Sports

New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary former India captain, has advocated for a significant increase in remuneration for domestic cricketers, particularly those involved in first-class cricket, urging the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to triple their fees.

While commending the BCCI's recent move to offer incentives to Test cricketers, Gavaskar emphasized the importance of supporting the Ranji Trophy, the primary feeder system for the national team.

"That is a wonderful thing by the BCCI to reward those who would be playing, but I would also request the BCCI to ensure that the feeder to the Test team, which is the Ranji Trophy, is also looked after,” said Gavaskar.

"If the Ranji Trophy fees can be doubled or tripled, certainly there'll be a lot more people playing the Ranji Trophy, and a lot less pullouts from the Ranji Trophy, because if the fees of playing a Ranji Trophy match are a good fee, there will be fewer people pulling out for various reasons,” he added.

Gavaskar highlighted the correlation between higher fees and reduced player withdrawals from domestic tournaments, citing examples like Ishan Kishan. He echoed Rahul Dravid's sentiments regarding the rewards for red-ball cricket, proposing a slab system based on the number of first-class matches played.

"I think what Rahul Dravid said, when it was announced in Dharamsala, that he would like to call it a reward. They will all be wanting to play with a slab system - every 10 first-class matches you get that much more so I would request the BCCI to look at that aspect as well," Gavaskar said on the sidelines of an event by CHAMPS Foundation, which completed 25 years.

Addressing concerns raised by players regarding the scheduling of Ranji Trophy games, Gavaskar advocated for longer gaps between matches to allow for adequate rest and recovery. He suggested starting the Ranji season in October rather than January to ensure players' availability and minimize pullouts, with white-ball tournaments following in mid-December.

"In the three-day gap, what happens is that there's probably a day in between for travel. During travel, there's no time to visit the physio and maybe take his help to get fit from a niggle. So, there should probably be a little bit of a gap so that the player has got adequate time. My personal opinion is to have the Ranji Trophy from October to mid-December and then bring in the white-ball tournaments. That way, everybody will be available to play except for the ones featuring for India. There will be no real excuse to pull out. With the one-dayers beginning from January, people who are in the IPL can have enough practice from then."

Expressing confidence in the future of Test cricket, Gavaskar predicted a shift towards more balanced tour schedules featuring a mix of Tests, T20Is, and ODIs, rather than extensive five-Test series. He emphasized the enduring appeal of Test cricket while acknowledging the evolving landscape of international cricket tours.

"Test cricket will definitely be around. You might not have a five-Test match series between every country; only two or three might play five Tests. Any tour now will be a mix of Tests, T20Is, and ODIs."

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) With Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease alongside Amelia Kerr, Mumbai Indians had all the right to feel they had a chance to chase down 136 and enter the final at the expense of Royal Challengers Bangalore in front of more than 27,000 fans in the Eliminator at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Luckily for MI, with 20 runs needed off 18 balls, Harmanpreet had a reprieve in the start of 18th over when Richa Ghosh missed a stumping off Shreyanka Patil, leaving the crowd silent. But to their delight, after not giving any room for a big shot, the nerveless Shreyanka had the last laugh as Harmanpreet holed out to long-on to close the over.

That over from Shreyanka in a wonderful spell of 2-18 in four overs turned the match literally in RCB’s favour as MI fell short by five runs to give Smriti Mandhana & Co a shot at lifting the trophy when they face Delhi Capitals in the title clash on Sunday.

Previously in the game, after Yastika Bhatia was dropped in the fourth over, Shreyanka fetched the opening breakthrough for RCB by getting the ball to turn in and forcing Hayley Matthews to slog-sweep straight to deep mid-wicket.

A day before the Eliminator, head coach Luke Williams had said that Shreyanka was itching to put up a big performance in the playoffs. Now, after taking RCB to the final along with Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka’s impactful spell with the ball will be etched in the memories for a long time.

“I would be blatantly lying, not at the last two overs. But maybe when Harmanpreet’s stumping went through and we missed that, there was something inside me saying that if she had got out, we're in with a sniff. But we got another opportunity (in the same over), and even though it was a regulation catch – taken by Sophie Devine in that pressure and with her experience showed why you need experienced players in the team, apart from Shreyanka Patil being an absolute champion.”

“From there, you start sniffing and you almost believe that it can be done. Lots of things happen when chasing becomes difficult, which could have been in MI’s mind. By the fifth or sixth over, we knew that 150-160 could be a good score. Though there were too many dot balls, I couldn’t pinpoint when the belief came in. But as soon as Harman got out, maybe that’s when we thought there’s something,” said Malolan Rangarajan, RCB assistant coach, in the post-match press conference.

Shreyanka was one of the breakout stars from WPL 2023 and went on to have a CPL stint, followed by making her India debut in both white-ball formats in the series against England and Australia.

A lot was expected from her in the Bengaluru leg of WPL 2024, her home-town. But she had an underwhelming time, taking only two wickets in nine overs, while conceding 100 runs. Shreyanka, though, made a stellar return in the Delhi leg of the competition, taking seven wickets in nine overs, while conceding 45 runs.

While she was bowling away from the batter’s reach in Bengaluru, sticking to stump-to-stump line, and going a little away from the wider lines has brought her rich rewards in Delhi.

“Just the growth of Shreyanka in the last 12-16 months, when we identified and then brought her into the set-up. You could see that she was not behaving like someone of her age or her experience. She was like, slightly above that. She was always in for the fight. That's the spark you're looking for. Everyone has the skill but it's a dog fight which happens inside (on the field) and you're up for it: Shreyanka always had that in her.”

"Her growth over the last 12 months - playing for India, leading South Zone team in the Zonal One-Days – it has developed her better and helped her understand her own game better. She herself was the first to admit that she didn't start the tournament as well she would have liked. But she was also the first one to come up and say, 'I am not bowling well'.”

“She didn't need me or anyone else like Luke (Williams, head coach) and Courtney (Winfield-Hill, assistant coach) to go to her with that. She came and asked, 'I am not bowling as well as I can. What can I do?’ She came up with the solutions too. Yes, we chipped in here and there, but that's her character. When you see people like that, you know that when there are crunch moments, these characters will stand up and deliver.”

“Shreyanka is a warrior, especially to play with the injury she's playing. Nobody would think that she has an injury as she goes into bat and sweeps the first ball. So these are characters that we are very proud to have in RCB and we are even prouder to see what she does for both the franchise and the country," elaborated Rangarajan, also RCB’s head of scouting.

He also recalled what made Shreyanka stand out from the rest of the domestic players they were keeping their eyes on. "When we saw her playing for Karnataka, she was a 19-year-old playing for the senior team, bowling the tough overs. It wasn't like she was just participating, she was delivering the yorkers under pressure. Along with her coach Arjun (Dev), she does center-wicket practice and simulation, and there's nothing left to chance. The way she was practicing was different from our peers, and was slightly ahead of them."

While Shreyanka has been at her best and found her mojo with the ball, one needs to realise that the match-winning performances are coming despite her little finger heavily taped, an injury which kept her out of two consecutive matches.

"If given an option, Shreyanka would have liked to play both the games. Like I said, that's the character she is. The work she's put in between those games, even when she was injured, we had rented out a couple grounds, had centre wickets for her, where she was bowling, and working on her different releases."

"Because there was a moment where she wanted to release the ball a particular way and it was going out a different way. So, a lot of volume practice went into it with myself, with Luke and Courtney, all of us chipping in. So it was all very conscious practice and we simulated a lot."

"Even in the nets we were simulating, like ‘okay so tomorrow you're going to bowl to X player, this is how the player likes to score, this is what the player looks like if she wants to play a single. so let's try to attack this line, we need the ball to end up at this length’.”

"She was very good with that. Admittedly she may not have executed as well as she wanted but she kept going when she was injured. Finally it's all about the feel and the rhythm and I think somewhere in that (practice sessions) she found the rhythm again," explained Rangarajan.

Heading to the stadium, one could see RCB’s red taking over as the preferred jersey choice amongst fans. The RCB jersey-wearing fans stood in line for around two hours before the match began and cheered their hearts out, hoping their team would make it to Sunday’s final, and guess what? They did!

Even on the metro ride home after the game, you couldn’t miss the fans wearing RCB jerseys and loudly cheering for the team, while talking about all the twists & turns in the game. A large part of their happiness was made possible by Shreyanka’s stellar efforts with the ball, ensuring they turn up on Sunday with the same fervour seen on Friday.

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is set to end his IPL career at the end of the upcoming edition, when he appears for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) over the next two months, says report.

According to an ESPNcricinfo report, Karthik will also make a final decision soon on his international future.

The wicketkeeper-batter, who commenced his IPL journey with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), stands among a distinguished list of seven players who have participated in every IPL season since its inception in 2008. This group includes renowned names such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey.

Remarkably, Karthik has only been absent for two matches out of all 16 IPL seasons. The first instance occurred in his debut season, against Kolkata Knight Riders, and the second was in 2023 when he sat out of the league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Karthik's current stint with RCB is his second with the Bengaluru based franchise, having played with them in 2015, when he was acquired for a whopping Rs 10.5 crore.

Ahead of the 2022 edition of the league, he was released by KKR and was available for the IPL Mega Auction. He was bought by RCB for INR 5.5 crore.

Karthik has assumed leadership roles in the IPL in 43 matches. On six occasions as a stand-in captain at Daredevils and for 37 matches between 2018 and 2020 at Knight Riders before relinquishing the position. His overall captaincy record stands at 21 wins, 21 losses, and one tied match.

Overall, he has represented six teams over the course of his IPL career. He started off with Delhi Daredevils in 2008 before moving to Kings XI Punjab in 2011. He spent the following two seasons with Mumbai Indians before going back to Delhi in 2014. RCB bagged him in 2015 and he played for Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017 before spending four seasons with KKR.

RCB will play the tournament opener against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on March 23 at his home ground in M A Chidambaram Stadium.

--IANS

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Dharamshala, March 7 (IANS) Zak Crawley smashed an unbeaten 61 to keep India at bay, but Kuldeep Yadav picked two wickets in his first five overs as England reached 100/2 in 25.3 overs at lunch on day one of the fifth and final Test against India at the HPCA Stadium on Thursday.

Electing to bat first, Crawley and Ben Duckett had to withstand some outstanding swing bowling from a returning Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj asking tough questions constantly. The duo rode their luck as they played and missed deliveries on various occasions, while dealing with variable bounce.

While Duckett struggled, Crawley was pristine in his drives whenever he wasn’t troubled by swing and even survived an lbw appeal off Siraj. Duckett brought up the half-century of the partnership, the fifth such instance for England in the series, with a pre-mediated lap-sweep against Ravichandran Ashwin in the 15th over.

Crawley and Duckett took a four each off Kuldeep, but the latter tried to smash a googly over the leg-side, but got a huge leading edge and Shubman Gill ran to his right from cover to take a fabulous diving catch.

Crawley was languid in using his long levers for driving in mid-off, extra cover and down the ground against the spinners to get his fourth fifty of the series. He would also hit the first six of the match by dancing down the pitch to smack Ashwin over long-on. But at the stroke of lunch, Pope came out of the crease for a flick against Kuldeep, but the googly skidded and went past the outside edge to give Dhruv Jurel an easy stumping from behind.

Brief Scores: England 100/2 in 25.3 overs (Zak Crawley 61 not out; Kuldeep Yadav 2-22) against India

--IANS

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Dharamshala, March 7 (IANS) With Ravichandran Ashwin taking the field for his 100th Test match through the last game of the series at Dharamshala, top-order batter Shubman Gill said he’s learnt from the veteran India off-spinner that there is no end point about picking up new skills.

Ashwin, who debuted in November 2011, becomes the 14th Indian player to play 100 Test matches for India. The veteran off-spinner also becomes just the second bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan to achieve 500 wickets in less than 100 Test matches.

“He is a terrific, terrific bowler and more importantly, he’s someone who is always wanting to improve and add new skills in his game be it batting or bowling. That’s one thing I have learned from him that even though you have played for India for so many years, you still want to add something new to your game and make a difference to your skillsets. That’s why he’s one of the best spinners that the world has ever seen,” said Gill to JioCinema.

Asked if India can win the series 4-1, Gill opined, “In all the four matches we’ve played, there were moments where things were either 50-50 or we might have been behind on some days.”

"But the way the team has come back has been the turning point, the way the youngsters, players who don’t have that much of experience have responded. I think that has been the turning point. Hopefully, even if we don’t play that well in a particular period in this match, we will be able to turn it around,"

Gill has scored 342 runs in four matches, with impactful second-innings performances like 104 in Visakhapatnam, 91 in Rajkot and 52 not out in Ranchi, where he shared a vital 72-run partnership with Dhruv Jurel.

"Honestly, I have loved this series so far, especially the breaks we have been getting. I never felt tired or fatigued or exhausted during the series. Obviously, the breaks we got after every two matches have definitely helped us. Now, every time we come back, we feel fresh, we feel motivated to go.

"Something really strange happened in the last innings that I played. My heartbeat was normal when I went into bat and even when we lost wickets, I never felt the pressure. Nothing fazed me. It was completely opposite when I batted in Vizag.

"So, both these innings taught me a lot in terms of how to handle things. It also taught me that ‘this is the way things can be’. I had not experienced something like this earlier," said Gill about the learnings he's taken about himself from this series.

Even when he wasn’t getting runs at number three, Gill felt he had no thoughts over going back to opening the batting."I don’t think there was any doubt that I should go back to opening the innings because I was not scoring runs at No. 3. It’s not that I had not played at No. 3 or No. 4 before.

"Actually, playing for India ‘A’, I have three double centuries. One of them came batting at No. 3 and two at No. 4. So, I was used to playing at No. 3. Unfortunately, the runs didn’t come in the first few matches. But, I was always focused on what I needed to do, not that I want to go back to opening or anything else.”

The right-handed batter also talked about his relationship with fellow youngsters like Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sarfaraz Khan. “The relationship is great between us. Dhruv and Yash played together in the U-19 and they are very close and the relationship between the four of us is fantastic. We laugh a lot, we spend a lot of time together off the field, so it’s great.”

Gill signed off by being pleased over achieving things he aimed to get better at. “As far as individual targets, I am very far from that. I don’t really set series-wise targets but the things I have been working on are coming off nicely. Hopefully, by the end of this year when we’ll be in Australia it will be even more exciting times for us."

--IANS

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Dharamshala, March 7 (IANS) India veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin achieved another milestone in his career when he becomes the 14th Indian player to play 100 Tests.

Ashwin joined an elite list of players with his 100th appearance in Test match for India during the fifth Test against England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala on Thursday.

India head coach Rahul Dravid presented a special memento to Ashwin on the occasion of his 100th Test match

During the third Test in Rajkot, Ashwin became only the second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble to clinch 500 Test wickets joining the elite club of bowlers such as Muthiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Kumble, Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh and Nathan Lyon.

He also became only the second bowler after Muralidaran to achieve 500 wickets in less than 100 Test matches.

The 37-year-old, who made his Test debut in 2011, claimed 507 Test wickets. He has also scored 3309 runs in the format, including five centuries and 14 fifties, with a batting average of 26.47.

Only Nathan Lyon (527 wickets) has claimed more wickets than him in the format, making him one of the most prolific modern-day Test bowlers.

Ashwin recorded his 35th five-wicket haul in Test cricket in the Ranchi Test, equalling Kumble's record for the most five-fors by an Indian in Test cricket.

India great Sachin Tendulkar, with 200 Test matches, holds the record for most appearances in the format internationally.

--IANS

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Ayodhya (UP), March 7 (IANS) The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh subsidiary ‘Krida Bharti’ will organise ‘Run-for-Ram' half marathon in Ayodhya on March 10.

Krida Bharti state president and MLC Avanish Kumar Singh said on Thursday that participants from the country and abroad will participate in a half-marathon named ‘Run-for-Ram’ in Ayodhya.

More than 3,000 Indian and foreign runners have registered themselves on the special website for the half marathon on Ram-Path and Bhakti-Path in Ayodhya.

Singh added this was an important and exciting sports event to provide opportunity to the local and foreign competitors. Such events are organised by Krida Bharti from time to time and the event is important also from a fitness point of view.

Those above the age of 12 years can participate in this event, he said.

--IANS

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Ranchi, Feb 26 (IANS) India need 74 more runs to win the fourth Test over England at Ranchi, but lost captain Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rajat Patidar in the first session of day four’s play at the JSCA International Stadium on Monday.

At lunch, India are 118/3, with Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja batting at 18 and three respectively. Resuming from 40/0, it was a gripping session where India were initially ahead, thanks to Rohit’s fifty and him sharing an 84-run opening stand with Jaiswal.

But Joe Root, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley took a scalp each as India slipped from 84/0 to 100/3. Gill and Jadeja looked tentative, but managed to hold their ground for 45 minutes till lunch arrived.

In the morning, Rohit took India past fifty by timing a lofted flick off Anderson over wide long-on for six. He and Jaiswal would take a boundary off Bashir, before the latter survived an lbw appeal off Hartley.

Jaiswal collected a few fours via reverse-sweep, sweep and cut before his attempt to clear extra cover off Root resulted in a thick edge caught by forward diving short third man. Rohit reached his fifty off 69 balls with a brace off Hartley, but was stumped on 55 after being drawn out of the crease by the flighted and wide ball from the left-arm spinner.

Bashir joined the wicket-takers column by getting some turn and drift to catch the inside edge of Patidar and the ball lobbed to short leg taking a catch to his right, with the batter dismissed for a six-ball duck.

From there, England kept Gill and Jadeja on a tight leash and would fancy their chances for an unlikely win after taking three wickets in 16 balls of the morning session to derail India’s morning. India, on the other hand, would wish for Gill and Jadeja, followed by Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel to steer the hosts’ to a series-sealing win.

Brief Scores: England 353 and 145 lead India 307 and 118/3 in 37 overs (Rohit Sharma 55, Yashasvi Jaiswal 37; Joe Root 1-21, Shoaib Bashir 1-40) by 74 runs.

--IANS

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Navi Mumbai, Feb 26 (IANS) Fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya is making a return to competitive cricket via the DY Patil T20 Cup, starting from Monday in Navi Mumbai.

Pandya will be captaining the Reliance 1 team which begins its campaign through the opening game of the competition against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

Pandya was out of competitive cricketing action since sustaining a left ankle injury during India’s league match in 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup game against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19. Shortly after, he was ruled out of the campaign and put on a long recovery plus rehab route to ensure his long-term availability for future events.

In December 2023, he was traded to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans and became the side's skipper, replacing five-time championship winning captain Rohit Sharma in the top job ahead of IPL 2024, starting on March 22.

In the DY Patil T20 tournament, Pandya is leading the Reliance 1 team which also features the likes of Tilak Verma, Nehal Wadhera, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal and Vishnu Vinod. The BPCL team includes players like Sandeep Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Anukul Roy, Shreyas Gopal, and Ramandeep Singh.

Ishan Kishan, who has been out of competitive cricket after pulling out of India’s Test tour of South Africa last year due to personal reasons, is expected to play in the tournament possibly for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) side, though a confirmation is yet to arrive.

The DY Patil T20 Cup is deemed by many Indian players to get crucial game time ahead of IPL by playing for their office teams. 16 teams will be divided in four groups of four each, following which quarter-finals will be played on March 7 and 8 respectively. The tournament will end with the semi-finals and final on March 9.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANSlife) As a part of the 71st Miss World Pageant, the sports challenge for the Miss World Sports/Miss World Sportswoman title was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on 24th February. During this challenge, the delegates were tested on their fitness, good health, sports skills, and positive mindset.

The top 32 delegates were announced to compete in the sports finals and Luciaja Begic from Croatia claimed the first spot. The Sports Challenge involved competitions in cricket, football shootout, shuttle run, hockey shootout, and 400mtr race. Hockey India, India's national hockey federation, supported the event by providing local women players and coaches to showcase hockey skills and #indiakagame. The All India Football Federation, India's national football body, sent a selected team including coaches to engage with the delegates and represent Indian women in football. Delhi Capitals' academy coaches and women cricket players conducted a clinic and gave guidance on cricket.

As the winner of the Sports Challenge was announced, the Chairman and CEO of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley CBE, shared, “We are thrilled to announce that Luciaja Begic from Croatia has won the coveted Miss World Sports Challenge this year. She embodies the spirit of fitness, health, and positivity that this competition seeks to highlight. Her dedication and excellence left no doubt that she deserves this honour. Winners like her exemplify why the Miss World Organization remains committed to testing delegates on more than just their outward beauty. We want to celebrate women who are actively bettering themselves in body, mind, and spirit. Congratulations again to our new Miss World Sports Challenge winner!”

The Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, named after India's legendary hockey player, provided the perfect setting for competitive sporting events. As the only international pageant with a dedicated sports challenge, Miss World continues to test delegates on more than just their outward beauty by celebrating fitness, health, and an active lifestyle.

IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in

--IANS

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