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Kohli likely to be in action for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Chinnaswamy, with the venue also “on track” for IPL 2026

Shashank Kishore13-Dec-2025The decks have been cleared for the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to be back on the BCCI’s radar after newly-elected KSCA chief Venkatesh Prasad has received a go-ahead from the Karnataka government to host matches, a week after being elected. The BCCI is believed to have been apprised of the recent developments too.The immediate implications are that Virat Kohli could be back playing at the Chinnaswamy, with the KSCA set to move Vijay Hazare Trophy matches involving Delhi from Alur owing to security and logistical challenges. As things stand, Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been named in a jumbo Delhi squad and both could be available for the first three matches.Prasad and vice-president Sujith Somasunder held meetings with chief minister Siddharamaiah, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and other government officials in Belagavi earlier this week on the sidelines of the state’s assembly session and the conversations are understood to have been fruitful.ESPNcricinfo understands the KSCA is also making provisions to be able to accommodate 2000-3000 fans by throwing open certain stands to the public, considering the high-profile nature of matches involving two Indian superstars.At the meeting with the government officials, the Prasad-led KSCA committee reiterated their commitment to implementing as many changes as feasible from the Justice John D’Cunha report on the Chinnaswamy Stadium.While hosting matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy is seen as a starting point, Prasad and KSCA are keen on ensuring Bengaluru doesn’t lose out on hosting IPL matches.”We’re on track for the IPL to be back,” an office-bearer privy to the developments told ESPNcricinfo. The KSCA is expected to begin work on the D’Cunha recommendations in a phased manner.”To avoid any future incidents, we have put in place precautionary measures. We have granted permission accordingly,” deputy chief minister Shivakumar said after the state’s cabinet meeting on Friday. “The Home Minister will hold discussions with the KSCA president and police officials.”The venue hasn’t hosted any top-flight cricket since the June 4 stampede that marred Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebration, leading to 11 deaths and several injuries. KSCA’s Maharaja Trophy was shifted to Mysore in August, while the venue also lost out on hosting five Women’s World Cup matches, including the final, due to the ongoing impasse.”We have no intention of stopping cricket matches. But crowd-management measures need to be examined,” Shivakumar said. “We also intend to implement the recommendations of the Justice Michael D’Cunha Committee in a phased manner. Venkatesh Prasad too has agreed to this.”

The six teams each in men’s and women’s categories are set to be decided based on the top-ranked team from each continent

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Jul-2025The ICC is set to approve a continental qualification system to decide the six participating teams in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. That means that Full Members such as Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka among others, could miss out on cricket’s much-anticipated return to the Olympics after over a century.ESPNcricinfo understands that the board discussed a proposal at the recent AGM which allows for one team from each continent. Though some details still need to be finalised, in essence, the majority approval for a regional qualification system is in place, with a minority of members expressing dissent.Six teams each in the men’s and women’s categories will contest for Olympic medals between July 14 and 29 in 2028 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed cricket to be added to the roster for the first time since the Paris 1900 Olympics. While the ICC’s initial thinking was that it would shortlist the top six-ranked teams at a pre-determined cut-off date, several Full Member countries believed such an approach wouldn’t allow for a wider representation of countries from across the globe.Related

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That has now changed to a one-country-per-continent qualification system, which is thought to be more in line with the Olympic participation ethos.Which countries are shortlisted will be based on the rankings on a set date. But if the ICC plan goes through, it could mean the Olympics may not have one of the most widely watched contests in global sport: India vs Pakistan. Based on the current ICC T20 rankings, in both men’s and women’s competitions, India will qualify from Asia, Australia from Oceania, England from Europe, with one between USA or one of the islands from the Caribbean from the Americas, while South Africa qualify from Africa. ESPNcricinfo understands that the ICC is still discussing the participation of USA, who potentially get direct entry as hosts.But questions remain around the make-up of the USA men’s team, the majority of whom are US residents but not naturalised US citizens. The ICC is also concerned that the USA women’s team are not in the top 20-ranked teams at the moment. A final decision is likely to be taken at the ICC’s next quarterly meeting in October.The ECB, along with Cricket Scotland and Cricket Ireland, have formed Great Britain Cricket as an entity, which will help facilitate players from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to represent Great Britain at the Games.An artist impression of Brisbane Stadium in Victoria Park for Brisbane 2032 Olympics•Queensland Government

As for West Indies, CWI wrote to ICC in May, pitching two ideas that could allow one of the regional countries to represent the Caribbean in the Olympics. One suggestion was an internal qualifying tournament conducted among the Caribbean countries with the winner heading to the Olympics. The other involved conducting a global qualifying pathway that would pit countries in the five ICC development regions alongside regions in the West Indies.For the sixth team, the ICC is considering the option of a global qualifier, the structure for which is still being fine-tuned.Speaking on Thursday to BBC’s , ECB chairman Richard Thompson said that the IOC was keen on having a team from each continent which satisfies the Olympics charter. “The preference from the IOC is to work to the ‘five ring’ principle, which is teams from each of the continents represent their continent,” Thompson said.The ICC is also optimistic about increasing the number of participating teams in the next two Olympics – in 2032 in Brisbane and in 2036, the venue for which is yet to be finalised by IOC. Thompson said that with India expected to bid hard to host the 2036 Summer Games, cricket could receive a massive boost.”The hope is, when we get to Brisbane, we might be up to eight or ten teams, and in 2036, there’s a three-way shoot-out between Qatar, Saudi and India, and clearly the real hope is that India get in it 2036, in which case, cricket will be front and centre. Who knows? It could be ten or 12 teams by that stage.”At this stage, we are there by the invitation of the IOC and on that basis, you abide by their rules, and that is to play the geography of your game as opposed to necessarily the top six playing nations.”

Board CEO cites “lack of preparation” as the reason for the decision

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2020The Bangladesh Cricket Board has declined the Pakistan Cricket Board’s proposal to play their second and final Test in early April as a day-night affair, saying that the team is not prepared for it at the moment.”We have spoken with our team management and they are not ready to play a day-night Test at the moment, due to lack of preparation,” Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB chief executive, was quoted as saying by .”The board understands their [team management] point of view and, after taking everything into consideration, we have decided not to play day-night Test in Pakistan.”The Bangladesh tour of Pakistan was finalised as a three-part affair because of the visitors’ concerns about the security situation. The first leg, of three T20Is, was played over a four-day period in January in Lahore, Pakistan winning 2-0, and the first of two Tests was played earlier this month, Bangladesh losing by an innings and 44 runs.The third leg, in early April, will feature a one-off ODI and the second Test, both in Karachi. The two-Test series is part of the World Test Championship.Pakistan have played four day-night Tests so far, losing in Australia in 2016 and 2019 and winning one – against West Indies in Dubai in 2016 – and losing one – against Sri Lanka in Dubai in 2017. As for Bangladesh, their maiden foray into the format didn’t go as expected, as they lost by an innings and 46 runs to India in Kolkata late last year.

Women cricketers will get up to 12 months of paid leave, while male cricketers can get up to 30 days’ leave

Umar Farooq04-May-2021The PCB has launched a parental support policy, which will allow players – women and men – to get paid leave during periods of pregnancy and upon the birth of a child. Women will get up to 12 months of paid leave, with men allowed 30 days. All players can benefit from the scheme immediately, and it will start with Bismah Maroof, who recently took an indefinite break to prepare for motherhood.”The PCB has a duty of care towards its cricketers and, at every turn, it has taken measures to support them,” Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive officer, said. “In this relation, it is appropriate that we have a player-friendly parental support policy so that our professional cricketers can feel fully supported during an important stage in their lives, without worrying about their careers.”To have this policy for our women cricketers was even more significant. Women play a pivotal role in the development of society and our women cricketers have brought us laurels and recognition on the world stage. Now that we have a maternity leave policy, I am hopeful that it will attract more women and girls to take up the sport as this will help them strike a crucial work-life balance.”The PCB’s central contracts don’t have any specific clauses covering parental leave. But the Maroof example has encouraged the PCB to look for an opportunity to review the contract clauses, making it more progressive. The term of the present annual contracts, for both men and women, ends in two months but the policy stands effective for any contracted player.Apart from the paid leave, contracted women cricketers are guaranteed contract extension for the following year even after 12 months away. For men, the one-month leave has to be availed within the first 56 days of the birth of the child.Women’s cricket took off properly in an organised fashion in Pakistan in the late 1990s. But several women cricketers have left the game after marrying or having children. There are exceptions. Batool Fatima became a coach, while Nain Abidi did play after getting married in 2017. Asmavia Iqbal retired from her playing career after marriage and took up a role as a selector. The new policy hopes to prolong women’s cricketing careers with the flexibility offered following the birth of children.Key features of the policy

• Women cricketers to transfer to a non-playing role until the commencement of their maternity leave leading up to the birth of their child
• Women cricketers are entitled to take up to 12 months of paid maternity leave and will be guaranteed a contract extension for the following year, in line with their existing contractual arrangements
• Upon conclusion of the maternity leave, the player will be reintegrated into cricketing activities and provided adequate medical and physical support in respect of their post-childbirth rehabilitation
• If a woman player is required to travel for cricketing activities, the PCB will support the player by allowing her to travel with a support person of her choice to assist in caring for her infant child, with the travel and accommodation costs to be shared equally
• Upon conclusion of the maternity leave, the player will be reintegrated into cricketing activities and provided adequate medical and physical support in respect of their post-childbirth rehabilitation

Five more new signings for tournament after injury, international and Covid restrictions

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2021Hayley Matthews, the West Indies allrounder and T20 World Cup winner, has signed for Welsh Fire, while Colin de Grandhomme will continue his stint at the Ageas Bowl after replacing Andre Russell on Southern Brave’s list of overseas players.Matthews, who was Player of the Match when West Indies won the 2016 World T20 in Kolkata, was unveiled by Welsh Fire after it was confirmed that Suné Luus has returned a positive Covid-19 test and is not able to travel.Meanwhile de Grandhomme, who made a career-best 174 not out for Hampshire on his LV= Insurance County Championship debut, and was part of the New Zealand squad that claimed the World Test Championship mace against India last month, takes over from Russell who has been ruled out due to international commitments and Guyana’s status on the UK red list.
Marchant de Lange will start the competition for Trent Rockets after Wahab Riaz’s arrival was delayed by visa issues, while the New Zealander Glenn Phillips will now play the entirety of the tournament for Welsh Fire in place of Kieron Pollard, who has pulled out due to injury.Adelaide Strikers batter Katie Mack has been signed by Birmingham Phoenix as a replacement for Ellyse Perry who has withdrawn from the competition due to personal reasons. Amy Jones will now captain the side.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It has also been confirmed that Ollie Pope will miss the start of the Hundred as he recovers from a quad injury, while Alice Monaghan replaces Hannah Jones at London Spirit.”When I got the call to join Southern Brave it was an easy decision,” de Grandhomme said. “I’ve settled in really well at Hampshire and I’m hoping to create some more fantastic memories at the Ageas Bowl. I’m really looking forward to linking up with Devon Conway again and all of the guys can’t wait to get going.”Hayley Matthews added: “I’m thrilled to be taking part in The Hundred this summer. It’ll be a lot of fun to play in Cardiff alongside the like of Sarah Taylor in front of big crowds. The Hundred can help move women’s cricket forward and it’ll be great to take part.”Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred Women’s Competition said: “I’m gutted for Suné Luus, I know how excited she was about playing for Welsh Fire in The Hundred this summer, but we all wish her a very speedy recovery. In Hayley Matthews we have a big stage player, in brilliant form, coming in, and I’m sure she will be looking forward to the opportunity to show off her skills.”

Tensions between domestic and international cricket are only likely to increase, the international players’ association said

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Nov-2022Forty percent of the world’s top T20 men’s players are operating as free agents as they shun national contracts to move around the world plying their trade in lucrative domestic T20 leagues. Another 42% are operating in a hybrid model combining a national and domestic contract along with playing in at least one overseas T20 league.That means 82% of the top-100 T20 players don’t want to be shackled solely to a national contract, once the only route of sustenance and security for players. These are the core findings of the 2022 Men’s Global Employment Report conducted by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA).FICA’s report was unveiled on Tuesday, its findings derived from the Global Player Survey conducted earlier this year. The responses come from 400 players across 11 countries, the majority of them international cricketers. The survey does not feature players from India and Pakistan as neither country has a players’ association that is affiliated with FICA.Related

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This is the third edition of the FICA report, which was conducted for the first time in 2018 and then in 2020. In its inaugural survey four years ago, FICA had warned of a flight of talent from the “vertical pathway” (graduating from domestic to international cricket) to the “horizontal pathway” (dominated by overseas T20 franchise leagues).Such a threat now is a stark reality with domestic T20 leagues (including T10 tournaments) pinned across cricket’s global landscape and dominating even the international calendar. An already crowded T20 leagues roster will see the arrival from 2023 of two new competitions: the ILT20 and the SA20, both of which start in January.Such a wider choice, FICA says, is behind the “growing trend” of players moving towards the hybrid or free agent route “with 82% of the top 100 players from the T20 Player Index” now in this category. The report does point out currently most of those free agents are players from the “smaller cricketing economies” who are making use of the “volume of opportunities” on offer.”Some of the individuals playing for 3 teams or more represent a potential new category of free-agent player ‘The league specialists’ – many of whom have limited international careers, including playing very little Test cricket, with their primary focus being in the Domestic Leagues landscape,” the report said.Players are now starting to forge careers away from the national set-ups•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Part of this band are the likes of Tim David who featured in seven T20 leagues in 2021 along with Afghanistan trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman each of whom played in half a dozen T20 leagues in the same year.The remaining 18%, the report pointed out, is the group of players on a more traditional employment pathway, and almost exclusively Indian players “highlighting the restraints placed” by BCCI which has barred them from featuring in overseas domestic T20 leagues. The findings also point out “40% of the top T20 players in the world” don’t have a central contract “with a top nine cricket country” (not including Zimbabwe, Ireland, Afghanistan in the 12 Full Member countries).While it admitted that “using only the T20 format as a snapshot skews the data” FICA pointed out that the shortest format was “increasingly relevant indicator as the vast majority of the best players in the world play the format.”How much is too much?To illustrate how far the landscape of international cricket has changed, FICA compared the number of ODIs/T20s across random years between 2003 and 2021. In 2003 there was no international T20 cricket, but out of 196 international matches played, 71% (152) were ODIs along with 44 Test matches. In 2021, 485 international matches were played across three formats with the break-up being: 346 T20Is (71%), 46 Tests (9%) and 93 ODIs (19%) – the vast increase in T20Is is also because of a widening of the classification in 2019 to include all such matches played between Associates.The chief catalyst behind players going solo is the lucrative remuneration on offer in these leagues, and the FICA report echoed that point. “Professional cricket is increasingly a multi-contract, multi-employer system,” the report said. “The gap between domestic earnings and international earnings has increased further since FICA’s last report and exceeds international earnings in all bar two countries.”Another major reason players, including high profile names, are redrawing their futures is the relentless international schedule which has forced a massive workload upon them. That is not going to reduce with increasing frequency of ICC tournaments in the next FTP: there are 20 global tournaments in 2024-31 FTP compared to 14 in the previous eight-year cycle (2015-23).Ben Stokes is among the leading players to have retirement from one format of the game•Getty Images

Ben Stokes sounded an alarm bell when he retired from ODIs this year. Quinton de Kock has retired from Test cricket at the age of 29. Trent Boult also gave up a central contract and decided to become a free agent, joining several other New Zealand players who have rejected a national contract.Such a trend, FICA report said, was not just limited to high profile players and would continue especially in the wake of new T20 leagues and the spread of IPL owners “horizontally” into other overseas leagues. Multiple employers and contracts would only increase the “tension” between players and their national boards, the report pointed out.”When combined with an increasingly crowded global playing schedule, and scheduling overlap between domestic leagues and international cricket, tension is created with many of the best players in the world incentivised to prioritise domestic leagues and forgo international fixtures and/or central contracts. This is further amplified by the workload of domestic leagues being generally half that of international cricket on a time / wage basis – i.e. ‘twice the pay for half the work’. Whilst this trend is not limited to ‘profile players’ some pertinent recent examples include Trent Boult rejecting a NZC central contract, Ben Stokes retiring from ODIs and Quinton de Kock retiring from Test cricket at the age of 29. This trend looks set to continue with the creation of more domestic leagues, and IPL media rights reportedly selling for over 6 billion USD for the next 5 years.”Of those who participated in the FICA survey, 49% said they would “consider rejecting a central contract if they were paid more to play in domestic leagues”, but 74% (dropping from 82% in 2018 report) still value Test cricket as the summit in the game. Seventy-nine percent wanted a threshold number for minimum and maximum number of international matches annually while 63% wanted franchises leagues “ring fenced” to have more clarity and allow domestic and international cricket to “co-exist”.Tom Moffat, the FICA CEO, said a balanced global structure was a must for the health of the game and its players and a “clear framework around bilateral international cricket scheduling” was necessary. “The majority of the value in each of the three major, revenue generating cricket landscapes, is generated through a small number of players, and those players can only be in so many places at once.”

The matches, all day-night, will be played on June 5, 7 and 9

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2023UAE and West Indies will play a three-match ODI series in Sharjah next month as part of their preparations for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier.The matches, all day-night, will be played on June 5, 7 and 9. At the end of the series, both teams will depart for Zimbabwe for the qualifying tournament, which will be played from June 18 to July 9.In all, ten teams will participate in the qualifying tournament, with two progressing to the 2023 ODI World Cup, to be played in India.The line-up for the 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifier•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“In recent months, our team has produced some sensational performances in the ODI format which have helped raise UAE cricket’s profile,” Mubashshir Usmani, the general Secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board, said. “Our qualification for the tournament in Zimbabwe exemplifies our recent achievements. We want to ensure we provide the best possible preparation to our team and this series will most certainly help in achieving the goal.”Jimmy Adams, the director of cricket for CWI, said: “This is our first ever bilateral tour against the UAE and we are pleased to have agreed this historic three-match ODI series as it will provide a good opportunity for our players to get some preparation ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.”It will also allow those players not going to Zimbabwe to get some valuable experience at the international level in foreign conditions, which would be hugely beneficial to their growth and development. We are happy to work closely with the ECB to arrange the three matches and we see this as a partnership which can grow in the future.”

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan put on their eighth century stand in T20Is to lay the platform for Pakistan’s victory

Sreshth Shah13-Oct-2022An unbeaten 20-ball 45 from Mohammad Nawaz helped Pakistan overcome their middle-overs jitters to defeat Bangladesh in the last league game in Christchurch. Pakistan now face New Zealand in the final on Friday, while Bangladesh head to Australia for the T20 World Cup having lost all their four games in the tri-series.Even though Pakistan won the match by seven wickets, the finish was closer than what the scorecard suggests. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan set up the platform with their eighth century stand in T20Is, but Pakistan did not run away with the chase because of some disciplined bowling from Bangladesh.It was Nawaz’s innings at a strike-rate of 225 that finally swung the game decisively towards Pakistan. It also helped him redeem his bowling figures, having conceded 37 runs in three overs in the first innings. Nawaz was Pakistan’s most expensive bowler as Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan scored fifties to help Bangladesh score their highest total of the tri-series.Litton’s turnaround, Shakib’s consistency
Bangladesh tried another new opening pair with Soumya Sarkar partnering Najmul Hossain Shanto but they once again lost an early wicket. That brought in Litton at No. 3 but he suffered a muscle strain early in his innings, which suggested that he would not be able to bat much longer. Instead, his inability to run fluently freed him up and he relied on hand-eye coordination to dominate a young Pakistan pace attack comprising Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Mohammad Wasim.Luckily for Bangladesh – especially with the T20 World Cup looming – Litton’s muscle strain seemed to go away, and he built an 88-run stand for the third wicket with Shakib Al Hasan. Their partnership allowed Bangladesh to build some momentum through the middle overs, a contrast to their previous three performances in the tri-series.Shakib and Litton batted together from the sixth over to the 15th, dominating Shadab Khan’s legspin and Nawaz’s left-arm orthodox spin. When the pacers went short, the batters countered with pulls and cuts, and Litton also enjoyed a bit of luck when Pakistan dropped a catch and missed a chance to run him out.Shakib batted until the penultimate over to score his second consecutive fifty in the tri-series. He used his feet to get to the pitch of the spinners and exploited the leg side in the slog overs. Bangladesh, however, could score only six runs off the last eight balls after Shakib was dismissed. They finished on 173 when they were looking for a total above 180, credit for which goes to Wasim who conceded only three runs in the 20th over.Nawaz ensures Pakistan finish the job
Bangladesh had a young seam-bowling unit too and it was their most inexperienced medium-pacer Hasan Mahmud who impressed the most. He took 2 for 27 in four overs and did not allow Pakistan’s openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to dominate him.Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam also used changes of pace to force mis-hits from the batters, and though Babar and Rizwan raised their century stand in the 13th over, the game remained in the balance.In his last spell, Mahmud dismissed Babar and Haider Ali in the same over, which fuelled Bangladesh’s hopes of victory. What they needed was a couple of tidy overs, perhaps with another wicket before the death, but it wasn’t to be as Rizwan stayed steady while Nawaz found the boundary early in his innings.Mohammad Saifuddin was the weak link in the Bangladesh attack on the day, conceding 53 runs, and Nawaz and Rizwan entered the slog overs with momentum on their side.Though Rizwan fell in the 19th over, Nawaz played the field, hitting the ball into gaps and milking a hat-trick of twos to shut Bangladesh out in the final over. He ended the contest with a boundary off the penultimate ball of the match.

The former Australia captain featured in an advertisement for a telecommunications company, which was aired during the BBL 2018-19 opener on Wednesday

Daniel Brettig20-Dec-2018Australia’s former captain Steven Smith has become the first member of the trio of players suspended over the Newlands ball-tampering scandal to leverage his disgrace and redemption narrative for commercial reasons, appearing in an advertisement aired during Wednesday night’s Big Bash League opener in Brisbane.Featuring in a campaign for the telecommunications company Vodafone, a sponsor of the Adelaide Strikers who defeated the Brisbane Heat in the opening game, Smith is seen intercut with footage from his tearful Sydney press conference upon his return home from South Africa, where he was stripped of the captaincy and banned from playing for a year by Cricket Australia.The commercial also stages a re-enactment of school visits Smith undertook during the year as part of his CA-imposed community service, while he is heard in voiceover talking about how low things got for him. “I was in a pretty dark space. It made me realise what other people go through and what they need to get through those difficult times,” Smith is heard saying.”It was just about being upfront and honest and taking responsibility. It’s nice to be back at the [Sunderland] club, I just love being in a contest. It’s just you versus the bowler.”I’ve certainly had some difficult days. But it’s OK to be vulnerable. Everyone makes mistakes; it’s about the way you respond to it that’s really important. I want to come back better than I was.”ALSO READ: Smith, Warner need time to reintegrate into ‘dysfunctional family’ – LangerESPNcricinfo understands that Smith was not paid by Vodafone for the appearance, but it is an exercise in testing his connection with the public and potential customers of commercial entities who would wish to use him as a selling point in the future. Smith and Warner are banned until the end of March 2019, while Bancroft’s suspension concludes in late December – he is likely to return to the field for the Perth Scorchers in their BBL fixture against Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston on December 30.Smith, Warner, Bancroft and CA all paid heavy financial and commercial penalties for the Newlands scandal and the players’ subsequent bans. Magellan cancelled its three-year contract with CA as a naming rights sponsor to the home Tests, while Asics (Warner and Bancroft), LG Australia, Toyota (Warner), and Commonwealth Bank and Sanitarium (Smith) all cancelled personal sponsorship deals.At the same time, Smith and Warner had their IPL contracts cancelled, while Bancroft was also denied a previously arranged stint in English county cricket.Intriguingly, Smith’s agreement with Vodafone may have been more complicated had he still been under contract to CA. Following this year’s A$1.18 billion broadcast deal with Foxtel and Seven, the former company had asked to be defined as a telecommunications provider, meaning they would prefer that the governing body not enter into another sponsorship in that area of the market. Three, Vodafone and Optus have all been CA partners in the past.

ESPNcricinfo’s updates from the 38th game of IPL 2020

Debayan Sen20-Oct-2020