Morne van Wyk recalled to limited-overs squads

Wicketkeeper-batsman Morne van Wyk has been recalled to South Africa's squads for the ODI and Twenty20 international series against New Zealand in August as a replacement for Quinton de Kock.

JP Duminy and Morne Morkel will miss the ODIs because they are going on paternity leave, but they will be available for the T20Is. AB de Villiers returns to the squad after completing his paternity leave, which kept him out of the rain-hit Test series in Bangladesh.

Fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander have been picked in the ODI squad after missing the games in Bangladesh. Legspinner Imran Tahir was included in the ODI team but not the T20 squad because Eddie Leie was given another opportunity following his impressive debut in Bangladesh.

ODI squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Morne van Wyk, David Wiese

T20I squad: Faf du Plessis, Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Morne van Wyk, David Wiese.

No clarity yet over India's long-term support staff

India's coaching staff is in a state of flux ahead of their first challenge of a long and busy season. The team director, Ravi Shastri, will only join the squad in Sri Lanka on August 8 - four days before the first Test, and only after the practice game - once he completes his duties as a television expert for the Ashes broadcaster. His three assistant coaches are reportedly yet to be given their contracts because the BCCI appears to be waiting to take a decision on Shastri's future first.

Shastri, B Arun (bowling coach), R Sridhar (fielding coach) and Sanjay Bangar (batting coach) were promised extensions during India's tour of Bangladesh in June, and were expected to be offered contracts before the team's departure to Zimbabwe later that month. However, it is understood that no contracts have been offered yet.

One of the reasons for the delay is Shastri's perceived lack of commitment. He skipped India's tour to Zimbabwe after seeking prior approval from BCCI, and having signed up as an analyst with Sky Sports, Shastri also missed the preparatory phase for the Sri Lanka tour.

A BCCI source said that part of the reason for Shastri skipping the initial phase of the Sri Lanka tour was due to the revision in itinerary - the schedule was advanced by about ten days, causing a conflict with his commitment to Sky Sports. The BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur have not been critical of Shastri's decisions. Thakur had said last month that Shastri had informed the board about his unavailability for the Zimbabwe tour "well in advance".

However, his absence from the touring party to Sri Lanka has raised doubts about his commitment among some BCCI office bearers. Several board members told ESPNcricinfo that it sent a wrong signal because the man in charge of the Indian team's affairs had substantial media commitments as well.

The situation has neither helped Shastri nor his assistants as long-term appointments. The BCCI hierarchy is understood to be happy to wait for the appointment of a head coach, before giving year-long contracts to assistant coaches. The BCCI is believed to be in touch with a couple of overseas candidates and the cricket advisory committee is likely to interview them in the first week of September.

The last set of assistant coaches India had - Vekhatesh Prasad and Robin Singh - worked through their two-year stint without a long-term contract. They were compensated on a series-by-series basis. The three assistant coaches have been on a similar arrangement since they were roped in midway through India's tour to England last year.

Rahul Dravid Wants Virat Kohli to Take a Cue From Virender Sehwag's 201 in Galle

Chennai: India A coach Rahul Dravid, who spent some quality time with Test captain Virat Kohli advised him to make Virender Sehwag's unbeaten 201 at Galle (in 2008) against a rampaging Ajantha Mendis as a reference frame for facing the Sri Lankan tweakers this time round.

"If you see the way that series (2008) went, Ajantha Mendis was a revelation (he took six wickets in that innings). Mendis was really troubling batsmen. That was the game that Viru bhai actually took him on and whacked him. Couple of days back, I spoke about that innings with Rahul Dravid. He (Dravid) said that is the best innings of Virender Sehwag's in his career," the name Sehwag got the utmost respect out of Kohli's voice.

"That innings personally taught me how to play in Sri Lanka against their spinners in their conditions. I am sure lot of batsmen would want to watch it again throughout the series and take tips as to how we can go about our business," Kohli made it clear why that innings would be a reference frame for all batsmen playing Test cricket in Sri Lanka.

Incidentally, Sehwag scored 201 out of 329 in that Indian innings where eight players failed to get into double digits. "I saw the whole of that innings and the way he (Sehwag) batted even with the lower order still so backing himself throughout. That teaches a lot specially to youngsters who want to cement a place or make a mark in Test cricket. It is all about backing your ability and not changing a game too much from what you used to playing."

Asked about what exactly were the areas where he worked with India A coach Rahul Dravid, the talented Delhi batsman spoke about adjusting to pitches which helps spinners with sweeping being one of the key aspect.

"Sweeping is one aspect that I was always looking to improve on. If you look at our team, Ajinkya plays the shot well, I have seen Rohit play the shot and also Vijay. I thought I might add it into my armoury."

"I played that last in Australia and I figured out that playing on turning wicket is something that you need to have as a batsmen to tackle difficult situations. Dravid helped me from the sidelines that he saw something could have been corrected while playing.

"That was indeed very helpful and he has been very helpful in the past six days and organized whatever sort of practice that I needed. I am really glad that I came here and played that game. All in all it turned out to be a very good preparation."

Chinglensana, Sunil score as India beat France 2-0 in first hockey Test

New Delhi: Riding on goals by Chinglensana Singh and SV Sunil, India defeated France 2-0 in their opening Test match of the two-match series in France on Monday. Chinglensana scored the opening goal to give India the lead while Sunil slotted the second goal to put India in the driver's seat against the hosts. India were leading 2-0 at half-time. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh's made a flurry of brilliant saves in the second half and denied France any chance of scoring. The French players were creating opportunities but Sreejesh and the defenders guarded the post brilliantly for India.

In the first quarter, both the teams attacked aggressively on each other half and tried score the first goal for their team. After series of attacks from both sides, India’s midfielder Chinglensana sneaked into French half and hit the ball in the goal-box to score the first goal of the match in the 18th minute. With this early lead, Indians took control of the match and put French players in tremendous pressure. Indians didn’t allow France to take control of the ball and the opponent struggled in rest of the quarter. After intense tussle from both sides, first quarter ended at 1-0 score in favour of India.

In the second quarter, Indians came on the field with more confidence and maintained their control over the match. Led by captain Sardar Singh, midfielders SK Uthappa, Danish Mujtaba and Devinder Walmiki displayed a high-level hockey skills and kept their team attacking. Forward players SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh kept on charging on the French side and played the ball in their half. After continuous attacks, SV Sunil dribbled past French defenders and sent the ball into the nets for the second goal in the 26th minute. Leading by two goals, Indian continued their domination on the match and maintained the score-card at 2-0 by the end of second quarter. 

In the third quarter, France stepped in with aggression and surprised India with their quick passes. French players were desperately looking for opportunities to score goals and reduce the margin. They attacked on Indian side and tried hard for goal-scoring chances, which brought pressure on Indian side. In few occasions, they came very close to Indian goal-posts but Indian defence-line restricted their attacks. In the last few minutes of the quarter, France earned a penalty corner, which successfully thwarted by India goal-keeper Sreejesh and maintained the score-line at 2-0 by the end of third quarter.

The fourth quarter seen the closely-fought battle as both the teams pushed each others to score more goals. French players played with more aggression and they managed to earn two back-to-back penalty corners. But both were saved by Sreejesh with his brilliant moves. Indians counter attacked on France’s half and tried hard to increase the score-sheet. However, as the match got closed to the final whistle, both the teams challenged each other and fought hard for the ball possession and score more goals. After a neck-to-neck battle, the match finished at 2-0 in favour of India.

India had recently beaten France in the World League Semifinals in Belgium.

India Beat France in First Match on European Hockey Tour

India started their Europe Tour campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory over France at Le Touquet on Monday. Chinglensana Singh and SV Sunil helped India to dominate throughout the match and kept the European team in pressure. France came back strongly after third quarter but they failed to breach Indian defence-line. (Click here for latest hockey stories). In the first quarter, both teams attacked aggressively on each others' half in an attempt to take the lead. After a series of attacks from both sides, India's midfielder Chinglensana Singh sneaked into French half and hit the ball in the goal-box to score the first goal of the match in the 18th minute. With this early lead, India took control of the match and put France under tremendous pressure. India didn't allow France to take control of the ball and the opponent struggled in the rest of the quarter. After an intense tussle from both sides, the first quarter ended at 1-0 score in favour of India.

In the second quarter, Indians came on the field with more confidence and maintained their control over the match. Led by captain Sardar Singh, midfielders SK Uthappa, Danish Mujtaba and Devinder Walmiki displayed a high-level hockey skills and kept their team attacking. Forward players SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh kept on charging on the French side and played the ball in their half. After continuous attacks, SV Sunil dribbled past French defenders for the second goal in the 26th minute. Leading by two goals, Indian continued their domination on the match and maintained the score-card at 2-0 by the end of second quarter.

In the third quarter, France stepped in with aggression and surprised India with their quick passes. The hosts were desperately looking for opportunities to score goals and reduce the margin. They attacked the Indian side and tried hard to make some chances, which brought the tourists under pressure. On a few occasions, they came very close to Indian goal-posts but the defence-line restricted their attacks. In the last few minutes of the quarter, France earned a penalty corner, which was successfully thwarted by India goal-keeper PR Sreejesh and the visitors maintained the score-line at 2-0 by the end of third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw the closely-fought battle as both the teams pushed each other to score more goals. France played with more aggression and they managed to earn two back-to-back penalty corners. But both were saved by Sreejesh with his brilliant moves. India counter attacked on France's half and tried hard to increase the score-sheet. However, as the match got close to the final whistle, both teams challenged each other and fought hard for the ball possession and score more goals. After a neck-to-neck battle, the match finished at 2-0 in favour of India. India will play their second and last match against France on August 5 at Wattigies Sports Centre.

அப்துல் கலாமின் உடலை சொந்த ஊரில் அடக்கம் செய்ய வேண்டும்: குடும்பத்தினர் கோரிக்கை

மறைந்த மாமேதை மேதகு டாக்டர்.அப்துல் கலாமின் உடல் அதிகாலை 5.15 மணிக்கு சிம்லாவின் மேகாலயா மாநிலத்தின் ஷில்லாங்கிலிருந்து கவுகாத்தி கொண்டு வரப்பட்டு, அங்கிருந்து தலைநகர் டெல்லி கொண்டு செல்லப்படவுள்ளது. 

அங்கு அவருக்கு 2 நாட்கள் அஞ்சலி செலுத்தப்படவுள்ளது. முதல் நாள் அரசியல் தலைவர்களும், முக்கிய பிரமுகர்களும், 2-ம் நாள் பொது மக்களும், மாணவர்களும், அஞ்சலி செலுத்த ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளதாக டெல்லி வட்டாரங்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

இந்நிலையில், அப்துல் கலாமின் உடல் அவரது சொந்த ஊரில்தான் அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட வேண்டும் என அவரது குடும்பத்தினர் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளனர்.

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இந்திய தேசமே சோகத்தில் ஆழ்ந்தது: அப்துல் கலாம் மறைவுக்கு மோடி, ஜெயலலிதா உட்பட தலைவர்கள் இரங்கல்

இளைஞர்களின் விடிவெள்ளி அப்துல் கலாம் மறைவுக்கு குடியரசுத் தலைவர் பிரணாப் முகர்ஜி, துணைத் தலைவர் ஹமீது அன்சாரி, பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடி உள்ளிட்ட தலைவர்கள் இரங்கல் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர். மேகாலயா மாநிலம் ஷில்லாங்கில் ஐ.ஐ.எம். கருத்தரங்கில் உரையாற்றிக் கொண்டிருந்த போது திடீரென ஏற்பட்ட மாரடைப்பால் அப்துல் கலாம் காலமானார். அவர் இறந்த செய்தையைக் கேட்டு ஒட்டு மொத்த இந்திய தேசமும் அதிர்ச்சியில் உறைந்துள்ளது.

அவரது மறைவுக்கு இரங்கல் தெரிவித்துள்ள குடியரசு தலைவர் பிரணாப் முகர்ஜி அவரது ஈடு செய்ய முடியாத இழப்பிற்கு தனது ஆழ்ந்த இரங்களைத் தெரிவித்துள்ளார். துணைத் தலைவர் ஹமீது அன்சாரி நாட்டின் அனைத்து பகுதிக்கும் சொந்தக்காரர் கலாம் என்றும், அவர் ஒரு தொழில் நுட்ப ஆளுமைத் திறன் மிக்கவர் என்றும் புகழஞ்சலி செலுத்தியுள்ளார். இதே போன்று தனது ட்விட்டர் பக்கத்தில் இரங்கல் தெரிவித்துள்ள பிரதமர் மோடி இளைஞர்களை வழி நடத்திய சகாப்தம் ஓய்ந்து விட்டதாக தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

உள்துறை அமைச்சர் சிங் ராஜ்நாத் சிங் தனது இரங்கல் செய்தியில், கலாம் காலமானது மிகவும் துக்கமான செய்தியென்றும், அவர் அனைவருக்கும் முன்மாதிரியாக இருந்தவர் எனவும் கூறியுள்ளார். அவரது மறைவு ஈடு செய்ய முடியாத இழப்பு எனவும் ராஜ்நாத் கூறியுள்ளார்.

இதே போன்று மத்திய மந்திரி நிதின் கட்காரி, தமிழக முதலமைச்சர் ஜெயலலிதா உட்பட பல்வேறு அரசியல் தலைவர்கள் கட்சிகளைக் கடந்து அப்துல் கலாம் மறைவுக்கு இரங்கல் தெரிவித்து வருகின்றனர்.

ஏ.ஆர் ரஹ்மான் உட்பட பாலிவுட் திரையுலகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த பல்வேறு தரப்பினரும், சமூக வலைதளங்களில் அப்துல் கலாம் மறைவுக்கு இரங்கல் தெரிவித்து, அவருக்கு அஞ்சலி செலுத்தி வருகின்றனர்.

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