As Daily Mirror exclusively reported last Wednesday (27) the Ministry of Youth and Sports has appointed former Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) President Asanga Seneviratne the head of the advisory committee for the development of rugby in Sri Lanka.
England skipper Eoin Morgan on Saturday lauded Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes as among the ’’world’s best’’ after their eight-wicket thrashing of Australia to close in on a semi-final spot at the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.
Jason Holder, who stands 6ft 7ins (2.01m) tall, took an outfield catch that helped West Indies keep their Twenty20 World Cup title hopes alive on Friday, leaving Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah Riyad to lament the fielder not being 5ft 10ins (1.78m) Shimron Hetmyer instead.
Former English rugby star Ben Gollings made a sensational return to the Sri Lanka rugby circuit on Monday (25) when he was appointed as Rugby Director to oversee both men’s and women’s sides in the shorter format with the Asia Rugby 7’s Series around the corner.
Pakistan is ranked third in the ICC’s T20I Rankings; a position which on paper suggests a team that can be genuine title contenders. However, the lead up to the tournament has not seen many name Babar Azam’s side among the favourites. The somewhat tempered expectations could work in favour of a team that has plenty of individual match-winners.
India has been among the tournament favourites in ICC events for the last decade but are without any silverware since the Champions Trophy in 2013. Captain Virat Kohli has indicated his intention of resigning from T20I captaincy following the tournament and with him doing the same for the Royal Challenger Bangalore franchise in the IPL, it will be his final chance to claim a T20 trophy under his captaincy.
Sri Lanka head into this month’s T20 World Cup with plenty to prove, having sunk to tenth position in the ICC T20I Rankings and being required to fight it out in the Opening Round of the tournament in order to qualify for the Super 12 stage.
Five years have lapsed since Carlos Brathwaite thundered Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes into the Kolkata sky to take the West Indies to their second T20 World Cup title. So long has the gap between tournaments been, that Brathwaite has since gone on to captain the West Indies T20 side and thereafter suffer a fall from grace to leave him well out of the picture by the time the squad for this year’s tournament was named.
ODI World Champions England with much of the same batting line-up that has terrorized white-ball bowlers over the last five years. They are missing the services of talismanic all-rounder and hero of the 2019 World Cup Final Ben Stokes, but Liam Livingstone’s emergence over the English summer could mean that Stokes’ absence is not felt too strongly.
Temba Bavuma’s South Africa will have a point to prove as they kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign on October 23 versus Australia. With only two teams per group advancing to the knock-out phase of the tournament, South Africa will need to be on the ball right from the start as they face another challenging game against the West Indies three days later.
Canada issues travel advisory over serious risk in Arugam Bay
More countries issue travel advisories
Sri Lanka Tourism invites global travellers for upcoming season
Russian embassy urges citizens to stay vigilant in Arugam Bay
US Embassy issues travel warning for Arugam Bay
Immigration authorities to crack down on overstaying Russians, Israelis
Sri Lanka may face another economic turmoil: Sajith