Feature
Aim to Finish My Career With 100 Test Wickets: Sreesanth
Kochi: After his life ban was reduced to seven years, S Sreesanth has set his sights on making a comeback into the Indian team and end his international career on a high. The 36-year-old is hopeful of making a comeback into the Indian Test team and finish his career with 100 wickets. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ombudsman Justice (retd) DK Jain on Tuesday reduced Sreesanth’s life ban, imposed for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing, to seven years saying that “his prime years as a Cricketer, particularly as a fast bowler may already be over”.
Delighted with the news, Sreesanth thanked all his fans, well-wishers and everyone else who prayed for him.
“I am extremely delighted with what I have heard now. Thanks to each one of my well-wishers who prayed for me and the prayers have been answered. I am 36 now and next year I will be 37,” Sreesanth told the media.
Sreesanth who has 87 Test wickets to his name needs 13 more wickets to take his tally to three-figure mark. While exuding confidence in his aim, the Kerala bowler also said that he always wanted to play under current captain Virat Kohli.
“I have 87 Test wickets and my aim is I want to finish my career with 100 Test wickets. I am confident that I can return to the Indian Test team and always wanted to play under Virat Kohli,” Sreesanth added.
Sreesanth also threw light on the process which he will follow to fulfill his aim. Sreesanth said making a comeback at this age will be possible by following a “proper roadmap”.
“I have a proper roadmap now. I will follow that and not disappoint any of my fans or people who supported me. I will make sure I train really hard and make a comeback not just for Kerala cricket team but in the list of cricketers who play for the country,” Sreesanth was quite as saying by news agency ANI.
The Supreme Court had asked the BCCI Ombudsman Justice (retd) DK Jain to decide on the quantum of punishment for the cricketer for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing scandal that rocked the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Acting on the apex court’s directives, Jain decided that his ban will end on September 12, 2020 — seven years as compared to the original life ban.
Sreesanth is only the second Keralite to represent the country and in his brief career, he has played 27 Tests, scalping 87 wickets.
He also has 75 wickets from 53 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and seven wickets from 10 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
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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