Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, on Friday, congratulated legendary Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, who is poised to become his country's prime minister after more than two decades of political struggle.
Pakistan rode on a fine all-round performance by Hasan Mohsin to defeat Sri Lanka by 23 runs in the last league match and top Group B in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
With an aim to make the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup a huge success, the Sports Ministry has urged all the states and Union Territories to take necessary steps to popularise and promote football in their region by including the game in various programmes. In a letter sent to all Chief Secretaries of states and Union Territories, Secretary, Department of Sports Rajiv Yadav has said that FIFA U-17 World Cup is going to be held in India in October 2017 for the first time. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' programme on March 27, the letter said that the Prime Minister has called for building an atmosphere and fervor of football in the country as a run up to the FIFA U-17 World Cup. He said the Prime Minister wants football to be played in every nook and corner of the country. The communication further said that following the call of the Prime Minister, the Department of Sports has initiated a series of steps to popularise football throughout the country.
Young Pakistan batsman Haider Ali wants to hit the ball as clean as his inspiration Rohit Sharma does and emulate the Indian limited-overs vice-captain in scoring double hundreds frequently. Ali, who rose to prominence with his exploits in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, has got his maiden national call-up for the tour of England.
Ishant is on course to become only the second Indian fast bowler, after the great Kapil Dev, to complete 100 Tests for the country.
The in-form Rajasthan Royals will be confident of a third consecutive victory when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma emphasised that backing the young players is important to make them confident about their game.
Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Pradeep Sangwan was slapped with an 18-month ban from cricket after being found guilty of consuming a banned anabolic steroid by the BCCI's Anti-Doping Tribunal.
For Dhawan, 'balance on and off the field' is very important, in theory and in practice
Former India captain Rahul Dravid will move to a bigger cricketing role when he takes charge of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on a two-year contract.
Women's IPL set to take place in March with 5 teams
The 48-year-old Aaqib, who had also coached the UAE national team in ICC events, said that poor coaching and management decisions led to Pakistan having a bad tour of New Zealand.
Desai, who has been handed a two-year contract, has joined the team before the the first T20 International on Friday.
The ICC U-19 World Cup's top batsman will face the top bowler when India takes on Pakistan in the Super League semi-final on Sunday.
The ban was imposed by ICC Match Referee John Morrison and means that Rayudu will miss the match against Pakistan on 29 February.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that the cricket board will have to deliberate over Rahul Dravid's candidature before taking any decision on India's next coach but assured that the right person will be selected at the appropriate time. With Ravi Shastri's contract as Team Director coming to an end after the completion of ICC World T20, Dravid's name has been doing the rounds for the job. Thakur said: "I think media publishes many reports which are not even discussed at any level. Rahul Dravid has done extremely well as a player and he has been outstanding with India A and U-19 players.
Six months after Afghanistan qualified for its maiden appearance in the Cricket World Cup, its success story continues to make waves and the strife-torn country has now entered into the main ODI rankings table for the first time.
West Indies rode on its fast-bowling arsenal to win the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup for the first time with a tense five-wicket victory over three-time winner India in the final in Mirpur on Sunday.
Archer, who has played his junior cricket in the Caribbean and qualified to play for England only in April, is a familiar figure for the West Indies camp and it knows what the 24-year-old is capable of.
Of course, Kohli could remain captain in ODIs, in which his performances are still top drawer, but another Test captain could help him recover form, recommends Suhit K Sen.
For a coach, it is as difficult to compare two of his favourite students as it is for a parent to discriminate between kids but Sanjay Bhardwaj feels that India U-19 captain Unmukt Chand is a better talent than his other illustrious ward Gautam Gambhir.
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram lavished praise on India U-19 skipper Unmukt Chand for guiding his team to its third World Cup title and said the opener is ready to play for the senior side.
Steve Smith's pointers to Riyan Parag on the technique of playing red ball helped him in the Ranji season where he ended with 492 runs for Assam, including a hundred and three half-centuries.
Virat Kohli achieved his career-best ranking as he gained one position to be at second spot in the latest ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, which was released on Sunday.
'We have been following our routine and that's the best part, we have done. All credit goes to the players as they have put in the hard work. I am very happy with the way they have respected me, and the players have never ignored the system we have followed.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson has welcomed the decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India to stage some matches of the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League matches in the United Arab Emirates.
Watched by India head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun, 18-year-old Arjun first bowled to left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan and then to Kohli.
'Talent is there, ability is there, it's about managing themselves, how to deal with pressure and the expectations that will come as U-19 champions'
When Mizoram batted, Shreevats Goswami (31) was the only significant scorer but the seasoned Mumbai attack led by Dhawal Kulkarni kept the minnows under check.
Like in life, miracles do happen in sport but Indian cricket's 'fighterman' Yuvraj Singh may not be seen again in a blue jersey, something he had made his own for the better part of the last 17 years.
The Bangladesh players were overtly aggressive while fielding with their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledging the Indian batsmen after every delivery.
Ravichandran Ashwin says it's too early to comment on Rahul Dravid's coaching style but the premier India spinner is confident that happiness will be back in the dressing room under the stalwart's guidance.
He is just 18 but is capable of bowling really quick as was proved when he touched 139.8kmph against Pakistan in the last Under-19 World Cup. Meet India's young pace gun -- Avesh Khan, an unassuming 18-year-old from Indore, who wants to create his own identity.
Former Australian pacer Brett Lee has heaped praise on rookie Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Shivam Mavi, saying he is the future of Indian bowling.
Mhambrey gets longer stint as U-19 coach, Kotak to helm India A for South Africa A series
The under-pressure Chennai Super Kings is set to miss Moeen Ali for a few more games due to an ankle injury but head coach Stephen Fleming is hopeful the England all-rounder can make a quick recovery in a week's time.
Overwhelmed by 'surreal' bidding for him during the Indian Premier League auction, it took Jaydev Unadkat some time to believe that franchises were so willing to break their banks to grab a fast bowler.
Dhull knows that there are no free lunches at this level and more he plays, the more his batting will be under scrutiny and there are better domestic attacks compared to Tamil Nadu, who will be dissecting each and every thread of his technique.
New Zealand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also tasted victory in Monday's Under-19 World Cup matches.
Against a quality side like Australia, the performers at the domestic level will get a chance to test themselves against the likes of Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc if Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann decide to give them a few overs.
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