Sri Lankan legend announces retirement, CA and ECB deny match-fixing claims, and more - Cricket News Today, October 22, 2018

Welcome to Sportskeeda's Cricket News Today for October 22, 2018.

India achieved an easy 8 wicket win over the Windies in the first ODI which was held at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on October 21. Chasing a huge total of 323 to win, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma put on a 246 run partnership for the 2nd wicket and made the chase look extremely easy.

They have now taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The second ODI will take place on October 24 in Vishakapatnam.

The Afghanistan Premier League also concluded yesterday with the Balkh Legends coming out on top in the final against Rashid Khan's Kabul Zwanan.

Australia took on UAE in a one-off T20I held in Abu Dhabi. The Kangaroos won the match quite easily, by 7 wickets, chasing 118.

Now, let's take a look at the trending news from today:

#1 Rangana Herath announces international retirement

Sri Lankan spin legend Rangana Herath has announced his retirement from international cricket. The announcement was made via a Tweet from Sri Lanka Cricket. He will retire after the Test against England in Galle.

Herath is Sri Lanka's second-leading wicket-taker behind Muttiah Muralitharan. He is 10th on the list of bowlers with most Test wickets. However, he can move up to the 7th position if he picks up more than three wickets. Currently, he has 430 wickets in 92 Tests.

SLC wishes to inform that Mr. Rangana Herath following a discussion he had with the SLC CEO and the selectors, notified his retirement from test cricket, after the 1st test match, in Galle against England. #ThankYouHerath https://t.co/4V6f6LjTpp pic.twitter.com/Cu12JQXZrv

— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) October 22, 2018

“We respect and support Rangana’s decision. Even though his retirement will be a big loss for Sri Lanka Cricket. We wish to thank him for the invaluable contribution he has made to Sri Lanka Cricket;” said Ashley De Silva; CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket in a statement.

#2 Imrul Kayes heaps praise on Mushfiqur Rahim

Imrul Kayes

Bangladesh opening batsman Imrul Kayes scored an extremely well-crafted 144 against Zimbabwe to help his side to victory in the first ODI held in Dhaka.

Kayes scored 144 out of his side's 271 runs. Zimbabwe fell short of the target by 28 runs. In the post-match presentation, Kayes praised his fellow teammate Mushfiqur Rahim.

"I believe that if someone works hard, it will pay off. I learn a lot from the effort of Mushfiqur and what he does for the team. I know that he became what he is right now by the industrious effort off the field. I always try to follow him all the way," Imrul Kayes stated at the post-match media briefing.

#3 CA and ECB deny match-fixing claims

James Sutherland CEO of the Australian Cricket Board

Both, Cricket Australia and the England Cricket Board, have denied the match-fixing claims which were levelled against them by Al Jazeera.

The media network had uploaded a documentary which had claimed to uncover evidence of match-fixing against many nations including England and Australia in all three formats of the game in the years 2011 and 2012.

However, both the countries have denied the allegations.

"Cricket Australia takes a zero-tolerance approach against anyone trying to compromise the integrity of the game, and to suggest anything otherwise is unsubstantiated and incorrect," CA chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement.

"Whilst the limited information we have been given by Al Jazeera is poorly prepared and lacks clarity and corroboration it has been properly assessed. Analysis of this by the ECB Integrity Team has cast no doubt on the integrity or behaviour of any England player, current or former," read a statement by ECB.

#4 Jonny Bairstow ruled out of final two matches against Sri Lanka

Jonny Bairstow

England wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow will miss the final two limited-overs encounters against Sri Lanka after he suffered an ankle ligament injury while playing football prior to the fourth ODI.

He did not play the 4th ODI either, which England won by 18 runs via the DLS method.

"Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of the fifth ODI and the one-off IT20 against Sri Lanka after scans revealed he has a right ankle ligament injury," the ECB said in a widely reported statement.

"He will be monitored and assessed on a daily basis by the England medical team in Sri Lanka and a further update will be given in due course on his fitness ahead of the three-match Test series starting next month."