International
Shreyas Iyer jumps a massive 27 places to 18th after T20I success against Sri Lanka
India batter Shreyas Iyer has moved up a massive 27 places to 18th in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings for batters released here on Wednesday.
India’s recent home-series win against Sri Lanka has had major impact on the Men’s T20I Player Rankings, aiding top-order batter Iyer to make a quantum jump.
The 27-year-old Iyer scored three unbeaten half-centuries during India’s 3-0 win against Sri Lanka in February, with the cricketer amassing 204 runs at a strike rate of 174.
His team-mate, seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, jumped three spots to 17th on the bowler rankings.
Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka scored an impressive 75 in the second game of the series, and he was rewarded with a six-spot rise to ninth on the rankings, while former India captain Virat Kohli — who was rested for the series — fell out of the top-10 after dropping five places to 15th.
The other big mover with the bat in T20I cricket this week is Muhammad Waseem of the UAE. His unbeaten century against Ireland in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, helped him reach the 12th position with the bat. That is the highest T20I ranking by any UAE batter, surpassing Shaiman Anwar’s 13th place achieved in 2017.
Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara’s five wickets in the series with India have lifted him into the top 40 bowlers for the first time.
Other bowlers who enjoyed a successful time at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A include Zahoor Khan of UAE (up 17 places to joint-42nd) and Ireland’s Josh Little (up 27 places to join-49th)
Rohan Mustafa’s successes with bat and ball have enabled him to move up to sixth place among all-rounders, just one place below his best of fifth achieved in February 2020.
The biggest mover on the Test rankings was South African quick Kagiso Rabada, who shot up three places to third following his impressive display against hosts New Zealand. Rabada managed 10 wickets during the two-match series, with his magnificent haul of 5/60 in the first innings of the second Test helping the Proteas on their way to an important 198-run triumph.
The Kiwi duo of Kyle Jamieson (drops two spots to fifth) and Tim Southee (drops one spot to sixth) lose ground in the bowler rankings, with Australia captain Pat Cummins and India veteran Ravi Ashwin still leading the way.
Marnus Labuschagne remains as the top-ranked Test batter, with New Zealander Devon Conway jumping six places to 17th following his 92 in the second innings of the second Test against South Africa.
In the ODI rankings for men, veteran spinner Rashid Khan re-claimed his spot in the top 10 for bowlers following five wickets from the recent three-game series against Bangladesh.
Rashid jumped six spots to ninth, while team-mate Mehidy Hasan Miraz dropped two spots to seventh following the series. Sri Lanka’s Liton Das was the leading run-scorer in the ODI series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and he is up to a career-best 32nd with the bat.
Trent Boult remains the top ranked ODI bowler, while Pakistan right-hander Babar Azam leads the way for batters.
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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