Kyle Jamieson's attitude is an asset to the game: Kane Williamson

Anshula Rao becomes first Indian woman cricketer to get banned for doping

Anshula Rao, the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder became the first Indian woman cricketer to face a ban for alleged doping. She has been handed a four-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency for faking a dope test which dates back to July 2020. Reports in the Times of India states that NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel came to a conclusion that Rao took 19-Norandrosterone which is a performance-enhancing drug “knowingly and intentionally”. The U 23 cricketer has taken part in several BCCI organised domestic tournaments. She last took part in the 2019-20 U 23 event organised by the governing body. Reports in the TOI further stated that the all-rounder tested positive for the steroid in March last year in Baroda. She subsequently didn’t manage to provide any proof or evidence that she didn’t take the substance intentionally. As per reports in the ESPN Cricinfo, Rao had sought financial support from her state board to challenge the initial test results. Now the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association will be providing her financial help during the ban. Rao had challenged the result and claimed that she was asked to bear “exorbitant and unreasonable costs” of Euro 2400 for conducting B sample analysis. The Anti Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) which is headed by Gaurang Kanth did criticise Rao and said that an individual athlete must ensure that they don’t take any prohibited substance. However, he also took a dig at NADA for not providing any financial assistance to the female cricketer for her B Sample analysis. “The athlete failed to explain how the prohibited substance entered in her body and hence she failed to take the reasonable care as expected from an athlete,” the panel concluded.

It was all about getting the right balance: Williamson on playing Eng ahead of WTC Final

New Zealand were crowned champions of the inaugural World Test Championship after they defeated India in the final in Southampton. Chasing 139 in the second innings, New Zealand rode on captain Kane Williamson’s unbeaten half-century and Ross Taylor’s 47* to go over the line. The Blackcaps had played a two-match Test series ahead of the WTC final against England. In a conversation with India Today, Williamson was asked whether the series did help them get into the groove and the right-handed batsman said that it was all about finding the right balance ahead of the big game. “Look, it’s very hard to know what the best preparation is. India are competitive and a strong side. Having said that, we were trying to get the balance in the side because there were three Test matches in quick succession and we didn’t want our bowlers overdoing it in particular. The idea was to have a certain amount of cricket which is beneficial and keep the balance right. It was nice playing against England. They too are a very difficult side,” Williamson said. India were rattled by the New Zealand bowlers and were bundled out for 170 on the reserve day of the Test match. Tim Southee scalped a four-wicket haul while Trent Boult picked up three as the Indian team was thoroughly dominated by New Zealand. Earlier, India were bowled out for 217 in the first innings while the Kiwis took the lead before getting all out for 249. The Virat Kohli-led side will now play a five-match Test series against England in August away from home.

Not COVID, but Tax Exemption turns out to be the main reason behind shifting T20 World Cup to UAE

After the long wait, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) that the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup will now be played at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) instead of the previous plan of hosting in India. The increasing covid cases is a major reason behind the shift. While the cases have been on a downward slide since the start of June, the impending 3rd wave which might hit India in October-November has forced BCCI to change its decision. As per words from an official of a state association who attended the BCCI Special General Meeting on 29th May, the president has informed the members that they were trying to get a tax exemption as hosting the event without a tax exemption would have hurt the BCCI financially. "The BCCI President had informed the members during the virtual SGM that they were trying to get tax exemption from the Indian government in order to host the T20 World Cup in India. Without the tax exemption, the BCCI would have had to bear a burden of about Rs 1,000 crore while the revenue would remain the same irrespective of who hosts the event or where it is hosted. "Ganguly had informed the BCCI members that if the Indian board failed to get tax exemption, it would not be hosting the tournament in India," the official was quoted as saying by ANI. The members of the different state associations were already expecting the tournament to be shifted out of India as they were unlikely to get the tax exemption. Ganguly, the BCCI president had already informed the ICC that BCCI won’t be hosting the showpiece event if they didn’t get the tax exemption. "Ganguly informing the ICC that the BCCI would not be hosting the T20 World Cup in India was expected by the members even at the time of the SGM because the general feeling was that the BCCI might not succeed in obtaining tax exemptions. To be honest, the government does not give any preferential treatment to the BCCI over the other sports federations and therefore it was always going to be difficult to get a tax exemption that had earlier been obtained for a previous World Cup tournament," the official further added. At the SGM, it was also said that the remaining games of the Indian Premier League would be held in the UAE as the monsoon season in the country would make it impossible to hold the matches in India. Speaking on the tax issue and change of the venue for the World Cup slated to be played later this year, another BCCI official said that the critics are trying to analyse and understand how the BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly didn’t manage to avoid the situation but the now the only focus is preparing for showpiece event and holding it in the middle east. "There will obviously be a lot of analysis as to how Ganguly should have engaged with the ICC to avoid this situation of the tournament moving out of India rather than rest his hopes on getting the tax exemption, something that was beyond the control of the BCCI or the ICC but that's all hindsight. At least now with this decision out of the way, the focus will shift towards cricket and the preparations for the World Cup," the official concluded.

Michael Holding sees a lot of Viv Richards in Virat Kohli

Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding credited Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the change in Indian cricket and taking it to new heights. Stressing on the fitness levels of all the players, Holding said during his time as a player only or two players from the Indian side used to have the fitness levels and now the whole team looks so fit and always raring to go. Over the last few years, the Indian cricket team has been one of the fittest outfits with skipper Virat Kohli leading from the front. Ever since his physical transformation, Kohli has been an example to his teammates which has shrugged off on his teammates and have made the Indian team one of the fittest units. Holding feels Kohli resembles the characteristics of legendary West Indies batsman Viv Richards “Virat Kohli is someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s someone who will let you know exactly how he feels. I think he gets a bit carried away at times, but that is Virat Kohli, that is the man. He’s similar to Viv (Richards) in that regard. Viv, sometimes on the field, was over-expressive. But those are the personalities of those two gentlemen. They can tone down a little bit as well, but then, if you are a Mustang, it’s hard to tell a Mustang to trot. He’s going to gallop,” Holding was quoted as saying during an exclusive interview with the Indian Express. Despite already becoming one of the most successful Test skippers of all time, Kohli’s over-aggressive approach has led to India’s downfall on certain occasions. Holding feels that Kohli could tone down just a bit in order to make his players a bit more relaxed. “As far as his captaincy, I’ve only seen India when they were touring England and I saw them in South Africa. The only thing I’d say about Virat is that he tone down a bit so his team can relax because a lot of them, I think, are on tenterhooks,” Holding said.