Category: SPORTS

England captain Joe Root is a doubtful starter for the first Test against the West Indies next month as he will be required to undergo seven days of self-isolation after attending the birth of his second child. The first game of the three-Test series begins at the Aegeas Bowl from July 8 and Root’s wife is due around the same time, The Telegraph reported. As per the guidelines from England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Root will need to self-isolate for a week before rejoining the national team. However, ECB…

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Sri Lankan batting great Kumara Sangakkara said cricket is a social game and it will be interesting to see how players cope with the new ICC guidelines when cricket resumes after the COVID-19 hiatus. With government restrictions owing to the health crisis easing, the ICC has come out with guidelines for the safe resumption of the sport which was shutdown in March due to the outbreak of the contagious disease. Keeping “social distancing” norms on and off the field and ‘safe’ ball management are among the dos and don’ts listed…

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England wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings says he doesn’t want to be “pigeon-holed as a white-ball cricketer” and has a renewed desire to come good in the Test format, an ambition that took a backseat when he decided to play IPL early in his career. The 28-year-old has never played a Test for England but featured in 15 ODIs and 26 T20Is before a shoulder injury robbed him of chance to be a part of his team’s historic victory in the 50-over World Cup last year. “There’s no one else to blame…

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Sri Lanka bowlers have told head coach Mickey Arthur they prefer saliva over sweat to shine the ball following their first training session post lockdown. The ICC Cricket Committee, which Arthur is part of, had recommended a ban on the use of saliva on the ball as an interim measure to counter the coronavirus threat. For now, the bowlers can only use sweat on the ball. Sri Lankan cricketers returned to training earlier this week and will remain in a highly protected environment during the 12-day camp. “It was interesting…

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Expressing solidarity with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign, star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has alleged that he faced racist remarks during his career and cricket is not free of the menace. Gayle did not elaborate when he faced racial remarks but hinted it might have been during his stints at global T20 leagues. “I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on,” he posted on instagram on Monday night. “Racism is not only in football, it’s in…

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World silver-medallist Amit Panghal and the seasoned Vikas Krishan were on Monday nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the Boxing Federation of India, which picked only Olympic-bound names as its nominees for the annual honours. The BFI has nominated world bronze-winning trio of Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Simranjit Kaur (64kg) and Manish Kaushik (63kg) for the Arjuna awards. Of these, Borgohain has won the world bronze twice, the most recent being last year. For the Dronacharya awards, the BFI has finalised the names of national women’s coach Mohammed…

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He has been phenomenal in the last few years and India pacer Ishant Sharma simply believes that it has to do with him “enjoying his cricket”. The 31-year-old, who is India’s senior-most cricketer in the current set-up with 97 Tests, said that he wouldn’t probably like to sledge Steve Smith during the next tour of Australia, unlike the 2017 home series game in Bengaluru where his facial expression became a meme. “I am in that phase of my career where I am enjoying my cricket and more I enjoy, better…

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Former skipper Kumar Sangakkara believes missing Angelo Mathews due to an injury hurt Sri Lanka badly in the summit clash of the 2011 World Cup, which hosts India won after a gap of 28 years. Having played a key role in their thrilling semifinal win against New Zealand, Mathews was forced out of the final against India at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium by a quadriceps muscle injury. Reflecting on the six-wicket loss to India, the former Sri Lankan captain said Mathews’ injury forced him to opt for a 6-5 combination and…

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China and India should never let their differences shadow the overall bilateral ties and must enhance mutual trust, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said on Wednesday, in remarks that came amid an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between armies of the two countries in several sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Without referring to the military standoff, Sun Weidong said both the sides should resolve their differences through communication and adhere to the basic premise that they pose no threat to each other.  “We should correctly view our differences…

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Barcelona and Argentina captain Lionel Messi said he was eager to start playing again but thought La Liga games behind closed doors would feel “weird”. Messi, who after a few weeks confined like the rest of Spain by the coronavirus pandemic, is training with Barca again ahead of a planned resumption of La Liga behind closed doors on the weekend on June 12. “We cannot think about what we are leaving behind this year. It is better to think about the future,” said Messi on the website of sports brand…

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