Kumble no longer India coach
Former leg-spinner Anil Kumble on Tuesday stepped down from the post of India head coach. The development comes in the wake of his fall-out of his rifts between skipper Virat Kohli and other team members. Kumble did not travel with the team from England to the West Indies for the limited-overs tour starting June 23 and decided to stay back in London to attend the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting. It is reported that he turned down the offer given to him by BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Tuesday, which was Kumble's last day as India head coach. Kumble was appointed coach in June 2016 for a one-year term by the CAC and was instantly successful. Under him, India won Test series against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia. Dodda Ganesh, Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus, Tom Moody and Virender Sehwag had submitted applications for the post of head coach.
India lose to the Netherlands
India fought hard before losing 1-3 against higher-ranked Netherlands to suffer their first defeat in the Hockey World League League Semi-Final in London. All the goals came in the first two quarters of the match with Netherlands scoring through Thierry Brinkman (2nd minute), Sander Baart (12th) and Mirco Pruijser (24th), while Akashdeep Singh sounded the board for India with a brilliant field strike. The loss, however, did not make any impact on India's chances in the tournament as they had already qualified for the quarterfinal before today's encounter as they had registered wins in their first three games. Netherlands topped Pool B with an all-win record from four matches, while India finished second with three wins from four games. India will take on Malaysia on Thursday while Netherlands will face fourth-placed team in Pool A—China—in the quarterfinal on the same day.
ICC may replace CT with two World T20s
The International Cricket Council is mulling over the idea of scrapping the Champions Trophy and hosting two World T20 Cups in the four-year cycle, chief executive David Richardson said. India, who holds the hosting rights for the next Champions Trophy in 2021, were thrashed by Pakistan by 180 runs in the final at The Oval last Sunday. The event received huge response from global audience as millions tuned in to catch the action. However, Richardson said there is no guarantee that there will be another Champions Trophy in 2021 and the issue will be discussed during this week's ICC annual conference at The Oval.
Mourinho accused of tax fraud, Ronaldo to appear before judge
Jose Mourinho was accused by Spanish authorities of failing to pay 3.3 million euro (USD 3.7 million) in taxes at Real Madrid as star player Cristiano Ronaldo was summoned to appear before a judge next month. The 54-year-old Mourinho, who coached Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, was accused of "two offences against the public treasury", the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Prosecutors claim that the Portuguese manager, who took over at Manchester United last year, failed to declare income of 1.6 million euros in 2011 and 1.7 million euros in 2012. Real Madrid star Ronaldo was last week accused of evading 14.7 million euros through offshore companies and will appear before a judge on July 31, judicial sources said. The 32-year-old Portuguese star is facing four charges of fraud through offshore companies between 2011 and 2014.
Adhiban stars in first win for Indian men
Grandmaster B. Adhiban put aside his loss in the previous round and came back roaring to beat Vladislav Kovalev to ensure a 2.5-1.5 victory for India over Belarus in the third round of world teams chess championship in Khanty Mansiysk (Russia). It turned out to be Indian men's first victory following two losses against Poland and China but the way it came promises more for the Indian men. The other three games ended in draws with Vidit Gujarthi not able to press too hard against Sergei Zhigalko, Krishnan Sasikiran signing peace with Kirill Stupak and Parimarjan Negi coming up with the same result against Alexei Fedorov. Poland emerged as the sole leader on six points. The Indian team shares the sixth spot with two points along with Ukraine and Norway. In the women's world team championship, the Indian eves suffered a reversal at the hands of Ukraine and lost by 1.5-2.5 margin.
Dravid set to extend his tenure as India A, U-19 coach
Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid is likely to extend his tenure as the coach of the India A and U-19 sides after the Board of Control for Cricket India's (BCCI) Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) agreed to offer a fresh two-year contract extension to him. The CAC, comprising former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, has said that they don't have a problem with Dravid being given an extension and that it is now up to the BCCI to decide financial aspect. As a result, Dravid will not have to go through an interview process again. However, as per a BCCI source, Dravid will to leave his Indian Premier League (IPL) contract. The development came after Dravid sought clarity about the nature of his contract, following former CoA member Ramachandra Guha accusing him of conflict of interest, questioning as to how no person under contract with an India team, or with the NCA, could be allowed to manage an IPL franchise, too.
Kyrgios suffers injury blow ahead of Wimbledon
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios suffered a major blow ahead of Wimbledon, when he was forced to retire from the first round of the ongoing Aegon Championships at the Queen's Club. The 22-year-old was playing against America's Donald Young when he slipped and fell at the baseline while stretching to make a shot during the ninth game of the first set. Kyrgios, who received a courtside treatment to his hip, decided to continue the match, but was eventually forced to pull out of the Wimbledon warm-up event after losing his first-set tiebreak 7-3 to his American opponent. After recently withdrawing from Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open with a hip injury, the world number 20 had last week declared that he was finally close to full fitness. However, after suffering a fresh injury at the Queen's club, he is now doubtful for the upcoming grass-court Grand Slam tournament, which gets underway on July 3.
