Will select trio after bans are over: Waugh
melbourne: Former Australia opener and national selector Mark Waugh said he wouldn't hesitate to pick the three players banned in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal once they have served their bans, but added in the same breath that these are "tough times" for Australia's Test team. "My personal contact with these guys is that they're all good people and very fine players. They've made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes. It's so unfortunate they've made this mistake and they're going to pay such a heavy penalty," Waugh said. "But we should all look at the facts. You've got to let them back into the fold, you've got to forgive them and hopefully they get back to where they were," he added. Waugh is an ODI and T20I selector and forms part of the national selection panel along with chairman Trevor Hohns, Greg Chappell and outgoing coach Darren Lehmann.
BCCI Media Rights e-auction halts at Rs 4442 Cr
new delhi: The BCCI is set for another massive windfall as Star, Sony and Jio engaged in a bidding war for the Global Consolidated Media Rights (GCR) for the 2018-2023 cycle of India's home bilateral series, which is currently valued at Rs 4442 crore, after the end of the opening day of the first ever e-auction. The current valuation is already 15 per cent more than Star TV's erstwhile record bid of Rs 3851 crore ($750 million then) in 2012. The GCR comprises worldwide TV broadcast rights as well as digital rights for 102 matches (across three formats) that India will play at home in the next five years.
Sarma elected as full-time BAI President
calangute: Himanta Biswa Sarma was on Tuesday elected as the president of Badminton Association of India during its elective annual general body meeting here. Sarma, a Cabinet Minister in Assam, was elected unopposed for a term of four years. He took over as the interim President of BAI last year after the demise of Akhilesh Das Gupta. Ajay Singhania of Haryana Badminton Association got elected as General Secretary after defeating K K Sharma of Rajasthan Badminton Association. Former Tamil Nadu Badminton Association president Anbumani Ramadoss was elected as the treasurer uncontested.
Sathiyan reaches career-best ranking
new delhi: The in-form G Sathiyan reached his career-best ranking of 46 while veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal climbed 22 places to be at 48 in the latest ITTF rankings. Sathiyan jumped three places to become World No 46 as he continued to be the country's top singles player. The 25-year-old had won gold in the ITTF Challenge - Spanish Open in November last before reaching the pre-quarterfinals of the Qatar Open. "I'm really happy to hit my highest ever ranking. It's a good step and now I am aiming for Top 20 this year. But my prime focus will be the CWG and I guess this ranking will pump me up more to deliver my best. I think the best is yet to come," Sathiyan said.
Kansai Nerolac Paints increase IPL footprint
new delhi: After announcing their continued support to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL) has firmed up their intent to increase the partnership with IPL and has announced that they will also sponsor the Delhi Daredevils (DD) franchise in the 11th edition of IPL. In this edition of the IPL, Nerolac's logo will be visible on DD and Sunrisers Hyderabad's leading sides of helmets.Nerolac has been an active advertiser in BCCI Cricket events for a very long time and its association with IPL teams started in the year 2016. In the current edition of the IPL, Nerolac will be spreading its footprint to the two teams mentioned above.