No end in sight for India Women players as BCCI doesn't discuss payment issue in SGM

India’s Women cricketers may well have a lot of reasons to be disappointed with the Board of Control for Cricket in India not holding any sort of discussion over the payment issues that have been flagged by various media reports in the past few days.

It was believed that the BCCI would take cognisance of the controversies rising around the non-payment of the Women’s cricketers in the Special General Meeting but the BCCI did not mention any of those issues in the press release. Reports have surfaced in the media that when the matter was brought up by a state association, president Sourav Ganguly and vice-president Rajeev Shukla downplayed the motion stating that it was not the agenda of the meeting.

A report in The Daily Telegraph opened the can of worms around players not getting their paycheck from the BCCI which led to highlighting the plight of domestic players. It was further reported in the media that the associates such as scorers and groundsmen have not received their salaries for the last two years as well.

The BCCI has been alleged of overlooking the women’s game in the country and not giving them enough financial assistance on par with the men. The contract system released earlier this month also attracted serious attention from its critics as the payment disparity between men’s and women’s players were rampantly evident.

The board has also received criticism for what was believed to be preferential discrimination of women cricketers. Some media reports had suggested that while the BCCI arranged a chartered flight for the men to assemble in Mumbai before flying to the UK, women were left to scramble for options by themselves. However, pictures shared by many women players on board with men players squashed the rumours.

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WTC Final: India to arrive in UK on June 3 via charter flight

India and New Zealand will lock horns with each other in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship slated to begin on June 18 in Southampton and will be played in a bio-secure environment. In a statement from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body has stated that the match has been given an exemption by the UK government as outlined in The Health Protection. As per the protocols, the members of the team would carry a negative RT-PCR report and had been in a bio-secure environment in India for 14 days before their arrival on June 3 in the UK. “The Indian Men’s team will arrive in the UK on 3 June 2021 via a charter flight and carrying evidence of a negative PCR Test. Prior to travelling, the party will have spent 14 days in a bio-secure environment in India during which regular testing will have taken place,” the statement said. “Upon landing, they will proceed directly to the on-site hotel at the Hampshire Bowl where they will be tested again before commencing a period of managed isolation,” it added. The players will be tested regularly during their time in isolation in the UK and their activities will only be allowed gradually. “Regular tests will be conducted during the period of isolation. Players’ activity will be allowed in a gradually increasing manner after each round of negative testing, moving from exercise in isolation to small group and then larger squad activity, whilst always remaining within the bio-secure venue,” the statement read. The New Zealand side has already reached England and they will be up against the English side for a two-match Test series slated to begin on June 2. India will also take on England in a five-match Test series after the conclusion of the WTC final.

BCCI to seek more time from ICC on World T20's fate

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking to seek more time from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the World t20 in India. The governing body is scheduled to have a meeting to have a discussion regarding the matter on June 1. The ICC might be moving the World T20 out of India citing the rise in Covid-19 cases in the country. But the BCCI is of the opinion that it will be able to explore all the possibilities to hold the competition in the country. The IPL 2021 had also been suspended on May 4 and will now take place in the UAE, confirmed the BCCI. The schedule of the cash-rich league is yet to be decided but the remaining fixtures might take place between September 19-October 10. “The suspension of the IPL has been a big blow. Most of the foreign players would be sceptical about returning to India within six months. In such a scenario, some of the countries may refuse to come here and that could force the ICC to take a fresh look at the venue. The ICC could always seek a reaction from the participating countries before taking a final decision,” a source had told The Telegraph earlier. Before the rise in cases, the BCCI had shortlisted Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Ahmedabad and Lucknow as the nine host venues to hold the Wold T20.

IPL 2021 to resume in UAE, BCCI overlooks India due to 'monsoon season in September-October'

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has finally decided to resume the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League in the UAE in its ongoing Special General Meeting (SGM), as per various media reports. The tournament will restart in the month of September-October to complete the remaining 31 matches after India’s tour of England. The venue of the IPL and the issue of hosting the ICC World T20 in India were the important agendas of the BCCI SGM and the board has decided to seek more time from the ICC on organising the global event scheduled towards the end of the year in the country. Reportedly, the BCCI had also considered moving the IPL 2021 to England and accommodating it after the Test series between India and England before the SGM but ultimately decided to lock UAE as the final destination of its cash cow that was abruptly postponed due to rising Covid-19 cases in multiple franchises. The BCCI had estimated a loss of approximately Rs 2,500 crore in case they would fail to resume the remaining portion of the tournament and hence the BCCI was adamant about completing the tournament albeit at a different destination. The last edition of the IPL too was played in the UAE in the month of September as the BCCI had to postpone the event in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdown in India.

Rahul Tripathi fined for not wearing face mask & driving around during lockdown

Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Rahul Tripathi has been penalised by the police for allegedly violating Covid-19 lockdown norms as per a report in The Indian Express. Tripathi was reportedly moving around without a mask in Pune’s Kondhwa area. “The cricketer Tripathi was not wearing a face mask and was driving around without any reason during the lockdown. There were some other persons in the car,” said senior inspector Sardar Patil of Kondhwa police station. The right-handed batsman was fined Rs. 500 and was also issued a receipt. Tripathi had scored 187 runs in 7 matches for KKR in the IPL 2021 before the tournament was suspended due to a rise in Covid-19 cases within the franchises. In fact, KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy, Tim Seifert and Sandeep Warrior had also tested positive for the disease. The cash-rich league was put to a halt on May 4 with immediate effect and for an indefinite period but the BCCI is now planning to resume it in September while the final would be played around October 10. The board though has cleared that remainder of the tournament won’t take place in India. Apart from the three KKR players, DC’s Amit Mishra, SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha and CSK’s bowling coach L.Balaji and batting coach Mike Hussey had also tested positive.