Sports

The cricketing world is set for an intriguing clash ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup as the players, and cricketing boards take their stands on the IPL participation. While New Zealand https://www.sportsmonks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/450x216_SWING_INTO_GOLF_banner133539421103193450-1.webpistrators have allowed a free hand to their cricketers, Cricket Australia has instructed their players not to skip any of domestic or international games. With the IPL 2019 slated to begin much earlier this year due to the World Cup, Cricket Australia has decided to protect the importance of its domestic competition, the Sheffield Shield. The Board has communicated that it shall provide No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to its players after the last round of Sheffield Shield fixtures (March 20-23, 2019). Cricketers involved in the Shield final (March 28-April 1) can take part in the IPL after completion of the final. The guidelines further stated that players selected to play against Pakistan in

The leaders of the Indian juggernaut in the One-Day International (ODI) cricket, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, established themselves firmly at the top of International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ODI rankings which were released on Tuesday.  The Indian captain Virat Kohli bolstered his position as the best ODI batsman in the world with three consecutive centuries in the recently concluded series win over the Windies. He sits at the top with 899 ranking points while his deputy Rohit Sharma is hot in pursuit with 871 ranking points on his name. Rohit’s opening partner Shikhar Dhawan has maintained his eighth spot in the ranking as well. The Asian giants made their presence felt in the bowling department as well by occupying three out of the top five positions. Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested from the initial few ODIs against Windies, did enough to hold onto his crown in ODI bowling with 844 points. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav retained his third spot with 723 points while his spin partner Yuzvendra Chahal jumped three places to claim the fifth position. A

Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has announced his retirement from ODI cricket. The 33-year-old wants to focus only on Test cricket and hence called it quits from ODIs to prolong his Test career. Azhar’s last appeared for Pakistan in white-ball cricket was against New Zealand in January. The opener has never played dT20Is for his nation. "It is not a decision that I have taken suddenly. I had been considering this for quite some time. I think the time is right for me