When the selectors sat down to pick the Indian side for the Sri Lanka tour, they had plenty on their plate.
Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who will demit office as the Chief Justice of India in a week's time, has etched his name in the annals of history by giving finality to one of the most politically and religiously sensitive cases, the Ayodhya land dispute, which dates back to even before the Supreme Court came into existence in 1950.
There was optimism mingled with conviction in VVS Laxman's tone and tenor as the batting great today predicted the start of an era of prolonged dominance by the current Indian Test team, akin to the great West Indian and Australian sides of the past. As the long home season begin with the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, India are seeking to become the numero uno side in Test cricket and Laxman, who called captain Virat Kohli a "trendsetter", felt achieving the number one status will just be the beginning of a long journey.
'Ramchandra Guha has sent down an express delivery at Sunil Gavaskar, the great batsman who seldom wore a helmet while facing the fastest of fast bowlers.' 'Gavaskar may have easily ducked the delivery and Guha would have receded in solitude.' 'But by hitting back at Guha, Gavaskar may have started a barrage of unplayable deliveries,' says Sudhir Bisht about his cricketing hero.
The Union Health ministry put the number of positive cases at 82, eight more since Thursday night, which includes the woman and a 76-year-old man from Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality besides 17 foreign nationals, Health Ministry officials said.
During his tenure as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has gone from being extremely cautious to trying something fancy, hoping to catch the opponent by surprise. However, mostly, he's ended up with egg on the face, especially overseas.
The IPL has produced more controversies in its short lifespan than any other sporting league in history.
More runs from Virat Kohli. India winning the World T20 at home. A controversy-free IPL and more is what Harish Kotian/Rediff.com wants this year.
New Zealand Cricket has backed the proposed changes in the ICC's administrative structure, which would leave major decision-making in the hands of India, Australia and England, despite facing severe criticism from the country's players' association.
Naman Ojha is certainly back in the national selection committee's radar after four centuries in his last five first-class innings, including two double hundreds but he rules out any competition with Wriddhiman Saha for the second wicketkeeper's slot in the Indian team.
'Where betting is legalised it is heavily regulated and they work in close conjunction with us, so it does assist us' 'Sometimes these corruptors are like paedophiles and what I mean by that analogy is that they are prepared to spend a long time particularly grooming young players'
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravikant Chopra, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) PC Vaish, GM, Cricket Operations, Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) members Yashpal Sharma and Sunil Valson also took the charge on Monday after taking back their resignations.
Kirti Azad, a known detractor of Jaitley, egged on the Congress to seek a time-bound SIT probe.
'He is the biggest match-winner India has ever produced, not only in India, but in world cricket.' 'He has been a great mentor for many players, including me.'
It was in 1989, 39 years after the setting up of the Supreme Court in 1950, that Justice M Fathima Beevi was appointed. Meet the brilliant legal minds who have shattered the glass ceiling since then.
Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson supported the mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who has been barred from playing the Champions League T20 final for a suspect illegal bowling action, saying he will return as an even better bowler.
'The moment you increase the possibility of making a team winning or losing a game that's where match-fixing happens. And whenever match-fixing happens, it can only happen at the players' level. If a player is not fixed to perform a particular task then how can one generate money?'
Blessed with a computer-like brain and an elephantine memory, Anandji Dossa was a pioneer in compiling cricket statistics and scores. Haresh Pandya pays tribute to the modest stats-man, who has passed into the ages.
Some stellar performances by seasoned veterans and promising youngsters continued to raise the bar in Olympic sports but there was heartbreak in equal measure when corruption scandals blighted India's favourite obsession, cricket, in a see-saw year for the country's sportspersons.
The year 2014 has been an eventful one for India. The country got a new government and a new state, broke new frontiers in various fields and of course its share of controversies.
