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West Indies, who have been elbowed out the 2017 Champions Trophy since they last played an ODI, will be looking to regain their reputation against a Sri Lanka team that has not won an ODI series since 2014

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Oct-2015

Match facts

November 1, 2015
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)1:01

New-look West Indies hope for change in fortune

Big Picture

Sri Lanka have had an abysmal year in ODIs. The last time they won an ODI series was against England at home, and let’s be fair, that barely even counts. They lost the ODI series in New Zealand 4-2, crashed spectacularly out in the World Cup quarter-final, and have since lost to Pakistan.But they are now up against a side that has arguably had an even worse 2015 – partly because they have barely had the chance to play any ODI. West Indies were defeated 4-1 by South Africa at the beginning of the year, memorably lost to Ireland in a World Cup campaign which also came to an end in the quarter-final, and they have not played since. During their down time, West Indies were elbowed out of the 2017 Champions Trophy.Jason Holder’s men now set out to regain something of their reputation – to prove that they can still be a force in limited-overs cricket, even if Test-match excellence is some way off. There are a few bright sparks in the side, as partially evidenced by the visitors’ stirring comeback in the practice match on Thursday. In that game, Carlos Brathwaite and Andre Russell – batting at nos. 8 and 9, cracked 193 runs together off 109 balls, to propel the team beyond 300. West Indies may not yet have a side that can prevail over five days, but they still have limited-overs cricketers who can scramble oppositions.Though West Indies’ trial by spin is likely to continue on a Khettarama surface known to turn up dry on match day, they will be pleased that Rangana Herath – chief among their banes in the Tests – will not play. Instead, Sri Lanka are set to field a more fragile spin attack. Sachithra Senanayake has been a diminished bowler since remodeling his action last year, Ajantha Mendis has often been exposed by powerful hitting, and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay is yet to play an ODI.Sri Lanka’s batting appears much sturdier than the visitors’ top order, but is awash in inexperience, and as such, is hardly infallible.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WLLWL
West Indies: LWLLW

In the spotlight

Lasith Malinga bowled so poorly against Pakistan, he was eventually dropped from the XI for the last match of that series. His T20 returns were no better. Having been visibly unfit since his ankle surgery last year, Malinga has lost a little of the accuracy and pace that once envenomed his bowling. He is Sri Lanka’s T20 captain for now, and with a major tournament on the horizon, fans will be intrigued to learn whether Malinga can still make top orders wobble as much as his belly recently has.Since Sunil Narine last played an international match, in August last year, he has had his action reported and tested twice by the BCCI. He has been cleared by them to bowl, after adopting a remedied action, which has not been tested at international level yet. With Marlon Samuels also facing suspicion of throwing, Narine’s nous and variations will be relied upon on in Colombo.

Teams news

Sri Lanka may try to shoehorn batting allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya somewhere in the top seven – most likely at No.6, pushing Milinda Siriwardana to No.7. The rest of the top order is fairly predictable. With Jayasuriya and Siriwardana both capable of providing spin, Sri Lanka may opt to include tearaway Dushmantha Chameera, to provide variety to the pace attack. Lahiru Thirimanne is expected to reclaim his place at No.3, after being dropped in the Tests. Dinesh Chandimal is suspended for the first ODI, and is likely to be replaced by Danushka Gunathilaka, meaning there could be two ODI debutants.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Shehan Jayasuriya, 7 Milinda Siriwardana, 8 Sachithra Senanayake, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Dushmantha ChameeraIt has been so long since West Indies have played an ODI, their XI is much more difficult to predict. Narine looks likely to play, and Andre Fletcher looks likely to open in place of the injured Chris Gayle.West Indies (probable): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Carlos Brathwaite, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Ravi Rampaul

Pitch and conditions

Colombo has been experiencing heavy evening rains all through the past week. More of the same is expected on Sunday, which means the Duckworth-Lewis equation may be used at some point in the evening. The Premadasa surface is usually given to turn.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have won four and lost eight matches this year.
• Marlon Samuels’ ODI record in Sri Lanka is almost as poor as his Test record. He has hit 57 runs at an average of 14.25 across five innings on the island.
• Angelo Mathews needs 85 runs to reach 4000 in ODIs.

Quotes

“We won’t announce our team till the morning of the match, but there’s a good chance we’ll see some young players in the XI.”
“Sri Lanka is ranked higher than us now. If we beat this team here now, we will gain quite a few rankins points. It’s important that we keep winning games and keep boosting our points. All these restrictions and cut off points in terms of ICC tournaments is very important.”
*13:16 GMT – This story had incorrectly included Dinesh Chandimal in the probable XI. This has been fixed.

A round-up of the Group C games from the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 on November 24, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2015
ScorecardIt was a startling change of narrative in Ranchi – the first day produced over 300 runs and the second, which turned out to be the final day of the match, resulted in 26 wickets and Shahbaz Nadeem took 11 for 90 to lead Jharkhand to an innings-and-71-run victory over Himachal Pradesh.It was deadly symmetry for the HP. They were bowled out for 133 in the first innings and were bundled out for the same total when they were asked to follow on. More fun with numbers: Nadeem, who was the wrecker-in-chief, gave away 45 runs in both innings.Jharkhand were not immune from the wrath of the bowlers either. They crumbled from an overnight 306 for 4 to 337 all out with left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma claiming 6 for 59. But HP’s response with the bat was woeful. Ankit Kalsi made a half-century, but he was the only man to score more than 22. Nadeem bowled only 14.2 overs and yet came away with seven wickets.With a lead of 204 runs, Jharkhand enforced the follow-on and hurtled to victory in 32.1 overs. This time there were no fifties. Prashant Chopra and Nikhil Gangta made 32 and 38. There were six single-digit scores around them. This time Jharkhand rallied around Nadeem. He took four wickets, Kaushal Singh took three Sonu Singh, on first-class debut, took two.
ScorecardFrom conceding a first-innings lead to sitting on the cusp of an outright victory, Saurashtra had a see-saw day to savor thanks to a Jadeja. Dharmendrasinh is a No. 11. He couldn’t have prevented his team being bowled out for 157, but he did ensure Kerala suffered a massive collapse in their second innings. His 6 for 59 was the major reason the hosts fell from 51 for 2 to 105 all out. That left Saurashtra with a target of only 115.Saurashtra resumed on 55 for 6 and received a much needed boost from 19-year old Samarth Vyas making a fine show of himself on first-class debut. He came in at No. 8 and struck 54 off 90 balls with two fours and three sixes. Thanks to him the final three wickets were able to add 87 runs and Saurashtra ended up with 157 runs – an agonizing nine runs away from Kerala’s 166.Spin had been the way to go in the first innings and Jadeja was given the new ball. After all, he had taken five wickets the first time around. The move worked as VA Jagadeesh, who had struck a half-century on the first day, was bowled in the fifth over. But he needed help to make the match-turning impact and that came from 24-year old Vandit Jivrajani (4 for 31), the offspinner who was making his first-class debut. They sank their teeth into the Kerala middle order – Sachin Baby out for 6 and Sanju Samson bagged a duck as the score slipped from 51 for 2 to 57 for 7. Saurashtra gained a firm hold over the match and are now 99 runs away from a win with nine wickets in hand.
ScorecardHanuma Vihari, who began the second day in Hyderabad on 94, kicked on to make his third first-class double-century, propelling his team to 548 for 5. He occupied the crease for 555 minutes, striking 22 fours and two sixes to punish the Tripura attack.B Anirudh added only three runs to his overnight score of 75 before he was pinned lbw by seamer Manisankar Murasingh. Bavanaka Sandeep was more adhesive and kept Vihari good company in a 213-run partnership, the second 150-plus stand of the innings. Vihari was finally dismissed, by offspinner Swapan Das, for 219, but 26 runs each from Himalay Agarwal and Kolla Sumanth took Hyderabad to 548 before the declaration arrived.The hosts amplified their advantage further with former Under-19 pacer Chama Milind removing Tripura opener Virag Awate for 3. The day ended with Tripura facing a deficit of 535 runs.
ScorecardGoa piled on the runs against Jammu and Kashmir, declaring on 552 for 5, before pacers Rituraj Singh and Prasanth Parameshwaran dismissed the J&K openers inside four overs. Pranav Gupta and Ian Dev Singh survived till stumps but stare at a deficit of 509 runs.The day though belonged to Swapnil Asnodkar, who resumed from an overnight 74, stroked 28 fours and three sixes during his marathon innings of 232. The other overnight batsman – Sagun Kamat – scored a century of his own before he became Parvez Rasool’s second victim. Rasool claimed two more wickets but ended up conceding 169 runs.

Neil Flack will lead Scotland at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, and the squad will prepare for the tournament with a training camp in Sri Lanka on January 12 before arriving in Bangladesh on January 20

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2015Neil Flack will lead Scotland at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. The squad will prepare for the tournament with a training camp in Sri Lanka on 12 January before arriving in Bangladesh on January 20.Scotland, who booked their place in the tournament after winning the only available European slot during the Under-19 qualifiers in Jersey, will play two warm-up games against West Indies and Fiji in Dhaka before they arrive in Cox’s Bazar for their group fixtures.There are places for Haris Aslam, the legspinner, and Scott Cameron, the seamer, after both earned representative honours with Scotland A during the 2015 season. Gordon Drummond, the former captain, will share the head coach duties with Cedric English.”It has been tough challenge to get here but we feel we have selected a strong squad for what will be Scotland’s third consecutive appearance at this age-group event,” Drummond said. “The guys showed good resilience this summer to qualify for the World Cup, and we have been working to add to this through various supportive training opportunities this winter.”The players are aware the challenge now is to convert all the good work they have done in the last few months into the competitive environment and are determined to put on a good show for Scotland. The excitement is starting to grow in the group the closer the tournament gets with everyone fully aware of what a fantastic opportunity this is.”Scotland face a stern test in Group A against current Under-19 Champions, South Africa on January 29, before taking on Bangladesh ( January 30) and Namibia (February 2).Squad: Neil Flack (capt), Haris Aslam, Ryan Brown, Scott Cameron, Harris Carnegie, Mohammad Azeem Dar, Mohammad Ghaffar, Rory Johnston, Ihtisham Malik, Finlay McCreath, Mitchell Rao, Owais Shah, Simon Whait, Jack Waller, Ben Wilkinson.

Michael Burns, the former Warwickshire and Somerset cricketer, has been introduced to the ECB’s first-class umpires’ full list for 2016, following the recent retirement of Martin Bodenham

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2016Michael Burns, the former Warwickshire and Somerset cricketer, has been introduced to the ECB’s first-class umpires’ full list for 2016, following the recent retirement of Martin Bodenham.Burns, who played as a wicketkeeper as well as a seam-bowling allrounder in a first-class career that spanned 13 years, also served as Somerset’s captain before retiring in 2005. He was added to the umpiring reserve list in 2012.Bodenham, who was appointed to the first-class list in 2009 following a distinguished career as a football referee, remains the only individual to have officiated across both domestic professional football and cricket.”Martin can be very proud of the successful transition he made from one sporting code to another,” said Gordon Hollins, the ECB chief operating officer. “He has been a highly respected figure within our first-class game and leaves with ECB’s sincere thanks for his contribution to cricket and our best wishes for his retirement.”We are also delighted to welcome Michael onto the full first-class list for the first time and congratulate him on having made such an impressive start to his umpiring career.”ECB Full List 2016 Rob Bailey, Neil Bainton, Paul Baldwin, Mark Benson, Michael Burns, Nick Cook, Nigel Cowley, Jeff Evans, Russell Evans, Steve Gale, Steve Garratt, Michael Gough, Ian Gould, Peter Hartley, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Graham Lloyd, Jeremy Lloyds, Neil Mallender, David Millns, Steve O’Shaughnessy, Tim Robinson, Martin Saggers, Alex Wharf.

Alex Gidman, the former Gloucestershire captain who moved to Worcestershire in 2015, has been forced to retire at the age of 34 due to a finger injury he suffered in the latter stages of his first season at New Road

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2016Alex Gidman, the former Gloucestershire captain who moved to Worcestershire in 2015, has been forced to retire at the age of 34 due to a finger injury he suffered in the latter stages of his first season at New Road.After picking up the injury in the penultimate week of the season, ahead of a match against Durham at Chester-le-Street, he underwent joint-replacement surgery when he became unable to flex the joint.At the time a recovery period of 12 weeks was expected and Gidman was confident of being fit for the 2016 season, but after consultation with specialist Mike Hayton it has been decided he will not be able to reach the fitness levels to play professionally.”It is with great sadness that I have no choice but to retire from the sport that has given me so much,” he said. “I have been really lucky to have played for so long and I have so many great memories.”Obviously my many years at Gloucestershire included the majority of my success but I have really enjoyed the last 18 months meeting some fantastic people at Worcestershire. I can’t thank the many coaches, team-mates and of course supporters enough. I’m excited about the future, but will miss the game. I wish all the players I have played with the best of luck for the 2016 season and beyond.”Gidman had a disappointing first season at Worcestershire – scoring 397 runs in 12 Championship matches and made one appearance in both the T20 Blast and Royal London Cup – although missed a month of first-team cricket in July after suffering concussion when he was struck by a bouncer against Nottinghamshire.Overall he finishes with 11,622 first-class runs, 4473 in one-day cricket and 1448 in T20 alongside 103 first-class wickets and 71 in List A. His most prolific first-class season came in 2014 – his last with Gloucestershire – where he scored 1278 runs at 45.64 including his career-best 264, which came the day before he confirmed his move to Worcestershire.He reached as far as England A (and Lions) level with tours to the UAE and Sri Lanka in 2004-05 then Bangladesh in 2006-07 – on the back of a domestic season where he scored more than 1200 first-class runs – and played a match against West Indies in 2007 when the Lions opening attack was James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He was also appointed captain of England A for the tour of India in 2003-04, but was forced to withdraw before the tour with a hand injury.

A round-up of the Regional 4 Day Tournament 2015-16 matches that finished on February 14 and 15, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2016Rahkeem Cornwall’s career-best match figures of 12 for 205 along with Jahmar Hamilton’s 130* in the second innings took Leeward Islands to a 85-run victory over Jamaica in Antigua.Cornwall picked up 5 for 74 to help bundle Jamaica out for 158 in the first innings, after which he claimed 7 for 131 in Leewards’ final innings defence of 365 to bowl Jamaica out for 280. Hamilton built on Cornwall’s five-wicket haul in the first innings with a steady century that comprised of eight fours and three sixes. He was assisted by opener Montcin Hodge (72) and Orlando Peters (41) to help Leewards set Jamaica a target of 366.In the chase, Kirk Edwards top scored with 93 but it wasn’t enough to drive Jamaica home as none of the other batsmen managed to cross a score of 40.Both teams suffered batting collapses in the first innings. Hodge (41) and Daron Cruickshank (51) did majority of the scoring in Leewards’ 155 after they were inserted, while, in response, Jamaica were bundled out for 158 with No. 11 Sheldon Cottrell top scoring with 37.For Jamaica, Nikita Miller and Damion Jacobs starred with the ball, picking eight wickets each in the match.Barbados smashed Windward Islands by an innings and 56 runs in Bridgetown. The win was built around centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope, and a match haul of eight from pace Miguel Cummins.Windwards chose to bat and were in trouble straightaway as Cummins cut through their top order to reduce them to 46 for 4 – one of the four to fall was Keddy Lesporis, who was sent on his way after handling the ball. Fifties from Andre Fletcher and Kavem Hodge made sure they did not collapse altogether, and they managed to put 250 on the board before being all out, Miguel ending with five scalps.If they had any hope of that being enough to challenge Barbados, it was crushed by opener Brathwaite and No. 3 Hope, with scores of 117 and 162 respectively. Brisk cameos from the middle order followed, giving Barbados a cushion of 200 runs going into the second innings. Windwards could not force them to bat again, with Cummins again making the initial breakthrough before the spin of Sulieman Benn and Roston Chase took over. Windwards were duly bowled out for 144 in 53.3 overs.Guyana registered a big win in Providence, beating Trinidad & Tobago by 105 runs. Batsmen Vishaul Singh and Leon Johnson, and the spin pairing of Veerasammy Permaul and Devendra Bishoo were the stars of the game for Guyana.Vishaul held Guyana together after they chose to bat, making an unbeaten 104 from No. 5 to get his team to 237. The two spinners then ensured that was enough, Permaul taking a five-for and Bishoo three to bowl T&T out for 179. Captain Johnson made sure that 58-run lead did not go to waste, stringing together 111 in Guyana’s second innings, before declaring to set T&T 303 for the win. They got nowhere close as Guyana’s spin twins delivered once more, Permaul grabbing four this time and Bishoo two.

Ailing Northamptomshire want to put the club up for sale and are aiming to raise a minimum of £1m by offering the chance of group equity investment in a new company

George Dobell24-Mar-2016Ailing Northamptonshire are aiming to raise a minimum of £1m by offering the chance of group equity investment to buy the county cricket club.Northants announced losses of £449,127 after tax earlier this month – a deterioration of some £144,000 from the previous year – with gross turnover also down and membership falling.The size of the deficit was a surprise in what was generally a highly successful year for county clubs bouyed by a payout from an Ashes summer and rising T20 attendances.Only a few days ago, the club’s chairman, Gavin Warren, said Northants was in a “strong position”. Such assurances sounded hollow after the club issued a statement on Thursday evening, saying: “While the current cash-flow situation has been stabilised – and the club is embarking on the new season with confidence – it doesn’t provide the long-term financial security that the club requires to prosper and grow.”While it recently emerged that the club had invested in plans for a new ground on the outskirts of town – a claim published by ESPNcricinfo and originally denied by the club management, many of whom have a background in property development – the board insist that they have no intention of moving from Wantage Road and that legal provision will be made to prevent development of the site for any non-cricket purpose.Northamptonshire say they hope to be able to bring in 10 to 15 major investors, most of whom they say already have links to the club as supporters and benefactors, to provide some £50,000 each to allow for a reduction in the short-term debt and give additional working capital.Current directors, some of whom have loaned funds to the county at commercial rates of interest, would be able to transfer those loans into shares.They also intend to offer existing members of the county cricket club the opportunity to buy shares, with a minimum subscription of £250. Under the proposals, members would also elect a director on the new board.”The proposal is to allow 10 to 15 major investors to provide a minimum of £50,000 each,” a statement read.”Existing members will also have the opportunity to buy shares with a minimum subscription of £250.”A new limited company will be formed which would become the owner of Northants, subject to the consent of current members.”It is expected that the current board of directors will remain in place to ensure continuity and a smooth handover.”An emergency general meeting is expected to be convened “within the next few months” with the aim of forming a new limited company to own the club.It remains to be seen if Northants members will accept the proposal and if they will regard the legal protection foir cricket at Wantage Road as strong enough once further details are released.

Zimbabwe are set to host India for three ODIs and three T20s in June at the Harare Sports Club

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-20162:28

Agarkar: Chance for fringe players to shine

Zimbabwe are set to host India for three ODIs and three T20s in June at the Harare Sports Club. The six matches will be played over 12 days, starting with the first ODI on June 11 and the last T20 on June 22.”After finalising all the formalities with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), we are pleased to announce the incoming tour scheduled for this June,” Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Wilfred Mukondiwa said.According to the Future Tours Programme, the teams were supposed to play one Test, but it was replaced by the three T20s. A senior BCCI official involved in the tour negotiations said the request to replace the Test with the T20Is came from Zimbabwe Cricket. He did not elaborate on the reason, but said the BCCI agreed readily to the change.The last time India toured Zimbabwe was in July 2015, when the visitors won the ODI series 3-0 and the T20 series was tied 1-1. The tour will be India’s fourth visit to Zimbabwe in the last six years.

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera has said support from family, the board, and fans kept him upbeat through his five-month suspension due to doping charges that have now been withdrawn by the ICC

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-May-2016Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera has said support from family, the board, and fans kept him upbeat through his five-month suspension due to doping charges that have now been withdrawn by the ICC.

Sangakkara wants Perera for England tour

“Before this tour he’d have been at the T20 World Cup, opening with [Tillakaratne] Dilshan which would have been a huge advantage for us because he’s a fantastic player,” Kumar Sangakkara said during an event in London.
“I’m extremely confused as to what has happened, the labs in Qatar came back with an adverse finding in one of his urine samples and named the steroid that was found, then over the last few days they have withdrawn that, saying there’s been a mistake. The poor boy has been out for quite a long time. [He’s] 24-25, one of the most exciting talents we have, a wicketkeeper, a strong batsman.
“I hope they do [fly him out for the England tour] because when you’ve got through something like that the best support is to be allowed to play cricket again. He’s good enough to be here. But the sad fact is that when you are provisionally banned, you can’t even train, using the facilities that international teams use.
“A sad situation but thankfully that’s all over, he can carry on what he loves doing, but unfortunately Sri Lanka has lost a remarkable player for quite some time now.”

He had been preparing for the Test leg of the New Zealand tour when he was informed of having failed a doping Test. In addition to that tour, he also missed a bilateral T20 series in India, the Asia Cup and the World T20 due to the suspension.”I think people believed me through the whole ordeal,” Perera said. “I said I hadn’t taken illegal then, and I still say it now. The board believed me, and the media believed me and left me alone. The fans also believed me, so I don’t think there has been much damage done to my reputation.”His plight appeared bleak when his initial sample had tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug, 19-Norandrostenedione, but it grew bleaker when the B sample returned identical results, in January. Perera said that despite the findings, he was intent on maintaining his innocence.”People told me after the B sample also was shown to have the substance, that it would be better to accept my fault and hope for a shorter ban. But I didn’t want to accept a wrong that I hadn’t actually committed. If there had been any wrongdoing, I would have accepted it. For four years I had played with no problem.”Perera had also spent a substantial amount of his own money in fighting the WADA-approved lab’s findings. His campaign to be cleared had included a trip to England for a polygraph test, a hair analysis and a separate urine test, as well as substantial coordination with his main legal team, which was based in the UK. He received news of his being cleared on Wednesday evening, but he had already begun to focus on making a return to the game, he said.”I can’t think much about the personal cost to me, because all I want to do is play cricket again. I’ve been out of the game for five months. I need to get back to practice soon. I’m really not thinking much about the financial losses. The first priority is to play for Sri Lanka and get back to form.”Perera is theoretically available for Sri Lanka’s Tests in England, which begin on May 19, but appears unlikely to join the squad immediately, as he has been forced to miss official team practices or training sessions since December 7. It is conceivable that he will play in the limited-overs leg of the tour to UK and Ireland, which starts on June 16 after the three Tests. There is also a full home tour against Australia in July and August.”The first month of the suspension I couldn’t train much because I was getting a lot of legal advice,” Perera said. “I did try to find time to train with a coach. I also worked on my fitness through the period.”I need to do a bit more practice before I think about tours. That’s how I’ll get my form back. Through this period I couldn’t work with the Sri Lanka trainer, so there will be work to do on my fitness as well.”Perera thanked a range of people for assisting him in both clearing his name, and in staying positive through a difficult period.”I’m very happy about being able to come back to cricket. I got the news from Thilanga Sumathipala last night. I’m really happy that the board and fans trusted me. A lot of people had made supportive comments.”I need to thank by family. My brothers were there for me especially. [My manager] Ravi helped me. And a lot of coaches helped me and gave me words of encouragement as well, which helped me along.”Former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene came out in support of Perera’s charges being cleared.

The IPL governing council has discussed the possibility of staging a mini-IPL in September

Nagraj Gollapudi in Dharamsala23-Jun-2016The IPL governing council has discussed the possibility of staging a mini-IPL in September, but no firm decision came out of their meeting held in Dharamsala on Thursday. Further deliberation is likely at the BCCI working committee meeting on Friday, when a final decision is expected.The BCCI has been trying to fill a window in the early part of September when India are not scheduled to play any cricket.Speculation about a mini-IPL has been alive since the Champions League T20 was scrapped last year. Two senior BCCI officials confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the topic was discussed at the governing council meeting today, which was addressed by IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla. BCCI president Anurag Thakur and BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke were in attendance.It is understood that the truncated IPL would last approximately three weeks, but could feature all eight franchises.BCCI sources indicated that the USA and Dubai were in the running to host the event, but reiterated that the idea is still in its conceptual stage.