Thiruvananthapuram, May 17: In his first response to the drama that he is now entangled in, S. Sreesanth has admitted to his involvement in the spot-fixing incident. 
Talking to reporters of Malayalam TV channels outside the court where he and others were produced, he said tersely, “It is my mistake,” before being whisked away.
Kolkata, Jul 8: Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar led the wishes for former India captain and current President of the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly who turned 48 on Wednesday.
Touted to be one of the best captains the country has ever produced, Ganguly is widely credited for making India an aggressive side and instilling belief in the team that they could win overseas conditions as well.
Happy birthday Dadi!
Hope our off-field partnership keeps going strong like our on-field ones. Wish you a blessed year ahead. pic.twitter.com/jOmq9XN07w
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 8, 2020
Tendulkar was among the first ones to extend birthday wishes to his former opening partner. "Happy birthday Dadi! Hope our off-field partnership keeps going strong like our on-field ones. Wish you a blessed year ahead," Tendulkar said on Twitter.
"Many more happy returns of the day Sourav Ganguly. May you taste ever more success and receive more and more love. Have a great day and year ahead #HappyBirthdayDada," said renowned Indian batsman VVS Laxman.
Many more happy returns of the day @SGanguly99 . May you taste ever more success and receive more and more love. Have a great day and year ahead #HappyBirthdayDada pic.twitter.com/j53UUDerJE
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) July 8, 2020
Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif wrote: "From a fine batsman to an outstanding captain & now leading Indian cricket on the whole—here's wishing my favourite captain & mentor Sourav Ganguly a very happy birthday. But FAULADI SEENA dikha ke aise kaun chadhta hai (who climbs up like this after showing a chest of steel), Dada #HappyBirthdayDada."
From a fine batsman to an outstanding captain & now leading Indian cricket on the whole—here’s wishing my favourite captain & mentor @SGanguly99 a very happy birthday. But FAULADI SEENA dikha ke aise kaun chadhta hai, Dada #HappyBirthdayDada pic.twitter.com/8PKZ3RwwtB
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 8, 2020
"Wishing a very happy birthday to the most dynamic and visionary captain of his time. It's a matter of immense pleasure to work with the man who took Indian cricket to new heights. Subho Janmodin Sourav Ganguly," tweeted BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.
"Leader of Men. God of off-side. Fighter. Happy Birthday, Dada. #HappyBirthdayDada," said commentator and former cricketer Aakash Chopra.
Leader of Men.
God of off-side.
Fighter.
Happy Birthday, Dada. #HappyBirthdayDada pic.twitter.com/PJcy0xwgyb
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 8, 2020
"Happy birthday dada! From a great captain to a brilliant administrator, you have donned them magnificently. Hope you continue your good work for the betterment of Indian cricket... Godspeed. Sourav Ganguly #HappyBirthdayDada," tweeted another former cricketer Pragyan Ojha.
Putting out various important achievements of Ganguly, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on their official Twitter handle wrote: "Third-fastest to 10,000 ODI runs. Holds the record for the highest individual score in CWC for India. 2003 ICC World Cup runner-up. Captained India to 11 wins in 28 overseas Tests. Happy birthday to one of India's most successful captains, Sourav Ganguly."
Ganguly played 113 Tests and 311 One Day Internationals in which he scored 7,212 and 11,363 runs respectively.
Dubai, Jul 24: The eagerly-awaited Indian Premier League will start on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the final slated on November 8, IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel told PTI on Friday.
While the event's Governing Council will meet next week to chalk out the final details and approve the schedule, it is understood that the BCCI has informally intimated the franchises about the plan.
"The GC will meet shortly but we have finalised the schedule. It will run from September 19 to November 8. We expect the government approval to come through. It is a full 51-day IPL," Patel confirmed the development after PTI reported the dates on Thursday.
The IPL has been made possible by the ICC's decision to postpone the October-November T20 World Cup in Australia owing to the COVID-19 pandemic due to which the host country expressed its inability to conduct the event.
Patel said that the Standard Operating Procedure to combat the COVID-19 threat is being prepared and the BCCI will formally write to the Emirates Cricket Board.
"We are making the SOP and it will be ready in a few days. To allow crowd or not depends on the UAE government. Anyway social distancing has to be maintained. We have left it for their government to decide on that. Will also be writing to the UAE board formally," Patel said.
There are three grounds available in the UAE -- Dubai International Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) and the Sharjah ground.
It is learnt that the BCCI will be renting the grounds of the ICC Academy for training of the teams.
The ICC Academy has two full-sized cricket grounds along with 38 turf pitches, 6 indoor pitches, a 5700 square foot outdoor conditioning area along with physiotherapy and medicine centre.
As per the current health protocol in Dubai, there is no need to be in quarantine if people are carrying a negative COVID-19 test report, but if they are not, they will have to undergo a test.
While there was speculation that the IPL will start from September 26, the BCCI decided to advance it by a week in order to ensure that the Indian team's tour of Australia is not jeopardised.
"The Indian team will have a mandatory quarantine of 14 days as per the Australian government rules. A delay would have sent the plans haywire," a BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.
"The best part is that 51 days is not at all a curtailed period and broadcasters will be happy with full seven-week window," he added.
While the original schedule had five double-headers, Patel said the new one will feature around 12 double-headers which means two matches each on both Saturdays and Sundays.
The Indians are set to play a four-match Test series against Australia starting December 3 in Brisbane after the IPL.
It is expected that with each and every team needing at least a month's time to train, the IPL franchises will be leaving base by August 20 which gives them exactly four weeks time to prepare.
The cash-rich event was originally scheduled to start at the end of March but the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions that were put in place to contain the virus, led to an indefinite postponement.
However, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had always maintained that the event will be held some time this year.
Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.
Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.
Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.
"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.
Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.
"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.
"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.
Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia.
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