North Korea says it will not attend Beijing Olympics due to pandemic and hostile forces

North Korea told China in a letter that "hostile forces" and the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic were the reason for not participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and accused the United States of trying to sabotage the event, state media reported Friday.

It was not clear whether the letter, sent by the Olympic Committee and the North Korean Ministry of Sports, referred only to its players banned from participating in the wake of the International Olympic Committee suspending Pyongyang's participation until the end of 2022 after it did not send a team to the Tokyo Olympics last year, due to concerns related to Covid-19. .

A summary of the letter released by the Korean Central News Agency did not mention any diplomatic delegation, and the country has imposed strict border controls that have prevented even its diplomats from entering and halted almost all forms of trade.

The letter criticized unspecified moves by the United States, which announced in December that its government officials would boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over China's human rights record, but left American athletes free to travel to compete in the Games.

Several other countries, including Britain, Australia and Canada, also announced their diplomatic boycott of the event.

"We will not be able to participate in the Olympics due to the movements of hostile forces and the global pandemic, but we fully support our Chinese comrades in everything they do to create an impressive and wonderful Olympic festival," the letter said.

ICC's new rule has come for T20 matches, now this mistake can be very heavy

In fact, under this new rule, if a team is not ready to bowl the first ball of the last over in the stipulated time, then for the remaining overs at that time, a fielder will have to reduce outside the radius of 30 yards.

The ICC has talked about introducing a new type of penalty rule for slow over rates in international T20 matches. Taking drinks interval has also been mentioned in this new rule. It has been said by the ICC (International Cricket Council) that the rules of over rate are already fixed. Under these, if the fielding team is preparing to throw the first ball of the last over in the stipulated time, if a team is unable to do so, then some changes have been made in the penalty imposed for it. 

In fact, under this new rule, if a team is not ready to bowl the first ball of the last over in the stipulated time, then for the remaining overs at that time, a fielder will have to reduce outside the radius of 30 yards. Let us tell you that right now the rule is that except for the power play, the teams can keep 5 fielders out during the rest of the time. If a team delays in bowling, then they will have to forcefully keep one of their fielders inside at the last minute. 

Section 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Support Staff. ICC provisions for slow over-rates under 22 will remain the same. This includes demerit points and monetary penalties on the team and the captain.

The ICC said, "Section 13 of the Terms and Conditions of Play. 8 has over-rate rules under which the fielding team must bowl the first ball of the last over within the stipulated time. Failure to do so will result in one less fielder outside the 30-yard circle for the rest of the innings.

Along with this, a provision has also been made to take drinks interval during the match. These rules will come into effect from January 2022. The team will be willing to take a drinks interval of two and a half minutes. Let us inform that on January 18, the first T20I match of the three-match series between the women's South Africa and the women's West Indies teams will be played in Centurion, according to these new rules, while if we talk about the men's match, then Jamaica on January 16. The only match between West Indies and Ireland will be played according to this new rule at Sabina Park in K.