Dunedin [New Zealand], March 18 (ANI): Ahead of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead is impressed with the depth of the squad as he believes they have enough players to pick from in the absence of key players for the series.
Kane Williamson will be missing the whole series with an elbow injury, Ross Taylor has been ruled out of at least the first game in Dunedin and Colin de Grandhomme is also unavailable as he has surgery on an ankle problem that has plagued his season.
The first ODI between New Zealand and Bangladesh will be the first time since 2014 that neither Williamson nor Taylor will feature in an ODI for New Zealand.
“It is exciting as coach when you sit around the selection table and start looking at the names you expect to keep coming through the way they are developing. It’s hard to write 15 names down when there could be up to 30 vying for those spots, that’s a good place to be though,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Stead as saying.
“The strength of New Zealand cricket at the moment is seen in the Blackcaps but it’s also driven from below that with our New Zealand A programmes, the domestic game as well is also in good heart because we are producing people who perform well when they come to international level,” he added.
Stead feels that Devon Conway and Will Young will get a spot in the side while all-rounder Daryl Mitchell is an option for the middle order depending on the balance of the side.
“They are two positions in the order that we have a lot of faith in and strength in New Zealand cricket. The opportunity for Devon and Will to come in is really exciting for them. They are both fine players which we’ve seen in our domestic formats and also international cricket to date,” Stead said.
The first ODI between New Zealand and Bangladesh will be played at University Oval, Dunedin on Saturday. (ANI)

By Anuj Mishra
New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): It doesn’t get bigger than the Olympics for an athlete and ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia is leaving no stone unturned as he looks to hit top gear in the home stretch of his preparations for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Earlier this month, the World No.1 stopped using his social media handles and asked fans to keep showing him support as he gets battled ready for the Games. One of India’s biggest Olympic medal prospects, Bajrang on Thursday revealed regular use of social media was hampering his preparation. The men’s 65kg freestyle wrestler went on to add that nothing means more to him than preparing for the mega event.
“Nothing like that (if any particular incident prompted him to deactivate social media). But I felt that social media was disturbing my preparation. And Olympic is the biggest event so I thought it would be better if like put all my focus on my preparation. If I want to win a medal in Olympics, I have to keep everything aside for the coming months,” Bajrang told ANI.
“I can use social media after the Olympics also. So, instead of wasting my time, I decided to focus on preparations. In our free time we can work on our weakness too,” he added.
Bajrang’s love-affair with wrestling helped him regain the number one spot in the rankings after he clinched a second successive gold medal at the Matteo Pallicone Ranking Series last week.
The 27-year-old, who was playing his first international competition since the COVID-19 pandemic, made full use of the tournament to further prepare for the much-awaited Tokyo Olympics.
In January, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had said that Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat, Deepak Punia, and Ravi Kumar can bag medals in the Olympics.
Asked if it would add to the expectations, Bajrang — who has won accolades in the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games as well as World Championship — said while the WFI President is right in expecting medals from them, the road to the Olympics will not be a bed of roses.
“I am trying my best, but it is easier said than done. My focus is only on doing hard work and for that, I am focusing on my training. The first time it has happened that four wrestlers have qualified. So, WFI president is right in expecting the medals from us as in recent past wrestlers have performed brilliantly,” the Indian wrestler said.
“And we are working hard to win a medal for the country, but it isn’t that easy. It’s not like that you go into the Olympics and the medal is assured, you have to work hard for it,” he quipped.
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju has said Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes will be given priority for the coronavirus vaccine followed by other athletes. And Bajrang, who is the recipient of the Arjuna Award, Padma Shri, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, has already received his first dose of vaccine and will take the next jab after 28 days.
“I have taken the first dose of vaccine and would take the next dose after 28 days. I won’t tell anyone to take the vaccine or not take it. Athletes must consult their doctors and coaches before getting the first dose,” said Bajrang.
Diet plays a major role in an athletes’ build-up in the training and preparation and Bajrang, who hails from Khudan village in Haryana has tied up with Optimum Nutrition for or all his dietary supplement requirements.
“Optimum Nutrition is the world’s best nutrition partner. I am using it for many years now and I found it very beneficial so I signed up with them. Good nutrition is very important for us as many supplements in the market are adulterated,” said Bajrang.
Bajrang had earned a quota for the Tokyo Games in September 2019 after winning a bronze medal at the World Championships. The prestigious quadrennial event is set to take place from July 23 to August 8 this year. The Games were scheduled to take place last year but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (ANI)

Auckland [New Zealand], March 18 (ANI): Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has opted out of the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand due to personal reasons.
Iqbal, who is the ODI skipper, said that he had conveyed his decision earlier to coach Russell Domingo and the selection committee led by Minhajul Abedin.
“Before coming to New Zealand, I had informed the head coach and chief selector that I won’t be available for the T20I series,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Iqbal as saying.
“It is for personal reasons. My best wishes are with the team. When the coach said that we have an opportunity to do well here, it includes the T20Is as well,” he added.
Bangladesh is yet to name its T20 squad for the series against the Kiwis. The T20I side is led by Mahmudullah and most likely the squad will come out during the ODI series.
Bangladesh and New Zealand will be locking horns in the three-match ODI series, beginning Saturday and it will conclude on March 26.
After that, both teams will shift their attention to the shortest format as they will lock horns in the three-match T20I series.
The first T20I will be played on March 28, while the other two will go ahead on March 30 and April 1.
Tamim Iqbal is Bangladesh’s leading run-getter in the shortest format and he is their only centurion in T20I cricket and the left-handed batsman also has eight fifties to his name.
Bangladesh had last played a T20I against Zimbabwe last year, and the three-match series against New Zealand will be their first chance since then to prepare for the T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in India this year. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): Dream Sports Foundation (DSF), the philanthropic arm of Dream Sports, one of India’s leading sports technology companies on Thursday announced a partnership with the Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation (MKRBF) to support six talented and budding female boxers from Imphal.
Through this partnership, DSF will facilitate training and provide educational and financial assistance to these promising boxers for the next year.
Founded by Mary Kom, Padma Vibhushan and Olympic medalist, and her husband K Onkholer Kom, MKRBF currently offers free, world-class training, nutritional support, lodging, education, medical and competition-related expenses to over 87 talented underprivileged youth.
Through this partnership under the DSF Elite vertical — which aims to groom young talented athletes to compete nationally and internationally in different sports — comprehensive support will be provided to select girls from underprivileged backgrounds aspiring to take up boxing as a competitive sport. The support will include year-round gold standard technical training, apparel and equipment, accommodation, tournament exposure, diet and nutrition, education and tuition, and other extracurricular activities.
Mary Kom, the celebrated Indian boxer, Olympian, and Founder of MKRBF, said: “We are grateful for Dream Sports Foundation to partner with us and help these young athletes during one of the most important stages in their lives. DSF has done some exceptional work through its young athlete development program, Stars of Tomorrow. We are sure that this partnership as well will support budding athletes in the field of boxing to achieve their true potential and realise their goals.”
MKRBF has produced three women boxers who have won medals in national and international competitions and aims to coach and nurture many more young boxers who have the potential to win competitions on a global stage. The Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation aims to promote boxing as a sport to vulnerable youth in North-Eastern India. (ANI)

Birmingham [UK], March 18 (ANI): India mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponappa on Thursday crashed out of the ongoing All England Open.
The duo was defeated by Japan’s Yuki Kaneko and Misaki Matsutomo 21-19, 21-9 in the second round.
The match proved to be a one-sided affair as the Japanese duo triumphed over the Indian duo in just 35 minutes.
On Wednesday, Lakshya Sen knocked out Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand. Lakshya defeated Kantaphon in the first round in two straight sets (21-18, 21-12).
India shuttlers HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma, and Sai Praneeth also started their All England Open campaign on a high, winning their respective first-round games on Wednesday.
However, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal exited the event after retiring hurt in the first round match (21-8, 10-4) against Danish badminton player Mia Blichfeldt.
For Prannoy it was an easy victory as he defeated Malaysian badminton player Liew Daren in two straight sets 21-10, 21-10 while Sameer had to toil hard for his win as Ygor Coelho from Brazil gave him a tough fight.
Prannoy will now face star Japanese badminton player Kento Momota in the second round while Sameer will meet Danish badminton player Anders Antonsen on Thursday.
Earlier, ace India shuttler PV Sindhu cruised to the second round of the All England Open with a win over Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah. Sindhu overcame the first-round challenge as she won 21-11, 21-17 in 39 minutes.
Also, the Indian men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankirerddy progressed to the second round of the showpiece event. (ANI)

Birmingham [UK], March 18 (ANI): Australia’s Ellyse Perry is set to represent Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural edition of The Hundred.
After joining the franchise, Perry said she can’t wait to go over to the UK and get involved in The Hundred, set to begin on July 21. The tournament’s final will be played at the Lord’s on August 21.
“I can’t wait to come over to the UK and get involved in The Hundred this summer. It’s fantastic to see how it’s put women’s cricket in the spotlight and attracted so many of the world’s top players to come and play in it.
“I’m looking forward to helping introduce a new generation to cricket and hopefully inspiring them to pick up a bat and ball themselves,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Perry as saying.
Birmingham Phoenix will be coached by Ben Sawyer, who termed Perry a “world-class cricketer”.
“Ellyse is a world-class cricketer who would improve any team and we are thrilled that she will be turning out for us at Birmingham Phoenix this summer. I’ve been lucky to work with her over a number of years and I know her quality and work ethic will be a huge asset to us and the whole competition,” Sawyer said.
The Hundred is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) competition and it was scheduled to be played in 2020 with eight teams. However, the tournament was postponed until this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. (ANI)