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India need 5-0 whitewash to regain number-one ODI ranking

January 9, 2013

Dubai, Jan 9: The five-match one-day series between India and England will throw open the race to the number one team and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men will have to inflict a whitewash on the visiting side to regain its numero uno status on the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table.

India is playing England in a five-match ODI series starting on Friday in Rajkot and the only way the hosts, currently ranked third, can regain their number one ranking is by winning all the five matches of the series. A 5-0 win will see India jump two places to claim the top spot.

England too will be aiming to carry its Test form into the ODI format and win its first series in India in 28 years, and cement its status as the number-one ranked side.

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South Africa too can move to the top of table as they are playing New Zealand in a three-match series starting on 19 January in Paarl.

However, the Proteas can only go top if it wins all three matches against New Zealand and India wins its series, but fails to complete a clean sweep.

England currently leads second-ranked South Africa by a fraction of a point, but will take an outright lead on the championship table if it wins the series, irrespective of the results of the South Africa-New Zealand and Australia-Sri Lanka series (starting on Friday in Melbourne).

In ICC ODI Player Rankings, no fewer than seven batsmen featuring in the top 10 are likely to figure in the India-England, Australia-Sri Lanka and South Africa-New Zealand series.

Hashim Amla currently leads the pack with his team-mate AB de Villiers second. India's Virat Kohli in third spot leads his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni by 35 ratings points, and he will not only be aiming to strengthen his position with a strong performance against England, but also put pressure on South Africa's ODI captain.

It is expected that the series will result in fewer changes at the top of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, where number-one ranked Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan is currently enjoying a comfortable lead over second-placed teammate Mohammad Hafeez.

As many as five of the top 10 are expected to be in action during the three series, including Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne Morkel, Steven Finn, Ravichandran Ashwin and Dale Steyn.

The tussle for the top spot on the Reliance ICC ODI Championship Table is also a build-up for the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held from June 6 to 23 in England and Wales.

Group A includes defending champion Australia, 2000 winner New Zealand and 2002 champion Sri Lanka, along with host England, which reached the final when it last staged the event in 2004.

Australia and Sri Lanka face-off on 17 June at The Oval in a day-night match during what will be the final edition of the ICC Champions Trophy.

While Australia and Sri Lanka may not be in the race for the number-one position on the Championship Table, the five-match series will provide both sides an opportunity to size each other up.

Sides in Group B of the ICC Champions Trophy are 1998 winner South Africa, 2004 champion West Indies, 2002 winner India, and Pakistan.

The tournament opener will feature the two former winners when South Africa takes on 2002 champion India in Cardiff on 6 June. The following day, the West Indies will face Pakistan at The Oval.

The semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy will be staged at The Oval (19 June) and in Cardiff (20 June), while Edgbaston will be the venue of the final, to be played on 23 June.

With 14 ratings points separating number-one ranked England from sixth-ranked Sri Lanka, the battle for the Reliance ICC ODI Shield and a cash award of USD 175,000 is truly warming up.

While India-England and Australia-Sri Lanka will square-off against each other from Friday, and South Africa will take on New Zealand from 19 January, there is a number of additional series to be played before the 1 April cut-off date.

Australia will take on the West Indies between 1 and 10 February, England will travel to New Zealand for a three-match series from 17 February, and South Africa will host Pakistan in a five-match series from 10 March. Every match counts as the six leading sides battle to finish inside the top two.

The side that tops the Championship table on the 1 April cut-off date collects a cheque of US$175,000 along with a Shield, while the team that finishes second receives a cheque of US$75,000.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he doesn't think Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play for India again, adding to the guessing game over the future of the superstar former captain.

Dhoni, 38, has not appeared for club or country since last year's 50-over World Cup and India's coronavirus lockdown could threaten his chances of getting back into the national team.

The Indian Premier League, the main platform before this year's scheduled T20 World Cup, is likely to be truncated or cancelled because of the pandemic.

Harbhajan, who plays with Dhoni at IPL side Chennai Super Kings, said international retirement was on the cards for Dhoni and that he was increasingly being asked about his teammate.

"It's up to him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again," Harbhajan said in an online forum.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India's blue jersey again. IPL he will play, but for India I think he had decided the (2019) World Cup was his last."

Dhoni, who gave up Test cricket in 2014, started training for the Super Kings in March but has not commented on his international future.

Dhoni led India to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. He hit a six to seal the 2011 World Cup final victory and, along with it, his status as a national hero. He has amassed 10,773 runs from 350 ODIs.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Northamptonshire, Jul 31: Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus, and as a result, he will miss the British Grand Prix.

The Racing Point driver was absent from the circuit on Thursday after self-isolating following what his team called an "inconclusive" test. Perez then re-tested later in the day and it returned positive.

Formula 1 is following a strict testing regime as part of the safety protocols put in place when racing resumed earlier this month, and this is the first time a driver has tested positive.

"Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities," Formula 1 and the FIA said in a statement.

"With the assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined," the statement added.

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