Feature
Indian selectors to pick World Cup squad of team India on April 15 for London trip
New Delhi: The Indian Cricket team national selectors led by M.S.K. Prasad will meet on April 15 in Mumbai to pick the squad for the 2019 World Cup in England, starting May 30. India are considered one of the favourites going into this edition of the World Cup.
The cut-off date is April 23 and the selectors have been waiting to watch the performance of some of the players in the ongoing Indian Premier League considering that the position of the number four batsman and the fourth fast bowler is still up for grabs.
Speaking to media persons, a senior BCCI official said that the selectors wanted to wait a bit before finalising the squad and the ongoing IPL held them to take a look at some of the players who are in the radar to fill a couple of spots.
“The selectors wanted to take it easy as they had time till April 23 to send in the squad for the World Cup. With the IPL on, it always helps to see how some of the boys are playing,” the official explained.
National selectors to Indian team of Men-In-Blue will select World Cup squad on April 15th:
While most of the players pick themselves, Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant are the two main contenders for the No.4 slot in the batting department. While Rayudu has flattered to deceive in this edition of the IPL, Pant has shown his brilliance in flashes. But his inability to finish games has been something that pundits have spoken about time and again in this IPL.
Vijay Shankar is another player who could be looked at as an option considering that he has been looking to bat up in the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad in this IPL.
The fourth pacer’s slot is something that the selectors will be sweating over as someone like a Navdeep Saini has been very impressive in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri’s input will definitely be asked for before a final decision is made.
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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