bcci new president: Roger Binny elected BCCI president, takes over from Sourav Ganguly

World Cup winner Roger Binny was on Tuesday elected as the 36th President of the BCCI, replacing Sourav Gangui to run the world’s richest cricket board.

Binny, 67, was elected unopposed at the AGM (annual general meeting) here along with Jay Shah, who was re-elected as secretary for a second consecutive term.

Other office bearers elected unopposed include Treasurer Ashish Shelar, Vice President Rajiv Shukla and Joint Secretary Devjit Saikia.

Binny, who played 27 Tests and 72 ODIs for India, will take charge ahead of the ODI World Cup in India next year.

However, there was no discussion on the presidency of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The next ICC chairman will be elected during the board meeting to be held in Melbourne next month.

A state unit official who attended the AGM said, “As far as India’s representative in the ICC is concerned, it will be decided by the office-bearers.” There was no discussion on the presidency of the ICC. Only the agenda was discussed. ,

It is unlikely that the BCCI will nominate its candidate for the post of ICC President, with the nomination deadline on October 20 approaching.

Arun Dhumal appointed as IPL President

Outgoing treasurer Arun Dhumal was elected to the IPL Governing Council along with Avishek Dalmiya. Dhumal has replaced Brijesh Patel as the new IPL chairman.

“The members of the general body commended the efforts of the outgoing office bearers, the chairman and members and councilors of the IPL Governing Council for the work done during their tenure,” BCCI said in a statement.

MKJ Majumdar was elected as the representative of the General Body in the BCCI Apex Council.

Women’s IPL approved

The General Assembly also approved the inaugural Women’s IPL which will consist of five teams and will be held in March.

“How the teams will be sold and how the tournament will be organized will be decided by the GC soon,” a source said.

Originally published at Pen 18

Asia Cup 2023: Jay Shah confirms India won’t travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023

Asian Cricket Council President Jay Shah on Tuesday said that Team India will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023 and the prestigious tournament will be held at a neutral venue.

The flagship tournament is set to be held in Pakistan as the Asian giants will host the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup in 2023 followed by the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

There is no doubt that the cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan is probably one of the fiercest in the world.

The BCCI secretary on Tuesday completely rubbished speculations of Team India traveling to Pakistan for the event and said that the Asia Cup will be held at a neutral venue.

“We will have the Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue. It is the government that decides on the permission of the team to tour Pakistan, so we will not comment on that, but for the 2023 Asia Cup it has been decided that the tournament Will be held at a neutral venue,” Jay Shah told reporters after the 91st Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai on Tuesday.

“The venue for the 2025 Championship Trophy is still to be decided, we will comment on that when it is decided. We are earning good money from our media rights. Our aim should be to give more benefits to the domestic players as our earnings are increasing. is,” he added.

Only the Asia Cup continental tournament and ICC events bring together long-time rivals. It has been over ten years since they last featured in a bilateral series. India, a former global champion, last traveled to Pakistan in 2008 to compete in the Asia Cup.

Originally published at Pen 18

Suryakumar Yadav, the Central Pillar of India’s T20 Batting

After scoring an unbeaten 68 off 26 balls against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup last month, Suryakumar Kumar had said, “I have told the captain and the coaches that I will play anywhere, just play me.”

He might have been humble and downplaying his importance in India’s T20 squad, but he cannot expect anyone to believe that his place in the playing XI is remotely questionable.

Suryakumar made his international debut in March last year. After just 18 months and 34 T20 Internationals, he has become the most valuable batsman, if not a player, in the 15-man squad that began their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on Sunday.

Mind you, this squad has established superstar batsmen like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Apart from this, there are young contenders for the superstar tag – KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. And a veteran in Dinesh Karthik, who has revamped his batting to suit the role of a finisher.

In these 18 months, Suryakumar has climbed to No. 2 in the ICC Men’s T20 Rankings, scoring 1045 runs (third highest) at an incredible strike rate of 176.81 – among the best* batsmen in the world since his debut. Has faced less than 200 balls. (*16 teams are participating in the T20 World Cup in Australia.)

While these numbers alone should be enough to establish his credentials as one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, the way he manages to score his runs at that pace is nothing short of a spectacle and it will further prove his worth. Adds to the aura as one of the most innovative batsmen of his time.

He is often compared, somewhat appropriately, to the great AB de Villiers for his ability to score runs in areas that are difficult for most batsmen to access. This special ability makes him the most unique Indian batsman. No one in India, regular, or irregular, bats as innovatively as Suryakumar.

He is clearly good at playing traditional shots like drives and square cuts. But nowadays with data analytics available for every team, most bowlers can find ways to stop or at least score runs. In T20 cricket where the balls are intimidating, the batsmen need to constantly find new ways to gain the edge. Suryakumar gains that edge by exploiting rare angles that open up otherwise inaccessible areas.

He takes advantage of the leg side to go with a Natraj swipe over fine leg, a pick-up flick over deep square leg, and a wrist whip over-the-line slog and a down pitch pick-up shot. On the off-side, he plays an over-the-wicketkeeper ramp shot, square cuts on either side of the point fielder and a lofted drive over extra cover. He also once played an open-blade drive at backward point for a six. As a bowler, what do you plan for a batsman who has so many ways to score runs?

Another thing that sets Suryakumar apart from other top-order Indian batsmen is that he does not take time to settle down before playing big shots. He almost always gets a boundary facing the first five balls. Remember how he hit his famous Natraj for a six off his first ball in T20 International cricket off Jofra Archer. This is how he works.

The only chime in his armor is his inexperience playing in Australia. Head coach Rahul Dravid mentioned this during the press conference after the T20 series against South Africa. “Australia are quite unique in terms of pace and bounce on those wickets and many of our players haven’t played much T20 cricket in Australia,” Dravid said.

However, Suryakumar showed during India’s tour of England earlier this year that he can adapt his game quickly to suit the conditions.

To their credit, the Indian team management ensured that the players got extra time to adapt to the conditions by arriving in Australia a few days ahead of schedule and arranged for some extra practice games. Early on, it seems that Suryakumar has taken to the Australian conditions like a fish in the water. He has scored two half-centuries in two matches so far.

In his current form, Suryakumar’s versatility, adaptability and innovation make him a central pillar of India’s batting in the T20 World Cup. India knows that when it goes ahead, SKY has its limits.

Originally published at Pen 18

T20 World Cup: West Indies humbled by Scotland in another T20 World Cup upset

Two-time winners West Indies went down to a shocking 42-run defeat to Scotland in their T20 World Cup opening match in Hobart on Monday, the second major upset in the global showpiece tournament within two days.

The Caribbean side, which won the competition in 2012 and 2016, were bundled out for 161 in a chase of 118, a day after former champions Sri Lanka lost their Group A opener to Namibia.

Left-arm spinner Mark Watts, who shot 3-12 and off-spinner Michael Lesk 2-15, sealed the victory for the allies, who scored 160-5 on an unbeaten 66 from first opener George Munsey. Later he was placed in the group. B match.

Jason Holder, who took two wickets with the ball, fought the lone battle for West Indies with a knock of 38 runs but that was not enough.

Scotland, who defeated another Test-playing nation in Bangladesh in the last T20 World Cup in 2021, beat West Indies in all departments.

“Obviously this is a special victory for us,” said their captain, Richard Berrington. “A lot of hard work has gone into getting to this point in the last 12 months.

“We didn’t have as much T20 cricket as we wanted, but we played a lot of 50-over cricket. It was about transferring those skills to short form.”

Zimbabwe will take on Ireland in the second match of the day at the same venue, with the top two sides from each of the two groups progressing to the Super 12 stage.

The defeat left West Indies facing an urgent match against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.


Captain Nicholas Pooran said, “Tough loss for us, definitely disappointing. We have to work hard and win two games. I think it’s about accountability and taking responsibility.”

“We have to leave this defeat behind and pick ourselves up. Sometimes, when you lose games and do poorly as players, you want the next game to come as soon as possible.”

Scotland seemed to be thriving in cold and cloudy conditions at Bellerive Oval and made a brisk start after being put in to bat, running 52–0 in the sixth and final over of the Powerplay when rain forced the players. Gave.

However, the interruption stalled their momentum, as veteran all-rounder Holder sent back opener Michael Jones, who sent 20 and third number Matthew Cross in quick succession after resuming.

Munse batted through the innings, but his 53-ball innings lacked flow as the left-hander failed to hit boundaries in the middle overs.

Originally published at Pen 18

21 Indian wrestlers to miss World Championship after Spain rejects visa “on suspicion they will not leave”

New Delhi: In a bizarre decision, the Spanish embassy has denied visas to 21 Indian wrestlers who were to participate in the Under-23 World Championships in Pontevedra on suspicion that they would not leave the arena before the expiry of their visas. . the national federation said on Monday.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had shortlisted a 30-man squad for the championship that began on Monday, but only nine were granted visas.

Last Panghal, India’s first U-20 women’s world champion, was among the wrestlers who missed out on participating.

Vinod Tomar, Assistant Secretary, WFI, said, “This is something we have never faced before. Despite the approval of the Government of India and the invitation of the world governing body UWW, our wrestlers were denied visas on the most frivolous grounds Is.”

“We have received rejection letters this evening (Monday) when we requested for issuance of passports at the earliest. It is really bizarre. I really don’t know how the officials came to the conclusion that the wrestler and the coach won. Don’t come back to India.”

WFI had also applied for visas for nine of its coaches, but only six got visas.

Of the 10 freestyle wrestlers, only Aman (57kg) got visas while the applications of nine others were rejected. Interestingly, three freestyle coaches were given visas.

Of the six Greco-Roman wrestlers and women, only Ankush (50kg) and Manasi (59kg) could get the visa.

Tomar said, “Now how can we send three coaches for one wrestler, so we are sending Mr. Jagmandar Singh with peace. Six Greco-Roman wrestlers have already reached Spain and two women wrestlers left on Sunday. Huh.”

“Our wrestlers are strong contenders for medals, they didn’t give them a chance to shine on the big stage,” he said.

The head coach of the Greco-Roman team, Mahabir Prasad, demanded a ban on Spain.

“It’s really insulting. What do they think of Indian wrestlers and coaches? Why won’t we leave the country, we were only going to compete and I have been to Spain and USA at least 5-6 times in the past. ” Dronacharya Award winner Mahabir got angry.

He said, “Spain should be fined and banned. It has already made a big issue in the championship. It is a shame for Spain as a country. Our wrestlers just missed one chance.” But Spain lost.”

Mahabir narrated how the UWW had threatened to ban WFI if it denies Pakistani wrestlers the opportunity to compete in the Asian Championships in 2019.

He said, “UWW had said that if Pakistan refuses entry for the Asian Championships in New Delhi it will ban India. Now that was at the Asian level and now it is at the world level. We will see what UWW does now. does.”

Originally published at Pen 18

Gukesh, Erigaisi are very, very strong players: chess legend Viswanathan Anand

Legendary Viswanathan Anand feels that young Indian chess players are on the right track to be in the limelight here and there.

Teenage grandmasters R Pragyanand, D Gukesh and Arjun Arigasi have enjoyed a stellar performance in 2022 with a victory over world champion Magnus Carlsen.

Commenting on Gukesh’s impressive 29-move win over Norwegian superstar Carlsen in the opening segment of the ongoing Amches Rapid Online tournament, the five-time world champion said it shows that players like him and Arigasi are very strong and can’t afford to play any game. can compete against. on the other side of the board.

“I think it shows that Arjun and Gukesh are very, very strong players who can compete well against anyone sitting on the other side of the board. It’s also good that they play against the best players regularly. Play because that’s how you keep playing. Up,” Anand told PTI on Monday.

A day before Gukesh, Erigasi had defeated the world number one player.

The Chennai legend heaped praise on Gukesh and said that he always plays fearlessly and never backs down.

“With Gukesh, he is winning games, losing games, but he is in a lot of contention for qualifying. It was a fast fight. Gukesh played as fearlessly as ever. He never backs down, takes the game. Was very dynamic.

“He was worse but Magnus made a mistake, and Gukesh’s tactical accuracy is very, very high, and (he) immediately pounced on him.

“I have personal experience with Gukesh. Often I make a mistake and he pounces on it. He’s very cautious. It’s one of Magnus’s skills and it’s good that Gukesh shows it and it just tells me That they (Gukesh and Erigasi) are on the right track,” Anand said of the 16-year-old, who is the youngest GM in the country to win the title in 2019 at the age of 12 years, 7 months and 17 days.

Gukesh, coached by Vishnu Prasanna, has been in fine form this year and impressed with a stellar performance at the Chess Olympiad at Mamallapuram near here in July-August, starring for India-2 in the bronze medal in the open section.

It looks like he is continuing his good run and a win over Carlsen, his first win over the Norwegian, could be the start of big things.

1 worldwide in an online game and asked if it would be difficult to beat him on the board, Gukesh said, “Online and classical are two different formats and require different skill-sets.

“Due to Magnus’s skill-set, he is a tough opponent to play against, whether online or offline. Both the formats require different skill-sets and I believe that he will be able to play in the classical format. It will be a fun match to play against.”

Meanwhile, former Women’s World Champion Susan Polgar wrote in a tweet following Carlsen’s loss to Gukesh: “All 3 teenagers @DGukesh @ArjunErigaisi @rpragchess have now defeated World Champion Magnus Carlsen! It’s only a matter of time one And India will be the classical world champion!”

International master and eminent coach V Saravanan lauded Gukesh for his win over Carlsen and said the youngsters (Gukesh, Arigasi and Pragyanand) are improving very fast and such performances will help them play a stronger tournament.

“These boys are improving very fast. Beating Carlsen is kind of a sign… It’s definitely online (event) and speed chess… But still they need to prove that in a classical tournament . ..” added.

“It provides an opportunity for them. I look forward to them (young Indian players) playing good breaks and a strong tournament. Overall, we are looking forward to a bright future,” Saravanan said.

He also appeared to disagree with the notion that the once invincible Carlson was on the decline. The Norwegian player has surprisingly suffered a few defeats in 2022, including Indian aces Irigasi, Gukesh and Pragyanand.

“Carlson certainly hasn’t come down,” he said, brushing off recent losses. PTI SS AH AH

Originally published at Pen 18

roger binny: BCCI AGM: Roger Binny to be given top job tomorrow; questions linger on ICC issue

At the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, former India player Roger Binny is set to replace Sourav Ganguly as the new board president.

Apart from Binny, other BCCI office-bearers to be inducted – or re-inducted – include secretary Jay Shah, Ashish Shelar (treasurer), Rajeev Shukla (vice president) and Devjit Saikia (joint secretary).

Outgoing BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal will head the newly formed IPL Governing Council.

The issue of ICC chairmanship will also be discussed in the meeting to be held in Mumbai.

The office bearers of the next board will be elected unopposed, so the meeting is just a formality. Questions, however, will remain on the other agenda as the BCCI considers whether India should field a candidate for the post of ICC president, or withdraw Greg Barkley for another term.

The ICC Board will meet in Melbourne from November 11-13. The last date for filing nominations for the top post of ICC is October 20.

Significantly, even before Ganguly’s exit, there was a lot of stir. In the meeting, all eyes will be on whether BCCI proposes the name of the former India captain for the top post of ICC or not.

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and former BCCI President N Srinivasan are other names that are currently doing the rounds.

Srinivasan (78) is eligible to contest because of age which may go against him. On the other hand, with Himachal elections approaching, Thakur is likely to be busy with his political promises.

Other issues on the agenda
According to a PTI report, two representatives of the Indian Cricketers’ Association will be included in the BCCI Apex Council in place of Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.

However, they will be elected only in the ICA election (27-29 October).

Current ICA president Ashok Malhotra and former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar are contesting for the post of male representative in the Apex Council.

The date of IPL auction will be decided in the meeting. The inaugural WIPL will also be discussed, PTI reported. It said that initially five teams will be part of the league but how they will be sold could be decided on Tuesday.

The tax liability for the ODI World Cup to be held in India next year will also be discussed.

Originally published at Pen 18