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Veteran Indian all-rounder R Ashwin claimed his 500th wicket, dismissing Zak Crawley in the third Test against England. The Indian all-rounder has, so far, claimed 500 wickets from 97 Test appearances. Unfortunately for Ashwin, the Indian offspinner had to withdraw from the ongoing third Test against England in Rajkot, citing a family emergency. Moreover, Indian cricketer Varun Aaron on Friday, February 16 announced his retirement from red-ball cricket. The 34-year-old, who is currently featuring in the Ranji Trophy match between Jharkhand and Rajasthan added that this would be his last in First-Class cricket.
Here in this article, we’ll look at all the big news that took place on Thursday, February 16.
Major cricket events that happened on February 16
Ravichandran Ashwin withdraws from ongoing 3rd Test vs England
Indian offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn from the ongoing third Test against England in Rajkot, citing a family emergency. The announcement came late on Friday (February 16) after the conclusion of the second day's play in which the 37-year-old picked up his 500th Test wicket."Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn from the Test squad, effective immediately due to a family medical emergency," the BCCI stated in a media release on Friday (February 16). "In these challenging times, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the team fully supports Ashwin."
ECB turns down Lalit Modi’s billion-dollar offer for The Hundred: Reports
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has reportedly turned down the billion-dollar offer to restructure The Hundred from Lalit Modi, the former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner. In the latest development, the ECB is set to not pursue talks with Lalit Modi about The Hundred, because they are not interested in selling it as a whole. As per the report from Telegraph Sport, Lalit Modi’s representatives met with Vikram Banerjee, the ECB Director of Operations, who is the de facto head of The Hundred, and Richard Gould, the ECB Chief Executive, laying out a 10-year offer to buy the league, while funding it through private investment.
R Ashwin dismisses Zak Crawley to claim his 500th Test wicket
Veteran Indian all-rounder R Ashwin claimed his 500th wicket , dismissing Zak Crawley in the third Test against England. After chipping in with the bat to help India post 445, the Three Lions came out to bat on Day 2. Bowling the 14th over of the second inning, Ashwin went for a slower one with the England opener going for a big, but Rajat Patidar completed a running catch to give Ashwin, his 500th Test wicket. The Indian all-rounder has so far claimed 500* wickets from 97 Test appearances.
Rashid Khan, Faf Du Plessis, and Kieron Pollard among top foreign retentions for MLC 2024
After the first edition’s grand success, Major League Cricket is set to return to the USA on July 4, 2024. List of Retained Players by franchises:
MI New York: Nicholas Pooran (WI), Kieron Pollard (WI), Rashid Khan (AFG), Kagiso Rabada (SA), Dewald Brewis (SA), Trent Boult (NZ), Tim David (AUS)
Texas Super Kings: Faf Du Plessis (SA), Mitchell Santner (NZ), Devon Conway (NZ)
Seattle Orcas: Quinton De Kock (SA), Heinrich Klassen (SA), Imad Wasim (PAK), Wayne Parnell (SA)
San Francisco Unicorn: Fin Allen (NZ), Haris Rauf (PAK)
Los Angeles Knight Riders: Andre Russell (WI), Sunil Narine (WI), Spencer Johnson (AUS), Adam Zampa (AUS), Jason Roy (ENG)
Washington Freedom: Marco Jansen (SA), Akeal Hossein (WI)
Varun Aaron retires from First Class cricket; reveals future plans
Indian cricketer Varun Aaron on Friday, February 16 announced his retirement from red-ball cricket. The 34-year-old, who is currently featuring in the Ranji Trophy match between Jharkhand and Rajasthan added that this would be his last in First-Class cricket. “I have been playing red-ball cricket since 2008. Since I bowled fast, I picked up a number of injuries. I understand now that my body won’t allow me to continue bowling fast in red-ball cricket, so I have decided to quit,” Varun Aaron told ESPNcricinfo.
Ishan Kishan continues to skip Ranji Trophy despite BCCI directives; triggers controversy
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has fueled controversies since his absence from the national team. Continuing, the trend, he missed the recent Ranji Trophy match despite being informed by the BCCI management to play. Kishan wasn’t part of Jharkhand’s final Ranji Trophy Elite Group match against Rajasthan, starting February 16, as the wicketkeeper-batter opted to skip it and was not named in the XI. However, he wasn’t the sole Indian contracted player to miss it. Deepak Chahar, who has been out of cricketing action for a while, also decided to overlook his Ranji Trophy commitments.
