Canada and Australia said they would not be sending athletes to the Tokyo Olympics if the Games went ahead as scheduled in July and August this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Here is a list of previous cancellations, boycotts and changes of venues of the Summer and Winter games.
- 'He led more by example than by rhetoric or by words' - 'If there are kids in small towns today dreaming and aspiring for great things, then MS Dhoni has a lot to do with it' - 'He was never defensive when captaining in India'
Sachin Tendulkar was invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be part of his official delegation for the Australia tour later this month, but the cricket icon has expressed his inability to make the trip due to prior commitments.
Australia's world champion one-day team could face a major overhaul after they slumped to a 10th loss in 11 games, according to chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns.
India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was adjudged out for handling the ball on the opening day of Derbyshire's County Championship four-day match against Leicestershire at Derby on Tuesday.
Considering the Test format as the ultimate challenge for any cricketer, Cheteshwar Pujara, on Friday, said if he had to get an opportunity, he would still like to play the longest format.
Australia captain believes the result could have been different had Steve Smith and David Warner been available for the home side in Melbourne.
The new stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad, which will be completed in two years, will become the biggest cricket stadium in the world with seating capacity of 1.10 lakh.
'As such, the pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the ball as it neither favoured the batsmen too much nor it gave the bowlers sufficient opportunity to take wickets'
Pakistan's stand-in captain Mohammad Hafeez hit a fighting fifty to set up a comprehensive six-wicket victory against Australia in the second one-day international on Sunday that levelled the five-match series.
Injured fast bowler James Pattinson has returned to the Australia set-up when he was named on Tuesday for the One-day series against England in January.
Pakistan have lost the series after falling 2-0 down with a match to play and Misbah was disappointed with his contribution after managing just 11 runs in total across two innings at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Kiwi star Brendon McCullum must have given nightmare to many bowlers around the world during his international playing days. The former New Zealand captain, who recently retired from international cricket, named the four toughest bowlers he found difficult to face against during his 14-year dream career. "Murali (Sri Lanka champion Muthiah Muralitharan) was always, for me, incredibly difficult to face, mainly because you had no idea which way it was spinning," McCullum told Star Sports. "Brad Hogg, as well, because of his uncanny bowling action and his ability to turn it both ways. "I think Brett Lee when he was in his pomp. He was fast, wasn't he? "And probably Mitchell Starc too of more recent times."
The much-awaited return of David Warner and Steve Smith from their one-year bans has bolstered the team
Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has heaped praise on right-handed batsman Babar Azam, saying he is as good as swashbuckling Indian batsman Virat Kohli. During the recently concluded Hamilton Test against New Zealand which Pakistan lost by eight wickets, Azam scored an unbeaten 90 and Arthur says the former deserves the high praise.
The ICC Annual Conference 2014 - world cricket's biggest annual gathering - will take place in Australia for the first time in its history after Melbourne was awarded the right to host the event.
From selfies to fist fights, Rediff.com has the best pictures from the last week snapped right here...
Australia Test skipper Michael Clarke's will captain the Melbourne Stars in Australia's Big Bash League for the next two seasons after not playing Twenty20 for three years.
On the back of some great all-round performance, Australia thumped New Zealand by 247 runs to win the Boxing Day Test and take a 2-0 series lead. Images from Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test played at the MCG on Sunday.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had made it clear to their Bangladesh counterparts that it will not host them on a neutral venue during the upcoming home series in January-February.
Will it be Naryanswami Srinivasan or Mustafa Kamal?
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Sunday, hit out at his fielders for conceding easy boundaries at crucial junctures as Australia took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series with a three-wicket win in Melbourne.
As the legend turns 40, we take a look at his journey in cricket and life.
Usman Khawaja proved his fitness with an unbeaten century in the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League at the weekend to secure his place in the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies.
New Zealand's cricketing Gallipoli came on February 1, 1981 when Australia captain Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball of a One-day match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground along the ground.
Cricket legend Sir Viv Richards has backed Kohli to continue playing aggressive form of cricket, saying that it brings the best out of him.
Coach Misbah-ul-Haq and his fellow selectors have been criticised by Pakistan media for placing too much expectation on such young shoulders, particularly against an ascendant team that thrives on home pitches.
Virat Kohli was engaged in yet another fierce verbal battle with the Australian team.
Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers' Association announced they have agreed a new pay deal "in principle" on Thursday, ending an acrimonious dispute that threatened a tour of Bangladesh and this year's Ashes series.
Mitchell Johnson electrified a world record Test crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a searing new ball spell to capture two late wickets and leave England a rocky 226 for six at the close of the opening day of the fourth Test on Thursday.
The personal warmth Abbott shared with Modi was reflected yet again at a reception at the iconic 161-year-old Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) where he said Modi is like a "brother."
Former India captain and CAB president, Sourav Ganguly, is working overtime to get everything in order at Eden Gardens, which is set to host the country's first pink-ball multi-day cricket match under lights. With drone flying over him under the dazzling Eden floodlights, the iconic lefthander was seen shooting promotional with the pink Kookaburra. "Eden Gardens will hold the first day-night (four-day) match in India. It has given us many moments to celebrate, now it's getting ready to host yet another moment to remember," Ganguly said in the promotional. Later talking to media, Ganguly, who is also the BCCI technical committee chairman, said, "Pink ball is the future... This will be the ultimate form of Test cricket. What will be the use of doing something which will have little interest left."
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
The Australians only had themselves to blame for their defeat on Friday as they had several opportunities to turn the game their way.
Virat Kohli smashed his 39th one-day international century as India claimed a dramatic six-wicket victory over Australia at a sweltering Adelaide Oval on Tuesday to level up the three-match series at 1-1.
In order to raise the dwindling number of spectators in the stadium, the Board of Control for Cricket in India last week said it is all set to host its first-ever day/night cricket Test with the pink ball against New Zealand in October.
The 20-year-old was jeered at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when he tripped over the ball on one of his first touches in the area, but a minute later soaked up the acclaim after slotting home a through ball from Nigerian teenager Kelechi Iheanacho.
India captain Virat Kohli says the world's top batsmen will have reason to fear Jasprit Bumrah after the talented young paceman put Australia to the sword in the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
India moved within two wickets of an emphatic victory in the third Test after reducing Australia to 258 for eight at the close of day four.
Cheteshwar Pujara hit his second century of the series before India captain Virat Kohli declared their first innings closed at 443 for seven after tea on day two of the third Test against Australia on Thursday.
