'Once accession to Pakistan appeared unlikely, the British instituted Operations Gulmarg and Datta Khel respectively to foil possible accession to India.'
While the auction ahead of the ninth edition, starting in April, was great for Indian players in general, there were a few surprises in store. Rediff.com takes a look at the Indian players who secured themselves the best deals.
On a roll after five wins on the trot, table toppers Mumbai Indians will look to continue their domination when they clash with struggling Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League game, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, paid obeisance to the idols on their respective chariots.
Three Congress MLAs -- Hardeep Singh Dang, Bisahulal Singh and Raghuraj Kansana -- are reportedly still untraceable.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor will have a unique dilemma at this year's Champions League Twenty20 with the New Zealand batsman having qualified for as many as three teams for the September 10-26 event.
Chants of 'Jai Jagannath' rent the air all over as the news about the Supreme Court giving its nod for holding the world famous car festival in the pilgrim town reached the state bringing cheers among people, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's Chris Gayle may have flopped one more time but bowling hero Chris Jordan on Saturday said the big-hitting opener is just one good innings away from regaining his touch in the Indian Premier League.
Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Simon Katich feels that a hughly seasoned captain like Mahendra Singh Dhoni must have had his reasons for not giving full quota of overs to his premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in most of the recent IPL matches.
Among his wards, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari have taken to Test cricket like duck to water, all-rounder Vijay Shankar is staking World Cup claims, while Shubhman Gill broke into the ODI team in New Zealand.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Australia's quest for a record hat-trick of titles started with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ireland in the opening Pool D match of the men's hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday.
Barcelona's Bojan Krkic scored twice in a 4-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao that put his side three points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Delhi Daredevils defeated fancied Rising Pune Supergiant by seven runs in New Delhi on Friday, making it tougher for the visitors in their quest to make it to the play-offs, in the Indian Premier League.
'Russell did well in the fielding and ran me out, we lost three wickets in the last over and the match got out of our hands'
Monica Sindhwani left Rangoon for India at 20. Married to a retired Indian Army officer, she relives her memories of the pagodas, greenery and the home she left nearly 40 years ago.
Discarded Indian pacer Praveen Kumar has joined Samajwadi Party on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Kumar, who has represented India in six Test matches and 68 ODIs, said that he met UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and took the decision to join his party. "I have met CM and decided to join the party. I will do whatever is possible for the party," Kumar told reporters after meeting the CM, who is also state president of SP.
Pakistan opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad has escaped strong disciplinary action for his controversial religious comments to Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka as the Board let him off with just a stern reprimand for violating a clause of his central contract.
The fast bowler's beguiling mix of aggression, control and intellect may make him the most feared of the Australian pace trio with the Dukes ball in hand.
Yuvraj Singh feels Virat Kohli is the best batsman of this generation, but it unfair to compare India's Test captain with Sachin Tendulkar.
Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time on Friday when a freak second-minute goal by Baghdad Bounedjah gave them a 1-0 win over gallant Senegal in the final.
He said that India will work with Singapore to bring the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to early conclusion. He also said the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement has been reviewed and the two sides will work to further upgrade it.
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.
'Anti-incumbency against sitting MPs and the government is a big issue here. We will win all seats in Mumbai'
The Indians will have to be at their best in all departments to get the better of the ever-improving Red Lions, who will be out to prove a point after a not-so-impressive opener.
McCullum has brought a lot of excitement to the game and now as part of the newly formed Gujarat Lions outfit, he looks forward to helping the Suresh Raina-led team make their mark in the Indian Premier League.
The French Open champion's grounded personality meant she was always going to present a clear contrast to the main Australian men's title hopefuls of recent years but there has been no shortage of compatriots ready to kick up a fuss on her behalf.
Former England skipper Alastair Cook feels India's pace battery has variety and depth, something that they have lacked as a touring side all these years.
Dominating the proceedings, Netherlands scored five field goals through Lars Balk (16th minute), Robert Kemperman (20th), Thijs van Dam (40th, 58th) and Thierry Brinkman (41st) to register the comfortable win at the Kalinga Stadium.
Coach Trevor Bayliss thinks England left some "scars" on the Australia team during the second Ashes Test and can still enjoy success Down Under despite being 2-0 down with three matches to play.
Virat Kohli and Steven Smith will be eager to stem the rot when Royal Challengers Bangalore square off with Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League encounter.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan believes the Lahore Lions' successful participation in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 will open the Indian Premier League doors for the country's players.
Delhi's young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant got his maiden Test call-up as he was picked up as the additional glovesman along with Dinesh Karthik after Wriddhiman Saha was ruled out with injury for the upcoming five-match Test series against England.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
Even as the dust settles down on IPL 9, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com presents his Dream XI.
The Code on Social Security, 2020 gives a lot of comfort to gig firms which recognise cab drivers or food delivery executives as 'independent contractors' who directly do business with customers with the help of their digitised platforms.
In the late 1990s, the construction cost of the Ram temple, according to unofficial estimates, was pegged at Rs 120 crore. Adjusting for inflation to the current financial year, the edifice would entail an investment of nearly Rs 450 crore, excluding the land cost.
Poland forward Robert Lewandowski will be faced with a defender ominously known as K2 when, at the age of 29, he finally makes his debut at the World Cup finals in Tuesday's Group H match against Senegal.
Three years after the first C S Lewis' adaptation of the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe enthralled audiences worldwide, the second titled The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is all set to hit theatres this Friday.
The dark underbelly of IPL was exposed again after three people, including an insider with pitch access, were arrested at Kanpur for allegedly running a betting racket during Wednesday's IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions.
