IPL 2021 | Ripal Patel makes IPL debut for DC, Robin Uthappa for CSK

Umar Akmal joins league cricket in California; scores golden duck on debut

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal scored a golden duck on his debut for Northern California Cricket Association. The right-handed batsman had left Pakistan to feature in league cricket in the USA and signed a short-term contract with Northern California. Umar had made a return to the game after the completion of his ban for breaching the PCB's anti-corruption code. While the board had helped him follow his rehabilitation program, he wasn’t considered for the selection in the top domestic teams and was asked to play for a second XI side. Due to this, he missed out on being a part of the National T20 tournament. The right-hander didn’t impress much while playing for the Central Punjab Second XI in the PCB Cricket Associations T20 tournament and managed to score 0, 14, 7, 16 and 29 during the course. One of his family members said that Umar wasn’t given a “fair treatment” on making a return. “There are a few others who were banned with bigger charges but given unprecedented support to make a comeback. The system was never fair to Umar. There were blatant compromises made to select a few players with poor fitness, but the benchmark was made tighter for him [Umar] to make sure keep him out."

World T20 2021: Tickets for India-Pakistan match sold out within hours

India and Pakistan will once again take on each other when the two sides lock horns in the World T20 2021 fixture in Dubai. The excitement level among the cricket fans about the clash is immense and an instance of this was witnessed when the tickets of seats in sections including the General, General East, Premium, Pavilion East, and Platinum were sold out within a few hours after they were put on sale. It was earlier expected that the encounter between the arch-rivals would take place behind closed doors due to Covid-19 situation but recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) informed that the stadiums in UAE will operate at 70 percent capacity for the tournament. The premium ticket was sold for 1,500 Dh which is equal to NR 30,000 and the platinum ticket was sold for 2,600 Dh which is close to INR 52,500. This would be the first time since the 50-over World Cup in 2019 when the two sides will be up against each other. The World T20 is slated to begin on October 17 with co-host Oman facing PNG in the opener while India will begin the campaign on October 24 with the match against Pakistan. India lifted the World T20 trophy once back in 2007 after beating Pakistan in the final and ended as the runners-up in 2014 after suffering a defeat against Sri Lanka under the captaincy of MS Dhoni who will now be with the side as the mentor for this edition. Pakistan were also crowned as champions in the format when they clinched the cup in 2009. The title clash of this year’s competition is scheduled to be held on November 14 in Dubai.

ECB to take call on Ashes this week

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will meet later this week to take the final call on the Ashes. Several England players including captain Joe Root haven’t confirmed their participation for the fixtures as they still await the details of the tour and the Covid-19 protocols that would be imposed. The ECB has said that it has been in discussions with the players about the same. "Over the weekend we have been talking to England men's players and management to provide them with the latest information about the proposed arrangements for this winter's scheduled Ashes tour," the statement from ECB read. "We remain in regular and positive dialogue with Cricket Australia over these arrangements as the picture is constantly evolving. With health and wellbeing at the forefront, our focus is to ensure the tour can go ahead with conditions for players and management to perform at their best,” it added. The statement also read that the board will meet the players this week and decide where the conditions are sufficient to go for a full tour. "Later this week the ECB board will meet to decide whether the conditions in place are sufficient for the tour to go ahead and enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance." The Ashes series is slated to begin on December 8 in Brisbane.

Sachin Tendulkar named among six Indians in Pandora papers list of tax evaders

Indian cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar along with his wife Anjali Tendulkar and father in law Anand Mehta have been named in the list of offshore tax evaders in the latest investigative journalism expose by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Sachin is among few celebrities like pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer etc. who have been named in the list which constitutes 956 companies belonging to 336 high-level politicians and public officials from around the world. According to the ICIJ, of which Indian media outlet The Indian Express is a part, said, that the Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, who has been a Member of the Upper House of Parliament, along with members of his family, figures in the Pandora Papers as Beneficial Owners of an offshore entity in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) which was liquidated in 2016. The BVI company that Sachin is being linked to is Saas International Limited, which was liquidated in 2016. At the time of its liquidation, Sachin Tendulkar had bought back 9 shares, equalling $856,702 while Anjali and her father had (14 shares= $1,375,714 and 5 shares=$453,082) respectively. Replying to the allegations of Sachin being a tax evader, Mrinmoy Mukherjee, CEO and Director of Sachin Tendulkar Foundation, said, “We would at the outset wish to strongly reiterate the legitimacy of the referenced investment by Mr Tendulkar, the payment of taxes on such funds, and the declaration of such investment in Mr Tendulkar’s tax returns.” “As is evident from the payment of taxes by Mr Tendulkar and the declaration of such investment in Mr Tendulkar’s tax returns, there can be no question of Mr Tendulkar having engaged in any of the practices,’ he added.