India considers suspending Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament, source says
NEW DELHI: India's cricket board is considering suspending the popular Indian Premier League T20 tournament amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Writing by Surbhi Misra; Editing by YP Rajesh)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: How an 82-year-old man played cricket with teenagers and inspired them
At a time when Lamine Yamal, FC Barcelona's Spanish teen sensation, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the 14-year-old IPL wonderkid, have astounded the world with their explosive talent and youthful flair, an octogenarian in Dubai is quietly inspiring the UAE's young cricketers to work hard for a shot at glory. Freddy Sidhwa is not a legendary cricketer, but his passion for the game is the stuff of legend. The 82-year-old Dubai-based Indian businessman still plays cricket every weekend at Ocean Fair Cricket Ground, a scenic cricket facility he built in the Dubai Investment Park. A left-arm spinner, Sidhwa even claimed the wickets of Brendon McCullum, Rashid Khan and Dale Steyn in community matches at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. But more than those unforgettable moments at the world's most iconic cricket stadium, it's Sidhwa's unwavering commitment to the game that has inspired many in the UAE. Gopal Jasapara, head coach of Dubai-based G Force Cricket Academy, recently took his Under 14 team for a match with Sidhwa's side at Ocean Fair Cricket Ground. 'I wanted my boys to learn from Mr Sidhwa about passion and discipline. I had 12 and 13-year-old boys who played against an 82-year-old man,' Jasapara told the Khaleej Times. 'He is 82, but he still plays every Sunday. He never leaves the ground until the end of the match. To see his passion is an incredible experience.' The secret to Sidhwa's fitness is his discipline, as he wakes up at 3 every morning and practices yoga to keep his body and mind in perfect shape. "Everything is in your mind, you have to be mentally strong. If you are a mentally strong person, you can achieve everything," Sidhwa had said during an interview with Khaleej Times in 2023 after playing a game of T20 cricket at his ground. It was a big motivation for the G Force Academy team to see Sidhwa give his heart and soul to the game. 'You know he also built a cricket team, brought players from Pakistan and India and gave them jobs. It's very hard to find people like him,' Jasapara said. 'So sharing the cricket ground with him was not only a great experience for our boys, but it also taught them important lessons that will hopefully help them in every aspect of life, not just cricket.'
Khaleej Times
8 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE remain upbeat as battle for Fifa World Cup berth continues
The UAE will be aiming to lock down third spot when they travel to face Kyrgyzstan in their final Group A World Cup qualifying match (5:45 pm UAE Time) on Tuesday. Thursday's goalless draw with Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi ended UAE's hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 Fifa World Cup and they side sit only a point ahead of Qatar, with both having sealed their places in the fourth round. Cosmin Olaroiu would have known before the tie against Uzbekistan that automatic qualification was going to be a long shot but the newly appointed head coach saw positives in the match and is already preparing for the next round. "You have a once in a lifetime chance,' Olaroiu said. 'I don't think you should talk about motivation as much as preparation. That is the most important thing. Now is the end of the season, we have a break, then the clubs will start their preparations. 'In September, there is (an international) break and we will have some friendly games. The preparation is very, very important because the work the clubs will do now will influence it.' So can the UAE still earn an automatic berth at the 2026 World Cup? Yes, the UAE still have a chance. The six teams in the fourth round will be divided into two groups of three teams. The winners of each group will earn the last two direct slots for the World Cup, while the two runners-up teams will be locked in a playoff battle. So the UAE need to win their group in the fourth round to qualify directly for the World Cup. But if they fail to win their group and finish second, they will play the runners-up team from the other group in a playoff. The winner of the playoff will then advance to an inter-confederation playoff tournament featuring five other teams for the final two slots in the World Cup. Meanwhile, Australia's Connor Metcalfe has warned his teammates to avoid reacting to Saudi Arabia's gamesmanship when the nations face off in Jeddah on Tuesday with automatic qualification for next year's World Cup finals on the line. Tony Popovic's outfit go into the meeting at the King Abdullah Sports City with one foot on the plane to North America after a 1-0 win over Japan on Thursday bought the Socceroos breathing room in their quest for a place at the finals. Despite that advantage, Metcalfe has sought to ensure the Australians do not allow their focus to slip ahead of a crucial 90 minutes that will be played out in front of more than 50,000 fans and in stifling heat. "There's going to be a lot of diving, a lot of acting, but it's about just blocking the noise out, focusing on ourselves and doing the best we can," said the St. Pauli midfielder. "You can't get affected by any of it, because if you get affected by any of their little games or noise or whatever it is, then it's just going to affect the game, and they're going to get that little advantage over you." Australia hold a three point lead over Herve Renard's side and a large enough goal difference to leave the Saudis needing to win by five goals to climb into second and claim the last automatic berth from the current phase of Asian preliminaries. Japan have already secured top spot in Group C while Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea and Jordan have taken the other berths available to Asian nations at the expanded World Cup from the third phase of qualifying. A further two spots will be up for grabs from a fourth round of qualifiers to be played in October. Anything other than a significant win over the Australians would see Saudi Arabia finish third in Group C and enter that next phase, where they would join the UAE, Qatar, Iraq and Indonesia. Also battling for a place in the fourth round are Oman and Palestine, with the pair looking to secure either third or fourth place in Group B on Tuesday. The two countries face off against each other in Amman with the Palestinians needing to win to climb above Rashid Jaber's side and keep their World Cup qualification dream alive. Neither nation has played at the World Cup and Palestine go into the meeting having handed Kuwait a 2-0 defeat on Thursday to stay in the hunt for a spot in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Khaleej Times
10 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
'Flawed' Test Championship reveals world cricket's underlying problems
Reigning champions Australia face South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's starting on Wednesday amid a chorus of criticism over the competition's format. Wisden, cricket's 'bible', was scathing in its assessment, with editor Lawrence Booth writing in this year's edition that the WTC is a "shambles masquerading as a showpiece". Meanwhile, former England captain Michael Atherton said "everyone knows the WTC in its present guise is flawed". One fundamental problem is that political tensions mean India and Pakistan, two of cricket's leading nations, have not played a Test against each other since 2007. The nine-nation WTC is further skewed because the teams are not being required to face each other or to play the same number of matches, unlike most sports leagues. Countries are free to decide how many Tests they would like to play in the two-year qualifying cycle -- something Booth wants doubled to four years, with the top nine in the rankings all playing each other, home and away, over series that last at least three Tests. Positions are calculated on the percentage of available points won by teams. South Africa have played just 12 Tests in the current cycle -- all of them two-match series -- compared to England's 22 -- and have not played either England or Australia. South Africa also sent a third-string side to New Zealand in early 2024, and lost. They kept their best players at home to appear in a domestic T20 competition. That was a financial sign of the times, as is Cricket South Africa not scheduling any home Tests for 2025/26. South Africa reeled off six straight wins to book their place in this year's final, only for former England captain Michael Vaughan to say they had got there "on the back of beating pretty much nobody". But Proteas coach Shukri Conrad objected that South Africa had beaten teams who had beaten the 'Big Three' of India, Australia and England. "One of the nobodies we beat won a Test match in Australia -- West Indies beat Australia in a Test match. They are not nobody," insisted Conrad. "New Zealand beat India: three-zip in India. New Zealand is not a nobody. "Sri Lanka won Test matches (against England and New Zealand).I don't buy this thing about us beating nobody." Victory in the final would be a boost to South Africa following years of hurt in ICC white-ball tournaments, with Conrad saying after qualification was secured. "I'm never going to apologise for getting into the final. "It's the biggest thing in this team's existence. It's the biggest thing for South African cricket at the moment." One of those involved in devising the points system, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP: "It's difficult to come up with a solution where everyone is happy given the barriers to an 'orthodox' table that exist, such as the India-Pakistan situation. "Commercial considerations will also mean the 'Big Three' will want to play each other in five-Test series." He added this was just as much a choice as England incurring the over-rate penalties that hampered their chances -- they've yet to reach a WTC final despite the first three editions all taking place on home soil -- with skipper Ben Stokes almost disdainful in his assessment of an "utterly confusing" format. Yet, New Zealand's win in the inaugural 2021 World Test Championship final was welcomed as a long overdue global triumph for a popular side. Australia's failure to qualify for that match was labelled a "big missed opportunity" by skipper Pat Cummins, who made amends with victory at in an Oval final two years ago. That India were beaten finalists in both the 2021 and 2023 WTC finals indicated there was still a place for the five-day game in world cricket's economic powerhouse, for all T20 events such as the Indian Premier League are the financial driving force. Indeed former India captain and batting star Virat Kohli, speaking after securing his long-awaited first IPL title following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's triumph in last Tuesday's final, said: "If you want to earn respect in world cricket all over, take up Test cricket and give your heart and soul to it." But the awkward question for cricket chiefs is whether the WTC is helping or hindering that aim.
