ICC World Cup Qualifiers: Five things to look out for

Agencies

March 1, 2018

The qualifying tournament for the 2019 ICC World Cup gets underway in Zimbabwe on Sunday, with 10 teams battling it out for only two places at next year's tournament in England and Wales.

Two-time world champions West Indies and Afghanistan are favourites to claim the remaining spots for the reduced 10-team World Cup, while fellow Test sides Ireland and Zimbabwe will be hoping to cause an upset.

Here are five things to watch out for during the qualifiers from March 4 to 25.

Can Universe Boss revive Windies?

The West Indies are facing the ignominy of failing to qualify, despite being one of only three teams to have won the World Cup on multiple occasions. The Caribbean outfit have slipped out of the top eight in the ODI rankings after a poor run of form and the loss of several key players to T20 franchise leagues.

But star batsman and self-styled 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle is back and ready to try and add to his tally of 22 ODI hundreds. The big-hitting left-hander turned down the allure of the lucrative Pakistan Super League in order to play in Zimbabwe, and all eyes will be on the 38-year-old as he tries to reach his fifth World Cup.

The million-dollar legspinner

Afghanistan's incredible rise has continued to gain momentum over the last 12 months, led by teenage leg-spin sensation Rashid Khan. The 19-year-old will captain the team for the early part of qualifying in place of the injured Asghar Stanikzai and is closing in on becoming the fastest-ever bowler to reach 100 ODI wickets.

Khan, who was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for $1.41 million in last month's IPL auction, has taken 86 wickets in 37 ODIs. Mitchell Starc's record of taking only 52 matches to reach 100 wickets is in danger of falling over the next few weeks in a torrent of fizzing leg-breaks and googlies.

Floundering hosts

Host country Zimbabwe, who have played in every World Cup since 1983, have fallen from grace over the last 15 years and are seen as underdogs to qualify. They have only won three matches at the last three World Cups, against the UAE, Canada and Kenya, and were comprehensively beaten 4-1 in a one-day series by Afghanistan last month.

Their hopes will be pinned on the recently-returned Brendan Taylor, Kyle Jarvis and Sean Williams, but an embarrassing loss to one of the game's lesser lights is perhaps more likely than qualification.

Nepalese nail-biters

Nepal scraped into the qualifying tournament after a series of thrilling victories in the World Cricket League Division Two, culminating in a last-ball, one-wicket win over Canada to book their spot in Zimbabwe. They had also edged to an earlier triumph over Namibia with the last pair at the crease in the final over.

Led by 17-year-old leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal will be fun to watch in the qualifiers, but any victories will probably result in some frayed nerves back home for their cricket-mad supporters.

Battle for ODI status

The first group stage may seem to just be a precursor before the stronger sides battle it out for a World Cup place in the following Super Six round, but there are three slots as an ODI nation up for grabs. The top three Associate teams -- Ireland, Afghanistan, West Indies and Zimbabwe are full ICC members -- will join World Cricket League Championship winners the Netherlands in gaining ODI status until 2022.

As a result, outsiders Nepal, the UAE, Hong Kong, Scotland and Papua New Guinea have plenty on the line in the opening two weeks.

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Virat Kohli only Indian again in Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes

News Network

May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good.

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French Open could be held without fans, say organisers

News Network

May 11,2020

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

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#BoycottIPL trends as twitterati slam BCCI for retaining Chinese companies as sponsors

coastaldigest.com web desk

August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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