Dhoni rules out third spinner for second Test against England

November 22, 2012

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Mumbai, November 22: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday ruled out any chance of including a third spinner in the team for the second Test against England commencing on Friday.

"Not really. We are looking at a 2-2 combination. Add balance to the side. Also you don't know exactly whether you are bowling first or batting first. Which means if the spinners are bowling and there is not much turn for them, ball is not stopping. It may be difficult for them to restrict the batsmen," Dhoni said at the pre-match media conference at the Wankhede Stadium.

"He (Harbhajan) has to wait as (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Pragyan) Ojha are bowling well," Dhoni added when asked if Harbhajan will be sitting out again after being in the reserves in the opening game at Ahmedabad.

In the first Test, which India won by nine wickets, Ashwin went wicket-less for a long time in the second innings till he dismissed Graeme Swann when the tail-end batsman attempted a reverse sweep and was bowled.

The 26-year-old off-spinner had picked up three wickets in England's first innings. He was a bit unlucky though as a few chances off his bowling went abegging.

Ojha, on the other hand, bowled well as he claimed five and four wickets, respectively in two innings.

The skipper also said that pacer Umesh Yadav, who is nursing a sore back, is likely to be rested.

"Umesh is doubtful for this Test match. He has a sore back, so when we are playing with two fast bowlers and two spinners I don't think we can take a risk with him. So most likely he will miss this Test match," said Dhoni.

Asked whether speedster Ishant Sharma would replace Yadav if the latter failed to make it to the playing eleven, Dhoni said the Delhi bowler had a good chance of playing.

"There is a very good chance he will play but we won't announce the playing XI (today)," he said.

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News Network
January 19,2020

Rome, Jan 19: India's star wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya kicked off the Olympic year in style, winning a gold medal each in their respective weight categories at the Rome Ranking Series here.

The 25-year-old Bajrang staged a remarkable comeback to secure a 4-3 win against USA's Jordan Michael Oliver in the summit showdown of the 65kg freestyle category.

Ravi, who competed in the 61kg category instead of his regular 57kg, also bagged gold after getting the better of Kazakhstan's Nurbolat Abdualiyev 12-2 in his final bout late on Saturday night.

The 23-year-old from Sonepat had made the final round after securing impressive wins over Moldova's Alexaandru Chirtoaca and Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev.

Up against one of India's biggest medal prospects in the Tokyo Olympics, Oliver conceded that it was not his night against Bajrang.

The American lauded the competitive spirit of Bajrang.

"Wasn't my night… but I got a lot of work to do to be where I want to be! Hats off to @BajrangPunia dude is heck of a competitor! Until next time my friend," the American tweeted.

Bajrang had to sweat it out in the first round against Zain Allen Retherford of the USA before prevailing 5-4.

In the quarterfinal, the ace Indian wrestler went past another American Joseph Christopher Mc Kenna 4-2, before getting the better of Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine 6-4 in the semi-finals.

However, it was curtains for Jitender in the 74kg and world championship silver medallist Deepak Punia in the 86kg category.

Jitender won his first bout against Denys Pavlov of Ukraine 10-1 before going down in the quarterfinals against Turkey's Soner Demirtas 4-0.

Jitender got a chance to fight in the repechage after Demirtas entered the final, but the Indian wasted the opportunity, losing 2-9 to Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan.

In the 86kg category, Deepak crashed out in the opening round, losing 1-11 to Ethan Adrian Ramos of Puerto Rico.

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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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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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