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Denies accusing BCCI of discrimination
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Gayle, Bravo to miss CT
Bhullar sets Jakarta greens on fire
Alonso on pole, Massa in hospital
Hungarian GP
Fencers test positive for swine flu
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Ganguly to lead KKR
Kolkata, July 25 Even as an official announcement is awaited, sources said that there could be a major reshuffle with former India coach Wright likely to replace John Buchanan as Knight Riders coach, while former Australian middle-order batsman Michael Bevan will be in the coaching panel. Sources said Ganguly would be back at the helm in 2010 when his contract with the Kolkata team ends and the iconic Bengal cricketer had a one-on-one with prinicipal owner Shah Rukh Khan when the duo met in London to receive doctorates by the University of Central Lancashire last week. “Ganguly and Shah Rukh Khan had a discussion about this when the left-hander was in London last week. They have agreed in priniciple that Ganguly will lead the side,” the source said. “There were also discussions about the possible coaches. Wright and Bevan are the front runners. It is up to Shah Rukh to take the final call.” Ganguly, meanwhile, said that nothing is final as yet and a proper announcement will be made in due time. “I don’t take the decision of KKR alone. There are a number of people involved in the process. But hopefully in due course of time we will get a person who will coach the team. The decision has not been made yet,” Ganguly said. The Knight Riders management was also tightlipped about the development. When contacted, Knight Riders CEO Joy Bhattacharya said: “At the moment, I don’t deny this (Ganguly as captain and Wright as the chief coach). However, there has not been any official announcement as yet. Asked whether he was aware of this development, he said, “I don’t want to comment on this. When there is an official announcement, we will let you know.” In the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa, Kolkata Knight Riders were plagued awith controversies especially after Ganguly was dethroned just two days before the start of the tournament. Knight Riders coach John Buchanan, who later had to part ways with the side after their bottom place finish, had floated the idea of multiple captaincy but only to hand over the baton to New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum. IPL III begins in March next year and will overlap with Australia’s tour of New Zealand.
— PTI |
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Denies accusing BCCI of discrimination
Kolkata, July 25 “Being a responsible person, I know what to say and what not to say. (BCCI Media and Finance Committee chairman) Rajiv Shukla should look into the tape and get the script to see if I have said something wrong before issuing a statement,” he said. Ganguly had reportedly criticised the BCCI for having “different rules for different players” in selection matters. The comments attributed to him drew a sharp reaction from the board with Rajiv Shukla saying that the BCCI was not prejudiced against any player. Ganguly today blamed the entire episode on media’s misinterpretation. “I am sure the BCCI knows how reports are made. How can there be two different versions of the same press conference? Whoever is passing any comments on me or reacting to these reports should go through my lines before making a statement,” he said.
— PTI |
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Gambhir slips to No. 2
Dubai, July 25 The 31-year-old Sri Lankan wicket-keeper gained two places to secure the number one position with 862 points while Gambhir followed him with 847 points.
— PTI |
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Bangladesh Tour of WI
Roseau (Dominica), July 25 Their replacements were no match for the Bangladeshis, who convincingly swept the two-Test series to gain the boost of confidence that their appointed captain and leading fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza set as one of their objectives. Sadly, Mortaza played only a minor role in the Test series triumph, following a fall which aggravated a previous right knee injury, and has sidelined him for the three ODIs and the Twenty20 International to follow. Shakib Al Hasan will lead the side as he did during the Tests, and will hope to build on his performances which led to him winning the man-of-the-series award. “We are looking forward to the ODI series too, and we want to continue winning,” said left-arm spin bowling all-rounder. Bangladesh have added left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, all-rounder Naeem Islam, and medium-fast bowler Syed Rasel for the series. Razzak is the most experienced with 111 wickets at 27.90 in 81 ODIs and will be looking to exploit the frailty of the West Indies batsmen to spin bowling which was so apparent in the Tests. But he will also be looking to give solid proof that his bowling action is no longer suspect, following his suspension in December last year, after playing against South Africa last November like Naeem and Rasel.
— AFP |
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Gayle, Bravo to miss CT
St. John’s, July 25 The West Indies Cricket Board said the 30 players announced earlier for the trophy would remain, despite the end of the West Indies Players’ Association strike that resulted in the top players missing the Bangladesh
series. — PTI |
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Gavaskar’s insult intolerable: Miandad
New Delhi, July 25 And Miandad, paying tribute to Gavaskar on the occasion of his 60th birthday, wondered if the legendary batsman was yet to win the respect of his “rich and famous” compatriots despite his contributions to the country. “It happened before the Indian Premier League-2 got under way in South Africa, but it still rankles me. I simply cannot tolerate the insult Shah Rukh Khan heaped on our icon,” Miandad wrote in a book. “Even my fellow cricketers in Pakistan were shocked... by Shah Rukh’s verbal volleys. It is sad that despite achieving so much for his country Sunil Gavaskar is yet to earn the respect of rich and famous,” he said. “I know that these days money talks but, believe me, no amount of money can produce another Gavaskar. By insulting Sunny, Shah Rukh has indirectly insulted us, too,” he added. Miandad, who has had three stints as coach of Pakistan team, also advised Shah Rukh to learn some sportsman spirit from Gavaskar. “Sunny is a gentleman and it is his greatness that he ignored Shah Rukh’s comments. It only showed how spirited a man Sunny is. Shah Rukh should learn from Sunil,” he said. Another Pakistan great Wasim Akram rued that despite his 400 wickets in both Tests and ODIs, he could not find success against Gavaskar. “When I look back on my long playing career, I feel quite happy and satisfied. However, I have just one minor regret - I could not dismiss Sunil Gavaskar even once in Test matches. I have claimed Gavaskar’s wicket just once in my career. It was in an ODI in Hyderabad on our tour of India in 1986-87,” he wrote. Former Pakistan tearaway and captain Imran Khan believes Gavaskar’s greatness “lay in the fact that he knew his limitations”. “His only flaw was against the quick bowlers bowling into his body when his lack of height would get him rather tucked up, he said.
— PTI |
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Vijender, Sushil to get Khel Ratna
New Delhi, July 25 While one of these, Mary Kom, the celebrated boxer from
Manipur, has been officially selected for this year’s Khel Ratna
honour, the award committee is also learnt to have recommended to the government the inclusion of boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar in the award list as exceptional cases on account of their remarkable performance in the Beijing Olympics, where they won Bronze medals. Informed sources today told The Tribune, that the name of the three sportspersons would be shortly notified. They added that the Minister of Sports, in exceptional cases, can extend the award list to honour more than one player. The decision in this regard has already been taken and the notification will be issued shortly, said a top government official. When asked why was there a delay in revealing the names of Vijender and
Sushil, whereas Mary’s name as awardee was already in the list, Ministry sources said they were conducting verifications into the credentials of the nominated players. Last year, a Boxing coach from Bhiwani was selected for the Dronacharya Award, but was later found to be facing charges of murdering his own trainee. Since then, as a rule, the ministry verifies the credentials of players to avoid embarrassment later, top officials told The Tribune. It is also learnt that Vijender Singh submitted the application for the award later; the application was allowed by the ministry anyway. Earlier, the government faced flak from the sporting community for not including the names of Vijender and Sushil in the Padma Awards list which featured two cricketers including Mahinder Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. This time, however, the government has rushed to quell apprehensions that Vijender and Sushil would be left out from the Khel Ratra awardees as well. |
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Bhullar sets Jakarta greens on fire
Bhullar braved the lightning storm, which forced suspension of play for four hours, to set the Damai Indah Golf-Burmi Serpong course on fire. He capped his dazzling performance with a closing birdie on the 18th in fading light for a three-day total of 17 under par 199. Lying two strokes behind him is Adam Blyth who was at four under after 12 holes when play was suspended at 6 p.m. (Thailand time). Because of the four-hour weather-hit suspension 27 players will resume their rounds at 6.45 a.m. on Sunday. Korea’s Ted Oh was also in the title hunt for his maiden victory, lying on 14-under-par through 14 holes where he was five-under for the day while Thailand’s Thammanoon Srirot, who won on this course in 1996, was a further shot back after charging into contention by getting to six-under through 16 holes. Bhullar, who played a good mental game in difficult conditions now has a chance of avenging his loss in the same event two years ago when he was beaten by one stroke by Filipino Juvic Pagunsan. Seasoned Chandigarh golfer Amandeep Johl continued his good steady game repeating a two under 70 card for the third successive day to notch up a six under 210 tally. Anairban Lahiri had a bad four over 76 round today to finish at two under 214 after the third round. Rahil Gangjee was overall four under after 15 holes when play was suspended. |
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Alonso on pole, Massa in hospital
Budapest, July 25 The session was suspended at the end of the second phase when Brazilian Massa, who appeared to have been hit on the helmet by debris, ploughed full-throttle into the tyre barrier at turn four. He was extracted from the car, taken to the circuit medical centre and then flown to hospital. A spokeswoman for the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said he was in a stable condition. There was further confusion when qualifying resumed, with the timing screens going blank and leaving teams and drivers as well as spectators in the dark about who had taken the pole position. When they came back, Alonso’s first pole since the Italian Grand Prix of September 2007 was confirmed with Red Bulls’ Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber starting second and third. Spain’s Jaime Alguersuari, 19, became the youngest driver ever to qualify for a Formula One Grand Prix. The Toro Rosso new boy will start at the back of the grid however after pulling over with a mechanical problem at the end of the first qualifying session.
— Reuters |
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Hungarian GP
Budapest, July 25 His VJM02 was only repaired in time to allow Sutil to complete two flying laps. Fisichella had a better session, completing his first run on the soft Bridgestone tyres. The Italian bettered his times by one second on his second run and was able to put in two further flying laps on his third outing. His fastest lap, 1min 21.807, looked set to ease him into Q2 but with the track quickening with each car he was just knocked down into 17th position in the closing seconds of the session. “In the morning I just made a mistake and went off line and went into the barriers. All we needed was an extra couple of tenths that would have helped us go into Q2 so without the accident I think we could have been quite good. At least in 18th we have a couple of cars behind us but it’s going to be a tough race,” Sutil said. — PTI
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Fencers test positive for swine flu
New Delhi, July 25 Coach Lalit Kumar Singh’s report on the event is awaited. “They returned on the night of July 22 and probably got infected from a fellow passenger. They were screened at the airport and their body temperature showed symptoms of flu. But they have got good treatment and are expected to be discharged from the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on Monday. We have already booked their tickets,” Arun Kumar Vij, Secretary General of the Fencing Association of India said. Talking about the event, Vij said the Indian players put up a good show but missed medals by just two-three points. “It was a much better performance than the previous one,” he said.
— PTI |
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Bangladesh Tour of WI
Gaganjeet Bhullar could not have asked for more. This 21-year-old Kapurthala lad sent the statisticians scurrying for their record books as he shot 10 birdies for a blemish-free 10 under par 62 card to take the lead on the penultimate day of the Indonesia President Invitational Asian Tour event in Jakarta today.
