Ahead of the T20 World Cup, Team India will play a tri-series tournament that will begin from January 19, 2023…reports Asian Lite News
Harmanpreet Kaur will lead India in the tri-series in South Africa starting in January and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.
“The All-India Women’s Selection Committee has picked India’s squad for the tri-series in South Africa starting in January and the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023,” the BCCI said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 is set to begin on February 10, 2023, with Team India set to begin their campaign on February 12 against Pakistan in Cape Town. Team India is in Group 2 with England, West Indies, Pakistan, and Ireland. The top two teams in each group at the end of the group stage will play in the semi-finals. The final will be held on February 26, 2023.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, Team India will play a tri-series tournament that will begin from January 19, 2023.
Abdulla bin Damithan, CEO and Managing Director of DP World UAE and Jafza said, “DP World is delighted to confirm our title partnership for the DP World International League T20 competition…reports Asian Lite News
International League T20 and DP World have today jointly announced a five-year title sponsorship that will see the upcoming six-team franchise competition, the International League T20 named as the DP World International League T20.
The agreement comes as 84 international cricket stars from across the world, such as Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Moeen Ali, Kieron Pollard and Wanindu Hasaranga, a number of shining Associate players, including Paul Stirling, Mark Watt and David Wiese, as well as 24 of UAE’s current and rising talents, look to converge on the UAE and prepare for the inaugural season of UAE’s home-grown T20 competition, which will be played in Dubai (Dubai International Stadium), Sharjah (Sharjah Cricket Stadium) and Abu Dhabi (Zayed Cricket Stadium) from 13 January to 12 February 2023.
The inaugural DP World International League T20 includes the teams Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, and Sharjah Warriors. The teams will play for the magnificent, coveted trophy through a total of 34 matches, where all matches will be telecasted live on the expansive, global Zee Network. The league’s schedule can be found by visiting www.ilt20.ae.
Opening the League is the blockbuster match between Dubai Capitals and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Friday 13 January (2023) at the Dubai International Stadium (Dubai, UAE) and where the competition will be launched through a dazzling opening ceremony headlined by Indian rapper Badshah and RnB megastar Jason Derulo. The inaugural edition will reach its crescendo with the final played on 12 February 2023, also played at the Dubai International Stadium.
Khalid Al Zarooni, Chairman International League T20 commented on the sponsorship, “We are exceptionally pleased to enter into this multi-year partnership with DP World as title sponsor of the International League T20. DP World, a Dubai-based company with strong international recognition and long-standing relationships, is synonymous with high profile sports and internationally renowned sporting events. This partnership between two UAE-based entities is incredibly gratifying, and we are extremely appreciative of their commitment in supporting a UAE-grown sporting-initiative as we launch the inaugural edition of the league across the UAE, and on to the international stage next year. We look forward to an extremely beneficial and rewarding relationship.”
Abdulla bin Damithan, CEO and Managing Director of DP World UAE and Jafza said, “DP World is delighted to confirm our title partnership for the DP World International League T20 competition. The event, which reflects DP World, Dubai, and the UAE’s spirit of innovation, inclusivity, and community engagement, will help introduce the sport to new audiences in the UAE, leave a legacy, and affirm the region’s unique position as a hub for world-class sports. It will also give us an opportunity to engage with our customers, prospects, and colleagues, against the backdrop of what will be a highly enjoyable festival of cricket. We cannot wait to watch the action unfold and wish the ILT20 organisers, teams, players, and fans, an enjoyable tournament.”
Cricket fans across the world can catch the LIVE telecast of this exciting cricket league on the League’s Official Media Partner ZEE’s linear channels, digital platform Zee5, as well as Zee Cinema SD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Anmol Cinema, &Pictures HD, &Flix SD, &Flix HD, Zee Zest SD, Zee Zest HD, Zee Bangla Cinema and Zee Thirai.
Headquartered in Dubai, DP World has evolved into the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain solutions enabling the flow of trade across the globe. With a presence in 78 countries across six continents, powered by diverse professional team of more than 97,000 people, DP World is committed to delivering unrivalled value to its customers and partners.
But Jones is confident in his team’s ability, with USA having displayed their abilities with impressive performances during two warm-up wins against Jersey earlier this month…reports Asian Lite News
United States cricket team vice-captain Aaron Jones believes qualifying for the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this year will open a whole lot of avenues for the game in the country, not only for the current lot but also for the future generations.
In order to make it to the 20-over showcase in October-November this year, the USA must first negotiate a tough qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe and finish in the top two at the Qualifier B event that commences on Monday.
It won’t be easy, with USA taking on Jersey, Singapore and the hosts in the group stage of the eight-team tournament before a possible semifinal clash against a different opponent from the opposing group.
But Jones is confident in his team’s ability, with USA having displayed their abilities with impressive performances during two warm-up wins against Jersey earlier this month.
Qualifying for the T20 World Cup for USA would be huge, given that they will feature in the 2024 event as tournament hosts.
“If we could get to World Cup so you get to the highest level of cricket, to compete with the West Indies, Australia, India, all the teams that are playing full member cricket for sure, it would open a lot of doors,” Jones was quoted as saying by ICC ahead of the opening game. “Not only for us but definitely the youngsters coming up in the USA. We know for sure that the USA is a big, big market in terms of fans that watch and support cricket.
“So we really, truly, want to get to the next level for them and for the youngsters coming up behind us as well. It would definitely be a dream come true, I mean, the World Cup is the highest stage. I don’t think you can get any bigger than a World Cup as a professional cricketer.
“So I definitely want to play in the next World Cup for sure, as long as we get through these qualifiers, it’s going to be a dream come true,” he added.
While Jones was born in New York, he moved to the Caribbean at the age of four and has many friends and former team-mates that play with Barbados domestically and West Indies at international level. The 27-year-old said that is giving him further incentive to perform well during the upcoming qualifier event as he knows he will have plenty of people he knows watching on.
“I also have some friends playing in the World Cup as well. Obviously, I’ve grown up in the Caribbean so if we played against the West Indies, then I would be playing against some of my friends so that would be a good experience as well,” he said.
“I played with some of them at school. The guys that are from Barbados, I played with them at youth levels and stuff like that. And some of them I played against them in first-class cricket back home in the Caribbean and List A cricket and stuff like that too.”
Jones is the second leading run-scorer for the USA in both T20Is and ODIs and knows the pressure will be on him to perform well in Zimbabwe. “I would say that I like to put a bit of pressure on myself as well,” Jones said.
“I think that brings out the best in me, so me being the vice-captain, I want to be the leading batsman in the team. I always tend to tell myself that I need to do the job for the team. I just like to keep it as simple as possible.”
USA squad: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Ali Khan, Cameron Stevenson, Gajanand Singh, Jaskaran Malhotra, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Rusty Theron, Saurabh Netravalkar, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Yasir Mohammed, Vatsal Vaghela.
Franchise deal inked between GMR Group and UAE T20 League in Dubai and the remaining partnerships will be announced over the coming weeks, reports Asian Lite News
Indian-based infrastructure powerhouse, GMR Group has acquired the rights to own and operate Dubai franchise in the UAE T20 League to be held in UAE.
Having been announced earlier this year, the six-team League remains well on track to be played in 2022 where senior committee members are encouraged by the enormous interest shown from a number of high-profile individuals and well-established corporates from across the world.
“UAE continues to impress with its progressive, positive mind-set toward sport and the business of sport, and we believe these traits align well with our group strategy to support sports from grass-roots through to international level while being effective in engaging with the community. Our group is convinced that UAE T20 League proposed structure and plans will leverage these unique traits of UAE,” sid G.M. Rao, Group Chairman at GMR Group.
“Our team has 14-seasons’ experience in managing the franchise process, through our Delhi Capital team’s involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and we will integrate the same elements of these processes into UAE T20 League and help establish it as a premier and an integral part of the global cricket ecosystem,” he added.
Khalid Al Zarooni, Vice-Chairman at Emirates Cricket Board said; “UAE T20 League considers itself very fortunate to have engaged in a series of very meaningful discussions with various potential stakeholders interested in investing in our League. These discussions have proven very rewarding culminating in us being extremely honoured to welcome GMR Group as our partner. The standing of this League, across the cricketing world, is vitally important to us, and we have aligned ourselves with partners that share the same values toward the game; holding its spirit, integrity and longevity to the highest regard.”
Mubashshir Usmani, General Secretary at Emirates Cricket Board said; “As an ICC Associate Member Emirates Cricket is cognisant of the need to compete against ICC Full Members to further develop player skills and match performance. At its heart, the UAE T20 League will provide this opportunity for players within the Associate structure to play alongside world-class Internationals and be provided with a much-needed opportunity to showcase their skills to a wider audience. We are confident this League will quickly establish itself as one of our pioneering events and will shape cricket to new heights.”
Kiran Kumar Grandhi, Corporate Chairman at GMR Group said; “UAE, has a world-class niche of cross-cultural individuals with a big cricket fan following and excellent cricket infrastructure. We, at GMR Group based on our years of experience in the IPL, will harness to create a thriving cricket environment for budding players which will infinitely excite cricket aficionados. From our solid supportive management, we will bring best practices, processes, top-notch coaches, players, and support staff to have an unparalleled professional team. That said, we will need your love and support all throughout the first season of this league as we solidify a high-calibre Dubai Franchise team.”
The UAE T20 League is a professional franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament established in 2020 that combines two of the most compelling aspects of the global sport – world-class infrastructure coupled with the most favourable time zone catering to cricket fans around the world.
GMR Sports is part of GMR Group, a leading global infrastructure conglomerate headquartered in New Delhi, India with other office presence across the globe. GMR Sports was incorporated in 2008 with the aim to promote sports amongst youth, connect with the community at large and build a supporting ecosystem.
Over the last 13 years since its inception, the company has done pioneering work in growing popular sports such as Cricket and other indigenous sports like Kabaddi and Wrestling across India and overseas. With a vision to nurture talent at the grass-root level, it has invested in providing access to professional sports by setting up Sports Training Academies across India. GMR Sports co-owns Delhi Capitals, a franchise cricket team that represents the city of Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
It also owns U.P. Yoddha, a franchise team representing the state of Uttar Pradesh in the Pro Kabaddi League. In continuation of its commitment to promote sports, especially cricket, on a global scale, GMR Sports is privileged to be associated with Dubai franchise of the soon to be launched U.A.E. T20 Cricket League.
Oman is one of 16 participating nations at this year’s T20 World Cup and cricket in the country is run entirely by a business conglomerate…reports Asian Lite News
International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are in talks with Oman Cricket over hosting of some of the T20 World Cup matches later this year in the gulf nation, a top Oman Cricket official has confirmed.
The ICC had, earlier this week, given BCCI a month’s time to show its readiness to host the tournament in October-November. With India’s chances to host it unlikely due to an expected third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, and things not improving drastically over the last few days, the world body has started to look at a venue besides United Arab Emirates (UAE) which is already on standby.
“We have been approached by ICC and the chairman of Oman Cricket, Pankaj Khimji, is in talks with the BCCI which is due to host the tournament,” Madhu Jesrani, the Oman Cricket secretary, said from Muscat.
“The talks with BCCI have just started. The ICC asked us for certain things that they are looking at in a hosting venue and we have given them the details. We have told them that we are ready. We have two turf pitch grounds, including one with floodlights,” added Jesrani.
Oman is one of 16 participating nations at this year’s T20 World Cup and cricket in the country is run entirely by a business conglomerate, Khimji Ramdas, which is an Indian-origin business family.
Jesrani said both the grounds are inside Muscat.
“The Al Amerat Cricket Stadium has floodlights and it is 15-20 km from the airport,” he added.
The ground was established in 2012 and has hosted ICC’s lower-division matches.
The BCCI has already announced that the remaining Indian Premier League (IPL) matches will be held in the UAE from mid-September to mid-October, which is the time when the T20 World Cup will start.
While there are concerns the pitches at the three UAE venues won’t last two tournaments (76 matches in total), the burden would be eased by shifting some games to another country like Oman.
On Tuesday, the ICC issued a statement saying, “The ICC Board has requested management [to] focus its planning efforts for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on the event being staged in the UAE with the possibility of including another venue in the Middle East.”
Jesrani says they will wait until June 28 when ICC’s deadline to BCCI expires.
“We are waiting till June 28 when the ICC deadline ends and a final decision will be made,” he said.
The T20 format game has attracted lot of criticism from some past cricketers who have blamed it for Test cricket losing relevance and players spoiling technique….reports Asian Lite News
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar says he is fond of T20 format unlike most other cricketers of his era since the shortest format involves more action than others.
The T20 format game has attracted lot of criticism from some past cricketers who have blamed it for Test cricket losing relevance and players spoiling technique.
The demise of West Indies Test team due to players from the Caribbean preferring T20 franchise leagues has especially led to criticism of the format.
“I know a lot of people who played around my time, they’re not happy with the T20 format, but I actually love it. I love it for the simple reason that you know it’s a three-hour game, and you get a result, and you get to see so much action,” said Gavaskar on The Analyst Inside podcast.
Gavaskar, who was the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test matches, said that innovative strokes attracted him.
The T20 world cup tournament was scheduled to start from October 18…reports Asian Lite News
UAE is likely to host T20 World Cup as the Covid 19 situation in India worsening day by day.
The T20 world cup tournament was scheduled to start from October 18 in India.
A BCCI official admitted that the event could be moved out of India due to Covid upsurge and rising death toll,the Khaleej Times reported.
Meanwhile, the worsening Covid-19 situation in India has brought the focus on International Cricket Council’s (ICC) contingency plan for the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India in October-November.
The ICC team of officials that was to visit India for a recce during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) cancelled its visit due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in India.
As of now, the ICC, the organiser of the T20 World Cup, is keeping a close watch on India.
According to sources, the ICC hasn’t yet made up its mind since the situation in India is evolving and the World Cup is still over five months away.
