International
Huge embarrassment as no Indian in ICC’s Most Valuable Team of Women’s World Cup
No Indian cricketer figures in the 12-member “Most Valuable Team” (MVT) of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, revealed by the International Cricket Council on Monday.
The MVT, which is captained by Australian skipper Meg Lanning, has three other Southern Stars in the ranks, besides three English players, three South Africans, a West Indies player and a Bangladeshi cricketer.
However, the likes of Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jhulan Goswami are missing from the list because of their patchy performance in the tournament. 2017 World Cup runners-up India bowed out of the tournament in the league phase, winning just three games out of seven in the eight-team tournament.
Lanning has been named captain of the MVT as she guided Australia to its seventh Women’s World Cup title, defeating England by 71 runs at Hagley Oval on Sunday, and also scoring 394 runs in the tournament.
Besides Lanning, ‘Player of the Tournament’, wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy, too is in the MVT. The 32-year-old Healy made two centuries in the knockout stages, including 170 in the final.
The team was chosen by a panel comprising ICC’s Chris Tetley, Lisa Sthalekar and Nasser Hussain, among others.
Lanning’s vice-captain Rachael Haynes was selected after ending as the second-highest run-getter on 497, with 130 of those coming in their opening league game against England. Haynes is carded to bat at four with her usual opening partner Healy joined by South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt at the top.
The 22-year-old Wolvaardt cracked five half-centuries as the Proteas reached the semifinals, and is one of three South Africans selected. All-rounder Nat Sciver has been named at five after finishing as England’s leading run-scorer with 436, including 148 not out in the final, and contributing four wickets.
Australian batter Beth Mooney is chosen at six after ending with an average of 110.00, as she smashed 330 runs in the middle order and took two breath-taking catches.
Hayley Matthews is the only West Indies player named in the side after an all-round excellent World Cup. She top-scored for the West Indies with 260 runs and also led their wicket-taking column with 10.
Another starring all-rounder, South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp delivered two player-of-the-match performances in a row on her way to 12 wickets and 203 runs. England’s Sophie Ecclestone was the best bowler with 21 wickets, while her six for 36 in the semifinal against South Africa was the best bowling performance of the World Cup.
South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail is the fastest bowler in the team at No.10 and she ended the tournament with the second-most wickets, with 14. Bangladesh’s Salma Khatun rounds out the XI. The off-spinner earned the honour with 10 wickets as Bangladesh made their debut in the 50-over event.
England’s Charlie Dean has been selected as the 12th player after bursting onto the scene in her debut World Cup, taking 11 wickets and contributing to a 65-run partnership with Sciver in the final.
Most Valuable Team: Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa); Alyssa Healy (wk) (Australia); Meg Lanning (capt) (Australia); Rachael Haynes (Australia); Nat Sciver (England); Beth Mooney (Australia); Hayley Matthews (West Indies); Marizanne Kapp (South Africa); Sophie Ecclestone (England); Shabnim Ismail (South Africa); Salma Khatun (Bangladesh); Charlie Dean (England).
International
CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources
New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”
“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.
Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.
Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.
International
It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027
India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.
The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.
This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).
It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.
International
‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global
New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.
Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.
Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.
Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.
He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”
He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.
“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.
He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”
Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.
“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”
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