BCCI has not marketed Test cricket well: Gambhir

Agencies
May 17, 2018

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) The BCCI may have created extremely popular and successful Indian Premier League (IPL) but the Indian board has not done "enough" to market Test cricket, revered by the purists, says former India opener Gautam Gambhir.

Known for his straight talking, the two-time World Cup winner put forth his point in presence of CoA chief Vinod Rai and CEO Rahul Johri.

"I don't think BCCI has marketed Test cricket as well as they have done with ODIs and T20s. I remember a Test match at Eden Gardens against West Indies (in 2011). India batting on the first day and there were 1000 people," Gambhir said.

"Imagine Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman playing and there are only 1000 people," the senior opener said during launch of cricket historian Boria Majumdar's book 'Eleven Gods and Billion Indians'.

Seasoned spinner Harbhajan Singh felt Test cricket should be taken to tier-2 cities but Gambhir said it's hardly a solution.

"I don't know but they have messed it somewhere. May be cut down on T20s and ODIs," the veteran of 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.

The former ICC 'Test batsman of the Year' also feels that playing white ball cricket before Test matches will be of little help.

India are schedule to play three Twenty20 and three ODIs before the five-Test series against England during their upcoming tour, starting June 27.

"Playing with red dukes in Test is completely different from playing white ball cricket. The three T20s and three ODIs isn't an indicator of how well you are prepared for the Tests," said the two-time IPL winning captain.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Jun 2: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has spoken strongly against the killing if George Floyd in USA, and has now urged the ICC & all the other boards in the world to come together and fight the evil.

In a series of tweets Sammy wrote how the blacks have been suffering for a long time.

“For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter,” Sammy wrote.

He also wrote, “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

“Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.”

Earlier, West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has said racism exists in cricket too, saying he gets the 'end of the stick' even within teams.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.

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News Network
July 12,2020

New Delhi, Jul 12: Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to do away with 'umpire's call' whenever a team opts for a review regarding a leg-before wicket (LBW) decision.

The Master Blaster has also said that a batsman should be given out if the ball is hitting the stumps.

Whether more than 50 per cent of the ball is hitting the stumps or not should not be matter, he further stated.

"What per cent of the ball hits the stumps doesn't matter, if DRS shows us that the ball is hitting the stumps, it should be given out, regardless of the on-field call," Tendulkar tweeted.

With this tweet, the former India batsman also shared a video, in which he has a discussion with Brian Lara regarding the working of DRS.
"One thing I don't agree with, with the ICC, is the DRS they have been using for quite some time. It is the LBW decision where more than 50 per cent of the ball must be hitting the stumps for the on-field decision to be overturned," Tendulkar said in the video.

"The only reason they (the batsman or the bowler) have gone upstairs is that they are unhappy with the on-field decision, so when the decision goes to the third umpire, let the technology take over, just like in tennis, it's either in or out, there's nothing in between," he added.

This call for doing away with umpire's call has been recommended by many former players.
Whenever a verdict pops up as 'umpire's call, the decision of the on-field umpire is not changed, but the teams do not lose their review as well.

ICC recently introduced some changes to the game of cricket, and they gave all teams liberty of extra review as non-neutral umpires will be employed in Test matches due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, all teams will now have three reviews in every innings of a Test match. 

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