England skipper Morgan promises PSL fans 'some good innings' as part of Peshawar Zalmi squad

The second edition of the PSL will be held in Dubai starting Feb 9. The opening match is between defending champions Islamabad United and the Peshawar Zalmi. Morgan joined the Zalmi squad after he completed England's tour of India. "I'm delighted to be part of the Peshawar Zalmi team for the PSL and am really looking forward to the start of the event," he said. Morgan said he had heard good things about the first season of the PSL from many players and was glad he would have the chance to play in the mega event himself. "Last year, many of my friends told me about how good the PSL was, and they really rate the PSL very highly. It's good to be in Dubai for the second season and I'm very excited. The England skipper said he would do his best to perform and entertain PSL fans. "I know how passionate PSL and Peshawar Zalmi fans are. They follow every ball, every wicket, every boundary. I will try my level best to give a good performance in the PSL and come up with some good innings for Peshawar Zalmi," he vowed. Eoin Morgan has scored 1,568 runs in 67 T20Is for England, as well as 5,193 in 173 ODIs.

ICC decides to roll back Big Three system

The decision was taken at the first ICC Board meeting of 2017 in Dubai. The ICC Board agreed to revise financial distribution, ensuring a more equitable distribution of revenues. It also agreed to further progress on future international cricket structures and agreement around the consistent use of Decision Review System (DRS). The council's board agreed to work collaboratively on the detail of the constitution and model, with a view to achieve a final sign off at the April board meeting and submission to the full ICC Council in June. “Today was an important step forward for the future of the ICC and cricket around the world. The proposals from the working group to reverse the resolutions of 2014 and deliver a revised constitution and financial model were accepted by the ICC Board," said ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar following the meeting. “I want the ICC to be reasonable and fair in our approach to all 105 Members and the revised constitution and financial model does that. There are still details to work through and concerns to be addressed, but the principle of change is agreed and not for debate." 

International cricket structures

The top brass of the ICC identified a preferred model for all three formats of the sport. This framework accommodates existing agreements which will be presented to the ICC Board for full consideration in April. According to the framework, a nine-team Test league will be run over a two-year cycle. Remaining three Test teams will be guaranteed a consistent and confirmed schedule of Test matches against all other teams. Similarly, a 13-team ODI league will be run over a three-year period leading to the qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. It was also agreed that the regional T20 competition structures will be developed as a pathway to qualification for the ICC World T20. The session also agreed that a scheduling summit will now be held in March before a detailed proposal is put to the ICC Board in April.

Misbah to decide on retirement after PSL

"The idea is to assess myself how badly I want to play cricket," he said while talking to ESPNCricinfo. "I think in this one month I will make my decision to quit or at least give a certain date. I could easily have quit after England series in UAE [in November 2015] but that wasn't the right way." Much has been said about Misbah's future in cricket and it was rumoured that he would announce his retirement after Pakistan's latest defeat against Australia in the recent Test series. "You sometimes don't see your own achievements and personal gains," he said. "You also have to think about the team you have built, you have to see where it stands at a certain stage." The skipper said it was easy for him to call it a day after he led Pakistan to number one position in ICC Test rankings, a position his side held for a little over a month last year, but he decided against it because "I don't really think about my personal gains". The unassuming middle-order batsman will be remembered for his remarkable leadership of an embattled Pakistan side in the aftermath of the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, which resulted in five-year bans for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. "I knew I had more to lose from Australia and New Zealand, but I think that wasn't a right way to think about. I had to stand there and give youngsters a message that you have to face the music in tough situations, face the challenge," he added. Misbah said considering that he bats in the middle order, it was important for him to "bring stability whatever the situation". "If we are four down then being an experienced batsman I should go and anchor partnerships and try to rebuild. The idea always is to take the team to a respectable total on which our bowlers can give a fight," Misbah added He also hit back at his critics who censured him after his below-par performance in the Australian Test series. "I feel angry when former players who have played the game at highest level, whose understanding about the game is even better than mine, still target my batting."