Feature
Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman join BCCI advisory committee
Mumbai: Batting legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman were named to the newly-formed advisory cricket committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday.
“The president of the BCCI, Jagmohan Dalmiya, has nominated Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman as esteemed members of the Cricket advisory committee of the BCCI, with immediate effect,” the BCCI said in a statement.
The trio’s “areas of immediate focus will be to provide guidance to our national team as we set out to enhance our performance on overseas engagements, provide direction to improve our talent pathway and take steps to strengthen domestic cricket to better prepare our players to handle the rigours of international cricket”, it said.
Many feel the inclusion of former captains Ganguly, Tendulkar and ex-vice captain Laxman — who have a combined experience of 447 Tests among them — is a big move as India head into a critical phase where their Test team will be led by young batsman Virat Kohli, while in the shorter formats Mahendra Singh Dhoni will continue to lead the side.
In the last couple of years, India’s Test performance has been marked by overseas series losses in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand that resulted in India dropping to the fourth spot in the Test rankings. They were the No.1 team from December 2009, till August 2011.
“I am happy to note that our eminent cricketers have come forward to lend their experience and insights as we work towards a common goal of taking Indian cricket to greater heights,” Dalmiya said on Monday.
“The coming generations are bound to benefit from the guidance that will be provided by these luminaries and will go a long way in strengthening our existing system.”
The three former cricketers, who played for India from 1989 till 2013, are also expected to have their say on the selection of coaches.
Interestingly, the BCCI is yet to appoint a new head coach following Duncan Fletcher’s departure and the absence of former captain Rahul Dravid from the advisory committee, has fuelled further rumours.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said: “On behalf of all my colleagues in the BCCI, I thank Sachin, Sourav and Laxman for having accepted our invitation to be part of this prestigious committee, and I am confident that their invaluable advice will help Indian cricket regain its leadership position in all formats of the game.”
“Their participation augurs well for the future of the game in our country and the noble intention to ‘give back to the game’ is commendable.”
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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