Tag: ICC

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    Oman will take on Papua New Guinea in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on October 17 while the Super 12 stage commences with a fixture between Australia and South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

    Read More – Pakistan, India placed in same group in T20 World Cup

    The complete schedule was announced on Tuesday by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which confirms the highly anticipated match between former champions India and Pakistan. It will take place on October 24 at the Dubai International Stadium while Ashes rivals England and Australia play at the same venue six days later.

    The final will be played in Dubai on November 14, with November 15 marked as a reserve day.

    This will be the first time in over two years India and Pakistan will play each other, the last meeting being at the 50-over World Cup in England in 2019.

    Earlier, T20 World Cup moved away from India due to Covid. The ICC has moved the Twenty20 World Cup from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman because of the pandemic. India will remain the host of the event scheduled from October 17 to November 14, the ICC said in a statement.

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in UAE, Oman

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in UAE, Oman

    ICC has officially announced that Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.

    The cricket governing body announced the news on their social media accounts.

    Earlier, it was reported that the T20 WC 2021 is set to begin from October 17 in the UAE, with the final for the 16-team tournament scheduled for November 14. The tournament will start days after the Indian Premier League (IPL) final, which is likely to be held on October 15.

    As per details, the venue for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has been shifted to the UAE and Oman, with the tournament set to run from October 17 to November 14.

    The tournament was originally set to be staged in India, but had to be shifted given the deadly second wave of Covid-19 there.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will remain the hosts of the event, which will now be held across four venues – Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.

    The first round of the tournament, comprising eight qualifying teams, will now be split between Oman and the UAE. Four of these teams will then progress to the Super 12s round where they will join the eight automatic qualifiers.

    “The BCCI is looking forward to hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 tournament in UAE and Oman,” said Saurav Ganguli in the official statement.

    The upcoming edition will be the first Men’s T20 World Cup played since 2016, when the West Indies beat England in the final in India.

    The eight teams competing in the preliminary stage are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Papua New Guinea, before the play-off stage and the Final on November 14.

  • ICC trolled for showing Waqar Younis as Indian player

    ICC trolled for showing Waqar Younis as Indian player

    Netizens are trolling International Cricket Council (ICC) for a major blunder, showing Waqar Younis as Indian player in Hall of Fame graphics which celebrates the career of the former Pakistani pacer.

    The graphic arrives within five seconds of the video that shows a picture of Waqar in his follow through alongside a brief summary of his international career.

    Even though ICC changed the same after being called out, however, the fans were quick to react and criticise the Council’s media and social media team for the error.

    https://twitter.com/daniel86cricket/status/1396729364285378561?s=24
    https://twitter.com/kiran_aman567/status/1396737862851256322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1396737862851256322%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news18.com%2Fcricketnext%2Fnews%2Ficc-trolled-for-major-blunder-hall-of-fame-graphic-shows-waqar-younis-as-india-player-3770612.html

    https://twitter.com/kiran_aman567/status/1396737862851256322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1396737862851256322%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news18.com%2Fcricketnext%2Fnews%2Ficc-trolled-for-major-blunder-hall-of-fame-graphic-shows-waqar-younis-as-india-player-3770612.html
    https://twitter.com/kiran_aman567/status/1396744160821055489?s=19

    Former Pakistan captain Waqar was inducted into ICC Hall of Fame in 2013. Born in Vehari, he led Pakistan cricket team in 17 Tests and 62 ODIs.

    “It is a huge honour and privilege to be in the same category as icons like Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad. I grew up hearing about their exploits and then ended up playing with the latter two, as well as with Wasim Akram,” Waqar had said after the announcement.

    “To be in the august company of some of the greatest players the game has ever seen is personally quite exciting for me. A big, heartfelt thanks from me to all the living members of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and those from the voting academy, who thought me worthy of this.”

    Meanwhile, Waqar also thanked the ICC on Twitter for honouring him.

  • Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman among ICC ‘Player of the Month’ nominees

    Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman among ICC ‘Player of the Month’ nominees

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced nominees for April’s ICC Player of the Month Awards. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are among the nominated players.

    ICC introduced the award to recognise the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all formats of international cricket.

    In the month of April, Pakistan captain Babar Azam became the number one ranked batsman in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, ending Indian Cricket Team’s captain Virat Kohli’s long reign at the top of the charts.

    Babar’s match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI against South Africa helped him gain 13 rating points to reach a career-best 865 points. He also contributed 122 from 59 balls in Pakistan’s successful chase in the third match of a T20I series against the same opposition.

    His compatriot Fakhar Zaman also produced a stellar showing during the month, scoring two centuries in the ODI series victory over South Africa, including a magnificent 193 in the second match in Johannesburg. 

    Completing the men’s shortlist, Nepal’s Khushal Bhurtel was the leading run-scorer as his team won a tri-series also featuring the Netherlands and Malaysia. His significant contribution with the bat totalled 278 runs, including four half-centuries in five matches.

    Meanwhile, Australia’s Alyssa Healy, her team-mate Megan Schutt and New Zealand’s Leigh Kasperek made it to the Women’s Player of the Month nominees.

    Winners will be announced every second Monday of the month on the ICC’s digital channels. 

    Fans can vote for their favourite players, both male and female on given links by ICC or directly by going to ICC’s website.

  • Babar Azam dethrones Virat Kohli to become number one ODI batsman

    Babar Azam dethrones Virat Kohli to become number one ODI batsman

    Babar Azam has dethroned the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team Virat Kohli to become the number one batsman in One-Day Internationals, becoming the fourth batsman from Pakistan to attain the number one position in the latest ICC rankings list update, released on Wednesday.

    The 26-year-old player of the match scored 94 off 82 balls in the last match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against South Africa in Centurion which helped him gain 13 rating points to reach 865 points and he now leads the Indian captain by eight points.

    Babar, a star of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cups in 2010 and 2012 has been playing ODIs since 2015 and had started the series against South Africa at 837 rating points but moved up to 858 (ahead of Kohli) after his score of 103 in the first match. He dropped to 852 by the time of the last weekly rankings update with a score of 32 in the second ODI.

    By ending Kohli’s 1,258 day-supremacy, Babar has emulated compatriots Zaheer Abbas (1983-84), Javed Miandad (1988-89), and Mohammad Yousuf (2003) as the number one ODI batsman. In Tests, Babar has attained a best of the fifth position and is currently ranked sixth while in T20Is he is third but has been number one in the past.

    Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman is another Pakistan batsman to move up the ODI batting charts, gaining five slots to reach a career-best seventh position after his knock of 101. Shaheen Afridi (up four places to a career-best 11th place) and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (up 29 places to 96th) have progressed thanks to their three-wicket hauls in the match.

    Babar had earlier overtaken Rohit Sharma to get to the second spot.

    Reacting to the news, Azam, in a statement, said: “I feel privileged and honoured to have joined the company of stalwarts like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf, who will always be the shining stars of Pakistan cricket.”

    “This is another milestone in my career, which will now require even more hard work and absolute consistency with the bat in order for me to hold on to the ranking for an extended period of time, like Sir Vivian Richards from January 1984 to October 1988 and Virat Kohli for 1,258 days,” he continued.

    The captain further said: “I have also previously topped the T20I rankings, but the ultimate ambition and goal is to lead the Test rankings, which are the real testament and reward to a batsman’s calibre, reputation and skills. I understand to achieve this objective, I will not only have to perform consistently but more importantly, against the top sides.”

    “I am looking forward to this challenge and remain confident I will be able to accomplish this target with the support of my teammates and coaching staff. But at this stage, I will savour the moment as it has come almost 18 months after I was first appointed the white-ball captain and that too at the back of my performances which helped Pakistan become the first Asian side to win two ODI series in South Africa,” added Azam.

  • Babar Azam grabs second spot in latest ODI batting rankings

    Babar Azam grabs second spot in latest ODI batting rankings

    Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam has dethroned Rohit Sharma to grab the second spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen. With 837 rating points, Babar has gone past Rohit’s tally of 836 points after the latter failed to play big innings in the first ODI against England.

    Captain of the Indian cricket team Virat Kohli is still at the top with 868 rating points to his name. England’s opener Jonny Bairstow played an innings of 94 in the 1st ODI to clinch his career-best 7th position in the ODI rankings.

    The English captain Eoin Morgan has moved to 24th place whereas all-rounder Ben Stokes has moved up from 75th to 64th in the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers.

    Stokes also went past his fellow all-rounder Chris Woakes to clinch the third spot in the ODI rankings for all-rounders. After a match-winning knock of 98, India’s opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has moved two places to 15th and pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gained five places to get into the list of top 20.

    The rankings are updated after taking into account the performances in the 1st England-India ODI and the first two matches of the New Zealand-Bangladesh series.

    On the other hand, Azam is on the same spot of three in T20I rankings with 801 rating points followed by Kohli who moved up one spot with 762 rating points.

    On the contrary, thePakistani skipper is at sixth place in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

  • India qualify for ICC World Test Championship Final, will face NZ at Lord’s

    India has qualified for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final after beating England with an innings and 25 runs in the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

    India outclassed England with both the bat and ball inside 3 days to set up the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June.

    Resuming on their overnight score of 294 for 7, the hosts added another 71 runs on Day 3 thanks to Washington Sundar and Axar Patel’s 8th-wicket partnership to post 365 in their first innings.

    Having conceded a 160-run lead on day 3 of the contest, England needed a vastly improved batting performance in the second innings but another disappointing show saw them getting bundled out for 135 in the final session.

    Left-arm spinner Axar Patel picked up yet another five-wicket haul while Ravichandran Ashwin also grabbed 5 for Team India.

    India needed just a draw to reach the WTC final but a victory means they qualified for the summit clash in the top spot with 490 points. India registered 12 wins from 17 Tests, lost 4 and drew just 1 Test in the competition.

    No other team came close to matching India’s record. England had 11 wins from 21 Tests but still ended up in fourth place.

    Read more – Kevin Pietersen mocks Team India after Chennai loss against England

    New Zealand had already qualified for the WTC final with 420 points from 11 Tests with 7 wins and 4 losses.

    https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1368149627464118274?s=20

    The World Test Championship final will be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London from June 18.

  • South Africa’s Faf du Plessis announces retirement from Test cricket

    South Africa’s Faf du Plessis announces retirement from Test cricket

    South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis on Wednesday announced that he is retiring from Test cricket. 

    The former South Africa captain wrote in a post on Instagram, where he also shared a statement on his decision. “My heart is clear and the time is right to walk into a new chapter.”

    With two T20 World Cups in the next two years, Du Plessis said he is shifting his focus to the shortest format of the game. “It has been an honour to play for my country in all the formats of the game, but the time has come for me to retire from Test cricket,” he wrote.

    “The next two years are ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be.”

    He represented South Africa in 69 Tests and scored 4,163 runs at an average of 40.02. He scored 10 centuries and registered his highest score of 199 in 2020. He had a memorable Test debut against Australia in Adelaide in 2012, when he scored 78 in the first inning and followed it up with a maiden Test century in the second.

    His final Test came in Rawalpindi against Pakistan earlier this month.

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) also thanked the veteran cricketer on Twitter for “the memories”.

    Meanwhile, The Pakistan Super League (PSL) announced the replacement picks for the teams that will lose some players due to international commitments.

    The teams made replacement picks for the players who have either become fully or partially unavailable due to international cricket commitments. Du Plessis, who was earlier part of the Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2020 play-offs, returns to the league as a partial replacement player in the Quetta Gladiators outfit in place of the West Indian Chris Gayle.

  • Pakistan’s Diana Baig shortlisted for ICC award

    Pakistan’s Diana Baig shortlisted for ICC award

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) has nominated 25-year-old Pakistani fast bowler Diana Baig for January’s Performance of the Month award.

    Baig played three ODIs and two T20Is against South Africa last month and bagged nine wickets. According to ICC, the Pakistani pacer, among others, has been shortlisted on the basis of “their performance and laurels from Jan 1 to 31”.

    The 25-year-old has been nominated alongside South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp, according to the ICC statement.

    In men’s category, the cricket council has nominated Rishabh Pant, Joe Root, and Paul Stirling. Pant scored 97 and 89 against Australia in the Test match at Sydney and Brisbane, respectively. He helped India clinched the series against the Aussies.

    England captain Joe Root, who scored 228 and 186 to lead his side to a 2-0 sweep against Sri Lanka, is also nominated for the award alongside Ireland’s Paul Stirling who scored three centuries from five international fixtures.

    The ICC said that the players were shortlisted on the basis of their performances. “The list is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world,” the statement read, adding: “The ICC Voting Academy comprising prominent members of the cricket family including senior journalists, former players, and broadcasters and some members of the ICC Hall of Fame.”

    The votes will be submitted by the academy through email.

    “Additionally, fans registered with the ICC will be able to vote via the ICC website once the shortlisted players are announced and will have a 10% share of the vote. Winners will be announced every second Monday of the month on the ICC’s digital channels,” ICC stated.

  • ICC falls in love with ‘picturesque’ Gwadar stadium

    The scenic cricket stadium in the port city of Gwadar has also caught the eye of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

    In a tweet, the ICC shared photo of the cricket stadium, located in Balochistan, asking people if they have seen “a more picturesque sports venue”.

    The stadium was inaugurated by the chief minister of Balochistan in November last year. “The government is planning to extend the newly-built stadium in Gwadar by establishing a cricket ground meeting international standards,” Jam Kamal had said on the occasion.

    Fakhr-e-Alam, an actor and TV host, also uploaded a video of the stadium on his Twitter handle, calling it as the “most beautiful cricket ground” he had ever seen. 

    In a short video clip, Alam asked leagues to come out and play cricket in the Gwadar cricket ground. “To all #cricket playing friends everywhere in the world….come visit us…come play cricket with us here in Gawadar cricket ground….it’s the most beautiful cricket ground I have ever seen……,” he tweeted. 

    The stadium is located in Gwadar that holds prime importance for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. However, due to the security reasons, the provincial government had decided to fence the city that was criticised by all quarters and subsequently halted.