Mithali Raj has been named as the captain of the ODI team while Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the T20I team against South Africa at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow.’

The ODI and T20I squads have some notable absentees as India women will be without the likes of Shikha Pandey, Veda Krishnamurthy, Ekta Bisht and Taniya Bhatia.

Indian women were not involved in any competitive international action since the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Melbourne on March 8. India players featured in the 4-match Women’s T20 Challenge which was held alongside the Indian Premier League 2020 play-offs in the UAE.

Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur lead 3 teams as they played their matches in Sharjah.

The resumption of India women’s international cricket in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic comes at a crucial time as the team will be looking to have as much match practice before next year’s 50-over Women’s World Cup in February.

Thiruvananthapuram was initially chosen as the venue for the series but the Kerala Cricket Association had expressed its inability to host the matches. Players from both teams will be in quarantine and a bio-bubble environment will be in place during the limited-overs series.

India Women’s squad for ODI series: Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), D. Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Swetha Verma (wicket-keeper), Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, C. Prathyusha, Monica Patel.

India Women’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Ayushi Soni, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, C. Prathyusha, Simran Dil Bahadur.

India women vs South Africa women full schedule
ODI series

1st ODI on March 7
2nd ODI on March 9
3rd ODI on March 12
4th ODI on March 14
5th ODI on March 17

T20I series
1st T20I on March 20
2nd T20I on March 21
3rd T20I on March 23

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“Yesterday, we saw him jog back into the dug-out. For a moment, we thought he might actually play (against RR on Sunday). The fact that he hasn’t played that game and he is not selected in the India squads means there is cause for concerns as to how serious his injury is. Hopefully, it’s not serious. If he misses the ODis and the T20Is, it’s fine. But India needs him for the Test series,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports on Monday.

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In the second match of IPL 2020 at the Dubai Cricket Stadium, Delhi Capitals pulled off a convincing win over Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over after the match went into a tie. DC won the cliffhanger by 2 wickets with four balls remaining.

Both teams had scored 157 each in the stipulated 20 overs, taking the match towards a Super Over – an additional over of 6 balls each to determine the winner in case of a tie.

Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was adjudged Man of the Match for his scintillating 53 off 21 balls. He also claimed 2 wickets yielding 29 runs.

Earlier in the day, KXIP, led by their new captain KL Rahul, won the toss and sent DC, captained by Shreyas Iyer, to bat.

For Kings XI, Mayank Agarwal scored 89 off 60 balls. After opening the KXIP innings with KL Rahul, Mayank was finally dismissed in the final over by Marcus Stoinis.

Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wreaked havoc on the Punjab middle-order by dismissing Nair and Pooran in the sixth over of the innings with two beautiful deliveries. But the joy was short-lived as Ashwin hurt his right shoulder while trying to field off his final ball, raising doubts about his fitness for the rest of the tournament. DC Fast-bowler Mohammed Shami claimed 3 for 15.

South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada dismissed Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran in the Super Over, giving the Delhi Capitals a target of three runs off six balls. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer achieved the formalities for Delhi Capitals giving it a winning start.

Fantasy cricket league platform Dream11 is the title sponsor for IPL 2020, after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Chinese smartphone-makers Vivo suspended their contract for this year.

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However, news are yet to be confirmed about whether it is from cricket operations teams or the medical team. Senior officials of IPL also assured that testing is on and everyone else is healthy and asymptomatic, that there is no cause for concern.

The money- spinner event is scheduled to start on September 19.

The development comes after 13 members of the Chennai Super Kings contingent, including two players, tested positive for the dreaded virus last week. They are currently undergoing the mandatory 14- day quarantine.
Rest of the teams have started training after their squad members and support staff completed the on-arrival quarantine and returned negative tests.

The IPL was moved out of India this year due to a surge in Covid-19 cases in Dubai.

The tournament will be played across three cities in the UAE — Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. It will conclude on November 10.

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Raina played for India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is in an international career.

“Under his captaincy, India registered a 3-2 series victory in West Indies and a 2-0 win over Bangladesh in ODIs and a 2-0 T20 International series win in Zimbabwe,” the statement added.

Raina is also the first player to complete centuries in all three formats and his centuries were scored outside India.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said Raina was a key perfomer in limited overs cricket. He further added that the former all rounder helped India form solid middle-order with Dhoni and Yuvraj

“Suresh Raina has been one of the key performers in limited overs cricket for India. Coming lower down the order and playing some of the match-winning knocks requires a lot of skill and talent,” Ganguly said.

“He along with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni formed a solid middle order for India in ODIs. I wish him and his family all the very best,” he added.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah also hailed the cricketer. “Suresh Raina has been arguably one of the finest T20 batsmen. A live wire on the field, Raina’s prowess as a left-handed batsman was exhibited throughout his cricketing career,” Shah said.

“A big match player, Raina’s cameo against Australia in the quarterfinal in the 2011 World Cup was a testimony to his glittering career that followed. I wish him all the very best in the second innings of his career,” said Shah.

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BCCI was careful while announcing the news, without divulging too many details. They sent out a one-line statement saying that VIVO will not be associated with the IPL this year.

“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020,” the press release stated.
VIVO won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 440 crore per annum.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise as it was widely reported that the mobile manufacturing company had pulled out of the upcoming season given the public sentiment in India against Chinese brands and products.

The world’s richest cricket tournament was initially set to take place in from March 29 2020 but was suspended in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

This is the third time that the Indian Premier League will be held outside of India. Previously the 2009 edition was held in South Africa, while the 2014 edition was partially held in UAE, both time because of LokSabha elections.

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The move came at a time when the world is battling the coronavirus pandemic and it would be a major challenge for BCCI to find a new title sponsor.

VIVO had signed the deal in 2017 and was paying Rs 440 annually as the title sponsor of the lucrative tournament.

The IPL is played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. At short notice, it is almost impossible to find other sponsors who would promise that amount from one year.

There was a huge outrage in different parts of the country ever since 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the violent clash between India and China in the Galwan valley recently. Following the incident the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps in India.

Once the IPL dates were confirmed, the focus shifted to the tournament’s title sponsor, the Chinese mobile giant VIVO.

According to reports, the Chinese company took the decision to avoid bad publicity.

Apart from VIVO, IPL has seen Chinese smartphones brands, Oppo, Xiaomi, Realme and OnePlus taking up prime slots. They spend nearly Rs 500 crore annually.

Interestingly, Duff & Phelps in 2019 had valued the IPL ecosystem at Rs 47,500 crore.

It has been reported that Vivo might return as the title sponsor in 2021 and the deal might be continued till 2023. At the moment, the biggest challenge for the Indian board is to find a new title sponsor with the 13th edition all set to kick off in UAE from September 18.

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The UAE will host the 13th edition of cricket extravaganza Indian Premier League (IPL) from September 19 to November 10, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on August 2.

The 53-day tournament will have 10 afternoon matches that start at 5:00 pm and the remaining evening matches that start at 6:00 UAE time. The final will be played on November 10.

The IPL Governing Council (IPL GC) met via video-conference to decide on “VIVO IPL 2020” edition.

Because of the “prevailing Covid-19 situation” in India, the IPL GC decided to stage the tournament in the UAE; the matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi after necessary clearances from the Government of India, said Jay Shah, BCCI honorary secretary, in a statement on August 2.

The last time the Emirates Cricket Board staged the IPL was in 2014, when the Indian general elections required the shifting of the first phase of the matches to the UAE. Though it was played in front of packed stands then, this time spectators are not likely to be allowed for the initial matches.

Players will start arriving after August 26. While each squad will have 24 players at a time, substitutes will be allowed.

The BCCI also decided to hold in the UAE the Women’s T20 Challenge, also known as the women’s Indian Premier League, in November.

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“Seeing him the last couple of seasons, he (MS Dhoni) is past the best cricket of his and what he’s capable of doing – turning around matches from losing positions, with sheer intelligence and power. And the way he motivated his players too,” Binny told SportsKeeda in an interview.

“He’s lost a bit of fitness and there are younger players coming through the system. He’s past his best really, and he would be the right judge for that.”

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. He was expected to lead Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2020, but could not do so considering the league’s postponement.

However, at the same time, Binny also hailed Dhoni as India’s most successful ODI captain and said Dhoni always had immense respect for all his seniors and those in charge.

“One thing we admired MS Dhoni for was that he had great respect for past cricketers. He was a very down-to-earth person and had a lot of respect and time for cricketers. He’d come and discuss with you and tell you what he wanted,” Binny added.

“He was the man on the field and we had to give him what he wanted but he wouldn’t demand it. He’d speak with the Chairman and the selectors and we didn’t have any arguments or fights. It was excellent to work with him.”

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Yuvraj Singh, who retired from international cricket last year after playing 19 years did not get a farewell game and neither did Zaheer or Sehwag.

While southpaw does not mind that he did not get a farewell, what he would have liked is a bit more respect.

“First of all, I don’t think I’m a legend. I’ve played the game with integrity but I didn’t play much Test cricket. Legendary players are those who have good Test records. For giving somebody a farewell, that’s not for me to decide, that’s for BCCI to decide,” Yuvraj said on Sportskeeda’s ‘Free Hit’ show.

He also felt that the way BCCI handled him towards the end of his career was ‘unprofessional’, but wasn’t surprising for him.

“I just felt that the way they managed me towards the end of my career was very unprofessional. But looking back at a couple of great players like Harbhajan, Sehwag, and Zaheer Khan, also very badly mismanaged. So it is part of Indian cricket, I had seen it in the past and I was not really surprised,” he said.

“But in the future, anybody who has played for India for a long time and has been through tough situations, you should definitely honor him. Give him that respect, somebody like Gautam Gambhir, who has won two World Cups for us. Sehwag, who has been the biggest match-winner after Sunil Gavaskar in Tests. VVS, Zaheer, also,” he said.

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The MCC is the custodian of cricket laws.

“It is a matter of pride for the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) that the Hindi translation of the Laws of Cricket (The 2017 code 2nd Edition 2019) framed by MCC is now available on the official website of this prestigious club.

“The translation has been done by Risodkar,” MPCA’s honorary secretary, Sanjeev Rao said

Risodkar, 58, served as the BCCI umpire from 1997-2016.

Presently, he is a BCCI Level 3 umpire educator and in the last two decades, has trained many umpires.

“Traditionally, the language of cricket rules is considered as English. On the proposal of BCCI, I translated these rules into Hindi so that it can reach as many people as possible in this cricket-crazy nation”, said Risodkar.

He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.

It took nearly a month for him to complete the task.

The Lord’s-based MCC was established in 1787 and since then it is shouldering the responsibility of framing laws for cricket.

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While the event’s Governing Council will meet next week to chalk out the final details and approve the schedule, it is understood that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informally intimated the franchises about the plan.

“The GC will meet shortly but we have finalised the schedule. It will run from September 19 to November 8. We expect the government approval to come through. It is a full 51-day IPL,” Patel confirmed.

The IPL has been made possible by the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to postpone the October-November T20 World Cup in Australia owing to the covid-19 pandemic.

BCCI and GC are preparing Standard Operating Procedure to combat the COVID-19 and BCCI will formally write to the Emirates Cricket Board.

While there was speculation that the IPL will start from September 26, BCCI decided to advance it by a week in order to ensure that the Indian team’s tour of Australia is not jeopardised.

“The Indian team will have a mandatory quarantine of 14 days as per the Australian government rules. A delay would have sent the plans haywire,” the official said.

“The best part is that 51 days is not at all a curtailed period and there will be much less double headers. We could stick to the original five double headers in a seven week window,” he said.

The Indians are set to play a four-match Test series against Australia starting December 3 in Brisbane.

It is expected that with each and every team needing at least a month’s time to train, the IPL franchises will be leaving base by August 20 which gives them exactly four weeks time to prepare.

There are three grounds available in the UAE – Dubai International Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) and the Sharjah ground.

Now with the confirmation of the IPL dates, it is certain Dhoni will lead the Chennai Super King troops in the tournament and as expected, set Twitterverse ablaze.

Great to know #IPL2020 is happening.
I’m excited and looking forward to see @msdhoni play again! 💪🏻

— Kidambi Srikanth (@srikidambi) July 24, 2020

#IPL2020 to be held in UAE

Dying to see him playing once again 😍♥🙏@msdhoni pic.twitter.com/74Y2hBWQSO

— VIDHI (@VidhiBhatia7) July 24, 2020

Waiting for Thala Entry#IPL2020 #MSDhoni #CSK pic.twitter.com/PnZ4q2vj6J

— Ak Kumar (@Arun_kumar846) July 24, 2020

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The ICC also renewed the dates of 2023 ODI World Cup in India from February- March to October- November with the final on November 26. The ICC took the decision so that additional time will be used to reschedule games (bilateral and domestic) that might be lost because of the pandemic and also ensure an appropriate qualification process.

This means that there will be three consecutive ICC World Cup years, T20 versions in 2021 and 2022 and 50-over version in 2023.

A decision on whether India continues to host the 2021 T20 World Cup or whether it will go to Australia will be taken later. Earlier, the ICC has threatened to pull back India’s hosting rights for the 2021 T20 World Cup unless the BCCI resolves a long- standing tax exemption issue with the Indian government.

The Board will also continue to evaluate the situation in relation to being able to stage the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021.

Now the BCCI can take a decision about conducting the money spinner tournament IPL after seeking the government permission. BCCI will take a decision during the IPL governing council meeting this week. It is said that BCCI’s contingency plan includes either a 43-day or 50-day closed- door IPL, starting September 26.

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BCCI made the decision while waiting for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make an official decision on the fate of the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in Australia.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah informed the members at the virtual Apex Council meeting held on July 17.

Once the ICC makes an official announcement about the fate of the T20 World Cup, the BCCI will approach the Indian government to check if they can host IPL in India. If the situation in the country regarding the pandemic remains unconducive, there are chances that IPL will shift to the UAE.

The franchise official said that they have already started preparing for the logistics and have zeroed in on the hotel they wish to stay at in AbuDhabi and how exactly they will train and prepare for the tournament.

Indian cricketers, who have not played since March due to the covid-19 pandemic, could well resume their training in Dubai, the likelihood of which will increase significantly if the UAE gets to host the IPL.

As India crossed the million mark covid-19 cases, the UAE has emerged as the top contender to host the event due to their efficient handling of the coronavirus infection. Besides UAE have the prior experience of hosting the IPL in 2014.

Camp in Ahmedabad

The world’s biggest cricket stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad couldn’t host its first game due to covid-19, but chances are India will hold a cricket camp there before the series in Australia.

The stadium has quality accommodation inside its premises where players can stay. They can also be quarantined, if needed, and contracted players can experience open spaces for a return to groove after an extended period away from cricket.

No domestic cricket

The board also informed its Apex Council that no domestic cricket would be held until December. The board took the decision owing to the current pandemic situation. Not just domestic, but no international games are likely to be played at home this year.

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How it all started?

DCHL was declared as the bidder and it acquired the rights of Deccan Chargers for $107 million in 2008, the inception year of IPL. The BCCI subsequently entered into an agreement with DCHL for a period of 10 years.

The dispute arose in 2012 when the BCCI terminated the Hyderabad-based franchise following an emergency meeting with IPL governing council on September 15, 2012. The BCCI argued that DCHL broke the code and made several breaches and hence there was no other option apart from its termination.

BCCI initiated a new tender which was won by the renowned Sun TV Network of Kalanithi Maran and the name of the franchise was changed to Sunrise Hyderabad (SRH). DCHL challenged BCCI’s decision, by approaching Bombay High Court with a plea that their termination was illegal and arbitrary.

The high court had appointed retired Supreme Court justice CK Thakkar as the sole arbitrator between the two parties eight years back.

Reason for termination

The dispute had started when the media company DCHL was unable to make mandatory payments due to financial problems. The franchise lost its IPL status after it failed to fulfill a bank guarantee of INR 100 crore, which was declared as a mandatory condition for its survival in IPL. The BCCI issued a show cause notice to DCHL to state reasons within 30 days about its failure to pay the sum.

The BCCI claimed that DCHL had pending dues to the tune of RS. 4000 Crore as it had not paid the players as well as many bank creditors. Therefore, the BCCI terminated the franchise. However, the termination came on a day when there was still a day left in the 30 day period which the BCCI had given to DCHL to respond.

It was on this ground that DCHL claimed that the termination was premature and wrong. The arbitrator had put a stay on the termination of DC. However the Bombay HC overruled the arbitrator’s decision and the termination finally came into effect.

In 2017, insolvency proceedings were initiated against DCHL under The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) and therefore, the arbitration proceedings were halted for two years.

After a gruelling battle of eight long years, the sole arbitrator upheld the termination as illegal, premature, and arbitrary, and consequently awarded Rs. 4800 Crore, along with an interest of 10% since the arbitration commenced in 2012.

Now BCCI has to pay Rs.4800 crore along with the interests by the end of September.

In 2017, a similar arbitration case was won by the owners of the now terminated Kochi Tusker Kerala and the BCCI was asked to pay Rs 850 crore.

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