The big story: Indian spinners vie for top spot in one-off Test

Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will tussle for the top spot in the International Cricket Council’s Test bowlers rankings when India take on Bangladesh for the one-off Test in Hyderabad starting on Thursday, reported PTI on Tuesday.

Ashwin currently sits at the top of the table with a slender eight-point lead over Jadeja. The off-spinner reached the summit after India beat New Zealand by a whopping 321 runs in Indore last year. Jadeja outshone his teammate the last time India played a five-day match – the Chennai Test against England – and a repeat of that performance could potentially see the left-armer usurp his teammate.

India, who are the top-ranked Test team will earn only a solitary point if they beat Bangladesh, who are ninth in the table. Skipper Virat Kohli also has chance of closing in on number-one ranked Steve Smith in the batting charts. Kohli is currently 58 points adrift of the Australian captain.

Other top stories:

Cricket:

  • The head of the Lodha Committee, RM Lodha has called for state associations to make revenue from ticket sales and the distribution of complimentary passes public. “Let us remember that complimentary passes reduce the availability of tickets to the public and revenue from their sale,” said Lodha. “It instead goes to friends, government department, and others. A lot of them get these free passes. There is no account of where these go, no disclosures, and facts are not brought to public domain. We all know that complimentary passes are a largesse by the cricket association concerned, given as entitlement to certain sections of society.”
  • Kuldeep Yadav earned his first call-up to the Indian Test team as he replaced injured leg-spinner Amit Mishra for the upcoming one-off Test against Bangladesh.
  • England’s director of cricket Andrew Strauss revealed that England skipper Alastair Cook, who stepped down on Tuesday knew that it was the time top step aside, “I’ve been there myself. You either know if you have got it in you to carry on, or, deep down, you know it’s time to step aside,” Strauss said. 
  • India Women posted a formidable total of 259/4 against Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup qualifiers at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. Devika Vaidya top-scored with a 103-ball 89. Skipper Mithali Raj was unbeaten on 70.
  • A group of former Maharashtra captains have protested against the “legality” of the new managing committee of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. The captains who are a part of the protest are Yajurvindra Singh, Raju Bhalekar, Milind Gunjal, Vijay Shetty, Shantanu Sugwekar and Nilima Barve “Is the AGM not required before such appointments by managing committee,” Singh was quoted as saying in an Indian Express report.

Football:

  • Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann’s image consultant Sebastien Bellencontre has urged his former client to follow in the footsteps of the Frenchman’s role model David Beckham and join Manchester United in the summer. 
  • Former Watford forward Odion Ighalo stated that he would “love” to return to the English Premier League after he completes his spell in China. Ighalo moved to the Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai in the winter transfer window for £20 million. 
  • Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi and winger Ivan Perisic have landed two-match bans for insulting officials during their side’s 0-1 defeat in the Derby d’Italia to league-leaders Juventus. 
  • Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo opined that English Premier League table-toppers Chelsea will not allow star striker Diego Costa to move in the summer. Cerezo also hoped that the 28-year-old would make a return to his old club, “It has been a while since I spoke to him [Costa]. He is at a great club. They [media] say he will go to China, but Chelsea will not allow him to leave,” Cerezo said. 

Tennis:

  • Rafael Nadal stated that he will join Wimbledon champion Andy Murray at the Queen’s Club Championships in June to gear up for the Wimbledon. “I am very happy to be coming back to Queen’s in June. Winning the title in 2008 is a great memory for me and it is the best way for me to be ready for Wimbledon,” said Nadal.

Basketball:

  • Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was penalised for community service for a hit-and-run accident. The 55-year-old drove head-on toward a black BMW, causing the driver to swerve into a dividing wall to avoid a collision with Rodman’s vehicle. 

Rugby:

  • Tributes poured in from the rugby community and beyond for South Africa’s World Cup-winning scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen, who died late on Monday aged 45 after a prolonged battle with motor neurone disease.