Cricket as a sport is more than a 100 years old!

However, in the past two decades the gentlemen’s game has shifted its centre of attraction from England and Australia to India. Rightly so, for it finds its biggest audience group in Asia, especially in a billion-plus population of our nation!

As the game has grown by leaps and bounds in past two decades as far as its financials are concerned, so have the controversies surrounding it. Never before in the history of the game has it been maligned so badly, not only in India, but across the world.

The long format of the game, the tests, is dying a slow death anyways and all possible plans to revive it, including the world cup of the tests, lie in a trash! Then comes the one-dayers and again money is doing the big talk here. Instead of involving more and more nations into active competition, International Cricket Council (ICC) is restricting the big tournaments only between the eight major cricket playing nations so that a regular stream of revenue is maintained. Their logic is that a match between a big team and minnows doesn’t get enough eyeballs so there is no point in planning a series! How lame is that idea? If a minor team is not given opportunities, how is it going to grow and learn?

If that is not enough, IPL in India is generating enough amount of news for all the match-fixing and scandals associated with it. Add to it Mr. Lalit Modi’s latest revelation of creating an alternative cricket authority of the world that’ll align itself with the Olympic movement and will only have Tests and T20s associated with it!

So multiple leagues, limited cricket playing nations, host of controversies and everyone eying the same revenue stream! It is like everyone is out there to kill the goose that lay golden eggs!

No doubt cricket is a rich sport even if it is played in just a few countries, but if it is exploited like this, how long will the sport retain its charm? The fans are already getting disillusioned by all the scandals and all the politics surrounding it. That is one reason why other sports like Football, Hockey, Kabaddi etc. are gaining importance and fan base in India! It is good for sports to have fans that love all kinds of games, but if they are losing interest in one sport due to wrongdoings of a few, then it is a sad state of affairs!

It is high time that all the different voices go silent; there should only be one voice, one uniform view about the development of sport and all the parties involved be it the administration, players or fans, work only towards preserving and nurturing the sport that has been entertaining us for a century now!

The post Does Cricket Has A Future Or Is It Dying A Slow Death Due To All The Ongoing Controversies? appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Meet Karan Gilhotra (38), who is a businessman and owns an agency for an automobile firm (Honda) and a fashion clothing chain in the city of Chandigarh which is a franchise partner to Salman Khan’s ‘Being Human’ NGO merchandise.

He also has the laurel of being elected as the Youngest Sarpanch of the country at the age of 21 years, when he was unanimously elected as the Sarpanch of a village called near Fazilka in Punjab during the panchayatipolls in that area.

What is his relationship to cricket then, apart from being an ardent fan?

Well, apparently he has been termed as a secret bookie by the BCCI who has been ‘allegedly’ meeting cricketers during the IPL and other cricketing events and getting key team information and play tactics and passing them off during bet placement.

The Detailed Story

Gilhotra is a regular face in the Chandigarh party scene. Also, he seems to be very close to many Bollywood celebs, bureaucrats, politicians and even IPL franchise officials, with whom he gets pictures clicked and uploads on his Facebook page.

He is also the host of most Celebrity Cricket League cricket games played in Chandigarh which makes him really close to the celebs part of the tournament.

Many Bollywood celebs like Salman Khan, Sunil Shetty, Sohail Khan, Bobby Deol, Boney Kapoor, cricketers, bureaucrats like MukeshAmbani and politicos have attended his parties over the years, which raises the question – Is he very close to these cricketers and does he extract information from them?

Gilhotra became a national issue on media news last night when his pictures with Anurag Thakur, the secretary of The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) surfaced on social media.

The turf war between ICC and BCCI is a really sensitive issue and now the ICC has sent a letter written by mail sent by ICC’s CEO David Richards onto the BCCI demanding an explanation about Gilhotra’s identity.

Is He A Bookie?

Apparently, sharing a cake with the BCCI secretary hasn’t gone down with the ICC and this is when all the hoopla was created.

Also, the ICC has Gilhotra’s name on their Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) most-wanted list which labels him as a ‘suspected bookie’.

Not only that, his pictures with numerous cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag and others is a cause of concern.

He has also been alleged trying to befriend younger cricketers and the others mentioned above ever since the second edition of the IPL. ICC feels this is a tactic that most bookies play.

Gilhotra’s Take?

Gilhotra in an interview to the media terms that he wasn’t not aware that he was on ICC’s anti-corruption body’s watch list.

He terms that he is only a businessman who meets with people like Anurag and many other Bollywood stars, politicians and bureaucrats solely for a business visit.

He has confirmed that he knows Anurag since 10 years and they are well acquainted.

He terms the sudden name-shaming in the media to be a sham and blames the ICC for not informing or questioning him in an investigation about the ‘alleged bookie’ claim. He claims that the infighting between current BCCI board members is victimizing him and his friends like Anurag.

The real story will be unearthed only when a proper probe is set up, until then Gilhotra remains under the watchful eye of the Indian cricket fans and the ICC. If he is actually found to be a bookie, then the credibility of a lot of cricketers will be up for question since they also met Gilhotra with smiles on their faces.

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There is a famous saying these days which says that if you sincerely wish for something, the whole Universe conspires to give it to you. It seems the collective wishes and prayers of a host of sportspersons across all kinds of sports except cricket are being answered right now!

The writing is on the wall!

Cricket is dying, day by day, week after week, year after year and the slide is quite phenomenal!

However, the silver lining is it is dying at the cost of other sports which are taking the space which was single-handedly grabbed by an entertainment giant called Cricket.

But first, let’s share with you some figures about cricket’s slow and steady decline.

Hard Facts!!

Firstly, cricket’s reach in India has declined from 77% in 2010 to 70% in 2014.

If one compares the income distributed by BCCI to players, it has declined from Rs. 49crores in 2012-13 to just Rs. 11 crores in 2013-14! Now that is a huge drop!

So what is happening?

Nothing much, except the fact that fatigue is setting in. In this age of really fast life, people are not finding enough time to sit through an 8-9 hour long One-day match without the crowd-pulling power of some outstanding players. It is a fact that the era which took cricket to its stupendous heights was due to some heavyweights of Indian cricket comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. One by one everyone retired, but the final blow was Sachin’s retirement. A whole generation who got stuck to their TV sets due to maestro’s batting suddenly felt a void and couldn’t relate to his absence. No player has been able to fill the big shoes even though Virat Kohli does look promising. In short, the attraction isn’t that huge now that one gets the tendency to leave everything to just watch a match! Moreover, there are other means of entertainment for quick gratification instead of spending five days or even 8hours on a cricket match when it is not inspiring enough!

Who is winning?

The obvious winners are other sports leagues launched in recent years, including comprising of sports like football, hockey, kabaddi, badminton and tennis. These sports take almost as much time as a T-20 takes so it easily squeezes in the busy schedules. The working population is going for variety and the youth isn’t connecting to cricket the way their elders did almost 20years ago. In a way it is good because the money available to promote sports gets distributed for the development of other neglected sports and sportspersons. Instead of only one sports body getting richer and richer, everyone gets a pie of the action and benefits from it.

The Way Forward..

The only question to be answered is whether BCCI and ICC are in tune with changing realities or living in their cocoon? Globally, only 14 countries play cricket and the sports bodies have plans to cut short the number of teams playing in the next World Cup to only 10. In a scenario when cricket is losing its sheen in the biggest market, India, and no major development is happening to promote the sport in other countries, what is the future of cricket not only in India, but world over?

Till they ponder over it, let’s enjoy our IPL games!

At least they are not going anywhere, anytime soon!

The post Cricket Is Dying In India And So Are The Generated Revenues! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

The current ICC President Mr. Mustafa Kamal has threatened to relinquish his current position, citing foul play and sloppy umpiring decisions in the recently concluded India vs Bangladesh Quarter final clash in which India came out supreme.

Bangladesh was forced to give up their World Cup bid following this loss after qualifying for the first time into the knockout stages.

Bangladesh was handed a 109-run defeat by India in the match after India had set a 303 target for them. India’s impeccable bowling figures thanks to Umesh Yadav’s 4-31, helped curb Bangladesh’s total score at 193 all out in 45 overs.

Details

• The recently inducted ICC President Mustafa Kamal who hails from Bangladesh has alleged foul play over sloppy decisions from the umpires which he feels has now resulted in Bangladesh being kicked out of the competition.

• It all started when the during the second quarterfinal match of the ongoing 2015 World Cup between India and Bangladesh, a very controversial ‘no-ball’ decision was given whichapparently led to Rohit Sharma hitting out a century with a 137 runs off 126 balls.

• Rohit was at 90 runs with India at 196 in the 40th over of the match when a marginally waist-high ball by Rubel Hossain was called a ‘no-ball’. This helped Rohitto add 47 runs more runs into his individual score which helped India achieve the 300+ run mark.

• Bangladeshi fans also shouted an outcry over the botchy dismissal of their key batsman, Mohammad Mahmudullah. He hurled a catch towards ShikharDhawan but was caught too close to the boundary rope after many hand-tips. The catch was given out since most camera angles seemed to prove that Shikhar’s foot didn’t rustle the ropes. The decision is still being called inconclusive by most experts since it could have gone either way.

• This match was the biggest match in the history of Bangladesh’s cricketing history since it marked their foremost entry into any World Cup quarterfinals.

• Many fans left the stadium weeping since they had high hopes from their team which was going through a miraculous performance boost this World Cup.

• They even burned an effigy of Umpire Aleem Dar, who is currently in the middle of the controversy owing to the alleged decisions.

• The Bangladesh Cricket Board is also set to lodge a written protest in the ICC against Ian Gould, who was the umpire who adjudged Rubel’s full-toss ball as a waist high ‘no-ball’.

Kamal, whose position remains mainly ceremonial, labelled the ICC’s acronym as ‘Indian Cricket Council’ since India’s N. Srinivasan is the body’s chairman.

Kamal said to the media, “I cannot represent the Indian Cricket Council. If someone has imposed a result on us, in that case no one can accept it. From what I have seen, the umpiring was very poor. There was no quality in the umpiring. It seemed as if they had gone into the match with something in mind, umpires may make mistakes. The ICC will see if this was done deliberately. Everything is on the record. The ICC has to investigate and inquire the issue to see if there’s anything to it”.

It is now left to see what actually the BCB and Kamal do to voice their concerns. The problem is that India has already advanced into their Semi-Final against Australia that will happen on March 26^th at the Sydney Cricket Ground. We hope ICC takes a robust and informed decision to put all issues at rest.

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New Zealand is the only other unbeaten team in this edition of the cricket World Cup.

The Kiwis won all their six matches in order to acquire their spot to play the quarter-finals.

New Zealand are unbeaten in this edition of the World Cup

West Indies, on the other hand, struggled earlier in the competition and was made to fight in its last Pool match against UAE.

West Indies vs. New Zealand will be played at the WestpacTrust Stadium in Wellington. West Indies has always begun its war of words with former ODI captain Darren Sammy claiming that the pressure would be on their opponents. He also justified his claim by putting forth West Indies’ record in the knock-outs, which is not actually bad.

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy

Nevertheless, the truth is evident. Where New Zealand earned quick wins (except the one against Australia), the Caribbean players faced their share of struggle with the possibility of being sent home looming over them.

West Indies faced defeat in their opening match against Ireland despite posting a target of over 300 runs. However, they won back-to-back matches against Pakistan and Zimbabwe, which was followed by two defeats – against India and South Africa – putting them in a spot of bother.

New Zealand would be a confident side entering the match tomorrow. They have had a week long rest with their last match played on 13^th March against Bangladesh that they won by 3 wickets.

Unfortunately for the West Indies, opening batsman Chris Gayle has fired only once when he scored 215 against Zimbabwe. Besides that, his performance in this tournament has been pedestrian, which is also one of the reasons for his team’s poor show. Judging by the way the Kiwis are playing, the swashbuckling southpaw will have to rise up to the occasion.

Chris Gayle will have to perform for West Indies to win

New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum, especially, has been in terrific form with the bat. Their last Pool game also saw Martin Guptill score 105 making him an accountable player in the squad. Even their bowling has not been a disappointment with their spearhead Trent Boult being the third successful bowler in the tournament with 15 wickets.

Martin Guptill scored a match-winning century in New Zealand’s last Pool match

Even though the Kiwis appear as a much superior side than the team from the Caribbean, they would be wary of the consequence that lies ahead because of one mistake. If West Indies players such as Gayle, Samuels, Sammy and even Russell fire, that would mean trouble for the co-hosts.

New Zealand will face West Indies at Wellington tomorrow

As far as team centuries are concerned for this tournament, West Indies edge New Zealand by 3-1. Jason Holder has already emphasised on how important it will be for his bowlers to dismiss New Zealand’s middle-order.

New Zealand cricketing legend Richard Hadlee had words of inspiration for his team. “This is four years of planning and preparation to get to seven hours of cricket and if you’re good enough, you’ll get another seven hours”, he was quoted as saying.

Both teams have also been troubled by unwanted injuries with Darren Bravo of West Indies and Adam Milne suffering the effect.

Nevertheless, though New Zealand look like the team that would win this bout, West Indies would enter the field with all guns blazing. It, indeed, will keep the audience hooked to the edge of their seats.

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Over the last decade or so, the Pakistani cricket team has appeared immensely unpredictable.

That is one of the reasons why their quarter-final – Australia vs Pakistan – opponents Australia see them with awe and aspiration.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was quick to respond when one of the reporters asked him about his team’s strategy of combating this Asian giant. “We know this is a danger game for us because they can come on and just turn it on like they have throughout the times I’ve played them in the past”, he said.

Shane Watson said Pakistan is capable of pulling surprises

There is no question that Pakistan (the country as well as the cricket team) is full of drama. One moment you will see them jubilant and living life at their fullest and on other instance, they will fall like a pack of cards. Unpredictable, indeed.

Nevertheless, Pakistan is the underdog going into this match. Regardless of having won four matches on the trot, which was preceded by two defeats, Australia is seen as the team to win this match.

Pakistan has won four matches on the trot

Over the years, Australia vs. Pakistan matches have seen superstars from both teams emerge as heroes or fade away like they never existed.

Who can forget Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq hit Australian pace bowler Glenn McGrath for four off five consecutive balls at an ODI match in 2000 at Sydney? Even Andrew Symonds scored a mammoth 143 in the 2003 World Cup against Pakistan at Johannesburg snatching the game from their hands?

Both teams have had their share of ups and downs against one another. Even though Australia looks like the team that will take the glory, the players will be wary of their opponent.

Australia would see lanky pace bowler Mohammad Irfan being ruled out of the tournament as a plus point, but they would not undermine the rest of their bowling attack either. On the other hand, Mitchell Starc of Australia is the highest wicket taker in this edition of the World Cup with 16 wickets.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc has been the tournament’s most successful bowler with 16 wickets

Waqar Younis spoke to the media about losing Mohammad Irfan at a crucial juncture in the competition claiming him to be an X factor. “It’s a big game, a quarterfinal of the World Cup and we all are very pleased to be here. We know Australia play very aggressive cricket and we have to match that. We can beat Australia but for that we have to be very positive”, he concluded.

Before the match begins tomorrow at the Adelaide Oval, no one can write Pakistan off, regardless of their struggles in this tournament. Nonetheless, Australia just looks too strong for them.

Australia vs. Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval

Pakistan will indeed have to pull the bunny out of the hat in order to advance into the semi-finals.

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When South Africa and Sri Lanka take the field tomorrow at SCG, you can expect two Goliaths going head-on in a battle whose outcome no one can accurately predict.

South Africa face Sri Lanka in the first quarter-final match tomorrow at SCG

Another reason why the winner of this match is difficult to forecast is because the last 16 matches between the two teams have ended with both winning 8 games each.

These stats confirm that cricket, indeed, is an unpredictable sport.

Where the outcome of other quarter-final ties can be foreseen, the bout between South Africa and Sri Lanka is sure to break millions of hearts with one team being ousted from the competition.

This match will also see AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara battling for the coveted No.1 spot in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen. In this tournament, Sangakkara is the leading run scorer with 496 runs. De Villiers, on the other hand, is third with 417 runs.

AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara will be key players for their respective team

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara said, “South Africa vs. Sri Lanka is maybe the best quarter final game we could see and I’m looking forward to that. I will be there.”

And this is highly likely.

Both South Africa and Sri Lanka enter this match with confident wins in their respective last group match over UAE and Scotland, respectively.

When it comes to deciding the winner of this match, you have to be very brave to place a bet on South Africa considering their history in the later stage of the World Cup tournaments. Sri Lanka, though are one-time winners (1996) and 2011 ICC World Cup finalists.

The match between South Africa and Sri Lanka during 2003 WC ended in a tie knocking out the Proteas

The pitch at SCG is ideal for spin and it is no secret that the team from Asia would be hoping that their ace spinner Rangana Herath is fit for this match. If reports are anything to go by, the left-arm spinner is likely to miss the clash due to a finger injury. The Proteas will be relying on their first pick right-arm leg spinner Imran Tahir.

In the World Cups, both teams have met on 4 occasions prior to this bout. South Africa holds a slight edge over their Asian adversary with 2-1 lead, while the match played during the 2003 edition ended in a tie.

South Africa hold a 2-1 edge over Sri Lanka in World Cups

Sri Lankan bowlers would be keen to demolish the South African batting line-up including the in-form AB de Villiers. The Proteas, too, will have their eyes set on the record-breaking Kumar Sangakkara, in the process preventing him from scoring his fifth consecutive ODI century.

With players like Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, to name a few, competing against Lasith Malinga, Dilshan and Angelo Mathews and others, the match is too tough to call.

Nevertheless, South Africa would aim at getting rid of the ‘chokers’ tag and Sri Lanka would love to make it to another semi-final at the World Cup tournament.

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The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will begin in two days. All teams – the frontrunners and the minnows – are prepping for one of the toughest battles they will ever face.

If the 2011 World Cup in the Asian subcontinent was a difficult tour for cricketing nations, the pitches in Australia and New Zealand will have their share of troubles to offer.

This time around, however, the ICC has decided to make certain tweaks to the already existing rules; the format though will be similar to the previous edition with ten teams participating.

Two New Balls

Two new balls will be used

White ball degrades sooner than the red cherry, which is why, not too long ago, ICC came up with the rule to replace the new ball with a semi-new ball after 34 overs. This caused a lot of troubles for fast bowlers, as they reported not being able to reverse swing the semi-new ball, which actually is possible with an old, worn out ball. During the 2015 edition of the World Cup, teams will be provided two new balls each, which is sure to make batting all the more interesting. Again, reverse swing will be rarely be in the picture.

Powerplays and Fielding Restrictions

Powerplay will be divided in two sections

The change of having four fielders instead of five within the 30-yard circle was made in 2012 and ICC will stick to that rule. You will also notice that there will be only two sections of powerplay instead of three. The first powerplay will be the mandatory one that comes into play in the first ten overs. The second one will be used by the batting side, but before the 40^th over, where three fielders will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle instead of two.

Decision Review System

The DRS will be altered

The Decision Review System has always been seen as an interesting addition to cricket, as more often than not, it helps umpires make the right decision. Real-Time Snickometer and Hot Spot are often part of the DRS. This year’s World Cup will not include Hot Spot, but Real-Time Snickometer will be made available. Also, the initially practised 2.5 metre rule for lbw has been increased to 3 metres.

Super Overs Only in Finals

Super Overs will be applicable only for the Finals

In the 2011 World Cup, ICC introduced Super Overs in all matches that ended in a tie, in order to decide a winner. In 2015, Super Overs will feature only in the Finals, if the need be. The earlier edition featured the one-over eliminator in the knockout stage, but has been eliminated altogether for this year’s tournament.

The Winner’s Fee

The winning team will make 25% more money

The winner’s fee for the 2015 ICC World Cup has been increased by 25% as compared to the set prize money for the 2011 World Cup. If a team goes unbeaten throughout the tournament, like Australia did in 2007 World Cup, it can earn more than $4 million. Also, for the first time in World Cup history, the teams that do not reach the quarter-finals will also be compensated.

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et ready India!

India Will Host T20 World Cup 2016

It’s time to bleed blue again! It’s World Cup fever time… in INDIA! Start saving money now; the Twenty20 World Cup tournament comes back to Indian in 2016

The International Cricket Council has confirmed its decision that India will host the next Twenty20 World Cup in 2016. The tournament was awarded to India in 2013, however the dates have been approved now. The tournament will be held from March 11 to April 3. Ireland and Scotland have been selected to host the qualifiers from July 6- July 26 within this year.

The ICC board also undertook an important decision in this first meeting of 2015 by reinstating the Super Over which helps break a deadlock situation if both teams have tied scores at the end of the final match. This is akin to the ICC Cricket World Cup fixtures where similar rules applied to the tournament.

The ICC Board also moved forward with a befitting change to the righteous application of the ICC’s Code of Conduct against offences that relate to bowling slow over-rates in ICC events. The new decision has eased burden on team captains by not carrying over any prior ‘strikes’ (over-rate offences)  or over-rate suspensions from other series played by the specific country. This new change will suspend a captain from playing in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match if the over-rate offence is committed during the course of the tournament.

Over-rate ‘strikes’ that were committed prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will simply be carried forward to the first bilateral series being played right after the event by the accused nation.

The Board also raised concern over player safety keeping in mind the tragic death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes during a first-class match where he was rendered unconscious after being hit by a bouncer and later succumbed to a concussion. ICC-supported research projects will soon be implemented to according to British safety standards introduced recently to improve the safety of cricketing helmets.

The ICC Board has also extended its due support for the officiating umpires in the tournament for keeping poor player behaviour in check.

Some other tournament dates were also announced at the meeting. They are enlisted below:

• The 2016 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup will be hosted by Bangladesh from 22^nd January to 14^th February 2016
• The 2017 Champions Trophy will be hosted in England between June 1^st and June 19^th, 2017
• The 2017 Women’s World Cup between August 4^th and August 27^th, 2017 will also be held in England
• The 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup will be hosted by New Zealand from 22^nd January to 14^th February 2018
• The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers will be held in Bangladesh from 1^st March and 4^th April 2018
• The 2018Women’s World Twenty20 will be hosted by the West Indies between November 2^ndand November 25^th, 2018
• The2019 50-over World Cup will be held in England from May 30^th to June 15^th, 2019

For all Indian fans, all we can say is gear up to cheer as loud as you can… the Men in Blue need your wishes! The fight will be tough, support our team to the maximum. Cheer hard, celebrate even harder when we bring back the World Cup! Bleed Blue!

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