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Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Bengaluru's addition in Women's WC venues the right mix
New Delhi: The ICC's official announcement of the ICC ODI Women's World Cup seems to include a meaningful course correction. To be hosted from September 30 to November 2, the tournament will be played across five venues in India and Sri Lanka. The choice of cities, especially the inclusion of Bengaluru, tells a deeper story about the need to strategise around women's cricket. The five selected venues are M Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru), ACA Stadium (Guwahati), Holkar Stadium (Indore), ACA-VDCA Stadium (Visakhapatnam), and R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo). Earlier reports had suggested that the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium (Mullanpur) and Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium (Raipur) were also scheduled to host the matches. Now, it is a well-rounded mix. The inclusion of Bengaluru – the only Tier I city in the list seems to reflect growing awareness and an acknowledgment of where the energy around women's cricket lies. Bengaluru isn't just a big city with a good stadium, it's one of the few Indian cities that has consistently shown up for women's cricket. It hosted two of the three WPL seasons so far with impressive turnouts driven in part by the home team Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but also including a genuine interest in the women's game. When India played South Africa in a three-match ODI series in June last year, the Chinnaswamy stands were once again filled. There was some criticism when early reports on venue selection left out Bengaluru, Mumbai, and even Vadodara, which had successfully hosted both WPL games and West Indies women's ODIs recently. Although there is value in expanding the game to new regions, the current mix is likely to ensure there is a smaller possibility of empty stands and damp atmospheres. It has happened before in India, most recently during the 2023 Men's ODI World Cup, where even stadiums in Ahmedabad and Lucknow struggled to fill seats, especially for non-India matches. That risk is higher when it comes to women's cricket which still battles for equal visibility. The tournament will open on September 30 in Bengaluru, and the first semi-final will be played on October 29, in either Guwahati or Colombo. The second semi-final is scheduled for October 30 in Bengaluru. As for the final, set for November 2, there's a caveat -- under an agreement between the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board, if Pakistan qualifies, the final will be hosted in Colombo. Otherwise, Bengaluru is likely to stage the final match. Now, the real test is whether this mix of venues can deliver not only entertaining cricket but also the kind of audience the women's game deserves.
India.com
6 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Mukesh Ambani's masterstroke, JioHotstar crosses 280000000 subscribers in…, surpasses Jeff Bezos's Amazon Prime, soon to outshine Netflix's…
JioStar has achieved a major milestone by reaching 280 million subscribers. It was launched in February this year and is now close to OTT platform Netflix, which has 300 million subscribers. During a discussion on financial results in April, JioStar CEO Kevin Vaz stated, 'In just three and a half months, the number of our paying subscribers has reached 280 million. We are very close to Netflix in this regard, although their figures include subscribers from all over the world.' JioStar has already surpassed Amazon Prime Video which is at third position, with over 200 million subscribers. Media Partners Asia Insights claimed in a LinkedIn post that JioHotstar could surpass 300 million subscribers before the final match of the IPL in May. The IPL final is now scheduled for June 3. JioHotstar already shows ads, and Prime Video also announced that it would begin showing ads on its platform from June 17. It launched with around 50 million subscribers but later surged past 200 million by April. The IPL played a big role in the platform's rapid growth in number of subscribers. JioHotstar was launched about 6 months ago. This platform came into existence after the merger of Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema. This platform currently has the rights of both digital and TV of IPL. The media report says that the company has benefited after adopting the paid model for IPL matches. This growth is not only due to exclusive content from Warner Bros., Discovery, HBO, NBCUniversal's Peacock, Disney, and Paramount but also because of its streaming rights to cricket tournaments like the ICC Champions Trophy, Women's Premier League (WPL), and IPL.
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Merit in showcasing women's WC in smaller cities: Isa Guha
New Delhi: There's a World Cup on the horizon — but it wouldn't be a surprise if you had no idea. The ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 is set to take place in India in a few months' time, yet there's been little to no buzz. With no campaigns, no build-up and no sense of anticipation in a country that is termed 'cricket crazy', the silence is slightly jarring. While the lack of attention can be deemed as a marketing oversight, it also appears like a missed opportunity to inspire, grow the game and to give women's cricket in India the stage it has earned. As Isa Guha, former England cricketer and now a leading voice in the game, recently said: 'This is a huge moment in time because they're going to see all these women playing cricket and go 'Yes, I feel like I can do this.'' 'It's something that we learned from the 2009 T20 World Cup in England (they beat New Zealand by six wickets). Perhaps, the foundations weren't there to really try and catch that inspiration as much as possible. And I know that India is looking to try and bid for the Olympics down the line and so one of the key elements of making India a sports-forward nation is to really engage most of the female population.' India has made big strides with the launch of the Women's Premier League (WPL) and it has expectedly brought in visibility and money to women's cricket. It is also providing legitimacy to the career aspirations of several young women. But a franchise league, despite its success, isn't enough. The World Cup is the sport's pinnacle, after all. As Guha pointed out, with visibility comes the expectation of skill and investment has led to more competitive matches and higher standards. But the same visibility must now be given to the upcoming World Cup. Viewers today don't just follow games. They follow stories. They invest in their personal journeys. Yet women cricketers rarely get the narrative build-up that their male counterparts do. This is where broadcasters need to step up and provide context. Who are these players? Where do they come from? What have they overcome? Guha summed it up well: 'Ultimately, broadcast is entertainment. Viewers connect more when you understand more about their stories.' An interesting suggestion from Guha was driving the marketing around the World Cup to be timed around the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is currently ongoing. 'It's got great attention right now and it'd be great to get some of the Indian female players talk about the Women's World Cup coming up,' she said. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) already drew scepticism with its choice of venues for the World Cup. With tried and tested cricket centres such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru missing, it remains to be seen if crowds will flock to stadiums in cities like Mullanpur, Raipur, Indore, Thiruvananthapuram and Vishakapatnam. Matches in smaller cities can help grow the game across the country but a final in a packed Eden Gardens would have sent a strong signal. It's also what the players really want – to play in the big stadiums. The balance, it seems, is missing. 'I would have loved the final to be at Eden Gardens a bit like 1997, when Australia took on New Zealand there in the Women's World Cup final and there were 90,000 people watching. But I do think there's merit in being able to showcase the women's game to different parts of the country.' According to Guha, hosting the World Cup must mean more than a few televised matches. It must leave behind something lasting. And so, what happens after will also be vital. There must be a great follow-through. If a girl in Raipur or Guwahati is inspired by what she sees, will she have access to quality cricket resources without investment at the grassroots? India cannot afford to treat this World Cup as an afterthought. The WPL has already lit the spark, hosting a well-planned World Cup in September-October can turn that momentum into a fire. And India must not let it pass by in silence.
NDTV
23-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Deepti Sharma Accuses UP Warriorz Teammate Of Rs 25 Lakh Fraud, Stealing Foreign Currency: Report
Indian women's cricket team star Deepti Sharma has accused Delhi batter Arushi Goel of stealing valuable items from her flat in Agra, according to a report. Arushi, who is a junior clerk with the Indian railways, has played with Deepti at UP Warriorz (UPW) in the Women's Premier League (WPL). Deepti alleged that Arush duped her of Rs 25 lakh and broke into into her Agra flat to steal valuables, including gold and silver jewellery and Rs 2 lakh in foreign currency. According to a report in the Times of India (TOI), Deepti's brother, Sumit Sharma, lodged a complaint at the Sadar Police Station in Agra. "Deepti's brother, Sumit Sharma, approached the Sadar police station with the complaint. Prima facie, we found some truth in the complaint and filed an FIR under BNS sections 305 (a) (theft), 331 (3) (house breaking), 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust) and 352 (insulting someone with the intent to provoke a breach of peace)," TOI quoted ACP Sukanya Sharma as saying. The report added that Arushi and her parents started exploiting Deepti financially, citing various emergencies. "The two cricketers became close over the years through their association in the same team. Then, Arushi and her parents started exploiting Deepti financially, citing family emergencies and financial distress," the report added. According to news agency Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), DCP Sonam Kumar said, "Deepti Sharma, UP DSP and Indian women's cricketer, along with junior player Arushi Goyal and her family, face a Rs 25 lakh fraud case. Deepti's brother filed an FIR after valuables went missing from her flat. Investigation is ongoing." On a professional front, Deepti was recently named in India's white-ball squad for the upcoming tour of England. The tour to England will consist of five T20Is and three ODIs. The series will kickstart with the first T20I at Nottingham, and the final T20I will be at Birmingham from July 12. On the other hand, the first ODI will be on July 16 at Southampton, and the series will conclude with the third ODI at Chester-le-Street on July 22 onwards. Arushi, on the other hand, was roped in for Rs 10 lakh by UPW ahead of WPL 2025.
India.com
21-05-2025
- Sport
- India.com
From Indian Idol Singer To Umpiring In IPL: The Interesting Journey Of Parashar Joshi
5 / 7 Parashar Joshi cracked many exams and was eventually selected in the BCCI's panel of umpires in 2015. He went to officiate in domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy, before getting a break in the WPL 2025 In 2025, Joshi was among the seven new umpires the BCCI introduced for IPL. He finally made his IPL debut as umpire during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals on April 5 featuring MS Dhoni and KL Rahul at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Since then, Joshi has officiated in the many IPL matches featuring the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Andre Russell, Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Marsh, and many more.
