ICC may shift Champions Trophy Final from Lahore to Dubai if India qualifies: Report
The International Cricket Council (ICC) may move the 2025 Champions Trophy final from Lahore to Dubai if India qualifies, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is hesitant to send the team to Pakistan due to ongoing political tensions. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has secured the hosting rights for the tournament, but the BCCI reportedly prefers a hybrid model for the event.
According to a report in the Telegraph UK, the uncertainty over the final venue will persist until days before the summit clash, should India reach the final. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, however, remains confident that the BCCI will eventually agree to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to run from February 19 to March 9, 2025.
"The Indian team should come. I don't see them canceling or postponing their participation, and we are confident we will host all the teams in the Champions Trophy," Naqvi stated.
The PCB has earmarked Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi as the primary venues for the tournament and has submitted a draft schedule to the ICC. Naqvi added that the stadiums would be in optimal condition to host the matches in February and March.
The report highlights a similar precedent set last year when the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) adopted a hybrid model for the Asia Cup, allowing India to play its matches in Sri Lanka instead of Pakistan due to political considerations.
In response to queries about the Indian team’s participation, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla stated that the Indian government will take the final call on whether the team will travel to Pakistan. "For international tours, we always seek the permission of the government. It’s up to the government to decide whether our team should go to any country," Shukla remarked.
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Mohsin's fifer helps LSG restrict KKR to 155/7 despite Rinku's 83
Lucknow (PTI): Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mohsin Khan added another sordid chapter to Kolkata Knight Riders' batting woes, taking five wickets to restrict the three-time champions to a modest 155 for seven in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Mohsin’s 5 for 23, a personal best for the left-arm pacer in this format, tore apart an already struggling KKR batting unit, as he snaffled the cream wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell and Anukul Roy.
Rinku Singh (83 not out, 51 balls) made a well-paced fifty and punished Mohammed Shami in the 19th over for 6, 4, 4 and the smoked four sixes in a row against spinner Digvesh Rathi as KKR made 43 runs in the last two overs to go past the 150-run mark.
But his fifty remained a lone act, as Mohsin firmly stood in the limelight.
His bowling ethos were rooted in simple tactics — bang the ball into the black soil pitch to gain bounce or use cutters at various pace to keep the batters guessing.
Mohsin, who started the night with a wicket maiden, showed his variety across two dismissals.
He followed Rahane with a fuller ball as the batter tried to go over the covers, but the ball’s trajectory forced the KKR skipper to just slice the ball up for a simple catch for Aiden Markram.
The 27-year-old stayed calm when Green, who looked comfortable out there while smashing George Linde for two successive sixes, slammed him for a huge maximum.
Two balls later, Mohsin dug one short, challenging Green (34) to go for the pull and the Australian all-rounder took the bait.
The into-the-body angle worked again as Green could only sky the ball to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Green’s ouster also ended a fifth wicket alliance worth 42 with Rinku Singh.
Bizarre dismissal of Raghuvanshi
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If the existing turmoil was not enough, KKR had to bear the dejection of seeing Angkrish Raghuvanshi getting dismissed obstructing the field.
On the final ball of the fifth over from Prince Yadav, Raghuvanshi nudged one towards mid-on and set off for a single, only to be rejected by Green.
Raghuvanshi put in a dive to save himself but he came in the line of the throw from Shami.
Subsequently, third umpire Rohit Pandit accepted LSG’s appeal and decided that the batter’s turning radius was more than required, eventually resulting in the batter’s dismissal in a rare manner.
