Indian pacer Mohammed Shami will be making a comeback after a long injury lay-off. The speedster recently featured in the first pink ball day-night game in India, which was played at Kolkata. Shami is currently training hard for the upcoming series in West Indies. Shami, whose return from injury was during IPL 9, bowled in tandem with his Delhi Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan.
India's chief coach Anil Kumble has advised Test specialist Wriddhiman Saha to take complete rest for two weeks which will mean that the wicket-keeper batsman will be missing Bengal's first two Ranji Trophy games against Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Wriddhiman, who will be 32 in less than a fortnight had kept wickets for more than 452 overs during the three Test matches against New Zealand. Add to it, two knocks of 50 plus in pressure situation at the Eden Gardens to win the Man of the Match award.
'It is difficult to replace him because if he is replaced, it will lead to a sense of defeat among the Meiteis, rightly or wrongly, and more chaos.'
AIFF plans to go ahead with the 2020-21 I-League season even if the clubs' star foreign recruits are unable to make it due to the coronavirus-forced travel restrictions.
The Asian Football Confederation recommended the AIFF to "open a pathway" for two I-League clubs' entry into ISL by the end of 2020-21 season.
The 72-year-old, also an eminent Congress leader, passed away today after being in coma since 2008, when he had suffered a stroke.
Salgaocar held on to their first half strike by Gilbert Olivera to beat Shillong Lajong 1-0 and came out of the relegation in the Hero I-League in Vasco on Saturday.
All the results from the I-League and ISL matches played on Thursday
FC Goa started off the Derrick Pereira era with a 1-1 draw
Bengaluru FC conceded two late goals in dramatic fashion as they lost 0-2 to 10-man Abahani Limited Dhaka of Bangladesh in their AFC Cup group match in Dhaka.
Aizawl FC have threatened to 'fast unto death' after finding themselves in the bizarre position of staring at relegation next season despite winning India's top division title on Sunday.
Sunil Chhetri led former champions Bengaluru FC to a 1-0 win over East Bengal with his second-half strike that consolidated their position atop the standings in the I-League football at the Vidyasagar Krirangan, in Barasat, on Saturday.
Ruling out competition with Parthiv Patel, India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha on Thursday said the Test series against Australia next year will be easier than the recently-concluded one against England, which the hosts won 4-0.
Wriddhiman Saha presented another dimension to his batsmanship as he geared for the upcoming Indian Premier League hitting 14 sixes in a 20-ball hundred during a T20 inter-club game.
Moving ahead in the multi-crore Saradha chit funds scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday attached assets, including a school, a cement factory and few resorts, worth Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million) in West Bengal in connection with its money laundering probe.
India head coach Igor Stimac feels this may be the final season of talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri's career.
National football coach Stephen Constantine may have ruled Michael Chopra out from representing India but the British PIO today said he's not lost hope and was waiting the 53-year-old's exit. Hitting out at the India coach, the Kerala Blasters forward said: "Stephen Constantine can say whatever he wants. Personally, it's not a problem for me. Well has he achieved anything in the game as a player? No." There had been reports that All India Football Federation may not be too keen to extend Constantine's contract that gets over in February, a month before the Asian Cup qualifiers begin.
Surojit Bose played for India under coach Sukhwinder Singh from 2004-08 and was instrumental in Mahindra United's NFL triumph in 2005-06.
Brandon Fernandes returned to the side as Goa coach Juan Ferrando named three changes to the line-up that lost against ATK Mohun Bagan with Aiban Dohling and Jeorge Ortiz being the other two.
A former India international, who won the SAFF Cup in his debut season in 1997, Jamil had been at the helm of Mumbai FC for seven seasons but his moment of glory came when he guided Aizawl FC to their maiden I-League title in a path-breaking last season.
"I want to thank god for giving me the opportunity to travel this distance, for only the second trip of my life to India."
Brazilian great Pele is not the only football star scheduled to touch down in Kolkata with Indian Super League team Atletico de Kolkata co-owner Sourav Ganguly claiming that England superstar Wayne Rooney would also be visiting the city later this year.
It's time for the 'sleeping giant' to wake up from its slumber as the King of football Pele will grace India in October, adding to the festive mood in the country that hosted him 38 years ago.
Tainted by a doping offence a year ago, Indian footballer Rana Gharami has now become a hero in his home town, by lending a helping hand to those struggling to survive the coronavirus pandemic. The 29-year-old former Odisha FC defender hails from Garalgacha in West Bengal's Hooghly district.
The Indian football team put up a better display in their second group game but lost 2-0 to a superior Jordan thus ending their campaign in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Monday.
ISL reallocates prize money, league stage winners to get Rs 3 crore more from this season.
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."
It wasn't exactly a happy day for sportspersons as 3 former India captains Mohammed Azharuddin, Bhaichung Bhutia and Dilip Tirkey suffered heavy defeats with Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's thumping victory being the only saving grace.
Hockey coach Ramesh Parameswaran applies for Dronacharya Award
It all started to go from bad to worse when controversial former All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel, whose third term in office ended in December 2020, stayed in office citing a pending Supreme Court case.
Chhetri's first professional contract was with Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan at a tender age of 17. It was a big challenge to overcome for a teenager and he buckled under pressure at times.
Chuni Goswami needs insulin daily and due to the 21-day nationwide lockdown his medical supervisor is not able to attend him but his wife Basanti is 'managing' it somehow. Former India hockey captain Gurbux Singh remembers the World War II and also the partition but said he never witnessed anything like the current crisis.
Real Kashmir FC co-owner Sandeep Chattoo, on Friday, said his side is now on a mission to make the 'paradise on earth' a paradise for the beautiful game.
Even as I-League and Indian Super League merger is being mulled, AIFF stresses that the popular ISL 'is, in fact a tournament, like the Rovers Cup'.
Shahbaz, one of the pillars of the Bengal Ranji Trophy side, is also an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kohli backed Ravi Shastri to continue as India head coach
Odisha FC made a strong case for play-off qualification with a 2-1 victory over Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League encounter, in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Chaubey, a former goalkeeper for big clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, welcomed Bhutia in the executive committee as a co-opted member.
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
The legendary Bhaichung Bhutia on Friday filed his nomination for the president's post in the upcoming AIFF elections but getting through won't be easy for the former footballer as several candidates with political affiliations have also thrown their hats in the ring.