Fit-again Zaheer Khan overlooked, Rohit Sharma named in Test squad for Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series

November 1, 2013

ZaheerKhanMumbai, Nov 1: Zaheer Khan may have lost oodles of weight and regained his form, but the selectors have instead picked Mohammad Shami for the two-Test series against West Indies starting on November 6. The rubber, which will be Sachin Tendulkar’s last, could well be Rohit

Sharma’s first after the classy right-hander found a place in the 15-man squad on the back of some consistent performances in ODIs.

Zaheer, who generated decent pace and bowled 30 overs for his five wickets for Mumbai against Haryana earlier this week, last played for the country in December 2012. The selectors also ignored his performances in the recent ‘A’ series against the West Indians in Hubli and Shimoga.

Shami, who has done his bit in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, is one of four pacers in the squad. The others are Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and — believe it or not — Ishant Sharma. Ashok Dinda, who was part of the squad in the Australia series earlier this year, has been dropped.

The spin department comprises R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra. Ravindra Jadeja, who did well during the 4-0 win over Australia, has been advised rest by the team’s physiotherapist.

Harbhajan Singh may have picked up nine wickets in Punjab’s Ranji opener against Odisha but he, too, was ignored. The good news is that the discards (including Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir) will get at least two more Ranji games (November 7-10 and November 14-17) to make their case before India travel to South Africa in December.

Shikhar Dhawan will open the batting with M Vijay. Cheteshwar Pujara, Tendulkar and Virat Kohli will occupy the next three sports. Sharma, who has eased into the opener’s role in ODIs, was preferred over Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh. He is certain to make his Test debut in Kolkata (November 6-10).

Squad: MS Dhoni (C & WK), M Vijay, S Dhawan, C Pujara, S Tendulkar, V Kohli, R Sharma, A Rahane, R Ashwin, P Ojha, A Mishra, I Sharma, B Kumar, M Shami, U Yadav

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News Network
May 14,2020

May 14: Veteran South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has proposed a two-week isolation period for players before and after the T20 World Cup as a way to stage the event as per schedule later this year.

Like other sports, cricketing action too has come to a complete halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fate of the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October-November is shrouded in uncertainty.

Talking to Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, du Plessis said travel was going to be an issue despite Australia being less affected by the deadly contagion.

"I am not sure... reading that travelling is going to be an issue for lot of countries and they are talking about December or January. Even if Australia is not affected like other countries, to get people from Bangladesh, South Africa or India where there is more danger, obviously it's a health risk to them," du Plessis said.

"But you can go in before the tournament (for) two weeks isolation and then play the tournament and afterwards two weeks isolation," said the former captain.

Several countries across the globe, including South Africa, Australia and India, have travel restrictions in place and the veteran Proteas batsman joked travelling by boat is not an option.

"But I don't know when South Africa will open their travel ban because we can't go there like old days on boats," du Plessis said.

In March, South Africa's ODI series against India was called off after the first match in view of the pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected more than 44 lakh people worldwide while causing close to 3 lakh deaths.

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News Network
May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Sunday, 31 May 2020

Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good. 

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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