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Cristiano Ronaldo sent a surprise gift to Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior after Portugal's win over Liechtenstein.

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Ronaldo scored against LichtensteinFired Portugal to a 2-0 victoryGifted match shirt to ViniciusWHAT HAPPENED?

The Brazilian forward has time and again shown his admiration for Ronaldo and had even voiced his regret at not getting the opportunity to play with the Portuguese at Real Madrid. Over the years, the two brilliant forwards have forged a strong bond of friendship and now Ronaldo sent his match shirt of the Portugal-Liechtenstein game to the current Madrid No. 7.

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The gesture from Ronaldo comes after Vinicius imitated the famous 'Calma' celebration, which the Portuguese was famous for during his time at the Spanish capital, after scoring against Valencia in Real Madrid's 5-1 rout on November 12. The Bernabeu faithful was elated to see Vinicius recreate their legend's iconic celebration as they roared “Vinicius Junior, lolololo!” hailing their young forward.

DID YOU KNOW?

Vinicius has a special place in his house, which he calls the 'icons wall', where some of the legendary athletes of all time are celebrated. It is a special mural, painted by Spanish artist Rene Makela, and Ronaldo is one of the sports persons who features on the wall alongside Brazilian icons Pele and Ronaldo Nazario.

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WHAT NEXT FOR VINICIUS JR. & RONALDO?

Vinicius is currently nursing a muscle injury and will miss Real Madrid's next La Liga fixture against Cadiz. While, Ronaldo will be back in action against Persepolis in the AFC Champions League.

It is all change at Chelsea, particularly in the centre of the park.

N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are close to departing Stamford Bridge as the club is set for a completely new era under Mauricio Pochettino.

The Blues are very interested in Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, however, Tony Bloom’s £120m asking price is a stumbling block and the deal is likely to drag out across the summer.

A cheaper and more attainable alternative to the Ecuadorian is Everton’s Amadou Onana.

What’s the latest on Amadou Onana to Chelsea?

Last week, Sacha Tovolieri reported that Chelsea could be in the market for Onana who may cost around £55m.

Now, speaking to GIVEMESPORT, reputable journalist Dean Jones has delivered his own thoughts on whether a move could go through, saying: “Onana's an interesting one. Ideally, Everton won't let him go. He's had a great season, but he's very young. He does fit the profile that we're seeing Chelsea go for at the moment.

"He's 21 and he's new to the Premier League. He's making his impact and, as part of that, he'll have huge resale value if he does come through the door. And this is part of Chelsea's new model."

How would Amadou Onana fit in at Chelsea?

After making a £33m move to Goodison Park last summer, the Belgian made 33 Premier League appearances in his debut year in England, averaging 2.2 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, and 1.1 clearances per game in a solid defensive season.

Described as “outstanding” by journalist Connor O'Neill, the six-cap international ranks within the top 26% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for the aforementioned metrics, as well as the highest 7% for aerials won per 90, according to FBref, to underline his dominant presence.

As such, the 6 foot 4 colossus has the potential to form a formidable partnership with Enzo Fernandez at Chelsea.

Since the Argentine’s record-breaking £106.8m move to west London, he has flashes of his wondrous brilliance, particularly with his pinpoint long-range passing and close control. This is demonstrated by his rank within the best 3% for passes attempted and progressive passes per 90.

But, we are yet to see the best of the World Cup winner on a consistent basis as he has often been deployed as a lone pivot, where he has been exposed due to his lack of pace and dynamism.

In Onana, this ball-winning, athletic titan would therefore be able to take the burden off Enzo and their differing styles of play make for a perfectly curated combination in the middle of the park.

In a deal worth potentially just half of what may be paid for Caicedo, the signing of Onana would be a rarely astute piece of business under the new ownership.

Former Chelsea captain John Terry has explained why he is charging £100 for an autograph during his one-man tour.

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Blues icon out on tourPhotos and signatures up for grabsFunds going to his foundationWHAT HAPPENED?

The Blues icon is giving supporters an opportunity to hear stories from his playing days during a series of four shows in Basingstoke. Tickets are priced at £25, while anybody wanting to dine with the ex-England defender will need to part with £500.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT THEY SAID

Terry has faced criticism for supposedly profiting from a loyal fan base, but he has hit back at that coverage by pointing out that all proceeds go to his John Terry 26 Foundation that supports various charities. He has said on : “Hi guys, just wanted to touch on the stories the press are writing about me charging fans £100 for signatures and photos and drinks or whatever that may be. The big thing – and this is very important – the big thing that they forgot to mention is that all proceeds from these events that I’ve been doing – and the only reason that I signed up – is to raise money for my foundation, for the John Terry 26 Foundation.

“I set my foundation up about seven or eight months ago because I wanted to do something personal and on my own where I’m going to be eventually hosting a gala dinner, golf events throughout the year, any opportunities to raise money for my foundation. I’ve been working very closely with various different charities over the last 22 years being Chelsea captain and seeing a lot of terminal and ill and sick children along the way, which is something that’s always been something very close to my heart and always will be. So rather than doing it for one specific charity, I’ve been focusing on my own foundation in the last six or seven months. And this tour that I’m doing, this Q&A that I’m doing, is part of that.”

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Terry went on to say: “But like I said, the key thing that the press have forgotten to write is that all proceeds from this event [will go to charity]. And I didn’t want this publicised, and I agreed this with the guys, because I don’t think it’s right for me to publicise that.

"But now they’ve raised the issue I will address it. So every penny from these events goes towards my John Terry 26 Foundation. I apologise for coming out a day or two days late, but I’ll touch on why I didn’t touch on this yesterday: because, again, I was at another charity day working for BGC in London with obviously the very sad news of the World Trade Centres and something that I’ve done for the last five or six years and I’ll continue to do. But again, giving up my time, giving up my day, for all these charities is something that’s very important to me and I’ll never stop that. Really frustrating for me actually and I’m just fed up with the press writing sh*t over and over again.”

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GettyWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Terry took in 717 appearances for Chelsea during his playing days – helping them to five Premier League titles, five FA Cup wins, three League Cup successes, a Europa League triumph and a Champions League crown. He also won 78 caps for England.

Australia batsman David Warner has leapt to the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings, a result of a sensational run in the format since the start of 2016. Warner has scored 1755 runs in 28 ODIs since early last year at an average of 65 and a strike-rate of 106.94, including nine hundreds and four fifties. Warner became the No. 1 ODI batsman for the first time in his career, overtaking AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.He capped the home ODI summer with a career-best 179 off just 128 balls in the fifth match in Adelaide, leading Australia to a 4-1 series win against Pakistan. Warner also won the Allan Border Medal for the second consecutive year and bagged the ODI Player of the Year title at the function, too. “It is a huge year for one-day cricket with the ICC Champions Trophy later this year and I am hoping I can take my good form into that tournament and help Australia lift the trophy for the third time,” Warner said.Pakistan batsman Babar Azam broke into the top 10 for the first time, gaining five spots to finish tenth. Azam also had a stellar year in ODIs: he has struck 938 runs in 16 games since the start of 2016, including three consecutive hundreds against West Indies in October.Azam became the joint-fastest batsman to 1000 ODI runs, reaching the landmark in 21 innings, equaling Sir Viv Richards’ record. He also became only the second Pakistan batsman to hit an ODI century against Australia in Australia, when he struck 100 in the fifth game in Adelaide.In the ODI bowlers rankings, Australia quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood made significant jumps after the Pakistan series. Starc moved up to second spot, from fourth, after picking up 15 wickets in the home ODI summer. In seven matches, he returned an average of 19.06 and an economy rate of just 4.67. Hazlewood jumped five places to fifth spot. He took 13 wickets in seven ODIs at an average of 23.46 and an economy rate of 4.70.After their 4-1 series loss against Australia, Pakistan continued to remain in danger of failing to directly qualify for the 2019 World Cup. They are currently in eighth place, two ranking points behind Bangladesh. Hosts England and the other top-seven sides as on September 30, 2017 will receive direct qualification for the event.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke have been removed from their posts by the Supreme Court of India in an order passed in Delhi on Monday morning

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-20172:26

‘It’s a victory for the game of cricket’ – Lodha

The BCCI’s existing power structure has been dismantled by the Supreme Court of India in a landmark order, which directed the removal of the board president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke from office with immediate effect.The order was the culmination of a long-standing impasse between the BCCI and the Lodha Committee: the board had resisted implementing the majority of the committee’s recommendations despite being told to do so by a Supreme Court order on July 18.The court also ordered that other office bearers of the BCCI and state associations who did not meet the eligibility criteria set by the Lodha Committee shall “cease to hold office” immediately. According to the committee’s recommendations, an office bearer should be a citizen of India, should not be 70 years or older, should not be a government servant or minister, should not hold office in another sports organisation, should not have held office with the BCCI or state association for more than nine years, should not be insolvent or of unsound mind, and should not have a criminal record.All existing office bearers who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were permitted to continue in their roles, but were asked to file an “unconditional undertaking” in the Supreme Court within four weeks from January 2 that they would implement the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.To fill the gap created by Thakur and Shirke’s removal, the court said the most senior vice-president of the BCCI would perform the duties of president in the interim, and the joint secretary – Amitabh Chaudhary – will perform the secretary’s role.I wish them all the best – Anurag Thakur

In a video on Twitter, Anurag Thakur said he had fought for the autonomy of the BCCI and not a personal battle. “Over the years, Indian cricket saw its very best in terms of administration and development of the game. BCCI is the best-managed sports organisation in the country, with defined procedures. India has the best cricket infrastructure, built and maintained by the state associations with the help of BCCI. India has more quality players than anywhere in the world.
“I respect Supreme Court as any citizen should. Supreme Court judges feel that BCCI could do better under retired judges, I wish them all the best. I’m sure Indian cricket will do well under their guidance.”
Shirke said he wasn’t too concerned by the development. “If I am removed, there is absolutely no issue. I will go back to my work,” he told CNN News from the UK. “The enforcement of the order is not in my individual control. The members decide. They have accepted many recommendations. Now that the Supreme Court has settled the matter, let the new dispensation carry on the good new work.”

The court also said that a committee of administrators would be appointed on January 19 to supervise the functioning of the BCCI through its chief executive officer. The committee will also oversee the functioning of the BCCI and states’ office bearers and ensure that the Lodha Committee recommendations approved by the Supreme Court order on July 18 are implemented.Amicus Curiae Gopal Subramanium and senior advocate Anil Divan* were asked by the court to suggest names of persons having “integrity and experience in managing a similar enterprise” for the committee of administrators. “We request the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the parties to also place their suggestions before the Court so as to facilitate a considered decision,” the court said.At the previous hearing on December 15, before breaking for the winter holidays, the court had reserved its order in response to the Lodha Committee’s status report, which recommended that all ineligible BCCI office bearers be removed and an observer be appointed to oversee the board’s operations.On Monday, the three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, approved the Lodha Committee’s view of the BCCI’s office bearers.”The Committee has in its status report dated 14 November 2016 drawn the attention of the court to the fact that several office bearers both of BCCI and the State Associations continue to hold posts although they stand disqualified in terms of the above norms which have been accepted by this Court,” the order read. “Persons who have a vested interest in continuing in their positions in spite of the norms noted above have ensured that the writ of the court is obstructed and impeded.”We need to emphasise that the turf of the cricket field is not a personal turf or fiefdom. We must hence order and direct that no person shall hereafter continue to be or be entitled for appointment as office bearer of BCCI or a State Association in breach of the above norms. All existing office bearers of BCCI and of the State Associations who do not fulfill the above norms shall with effect from the date of this Order stand disqualified.”The course of events indicates that though sufficient opportunities have been granted to BCCI to comply with the judgment and order of this Court, it has failed to do so. The President and Secretary and office bearers of BCCI have obstructed the implementation of the final directions of this Court on the basis of a specious plea that its State Associations are not willing to abide by the directions. This Court having furnished sufficient opportunities to BCCI to comply, it is constrained now to take recourse to coercive steps to ensure that the directions contained in its final judgment and order are not left to be a writ in sand.”5:04

Ugra: A legacy judgement from Justice Thakur

Former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, the chairman of the Lodha Committee, said the court order was “the logical consequence” of the position the BCCI had taken. “Once the recommendations were accepted by the court, it had to be implemented,” he said. “There were obstructions, there were impediments … obviously this had to happen, and it has happened. The Supreme Court itself has ensured that its order of 18 July is now enforced.”It’s a victory for the game of cricket and it will flourish. Administrators come and go, ultimately it is for the game.”The Lodha Committee was formed in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for some of the officials involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, and also to propose changes to streamline the BCCI, reform its functioning, prevent sporting fraud and conflict of interest.In January 2016, the committee released its report, which recommended an exhaustive overhaul of the BCCI’s governance and administrative structures. On July 18, the Supreme Court approved the majority of the recommendations and directed the Lodha Committee to supervise the BCCI’s implementations of the same. However, despite the Lodha Committee laying out timelines and other directives, the board did not cooperate because its state associations objected to the recommendations.

Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali says his side is excited about the opportunity to take part in a day-night Test for the first time, a sentiment echoed West Indies batsman Darren Bravo

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2016Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali has said his side is excited about the opportunity to take part in a day-night Test for the first time, a sentiment echoed by West Indies batsman Darren Bravo in Dubai less than 48 hours before the first Test in the three-match series kicks off under the lights at Dubai Sports City.”Obviously it’s different. It’s a first game for us with a pink ball and it’s a day-night game,” Azhar said at a press conference in Dubai on Tuesday. “We played one or two games, players have had experience with the pink ball in the domestic circuit but internationally it’s the first game. It’s a different challenge but we’re all excited about it and I think it will be very exciting for the crowd as well to come and watch this game.”I think the game is important but we had enough time in the middle. We had five to six sessions with the pink ball. The players also played in the first-class final and a few other games. They do have a little experience of that as well. We have been practising really hard and have had quite long sessions, so I think we have enough idea of this ball.”Though reviews from players have mostly been positive regarding the overall visibility of the ball during night-time training sessions, Azhar said one issue that had popped up was the ability to recognise the seam of the ball, in part because it is black on the pink ball whereas the seam is white on a red ball. Azhar felt it may pose a slight advantage for spin bowlers.”The seam is different,” Azhar said. “It’s hard to see the seam, especially with the spinners. You can’t really spot the seam. It’s a different challenge and we will get to know it better as we play more.”Bravo also said players from the West Indies had similar experiences with picking the seam, both in some first-class matches played in the West Indies last season as well as during the three-day warm-up match that concluded on Sunday.”I think most of the guys have complained about the fact that they’re not really able to pick up the seam that well,” Bravo said. “I don’t know for whatever reason but we can’t do anything about it. It is what it is and we need to accept the challenge as quickly as possible and just go out there and give it our best shot.”The West Indies batsman also stated that, despite some reservations about playing at night with a pink ball, he maintained a positive outlook for the concept, especially if it can help revitalise crowd numbers in places where attendances have been on the decline.”We played a couple first-class [day-night] games back home,” Bravo said. “It had a few crowds. Most of the guys had their take on it. It had some positive feedback, it had some negative feedback to be honest but whatever is put in place to encourage a crowd is definitely beneficial to Test cricket.”

ScorecardJosh Cobb was instrumental in Northants’ victory•Getty Images

Josh Cobb’s second T20 fifty of the season and a fine debut bowling performance from Moin Ashraf helped Northamptonshire back to the top of the North Group in the NatWest T20 Blast with a 26-run win over Durham.Chasing 162, Durham’s chase was on its knees within four overs as they slumped to 9 for 4. Paul Collingwood and Scott Borthwick attempted a revival but Durham could only limp to 135 for 8 and lost for a fourth time this season.Paul Coughlin had earlier bowled a triple-wicket maiden to finish the Northants innings which included a hat-trick from the final three balls of the innings – the second hat-trick for Durham in T20s and the second against Northants in the shortest format after Collingwood in 2011. It was scant consolation for Durham. Coughlin finished with competition-best figures of 5 for 42Ashraf, signed on a short-team deal as injury cover and given his Northants debut here, found some swing to take two wickets in three balls in his opening over – Jack Burnham drove at an away-swinger and edged to a diving Adam Rossington behind the stumps, then Michael Richardson got a leading edge to mid-off.Ashraf’s third wicket came as Phil Mustard attempted a lofted straight drive and only found Steven Crook running back from mid-on. Richard Gleeson also played his part in the early damage as Mark Stoneman, first wicket to fall, dragged into his middle and leg stumps.”It was tough being released by Yorkshire but I wanted to give it another crack and come back stronger and I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” Ashraf said later.From such an awful position, Collingwood did as Collingwood does, keeping a cool head in a crisis to get the chase moving. He found two boundaries off Gleeson before a delightful in-to-out drive over extra-cover when Graeme White’s left-arm spin was introduced. But when he lifted Cobb to Crook at long-on, his stand of 59 with Borthwick ended and with it Durham’s chances.Borthwick nudged the bowling around carefully for 29 in 25 balls but his only boundary was an extra-cover drive off White. He was eventually run out by Rossington, called through for a leg-bye that proved too sharp.Northants were never put under pressure defending their 161 for 9, build around Cobb’s 68 in 47 balls. He followed up his match-winning unbeaten 56 against Worcestershire with a 34-ball fifty here, sweetly timing the ball throughout and striking five fours and four sixes. It was his 10th T20 half-century and he passed 2,000 T20 runs in the process.He took 14 from the final over of the Powerplay – slapping Coughlin wide of mid-off and midwicket either side of a handsome straight drive for six. His second straight six was timed superbly off Borthwick and when the leg spinner changed ends, Cobb planted him onto the roof of the Lynn Wilson centre.But there was he little he could do to get away the canny seamers of Chris Rushworth, who bowled a nagging length and changed his pace superbly in a spell of four overs that cost only 17 runs – Rossington’s pull for six over deep-backward square the only blot on his figures.Rushworth took the opening wicket after Northants captain Alex Wakely had given the innings some early impetus with 28 in 15 balls – including a well-timed pull over deep midwicket, a shot that brought his downfall, caught in the deep.Rossington didn’t play as urgently as in previous T20s, getting to 17 at a run-a-ball, but found Coughlin trying to lift Borthwick over deep midwicket.

It seems as though referee Andy Madley and his VAR team may have made a big mistake after not awarding Wolves a late penalty for a Wout Faes handball.

What's the latest on Wolves and VAR?

Julen Lopetegui and co travelled away to face Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon but came away from the game empty-handed.

The match had got off to a promising start for the visitors, however, with Matheus Cunha opening the scoring with just 13 minutes on the clock.

Before halftime, though, the Foxes were level after Jose Sa brought down Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho buried the resulting penalty kick.

Wolves were unable to cling on for even a point in the end as Leicester struck a winner in the 75th minute as Timothy Castagne's effort made it 2-1 to the home team.

In the remaining time after the goal, WWFC did put some pressure on the opposition goal and it seems as though they could have had a penalty.

Indeed, as this footage shared on Twitter shows when a late corner was swung in, Faes clears the ball with the use of his arm

Was it a handball by Faes?

On the TV commentary, it's claimed: "For me, it's outstretched, it's unnatural." However, after a brief check by VAR, referee Madly is told to play on.

This seems pretty fortunate for Faes as he misses the ball completely with his attempted header but then it flies to safety via his arm.

As per the official FA rules, it is a handball offence when a player "touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger".

Now the phrase "unnaturally" is always down to interpretation and seems quite problematic when trying to draw up some black-and-white rules. But with the ball hitting Faes' outstretched arm, it certainly can be argued that he has committed an offence here.

Despite this incident, however, manager Lopetegui wasn't looking for excuses after the full-time whistle and instead insisted that his team should have created more chances.

He told the club's media team: “I don’t think we did enough or created enough chances in the second-half. They had more and when they scored it was easier for them because they are a very good team on the counter-attack. It was more difficult for us, but we tried.

“Now it’s done and today we can’t do anything more. We have to be ready for the next challenge.”

Michael Beale’s revolution at Glasgow Rangers has gone rather well, minus the League Cup final defeat, yet there are plenty of positives to take from his opening four months.

The Ibrox side are undefeated in the Premiership under the Englishman and reached the Scottish Cup semi-finals, while business in the January transfer market was good.

Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell joined the Gers, and they already appear to be reviving a stagnating midfield. This will be crucial ahead of next season, yet there are plenty of other areas that need improvement across the first team.

Signing a new goalkeeper must be Beale’s main priority and with the club linked with Angus Gunn according to the Scottish Sun earlier this year, the manager must act swiftly in order to secure his signature and he could ditch both Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin in the process.

Will Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin leave Rangers this summer?

It certainly seems like a possibility, more so McGregor than his Scottish counterpart, but both haven’t exactly been in the best of form this term.

The 41-year-old has conceded 41 goals in 30 matches, keeping just nine clean sheets in that time, while McLaughlin has conceded 18 goals in 16 games, keeping only eight clean sheets and it's evident that change is needed in this position going forward.

The duo earn a combined wage of £14.6k-per-week and staging a major clearout will free up the budget in order to sign a player such as Gunn this summer, while also promoting Robby McCrorie to back up, giving him a chance to make more appearances for the club.

This season, Gunn has been extremely impressive for Norwich City in the Championship, averaging a Sofascore rating of 7.08/10 across 22 appearances.

The 27-year-old has impressively saved 77% of the shots against him and has succeeded with 100% of his successful run-outs per match all while keeping five clean sheets and conceding 21 goals.

These are excellent statistics with the £25k-per-week earner's performances having led the 'keeper to make his senior international debut for Scotland – nearly 29 years after his dad, Bryan, made his final Scotland appearance – against Cyprus in the European Championship qualifier at Hampden.

The 6 foot 5 titan had a solid debut, making two saves in what was a comfortable victory, yet this experience on the international stage could stand him in good stead.

His former Norwich coach Daniel Farke claimed Gunn was at the “perfect” age and with the player not yet 28, he could well be the future Gers number one for the next few seasons.

The summer transfer window will be an exciting time for the Rangers faithful, and if Beale manages to secure the signing of Gunn while moving on McGregor and McLaughlin, it will be very productive indeed.

The bid value had reached INR 6032.50 crore (USD 925 million approx) on Wednesday for the category that includes worldwide television and digital rights

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai04-Apr-20181:19

Indian cricket’s rags-to-riches broadcast rights story

The bidding for the television and digital rights to broadcast Indian cricket from 2018 to 2023 is closing in on the billion-dollar mark, and the e-auction will enter a third day and resume at 11am IST on Thursday.The bid value had reached INR 6032.50 crore (USD 925 million approx) by 6pm on Wednesday – the second day of the e-auction – in the Global Consolidated Rights (GCR) category, which includes worldwide television and digital rights. The figure has already passed the previous cycle’s winning bid of INR 3851 crores (USD $750m approx. at the time) by 56.6%.As things stand, the average cost per match for the Indian cricket rights is about INR 59 cr, which is higher than the average cost per IPL game for the 2018-22 period – INR 54.5 cr – when Star India bought the rights in September 2017.The first day of the auction had ended at 6pm on Tuesday, with the highest bid at INR 4442 crores (USD 680 million approx.). On Wednesday, the bids that were made public were of INR 4517.25 cr, 4565.20 cr, 5488.30 cr, 5748 cr, 6001 cr, 6003.09 cr and 6032.50 crore.Once the process began on Tuesday, participants had an hour to raise after every bid, making the e-auction a multi-day process because proceedings could not go beyond 6pm IST on each day. The process will continue until the participants notify that they do not wish to bid higher.The bidders were narrowed down from six to three – Sony Pictures Network India, Star India and Reliance – after the BCCI’s legal team carried out technical and feasibility checks before the e-auction began. There were three categories of rights on sale: the Indian television rights and rest of the world digital rights (GTVRD), digital rights for the Indian subcontinent alone (ID), and the global consolidated rights (GCR) comprising worldwide TV and digital rights.The successful bidder will get to telecast 102 men’s international matches over the five-year period compared to 96 in the previous six-year cycle from 2012 to 2018. The 102 matches will be split among the home seasons as follows: 18 in 2018-19, 26 in 2019-20, 14 in 2020-21, 23 in 2021-22 and 21 in 2022-23. The rights will also include men’s domestic matches as well as the India women’s international matches.In 2012, Star TV, then owned by Rupert Murdoch, had won the rights to broadcast Indian cricket until 2018. That deal, which also included internet and mobile rights, was valued at INR 3851 cr (approximately USD 750 million at the time). The other bidder that year – at INR 3700 cr (USD 727 million at the time) – was Multi-Screen Media (Sony).The sale of these rights will mean a second huge payday for the BCCI in less than a year. In September 2017, the BCCI had sold the worldwide IPL television and digital rights for the period 2018-22 for INR 16,347.5 cr (US$ 2.55 billion) to Star India.