Top Stories: Things that made news in the cricket world today

Bowling to Virat Kohli will be a great challenge: Ajaz Patel

• It took a lot of time for Ajaz Patel to make his presence felt to the New Zealand selectors and once he did, he grabbed his first opportunity with both hands in the most scintillating way possible.
• On his debut, he picked up a five-fer in the second innings against Pakistan and helped his side register one of the finest wins in their history.
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IPL 2019: Likely auction date and venue

• The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a witness to 11 jaw-dropping editions.
• Mumbai Indians, led by Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni-captained Chennai Super Kings are the most successful teams in the championship, having won the tournament thrice.
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Bangladesh vs Windies: ICC suspends Shannon Gabriel for the second Test

• Shannon Gabriel, the Windies paceman, has been suspended for their second Test against Bangladesh after an accumulation of demerit points.
• The Windies’ fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been suspended for next week’s second Test in Mirpur after his accumulated demerit points reached five within a 24-month period following his latest breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for which he received a 30 per cent fine and two demerit points.
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Missing out on 2003 World Cup was shattering: VVS Laxman

• Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman would mostly be remembered as one of the greatest batsmen India have ever produced in Test cricket.
• The memories of his knock of 281 against Australia at Eden Gardens in Kolkata is still pretty afresh.
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ICC World T20 renamed as T20 World Cup

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that it has renamed the ICC World T20 as the ICC T20 World Cup.
• This means next editions of the events in 2020 in Australia will be known as the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020. The renaming decision is aligned to the Global Cricket Strategy which will be launched in early 2019, in which the shortest format will not only be used as the vehicle to globalise the game, but to also enhance its profile and status and ensure its status is at par with the pinnacle events of the other two formats.
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Lungi Ngidi ruled out of the home series against Pakistan

• South Africa are currently on a high after an ODI series win over Australia in their own den. They also followed it up with a victory in the one-off T20I.
• The Proteas had also sidelined Zimbabwe in the home series earlier and are awaiting Pakistan to visit the rainbow nation for a full tour of three Tests, five ODIs and three T20 Internationals.
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Australia never sledged me, says VVS Laxman at his autobiography launch

• It is said VVS Laxman is to Australia what Sunil Gavaskar was to the Windies.
• Just as the Little Master’s world-conquering play against the mighty Caribbeans made him a popular man in the islands, Laxman’s rise to the occasion against the champions of his era – Australia – more than once earned him the nickname “Very Very Special” Laxman among the opponent ranks.
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PCB announces a 14-man Pakistan A squad to face England Lions

• There have been a lot of allegations from senior cricketers regarding the operations and functioning of Pakistan’s domestic circuit, but one cannot deny the fact that there have been some good talents that have come through the ranks.
• The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has helped them big time and now they’re keen to send their A side on tour games on a regular basis.
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Australia vs India: Tim Paine names the likely openers for the first Test

• Though the three-match T20I series between Australia and India is currently underway, all the eyes are on the upcoming Tests.
• The hosts announced the 14-man squad for the first couple of matches and made as many as three changes to the team which travelled to the UAE recently.
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S Sreesanth reveals what really happened in the “slapgate” controversy

• Sreesanth, for the most part of his career was in the fulcrum of some controversy or the other.
• Talk about the face-off with Andre Nel in a Test match or taunting Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden after sending them back to the pavilion in the semi-final of the World T20 2007, the discarded cricketer has had a taste of all.
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Shahid Afridi still not convinced with Virat Kohli’s captaincy

• There is no question about Virat Kohli’s talents as a batsman and the world of cricket has acknowledged that he is one of the greatest the game has seen.
• But as far as the man’s captaincy is concerned, there are yet opinions that do not back the 30-year-old even though he is already on way to becoming the most successful for India in the statistician’s books.
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