Karthik will be surrounded by cricketing brains all around him with the 2019 England World Cup winning skipper as his deputy, and New Zealand great Brendon McCullum as the head coach.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
Jolted by the shock loss to New Zealand in the opening game, India will be fighting a survival battle quite early in the tournament when they take on arch foes Pakistan in what is being seen as the marquee clash of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts, who started clear title-favourites, were in for a blow in the first match itself when New Zealand's spinners bamboozled their famed batting line-up on a turning Nagpur track. As a result, the world No.1 side is staring at an early elimination should it lose to Pakistan in the high-voltage game at the Eden Gardens. As is the case with most India-Pakistan contests, this game too has been preceded by its share of drama. The match was originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala but was shifted here after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed inability to provide security to the Pakistan team owing to protests by ex-servicemen and their families.
He has nothing more to prove to anyone after haunting batsmen for more than 15 years in international cricket and Harbhajan Singh believes that his 'tried and tested' strengths are the ones he will rely on as he prepares to lay his hands on a record third world title.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Chris Morris says leading the Rajasthan Royals' pace attack in the absence of injured Jofra Archer in the upcoming IPL will be an added responsibility
Spain, who have several players from their country's top two football academies - the La Masia and Real Madrid academies -- were beaten 1-2 by South American champions and hot favourites Brazil in their first Group D match.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Praising the 'frank and business-like atmosphere' of the summit, the Russian leader said he considered the talks 'very successful and useful'.
The duo of Hayden Stewart and triple Olympic champion and skeet legend Kimberly Rhode of the USA won the top prize in the event defeating Argentine siblings Federico and Melisa Gill 29-26 in the gold-medal match.
Kapil assured that his panel will do their job to the best of their ability.
Ajinkya Rahane, who has been axed for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Australia, on Monday said that he respects the decision taken by the team management and the selectors.
Without Shakib Bangladesh will lack the experience of as many as 151 T20Is when they begin the three-match series in Delhi on Sunday.
KKR's chief mentor David Hussey said Kuldeep would not have any confidence issues going into the 13th edition of the league which will get underway in UAE on September 19.
Shreyas Iyer however said he's flexible to bat at any position as per the team's requirement.
Kohli has always led from the front but he knows his search for a maiden title will remain incomplete if the team doesn't perform in all departments.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo struck his fifth international hat-trick, including a spectacular volleyed opener, to lead the European champions to a 5-1 win over the Faroe Islands in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
The Asia Cup triumph, during which Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men did not lose a single match, is the latest confidence-booster that the Indians received heading into the big event following convincing victories over Australia and Sri Lanka in the run-up.
Rani Rampal will captain an 18-strong Indian women's team, while experienced goalkeeper Savita will shoulder the duties of vice-captain at next month's Commonwealth Games
With it's scandalous past, still fresh in the minds of fans and critics alike, the Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers will look to ensure that the focus remains firmly on cricket when the cash-rich event gets underway with a glamorous opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Hamstrung, running out of partners and his team's title defence at stake -- the stage was set for Angelo Mathews to emerge from the Saturday night drizzle and enter Twenty20 folklore but the Sri Lankan captain fell agonisingly short. At 15-4, after England had set them a 172-run victory target in the World Twenty20 match, Sri Lanka's title defence looked all but over inside three overs. Their skipper then engineered a stunning recovery in the tournament's most portentous contest that was key to the semi-final hopes of three teams, including South Africa. But the lion-hearted effort took its toll on his hamstring and Mathews was clearly struggling when he took guard for the final over from Ben Stokes -- 15 runs separating him from Twenty20 greatness and his team from a place in the last four. As a mild drizzle fell on the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Stokes charged in with a ball in hand and ice in veins to thwart Mathews' audacious bid to pull off a heist.
"Does anyone think it's normal that one of the candidates doesn't even bother to present an election manifesto that can be voted on May 29."
'I was not scared because I knew I had not done anything wrong. And I was walking for a good cause.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The Capitals, which finished third last year, will start their campaign against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday and both Ponting and skipper Shreyas Iyer agreed that R Ashwin and Rahane have been great additions to the young side with their experience.
Kumble's contract as head coach will end after India's campaign at the Champions Trophy and BCCI has already invited applications for the position.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Working on the rigorous requirements of five-day cricket will the biggest challenge for his team over the next six weeks, feels Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their title defence against a formidable Mumbai Indians side in the opening match of the eighth edition of Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
I decided to become a shooter after watching Abhinav Bindra win a gold medal for the country, 21-one-year-old shooter Apurvi Chandela tells Shahnawaz Akhtar.
'We are taking a lot of positives from the tournament as we have a played the final which is a huge achievement' 'It was a huge scope for us (Asia Cup) but then a lot of people did not expect us to reach the finals but we did reach the finals'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Indian archers grabbed three gold medals in the recurve event and are all set to make a clean sweep in the discipline at the 12th South Asian Games, in Shillong on Tuesday.
he also talked about India's tradition of respecting the nature through festivals like 'Chhat' and referred to the ongoing cleanliness campaign.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
