Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) accused former selection committee chief Kapila Wijegoonawardena of hurting the morale of the national team ahead of their ICC World Twenty20 campaign by making "inaccurate and misleading" statements in the media. "Mr Wijegoonawardne's statements are inaccurate, misleading, and defamatory, and furthermore are of the nature to cause grevious injury to the moral of the Sri Lanka cricket team, currently intent on bringing home the ICC World Twenty 20," a statement from SLC read. Wijegoonawardena was fired by the Sports Minister last week and was replaced by former batsman Aravinda de Silva. In a statement later, Wijegoonawardena accused that he was victim of politics and a selection committee would not be required in future as politicians would be handpicking the team. He alleged that the decision to remove Lasith Malinga as captain and the team for the ongoing World T20 had been discussed at a team hotel room during the Asia Cup held in Bangladesh.
Harbhajan Singh was overcome by a sense of deja vu while watching Kuldeep Yadav's hat-trick. He feels the feat will make the young spinner an indispensable part of the Team India set-up, just like him, after that epic 2001 series.
The ICC Cricket World Cup is underway and if you don't follow the game, chances are you're in living hell right now!
Asked about the popularity of the Indian Super League, and whether FIFA will recognize it, secretary-general Jerome Valcke was quick to point out that for the world body there is only one league and that's the I-League. Manu Shankar reports
After going on to conquer the ring, Nikhat Zareen hopes to inspire young girls to follow in her footsteps and fight for their dreams.
He said it was not only a tax reform but 'is a measure that lends strength to the new culture of honesty'.
India's sole luge athlete, Shiva Keshavan has qualified for the Winter Olympics to be held in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi from February 7 to 23.
Triple Olympic hockey gold medallist Balbir Singh is hopeful of the P R Sreejesh-led men's hockey team winning a medal at the Games in Rio.
Though EPS has sworn peace for now, or so it seems, his camp is said to be considering the possibility of calling an early meeting of the party's general council, to get a mandate in his favour before things went out of control. Ground-level indications are that OPS had lost his limited base, which alone had forced him to patch up with the other, reportedly at the instance of the BJP ally at the Centre, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
From sports to history, Rediff reader Sabyasachi Dutta shares a selection of books for you to add to your reading list in 2020.
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has said that the present PCB set-up should stop wasting its time trying to organise a series against India as "it would never happen".
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore says the corporate sector is very much willing to support development of sports and athletes in India but it needs to be given the assurance that the money is going in right hands.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who is set to make his Test return after completing a five-year ban for spot-fixing last year, has agreed that match-fixers should be banned for life. Amir's comments came in the wake of England skipper Alastair Cook's demand to impose a life ban on those caught in match-fixing. The 24-year-old, who served a prison sentence in the UK and a five-year suspension for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing case, will make his return to the Test cricket against England next month at Lord's-- the scene of the fixing scandal.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Trend researchers who come from design schools and have an art and sociology background are the latest foot soldiers in the struggle of auto companies to stay ahead in the competitive race.
'The biggest advantage for India was its seasoned and experienced political leadership who had spent decades struggling against the Raj and had spent years behind bars.' 'Not a single prominent leader of the Muslim League spent one day in jail.' 'Gandhiji, Nehru and Sardar Patel were intelligent, shrewd men with their hands on the popular pulse.'
ICC chief executive David Richardson warned that the growing popularity of the domestic Twenty20 leagues like the Indian Premier League, Big Bash and Caribbean Premier League are threatening the survival of bilateral series.
One's dreams never end. If you don't dream, you don't exist. You need to dream to look forward to in life, Radha Daga, who went from a textile exporter to food entrepreneur at 60 years of age, shares her incredible journey with Shobha Warrier.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Cricket Australia have signed a four-year agreement with energy provider Alinta Energy, potentially laying to rest concerns over a financial fallout from the ball-tampering scandal in March.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday denied reports that Ravi Shastri has been appointed coach of the Indian cricket team, saying that the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is still deliberating on the matter.
FIFA is not responsible for the working conditions of labourers helping to build stadiums for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, the president of world soccer's governing body Sepp Blatter said.
The Indian Super League will be expanded to 10 teams this season with the organisers on Monday announcing two more franchises after a bidding process, with Bengaluru FC set to ply in the three-year-old ISL by leaving I-League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Basu is most satisfied about the transformation he has brought in the fitness levels of speedsters Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami.
Khan's government will be the third consecutive democratic government in Pakistan since 2008.
The elements are all aligned to make India a global powerhouse, says IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
On the face of it, the first round has gone to Edappadi K Palaniswami. Not only has he been named chief ministerial candidate, that too by his one-time bete noire Panneerselvam, he also gets one member more in the steering committee than OPS. He can now hope to wean away one or more members of the OPS team in the steering committee just as he had done with other leaders in the latter's camp, post-reunification. That was also OPS's concern, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Frenchman Benoit lost his temper in the third game of the second set when top seed Tsitsipas halted the match to attend to a broken shoe lace.
West Indies right-hand batsman Shai Hope believes that their upcoming five-match ODI series against England would be a good gauge for them ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
From Chief Minister EK Palaniswami to Seeman to TTV Dhinakaran to elder brother M K Azhagiri, everyone's favourite target these days seems to the DMK chief Stalin, which is good news in an election year, but that doesn't mean he is going to sweep the polls, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
What a year Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Saina Nehwal, Vijender Singh and Anirban Lahiri had!
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
'I have never seen anybody disliked more as prime minister than Modi.' 'What is interesting is in his prime ministership, no matter whatever happens in any corner of India, Modi is blamed for it.' 'Modi has not suspended any Constitutional liberties. No Opposition leader has been put in jail... Modi is not Hitler.'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
