Veteran Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the Indian team, while Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the forthcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against England, starting in Pune, on January 15.
Coach Harendra defends junior players' selection for World Cup
Delhi Waveriders crushed Kalinga Lancers 6-0 to storm into the semi-finals of the Hockey India League on Wednesday.
Mandeep Singh scored a brilliant hat-trick as India pulled off a sensational come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Olympic champions Germany in a fiercely-contested 5th to 8th places classification match in the Hero Hockey World League Finals in Delhi on Friday.
England gave themselves a much-needed boost by beating Dhoni's India A side in their first warm-up match ahead of the limited overs series.
Defender Harmanpreet Singh converted two penalty corners as India stamped their authority over New Zealand with an assertive 3-0 victory in the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, on Sunday.
Nearly 7,000 paramilitary forces have been deployed in the affected areas of the northeast district since Monday.
Three Sikh men and a woman, convicted of carrying out a revenge attack on Lt Gen Brar for his role as commander of Operation Blue Star in 1984 were on Tuesday sentenced by a British court to between 10 and 14 years in prison.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Four key players, including ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh and midfielder S K Uthappa, were dropped from India's 18-man squad for the Hockey World League semi-final, in Antwerp, Belgium, from June 20 to July 5. Besides Rupinder and Uthappa, forwards Mandeep Singh and Satbir Singh got the axe.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Wednesday.
Skipper Sardara Singh has been rested for third Asian Champions Trophy. In his absence, Hockey India said, midfielder Manpreet Singh will lead India's 18-member squad for the tournament in Kakamigahara, Japan, from November 2-10.
With the One-Day International series proving to be a stroll in the park, Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to finish the tour of Zimbabwe with another dominant performance when he leads India in the three-match Twenty20 series against the hosts, starting in Harare, on Saturday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar gave a thumbs up to the selection committee's decision to reward the domestic players while naming a new-look India squad for the upcoming limited overs series in Zimbabwe.
"I stand by my comments. Anybody who tweets on social media platform should be careful. But anyone with a contrary view should be allowed to speak. Gurmehar is a young girl and she should be allowed to speak her mind," he said.
It will be a selection dilemma for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Anil Kumble as a fit-again Suresh Raina is back in the nets having recovered from a bout of viral fever that kept him out of first ODI in Dharamsala. With Kedar Jadhav picking up two wickets with his handy part-time off breaks, the same skill set of both the players is definitely going to be a factor as the team management decides to pick the XI for the second ODI against New Zealand on Thursday.
India went through some anxious dying moments before eking out a close 5-4 win over hosts Malaysia and registered their second consecutive win of the eighth junior men's Asia Cup hockey tournament, in Kuantan, on Sunday.
He was the deserving Man-of-the-match for his explosive half-century but SunRisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner credited his bowlers for setting up the win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Images from Monday's match between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Mohali.
At the face of it, there is apparently no danger to Dhoni's captaincy since the team is still winning matches. But if one digs deeper, Kohli has slowly and surely been the man everyone is looking forward to as the leader, across all formats for India.
A stat pack of India and New Zealand's ODI careers...
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will fight for survival when they lock horns in the Indian Premier League in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
It was the final time that India's most successful skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was seen leading the national side although it is an 'A' team.
Indian cricket ushered in a new era as Virat Kohli was officially anointed captain for all three formats as he took over from Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's limited overs captain from the series against England, starting on January 15.
The Indian hockey team finished sixth at the FIH World League after losing a tense play-off match on penalties to higher-ranked Spain, in Rotterdam on Sunday.
A hard-hitting half century from fit-again Hardik Pandya went in vain as Mumbai grabbed a narrow 29-run first innings lead after tea on day three of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match.
If MI have their problems to sort out, having lost at the death in all three games so far, RCB too have their own shortcomings to address with only one win in three games under their belt.
India would look to seal a direct quarterfinal berth with a win against Canada in their final Pool C match of the men's hockey World Cup on Saturday.
Indian men's hockey team finished a disappointing fourth at the Commonwealth Games as it struggled to breach a stout England defence to lose the bronze medal match 1-2, in Gold Coast, on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders would look to usher in a fresh era under new captain Dinesh Karthik with a victory when they open their Indian Premier League campaign against heavyweights Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Family members praised the government, saying it was a revenge taken by the armed forces for the martyrdom of soldiers in the Pulwama terror attack.
RCB began their campaign without skipper and star batsman Virat Kohli as well as another key player A B de Villiers due to injuries and lost their opening match against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Seamer Barinder Sran made his first outing in a Twenty20 International memorable, returning the best figures by an Indian debutant in the format as the visitors beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets, in Harare, on Monday.
Captain Ravichandran Ashwin's superb all-round showing helped Kings XI Punjab outclass Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs, in the IPL match, in Mohali on Tuesda
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers hit half-centuries to overshadow Chris Gayle's unbeaten 99 as Royal Challengers finally snapped their six-match losing streak with a eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab.
Young striker Dilpreet Singh scored a hat-trick as India crushed Oman 11-0.
It will be a different sort of challenge for Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he captains a new-look Indian cricket team against Zimbabwe in the first ODI of a short series starting in Harare on Saturday.
Delhi Waveriders' winless streak continued as they lost 2-3 to defending champions Jaypee Punjab Warriors to slump to their third defeat in the fifth edition of the Hockey India League, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Three Sikh men and a woman convicted of carrying out a revenge attack on Lt Gen (retd) K S Brar, the hero of the 1984 Operation Blue Star, were on Tuesday sentenced from 10-and half years to 14 years in prison by a British court.
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