Sakshi enters top-5 in world rankings

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

New Delhi, Mar 13: The remaining ODI series between India and South Africa has been called-off amidst the rising concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

"The second and third ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow and Kolkata respectively are called off," the BCCI source told media persons.

The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain and wet outfield without a toss at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium on Thursday.

The second and third ODI was scheduled to be played at Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18 respectively. Earlier on Thursday, the BCCI has decided to play the remaining two ODIs behind closed doors.

"After holding discussions with the MYAS and MOHFW, the BCCI on Thursday announced that the remaining two One-day Internationals (ODIs) of the three-match series of South Africa tour of India, 2020, will be played without any public gathering, including spectators," the BCCI had said in a statement.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has advised all the federations to avoid large gatherings.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday had declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic' and expressed deep concerns.

The coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan in China's Hubei province, in late December, and has since spread worldwide.

New Delhi, Jun 3: Shuttler HS Prannoy has hit out at the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and has questioned the selection criteria for the Arjuna Award.

The shuttler has said that the players who have won nothing have been recommended, while the players who have medals to their credit have been snubbed.

His remarks come as BAI recommended doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and men's singles player Sameer Verma for the Arjuna Award on Tuesday.

"Same old story. Guy who has Medals in CWG and Asian Championships not even recommended by Association. And guy who was not there on any of these major events recommended #waah #thiscountryisajoke," Prannoy tweeted.

Prannoy had been left out from the list last year as well and the shuttler had slammed the criteria then as well.

"If you ever want your name in the awards list, make sure you have people who will get your name to the list. Performance is least considered in our country. Sad state of our county but can't help it. Let go and just play until you can," Prannoy had tweeted last year.

Prannoy had won the mixed team gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and he also has a men's singles bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Championships.

On Tuesday, the BAI has also recommended the renowned National Institute of Sports (NIS)-certified coaches, S. Murlidharan and Bhaskar Babu for the Dronacharya Award.

Murlidharan has been working relentlessly for the growth and development of the sport in Kerala, besides being an able administrator.

He has coached the likes of Vimal Kumar, Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas amongst many other renowned former players.

He has also been a recipient of the Meritorious Service Award given by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in 1996.

For the Dhyanchand Award, BAI has recommended the names of Pradeep Gandhe and Manjusha Kanwar.

Gandhe is a two-time Asian Games bronze medallist while Manjusha is a South Asian Games silver medallist.