After the ICC Board decided in November to move the event from Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council (ICC) today released a revised schedule for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024.

This schedule confirms five venues in South Africa that will host the 15th edition of the renowned event between January 19 and February 11, 2024.

The world’s most promising young cricket players will battle it out for the trophy in 41 matches played at prestigious international locations: Willowmoore Park in Benoni, which has been chosen to host the Semi-Finals on February 6 and 8, the Final on February 11, Buffalo Park in East London, Kimberley Oval in Kimberley, JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom, and Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

According to the revised schedule, the hosts will begin their campaign in Potchefstroom against the West Indies on opening day, and the reigning champions, India, will begin their title defence a day later against Bangladesh, the previous winners who won the trophy when the tournament was last held in South Africa in 2020.

This edition of the tournament will include a new format: teams who advance from the group stages will compete in a new Super Six stage that begins on January 30. The objective of this stage is to select which two groups of six teams will advance to the Semi-Finalists and the subsequent Finalists.

Holders India are joined in Group A of the group listings by Bangladesh, Ireland, and the United States. England, South Africa, the West Indies, and Scotland make up Group B. Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Namibia are in Group C, and Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Nepal are in Group D.

ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley said, they have seen South Africa successfully deliver two milestone events for the sport in the past 12 months. The first ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup last year, and the groundbreaking ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that followed.

By moving the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 to South Africa, they will have the chance to capitalise on this momentum and invite the world’s top young players to five prestigious international locations, he added.

India middle-order batter Rinku Singh, believes it will need some more work and repetition to get adjusted to the extra pace and bounce that South African wickets give.

Rinku, who was instrumental in India’s five-match T20I series victory against Australia, evaluated the South African wickets following India’s first practise session here. When he battered here today, there was extra bounce here compared to Indian wickets, Rinku said.

The pace is a bit more, so will practise against pace bowling. Rinku is anticipated to bat at the vital No. 5 or No. 6 spot when India takes on the Proteas in the first of their three T20Is here on Sunday.

He said that Rahul Dravid, the head coach, had also instructed him to bat at No. 5 or No. 6 and simply play his natural game.

The batter said, he really enjoyed the first practice session due of the beautiful weather. It felt fantastic to get the chance to collaborate with Rahul Dravid, sir. Rinku said, he told me to keep playing the way he does and to keep believing in myself.

To continue playing at No. 5 or 6, he encouraged him. Playing that position is difficult, but he must persevere and have confidence in himself, Rahul Dravid said to Rinku Singh.

The Uttar Pradeshi hard-hitter continued by saying that he was confident enough to perform a similar role for India because he has been batting in the two important positions since 2013.

He started playing for UP at No. 5 or 6 in 2013. He has therefore become accustomed to that role. It is quite difficult to play in that position if four or five wickets are down, but he kept pushing himself to play there, Rinku remarked.

The next step is to form a partnership. Rinku said, he keeps telling himself that it’s better for him to remain calm and not react the more.

He went on to say that having fun with teammates is essential to succeeding in cricket. They are still a group of four or five players.he , Avesh (Khan), Jitesh (Sharma), Arshdeep (Singh), and Ravi (Bishnoi). They take pleasure in each other’s company, which is crucial in cricket, he said. He also highlighted how important it is to stay in shape if you want to succeed in cricket.

The TATA Women’s Premier League (WPL) second season auction is scheduled to occur in Mumbai on Saturday, December 9, 2023. It is anticipated that the WPL 2024 will begin in February or March of next year.

Mumbai Indians won the inaugural Women’s Premier League after defeating Delhi Capitals in the championship game by a margin of seven wickets.

During the auction, 165 players representing five teams—the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, Gujarat Giants, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be put up for bid. The Women’s Premier League 2024 auction will take place on Saturday, with 104 players from India and 61 players from outside participating.

With nine spots set up for international players, each squad can accommodate 30 players. In addition, there are 109 uncapped players and 56 total capped players. Gujarat Giants are the team with the largest balance, at Rs 5.95 crore. With a purse balance of Rs 2.1 crore, the defending champion Mumbai Indians have the lowest amount. Delhi Capitals will have Rs Delhi Capitals in their pocketbook going into the auction.

Regarding the WPL 2024 players who were kept and released, a report from the BCCI said that 29 players were released from their existing squads, while 60 players, including 21 overseas cricketers, were retained across five franchises.

Among the 61 non-Indian players shortlisted for the auction are Chamari Athapaththu, Deandra Dottin, and Shabnim Ismail, who are among the nine international seats up for grabs. Four players are included in the INR 40 lakh category, and Dottin and Kim Garth are positioned in the top bracket at INR 50 lakh.

The auctions for the Women’s Premier League 2024 will begin at 2:30 PM IST. The Indian Sports18 network will telecast the Women’s Premier League 2024 auctions. The Jio Cinema app and website are going to offer live streaming of the Women’s Premier League 2024 auctions.