Lot of scenarios can play out before 2016 Rio Olympics: Rohan Bopanna

February 19, 2016

New Delhi, Feb 19: Amid rising speculation on who is going to partner Sania Mirza at the Rio Olympics, contender Rohan Bopanna says his sole focus now is to maintain his top-10 ranking till the French Open in June.

BopannaWhile veteran Leander Paes has already said that he is the ideal painter for Sania, Bopanna said a lot of scenarios can play out before the Rio Games in August.

"I will play all the big tournaments there are on the calendar before Rio, starting from Dubai to Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Rome, French Open. The aim is to be in the top-10 till the French Open and we will see who can partner who, be it doubles or mixed doubles. So there is a long way to go before Rio," Bopanna said on Friday.

The qualification for Rio will depend on the rankings published on June 6, while the French Open will be played from May 16 to June 5.

Bopanna said it is impossible to predict his partner as of now.

Paes, who has slipped to 52 in the doubles rankings, had earlier claimed that Bopanna had refused to play with him in the lead up to the Olympics. Asked for his reaction on Paes' comments, Bopanna said he is happy to continue with his current partner Florian Mergea.

"The focus is on improving on the gains made last year. After a while, I will be with a partner at a stretch for one year (in April).

"The cut off for Indian Wells next month is a combined ranking of 50 so I can't play with Leander anyway. Everyone needs to defend points before the French Open and I will be doing the same. There are lot of scenarios before the Olympics. And you have to remember you have to qualify for either men's singles or mixed doubles to even go to Rio. So as I said long way to go," said Bopanna.

Though it is not yet known whether India will have two men's doubles teams like in London 2012, the country's best chance of a medal is in mixed doubles alongside world number one Sania Mirza.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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News Network
July 12,2020

New Delhi, Jul 12: Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to do away with 'umpire's call' whenever a team opts for a review regarding a leg-before wicket (LBW) decision.

The Master Blaster has also said that a batsman should be given out if the ball is hitting the stumps.

Whether more than 50 per cent of the ball is hitting the stumps or not should not be matter, he further stated.

"What per cent of the ball hits the stumps doesn't matter, if DRS shows us that the ball is hitting the stumps, it should be given out, regardless of the on-field call," Tendulkar tweeted.

With this tweet, the former India batsman also shared a video, in which he has a discussion with Brian Lara regarding the working of DRS.
"One thing I don't agree with, with the ICC, is the DRS they have been using for quite some time. It is the LBW decision where more than 50 per cent of the ball must be hitting the stumps for the on-field decision to be overturned," Tendulkar said in the video.

"The only reason they (the batsman or the bowler) have gone upstairs is that they are unhappy with the on-field decision, so when the decision goes to the third umpire, let the technology take over, just like in tennis, it's either in or out, there's nothing in between," he added.

This call for doing away with umpire's call has been recommended by many former players.
Whenever a verdict pops up as 'umpire's call, the decision of the on-field umpire is not changed, but the teams do not lose their review as well.

ICC recently introduced some changes to the game of cricket, and they gave all teams liberty of extra review as non-neutral umpires will be employed in Test matches due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, all teams will now have three reviews in every innings of a Test match. 

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News Network
June 12,2020

New Delhi, Jun 12: The BCCI on Friday called off Indian cricket team's short tour of Zimbabwe in August due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement was on expected lines after Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Thursday that India's limited overs tour in June-July was postponed indefinitely.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced that the Indian Cricket Team will not travel to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe owing to the current threat of COVID-19," BCCI secetary Jay Shah said in a statement.

"Team India was originally scheduled to travel to the island nation from 24th June 2020 for three ODIs and as many T20Is and to Zimbabwe for a series comprising three ODIs starting 22nd August 2020," Shah added.

The Indian team is yet to resume training and the camp is unlikely to take place before July. The players will take around six weeks to be match-ready.

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