‘We owe it to Jay Shah: UAE official reveals BCCI's role as ECB backs out of hosting PSL
Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) created an embarrassing situation for Pakistan by refusing to hold 8 PSL matches in the country, despite an official announcement by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Notably, the PCB had announced earlier this week that it would move the last few matches of the PSL to the UAE amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, but the rejection by the Emirates board later made Pakistan postpone its 20-over league.
While it was speculated that quiet Indian diplomacy might be at play to get the UAE to change course on its decision to host the PSL, a new report has revealed the role of the BCCI and Jay Shah (former BCCI secretary and current ICC chairman).
As per Cricbuzz, Jay Shah's standing in international cricket and his ties with UAE's leadership played a significant role in ECB reversing its decision to hold the PSL. Reportedly, the relations between BCCI and ECB have remained cordial with the Indian board under Shah conducting 1 and half IPL seasons in UAE and also organizing the T20 World Cup 2021 in the country. Moreover, ECB's current secretary general, Mubashir Usmani, is also originally an Indian from Mumbai.
An ECB official while revealing the role of BCCI and Jay Shah in the matter said (as quoted by Cricbuzz), 'We owe it to the BCCI and Jay Bhai,'
Meanwhile, Bangladesh leg spinner Rishad Hossain recently showed his relief at safely reaching UAE afer the postponement of PSL. He also revealed that many foreign players like Daryl Mitchell and Sam billings were frightened by the situation in Pakistan.
"Foreign players like Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, Tom Curran... all of them were so frightened... Landing in Dubai, Mitchell told me that he would never go to Pakistan again, especially in this kind of scenario. Overall, they all were horrified," Hossain was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying.
'He (Tom Curran) arrived at the airport only to find out that it was shut down. He became so overwhelmed that it took two or three people to calm him down,' the Bangladeshi player added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
How latest drive to deport illegal Bangladeshi immigrants stands out
Since Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, Indian authorities have 'pushed back' more than 2,500 allegedly illegal Bangladeshi immigrants across the international border, What distinguishes this drive is the urgency and scale: the government has not only issued a 30-day deadline for verification of illegal immigrants, but identified individuals are now being transported in Indian Air Force aircraft from various states to border outposts. This has, however, raised concerns around due process, humanitarian issues, and pending litigation, especially reports of people being left in the no man's land between India and Bangladesh. Migration between what is now Bangladesh and India dates back to British times. * The colonial administration encouraged settlement in the then sparsely populated Assam by bringing in labourers from Bengal and North India. * Post-Partition, millions of refugees from East Pakistan, mostly Hindus, moved to India. Amid the brutal Pakistani crackdown on Bengalis, some 10 million people, mostly Hindus, sought refuge in India in 1971 alone. * Over the decades, economic migration from Bangladesh to India has continued, with many crossing the border into states like Assam and West Bengal in search of jobs. This influx has led to significant socio-political tension, particularly in Assam. While the India-Bangladesh border is largely fenced today, gaps remain, and illegal migration persists, with Bangladeshi workers visible in metropolitan labour markets across India. There is presently no official or universally accepted figure about the number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India, and estimates have varied widely. In 2004, then MoS (Home) Sriprakash Jaiswal told Parliament that 12 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants resided in India. (This claim was withdrawn following protests by the Assam and West Bengal governments.) Former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi, in a 2016 paper, estimated the number to be more than 15 million, based on comparisons of census data from Bangladesh and India from 1981 to 2011. The same year, MoS (Home) Kiren Rijiju told Parliament that 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were living in India, based on unofficial assessments. The deportation of illegal immigrants has been an enduring part of India's domestic policy, cutting across political lines. The UPA government too deported illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. RPN Singh, who served as MoS (Home) from 2012 to 2014, claimed in 2018 that the Manmohan Singh government had deported 82,000 immigrants. These efforts have further picked up under the Narendra Modi government, driven by both national security concerns and ideological motivations. In 2018, then-BJP president and current Union Home Minister Amit Shah had referred to Bangladeshi immigrants as 'termites'. Since 2018, the Modi government has also pursued a more tech-driven approach to the problem. * That year, it launched the portal to collect the biographic and biometric data of Rohingya immigrants. This was later expanded to include Bangladeshi immigrants as well. * In 2023, the government revamped this portal into the Foreigners Identification Portal (FIP) to capture more detailed profiles of suspected illegal immigrants. States/UTs and the Ministry of External Affairs were given access to the portal, which is used to upload and verify details of suspected illegal immigrants. If verification fails, deportation is initiated with help from the Foreigners' Regional Registration Offices (FRROs). * In 2023, the government also introduced a District Police Module on the Immigration Visa Foreigner Registration Tracking (IVFRT) portal to track overstaying foreigners. * Further, biometric capture infrastructure — fingerprint scanners, cameras, and computers — has been deployed across police stations, detention centres, and Border Out Posts (BOPs) of the BSF. A renewed push, novel strategy While the issue was never truly on the back burner, deportation drives have intensified following the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, and the beginning of Operation Sindoor on May 7. Currently, states such as Gujarat, Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan are rounding up identified illegal immigrants and transporting them to border points in Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya. From here, they are 'pushed back' across the border by the Border Security Force (BSF). A senior security official told The Indian Express that such deportations have historically had limited success. 'The border is porous. These people often return,' he said. However, the current operation marks a more coordinated, digitised approach to the problem of illegal migration. With biometric data now captured on the FIP, the government hopes re-entry can be checked. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also instructed authorities issuing Aadhaar, Voter ID, and Ration Card to cross-check applicants against the immigrant database before issuing documents. The MHA has set a 30-day deadline for States and UTs to verify suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. If verification fails, deportation proceedings will follow. An integrated server will support this process, bringing together data from the IVFRT system, the FIP portal, and the India-Myanmar Border Pass System. Some questions remain Questions around due process, humanitarian concerns, and bilateral sensitivities persist. As more people are rounded up and transported to the borders, courts and civil rights groups are likely to scrutinise the legal and ethical contours of this drive, especially in cases involving pending litigation or individuals caught in border limbo. On May 8, Bangladesh sent a diplomatic note to India registering its protest over the issue. Country's Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said on Tuesday that another such note was in the works. 'We see it (deportation) is happening. It is not feasible to resist physically,' he said, stressing the need for diplomatic and legal processes to be followed in resolving consular issues. The issue has always been diplomatically sensitive. In a 2022 BSF-BGB meeting in Dhaka, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) reportedly told India that illegal immigration from Bangladesh has reduced, largely due to economic improvements. At one point in 2020-21, Bangladesh's per capita income ($1,962) was higher than India's ($1,935) — a data point that complicates the narrative of large-scale economic migration.
Mint
16 minutes ago
- Mint
Nasser Hussain stresses on Liam Dawsons inclusion in Englands squad for T20 World Cup 2026
London [UK], June 7 (ANI): Former captain Nasser Hussain has urged England to pick seasoned left-arm spinner Liam Dawson in their 2026 T20 World Cup squad after he delivered a "masterclass" in the series-opening win over West Indies on Friday. In his 12th T20I and his first in three years for England, Dawson was adjudged the Player of the Match after returning with figures 4/20 for the hosts in their 21-run triumph against the West Indies. The T20 World Cup is set to be held in India and Sri Lanka early next year, two Asian countries known for their spin-favouring conditions. Despite his sporadic career with the Three Lions, Hussain has advocated for the inclusion of the 35-year-old ball tweaker in the marquee tournament. "There has been a lot of people asking for him to come back into the side for a number of years. He's done it for Hampshire and for franchises around the world. He thinks like a batter because he is one. He goes quick, quick with his variations and then lobs one upright on a length," Hussain said, as quoted from Sky Sports. "He has that sense of when a batter is coming at him. I thought it was a masterclass of left-arm spin bowling. It's great to have him back in the side. And with the [2026] T20 World Cup coming up in India and Sri Lanka, he's got to play," he added. England captain Harry Brook, who secured his fourth consecutive victory in as many white-ball games, is playing his cards with the T20 World Cup in view. Before competing in the highly anticipated tournament, England will feature in 14 T20Is. "We don't want to look too far ahead, but we've got to trial some things like this. The next World Cup is going to be in Sri Lanka and India. We're not completely set on this structure for the team, but it's worth a go, and it worked this time, Brook said of the move to play only two front-line seamers for the first time in home conditions. "I just think that having two very good spinners - front-line spinners - makes a massive difference. These two [Dawson and Adil Rashid] have been playing the game for so long, they know T20 cricket, they know the grounds, and they've played against so many of these boys, that having them both in the side will help us going forward," he added. (ANI)
News18
22 minutes ago
- News18
India's Archery Team Misses Medals At World Cup In Antalya, Raises Concerns
Last Updated: India's archery team failed to win medals at Stage 3 of the World Cup in Antalya, raising concerns about team selection and preparation as even star archers underperformed. Indian archery experienced a disappointing outcome at Stage 3 of the World Cup on Saturday, failing to secure any medals. This performance has raised serious concerns about team selection, preparation, and mental resilience, particularly with the Asian Games approaching in a year. The success in Shanghai last month, where India ranked second in the medal tally with two gold, one silver, and four bronze medals, now appears distant. In Antalya, both recurve and compound archers underperformed, failing to achieve a single podium finish, even in their traditionally strong compound category. Following the compound archers' elimination in both individual and team events, the recurve results proved equally disappointing. Even seasoned archers like four-time Olympians Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai failed to progress to the medal rounds. Simranjeet Kaur demonstrated some resilience, pushing Korean Olympic gold medallist An San to a shoot-off in the quarter-finals on Saturday. Despite narrowly qualifying in 54th place with the third-lowest qualification score, she held a 5-3 lead and required just one point to secure victory against An San. However, succumbing to pressure in the final set, she lost 5-6 (29-28, 24-29, 27-24, 27-27, 23-29) (8-11). Deepika Kumari also faced setbacks, with An San defeating her three times, dashing her hopes for a consecutive medal after winning bronze in Shanghai last month. Deepika, a former world number one, continues to struggle against top-tier opponents. Ankita Bhakat, India's highest-ranked archer in qualification at 32nd, lost in the first round 2-6 (27-26, 26-28, 29-30, 28-29) to Dunya Yenhihayat, despite an initial 2-0 lead. The men fared no better. Parth Salunkhe, a former youth world champion and Shanghai bronze medallist, exited in the first round, losing to Lu Shuai of China 2-6 (28-29, 25-28, 28-25, 27-30). At 41, Tarundeep Rai's selection appears questionable, following his 2-6 defeat to Germany's Mathias Kramer (28-30, 29-28, 27-31, 29-32). Seasoned competitor Atanu Das, after establishing a 4-2 lead, lost to world number one Brady Ellison 4-6 (28-27, 30-31, 31-30, 30-31, 27-30). Dhiraj Bommadevara, India's top qualifier at 13th, also relinquished a 4-2 advantage, losing 4-6 (30-30, 30-30, 31-30, 28-29, 28-30) to Chinese Taipei's Tang Chin-Chun. India's campaign in Antalya concluded without a medal. The closest the team came to a podium finish was in the recurve men's and compound women's team events, where both teams lost their respective bronze medal matches. The compound women's team narrowly lost 238-239 to the USA. The recurve men's team was defeated 1-5 by France. The compound men's team, once among the world's elite, suffered a first-round exit. The compound mixed team also struggled, exiting in the quarter-finals. In the recurve mixed team event, they failed to progress beyond the first round. The recurve women's team, despite a promising start, lost in the quarter-finals. In the individual compound category, Rishabh Yadav and Madhura Dhamangaonkar reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated. A significant concern for India is the declining form of top-ranked compound archers Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam. Jyothi, consistently a podium finisher until 2023, exited in the second round of 32, extending her medal drought beyond a year. Her last medal was gold at the Shanghai World Cup in April. Since then, the Asian Games gold medallist has experienced a downturn in performance. Two-time Asian Games silver medallist Verma was eliminated in the round of 16 by teammate Rishabh Yadav. Verma has not won a medal since June 2023, when he secured gold in Medellin. Questions will arise regarding team selection, particularly the continued inclusion of Rai, who has demonstrated limited capability in high-pressure situations. Deepika continues to struggle against elite competitors, especially Koreans. With emerging archers like Simranjeet showing potential, India's archery programme requires a comprehensive review, starting with bolder selection policies and urgent mental conditioning. With the Asian Games and the LA Olympics on the horizon, India's archery system must engage in introspection. Recurve archery remains trapped in a cycle of promise and disappointment, while India's dominance in compound archery is waning. This is concerning given the discipline's planned debut at the LA 2028 Olympics as a mixed team event. Ironically, South Korea, a recurve powerhouse with 43 Olympic medals, is now also making strides in compound archery. In Antalya, they won silver in the women's team event and bronze in the men's, highlighting their progress. Han Seungyeon, who topped the qualification round, is also positioned to win her first World Cup gold medal. News18 Sports brings you the latest updates, live commentary, and highlights from cricket, football, tennis, badmintion, wwe and more. Catch breaking news, live scores, and in-depth coverage. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Antalya First Published: News sports India's Archery Team Misses Medals At World Cup In Antalya, Raises Concerns
