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Rashid Khan to spin a web for Maratha Arabians

Media Release
July 24, 2018

Dubai, Jul 24: Afghanistan’s star leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who has spun his way into the hearts and minds of cricket fans all over the world, is all set to don a new role later this year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),

Rashid joins forces with Maratha Arabians in the second edition of the T10 Cricket League, to be played over 10-overs-a-side, alongside some of the world’s best known cricketers. The 19-year-old was one of the key picks for Maratha Arabians at the mini-draft held as a precursor to the second season in Dubai on Monday.

The other new pick of the day for Maratha Arabians was Australia’s left-handed all-rounder James Faulkner. The franchise was able to retain from the previous season England limited-overs star Alex Hales, West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and Kamran Akmal, Pakistan wicket-keeper.

Maratha Arabians is co-owned by Parvez Khan of Pacific Ventures, Bollywood Actor/Producer/Director Sohail Khan and Ali Tumbi of Aqua Properties. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram continues to be the head coach of the franchise. The entire operations of the Maratha Arabians franchise is being managed by Dubai-based Petromann Events, much like in the first season.

The tournament is being staged under the aegis of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), with official approval of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Speaking about his inclusion, Rashid said: “I am extremely excited to be playing for Maratha Arabians in the second season of the T10 League.  After having played Twenty20 cricket all over the world, I was looking forward to a challenge. Playing the T10 format is the perfect step up for me. I am looking forward to playing the world’s shortest format alongside some iconic players.”

Maratha Arabians Co-owner Parvez Khan said: “It is with great joy that we welcome Rashid Khan and James Faulkner to Maratha Arabians. Rashid is the youngest player to top the ICC Player Rankings for Bowlers in ODIs. I believe that Rashid will be a great asset to the team and we will have an extremely strong bowling attack.”

Maratha Arabians Co-owner Sohail Khan said: “The new season promises a lot for us. We are taking a fresh guard and have gone about picking the squad after a lot of deliberations. We are extremely thrilled to bring on board Rashid and James Faulkner.”

Maratha Arabians Co-owner Ali Tumbi said: “Maratha Arabians is an excellent marriage of two different regions and cultures. The franchise represents the warriors of two historic regions and will fight for every inch on the cricket field during the tournament.”

***

About Pacific Sports Limited

Pacific Sports Club (PSC) is a complete platform for both current and upcoming sports leaders and enthusiasts. PSC offers an array of sports activities which are mandatory to shape and prepare athletes in their respective sport.

Keeping up with international and local standards of cricket, football, swimming and other sports; PSC offers you premium professional coaching that identifies each individual’s potential using both physical and mental activities. Focusing on upcoming talent, PSC thoroughly prepare students and other young potential athletes for both national and international tours so they can first hand experience the varying conditions of different countries in terms of sports.

PSC offers nothing but utmost premium facilities, hence having turf, matted and cemented pitches to suite the different playing condition, entirely different areas for field training and physical fitness, trained and certified Level 2 coaches, modern coaching equipment, swing bowling machine, video analysis, field training spin and a complete 360 holistic training and development program for every student.

About Emirates Cricket Board (ECB)

Cricket in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is governed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), overseeing all cricket activities in the Emirates including the 4 major councils; Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai and Sharjah. In 1990 Emirates Cricket became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

An emerging One Day International (ODI) country, UAE Senior Men’s team won the ACC Trophy on four consecutive occasions between 2000 and 2006, they were runners-up in the other three times the tournament was played; 1996, 1998 and 2008. UAE Men’s won the ICC Trophy in 1994, playing their first ODIs that year, they qualified for the 1996 and 2014 Cricket World Cups.

Other ODI matches were played in the 2004 and 2008 Asia Cup tournaments. In 2014 the UAE gained ODI status through to 2018. UAE’s U19s played their first ICC World Cup in 2014, when the UAE hosted the international tournament. UAE’s U19s recently competed in 2015’s ACC Premier Tournament. UAE’s women's team competed in the 2007 ACC Women's Tournament and has subsequently continued to promote women's participation in the game.

The Women’s team is currently champion of the recently introduced GCC T20 Women’s Championship. Over a million Emiratis live in UAE, and the Emirati Development Programme forms an important part of Emirates Cricket’s strategic plan in growing the game. The UAE National squad currently comprises of three Emirati Nationals and it’s the aim of the Emirati Development Programme to ensure that there will be a steady integration of National players available for selection, in all forms of the game, in the future.

The ECB now has the resources to take professional coaching into local schools and provide playing opportunities that have been limited before. A resource book of cricket in Arabic has been created and playing equipment provided to encourage and support this learning and development. In addition, the Programme has been bolstered by the employment of a dedicated Arabic speaking Development Officer who will be able to take the game forward.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he doesn't think Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play for India again, adding to the guessing game over the future of the superstar former captain.

Dhoni, 38, has not appeared for club or country since last year's 50-over World Cup and India's coronavirus lockdown could threaten his chances of getting back into the national team.

The Indian Premier League, the main platform before this year's scheduled T20 World Cup, is likely to be truncated or cancelled because of the pandemic.

Harbhajan, who plays with Dhoni at IPL side Chennai Super Kings, said international retirement was on the cards for Dhoni and that he was increasingly being asked about his teammate.

"It's up to him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again," Harbhajan said in an online forum.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India's blue jersey again. IPL he will play, but for India I think he had decided the (2019) World Cup was his last."

Dhoni, who gave up Test cricket in 2014, started training for the Super Kings in March but has not commented on his international future.

Dhoni led India to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. He hit a six to seal the 2011 World Cup final victory and, along with it, his status as a national hero. He has amassed 10,773 runs from 350 ODIs.

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Agencies
July 21,2020

New Delhi, Jul 21: With the T20 World Cup's postponement clearing the decks for a full-fledged IPL, the glitzy event's Governing Council will meet in a week or 10 days' time to plan its next course of action, eyeing UAE as the host this year.

An IPL between September and early November has been made possible by the ICC's decision on Monday to postpone the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled for October-November, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The IPL GC will meet within a week or 10 days and all decisions (including final schedule) will be taken there. As of now, the plan is to have a full fledged IPL comprising 60 games and most likely in the UAE," Patel told PTI.

Asked about the main challenges in conducting the event in current scenario, Patel added: "Just the operational side of it. Whether you do it here or outside, it doesn't matter (with no crowds)."

The franchisees had already been working on their plans for the IPL even before the ICC announcement.

With majority of the Indian players not having access to grounds amid the pandemic, teams will need at least three to four weeks to get them match ready.

Foreign players will fly in directly to the UAE from their respective countries.

"Our players will need at least three to four weeks of training, if not more. We will finalise all our plans once the BCCI announces the dates. It looks like the IPL will be in the UAE and we are ready for that," a team owner told PTI.

Since India tour Australia for a four-Test series right after the IPL, training of the Test players is also an important issue.

Test specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari, who are not part of the IPL, are likely to train for the eagerly-awaited series in a bio-secure environment at the newly-renovated Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad during the time of the IPL.

A few fringe players are expected to join them at Motera along with the Indian team's support staff, which is free during the IPL.

Work from home has become the norm amid the pandemic, therefore, there is a possibility that IPL commentary will happen from the comfort of the living room, a safer and cost effective-option considering the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, who is 71, are involved.

The viewership is expected to be a record one with people craving for live cricket, something KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia has said.

However, it remains to be seen how much the broadcasters and teams are able to attract from the sponsors in the current financial climate.

More moot points and questions ahead of the IPL GC meeting:

1) More double headers expected (original schedule had only five double headers).

2) BCCI will need to provide a Standard Operating Procedure to IPL teams even though they will have their own SOPs in place.

3) Will the BCCI compensate teams for not being able to generate gate money this year?

4) Will there be virtual commentary from Star Sports? It was seen in the recent 3TC event in South Africa with the likes of Aakash Chopra, Deep Dasgupta and Irfan Pathan commentating from home.

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