Australians to miss part of IPL 2019, India eyeing semifinal berth and more - Cricket News Today,  15 November 2018

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As the Indian team starts to Australia tomorrow for the much-awaited tour, there are quite a few happenings in the international arena both on and off the field. Sri Lanka takes the first innings lead in the second test against England at Pallekelle. The second round of Ranji trophy completes today with Karnataka Vs Vidharbha going into the last session for a thrilling finish. West Indies bundles out South Africa for a mere 76 in the Women’s T20I world cup group fixture at St. Lucia.

Here are the few other top headlines from the cricketing world today.

Australian players set to miss out the final weeks of IPL 2019

With the Cricket World Cup kick-starting by 30th May 2019, just a week after the final of IPL 2019, world champions Australia has decided to withdraw their key players from IPL in the last few weeks of the tournament.

Cricket Australia’s recent press release stated that the members of the Australian squad set to participate in the World Cup will not be available for the final weeks of the Indian Premier League. In order to prioritise the first class competitions, Sheffield shield, and national team’s interests, the governing body has made a set guideline for the players to follow.

In the sight of their campaign to defend the biggest trophy in world cricket, the Australian cricket board has prioritized the rest and proper preparation of key players before the world cup begins. They are set to conduct a training camp early in May prior to the official warm-up matches ahead of the tournament.

With Australian cricketers playing a major role in IPL, it might be a key factor to major franchises as they enter the last leg of the tournament. They must be vary of this fact and prepare their squad strength accordingly. It will be interesting to see how the franchises make up their bench strength with major foreign players are being expected to miss out on the latter part of the league.

Team India eye for semifinal berth ahead of Ireland clash

After the last-over victory against the neighbours four days ago, India take on Ireland in their third league fixture today in the ICC women’s World T20. After two wins in two games, India sits comfortably in second place in the points table with Australia topping the group having won all their three games.

Team India look to be in good form as their captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored a century against New Zealand and struck crucial boundaries against Pakistan. The ever cool Mithali Raj also is in good form with an unbeaten half-century against Pakistan taking their team across the line. The form of these two players will be a key factor for Indian team going into the latter part of the tournament.

As the competition gets tougher, India wouldn’t want to have a poor day in the field like they had against Pakistan. They dropped quite a few catches in that match and would want to rectify that at the earliest. Also, Smriti Mandhana is yet to have a good score in the tournament which might worry the team as she is one their key players going forward.

A victory today for India will ensure their berth for the semifinal of the tournament and their final fixture against Australia will be just a factor to decide the No.1 and No.2 positions. Hence the Indian team wouldn’t want to lose out on the opportunity against Ireland and leave it until the last match to qualify.

Sony Pictures Network India has bagged the broadcast rights for MSL T20 league

Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Global Sports Commerce (GSC) have announced that SPN India will be telecasting the first ever season of Mzansi Super League T20 (MSL T20) in India and the other subcontinental regions.

The SPN India holds the rights of telecasting the international fixtures from Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka etc. After losing out on the IPL telecasting rights to STAR network, this will be a major boost for their telecasting campaign in India.

Its Chief Revenue Officer and Head, Sports Business, Mr. Rajesh Kaul has quoted that, “Sony Pictures Networks is heavily invested in expanding its cricket portfolio and growing its sports offerings. We are pleased to announce that we are the official broadcasters of the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) Twenty20 (T20) franchise cricket tournament. T20 cricket is an appealing fast-paced format and viewers can look forward to some great cricketing action from marquee players from around the world.”

As most South African players are famous in this part of the country, this tournament is expected to be a major boost to SPN India network to regain their viewers in India and expand the portfolio across the subcontinents.

The tournament starts on December 16th, 2018 and it will be telecasted in Sony Six, Sony Ten 2 and Sony ESPN.

Jason Holder set to miss out on Bangladesh tour due to Injury

Jason Holder has been ruled out the Windies tour of Bangladesh due to the shoulder injury. Windies will miss the services of their captain in the upcoming tour of Bangladesh which includes two Test matches, three ODIs, and three T20Is. After a disastrous tour of India, this will be a major setback for the Windies team.

The 27-year-old sustained a shoulder injury during the recently concluded tour of India and is set to miss out on any cricketing action for four weeks. The Cricket West Indies CEO Mr. Jhonny Grave has quoted that, “Jason has a partial thickness tear of his subscapularis tendon. He will undergo physiotherapy and strength work from the period November to December and will be reassessed in four weeks’ time”.

Jason Holder has been a key player for Windies, both with the ball and the bat lower down the order.

"I am definitely disappointed not being able to make the tour of Bangladesh, but based on advice from the medical team, we felt this was the best course of action to deal with the ongoing issues I have been having with my shoulder, Obviously I am disappointed to miss the tour, but I know the boys are capable of beating Bangladesh," said Holder while talking to Caribbean News service.

However, it will be an uphill task for the vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite who is expected to take over as captain to beat Bangladesh in their home conditions. The Windies are also set to play a two-day warm-up match against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI ahead of the test series.