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BCCI moves to defreeze cricketing ties with Pak

May 13, 2012

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A new phase of thaw in Indo-Pak ties that had begun since Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s travel to India last month appears to have made a positive bearing on the bilateral cricketing front, which is in a frozen state for almost four years.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced its decision to make way for Pakistan’s representation in the fourth edition of the Champions League T20 (CLT20) to be staged in India in October.


“The working committee (of the BCCI) has decided to invite a team from Pakistan to play in the Champions League Twenty20 to be held in October,” BCCI President N Srinivasan told reporters following a meeting here during the day.

The BCCI decision to allow Pakistan’s participation will mean that the country’s domestic T20 cricket champions, the Sialkot Stallions, led by former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, will have a chance to take part in the scheduled tournament. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, had forced the abandonment of the inaugural tournament in India due to security concerns. And, as a result of the Pakistani involvement in the terror attacks, the BCCI opposed Pakistan’s entry into the tournament.

The BCCI decision will now have to get the nod of the Governing Council of the CLT20, which apart from the BCCI also include cricket boards of countries like Australia and South Africa. But the approval may be a mere formality since it was Indian opposition that had kept Pakistan out of the annual event.

“This is a recommendation that the BCCI will make to the Governing Council. CLT20 is owned by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa. So we will recommend to the GC that the BCCI has no objection and is prepared to invite a Pakistan team in the Champions League,” Srinivasan said.

The resumption of cricketing ties between the two neighbours was one of the issues that Zardari is believed to have discussed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their unofficial luncheon meeting in Delhi last month. While the last time an Indian team travelled to Pakistan was six years ago, Pakistani team was last in India in 2011 to play against India in the World Cup. But that was an exception.

Pakistan has been pushing for restarting the bilateral cricketing ties. Ahead of Zardari’s visit to India, Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf met Srinivasan in Dubai to impress upon him to revive bilateral cricket.

The BCCI decision to allow Pakistan to take part in CLT20 may be its first tentative step towards resumption of full-fledged bilateral cricketing re-engagements between the two countries. This may in turn open up possibilities of the participation of Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League, about which Pakistan Cricket Board is very keen.

However, Srinivasan said: “Today, the decision is limited to the Champions League. So, I don’t want to say anything beyond it.”


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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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News Network
January 28,2020

Hamilton, Jan 28: No one sits on the seat that Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his own in the team bus, revealed India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the talismanic former skipper is missed by the side.

In a video shot inside the team bus while it was on its way to Hamilton for the third T20 International against New Zealand, Chahal is seen talking to several members of the squad including Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Towards the end of the video, he moved to the rear of the bus and pointed to an empty seat which, he said, was the former captain's preferred spot before he went on a sabbatical last year.

"Yeh woh seat hai jahan ek legend baithate the. Mahi bhai. Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baithata. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (This is the seat that used to be occupied a legend. MS Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot)," Chahal said in the video posted on 'bcci.tv'.

The-38-year-old Dhoni has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand on July 9. Earlier this month, Dhoni was dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on his future.

However, on the same day, Dhoni returned to training, batting fluently in the Jharkhand team nets.

Head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that the celebrated wicketkeeper-batsman might retire from ODIs soon but will be in contention for a T20 World Cup berth provided he does well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The Indian team lead the five-match T20 series against New Zealand 2-0.

Virat Kohli's men will take on the hosts in the third T20 here on Wednesday.

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