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Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has urged international cricket boards to boycott the Indian Premier League (IPL) in response to the ongoing Champions Trophy venue controversy, echoing concerns raised by Saqlain Mushtaq.Earlier, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq also criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the ongoing Champions Trophy venue controversy, in which the India Team has been playing all its matches in Dubai in a hybrid mode after it refused to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns. The dispute gainted traction after former English player and cricket experts Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton highlighted that India gained an 'undeniable' advantage by playing all their matches at a single venue in Dubai.Inzamam, speaking on a Pakistani TV channel, also criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).Former Pakistan skipper said, "Keep aside the Champions Trophy. Top players participate in IPL but Indian players don't participate in other leagues. Other boards should stop sending their players to IPL. If you (BCCI) don't release your players for leagues, then other boards should take a stance," Inzamam said in an appearance on a Pakistani TV channel.BCCI’s longstanding policy bars Indian players from participating in overseas leagues unless they retire from all Indian cricket, including IPL and domestic tournaments.Meanwhile, the venue controversy has intensified as both Australia and South Africa traveled to Dubai, anticipating a Champions Trophy semi-final against India. However, depending on the outcome of India's final group match against New Zealand, one of the teams may be forced to return to Pakistan - undertaking a 2000km journey before playing in the semi-finals.

Given the bearish momentum in the secondary markets, IPOs are seeing a slowdown with just 1 SME issue slated to open next week. Apart from this, the Street will also see 4 listings, again all of them on the SME platforms of the exchanges.Despite the lull in the primary market currently, analysts expect the long-term outlook to be still positive. As many as 1,000 are likely to hit the markets in the next two years. Marquee names like Zepto, LG India, and Reliance Jio are working to take their companies public.Here's what to look forward to on IPO front next weekNAPS Global India IPOThe IPO of NAPS Global India will open for public subscription on March 4. The company fixed a price band of Rs 90 per share. The public offer consists solely of a fresh equity sale of 13.2 lakh equity shares by existing shareholders, with no OFS component.In the public offer, about 50% is reserved for retail investors and the rest 50% for non-retail investors. Net proceeds from the IPO will be used for funding working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.The company is a wholesale importer of textile products and acts as an established player in the garment manufacturing supply chain in Maharashtra, India.It primarily imports cotton and man-made fabrics from manufacturers in China and Hongkong in bulk quantities and provide timely supply to vendors of garment manufacturing companies in Maharashtra, India.The Man-made Textiles category with imports of $1859 mn has the largest share (34%) in the total imports ($5,425 mn) during the period of April-October of FY 2025.As there is a demand-supply gap in this sector, and the company has been able to develop a strong procurement network in China and Hongkong and hence is in a unique position to be a sought-after supplier to manufacturers and their vendors who require man-made and cotton fabrics for their downstream processes.Aryaman Financial Services is the book-running lead manager of the HP Telecom India IPO, while Cameo Corporate Services is the registrar. The shares will be listed on the NSE SME platform.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Saas company Excelsoft Technologies has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 700 crore through an IPO. The issue includes a fresh equity sale of up to Rs 210 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 490 crore by the promoter-selling shareholders - Pedanta Technologies and Dhananjaya Sudhanva.The company proposes to utilise part of the net proceeds towards funding of capital expenditure for purchase of land and construction of a new building and for upgradation and external electrical systems of its existing facility in Mysore. The remaining funds will also be used for funding upgradation of the company’s IT Infrastructure and general corporate purposes.The company may consider a pre-IPO placement through a further issue of equity shares up to Rs 30 crore; or through a secondary sale of equity. If this is done, the fresh issue will be reduced to the extent of such placement.With over two decades of experience, Excelsoft provides technology-based solutions across diverse learning and assessment segments through long-term contracts with enterprise clients worldwide.As on December 2024, it caters to 71 clients spread across 17 countries, including USA, UK, India, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Canada.Some of its prominent and long standing clients are Pearson Education, AQA Education, Colleges of Excellence, NxGen Asia, Pearson Professional Assessments, Sedtech for Technology Education & Learning WLL, Ascend Learning LLC, Brigham Young University – IDAHO, Training Qualifications UK, Surala Net, Excel Public School and The Chartered Quality Institute.Excelsoft reported revenue from operations of Rs 198.3 crore in FY24, with a PAT of Rs 12.75 crore. As per the draft prospectus, There are no listed companies or peers in India that have business composition and segment contribution similar to it.The global SaaS market has seen rapid growth, with vertical SaaS emerging as a dominant trend that promises specialized, industry-tailored solutions.This shift has positioned vertical SaaS to grow at an even faster pace than general SaaS, with estimates suggesting that vertical SaaS could account for nearly 50% of the SaaS market by 2030, according to an Arizton report.Anand Rathi Advisors is the Book Running Lead Manager to the issue. The equity shares of the company are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.