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Kumble to be inducted into ICC’s Hall of Fame Sunday
Dubai: Legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble will be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket Hall of Fame during the World Cup match between India and South Africa in Melbourne Sunday, the game’s world governing body announced Thursday.
Kumble, who succeeded Rahul Dravid as India’s Test captain, will be the 77th member to be included in the elite list. Kumble is the fourth Indian cricketer to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after fellow former captains Bishen Bedi, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. The legendary trio was inducted into the list in 2009.
The 44-year-old Kumble, with 619 Test wickets, is the third highest wicket-taker after Muttiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708). He also has 337 wickets in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) that ranks him in ninth position on the all-time list of most successful bowlers in that format.
“It’s an honour to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Indeed, it will be a great moment of pride to receive it during the World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). I deem it as a great privilege to join the list of great cricketing luminaries,” Kumble said.
Kumble, who is now the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, captained India in 14 Tests between 2007 and 2008, winning three and losing five.
In the 138-year history of Tests during which 2,156 Tests have been played to date, Kumble is one of only two bowlers after England’s Jim Laker to have taken all 10 wickets in an innings. He achieved the feat against traditional rival Pakistan in New Delhi in February 1999.
Kumble made his Test debut in 1990 in Manchester and his final appearance was in New Delhi in October-November 2008. During his career, Kumble played 132 Tests and 271 ODIs.
Apart from his 619 Test and 337 ODI wickets, Kumble also scored 2,506 runs in Tests and 938 runs in ODIs.
Also, late Australian woman cricketer Betty Wilson will also be inducted into the list. She played 11 Tests between 1947 and 1958 in which she scored 862 runs at an average of 57.4 and took 68 wickets at 11.8 per wicket.
Wilson passed away on Jan 22, 2010, aged 88.
Kumble and Wilson will be formally honoured during the innings break in the India versus South Africa match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
ICC director and chairman of Cricket Australia, Wally Edwards, will present Kumble his commemorative cap, while Wilson’s commemorative cap will be received by her nephew, Ken Wilson, from ICC chief executive David Richardson.
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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