Nadal 'super excited' for Federer return at Laver Cup
Roger Federer has not played competitive tennis in more than a year and, like his legion of fans, Rafa Nadal also cannot wait for the Swiss great to return to action next month.
Cup Sport News
Scott Parker raises World Cup hope for David Brooks after new deal
Bournemouth boss Scott Parker is eager not to put any timescale on David Brooks’ recovery but refused to rule out the Wales international from making the World Cup this winter.
Fringe India players eye Asia Cup as ticket to T20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma said a few days ago that 80-90% of the squad is settled. Even though the trend post Covid is to carry 18 players, including three stand-byes, Rohit was probably talking about the final 15 who will be part of the World Cup team. The Indian team has quite a few T20s scheduled in the next couple of months, starting with the Asia Cup, and it’s the perfect platform for the fringe players to make an impression. If there are no last-minute injuries, the certainties for the World Cup are Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah. That leaves four spots and there are about nine contenders, eight being part of the Asia Cup touring party (including stand-byes). Sanju Samson is not part of the team, but he will come into the discussion later. TOI takes a look at the fringe players who will be looking to make a mark in Asia Cup and stake a claim for the World Cup. TOI looks at fringe players who are eager to make an impact in Asia Cup and make the cut for T20 World Cup.
Asia Cup 2022: Default ‘captain’ Rahul Dravid’s test begins in his absence
With multiple captains this year, head coach had to attend selection meetings, take all tough calls and scramble to put together a settled combination for the Asia Cup in UAE and T20 World Cup in Australia.DUBAI: For a man who emphasizes on ‘process’ more than results, Rahul Dravid’s journey as Team India’s head coach, leading to the T20 World Cup, has been put to test. When he took over from Ravi Shastri after the T20 World Cup debacle, India aimed at playing a specific style of cricket, besides having a stable core for the playing XI. Even as Rohit Sharma assumed all-format captaincy by March, Dravid remained the captain of the ship all through. Unavailability of top players prompted India to field seven captains across formats in the last eight months. For a man who has forever harped on the need for consistency, Dravid’s journey as Team India coach has ironically been a topsy turvy one. Unlike the preceding team management, when then captain Virat Kohli called the shots with Shastri majorly working on executing the plans and managing the players, Dravid has been in the driver’s seat by default. From attending selection meetings to managing the workload of his marquee players, ‘the wall’ of Indian cricket has been enduring the roughest of environments. The results in bilateral T20I cricket point at India’s supremacy in the format. Yet, one can’t dismiss the underlying anxiety over the team composition as the T20 World Cup draws closer. Besides the regular overwhelming hype around the India-Pakistan matches, the Asia Cup here is significant for Team India to finally settle down with a set of players.
Pakistan acknowledges request by Qatar to provide security during FIFA World Cup
Pakistan on Friday tacitly acknowledged about a request by the Qatari government to provide security during the FIFA world cup. Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmed was asked at the weekly briefing about reports that Pakistan has been requested by the Qatari authorities to provide security for the event.
FIFA lifts suspension, India can host U-17 Women’s World Cup
Football Federation (AIFF), paving the country’s return to international football and the hosting of Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup later this year. Fifa had suspended AIFF last week for “undue interference by a third party”, a first for the federation in its 85-year history. As a result of the suspension, the hosting rights of the U-17 Women’s World Cup were set aside. According to a letter from Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura to AIFF’s acting general secretary Sunando Dhar, “The Bureau of the Council decided on 25 August 2022 to lift the suspension of the AIFF with immediate effect.” As a result, Samoura said, a copy of which is with TOI, the U-17 Women’s World Cup, scheduled to take place from October 11 to 30, can be held in India as planned. Fifa has reminded India that it now needs to fulfil more conditions to ensure that AIFF doesn’t get suspended again.
India Were "Outplayed" By "Really Strong" Pakistan In 2021 T20 World Cup: KL Rahul
India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their first Asia Cup match on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium. This will be the first time the two sides meet since Pakistan romped to a 10-wicket win over India at the same venue at the 2021 T20 World Cup. India vice-captain KL Rahul, speaking at a press conference on Friday, said that the defeat to Pakistan last year had hurt the team and admitted that India were "outplayed" in the match.
Watch: Hong Kong Players Dance To 'Kaala Chashma' After Asia Cup Qualification
Hong Kong qualified for Asia Cup 2022 with a comprehensive eight-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates earlier this week. Hong Kong will join seven-time champions India and Pakistan in Group A. They will face India on August 31 and Pakistan on September 2. After the match, the Hong Kong players could be seen dancing to the hit song 'Kala Chashma' from the movie 'Baar Baar Dekho'. Wicketkeeper-batter Zeeshan Ali shared the video, which has gone viral on social media.