India's all-powerful cricket board chief Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee. Sourav, affectionately known as 'Dada', replaces his former playmate Anil Kumble, who served three separate three-year terms since 2012. Both are former skippers of the national cricket team. Read: BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly to join BJP next week? "I am delighted to welcome Sourav to the position of Chair of the ICC Men's Cricket Committee. His experience as one of the world's best players and latterly as an administrator will help us shape our cricketing decisions moving forward," ICC Chair Greg Barclay said in a statement. "I would also like to thank Anil for his outstanding leadership over the last nine years which has included improving the international game through more regular and consistent application of DRS and a robust process for addressing suspect bowling actions," he added. Read: BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly undergoes angioplasty again Considered one of the best captains in international cricket, 49-year-old Saurav quit international cricket in 2008 but continued playing in the multi-billion-dollar cricketing tournament Indian Premier League for a few more years.  He scored more than 18,500 runs in Tests and one-day internationals. In 2019, Dada was elected as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the world's richest cricketing body.

The Indian Premier League (IPLS) was suspended  on Tuesday after players and staff of three clubs tested positive for Covid-19. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued a statement saying local authorities and tournament officials took the decision unanimously “to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect.” Read Also: Covid-19 hits IPL: Two KKR players test positive “The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organizing the IPL,” the BCCI said. “These are difficult times, especially in India. While we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, however, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times.” The first cases involving players inside the IPL’s biosecure bubble forced Monday’s game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore to be postponed. The count grew on Tuesday when two Chennai Super Kings staffers and a Sunrisers Hyderabad player also returned positive tests. The IPL has been staging games without spectators every evening since April 9 despite India’s stretched health system being pushed to the brink by another major wave of the pandemic. Read Also: Covid-19 concerns: Ashwin, Zampa, Richardson, Tye leave IPL Players from all over the world compete in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, which was forced by the pandemic to the United Arab Emirates last year. The BCCI said it would do “everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.” India’s official count of coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million on Tuesday, nearly doubling in the past three months, while deaths officially have passed 220,000. Staggering as those numbers are, the true figures are believed to be far higher, the undercount an apparent reflection of the troubles in the health care system. On Monday, the IPL postponed the Kolkata-Bangalore game after Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, who play for Kolkata, became the first players to test positive for Covid-19 inside the IPL bubble. Last week, Australian players Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson flew home from the IPL amid the surge of cases. Richardson and Zampa were playing for Bangalore, and Tye for Rajasthan Royals. Read Also: Delhi, Mumbai record identical 7-wicket victories in IPL Two other cricketers — Englishman Liam Livingstone, who was with Rajasthan, and Ravichandran Ashwin, who was with Delhi — also left the IPL. Livingstone cited “bubble fatigue” and Ashwin wanted to be with his family in the crisis. IPL went ahead on the basis that teams stay in biosecure areas at hotels and resorts in the six venues in India where the competition is taking place.  

Five India players are in precautionary isolation as India’s cricket board investigates a potential breach of biosecurity protocols ahead of the start of the third test on Thursday against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.