TOP 10 Controversies of World Cup 2019

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World Cup 2019: ICC defends decision to not have reserve days for league matches

Three games have already been washed out at this world cup.

What’s the story?

ICC CEO Dave Richardson has issued a clarification after concerns were raised over the lack of reserve days for the World Cup 2019 league stage games. Richardson defended the ICC's decision by blaming the unseasonably wet British weather for disrupting the schedule.

In case you didn’t know...

The poor weather in England has given the event the unwanted record for the most number of abandoned games at a World Cup, surpassing the two each at the 1992 and 2003 editions. Three games have already been washed out during this World Cup due to heavy rain. More matches are expected to be affected by rain in the upcoming weeks. The ICC have only kept reserve days for the semi-finals and the final.
Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes was not pleased with the ICC's decision of not having reserve days for the initial World Cup games. Bangladesh's clash against Sri Lanka in Bristol was abandoned on Tuesday, with the two Asian countries having to split points.

The heart of the matter

A statement from Richardson read,

"Factoring in a reserve day for every match at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup would significantly increase the length of the tournament and practically would be extremely complex to deliver.

"It would impact pitch preparation, team recovery and travel days and very importantly the spectators who in some instances have travelled hours to be at the game. There is also no guarantee that the reserve day would be free from rain either. This is extremely unseasonable weather. In the last couple of days, we have experienced more than twice the average monthly rainfall for June which is usually the third driest month in the UK."

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World Cup 2019: 'In bad taste on both sides' Twitter reacts to Pakistan’s World Cup promo video on Abhinandan

Jazz TV AD ahead of India vs Pakistan clash

India vs Pakistan has been without a shadow of a doubt, one of the biggest rivalries in the world of cricket. Fans from both countries are desperate for their teams to win the encounter owing to the history between the two nations. The level of intensity in these games is very high. Both sets of cricketers give their everything during these clashes. Both the teams are scheduled to face each other in another blockbuster clash on 16th June.

Ahead of Sunday’s crucial match between India and Pakistan at Old Trafford, an advertisement on Pakistani channel called Jazz TV, has taken the internet by storm. The ad features a character looking like Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian Air Force pilot who was captured, briefly held and then released by the Pakistani armed forces in February.
The character is seen sporting the pilot’s signature moustache and is dressed in the Indian cricket team’s jersey. The character also refuses to answer any question asked about India’s strategy, similar to Abhinandan’s situation back in February. The Jazz TV advertisement also has the man praising the tea he’s given, much like the IAF pilot.

This comes after the Star Sports India ad where an Indian supporter describes himself as Pakistan’s “abbu" or father. Interestingly, it was all started by Star TV’s ‘Mauka’Mauka’ ad during the 2015 World Cup which didn’t go down well with the Pakistani fans.

Twitterati were furious with both the ads as they depict the sensitive political situation between in the countries in poor light. Some of the noted celebs like Sania Mirza have objected strongly to these commercials.

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World Cup 2019: PCB complains to ICC about Star Sports' India vs Pakistan ad

The India vs Pakistan ad

What's the story?

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is unhappy with the advertisement broadcast by Star Sports in anticipation of the World Cup 2019 match between India and Pakistan. The apex cricket body of Pakistan has found parts of the advertisement 'objectionable', and has registered a complaint with ICC over the issue.


In case you didn't know...

During the 2015 World Cup Star Sports released a series of advertisements which trolled Pakistan for never beating India in the World Cup, using the catchphrase 'Mauka mauka'. The campaign was such a success that the broadcasters released another version ahead of the India vs Pakistan clash at the ongoing World Cup, which aimed more barbs at Pakistan's poor record against their arch-rivals.

The heart of the matter

In the new advertisement, a Pakistani fan was shown talking to a Bangladeshi fan. The Pakistani fan said that his dad told him to never give up. To this, an Indian fan replied that he had never told him so. This implied that the Indian fan was the father of Pakistani fan, something which did not go well with the PCB.
A senior BCCI official has revealed that Ehsan Mani, the PCB Chairman, raised a complaint with the ICC.
“Yes, Ehsan Mani on behalf of PCB has ********d the ICC raising objection on the content of the TVC. I am not sure if Mani has written a letter or had a telephonic conversation but we have come to know that an objection has been raised,” the BCCI official privy to the controversy told PTI.
According to further reports, the ICC then had a word with Star Sports. The apex cricket body apparently wants to ensure that broadcasters don't release any more commercials which create similar controversy.

What's next?

Now that the ICC has had a word with Star Sports, the latter would be more careful while marketing the other high-profile matches - particularly those involving Pakistan. The India vs Pakistan rivalry has always been fraught with tension, and while the Indian fans enjoyed the Star Sports ad thoroughly, it is understandable why the people on the other side of the border didn't.

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Sourav Ganguly explains why Virat Kohli walked despite not edging the ball against Pakistan

Virat Kohli walked despite being not out

What's the story?

An unusual incident happened in yesterday's high-octane encounter between India and Pakistan as the Indian skipper Virat Kohli walked despite being not out.
However, later in the commentary box, the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly revealed the possible reason as to why Virat Kohli walked. According to Ganguly, the handle of Kohli's bat could have creaked which could have eventually led to the sound that we heard as the ball went past the bat.

In case you didn't know...

The India-Pakistan clash happened to be a pretty one-sided encounter right from the start of the day. Despite winning the toss, Pakistan couldn't make an informed decision as they decided to bowl first which backfired as the Rohit Sharma's brilliant century and KL Rahul's gritty fifty set a fantastic platform for the Indian middle-order.
Capitalizing on that, Virat played a fiery knock of 77, and Hardik Pandya too rose to the occasion as he chipped in with quick-fire 26. As a result, India set a mammoth target of 337 for Pakistan. Unsurprisingly, the target proved to be too much for Pakistan as they lost the game by 89 runs (DLS method).

The heart of the matter

The incident of Virat walking away voluntarily happened in the 48th over of the 1st innings. Kohli was on the strike and Mohammad Amir was the bowler. The Indian captain looked set to finish India's innings on a high but Amir's sharp bouncer came as a surprise to Kohli. Virat tried to hit the bouncer out of the park but failed to make any contact as the ball travelled straight to Sarfaraz Ahmed and the Pakistanis appealed thinking that the Indian skipper nicked it.
Not waiting for the umpire to make his decision, Kohli made his way back to the pavilion as felt that he has nicked the ball. However, later the Ultra Edge revealed that he didn't nick the ball and there was daylight between the bat and the ball.
Later in the commentary box, Sourav Ganguly revealed the possible reason as to why the Indian skipper walked.
"There is a creak in the handle (of Virat's bat). It's a common problem in this part of the world when you keep getting hit in the top of the bat the handle starts creaking. When nobody believes you have hit it, it's actually the sound (from the handle) that makes the batsman believe that there's some edge", said Sourav on the official TV broadcast.

What's next?

The wicket, thankfully, did not have any effect on the result as India comfortably beat Pakistan. The Indian cricket team will now head to Southampton where they will meet their Asian counterpart Afghanistan on 22nd June.

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Hashmatullah Shahidi’s Catch to Dismiss Liton Das During Bangladesh vs Afghanistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Match Stirs Controversy | SEE POSTS

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan: Liton Das dismissal has stirred fresh controversy.

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan: Umpiring has faced the heat already in the tournament for poor decisions, once again it is grabbing headlines. During ongoing Bangladesh vs Afghanistan match, Liton Das dismissal and he catch have stirred controversy. The incident took place in the fifth over which was bowled by Mujeeb ur Rahman. Mujeeb floated it up, it was the carrom ball and Das couldn’t resist the drive. Das couldn’t keep it down either and Shahidi at cover took a good low catch. The umpires weren’t sure and wanted to confirm it upstairs. With the soft signal being out, the replays had to get something conclusive for the original call to be reversed. That wasn’t the case and Das had to go.