ICC to add 2 more teams to women’s T20, ODI World Cup from 2026

Agencies

March 8, 2021

Bengaluru, Mar 8: The International Cricket Council said on Monday it would add two more teams to both the one-day and Twenty20 editions of the women's World Cup from 2026 as part of its plans to expand the women's game.

The Twenty20 World Cup in 2026 and the two subsequent editions would feature 12 teams, the ICC said in a statement on International Women's Day. The four previous editions have had 10 teams.

The 50-overs World Cup in 2029 would become a 10-team tournament.

"We have a clear focus and commitment to an ambitious long-term growth plan for the women’s game," ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said after sharing the post-2023 cycle of events.

"We have been building momentum around the women’s game for the last four years investing in global broadcast coverage and marketing to drive fan engagement."

The ICC also unveiled a six-team women's T20 Champions Cup tournament, to be held in 2027 and 2031.

The announcement comes exactly a year since Meg Lanning's Australia beat India in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in front of a record 86,000-plus crowd in Melbourne.

The tournament in Australia also attracted record television numbers, making it the most-watched women's cricket event of all time.

"This decision to expand our women’s events builds on these foundations and allows us to give more member countries greater opportunities to compete on a global stage," Sawhney said.

"This means that more teams will also get the opportunity to compete in the qualification pathways for the respective ICC events over the coming years."

New Zealand hosts the next ODI World Cup, featuring eight teams, in 2022. The tournament could not be held this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Taliban appoints Ikramuddin Kamil as acting consul in Mumbai as India-Afghan ties improve

News Network

November 12,2024

The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, Afghan media has reported.

It is the first such appointment made by the Taliban set up to any Afghan mission in India.

There was no immediate comment from the Indian side on the appointment that came.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has announced the appointment of Kamil as the acting consul in Mumbai, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

"He is currently in Mumbai, where he is fulfilling his duties as a diplomat representing the Islamic Emirate," it said.

The appointment is part of Kabul's efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with India and enhance its presence abroad, the media outlet said

Kamil holds a PhD degree in international law and previously served as the deputy director in the department of security cooperation and border affairs in the foreign ministry, it said.

He is expected to facilitate consular services and represent the interests of Afghanistan in India, the report added.

Kamil's appointment comes days after the external affairs ministry's point-person for Afghanistan held talks with the Taliban's acting defence minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, in Kabul.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, also posted on X about Kamil's appointment.

The appointment of Kamil is seen as part of efforts to facilitate consular services to the Afghan population in Mumbai.

There has been almost negligible presence of diplomatic staff at the Afghan missions in India.

Most of the diplomats appointed by the Ashraf Ghani government have already left India.

In May, Zakia Wardak, the seniormost Afghan diplomat in India, resigned from her position after reports emerged that she was caught at the Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 25 kg of gold worth Rs 18.6 crore from Dubai.

Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi late last year, after working as the Afghan consul general in Mumbai for more than two years.

She took charge of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi last November, after the mission helmed by then ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its closure.

Mamundzay, who was an appointee of the Ghani government, had moved to the United Kingdom.

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