Latest news with #ArunSinghDhumal
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ECB likely to continue as host of World Test Championship finals until at least 2031
The third day of the World Test Championship final ended amid raucous scenes among the South Africa fans in the stands but possibly also with popping corks in the Lord's pavilion as it emerged that England is likely to host the showpiece event for another three cycles. Arun Singh Dhumal, chair of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, informed the International Cricket Council in April that it would like to host the next final in 2027 and such is the BCCI's power in the international game the move was seen as overwhelmingly likely. Advertisement But the ICC's chair, Jay Shah – himself formerly of the BCCI and the son of Amit Shah, India's minister of home affairs – has been at Lord's to witness a well organised and enthusiastically supported third final on British shores, and the England and Wales Cricket Board has been informed that a decision to keep the event in England is likely to be ratified at the governing body's annual conference in Singapore next month. Related: Australia learn cricket's oldest lesson as South Africa turn the tables in WTC The first WTC final, in which New Zealand beat India, was held in biosecure conditions in 2021 at Southampton's Utilita Bowl and two years later India lost the second to Australia at the Oval, before its move to Lord's this summer. If the decision is confirmed England would continue to host the event until at least 2031. The country is unique in its ability to fill the stands even for neutral matches and in having the ideal climate to host the match in its current and favoured June window. Unless the political situation changes any final in India would probably need to be relocated should Pakistan qualify, with relations between the two countries currently hostile. South Africa look set to become the third winner in the tournament's short history, after the unexpected outbreak of ideal batting conditions prompted an outstanding and unbeaten partnership of 143 between Aiden Markram – who finished unbeaten on 102 – and his captain, Temba Bavuma, who at stumps stood on 65. Their performance carried the team to the verge of victory over Australia and a desperately-sought first ICC title since the 1998 Champions Trophy: they finished the day on 213 for two, 69 runs away from equalling the second-highest successful chase in Test matches at Lord's. Advertisement 'This would be massive for our country,' said Ashwell Prince, the team's batting coach. 'We've fallen short in some white-ball competitions with teams that have had very good chances of getting over the line, possibly favourites at times. But we haven't done it yet, so we have got to knuckle down.' After 14 wickets fell on each of the first two days only four followed on the third, which started with a 59-run last-wicket partnership between Australia's Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood that, while making their own task more testing, South Africa saw primarily as encouragement. 'There was a little bit of frustration but we try to stick to the positives as much as we can,' Prince said. 'Their tailenders were pretty comfortable against a pretty good bowling attack and you can feed off those things – if you reverse that it might happen when we bat. The message has been the same throughout: make them believe they can do it, and then step out of the way and allow them to go and do it.' Australia's assistant coach Daniel Vettori admitted the chances of his side turning the tide are now slim. 'I think we understand the magnitude of the task,' he said. 'It's going to be a real challenge. It was an exceptional partnership, they navigated any tricky times and then were able to put pressure on us through their running, through their ability to dissect the field – it was a real clinic from those two. The hope for us is that we can get a wicket or two in the morning and just see what that looks like.' Bavuma spent the last 33 overs of the day labouring with a hamstring injury that nearly forced him out of the game. 'At tea we had to make a big call, whether he continues to bat,' Prince said. 'Both of them were adamant that Temba's got to continue. Temba's had to fight throughout his career and this could be a defining moment for him, on the biggest stage.'


News18
10-06-2025
- Business
- News18
Bengaluru Stampede: RCB Owner Discussing Sale Of IPL Franchise
According to Bloomberg, the alcohol company may seek a valuation of USD 2 billion and is currently in discussions with advisers. However, no final decision has been made, and it is possible that they may not sell the team. Currently, RCB is embroiled in a major controversy after an event organised by them to celebrate the franchise's IPL triumph turned tragic. A large crowd gathered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to catch a glimpse of the RCB cricketers, with the franchise having announced a victory parade and felicitation. A stampede ensued outside the cricket stadium, resulting in the deaths of eleven people and injuries to several others. The incident sparked nationwide outrage, leading to the filing of an FIR against RCB, the event organiser DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association. Furthermore, before the start of IPL 2025, the Indian Ministry of Health issued an advisory urging the organisers of the popular cricket tournament to ban all tobacco and alcohol advertising, including surrogate promotions, during matches and broadcasts, citing public health concerns. The Director General of Health Services, Atul Goel, wrote in a letter to IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal, 'IPL should strictly implement the regulations banning all forms of tobacco/alcohol advertising, including surrogate advertisements, within the stadium premises where the games and related IPL events are held, as well as during telecast sessions on national television." RCB won the IPL championship for the first time in their history after defeating Punjab Kings in a thrilling final held in Ahmedabad last week.


News18
04-06-2025
- General
- News18
'This Is Very Tragic': IPL Chairman Says 'No Knowledge About RCB Event'
Last Updated: At least four people have lost their lives in a stampede-like situation near M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during RCB's victory celebrations on Wednesday, June 4. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) celebrated their maiden IPL title win with fans in Bengaluru on Wednesday (June 4), but the celebration turned sour when at least four people lost their lives in a stampede-like situation near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Reacting to the news, IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal, while speaking exclusively to CNN News-18, said, 'This (stampede) is very tragic. We had no knowledge of this event (victory celebration). Who is organising it? We have spoken to RCB management." Chaotic celebrations turned into a full-blown tragedy when fans tried to join a party inside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to honour RCB's IPL triumph. Thousands converged outside the stadium as police struggled to take control of the situation, resorting to mild use of force as well. That did little to discourage the people, many of whom could be seen pressed against the stadium's entrance gate, desperate to get in. The death toll is expected to rise as many of the seriously injured are being treated at the nearby Vydehi hospital and Bowering hospital. 'Crowd was uncontrollable, police was finding it difficult, so we had to stop procession," Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said while speaking about the tragedy because of which a planned victory parade could not take place. The BCCI said the turn of events was shocking and the organisers should have been better prepared. 'It's most unfortunate, organisers should have planned RCB's IPL-winning celebrations better," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI. 'When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions and security measures need to be taken," he added. This was after the team landed in Bengaluru in the afternoon, received by Shivakumar at the airport. RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the IPL final at Ahmedabad on Tuesday to clinch their maiden title in 18 years. Fans lined up the streets and thronged the Chinnaswamy stadium to catch a glimpse of the stars, including the talismanic Virat Kohli. The scenes were a reminder of the historic welcome given to the T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad by Mumbai in July last year. However, things went haywire in Bengaluru. The much-anticipated open-top bus parade, which was allowed to proceed by Siddaramaiah from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, could not take place as crowd became unmanageable for the police. The Bengaluru Traffic Police had already discouraged such a plan citing the congestion on the route. But outside the Chinnaswamy stadium, fans jostled to sneak inside and it ultimately turned into a tragedy. Thousands of fans were also seen waiting outside the Vidhana Soudha to cheer the players. (With inputs from PTI)


News18
01-06-2025
- Sport
- News18
IPL Chairman Asks Virat Kohli To Reconsider Test Retirement: 'He's Probably...'
IPL Chairman Arun Singh Dhumal has urged Virat Kohli to reconsider his recent retirement from Test cricket, lauding his ever-improving fitness and comparing his commitment to cricket with Roger Federer's and Novak Djokovic's to tennis. Speaking on Sunday (June 1), Dhumal also said he was hoping that Kohli won't retire from IPL, too, if Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) manage to win the IPL 2025 title. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that Kohli contacted the selection committee in April to inform them of his decision to retire from Test cricket. Kohli publicly announced it in May through a social media post, stating that the decision was difficult but 'felt right' as he had given his all to the format since his debut in 2011. India have moved on from him, too, announcing several new faces for the five-Test tour of England in June.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The IPL is a good barometer in India: its suspension shows us how serious this is
It's not often that two sets of people find themselves in the same situation on either side of one of the world's most fractious borders. When Friday dawned, amid swirling rumours of missiles wrecking neighbourhoods and falsehoods about pilots being captured, cricketers in India and Pakistan sensed that something was about to give. Related: IPL cricket suspended amid growing India-Pakistan tensions The Pakistan Super League acted first, telling all its players, coaches and officials to stay in their hotel rooms, bags packed at the ready. At some point in the day the call would come, they were told, and they should be ready to head to the airport and fly to the United Arab Emirates where the last eight games of that tournament would be held. In India, the first signs of just how precarious the situation had become emerged the previous evening when a match between the Delhi Capitals and the Punjab Kings was interrupted after 10.1 overs when the floodlights went off in Dharamsala. Initially a technical failure was thought to be the problem, but when senior officials of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association walked out on to the field to urge the crowd to disperse calmly, the penny dropped. On advice of security agencies and the state government, the powers that be that run cricket were told in no uncertain terms that this show must not go on. About 200 kilometres away in Jammu drone attacks and missile strikes were foiled, air raid sirens sounded and the city was thrown into a complete blackout. In the end, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League was suspended for a week, and a further decision on whether the tournament would resume, be played later in the year or moved to another country would be taken then. At the same time though, logistics teams at the IPL franchises were scrambling to figure out how to get overseas players back to their countries pronto. 'Look, even if it resumes in a week, the players can come back. For the moment, their safety and mental comfort is the most important thing to us,' an official from the Delhi Capitals said, declining to be named as the situation was in flux. 'We are looking at charter flights, commercial airlines, all options. Ultimately the players will take the call but I'm sure they are waiting for advisories from their respective countries.' There were 12 league matches plus the playoffs and final remaining to be played in the IPL when it was suspended. While it may appear that this was the most obvious thing to do, given the insignificance of a cricket tournament in the larger scheme of things, the IPL is actually an unusually accurate barometer of the state of affairs in India. The IPL chairman, Arun Singh Dhumal, is the brother of Anurag Thakur, the former BCCI secretary and politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and has served variously as union minister for sport, information and broadcasting and finance. The most recent BCCI secretary and current International Cricket Council head, Jay Shah, is the son of Amit Shah, the minister for Home Affairs. This overlap and proximity of politics and cricket ensures that the IPL is acutely aware of what the situation on the ground really is and how quickly things might escalate or de-escalate. Aside from the obvious security threats, those involved with the IPL have the pulse of the nation. The preponderance of probabilities: the physical danger to those involved, the sentiment of the largest segment of the audience and the jitters that sponsors felt at being involved with something that could backfire badly, should something untoward happen, meant that the IPL had to be suspended. This decision shows that the IPL has learned from when it played out for far too long in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when there were no hospital beds to be had and crematoriums were running out of wood to burn, this garish festival of cricket and excess continued until the public could take it no more and a groundswell of negative reactions forced the hand of administrators. To halt a tournament of this scale is not a decision taken lightly, given the wide range of stakeholders. From those who directly benefit, the players, the broadcasters, the support staff, to the wider cricket ecosystem that hits its annual targets in two months of competition, there is so much riding on the IPL that even suspending it temporarily leaves thousands out of pocket. But the time had come when it was no longer a matter of inconvenience or commerce. Even the IPL does not play on when it's a matter of life or death.