Kismayo [Somalia], October 24 (ANI): Nine civilians were killed in an attack on a hotel in Somalia's port city Kismayo on Sunday, media reports said.

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Former head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday said that Indian cricket would become spineless if the Ranji Trophy is ignored his comment coming just before the BCCI announced that the marquee domestic event will be held in two phases starting next month The Ranji Trophy was scheduled to start on January 13 this year but was postponed indefinitely by the BCCI due to the third wave of the pandemic The Ranji Trophy is the backbone of Indian cricket The moment you start ignoring it our cricket will be SPINELESS Shastri tweeted Just about a hour after Shastris comment BCCI secretary Jay Shah issued a statement confirming the phased resumption of the tournament The Board has decided to conduct the Ranji Trophy this season in two phases In the first phase we plan to complete all matches of the league stage while the knockouts will be held in June Shah said in a statement It is expected that the 38-team tournament will begin in the second week of February and the first phase will continue for about a month BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal after a meeting of the Board on Thursday had said that the body intends to hold the tournament in two phases This is because the BCCI is planning to start the IPL from March 27 and it will be practically impossible to hold the Ranji Trophy at a stretch Dhumal had said this after many state units and the BCCI brass held a meeting to discuss the way forward The meeting was also attended by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and Shah The pandemic had played spoilsport last season as well when the BCCI could only organise two mens white-ball tournaments Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy The BCCI paid 50 per cent of the earlier match fee as compensation to all first-class cricketers who endured financial losses due to Ranjis cancellation last year PTI AT PM PM PM

New Delhi [India], November 27 (ANI): Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal on Saturday said that the board is in regular touch with Cricket South Africa (CSA) regarding the upcoming bilateral series and how player safety needs to be ensured looking at the new COVID-19 variant which has emerged in South Africa.

For a couple of days now, BCCI’s dietary plans have been under the scanner. It is said that the BCCI had recommended Halal meat to the players. With this, BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal has spoken about the fact they have not recommended any kind of dietary plans to the players. He further went on t […]

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal says the global interest for new teams in IPL has shown that it is the biggest Make in India brand and the billions of dollars added to its ecosystem will also help the game the world over At the bidding process conducted in Dubai on Monday private equity firm CVC Capitals Partners paid Rs 5625 crore for the Ahmedabad franchise and RPSG Ventures shelled out Rs 7090 crore for the Lucknow franchise The owners of Manchester United also tried to be part of the IPL but lost out in the race All of us Indians have to be proud of the fact that how IPL has grown over the years and how it has become a global sporting brand For Manchester United owners and the likes of CVC they eyeing for the IPL says it all It is the biggest Make in India brand the country has created and we all have to be proud of it Dhumal told PTI Dhumal is also a member of the IPL Governing Council The lucrative league will be a 10-team affair from 2022 Asked if the BCCI expected such high bids after keeping the base price at Rs 2000 crore he said Forget the numbers what it has showcased the world is that we are capable of organising a tournament of this scale very successfully The best of players want to be part of it It has also changed the way cricket is played across formats It is not for us to evaluate The market is the best place to determine the price We have opened the property to the world and people are valuing it You can say the numbers were mindboggling back in 2008 before first edition but look what it has done to the eight franchisees Likewise the new teams would have also done the number crunching much before they came to the table for bidding and they know the value it brings to them As per the exchange rate in 2008 Mumbai Indians were the most expensive franchise out of the eight teams at Rs 450 crore The IPL media rights which were sold for more than Rs 16000 crore will also be up for grabs soon and the Rs 30000 crore could be breached for the 2023-2027 cycle It bodes well for the game of cricket This will not only help Indian cricket but also global cricket The best players want to be part of it and this has also created a buzz among the budding cricketers globally said Dhumal Talking about the upcoming mega auction Dhumal said the process will be fair for all teams including the new entrants A franchise is expected to retain up to four players before the auction with no right to match card We are working on that and we will make sure that all including the new teams get a fair chance to build their side The competitiveness of the tournament has to be there that is why people watch the IPL Dhumal added PTI BS AH AH