Heena Sharma Blog

Senior batsman Faf du Plessis on Monday stepped down as captain of South Africa's Test and T20 teams with immediate effect. Du Plessis was rested for the three-match T20 series against England which South Africa lost 1-2 on Sunday. The decision comes less than a week from the start of South Africa's T20 campaign against Australia. Du Plessis, who gave away the ODI captaincy to wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock, for the recent series against England, said he took the decision to help South Africa start a new era. "In a perfect world I would have loved to lead the team in the Tests for the rest of the season as well as the T20 World Cup," du Plessis said in a statement. Read More

Two time World Cup winning former India captain MS Dhoni on Monday completed 15 years in international cricket, a milestone that has come at a time when he is on a sabbatical from the game. The dasher from Ranchi, who made his debut against Bangladesh under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy in 2004, has been one of country's most impactful cricketers with 17266 runs across all formats for India. The 38-year-old wicketkeeper turned up for the country in 350 ODIs, 90 Tests and 98 T20 Internationals while affecting a staggering 829 dismissals behind the stumps. His career is studded with several milestones including leading India to victory in the 2011 World Cup where finished the match with a six to help the 'Men in Blue' lift the coveted trophy. Under Dhoni India transformed into one of the most successful limited-overs sides in world cricket and he is the only Indian captain to have won all the three major ICC trophies -- the World Cup in 2011, the T20 World Cu

Former India women's team skipper Mithali Raj on Tuesday announced retirement from T20 Internationals in order to focus on the 2021 ODI World Cup to be held in New Zealand. Mithali led India in 32 T20Is, including the three Women's WT20 World Cups in 2012 (Sri Lanka), 2014 (Bangladesh) and 2016 (India). "After representing India in T20 internationals since 2006, I wish to retire from T20Is to focus my energies on readying myself for the 2021 One Day World Cup," Raj said in a statement issued by BCCI. "It remains my dream to win a World Cup for my country and I want to give it my best. "I thank the BCCI for their continuous support and wish the Indian T20 team good luck as they prepare for the home series against South Africa Women," she added. She was also the captain in India women's first-ever T20I played in Derby back in 2006. Since that win against England, Raj played another 88 games in which she scored 2364 runs, the most by an

Bangladesh's Shakib al Hasan, number one ODI all-rounder, has achieved a rare feat by becoming the only second player to score a 50 and take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup match. On Monday, Shakib continued with his golden run in the ongoing tournament as he first scored 51 off 69 balls -- which included four boundaries -- to help Bangladesh post a competitive total of 262/7 against Afghanistan at the Rose Bowl Cricket Stadium in Southampton. He then went on take five wickets for 29 in his 10 overs to help the Bangla Tigers register a 62-run win and bolster their chances of making it to the semi-finals. During Monday's match, the left-hander also became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score 1,000 runs in World Cups. Shakib, who already has two hundreds to his name in the competition, also became the 19th player overall to achieve the feat. So far, the 32-year-old has amassed 476 runs in six matches of the ongoing showpiece event and also has 10 wickets to his

Pakistan's head coach Mickey Arthur has claimed that his team's defeat to arch-rivals India had left him so shattered that he wanted to "commit suicide". Pakistan were incredibly hurt by the scathing reactions from the media, fans and former cricketers after their 89-run loss to India in Manchester on June 16. "Last Sunday I wanted to commit suicide," Arthur was quoted as saying in the media here. "But it was, you know, it's only one performance. It happens so quick. You lose a game; you lose another game; it's a World Cup; media scrutiny; public expectation, and then you almost go into sort of survival mode. We've all been there," he added. Pakistan won their next game against South Africa to keep a slim chance of entering the semifinals alive. If Pakistan win all their remaining three games and the results of other teams go in their favour, they can still make the cut. The 1992 winners face table-toppers New Zealand,

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulka r will make his debut as an on-air expert in the ICC ODI World Cup, starting Thursday in the United Kingdom. The Master Blaster will take his place in the commentary box ahead of the tournament opener between hosts England and South Africa. Tendulkar joins an illustrious panel of experts in the pre-show on Star Sports. He will have his own segment 'Sachin Opens Again'. The 46-year-old, who has represented India in six World Cups, holds the record for scoring the highest number of runs in a single edition of the World Cup, scoring 673 in 2003. India opens its campaign on June 5 against South Africa. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

England captain Eoin Morgan has admitted that he is still unsure about the final 15 who will be selected in the squad for the upcoming World Cup beginning May 30. After the final match of the five-ODI series against Pakistan which England won by 54 runs, Morgan said the continuous improvement in performance by the players has made the selection meeting extremely difficult. "I don't know the 15," ESPNcricinfo quoted Morgan as saying on Sunday after the match. "Every one of these guys should be proud of what we've achieved so far. The continuous improvement of performances makes the selection meeting extremely difficult. "But every single member of the 17-man squad here will play some role, due to the nature of injuries and illness and call-ups," he added. Meanwhile, Chris Woakes, who bagged the Man of the Match award for his five-wicket haul in Leeds, admitted he would be anxiously waiting for the confirmation. Read More Article Sour

The winners of the upcoming ICC men's World Cup will earn a cash award of $4 million, the highest prize money on offer in the history of the tournament. The winners of the 10-team tournament will also get a trophy that they will lift at the historic Lord's on July 16, a statement from the ICC read. The total prize pot of $10 million will see the runners-up take home $2 million and the losing semifinalists $800,000 each at the end of the 46-day tournament being played across 11 venues in UK from May 30. There are prizes for each league match won, in what promises to be a competitive tournament with the world's best teams playing each other in a round-robin format. ICC CWC 2019 -- Prize Money: Winners (1) USD 4,000,000; Runners-Up (1) USD 2,000,00; Losing Semi-Finalists (2) USD 800,000 each; Winners of each league stage match (45): USD 40,000 each; Teams that do pass the league stage (6) USD 100,000 each. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

In a first, all the 10 participating teams of the upcoming ODI World Cup will have a dedicated anti-corruption officer attached with it to deliver a corruption-free tournament, according to a report. The report in the 'Daily Telegraph' said the ICC will attach an anti-corruption official with each team starting from warm-up matches till the end of the tournament. "Previously, the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption Unit had personnel deployed at each venue, meaning that teams would deal with a number of officials over the course of a tournament," the report said. "Now, the same official will be assigned to a team from the warm-up matches to the end of the competition, staying in the same hotel as the players and travelling with them to training and matches." It said the move was part of ICC Anti-Corruption Unit's effort to deliver a fixing and corruption-free World Cup and also an effort to build better relations between pla

Aaron Finch believes that Australia's experience of winning the World Cup in the previous editions would be a big advantage for his team when they begin their title defence in England and Wales. "I think it's a big advantage, just to know what it takes to win a World Cup and what it takes to manage your way through a campaign which can be difficult," Finch was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "You have to be at your best at the business end but you can't afford to let anything slip at the start. Six guys who have been there and done that will give a lot of experience to the others of what to expect, what to feel walking out there because it is different," he added. A few months ago, Australia were not counted among the favourites for the tournament but have been in good form recently. The series win in India, then against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and the return of Steve Smith and David Warner have boosted the side and the Men in

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on April 15 announced the 15-member national squad for the ICC World Cup 2019 to be held from May 30 in England and Wales. There were 4-5 slots up for grab as it was evident that remaining seats would go to known names. Till recently, Rishabh Pant had all in his favour and he was seen as a potential batsman to end India's no. 4 conundrum. But the selectors had some other plans, they wanted a player who could provide more dimensions (bat, bowl and field) or could finish the matches. Chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad said, "We all (agreed) that either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will come in if Mahi (MS Dhoni) is injured. If it's a crucial match, wicket-keeping is also important. That's the reason we went with Dinesh Karthik. Otherwise, Pant was almost there." Pant is a new weapon in India's batting arsenal and in a short span he has earned the trust and praise of veteran to active players. Read

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended all Indian applications to host future events for denying two Pakistani athletes visas to compete in New Delhi. IOC has also urged other international sports federations not to stage any competition in India. The Olympic committee also revoked the Olympic qualification status for the men's 25m rapid fire event from the New Delhi World Cup due to denial of visas to the Pakistani shooters in the wake of last week's Pulwama terrorist attack , in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. “This happened in the interest of the other 500 athletes from 61 countries participating in the other events who are already in India for their competition.” India has accused its neighbour of not doing enough to control the militant groups responsible for the Kashmir attacks. Pakistan has denied any involvement. The IOC said the refusal of visas for competitors went against the principles of the Olympic charter relating to discriminat

India will host the Deaf ICC T20 World Cup slated to begin from November 23-30 in Gurugram, the organisers announced Thursday. The eight-day tournament will see participation from over 200 players across eight countries including England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, South Africa, apart from India, vying for the top honours. The eight teams will be divided into two groups and each team will play three matches in the group stage. Two teams from each group will then qualify for the semifinals. The tournament will be hosted by the Deaf Cricket Society (DCS), the apex body governing, promoting and organizing cricket for the deaf in India, that is also affiliated to the Deaf International Cricket Council (Deaf ICC). Stefan Pichowski, Chairman, Deaf ICC said: "We are delighted that India is hosting the second edition of Deaf-ICC World Cup T20. The enthusiasm from the teams across the world is overwhelming and the visit to India will be very special as it i

Here we bring to you details of all matches in the Round of 16 and predict who might have an upper hand in the knockout stages. FIFA World Cup 2018 : World Cup 2018 has reached the knockout stages. After several closely-fought matches and quite a few shock results in Russia, it’s do-or-die time for the teams that have entered the Group of 16. The first match in this stage will be played on 30 June between France and Argentina, the two star-studded teams that have so far failed to impress. The last match in this phase will be played between Colombia and England on July 3. Just eight teams will advance to the next round (quarterfinals). The teams who have qualified: GROUP A: Uruguay & Russia GROUP B: Spain & Portugal GROUP C: France & Denmark GROUP D: Croatia & Argentina GROUP E: Brazil & Switzerland GROUP F: Sweden & Mexico GROUP G: Belgium & England GROUP H: Colombia & Japan MATCH SCHEDULE June 30 (Saturday)