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A COVID-19 outbreak hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday as three main players -- senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer -- tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series. Four other persons, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, have also tested positive for COVID-19. Saini is also on standby list. The remaining three who tested positive for the virus are non-playing members -- fielding coach T Dilip,

LIVERPOOL: Everton on Monday appointed Frank Lampard as their new manager on a two-and-a-half year deal with the task of keeping the Toffees in the Premier League. Lampard has been out of the game since being sacked as Chelsea boss a little over a year ago. The former England international will take charge for the first time on Saturday when Everton host Brentford in the fourth round of the FA Cup. “It is a huge honor for me to represent and manage a

Dubai: Iran beat a spirited United Arab Emirates by the narrowest of margins at home on Tuesday to continue their strong run in the AFC Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. They were the first team to qualify from the Asian zone on last match day. The two teams will play their last respective qualifiers in March where the Iranians will be looking to secure top spot, while ‘The Whites,’ as the UAE national team are called, will try to hold on

The Savita Punia-led team could not repeat their earlier thrashing of China in the league, as the midfield failed to make an impact on the pitch. After thrashing China 7-1 in their Women’s FIH Pro League debut, India chief coach Janneke Schopman was perhaps expecting a similar show by the Indian hockey team on Tuesday. But the Savita Punia-led outfit barely managed to scrape past the 14th ranked China 2-1, courtesy of a brace from Player of the Year, drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur. Having

Nike has suspended its relationship with Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood after allegations of domestic violence emerged against the 20-year-old England player. "We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation," said Nike in a statement. On Sunday, the Premier League club said Greenwood "will not return to training or play matches until further notice," after the allegations first emerged. A spokesperson for the club told CNN on Sunday that the club was aware of "images

Former India paceman Ajit Agarkar voiced his concern over former Team India captain Virat Kohli's batting form as the team prepares for a three-match ODI and T20I series at home under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show "Game Plan", Agarkar gave an honest assessment of Kohli's batting woes and termed his batting form as a "concern" not only for the captain, but also for the combination of the team. "Virat Kohli's form is a concern, but we all

Formula One will make it mandatory for all personnel working in its paddock to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, without exemption, starting this season, a spokesperson for the sport's commercial arm said on Monday. The mandate, which was first reported by the Times newspaper and the BBC, will apply to anyone entering the paddock -- an exclusive area in which teams and drivers set up shop for a race weekend. "F1 will require all travelling personnel to be fully vaxxed and will not

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has said that he opted out of the IPL auction at the last minute as he did not want to spend another 22 weeks in a bio-bubble. "I was a click of the button away from entering the auction but personally didn't want to spend 22 more weeks in a bubble," said Starc, who won Australia's men's cricketer of the year award on Saturday. "They'll be a time where I'd love to go back to the IPL but in

MELBOURNE (Australia): Former Australia captain Ian Chappell labelled Pat Cummins as the most inspirational leader and he termed Joe Root the leader as "poor". Pat Cummins replaced Tim Paine as Australia Test skipper earlier this month. Paine had stepped down following a sexting scandal and then he took some time off to look after his mental health. "He is also by far the most inspirational player in the Australia side, and even when he was replaced as captain this week, the team still

Dubai: A resilient UAE team is on the threshold of history after living up to their promise in the Under-19 ICC World Cup as they take on Ireland in the Plate final on Monday. Coach Najeeb Amar had forewarned that they will cause an upset before the start of the tournament. Now the team have proved his words after defeating West Indies in the Plate semi-finals despite being hampered by loss of three players due to Covid. “I was confident that we would

Former India batter Manoj Tiwary questioned the selectors' call to appoint KL Rahul as stand-in captain during the South Africa tour, saying what did they see in hm as "captaincy material", adding that it takes time to groom a player into a leadership role. KL Rahul chipped in as captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma during the ODI series which India lost 0-3 in South Africa. He was also made the captain for the 2nd Test when Virat Kohli sat out due

Argentina were without Lionel Messi but goals from Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez gave the visitors all three points against Chile in a World Cup qualifier on January 27. Argentina, who have already qualified for Qatar, opted to rest Messi after his COVID-19 infection but his Paris Saint Germain team mate Di Maria stepped up to give them the lead with a trademark curling shot from outside the box after 10 minutes. Chile’s English-born striker Ben Brereton equalised just over 10 minutes

MELBOURNE: France's Kristina Mladenovic and Croatian Ivan Dodig swept to a 6-3 6-4 victory against local duo Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler to claim the Australian Open mixed doubles crown at Melbourne Park on Friday. Playing under a closed roof on Rod Laver Arena, Mladenovic and Dodig got off to a solid start, securing a vital break at 4-3 before closing out the set after some big serving from the Frenchwoman. The Australian wildcard pairing were broken again early in the second set

Brett Lee's comments come two weeks after Virat Kohli stepped down as India's Test skipper. Last year, Kohli stepped down as the T20I captain and then he was removed as ODI captain as the selectors wanted just one white-ball captain. Former Australia pacer Brett Lee has said that there are four-five players in the current Indian setup that can potentially lead the senior Test side. Brett Lee's comments come two weeks after Virat Kohli stepped down as India's Test skipper. Last year, Kohli

World number one Ash Barty and defending champion Naomi Osaka could set up a tantalising fourth-round showdown at the Australian Open with victories at Melbourne Park on Friday. Barty, whose stunning form has seen her drop just three games so far, takes on 30th seed Camila Giorgi in the third round, while Osaka faces Amanda Anisimova, who won the Melbourne Summer Set 2 tournament in the lead-up. Barty and Osaka have both won twice against each other but have not met in over

Seven-time champions Egypt clinched a place in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 on Wednesday by defeating neighbours Sudan 1-0, a result which sent five other countries including Ivory Coast through as well Seven-time champions Egypt clinched a place in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 on Wednesday by defeating neighbours Sudan 1-0, a result which sent five other countries including Ivory Coast through as well. Nigeria finished Group D with a third successive win as they beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0, leaving

Bernhard Langer is the winner of the 2020-21 Jack Nicklaus Award as the Champions Tour's Player of the Year. The 64-year-old German posted 24 top-10 finishes, including two wins, en route to winning the Charles Schwab Cup for the sixth time and leading the tour in prize money ($3.25 million) for the eighth time. Langer received Player of the Year honor at Tuesday night's annual awards dinner in Hawaii. "I'm humbled and surprised because our Tour is incredibly competitive, and there are many

India's tennis star Sania Mirza has announced her retirement plans from the professional tennis world. She will bid farewell to her illustrious career at the end of this 2022 tennis season. Sania Mirza was knocked out of the Australian Open 2022 women's doubles events in the first-round match, at Melbourne on Wednesday. She made the announcement about her retirement after her opening-round loss. “I’ve decided this will be my last season. I’m taking it week by week, not sure if I can last

Formula One should not assume Lewis Hamilton will stay in the sport after the hurt of missing a record eighth title in controversial circumstances, according to McLaren boss Zak Brown. Hamilton, 37, has stayed silent since the 2021 season ended in uproar in Abu Dhabi last month, and his Mercedes team have indicated he is waiting to see the governing FIA's response to what went on. "I wouldn’t be shocked if he stopped. So I don’t think anyone should take for granted he’s

A Beijing 2022 official said on Wednesday that any athlete behaviour that is against the Olympic spirit or Chinese rules or laws will be subject to "certain punishment", when asked about the possibility of athlete protests at next month's games. The official, speaking at a virtual briefing hosted by the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said that punshiments could include cancellation of athlete accreditation if their actions are deemed to be against the Olympic charter. Source: Reuters / Reporting by Martin Quin