Feature
Zaheer Abbas confirmed as ICC president
Bridgetown (Barbados): Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas assumed the office of International Cricket Council (ICC) president on Day 3 of the world cricket governing body’s Annual Conference week here.
Zaheer began his one-year term and thanked the ICC Board and the Full Council for confirming his nomination.
“I feel truly honoured and humbled to be appointed as the president of the governing body of our great game. This is the sport which has given us friendship, respect, recognition and an opportunity to serve our countries in different capacities. Personally speaking, it has given me more than I can ever possibly repay,” said Abbas.
“I am thankful to all of you for the support and confidence placed in me by confirming my nomination. I am also grateful to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for proposing my candidacy. I assure you all that I will stand shoulder to shoulder with all the ICC Members as we continue to strive to inspire more and more people to fall in love with the game we cherish.”
ICC chairman N. Srinivasan congratulated Zaheer on his appointment.
“Zaheer’s outstanding career as a stylish right-handed batsman is reflected in his remarkable record with 108 first-class hundreds and more than 7,500 international runs. Zaheer is clearly an iconic cricketer who always played the game with skill, flair and in the true spirit. He is a worthy ambassador of our great game,” said Srinivasan.
Zaheer, 67, played 78 Tests and 62 One-Day Internationals (ODI) from 1969 to 1985 in which he scored 5,062 and 2,572 runs, respectively. He also played in the 1975, 1979 and 1983 World Cups and captained Pakistan in 14 Tests and 13 ODIs. With 108 hundreds, Zaheer is the only Asian to score a century of first-class centuries as he finished his 22-year career with 34,843 runs.
Zaheer was also an ICC match referee in the 1993 series between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in Sri Lanka.
The ICC president’s role will be rotated in the following order: South Africa (2016-17), Zimbabwe (2017-18), the West Indies (2018-19), England (2019-20), Associate/Affiliate Members (2020-21), Associate/Affiliate Members (2021-22), India (2022-23), Sri Lanka (2023-24), Australia (2024-25), New Zealand (2025-26), Bangladesh (2026-27).
The ICC president is required under the ICC’s Memorandum and Articles of Association to be ‘an iconic former international cricketer of high standing and repute’.
The ICC Council also approved the admission of the Serbia Cricket Federation (SCF) as its 58th Affiliate Member. Regrettably, the ICC Council also agreed to suspend the Affiliate Memberships of Morocco and Turkey while Brunei was removed as an Affiliate Member.
The ICC has 105 members. The Full Council includes 37 Associate Members, five Affiliate Member representatives and 10 Full Members. The ICC chairman and ICC chief executive are also part of the Full Council but don’t have voting rights.
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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