Page 300 - Sports
MCA likely to make key appointments in May
The Mumbai Cricket Association is expected to make appointments, including of those in the senior selection committee and coaches, in May. Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, who was appointed the new chairman of the MCA's Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) along with its members former India pacer Raju Kulkarni and former Mumbai spinner Kiran Mokashi "informally" met members of the ad-hoc committee at the MCA headquarters. Among others, appointments are to be made in the senior selection panel after four of its members including former India players Ajit Agarkar and Nilesh Kulkarni had resigned. "We will finalise all appointments of coaches and selectors in this month (May), so that we have close to three months to prepare in the off-season," Vengsarkar, a veteran of 116 Tests, told reporters after the meeting. A MCA source said that the first meeting of the CIC would take place on May 8.
England's Plunkett shows debutant Archer the way against Ireland
England's Liam Plunkett reminded debutant Jofra Archer he is still a force to be reckoned with ahead of a home World Cup with a four-wicket haul in Friday's one-day international in Ireland. Plunkett took four wickets for 35 runs in seven overs as Ireland were dismissed for 198 at Dublin's Malahide ground. By contrast Archer, who finished with one for 40 in eight overs, saw his first ball in international cricket hit for four after Dublin-born England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss in a match reduced to 45 overs per side by a wet outfield. Ireland captain William Porterfield and fellow opener Paul Stirling got the hosts' innings off to a brisk start. But from 55 without loss, Ireland slumped to 77 for four. Ireland, still smarting at their exclusion from a World Cup that has been reduced to just 10 teams, were unable to bat out their 45 overs, with 11 balls left when the innings ended. Barbados-born Archer, on for the second over of England's first international of a packed season, .
Somerset signs Babar Azam for T20 Blast
English county club 'Somerset' has signed Pakistan batsman Babar Azam for the upcoming T20 Vitality Blast. The player would be available for all 14 of Somerset's group stage matches as well as the quarter-finals of the tournament.His participation beyond the quarter-finals stage is subjected to international commitments."I am looking forward to the new challenge that playing T20 cricket in England will bring," he said. "I have heard good things about Somerset from Azhar Ali and I want to play a part in the club winning matches. I know that Somerset get good support and I hope that I can give them something to cheer about this year," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Azam, as saying on Friday.Somerset has plenty to smile with Azam's selection as the player would be available for the major chunk of the tournament and he would bring quality to the Somerset line-up."To be able to sign a player of the calibre of Babar Azam is tremendously exciting. He is a proven performer at the .
Man City overtake Man Utd as most valuable Premier League club: report
Manchester City have overtaken Manchester United as the Premier League's most valuable club, with higher wages and lower profits hurting the Old Trafford powerhouse, according to a football finance survey published Friday. Premier League champions City are valued at ?2.364 billion ($3.07 billion) in 2017/18, up ?385 million, according to the study by the University of Liverpool's Centre for Sports Business, while United are valued at ?2.087 billion, down ?376 million. The report said United still had the highest revenue of any club in the Premier League but increased costs meant they relinquished top spot in the valuation table. The pair are the only two Premier League clubs valued at more than ?2 billion. "Manchester City's value increased in 2018 due to a combination of higher revenue and lower wages," the Liverpool University report said. "The ownership model of Sheikh Mansour which effectively means that the club is debt-free means that there are no loan interest costs and no ...
Iyer plays it cool with fans on social media
A massive defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was a reality check for Delhi Capitals (DC), but that did not affect skipper Shreyas Iyer, who showed his funny side in a Q&A session with fans on his Instagram page.
KKR win toss, ask Kings XI to bat first
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field against Kings XI Punjab in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) game for both teams here on Friday.
Kirsten wants "structural changes" but will he be in charge of RCB next year?
Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Gary Kirsten spoke about the need for "structural changes" in the set-up while maintaining "continuity" but the bigger question remains whether the former India coach will remain at the helm after two dismal IPL seasons. Under Kirsten's stewardship, RCB for the second time in two years have failed to make it to the play-offs. Somehow India's World Cup winning former coach have not been able to crack the IPL code as he had similar disastrous seasons with Delhi Daredevils also. That makes it four IPL seasons where a team has failed to reach the play-offs under his coaching. While the RCB management have not spoken about Kirsten's future but it will not be short of surprise if he manages to hold on to the coach's post in the 13th edition in 2020. "I have been a fan of continuity. You want to build core of players and culture and keep coming back to same players. I think most successful franchises in IPL have done that and we are searching for that in ...
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra undergoes surgery
Ace Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's participation in the World Championships in Doha, slated to be held in September this year, remains uncertain as the athlete has undergone an elbow surgery which is likely to take three to four months for complete recovery.
Khalin Joshi best Indian at 23rd; SSP makes cut; Jeev misses out
Indian golfer Khalin Joshi, who was unable to find his rhythm this year on the Asian Tour, carded a two-under 70 at the Volvo China Open on Friday to ensure that he will feature in the weekend rounds. He had missed cut in five Asian Tour events and withdrawn from one, while he did make the cut at Kenya Open on European Tour. On Friday, he signed for 70 and held a share of 23rd place, but he was eight shots back of Wu Ashun, who delighted the home fans with a seven-under 65 and took a two-shot lead into the weekend. Wu Ashun has a two-day total of 13-under-par 131. Only two other Indians, Ajeetesh Sandhu (74-67) in T-43rd and SSP Chawrasia (71-71) in T-55th made the cut. Viraj Madappa, whose five-under 67 could not make up for the first round 76, missed the cut by one shot. Shiv Kapur (70-73) made a late bogey and missed the cut by one, while Jeev Milkha Singh (71-73) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (71-74) also missed the cut. Joshi played nine straight pars on the front nine and then had three
Serbian Dragan Mihailovic appointed Indian men's volleyball team coach
The Volleyball Federation of India Friday appointed Serbian Dragan Mihailovic as head coach of the men's national team in a move linked to the long term goal of Olympic Games qualification. The VFI also announced the appointment of Pryemyslaw Gaszyoski and Valadimir Radosevic as the team's physio trainer and physiotherapist respectively. Besides the men's national team, the trio will also look after the men's U-23 team and other junior teams representing India. All the three have been appointed for five months and will work with the team for the Asian Championships scheduled to be held in Iran in September. Mihailovic has more than 25 years of experience as a coach and has won several medals as an assistant coach with Serbia at the World Championships, European Championships as well as Olympics. He also comes with the experience of having worked with clubs like Orestiada and Panathinaikos. Expressing his delight on his appointment as the Indian coach, the Serbian said, "It gives me ...
Afridi's outrageous claims: Gautam Gambhir has no great records, just lot of attitude
They have never shared a great rapport on and off-the-field and now former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has gone a step further terming former India opener Gautam Gambhir as someone with "no great records and just a lot of attitude". In his just released autobiography 'Game Changer', Afridi launched a scathing attack on Gambhir, some of which termed out to be factually incorrect. "Some rivalries were personal, some professional. First the curious case of Gambhir. Oh poor Gautam. He & his attitude problem. He who has no personality. He who is barely a character in the great scheme of cricket. He who has no great records just a lot of attitude," writes Afridi. Gambhir played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20 Internationals scoring more than 10,000 international runs across formats. Afridi played 398 ODIs for Pakistan with a lot of matches as opener but the average despite 8000 plus runs stand at less than 24 compared to Gambhir close to 40. In Tests, Gambhir has an average of close to
Akhil confident of great finish at European GT4 Series
Indias Akhil Rabindra would be turning out to race for his team Pro Sport Performance in the second race weekend of the 2019 European GT4 Series at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, England, on May 4 and 5. The Bengaluru born racer, earlier this year became the only Asian to seal an Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy spot along with teammate Florian Thoma.
Will work harder to earn Indian team spot: Samson
Sanju Samson has always been considered as a bright prospect but he has not been able to break into the Indian team and the Kerala wicket-keeper batsman Friday said instead of feeling frustrated he would work harder to earn a spot for himself. Samson, who has played just one T20 International for India against Zimbabwe in 2015, has been one of consistent performers with the bat in this IPL with 337 runs from 11 games that included a century and a half-century. Legends like Brian Lara have found it difficult to understand why a talented player like Samson has not even been considered in India's World Cup probables. "It feels really great when legends like Lara talk highly of you. It boosts your confidence. I am very confident and happy the way I have been playing. But I am excitingly waiting for my opportunity to play for India," the Rajasthan Royals player said ahead of his team's last IPL league game against Delhi Capitals here Saturday. "There is no point in getting frustrated. You .
Boost to bring sports lovers closer to Kohli, Dhoni
Boost, a brand in the health food drinks category, has created Boostcamp.com - an online platform that brings alive its core theme of inspiring kids to 'Play A Bigger Game'. Through this platform, young players will be trained by their cricketing heroes Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer about different facets of sports.
Access must for basketball to grow in India: NBA star Barnes
To say that Harrison Barnes knows what it is like to be a world-class basketball player is an understatement. He was part of the Golden State Warriors that won the NBA title in 2015 -- their first in 30 years and was part of the USA team that won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Seriton pens new three-year deal with FC Goa
Defender Seriton Fernandes on Friday signed a new long-term contract with FC Goa, keeping him with the club till the summer of 2022.
Indian women's league to kick off in Ludhiana
Top female players of the country and from abroad will take part in the Indian Women's League (IWL) which is set to kick-off at the Guru Nanak Stadium here on Sunday.
Seriton Fernandes signs a long-term contract with FC Goa
Defender Seriton Fernandes has signed a new long-term contract with FC Goa (Indian Super League side), and this deal will now keep the player in the club for three more years. The contract will expire in 2022."Happiness has many forms. For Seriton Fernandes, it's signing a new three-year contract with his hometown club. #FCGOA represent! #Seriton2022 #NowWeRise," FC Goa tweeted on Thursday.Seriton made his first appearance for FC Goa in 2017/18 as the club picked him in the seventh round in the 2017 ISL players draft."Seriton Fernandes has committed his future to FC Goa and put pen to paper on a three-year contract extension. He will be the third Gaurs' player to extend their stay with the club in the past week after Hugo Boumous and Carlos Pena were tied down with a three-year and a one-year contract respectively," FC Goa said in an official statement.The player went on to play a crucial role in his first season and he established himself as the first choice player in the ...
Critics do not touch us mentally, Sokratis hits back at critics
Arsenal's Sokratis lashed out at club's critics, targeting team members as well as manager Unai Emery while acknowledging that criticism can be beneficial for improving performance but critics do not touch them mentally."I hear that everyone speaks about the system, the manager. The manager tries every day to give the best to us, to the team," Goal quoted Sokratis, as saying."I think the critics are good to hear, to improve, but they do not touch us mentally. We are a big family and we are all together, we stay all together. We are here to give the best for the club, for the fans and for ourselves also. I think that the biggest point is that we have to stay focused," he added.Sokratis's comments came after Arsenals handed Valencia a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of Europa League's semi-final. Moreover, the 30-year old backed his fellow players saying that they are not robots."In one week, for example, [Laurent] Koscielny makes a mistake or I make a mistake or [Shkodran] Mustafi the ...
Six players selected for NBA academy in India
The National Basketball Association (NBA) on Friday announced six prospects from ACG-NBA Jump who will receive scholarships and training at the NBA Academy India.