and 55 matches)## 2027 - ODI World Cup (14 teams and 54 matches)## 2027 - World Test Championship final (2 teams and 1 match)## 2028 - T20 World Cup (20 teams and 55 matches)## 2029 - Champions Trophy (8 teams and 15 matches)## 2029 - World Test Championship final (2 teams and 1 match)## 2030 - T20 World Cup (20 teams and 55 matches)## 2031 - ODI World Cup (14 teams and 54 matches)## 2031 - World Test Championship final (2 teams and 1 match)## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 29, 2021: The Indian Premier League 2021, which was postponed after the first half due to the covid-19, is all set to resume in the United Arab Emirates, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Saturday. ## The decision was taken at a Special General Meeting (SGM) held virtually, considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year. The remaining 31 matches will now be played in UAE, which also had hosted the 2020 IPL behind closed doors. ## The BCCI SGM further authorized the Office Bearers to seek an extension of time from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take an appropriate call on the hosting of ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The BCCI thinks that it will explore all possibilities to host it in India itself. ## The ICC has slated its meeting on June 1 to decide the fate of the T20I Worl Cup, but the world body may have to defer the decision on moving the October 18-November 15 tournament out of India in view of the BCCI's request. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 23, 2021: Due to the packed international schedule and second covid-19 wave threat, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has officially postponed the Asia Cup 2021 by two years. However, the Asia Cup 2022 will go ahead as scheduled with Pakistan retaining hosting rights for the 2022 edition. ## "The ACC Executive Board, in face of the risks and restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, had made the difficult decision to postpone the Asia Cup 2020 to 2021. Since then, the ACC has been working with its participants and stakeholders to try and ensure that the event is held in the year", the ACC said in a media release. ## "However, on account of a packed FTP, it has been concluded that there is no practical window in the year when all the teams would be available to participate. The Board has accordingly considered the matter very carefully and determined that the only way ahead would be to postpone the event. It would therefore only be feasible for this edition of the tournament to be held in 2023 as there is already an Asia Cup in 2022. Dates for the same will be confirmed in due course", it added. ## With no Asia Cup this year as well, the tournament has been pushed back for a second straight year after it was originally scheduled to be played in September of last year. Sri Lanka will host the Asia Cup 2023 after the Pakistan Cricket Board exchanged hosting rights with Sri Lanka Cricket for the next two editions of the tournament. ## The last Asia Cup, which was played in 2018 in UAE, won by India under the leadership of Rohit Sharma in the absence of Virat Kohli. Since 2016, the tournament has alternated between the T20I and ODI format accordingly to ICC tournaments. the 2018's event was played in ODI format ahead of ICC ODI World Cup in 2019. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 20, 2021: The 17-year old hard-hitting batter, Shefali, who recently received her maiden India Test call-up for a one-off Test against England, has been promoted from a Grade C to a Grade B central contract in the 2020-21 BCCI India Women contract list. ## Apart from Shafali, batter Punam Raut and spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad have also been promoted from Grade C to Grade B while the likes of Ekta Bisht, Veda Krishnamurthy, Dayalan Hemalatha, and Anuja Patel have been left out from annual contract.## This year, only 19 players have given the BCCI Women contract unlike 22 players in the last year. 17-year-old Richa Ghosh included for the first time and handed Grade C. She is one of six players on a Grade C retainer worth INR 10 lakh. ## All-rounder and limited-overs captain Harmanpreet Kaur, top-order batter Smriti Mandhana, and spinner Poonam Yadav are the three players to have earned a Grade A contract worth INR 50 lakh while the remaining 10 players on Grade B INR 30 lakh retainers. ## India Women contract list - ## Grade A (INR 50 Lakh) - Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav## Grade B (INR 30 Lakh) - Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Deepti Sharma, Punam Raut, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Taniya Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues## Grade C (INR 10 Lakh) - Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia, Richa Ghosh## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 19, 2021: Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli has once again lent a helping hand amid the covid-19 crisis. After donating Rs. 2 crores along with his actress wife Anushka Sharma in a fundraiser recently, Virat has now donated Rs 6.77 lakh for the Covid treatment of the mother of former Indian women cricketer K.S. Sravanthi Naidu. ## Sravanthi, whose mother is suffering from severe covid-19 symptoms, had appealed to BCCI and Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and many other associations for help. Kohli's gesture was in response to a tweet tagged to him by N. Vidya Yadav, former BCCI South Zone convenor (women's cricket). ## "Honestly, I was amazed at his spontaneous gesture. Such a great gesture from such a great cricketer. I am also grateful to the Indian fielding coach R. Sridhar who also took up the issue with Kohli", Vidya told Sportstar.## The ex-women cricketer had already spent Rs 16 lakh for the treatment of her parents who are under treatment of covid-19. Apart from Virat Kohli, The HCA Apex Council has already sanctioned Rs 3 Lakhs for the same cause and would be releasing another Rs 2 Lakhs soon. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 15, 2021: Team India pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took to Twitter and hit back at media reports which claimed that the pacer is not keen to play Test cricket anymore in a bid to focus on limited-overs cricket. ## According to a report in Times of India, a source said Bhuvneshwar had lost his "drive" to play Test cricket. "Bhuvneshwar just doesn't want to play Test cricket anymore. That drive has gone missing. To be honest, the selectors don't even see Bhuvi hungry for 10 overs, forget Test cricket. It's Team India's loss no doubt because if one bowler should have made it to England, it should have been him", said the source according to TOI. ## Hitting back to the rumors, Bhuvi reiterates his desire to play Test cricket and also suggested media not to write assumptions based on "sources". ## "There have been articles about me not wanting to play Test cricket. Just to clarify, I have always prepared myself for all three formats irrespective of the team selection and will continue to do the same. Suggestion - please don't write your assumptions based on "sources"!", Bhuvi tweeted. ## There have been articles about me not wanting to play Test cricket. Just to clarify, I have always prepared myself for all three formats irrespective of the team selection and will continue to do the same. Suggestion - please don’t write your assumptions based on “sources”!— Bhuvneshwar Kumar (@BhuviOfficial) May 15, 2021 ## Bhuvneshwar has taken 63 wickets from 21 Tests at an average of 26.09. His aptitude for extracting swing is thought to make him an ideal candidate to take the new ball in England, and he played a part in a famous Test win in 2014 at Lord's. ## However, the pacer was sidelined from the India squad which selected for England tour where the team is scheduled to play the WTC Final against New Zealand and 5-tests against England. His omission from the squad, though the team is already balanced with the right combination, led to many speculations. ## Meanwhile, Bhuvi recently made his comeback during the limited-overs series against England after coming from an injury. In the three-match ODI series (won by India 2-1), Kumar claimed 6 wickets with an economy of 4.65 which is remarkable considering the high-scoring matches. In the five T20Is, he bagged 4 wickets, and again, the economy was just over 6 (6.38) which was among the lowest in the series. His performance also helped him winning the ICC Player of the Month Awards for March. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 14, 2021: Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma had launched a fundraiser campaign "In This Together" for covid-19 relief a week ago. The campaign was launched with an aim to raise 7 crores in a week. ## Now, the campaign has exceeded its plan and raised well over 7 crores in a week. Mobile e-Sports platform, MPL Sports has also donated Rs. 5 crores, which helped the celebrity duo to collect over Rs. 11 crores.## The funds raised will be directed to ACT Grants who is the implementation partner for this campaign and has been extensively working towards providing oxygen, medical manpower, vaccination awareness, and telemedicine facilities during the covid-19 pandemic. ## Virat Kohli took to social media and expressed gratitude towards all the people who made their contributions to this initiative for India's decisive fight against the covid-19 pandemic, which has brought the nation to its knees. ## "Words fall short to express how overwhelmed we feel to have exceeded our target not once, but twice, thanks to each one of you. To everyone who has donated, shared, & helped in any way, I want to say a big thank you. We are #InThisTogether & we will overcome this together", Virat wrote on Twitter. ## Words fall short to express how overwhelmed we feel to have exceeded our target not once, but twice, thanks to each one of you. To everyone who has donated, shared, & helped in any way, I want to say a big thank you. We are #InThisTogether & we will overcome this together. pic.twitter.com/M7NeqDc532— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 14, 2021 ## Anushka Sharma said, "Truly amazed and humbled by the spirit of solidarity that you all have shown. We are proud to announce that we have raised more than our initial target and it will go a long way to save lives. Thank you for your overwhelming support in helping the people of India. This wouldn't be possible without you. Jai Hind". ## This wouldn’t be possible without you. Jai Hind.#InThisTogether #ActNow #OxygenForEveryone #TogetherWeCan #SocialForGood @actgrants @ketto— Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) May 14, 2021 ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 13, 2021: Indian cricket team under the leadership of Virat Kohli, is continuing to dominate the longest format of the game. In the latest annual ICC Test Rankings, announced on Thursday, India gained one point and finished on top spot with 121 points. ## It is the fifth continuous year when India ends with the top spot. The latest rankings update rates all the Tests played since May 2020 at 100 percent while the Tests played over the course of the previous two years are rated at 50 percent. ## India have registered their second successive Test series win in Australia, after beating the hosts 2-1 earlier this year, and then followed it up with a 3-1 win over England at home to consolidate their position at the top of the rankings. ## Meanwhile, New Zealand, who will against India in the first-ever ICC World Test Championship Final next month in England, are on the second spot with 120 points to their name. England at number three with 109 rating points followed by Australia and Pakistan at number 4 and 5 with 108 and 94 points respectively. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 10, 2021: The BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has hinted that the Indian team will travel to Sri Lanka for the limited-overs series in the month of July. However, the exact window for this series is yet to be known, but Ganguly said it would consist of three ODIs and three T20Is. ## According to the ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP), India are scheduled to play three T20Is in Sri Lanka in July. India were also due to play three T20Is and three ODIs in Sri Lanka last June, but that tour was canceled due to the pandemic.## If the Sri Lanka tour happens and the FTP were to be followed, India likely to play with a completely different squad excluding several regular players. During the time of the Sri Lanka tour, the first choice Team India will be in England to play the WTC Final against New Zealand and 5-matches Tests series against England starting on August 4. ## Meanwhile, Ganguly denied the possibility of the remainder of IPL 2021 being played in England on either side of India's Test series there, when asked in an interview with Sportstar. "No", Ganguly said. "India is supposed to go to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and five T20Is. There are lots of organizational hazards like 14-day quarantine.## "It [the IPL] can't happen in India [either]. This quarantine is tough to handle. Too early to say how we can find a slot to complete the IPL", he added. ## Not only the IPL but also the ICC T20 World Cup which is supposed to be held in India, starting sometime in mid-October, looking in deep trouble. With the second covid-19 wave is worsening in the country, amid which the IPL's biosecure bubble was breached - it remains a possibility that the T20 World Cup will be shifted.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 9, 2021: Amid the second wave of the covid-19 in India, the union government has allowed the vaccination for all above 18 years of age from May 1st. So far, more than 17 crore vaccine shots have been administered and the government is motivating people to take the vaccine whenever it is available to them. ## While the government is pushing people for the vaccine, most of the celebrities have taken their first dose. Indian cricketers, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, and Umesh Yadav are among the firsts who have been administered the vaccine against the deadly covid-19. ## Ajinkya Rahane wrote on Twitter after taking the first dose, "Got my first dose of the vaccine today. I urge everyone to register and get yourself vaccinated, if you're eligible". ## Got my first dose of the vaccine today. I urge everyone to register and get yourself vaccinated, if you’re eligible pic.twitter.com/VH2xYcTQ1i— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) May 8, 2021 ## Shikhar Dhawan, who took his first shot of the vaccine, thanked all our frontline warriors enough for their sacrifices and dedication and also urged people to not hesitate and get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible to beat the virus. ## Vaccinated ✅ Can’t thank all our frontline warriors enough for their sacrifices and dedication. Please do not hesitate and get yourself vaccinated as soon as possible. It’ll help us all defeat this virus. pic.twitter.com/0bqBnsaWRh— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) May 6, 2021 ## Pacer Umesh Yadav also vaccinated against the covid-19. "Vaccination done. A big thank you to all our health care workers and I urge everyone to get vaccinated when you get the opportunity", he wrote on Twitter. ## Vaccination done ✔️A big thank you to all our health care workers and I urge everyone to get vaccinated when you get the opportunity. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/kqJMtomer0— Umesh Yaadav (@y_umesh) May 8, 2021 ## Meanwhile, BCCI is in talks with the England Cricket Board for the second dose of the vaccine for the Indian cricketers. Team India will travel to England for the final of the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand and the 5-match Test series against England. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

New Delhi, May 7, 2021: Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returned to the Indian Test squad as the All-India Senior Selection Committee picked the squads for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final and the five-match Test series against England.## Speedster Mohammad Shami also returned to the 20-member squad while all-rounder Hardik Pandya and hard-hitting opener Prithvi Shaw have been left out. The squad has three opening options in Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Mayank Agarwal along with KL Rahul - subject to fitness clearance.## The selectors have also named Wriddhiman Saha as the second keeper - once again subject to fitness clearance after he was one of the players who contracted the Coronavirus just before the suspension of IPL 2021. Hanuma Vihari, who missed the home Tests against England, also back in the squad. ## India's squad - Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).## Standby players - Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla## Schedule - ## 18th – 22nd June WTC Final vs NZ, Southampton## 4th – 8th August 1st Test vs England, Nottingham## 12th – 16th August 2nd Test vs England, London (Lord's)## 25th – 29th August 3rd Test vs England, Leeds## 2nd – 6th September 4th Test vs England, London (Oval)## 10th – 14th September 5th Test vs England, Manchester## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 7, 2021: As India is going through the devastating second wave of the covid-19, more and more people coming forward to help the country to tackle the crisis. In this process, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and his actress wife Anushka Sharma have launched a campaign "In This Together" with an aim to raise funds towards Covid relief measures. ## The celebrity couple shared a video on Instagram where they made people aware of the fundraiser and asked them to donate. The total amount that the fundraiser wishes to raise INR 7 crore of which INR 2 crore has been donated by the couple itself.## The campaign "In This Together" will run for seven days on Ketto and the funds raised will be directed to ACT Grants who is the implementation partner for this campaign and has been extensively working towards providing oxygen, medical manpower, vaccination awareness, and telemedicine facilities during the covid-19 pandemic. ## Virat said, "We are going through an unprecedented time in the history of our country and our nation needs all of us to unite and save as many people as possible. Anushka and I have been shocked to see human suffering since last year. We have been working towards helping as many people as possible all through the pandemic and now, India needs our support more than ever. We are starting this fundraiser with the confidence that we will be able to raise substantial funds to aid those in dire need. We are confident that people will come forward to support fellow countrymen in crisis. We are in this together and we shall overcome this". ## Anushka said, "India is going through an extremely difficult time and the second wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic has pushed our country to a state of crisis. It is time for all of us to come together and do our bit for our fellow countrymen who are in serious need of support. Virat and I have been hugely pained looking at the inexplicable suffering that people are going through and we hope that this fund will aid in our fight against the virus that we are all helplessly witnessing. We are praying for everyone's safety. We hope that you join us in our prayers to save as many lives as possible because we are all in this together". ## View this post on Instagram A post shared by Virat Kohli (@virat.kohli) ## Stay tuned...