FIFA will go ahead with its controversial decision to stage World Cup matches at midday in tropical venues, president Sepp Blatter said on Tuesday as soccer's governing body announced a bafflingly complex procedure for Friday's draw.
Since exploding onto the tennis scene as a 14-year-old, Serena Williams has achieved everything on a tennis court - but her incredible collection of titles and trophies barely define the imprint the American has left on her sport.
Former ICC elite-level umpire Daryl Harper looks back at his controversial decision against Sachin Tendulkar in the 1999 Adelaide Test "everyday of my life" but says he proudly stands by what he believes was a correct decision. A bouncer from Australian pace spearhead Glenn McGrath had Tendulkar ducking and the ball hit him on his shoulders. Officiating in the game, umpire Harper deemed it as leg before wicket and to India's surprise, raised his finger, igniting a debate.
'All of us tend to believe that they are so well paid, why should we bother about their payments.' 'But who all are well paid? Only a handful, maybe 3-4 of them, who go in for endorsements and things.' 'The others are struggling, playing Ranji Trophy and other matches, so that compensation we made it market-oriented.'
India's top-five finish not a given this time
'I'm personally, and we as a team, are not getting ahead of ourselves'
Spinner Harbhajan Singh revealed said that former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a very shy person when he first came into the Indian team and he only started opening up after the controversial Sydney Test against Australia in 2008.
'Not taking away any credit from India, but when they won in Australia, there is no doubt that Australian cricket was going through a turmoil and there were problems in their dressing room'.
The cricket establishment in India has an unhealthy respect for reputations. Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev were allowed to retire when they wanted. And captains have played beyond the stage of being automatic picks, notes Suhit K Sen.
It is understood that the controversy has not gone down well with the travelling team and it is not amused with how Cricket Australia has so far handled the issue.
'It's disappointing. It's disrespectful. I'm not sure ... I'm going to want to play tennis'
Perth Scorchers' opener Michael Klinger was given out on the seventh ball of an over with umpires failing to realise their mistake.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is confident that the off-spinner's return for India's year-end tour of Australia for a four-Test series.
I tried to reason in my mind that wouldn't beating Pakistan again and again -- in the league matches and in the knockouts if they made it -- be a better tribute to our martyred soldiers? A revealing excerpt from Vinod Rai's Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings In The BCCI.
'I got some time off from international cricket, so I could come back to India and reflect on what was not going right for me. Fortunately, I got to play some India A games where the pressure is a bit less and where I could focus on my skill and my technique'
'Rather than worrying too much about results, it's about trying to stick to a brand of cricket that we want to be proud of playing. I guess that's something that came out in the 2015 World Cup and it's flowed on from there.'
Rediff.com introduces you to the athletes who have brought India glory in Birmingham.
India head coach Rahul Dravid says he and skipper Rohit Sharma are pretty clear about the team for the T20 World Cup in Australia in less than eight months' time.
There have been unconfirmed media reports that the Indian contingent has been unhappy with the quarantine protocols in Sydney where they have been confined to hotel
'We were actually very similar in that way, and we actually got on -- me and KP, professionally -- better than most people because we very honest with but openly disliked each other, but wanted each other in the team.'
Labuschagne played a knock of 108 runs before he was dismissed by debutant T Natarajan in the final session of the opening day.
Umar reported that a former Test batsman, Akhtar, who was part of the Winnipeg Hawks management had approached him and asked him to play a role in fixing some games of the league.
Former Supreme Court judge D K Jain will continue as BCCI's ethics officer and ombudsman after getting a one-year extension. Jain was appointed by the Supreme Court in February 2019 as BCCI's first ever ombudsman. He was later given the additional role of ethics officer.
'We are looking at one session at a time'
Akhtar said that India don't need to be scared as they can beat England on fair pitches.
The football world gathered in the Qatari capital on Friday as the draw ceremony for the World Cup finals got under way with music and dance.
India were 'surprised' at the on-field umpire's call that led to captain Virat Kohli's controversial dismissal on Day 3 of the Perth Test.
A substandard pitch could have attracted sanctions for the refurbished Narendra Modi Stadium.
Kohli, in a series of tweets, said racial abuse is 'absolutely unacceptable' and needs to be looked at with 'absolute urgency'.
The New York Times reported that Lai's company Next Digital publishes Apple Daily, a fiercely pro-democracy newspaper that regularly takes on the Hong Kong government and the Chinese leadership.
India will witness its first major cricket tournament in the country since the COVID-19 disruption when the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy begins the much-delayed domestic season from Sunday, presenting a platform for the hopefuls to impress before the Indian Premier League players' auction.
'Karenge aur kaam, sir. Zindagi bahut choti hai, ideas bahut sare hain.'
Pandurang Salgaonkar has a definite chance to redeem himself following the controversial incidents that took place in the last two and a half years.
Ferrari castigated Formula One rivals McLaren for making 'serious and false' accusations against them.
Mr Warne, the world will miss you.
V V S Laxman, who scored an incredible 281 to lead India's amazing comeback in the Eden Gardens Test against Australia, recalls Chetan Chauhan's role in that memorable triumph.
Former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis once remarked that 'Murali' could turn the ball even on concrete and it was no exaggeration.
This is not the first sartorial controversy to hit the Indian team, who are so far unbeaten in the tournament.
Novak Djokovic blamed "human error" on Wednesday for a mistake in his Australian immigration paperwork and apologised for breaking isolation for a photoshoot when he had COVID-19 last month.
The fate of India's upcoming tour of South Africa amid the trepidation triggered by new COVID-19 variant Omicron will be addressed when the Board of Control for Cricket in India holds its 90th Annual General Meeting in Kolkata on Saturday.
