Danijones

Crack team of coach Mathias Boe and Satwik-Chirag to part ways after Paris Olympics | Badminton News

Danijones7 months ago04 mins

NEW DELHI: Credited with the rapid rise of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as a formidable pair in the badminton world, Danish legend and current India coach Mathias Boe may no longer be seen guiding from the coaching corner his two most valuable and brilliant students after the Paris Olympics.It’s been learnt that Boe could part ways with Satwik-Chirag after his coaching contract expires on August 15. Boe, men’s doubles finalist at the 2012 London Olympics, was offered a contract extension for 9.5 months in November 2023 at a salary of Rs 770,000 per month. Sources confirmed that Boe won’t be offered extension by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on conclusion of his ongoing stint, irrespective of results at the Paris Games. Sources cited multiple reasons for it — from paying a substantial salary to Boe to the coach’s unreasonable demands during his personal travels and also when touring with the Indian duo. The government has been pushing for the appointment of more homegrown coaches in the country’s sports ecosystem and wants Indian specialists to mentor and guide top athletes in different disciplines.Presently, the government has engaged 47 foreign experts – four in badminton – across various sports disciplines to train the country’s athletes for the Paris Games.The number of such experts associated with Indian sports is the highest-ever. This will come down substantially after the Games, as the month of September is the time when contracts of all such foreign experts will come up for renewal. There’s a possibility that at least 10-15 foreign coaches will not be offered contract extension in athletics, hockey, shooting and badminton post Paris. The idea is to hire Indian coaches, which will save the huge cost incurred on paying hefty salaries to foreign specialists. TOI understands that Boe and sports officials have had a conversation in this direction and the Badminton Association of India (BAI), too, has been told about it.Under Boe, a former world No.1 doubles player, the duo of Satwik-Chirag not only rose to the top of the world rankings, but also won the Indonesia Open Super 1000, the Thomas Cup, a medal at the BWF World Championships and India’s maiden gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. The duo is one of the favourites to finish on the podium in Paris. Boe had previously trained the Indian duo ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after the then doubles coach, Flandy Limpele, resigned due to personal reasons. Boe has an illustrious doubles career, twice winning the All England Championships in 2011 and 2015 and finishing runner-up at the 2013 World Championships.

T20 World Cup: Team India not happy with ‘average’ training facilities, claims report; ICC says… | Cricket News

Danijones7 months ago03 mins

NEW DELHI: The Indian team, preparing in New York ahead of the T20 World Cup is not happy with the ‘average’ training facilities provided to them in Cantiague Park, claimed a News18 report on Thursday.Rohit Sharma & Co on Wednesday started their training and the team, including head coach Rahul Dravid, is apparently not happy with the practice facilities in the US.The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, which will host India’s warm-up game and three group matches, reportedly has no practice facilities and the Cantiague Park has been provided as a make-shift venue for the Indian team’s training.The report claimed that the team was also not happy with the arrangements for food at the venue and concerns regarding this have been raised. “Everything is makeshift – from pitches to other facilities. Safe to say everything is very average in nature. The team has raised their concerns,” a source close to developments told News18.The report also said that the International Cricket Council (ICC), when reached out for reaction, claimed that that no such concerns or complaints were raised with them from the Indian team. “There has been no complaint or concern expressed regarding the practice facilities at Cantiague Park by any team,” the report stated the ICC as saying. The ICC earlier designated Cantiague Park as the official training facility for teams. The facility is also a fair distance from the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium where the matches are scheduled.India are set to play their one and only warm-up game against Bangladesh on June 1. India’s Group A games against Ireland, Pakistan and USA will be hosted at th Nassau Stadium before they move to Florida for their final group game against Canada.

Pakistan targets right T20 combination against understrength New Zealand | Cricket

All-round England crush Pakistan by seven wickets in fourth T20I, secure T20I series 2-0

Danijones7 months ago06 mins

London [UK], : Fine bowling spells by pacer Mark Wood and spinner Adil Rashid combined with some ferocious hitting by openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler helped England secure a series victory after a seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the fourth and final T20I at London on Thursday night. All-round England crush Pakistan by seven wickets in fourth T20I, secure T20I series 2-0 With this win, England has taken the four-match series 2-0. Two matches were called off due to rain and only second and fourth T20Is were played. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! Electing to field first, England bowlers had to witness some fine hitting from the opening duo of skipper Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan, who teamed up after a long while. Pakistan reached the 50-run mark in just 5.3 overs. However, at the last ball of the powerplay, this partnership met its end. Skipper Babar was caught by Rashid at short third man on a delivery by Jofra Archer for 36 in 22 balls, with five fours and a six. Pakistan was 59/1 in six overs. Following that, England spinners Rashid and Moeen Ali were all over Pakistani batting, taking some quick wickets. Pakistan sank to 86/5 in 10.2 overs. Rashid showcased his class with the ball, unleashing a spin web Pakistan could not get out of, taking wickets of Rizwan and Shadab Khan . Wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan was also removed for a duck to a scorching bouncer from Mark Wood, as the ball hit his glove and went into the hands of Buttler. However, Usman Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed provided a bit of stability to Pakistan, helping them cross the 100-run mark in 11.5 overs. Usman’s promising inning was cut short at 38 in 21 balls by Liam Livingstone, with Chris Jordan taking a fine catch. His knock had three fours and two sixes. Pakistan was 126/6 in 14.3 overs. The lower order did not put up much of a fight and Pakistan was skittled out for 157 runs in 19.5 overs. Rashid , and Livingstone were the top bowlers for England. Mark Wood got 2/35 in his four overs. Archer, Jordan and Moeen got one wicket each. In the run-chase, England openers Salt and Buttler unleashed such carnage that half the total was chased down within the six overs of powerplay. Young pacer Naseem Shah faced the worst beating out of all pacers, going for 33 runs in his two overs, including a 25-run fifth over where Buttler hit him for three fours and a six within a space of four balls after Salt started the over by punishing an off-cutter through deep mid-wicket for a six. In six overs, England was 78/0. Haris Rauf’s pace earned Pakistan a breakthrough as he removed Salt for 45 in 24 balls, with six fours and two sixes. England was 82/1 in 6.2 overs. England reached the 100-run mark in 8.5 overs, not compromising on their hitting. However, skipper Buttler was next to go, with Rauf getting his second scalp and wicketkeeper Azam getting the catch. The England skipper made 39 in 21 balls, with seven fours and a six. England was 101/2 in nine overs. Rauf cleaned up Will Jacks next, who played a nice cameo of 20 in 18 balls, with a four and six. England was 112/3 in 11 overs. The pair of Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook did not waste much time, ending the chase at 158/3 in 15.3 overs. Rauf delivered a fine spell for Pakistan but it was not enough. Adil Rashid took home the ‘Player of the Match’ honours for his spell. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

T20 World Cup: Does India having four spinners feel like a luxury? | Cricket News

Danijones7 months ago09 mins

Experts, fans and analysts point out that by selecting four spinners in India’s squad of 15 for the T20 World Cup, the selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, have picked one spinner too many. “Another fast bowler, perhaps” or “Rinku Singh, surely” were words that formed part of their analysis.It was clear that Rohit Sharma wanted four spinners, and his mind about who would feature in his bowling attack (two allrounders, also left-arm-spinners, in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, and two wrist spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav) was made up before the IPL. ALSO SEE: T20 World Cup Schedule Morning starts, where dew would not play much of a role was one of the reasons cited. “I definitely wanted four spinners. We’ve played a lot of cricket there. We know what the conditions are like. With morning starts at 10-10.30am, there’s a little bit of technical aspect involved in this,” skipper Rohit had said in Mumbai when the team was picked.That technical aspect could be the fact that India are expected to qualify for the super-eights and all the games from that stage will be played in the West Indies and the general belief is that the pitches there will be spin-friendly. Former India manager and Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner Sunil Subramanian, also Indian legend R Ashwin’s coach, feels that way. “India may have picked one spin-bowling allrounder too many. Rinku Singh for Axar and Khaleel Ahmed for vice-captain Hardik would have balanced the side better. There is no way both wrist spinners will play, especially in Nassau County in New York. It is a mickey mouse ground with the straight boundary being 55 metres only. Also, it is a drop-in pitch. Against Pakistan, they may play with only one spinner and that could be Jadeja as they may want to pack the side with pacers who can execute yorkers,” he told TOI. Subramanian was part of the team between 2017 and 2019, where India played both Kuldeep and Chahal in most white-ball games, with success. Will we see that happening in the T20 World Cup?“The reason both the wrist spinners featured in the playing XI was because both Jadeja and Ashwin were not able to contain the flow of runs in the middle-overs and were not able to pick wickets,” Subramanian revealed. The ‘Kul-Cha’ combo, as it was called, was a run-away success. They played in 15 T20I games together, including four of the five matches in the West Indies in 2023 and India ended up victorious in 11 of them. In those 15 games, Kuldeep picked 29 wickets while Chahal picked 23. Will they go back to that formula? “Only if they are in a must-win situation. If Hardik is unable to bowl four overs and if one of the pacers gets hit, that may happen. But only in the West Indies leg of the tournament. The only other way to play both wrist spinners is by dropping Jaiswal and opening with Kohli and Rohit. They will not do that. They will err on the side of caution,” Subramanian stressed. India’s batting coach till the 2019 World Cup, who was with the team in the Kul-Cha era, and former India allrounder Sanjay Bangar, also does not see both Kuldeep and Chahal playing together.“It will be Jadeja and Kuldeep to start with. Two wrist spinners won’t feature in the same XI,” opined Bangar. Interestingly, he does not see India being light on pace bowling options either. “Even if we had picked an extra pacer, he might not have played. Bumrah, Siraj/Arshdeep and Hardik can go through the tournament unchanged,” he told TOI.Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop, a respected voice in commentary, who is armed with local knowledge of the conditions, felt India’s four-spinner theory could be a luxury while acknowledging spin will play a part in the tournament. His assessment can be supported by the fact that in all CPLT20 matches so far, featuring 692 innings, pacers have taken 2384 wickets at a strike rate of 131.31 and an economy of 8.38. Spinners have grabbed 1565 wickets at a better strike-rate of 111.60 and a lower economy of 6.85.“The pitches for the World Cup may be slightly different. So, I think it’s a luxury to have four spinners rather than it being a necessity,” he told official broadcasters Star Sports.Aaron Finch, the man who led Australia to the title in the UAE in 2021 feels India may have “backed themselves into a corner.” “I had Rinku in there and only two spinners. I had the extra quick because of the inconsistency that we have seen with everyone barring Jasprit Bumrah. And if they want to play three spinners, one of them must bowl in the powerplay. I don’t see any of those guys doing it consistently,” Finch analysed while speaking to Star Sports.Now let’s look at the spin-bowling options of other teams expected to feature in the super-eights.Sri Lanka have six, England and New Zealand have five, Bangladesh have four and West Indies, Australia, and South Africa three. Does India having four feel like a luxury? Time will tell.

Uganda’s jersey for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup witnesses last-minute change

Danijones7 months ago03 mins

Image Source : UGANDA CRICKET ASSOCIATION Uganda’s new jersey for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Uganda cricket has run into controversy even before their eagerly anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup debut in the Caribbean and the USA owing to a last-minute change to their official jersey for the tournament to meet the guidelines of the International Cricket Council. What prompted the ICC to urge the Uganda Cricket Association into making a change to the jersey design? The Uganda Cricket Association organised a public competition earlier in the year to finalise the design of the senior men’s cricket team’s jersey for the marquee ICC tournament. After analysing several noteworthy submissions, the apex cricket body of Uganda selected Wanyama Mangeni Elijah’s design. Inspired by the national bird of Uganda – the Grey Crowned Crane, Elijah’s design was an amalgamation of feathered patterns on the sleeves and vibrant colours. As per Cricket.com.au, Elijah described his work as, “Where elegance meets strength, mirroring Uganda’s resilient spirit. The bold blend of vibrant colours symbolises unity, echoing the national pride. The jersey, with its feather-inspired patterns, pays homage to the majestic crested crane capturing the essence of grace and power.” Unfortunately, the ICC asked the Uganda Cricket Association to do away with the feathered patterns on the sleeves to make the sponsor logos more evident. The Uganda Cricket Association obliged and changed the design to meet the guidelines. Uganda’s revamped jersey While the feathered patterns are still there on the sleeves, they are barely visible from a distance. The forced change created an uproar on social media platforms with the people of Uganda expressing their displeasure. A glimpse of the original design “The ICC asked for a change in the design but we didn’t have enough time to make the required changes and had to compromise on the winning design. We lost just about 20 per cent of the original design, but the rest of the design is the same,” Uganda Cricket Association’s public relations officer Musali Denis was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.au.

Salt, bowlers star as England crush Pakistan in fourth T20I to take series 2-0

Danijones7 months ago04 mins

Pakistan were handed a crushing seven-wicket defeat by England in the fourth and final T20I of the series on Thursday, May 30 at Kennington Oval, London. As a result, the Jos Buttler-led side clinched the series by a margin of 2-0 to finish their T20 World Cup 2024 preparations on a high. After being put in to bat first, the visitors were bundled out for just 157 in 19.5 overs as all the English bowlers hared the wickets among them. In reply, the hosts made a mockery of Pakistan’s total chasing down the target in just 15.3 overs and sealed the series. The series brought an end to the preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup for both teams as they will straight away get on with their campaign in the mega event next month. Earlier in the day, after being asked to bat first, Pakistan got off to a good start by their famed opening duo of captain Babar Azam (36 off 22) and Mohammad Rizwan who added 59 runs for the first wicket off 35 balls. However, after their stand was broken by Jofra Archer, who dismissed Babar in the last over of the powerplay, Pakistan’s middle order crumbled against the spin trio of Adil Rashid (2/27), Moeen Ali (1/23, 2 overs) and Liam Livingstone (2/17, 3 overs). Usman Khan’s counter-attack in the middle overs Fakhar Zaman (9 off 9), Shadab Khan (0 off 1) and Azam Khan (0 off 5) returned to the pavilion cheaply leaving their side reeling at 86/5. Usman Khan tried his best to get Pakistan out of their ‘hell hole’ with a crucial innings of 38 (21) laced with three fours and two sixes. The 29-year-old holed out against Livingstone in the 15th over and two balls later Shaheen Afridi also lost his stumps against the off-spinner as Pakistan were left staring down the barrel on 126/7. Jos Buttler and Philip Salt’s electrifying start Iftikhar Ahmed (21 off 18), Naseem Shah (16 off 18) and Haris Rauf (8 off 7) occupied the crease for the last five overs to take their team’s total to 157. In the second innings, England captain Jos Buttler (39 off 21) and his opening partner Philip Salt (45 off 24) came out with a clear intent of chasing down the target quickly adding 82 runs for the wicket off just 38 balls. Following their dismissals, Will Jacks (20 off 18), Jonny Bairstow (28* off 16) and Harry Brook (17* off 14) guided England home in just 15.3 overs and sealed a seven-wicket win. Speedster Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan who accounted for all three wickets to fall giving away 38 runs in 3.3 overs. Adil Rashid was awarded Player of the Match for registering figures 2/27 in four overs. Meanwhile, Pakistan will start their World Cup campaign against the USA on June 6 while England will take on Scotland on June 4. Published By: Rishabh Beniwal Published On: May 31, 2024

‘Best example of nepotism’: Pakistan’s Azam Khan brutally roasted after another flop show | Cricket News

Danijones7 months ago02 mins

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s keeper-batter Azam Khan was in the line of fire on Thursday after his side succumbed to a crushing seven-wicket defeat in the fourth and final T20I against England at the Oval. Azam, who scored a five-ball duck and then dropped a couple of sitters behind the stumps drew flak on social media as his torrid run with both bat and gloves continued.The 25-year-old has had a string of low scores recently and has been poor behind the stumps as well and after his dull outing in Pakistan’s final T20I game before the T20 World Cup, questions over his selection and spot in the side were raised on social media. With the defeat, Pakistan lost the T20 series 2-0 as the first and third games in Leeds and Cardiff were washed out. England, on the other hand, now will head into the defense of its T20 World Cup title on the back of a series win over Pakistan. In the final game, after restricting Pakistan to 157 all out, England powered to its target with 27 balls remaining largely thanks to Phil Salt’s 45 and captain Jos Buttler’s 39 in their opening stand of 82 off 38 balls. The T20 World Cup staged jointly in the United States and the Caribbean starts Saturday, with England’s opening match against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday and Pakistan playing for the first time on June 6 against the US.

Babar Azam shatters Virat Kohli’s all-time T20I record against England in losing cause – India TV

Danijones7 months ago03 mins

Image Source : GETTY IMAGES Babar Azam. Pakistan captain Babar Azam shattered yet another record of Virat Kohli in a span of just 15 days during the fourth T20I against England at The Oval in London on May 30. Babar, 29, has become the leading run-scorer in T20I history against England after moving past India’s modern-day legend. Leading into the fourth T20I, Babar needed 16 runs to surpass Virat who has 639 runs against the Three Lions in the shortest format of the sport. Babar scored 36 off 22 balls with the help of five fours and a six and created a new all-time record as he now has 660 runs against the two-time T20 world champions. However, to Babar’s misery, Pakistan lost the fourth T20I and conceded the series 2-0 following a below-par performance on the field. Pakistan were unlucky with the coin flip and were put into bat by the England captain Jos Buttler. All of Pakistan’s top three batters (Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and Usman Khan) got off to positive starts but failed to convert them into huge scores. Pakistan’s middle order collapsed in front of a well-oiled English bowling attack and the visitors only managed to put 157 on the board. Phil Salt and Buttler dashed the little hopes Pakistan had of defending the total as they aggregated 82 for the opening wicket in just 6.2 overs. Though Pakistan managed to remove both openers in quick succession, the ship had already sailed by then. England registered a thumping seven-wicket win with 27 balls to spare and finished the series with a strong 2-0 statement. Babar was disappointed after Pakistan failed to salvage their pride and urged the middle-order batters to “step up”. “After six overs we were doing very well, but then I got out, the middle-order needs to step up. England’s bowling is very good, so have to take any chance. Need to sort out those things for the World Cup. A few injuries but a lot of positives, our play is good in patches, but to win you need 100%,” Babar said during the post-match presentation.

‘Doesn’t matter how many superstars IND have’: Lara’s clear-cut message to Dravid on ending ICC trophy drought in T20WC

Danijones7 months ago05 mins

Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the head coach of the Indian team is all set to end in June after the 2024 T20 World Cup. And while the India legend gained success during his tenure with the U-19 side or the India A team, which had, in fact, made him the frontrunner to replace Ravi Shastri back in 2022, Dravid had failed to lead the senior national team to an ICC title glory yet. But come the T20 World Cup, that begins from June 1 onwards, he will get one last opportunity to end India’s long-standing trophy drought and end his tenure on a high. Brian Lara has a message for Rahul Dravid ahead of the T20 World Cup Ahead of the big tournament, former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara sent a clear-cut message to Dravid, suggesting him to devise a plan for the final stages of the tournament, a hurdle which India have failed to cross since 2013 across ICC tournaments. Speaking to Star Sports, the Windies legend reckoned that irrespective of the big names that India have in their squad, they need to focus on having a clear strategy about winning the World Cup. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! “Indian team, just looking from the outside, in previous Cups, be it T20 or 50-overs, I just feel they are lacking that final plan in terms of how they are going to go about. It doesn’t matter how many superstars you have; it matters how you are going to go about winning this World Cup, what plans you are going to have in place, and how you are going to structure your innings or attack. I hope Rahul Dravid can get his players together and can devise a plan for India to win T20 World Cup,” said Lara when asked about any concern regarding the Menin Blue ahead of of the ICC event. This will be the second T20 World Cup India will play during Dravid’s tenure as head coach. In 2022, the Rohit Sharma-led side had reached the semis before being beaten by eventual champions England in the semis. Overall, India have just one title in the history of this T20 tournament, having won in the inaugural year (2007) under the leadership of MS Dhoni. India have since made the semis twice and finished as runners-up once in the next seven editions. India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, followed by the mouth-watering clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on June 9. Co-hosts USA and Canada are the other two members in Group A besides the aforementioned three. India, who last played an international game in the format back in January at home, will also play a warm-up game against Bangladesh on June 1 in New York.

T20 World Cup: In Team India’s first practice session, Hardik bowls for almost an hour; Rohit, Suryakumar focus on getting used conditions | Cricket News

Danijones7 months ago02 mins

NEW DELHI: Team India got their T20 World Cup preparations underway with their first training session in New York on Thursday that lasted three hours.Having landed in the US on May 27, the team had a couple of off days to overcome the jet lag and get used to the weather and conditions. After a light training session session a day before, the Indian team on Thursday hit the nets and meant serious business as skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav were seen batting against likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. In focus Hardik too had gruelling training session with both bat and ball. The all-rounder was first seen bowling in the nets for almost an hour and then went hard after the bowlers while batting. The 30-year-old also had a long chat with batting coach Vikram Rathour during the net session. In unusual scenes, tailenders Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singht were seen focussing on their batting skills while all the all-rounder Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Hardik trained with both bat and ball. Yuzvendra Chahal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Avesh Khan and Rinku Singh, who arrived late in New York featured only in light training drills. The focus of the training session revolved around getting used to the pitch conditions that had considerable bounce in it.India play their first warm-up game against Bangladesh on Saturday.