Mumbai, May 16 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Friday said that it was the duty of society to felicitate all those who have made the country proud.”We must celebrate those who have made us proud,” said Fadnavis, speaking at the ceremony to unveil stands at the Wankhede Stadium named after former ICC, BCCI, and MCA president Sharad Pawar, former India captain Ajit Wadekar, and recently-retired Test cricketer Rohit Sharma here on Friday.In his speech, Chief Minister Fadnavis promised that the Maharashtra government will consider favorably and provide appropriate land to support if MCA puts up a proposal to build a second Stadium of one lakh capacity in Mumbai. Fadnavis also expressed the hope that such a Stadium could be put in place in four years when the MCA will be celebrating its centenary.As part of the event, the MCA officially unveiled the Sharad Pawar Stand, Rohit Sharma Stand, Ajit Wadekar Stand, and the MCA Office Lounge in memory of the former Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Amol Kale.Kale had become the MCA president after defeating former India and Mumbai cricketer Sandip Patil in the elections held in October 2022. He passed away due to a cardiac arrest while touring the United States for the T20 World Cup in 2024.During his tenure, the MCA had taken some vital decisions, including the move to match the BCCI match fee for all its red-ball players for the upcoming 2024-25 season.The late Ajit Wadekar, who was represented by his family, was India’s first ODI captain and led the nation to historic overseas Test series wins in the West Indies and England in 1971. He played 37 Tests and 2 ODIs between 1966 and 1974 and made his first-class debut in 1958-59.Sharad Pawar has played a key role in the development of Mumbai and Indian cricket as an able administrator. He has also played a big role in the overall development of the sport as President of the ICC, said Fadnavis.In the end, Fadnavis thanked the cricketers and their families, who have played a role in making Wankhede the mecca of Indian cricket.While acknowledging that there may have been a delay on the part of MCA in naming the stand in Wadekar’s name, but added that the move has at least fructified now and thanked the MCA governing body for making it possible.Fadnavis also remembered Wadekar as the captain of the Indian cricket team that won a series in England and the West Indies.He also said that Rohit Sharma deserves the honour that has been bestowed on him as he has led India to victory in two back-to-back ICC tournaments. He also expressed the hope that one day he would see Rohit Sharma hitting a six into the stand named after him.–IANSaaa/bsk/

New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Zimbabwe have drafted fast bowler Tanaka Chivanga into their squad for next week’s one-off Test against England, starting on May 22 at Trent Bridge. Chivanga comes into the side after Trevor Gwandu was ruled out after suffering a left groin strain during a training session in England.Chivanga, 31, made his Test debut against the West Indies in February 2023, returns to the national set-up after recovering from an injury sustained during his second and most recent Test played by Zimbabwe – against Ireland in Belfast last year.Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said Chivanga’s return provides a timely boost to Zimbabwe’s pace bowling options ahead of the much-anticipated Test against Ben Stokes-led England at the iconic venue located in Nottingham.The four-day Test match marks Zimbabwe’s first Test appearance on English soil in over two decades, with the last match having taken place in 2003, which was also the debut game of legendary fast bowler James Anderson.The upcoming Test will also be Zimbabwe’s first international game in any format in England since 2004. Zimbabwe will also be paid a “touring fee” by the hosts’ board, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), marking the first such instance of this happening in the modern-day cricketing world.After the landmark Test match against England, Zimbabwe will also play a four-day encounter against South Africa from June 3-6 at Arundel, with the game serving as vital preparation for the Proteas ahead of facing Australia in the ICC World Test Championship final, set to happen from June 11-15, at Lord’s.Zimbabwe Test squad: Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Tanaka Chivanga, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams–IANSnr/

Mumbai, May 16 (IANS) The Rohit Sharma Stand was unveiled at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attended the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) stand reveal ceremony as the name of one of India’s most dangerous openers was etched in the arena.The Wankhede has been Sharma’s favourite hunting ground ever since he joined the domestic circuit in 2007. While speaking at the event, he expressed immense gratitude to all those involved with the event and admitted the honour is special considering the memories of his time at the arena.”Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has come here to make this event so special. What is going to happen today, I never dreamt of it. As a kid growing up, wanting to play for Mumbai, for India, no one thinks about things like these. For me, it’s like any other sportsman who wants to give their best. Serve the nation, the country, as much as possible. While doing that, you try and achieve a lot of things. A lot of milestones are created, but something like this is really special. Wankhede is such an iconic stadium, there are so many memories here.“For me to have my name amongst the greats of the game and the world’s top political leaders, I cannot express what the feelings are. For that, I am really, really grateful, honoured, and very thankful to all MCA members, and not to forget the Apex Council Member. For me to be honoured while I am playing makes it special. I have retired from two formats, but I am still playing one format. It’ll be a surreal feeling when I come here and play on the 21st against the Delhi Capitals, representing the Mumbai Indians. It’ll be a very special feeling,” said Rohit at the event.Rohit, who recently retired from Test cricket, has been a stalwart of Mumbai cricket and has successfully captained India to successive ICC trophies with the T20 World Cup 2024 and Champions Trophy 2025 triumphs.In the end, the India batter, who is now only representing the nation in the ODI format, said he was looking forward to the day he gets to represent the country at the venue and joked his Mumbai Indians teammates, who were present at the ceremony, were waiting for his speech to get over.“It will even be more special when India plays whichever team here, that’ll make it even more special. To get this honour in front of my mom, dad, my brother and his wife, and my wife. I am so, so grateful for all the people in my life, for all that they have sacrificed. Of course, my team Mumbai Indians, are here, who are waiting for my speech to get over so they can start training,” added Sharma.Rohit’s wife, Ritika Sajdeh, who is often seen travelling with Rohit for tournaments and is known throughout the country as one of his biggest supporters, was visibly emotional at the event.The opening batter has represented India since as early as 2007 and was a part of the side that won the 2007 T20 World Cup. He has represented the nation in 159 T20Is, 273 ODIs, and 67 Test matches. He brought down the curtains on his T20I career after the World Cup victory in Barbados last year.–IANSab/bsk/

New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Mo Bobat, the Director of Cricket in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), said skipper Rajat Patidar has been doing well in recovering from a finger injury and has picked up the bat again, while keeping their fingers crossed on Josh Hazlewood, who is just taking things on a day-by-day basis to heal from a shoulder niggle.RCB are primed to enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 playoffs after securing eight wins in 11 matches, and need just one more win to confirm their spot in the last four stage. RCB will resume their IPL 2025 campaign against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at their home venue, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, on Saturday.“Rajat’s going well. He had an injury to his hand, but he’s been building up ever so slowly. For him personally, probably the disruption gave him a few more days just to get through some of that early healing, and for the swelling to go down, and for him to get used to picking up a bat again. He’s practiced the last few days, and he’s going well.”“With Josh, he’s our only player not here at the moment. He’s recovering from his shoulder niggle that he had. He’s doing that with Cricket Australia. Our medical team and their medical teams have been liaising on what that detail looks like, and he’s just taking that day by day, and he’s trying to improve his shot,” said Bobat in the pre-match press conference on Friday.Before the tournament was suspended for a week due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, RCB had roped in India batter Mayank Agarwal as a replacement for Devdutt Padikkal, whose campaign ended due to a hamstring injury. Padikkal’s absence also means RCB doesn’t have a left-handed batter in the top order, but Bobat didn’t show much concern about it.“My own personal philosophy is that I don’t worry that much about right and left-hand combinations. I know different teams view that differently. I think that since we’ve had the impact player rule and every team has six or seven bowlers, it almost doesn’t matter if you’ve got right and left-handers. It just changes the bowling combination.”“I think in an 11 vs 11 line-up, sometimes having that left-hander in your batting order can mean that you can put one of their bowlers under pressure. I see that less as a thing now. We’ve seen so many times during this competition that a certain bowler type hasn’t bowled their overs because there was a left-hander at the crease, and they just get through fine.”“I don’t focus on that too much. We’re quite clear on our pattern of play and the things that we want to focus on. It’s obviously advantageous to have some left-handers if you’ve got a short boundary one side or something like that, but it’s not a huge area of concern for me.”Saturday’s match could be affected by rain, if the weather forecasts are to go by, and Bobat admitted that it’s been on their mind, as seen from them practising in the afternoon on Friday.“It certainly does influence our preparation. We’ve deliberately practised in the afternoon because we were concerned about rain this evening. Those things you can control. When you get to game day, you can’t control it. You want your players to feel as clear and relaxed as possible.”“You trust them to make decisions in the moment, regardless of what happens. We don’t overthink any of those things. If the game is rain-affected, it’s rain-affected. It’s not something any of us controls, so we don’t really think too much about that, but it might influence our preparation. Hopefully, for the fans and everybody, we get to play our game because all we want to do is play well and put on a bit of a show.”–IANSnr/bsk/

New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Ever since Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) began their practice session on Thursday afternoon ahead of resuming their IPL 2025 campaign against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Virat Kohli has been the cynosure of all eyes in and around the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Come Saturday, and attention on Kohli will increase when he comes out to open the batting for RCB, especially after he announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this week. Mo Bobat, the Director of Cricket at RCB, said it’s been business as usual with Kohli despite calling it quits from Tests, adding that the talismanic batter doesn’t want anymore attention.“First thing to say is, Virat Kohli’s just business as usual. There’s enough of the public and nation’s attention on him, he doesn’t want any more of that. He just wants to get on with business, he is usually ambitious about what we can achieve with RCB. That’s his focus.”“I would like to say though that he should be incredibly proud of what he’s done as a Test player for India. RCB as a franchise, we are all incredibly proud of what every one of our players does in an India shirt, but in particular him. To play 120 plus test matches and to score nearly 10,000 runs is no mean feat,” said Bobat in the pre-match press conference on Friday.Kohli ended his Test career with 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties. Bobat, who previously served in the England men’s set-up, recalled how some of his best Test cricket memories had Kohli as the centre point.“Also, as a captain, his record, 60% win percentage or something like that as captain, again, no mean feat. I can also talk from my previous role as an Englishman working in the English system. He was someone you never wanted to play against. He was always the batter you wanted to get out.”“You knew that if he was either in the pavilion to come or at the crease, you were in trouble. Some of my fondest memories of watching Test cricket involve him. I’ll never forget the 2018 India series in England. The Test at Edgbaston, watching James Anderson and him do battle like two gladiators. I think James Anderson must have bowled nine overs on the trot at him.”“It was two of the best players in the world doing their thing. That’s what he’s about. He’s about those special moments, those inspiring moments. He did that as captain, as a player. We’re all really proud of him,” he elaborated.In IPL 2025, Kohli has made 505 runs in 11 games at an average of 63.13, including seven fifties. “I’m sure the fans will show him lots of love this week when they see him again. But just to go back to where I started, he’s business as usual. We all are. He’s spoken to a few of us about things in the last few weeks, but you know what he’s like. He’s pretty clear-minded, so he’s clear on what he wants to do,” added Bobat.There has been chatter from various RCB fan clubs to wear white jersey chatter while watching Saturday’s match, which stands as a gesture to pay tribute to Kohli’s Test career. Bobat feels irrespective of it happening or not, RCB’s game plan won’t take a hit.“It’s not something we’ve thought about or talked about too much. I’ve certainly noticed that the fans have been talking about that a little bit, but I don’t think it’ll have much of an impact on our play.”–IANSnr/

New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Manchester United stars Harry Maguire, Andre Onana and Diogo Dalot are gearing up for their maiden visit to India, to launch United We Play 2025, the fifth season of its flagship grassroots football initiative.
This is the second time that Apollo Tyres has got current team players to the country, with David De Gea, Anthony Elanga and Donny van de Beek visiting Goa in December 2022.The three Manchester United current team players will be in Mumbai on May 29 to officially launch and kickstart activities for the fifth season of the United We Play programme. During their first visit to India, the footballers will also engage with supporters and fans of the Club.Manchester United’s goalkeeper,Onana, said, “We are looking forward to engaging with everyone in India to launch the new season of United We Play and promote our sport to the next generation of stars. We are also excited to see the fans over there, to thank them for their passionate and loyal support.”Supported by Manchester United, United We Play is a pan-India initiative to support young footballers in India by giving them a platform to showcase their skills with the objective of motivating aspiring footballers to continue playing, by engaging with them, and introducing them to global training methods.Rajesh Dahiya, Vice President, Commercial (India, SAARC and Southeast Asia), Apollo Tyres Ltd said, “The fourth season of United We Play concluded last year with a visit from Manchester United legend Gary Neville, wherein more than 15,000 young footballers from across the country participated. It reached out to 18 cities pan-India and over 100 coaches were engaged through virtual Manchester United Soccer Schools training sessions, ensuring that the teachings and training methods reached every footballer involved in the programme”–IANSaaa/

Bengaluru, May 16 (IANS) “Pretty eventful evening”: That’s how Mo Bobat, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Director of Cricket, offered a firsthand account of the moment the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 came to a screeching halt on May 8 due to the sudden outbreak of military conflict between India and Pakistan.RCB had just completed their practice session in Dharamsala ahead of their scheduled clash with Lucknow Super Giants on May 9. While returning to the hotel on the team bus, players began noticing something strange.“A lot of the guys were watching the Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals game on their phones,” Bobat said. “Suddenly, the floodlights went out, and players left the field. We weren’t too sure what was going on.”It was only after reaching the hotel that the reality began to sink in. Reports and rumours began circulating rapidly — whispers of conflict, security alerts, and the possible suspension of the tournament. “There was a lot of confusion, a lot of chat in the corridors,” Bobat said. “That evening was filled with speculation, and by the next morning, we got confirmation that our match was off and the IPL was being suspended for a period.”At that moment, Bobat admitted there was genuine concern that the season might be over. “Our initial impression was that the competition would be called off for some time. You don’t expect a conflict like that to resolve itself as quickly as it did.”The focus swiftly shifted to ensuring player safety and well-being. “We were quite keen to send the players home because it was a good opportunity for them to take a break. For Indian players, that was relatively simple. For overseas players, Andy [Flower] and I sat them down and asked them what they wanted to do. Most of them said, ‘Look, we’d like to go home during this uncertain period—but we’re committed, and if needed, we’ll come back.”Just five days later, when the BCCI announced that the IPL would resume, the RCB think tank was thrust into action once more. What followed was a frantic 48-hour period of coordination, reassurance, and diplomacy.“We found out Monday evening that the tournament was back on,” Bobat recalled. “Overnight, we started pulling together as much security detail as possible because we had to share that with the players.”The overseas recall operation wasn’t as simple as booking flights. It involved direct engagement with national cricket boards, including the ECB, Cricket Australia, South Africa, and the West Indies, who needed assurance about the security environment their players would be returning to.“I lined up video calls with all our overseas players,” Bobat said. “We walked them through the security protocols, the revised schedule, and how RCB intended to take care of them. That clarity was crucial—we wanted them to feel safe and happy to return.”–IANShs/bsk/

Bengaluru, May 16 (IANS) Professional boxing, The Super Fighter Series, makes a thrilling return to India this Sunday at the iconic Sunburn Union, Bengaluru, featuring the WBA Asia Middle East title fight in the super lightweight division between Indian star Faizan Anwar and Ghana’s Kpakpo Allotey.The 24-year-old Faizan, who hails from Kolkata, is 19-0-0 in professional boxing and has an unbeaten streak of 19 wins. His last fight was in November 2024, which was a win by unanimous decision against Tom Summerbell.Organised by Grassroot Boxing and Crown Boxing Promotions, this third edition follows successful rounds in Bengaluru (Nov 2024) and Bangkok (Feb 2025). The fight night will feature 10 action-packed bouts, including four international matchups and two WBA Asia Middle East title clashes. For the first time in India, the super-fighter bouts bring a fusion of world-class professional boxing to high-energy pub culture, live at Bengaluru’s legendary Sunburn Union.The co-main event will see Ukraine’s Danylo Honcharuk take on Ruslan Kamilov of Dagestan, while the women’s bout between Belarusian sensation Aleksandra Sitnikova and India’s Rani Devi promises to be a fan favourite, according to information provided by the organisers.The event will also feature prominent names like Ritesh Singh Bisht, Kavinder Singh Bisht, Vanlalawmpuia, F Zoramchhana, and rising talents who are residing and have trained in Bengaluru, such as Kamla Roka, Rohit Choudhary, and Harsha Saroha. International stars Ramanthan Mpagi (Uganda) and Ruslan Kamilov (Russia) are also on the fight card.“This is not just an event — it’s a movement to elevate Indian boxing from the grassroots to the global stage,” said Mujtaba Kamal, Founder of Grassroot Boxing and former Indian boxer. Rani Kamal, co-founder of Grassroot Boxing, said that all the arrangements are made and the tickets will be available on BookMyShow.Payam Honari, Founder of Crown Boxing Promotions, added, “India is fast becoming a powerhouse for professional boxing. With Super Fighter Series, we’re building a platform that nurtures champions and unites cultures through sport.”–IANShs/bsk/

Leicester, May 16 (IANS) Jamie Vardy is a player who has had a career like no other. Ahead of his final game at his hunting ground, the King Power Stadium, Leicester City head coach Ruud Van Nistelrooy reflected on the Englishman’s 13-year tenure, which made him the greatest in the club’s history.Vardy is set to play his last match for the Foxes on May 18 against Ipswich Town. “When you see the number of times a player is performing at the highest level, that’s the biggest achievement. When you’ve performed 13 seasons at this level, coming up to 500 games, 200 goals, that says it all. The standards you set yourself, you live your life around football and how you perform.”Then you look at the trophies he has won, the individual achievements. It’s the total package for one of the greatest,” Van Nistelrooy said in the pre-game press conference.Vardy has firmly cemented his place in Leicester City’s history over an incredible 13-year spell with the club. He has netted 199 goals in 499 appearances and was instrumental in their stunning Premier League title win in 2016.The former England striker also lifted the FA Cup, Community Shield, and two Championship titles with the Foxes. Vardy’s final season with Leicester has been a disappointing one, as the club’s relegation has already been confirmed. Under Ruud van Nistelrooy, the team sits 19th in the table with only 18 points.Although a potential fairytale ending could see Vardy score his 200th goal for the club, on his 500th appearance, the Dutch head coach believes the striker would prefer to win the game.”There’s many dates and numbers coming together, but the way I know him, he’ll come in and do his best to try and win the game. That’s what he’ll think about, that’s his aim. If that comes with a goal for him, or an assist, that’s how he’ll think,” he added.Although the game against Ipswich Town is the side’s penultimate game in the top flight, after having been relegated to the EFL Championship for the 2025/26 season- it will be Vardy’s final game for the Foxes as he hopes to go out on a high in front of the Leicester faithful.”It was clear in his announcement that he would leave Leicester and he would play his last game against Ipswich. That’s what we respect,” concluded Van Nistelrooy.–IANSaaa/bc

Charlotte, May 16 (IANS) Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas, who has never finished in the Top-20 at a Major, shot his best score in the PGA Championship with a 7-under 64 that gave him a two-shot lead in a field that has 98 of the world’s Top-100 players. Another player of Indian interest, Akshay Bhatia, carded 1-under 70 to be Tied-29, but Sahith Theegala pulled out the night before the first day as his strained neck continued to affect his movements.The two Indian-Americans, as well as Rai, played in the Tour Championships last year and were in the Top 30 of the world. Bhatia and Theegala are Hero Global Ambassadors.As World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 2-under 69 and World No. 2 Rory McIlroy carded 3-over 74, Indo-British Aaron Rai did well to shoot 4-under 67 and was in a tie for fourth with European Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald, 47, who shot the day’s only bogey-free round of 67. The US Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, shot 68.Defending champion Schauffele wound up with a 72 in his bid to go back-to-back in the PGA Championship.The three-time major champion, Jordan Spieth, looking to win here for the career Grand Slam, had three straight bogeys early on the back nine and shot 76.Rai opened on the tenth with a birdie and added three more in a row from the 14th to the 16th to go 4-under after eight. He bogeyed the 18th, but on his second nine, the front side of the Quail Hollow course, Rai had one birdie on the seventh and parred the rest.Vegas blazed his way with five birdies on his last six holes, ending with an 18-footer on No. 8 and a 25-footer on the ninth for 64 in this Major in three years.Vegas led by two over rookie Ryan Gerard, who was the only other player to reach 7-under until bogeys on his last two holes saw him drop to 66 alongside Cam Davis of Australia.McIlroy didn’t make a birdie over his last 12 holes, and he hit the range soon after the finish.Scheffler and defending PGA champion Xander Schauffele commented on mud balls on tee shots, particularly the 16th, where both had double bogeys.Yet, Scheffler holed two shots from off the green — one for birdie, one for eagle.IANSbc/bsk/