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I Havent Yet Retired From T20is Lasith Malinga Rubbishes Claims Of Mentoring Lpl Side

I haven’t yet retired from T20Is: Lasith Malinga rubbishes claims of mentoring LPL side

Sri Lanka speedster Lasith Malinga has rubbished claims of being in touch with any franchise of the Lankan Premier League for a mentorship role, saying that he hasn’t even retired from T20I cricket. The Mumbai Indians legend took to Twitter to quash all rumours.

“A false statement has been circulating saying that I’ll be joining the upcoming LPL series as a mentor. No discussion has been made with any official authorities as of now, since I haven’t yet retired from national T20 cricket,” Malinga tweeted through his official handle.

A veteran of 294 T20s, 84 of which are international games for his nation, the 37-year-old has also been a T20 World Cup-winning skipper when Sri Lanka won the 2014 T20 World Cup beating India in Bangladesh.

However, over the past few years, he hasn’t been in the touch that he used to and in fact, hasn’t played any competitive game ever since the last of the two T20Is against West Indies at Pallekelle on March 6 in 2020.

Earlier this year, the Galle born had announced his retirement from franchise cricket after quitting Mumbai Indians as a player.

The second edition of the LPL is slated to start on July 30. However, not much detail has been revealed about the tournament as of now.

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Different kind of mazaa: Prithvi Shaw relishes opportunity to reunite with U-19 coach Rahul Dravid

India’s opening batter Prithvi Shaw is excited to be reunited with his U-19 coach Rahul Dravid, who is now on national duty as coach of the Indian white-ball side which is touring Sri Lanka. The Delhi Capitals opener feels that talking with and playing under the guidance of the Indian legend is a different kind of mazaa (enjoyment) in itself. “There is a different kind of mazaa (enjoyment) playing under Rahul sir. He was our India under-19 coach. The way he speaks, the way he shares his coaching experience, is just amazing,” Prithvi was quoted as saying to Indian Express in an interview. “Whenever he talks about the game, it shows how much experience he brings to the table. He knows everything about cricket. The way he speaks on conditions and how to use them is just out of this world,” added the 21-year-old who won a U-19 World Cup as a captain under Dravid’ guidance in 2018. Looking to share dressing room space with Dravid, Prithvi, who has so far played five Tests and three ODIs for India, is looking for an opportunity to cement his place in the Indian set-up as well. “On this tour, I just have to grab the opportunity. I was desperate to get back into the Indian team. I have always kept the team above me. Be it India, Ranji Trophy team, club or my school team. I want to give my best,” said Prithvi.

USA, Namibia and Scotland among 17 countries eager to host ICC Men’s tournaments

The International Cricket Council confirmed that a total of 17 counties including Associate members like the United States of America, Scotland, Namibia, Malaysia, UAE and Oman have submitted the preliminary technical proposal required for them to be considered for hosting ICC events in the next eight-year cycle. The other countries interested in hosting include permanent members such as Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe. "We are delighted with the response from our Members to hosting ICC men's white-ball events post 2023. This process gives us an opportunity to extend our range of hosts and grow interest in cricket worldwide, reaching more fans whilst creating a long-term legacy for the sport," ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said in a press release. There are in total eight ICC Men’s tournaments including two ODI World Cups, four T20I World Cups and two Champions Trophies during this time. The ICC Word Test Championship hosting along with those for the Women’s and U-19 tournaments has yet not been opened and a process regarding that would be laid out by the ICC later on. The 17 countries that have submitted the initial proposal would now have to submit a detailed proposal regarding their plans for the tournament. Post that the ICC will enumerate the path for the decisions.

With July 8 deadline to sign the contract, Sri Lanka players and board to tussle again

With the Sri Lankan players returning from their disastrous England tour on Tuesday, July 6, the ghost of the Sri Lankan Cricket player’s contract returns as well. The conflict between the board and the players have been going on ever since the SLC made public the new contracts and the player’s fee associated with it in May 2021. The SLC has decided to make July 8 the last date for the signing of the central contracts before the India series begins on July 13. Ho0wever, players wouldn’t really be willing to sign it having already defied a June 3 deadline to sign the contracts citing a lack of transparency in the process of drafting the contract. The main challenge that the players presented was that the remuneration that the board was paying to the Sri Lankan professionals was at least thrice less than what the popular cricket boards pay their players. The cited Federation of International Cricket Association (FICA) to justify their case. Now, with three top cricketers already banned for a year and the players not really playing that well, their case doesn’t remain really strong and it would be interesting to see if they sign the contract or the SLC would field a second-string side. The first of the three ODIs begin on July 13 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

In two separate incidents, Sri Lanka's Bhanuka Rajapaksa and performance analyst get banned

In two separate incidents two of Sri Lanka’s cricket fraternity members, a former national team cricket analyst and a cricket player were banned by the International Cricket Council and Sri Lanka Cricket respectively. While SLC handed Galle Gladiators' player, Bhanuka Rajapaksa a one-year ban from all forms of cricket and slapped him with a fine of USD 5000 for breach in player contract, Sanath Jayasundara, a former Sri Lanka Cricket performance analyst was handed a seven-year ban from all forms of cricket by the anti-corruption tribunal of the ICC after he was found guilty of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code. Rajapaksa, 29, has however been drafted into the 13 member squad that might face Team Indian in the upcoming ODI and T20I series to be held in Colombo, starting July 13. Since his ban is two years suspended, the player appeared in the fitness and cleared it as well, making him eligible to join the bio-bubble set up in Colombo. The NCC player has so far appeared in seven T20Is for the Lankan lions having made 5his debut in 2019 against Pakistan. Jayasundara, on the other hand, has been charged with bribery. In 2019, he had attempted to bribe Sri Lanka's then sports minister Harin Fernando to try and "influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match".