Kohli wins toss, elects to bat against Sri Lanka in 4th ODI

Dubai, Jan 15: India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was on Wednesday named captain of the International Cricket Council's ODI and Test teams of the year, capping off a memorable season for the world No.1.

Apart from Kohli, there were four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

While the Test team featured double-centurion Mayank Agarwal, opener Rohit Sharma, speedster Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.

Kohli enjoyed a tremendous run in both the formats in 2019. The 31-year-old hit his seventh Test double hundred on the way to a career-best unbeaten 254 against South Africa in October last year.

It was a breakthrough year for opener Agarwal, who smashed two double tons, one century and went beyond the fifty-run mark twice. He hit a career-best score of 243 against Bangladesh in November.

Kuldeep, too, enjoyed a memorable year as he joined the golden list of bowlers with two hat-tricks. The chinaman claimed his second ODI hat-trick of his career against the West Indies last month.

In the absence of Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Shami rose to the occasion making the best in the business hop, skip and jump with his pace, swing and bounce through the season. He scalped 42 wickets in 21 ODIs over the last 12 months.

The ICC's Teams of the Year 2019:

ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

Test Team of the Year (in batting order): Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

New Delhi, Apr 26: The idea of having a full-fledged women's IPL is in a "progression stage" and a World Cup title for India can actually help in turning that into a reality sooner than later, says former captain Anjum Chopra.

Under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian team sailed into the final of the last women's T20 World Cup, but was thrashed by home favourites and defending champions Australia when it mattered the most.

Chopra, one of the country's most decorated women cricketers, said a World Cup title triumph would have brought about a generational shift to the women's game in cricket-mad India.

"Women's IPL in the progression stages. From one game at the start we had four last year in the Women's T20 Challenge, and this time it was supposed to be seven. It has progressed," Chopra said.

"If the women's team had won the World Cup this year, the number of matches would have been more. There is a big difference between winners and runners up."

Chopra had a successful career spanning over 17 years during which she represented India in six World Cups while becoming the first woman cricket to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She added, "A victory (in final of last T20 World Cup) would have been a complete generational shift in a much more progressional manner."

Referring to the rapid strides the women's game has made the world over, she praised the International Cricket Council (ICC) for "consciously building it up".

"ICC has bifurcated viewership numbers also very well for Indian audience."

The icing on the cake was a near-packed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the World Cup final between India and Australia, and that was not lost on Chopra, who is now a respected analyst and sportscaster.

"To have 80,000 people watching the final that's commendable. That definitely a boost," said Chopra, who holds the distinction of leading India to their first ever Test series win.

A World Cup triumph and the "mind set would have gone to different level altogether", she believed.

Asked about the chatter around pay disparity in Indian cricket, her simple message was win more to earn more.

"There is already pay parity in Australia. Because both teams have won the World Cups more than any other nations.

"If you start winning, then I am sure things will be different. It's also about how much you are able to generate as a team.

"I would say sky is the limit for them."

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing sporting activities to a standstill, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the fate of many big events lined up in the near future.

While the IPL has been put on hold indefinitely, the pandemic has thrown the men's T20 World Cup, scheduled for October-November in Australia, into doubt.

"There has been a suggestion that if we are hosting the World Cup in October, then play the IPL as preparation ground for World Cup."

That is only if the situation improves in the coming times.

"It's difficult to see, to gauge where sport will be after this. For sure it is not going to be where it was before. Even if it opens up tomorrow it couldn't be the same.

"Can sports people can get back to work without worry? We don't know when this is going to be under control."