Double Olympic-medallist shooter Manu Bhaker and teenage chess world champion D Gukesh received a euphoric round of applause as they walked up to receive the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna from President Droupadi Murmu in a glittering National Sports Awards ceremony in New Delhi on Friday (January 17, 2025). The other two recipients of the country’s highest sporting honour were men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar when the annual honours were bestowed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Harmanpreet was a part of the national sides that won bronze medals in the Tokyo as well as Paris Olympics. Praveen, on the other hand, upgraded his silver at the Japanese capital to a gold last year in Paris. He was born with a short left leg.

vailability for Delhi’s next Ranji Trophy game against Saurashtra. File | Photo Credit: AP Rishabh Pant has confirmed his availability for Delhi’s next Ranji Trophy game against Saurashtra in Rajkot from January 23 to 26. Pant, 27, hasn’t played for Delhi in India’s premier domestic First-Class competition since leading the side in the 2017-18 final against Vidarbha in Indore that the latter won. “Pant is available for the next Ranji game. He will join the Delhi team directly in Rajkot,” Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley told The Hindu on Tuesday night. The news comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) advised top cricketers to participate in the Ranji Trophy following India’s 3-1 loss to Australia in the five-Test series Down Under. Virat Kohli is also among Delhi’s probables for the upcoming fixture, but it is understood that there has been no communication from the star batter yet regarding his availability. The Ranji Trophy is resuming after a two-month gap in which the white-ball tournaments were held.   On Tuesday, Rohit Sharma trained with the Mumbai team ahead of its clash against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy. While it is uncertain if Rohit will play the match, fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has made himself available. Shubman Gill is also available for Punjab, which faces Karnataka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Pant played all five Tests in Australia, scoring 255 runs at an average of 28.33. Having been excluded from India’s five-match T20I series against England, scheduled from January 22 to February 2, the wicketkeeper-batter will look to make an impact for Delhi. After India’s loss in the final Test in Australia, coach Gautam Gambhir urged players to be available for domestic cricket. “I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket,” Gambhir had said. “That is how much importance domestic cricket needs to be given. Not only one game. If they’re available and they have the commitment to play red-ball cricket, everyone should play domestic cricket. As simple as it can get. If you don’t give importance to domestic cricket, you will never get the desired players what you want in Test cricket.”

Novak Djokovic stood with his hands on his hips, listening intently to Andy Murray — his longtime on-court rival and now, stunningly, his coach at the Australian Open — between sets at Rod Laver Arena. Murray pantomimed the swing of a two-handed backhand. Djokovic took it all in, then responded. The scene was remarkable because of the new — and “a little bit strange,” Djokovic said Monday (January 13, 2025) night — relationship between these two stars of their sport, yes, but also because that face-to-face conversation was able to happen at all in the middle of a Grand Slam match. It’s part of a new setup at the three biggest stadiums at Melbourne Park, where the year’s first major tennis tournament is giving up to four people from each player’s entourage a chance to sit in coaches’ boxes that include access to screens with real-time data and are positioned at court level in corners right near the playing surface, instead of up in the stands. “A few times, I did approach Andy, asked him something about whatever it was, whatever shot,” 24-time major champion Djokovic said after his 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round. “He was giving me his feedback, his guidance and opinion.” Coach-player interaction It’s the sort of normal and obvious interaction between coach and athlete that is seen in nearly every team sport, nearly every day, and sometimes even overheard on TV broadcasts. But tennis is different, both because it’s almost always an individual endeavor and because in-match coaching traditionally was completely forbidden on the elite tours. That’s gradually changed in recent years, with various attempts to introduce coaching, which often was done furtively despite rules against it (memorably, Serena Williams was penalised when coach Patrick Mouratoglou was caught signaling during the 2018 U.S. Open final against Naomi Osaka). Is it a good idea? The International Tennis Federation announced last year that coaching is fine everywhere now, which not everyone thinks is a good idea. “That’s something that should be between the two players. Being able to make strategies, how you handle decision-making, coming up with these kind of things under pressure, is just as important as hitting a serve or hitting a forehand,” said Taylor Fritz, the U.S. Open runner-up in September and seeded No. 4 at the Australian Open. “It would be insane if someone could come on the court for you and serve, right? So why can someone tell you what to do?” That debate seems to be settled, though. The new question: Is it a good idea to let coaches be so close to the action, where they potentially can have even more influence on an outcome? “I think it’s fine. My coaches can tell me whatever they want, but if I’m not applying it, it’s not going to happen,” two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka said. “We invest so much money to have coaches to elevate our performance, I don’t see why that shouldn’t be applied.” One thing Djokovic and other players say they appreciate: It’s a lot easier to hear a coach when he or she is seated nearby. When they’re up in the seats near the ticket-buying spectators in the usual arrangement — and a spokesman for the U.S. Tennis Association said Tuesday there are no plans to put something like the Australian Open pods in place for this year’s U.S. Open — it can be difficult to discern anything amid the cacophony. “I like the energy of it. I like to have a little bit of a back-and-forth with my coach. And it gives me an opportunity to either blow off some steam or get some input,” said Yannick Hanfmann, a German ranked in the top 100 who grew accustomed to in-match coaching while playing college tennis at Southern California. “If they feel this is where it’s going to go, and we also might have some content with it for TV, I don’t mind it.” Most athletes seem to be in favor of the setup in Melbourne, even if only those who are assigned to Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena or John Cain Arena get to try it. The other 11 match courts these two weeks don’t have the pods for coaches. “I just knew what I had to do today, so I didn’t feel like I needed the coaching,” said No. 2 Iga Swiatek, a five-time major champion who recently hired Wim Fissette and had him near the court for her first-round win Monday. “But for sure … there are going to be moments when I’m going to use that.” Coco Gauff, the American who won the 2023 U.S. Open, employs two coaches and likes having them nearby. “I’m the type of person, I don’t talk a lot to the coaches, but I do like to get advice,” she said. “I am a fan of it.” Not everyone is taking advantage of the opportunity. No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, seeking a third consecutive title at the Australian Open, won her opening match this week with an empty courtside box. That’s because there wasn’t ample room for everyone on her staff in there. “If you do that, then make more seats. For example, me personally, I like to see the whole team. … Even if I’m not looking at each person in my box, I always look at my coach, but I still see everyone. For me that’s important. Sometimes, I just want to look at my boyfriend for support, for example,” Sabalenka said. “Four seats is not enough,” she said. “If they would make it eight seats — I don’t know how — it would be much better.”

Pat Cummins will captain Australia at the Champions Trophy after being named in a preliminary 15-man squad also featuring fellow quick Josh Hazlewood on Monday (January 13, 2025). Cummins will skip the test series in Sri Lanka in January and early February for personal reasons but will return to Australia’s colours for the one-day international tournament being played in Pakistan and United Arab Emirates from Feb. 19. Hazlewood missed the last two tests in the recent series triumph over India because of calf and side injuries but will reunite with Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the pace attack that has helped Australia to multiple successes over the last decade. There was no place in the squad for opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who has been short of runs, but otherwise the squad had a familiar feel with all but three of the team that won the 50-overs World Cup in 2023 included. All-rounders Matt Short and Aaron Hardie as well as quick bowler Nathan Ellis are the least experienced international players in the squad with less than a dozen ODIs each. “This is a balanced and experienced squad,” head selector George Bailey said in a news release. “It offers a variety of options for touring management depending on opposition and the conditions that may present in Pakistan.” The Champions Trophy, which Australia won in 2006 and 2009, was last played in 2017. The ninth edition of the tournament will run from Feb. 19 to March 9 mostly in Pakistan with only the matches involving India taking place in the UAE for political reasons. Australia have been drawn with Afghanistan, England and South Africa for the opening group stage. Squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.

Bangladesh on Sunday (January 12, 2025) omitted former skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who has been suspended from bowling in international and domestic cricket because of an illegal action, from their Champions Trophy squad. Shakib, who failed a test of his bowling action at the Loughborough University in England last month, also could not procure a positive assessment in a second independent test conducted at the Sri Ramachandra Centre for Sports Science in Chennai recently. The omission from the 15-member Champions Trophy squad could also mark the end of the 37-year-old’s ODI career. The tournament begins on February 19. Shakib, who was retired from Test and T20I formats, was reported for a suspect bowling action during a one-off appearance for Surrey in the County Championship in September. On-field umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and David Millns made the report, which was termed “shocking” by Bangladesh Cricket Board officials. Bangladesh, who will open their Champions Trophy campaign against India in Dubai on February 20, have also left out seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das after his recent modest outings. Das could not make a fifty in his last 13 ODI innings. His last 50-plus score was against India at Pune in October 2023. In fact, the 30-year-old’s last seven innings read: 6, 1, 0, 0, 2, 4, 0. Other than these two big names, all-rounder Afif Hossain, and pacers Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud too failed to get a place in the squad which will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto. Najmul is returning to the side after missing the home ODIs last year against the West Indies due to a hamstring injury. Along with Najmul, experienced Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman and promising top-order batter Towhid Hridoy too have made a comeback. Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan, Nahid Rana.

Following a commanding performance by the youngsters in the opening match, India will eye another clinical display from them to seal the three-match series when they face Ireland in the second women’s ODI in Rajkot on Sunday (January 23, 2025). Despite fielding a relatively inexperienced side, Indian women enjoyed a perfect day in the first ODI, registering a six-wicket win to take a 1-0 series lead. Captain Smriti Mandhana continued her fine form, laying the foundation with a forceful 41, while the efforts of Pratika Rawal and Tejal Hasabnis, who shared a 100-plus partnership to steer the chase, were crucial. Their performances are a big boost for the team, especially with regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur missing from the lineup after she was rested for this series. Pace spearhead Renuka Singh, the highest wicket-taker in the previous series against the West Indies, was also rested for this series. In her absence, young Titas Sadhu stepped up, striking in her first spell. Sayali Satghare also impressed, taking a wicket, while Saima Thakor bowled a tidy 10-over spell. Spinner Priya Mishra had a notable outing with two quick wickets, and vice-captain Deepti Sharma also played her part. Mandhana, who had previously captained India against New Zealand, managed the inexperienced squad in excellent manner, and the management might be pleased with the bench strength ahead of the home ODI World Cup later this year. However, India’s fielding was subpar in the first ODI. They dropped Leah Paul twice, allowing Ireland to recover from a precarious 56 for 4 to go past the 200-run mark. The Indian bowlers will also look to execute their plans in a better way to keep Ireland under 200 and close out the match with much more ease. For Ireland, captain Gaby Lewis played the lead act with a superb 92, but lacked support from the middle order. Paul, benefitting from her chances, also struck a half-century. Ireland will need more intent from other batters to challenge India. The biggest disappointment for Ireland was their bowling attack. Apart from Aimee Maguire, who took three wickets, the rest of the bowlers were expensive and ineffective as India chased down the target with more than 15 overs to spare. Sitting at the bottom of the Women’s Championship table and failing to qualify directly for the World Cup, Ireland will need a complete lift in their performance level to secure their first-ever women’s ODI win against India. Squad (from): India: Smriti Mandhana (C), Deepti Sharma (VC), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Sayali Satghare. Ireland: Gaby Lewis (C), Ava Canning, Christina Coulter Reilly, Alana Dalzell, Laura Delany, Georgina Dempsey, Sarah Forbes, Arlene Kelly, Joanna Loughran, Aimee Maguire, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell.