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U-19 CWC: Young Lions get senior team ‘boost’ ahead of Afghanistan semis clash

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England Under-19 skipper Tom Prest is tapping into the knowledge of the past and present cricket stalwarts of his country as he looks to guide the team to its maiden ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup final since 1998.

England go into the Super League semifinal against Afghanistan later on Tuesday having won all four of their games so far, sweeping past South Africa by six wickets in the quarterfinal having topped Group A.

England’s progress has been followed by the senior side, which has just finished a five-match T20 series in Bridgetown , while former cricketer Graeme Swann has also been offering his advice as the current crop looks to emulate the achievements of a squad the 42-year-old spinner was part of 24 years ago.

“Before the quarterfinal, we had a few messages from the guys out here (England T20 team),” Prest was quoted as saying by ICC. “Knowing they are taking an interest and following what we’re doing gives us that extra confidence. It would be an unbelievable honour to captain a side in a World Cup final. Graeme Swann (working as part of the media covering the tournament) was playing in the team that won it in 1998, so he’s chatted to us a couple of times about what it takes to get through tournament cricket.

“He’s just been telling us to continue what we’re doing, not be complacent and compete through the 100 overs, regardless of the score. We’ve played some really good, positive cricket in the group games and the quarterfinal. It’s been brilliant so far and we came here with the intention of winning the competition, so to get to the final would be amazing,” said Prest.

Prest has has so far compiled scores of 93 and 154 not out in the group stage, while Jacob Bethell starred against South Africa with a fine 42-ball 88. With the ball, Rehan Ahmed is again set to play a vital role having taken four wickets in each of his two matches, though Prest knows Afghanistan have spinners of their own who can cause his side problems.

“It will be a great challenge for us, we’ve not played them (Afghanistan) before,” he said. “We’ve seen a bit of footage and they have some good mystery spinners, so it’ll be a good experience. We’ve done some good training sessions on methods against spin and hopefully that’ll stand us in good stead.

“Rehan has been huge for us since coming back in, and he’s a great asset for us as he can spin it both ways. Jacob’s knock obviously gives him a lot of confidence. He’s been threatening to do something like that for a while and it’s pretty amazing to watch from the sidelines when he’s in that form.”

Afghanistan also head into the semifinals full of confidence having defended 134 in a thrilling four-run quarterfinal win against Sri Lanka. Noor Ahmad smashed four sixes in his 30 and took 1/20 in his miserly 10 overs, with the left-arm spinner one of several dangerous bowlers looking to cause England’s strong batting line-up problems.

Suliman Safi’s side would become the first ever Afghanistan side to make the final of this competition should they win, going one stage further than the semifinalists of 1998.

“We have a good bowling attack and our spin is very strong. If we get a good total on the board, we feel we can defend it. We’ve had two days of good practice and we are prepared,” said Safi.

“This has been a good experience and a semifinal is a great achievement. Now we are focusing on playing good cricket.”

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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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.

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It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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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.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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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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