Feature
ICC president Kamal sniffs conspiracy in Bangladesh’s defeat
Melbourne/New Delhi/Dhaka: Bangladesh’s 109-run defeat against India in a World Cup quarterfinal has created an outcry in Bangladesh, with fans and supporters alleging the umpires had favoured the winners. International Cricket Council (ICC) president Mustafa Kamal has expressed similar sentiments, but the Indian cricket board rubished the accusations.
The ICC president, who hails from Bangladesh, said it could have been a deliberate attempt to throw out his country from the quadrennial event.
“It could be deliberate. Though I cana¿t say it absolutely but it looks like that. I know in cricket, human errors are quite possible, but how can a dozen decisions go against Bangladesh? It was very, very poor umpiring,” Kamal was quoted as saying by ABP News in Dhaka on Friday.
Kamal said such horrendous umpiring decisions came as a shock to him.
“I was there in the ground and I saw whatever happened. What happened was just not on, so many mistakes cannot take place in a single match. It naturally created a furore among the fans,” he said.
Kamal made it clear that the issue would be raised in the next ICC meeting. He said he was also surprised at the slogans on display boards across the MCG, which read “Jitega bhai jitega, India jitega (only India will win)”.
He also admitted that such slogans on the screens were a violation of the ICC rules.
“Umpiring errors killed the game, but I was surprised how could messages supporting India be displayed on the giant screens. It looked as if India’s win was pre-decided. I told the ICC CEO (Dave Richardson) about it and even he said it was wrong and should be stopped. In spite of that it didn’t stop. Such things are gonna kill the game,” Kamal alleged.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will lodge a complaint with the ICC about poor umpiring.
There were angry protests in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. In the Dhaka University area, an effigy was seen burning with protesters chanting the names of the two on-field umpires. Protest processions were also brought out Ain some parts of Dhaka, according to television reports.
However, Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur countered Kamal’s statements and asserted India won on their own strength.
“He has raised some issues, he has the right to do so but if anyone has any complains he should use the correct platform. He is the ICC president and I wish he would have blurted out these things in the ICC which would have been more appropriate.
“Bangladesh lost by more than 100 runs, it was a significant encounter but they lost it, so they can be angry and sad, but India won on their own strength and they are ready for the games to come,” concluded Thakur.
The biggest controversy of the match happened in the 40th over of the Indian innings as opener Rohit Sharma was held in the deep off a Rubel Hossain high full-toss. The umpires called it a no-ball citing it was over waist high, but television replays showed it was not. Rohit went on to punish Bangladesh scoring 47 more runs to end at 137.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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