ICC introduces stop clock in new WTC cycle
Dubai, Jun 26 (PTI): The ICC has introduced stop clock in Test cricket to deal with slow over rates while allowing fielding teams to decide which batter should be on strike in case of a ‘deliberate’ short-run as part of the playing conditions for 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
The new rules have been implemented from the 2025-2027 World Test Championship which got underway with the first of the two Tests between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Galle.
According to the ICC Test Match Playing Conditions on the governing body’s website, the use of the stop clock — like in limited-overs cricket — has been implemented to eradicate the issue of slow over-rate.
"The fielding side shall be ready to start each over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed. An electronic clock will be displayed at the ground that counts up seconds from zero to 60,” the ICC said.
The fielding side will thus be given two warnings and in case of a third infraction, the batting side will be awarded with five penalty runs.
These warnings will be reset to zero after the completion of 80 overs, the ICC said.
Meanwhile, ESPNcricinfo reported that the ICC no longer mandates the umpires to change the ball once they discover saliva on it. The ban on the use of saliva remains in force.
The website said fielding teams may deliberately apply saliva on the ball to force a ball-change but the current document available on playing conditions for men’s Test cricket does not mention any such change.
The ICC also said in case there are instances of referrals being made by both player and the on-field umpire, the process will be carried out in a chronological order, effectively as per the order of their occurrence.
The ICC instructed that in case of a second review of a decision adjudged ‘out’ by an on-field umpire, the default decision for the subsequent mode of dismissal will remain ‘out’.
For example, if a batter challenges an on-field call for caught-behind and is adjudged not out with the replays showing the ball hit the pads, the TV umpire would subsequently turn to see if the batter was out leg-before.
In such a scenario, the default decision for this mode of dismissal will be ‘out’ and if the ball-tracking shows ‘umpire’s call’, the batter will be given ‘out’.
In case of a “deliberate short run”, the ICC explained, “A deliberate short run is an attempt for batters to appear to run more than one run, while at least one batter deliberately does not make good their ground at one end.”
“Batters may choose to abort a run, provided the umpire believes that there was no intention by the batter concerned to deceive the umpires or to score the run in which they didn’t make their ground.”
In such scenarios, the umpire at the bowler’s end will disallow all runs to the batting side, return any not out batter to his original end, signal a no-ball or a wide-ball if applicable, make a short-run signal to the scorers, award five penalty runs to the fielding side and “request their captain to identify which of the two batters will be on strike for the next delivery”.
The ICC said the TV umpire will now review the fairness of a catch taken off a no-ball. In case if a fair catch, the batting side will get an extra run for the no-ball and in case the catch is not cleanly taken, the batting side would get the runs the batters would have taken.
In previous edition of the playing conditions, the TV umpire was not needed to look into the fairness of a catch off a no ball.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
