Becker goes in for new hips
MIAMI: Andy Murray will not be the only top seed at the Sony Open without a trusted coach by his side as Novak Djokovic said on Thursday that Boris Becker will miss Miami to undergo double hip surgery. “He has surgery of both hips today and tomorrow, so that’s unfortunate. He couldn’t come, he was supposed to come here,” Djokovic said during a pre-tournament news conference. “Basically in the finals of Indian Wells he called us and said that he had an emergency and he has to operate both hips.” Djokovic expects Becker to be back with his team in Monte Carlo next month and otherwise expects no other disruptions to their schedule. While Djokovic and Becker will continue their relationship, defending champion Murray will go it alone in Miami, announcing this week that he had split with Ivan Lendl. Murray, the world number six, offered few clues on Thursday as to why he and Lendl ended their successful partnership but reiterated that it had been a mutual decision. “We sat down Saturday evening. We went and had dinner,” said Murray. “We chatted for an hour about other stuff, and then we chatted about us moving forward,” Murray, who has struggled for form since returning from back surgery, said. “That wasn’t something that happened after Indian Wells. We planned to sit down when I got to Miami to discuss moving forward. It wasn’t going to happen. The best thing to do was just to move on. It’s a tough one for me because he’s been a big part of my life,” Murray said. “He’s been a big part of my team. He made a huge difference to my tennis.” (Reuters)
Involvement with IPL would be on anti-corruption side: ICC CEO
DHAKA: The ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson said, on Friday, that the parent body’s involvement with the Indian Premier League’s matches in Dubai will be limited to strictly providing support on the anti-corruption front as negotiations are on with BCCI in this regard. “Our office is in Dubai, so we have certain facilities which we will make available to the BCCI if they need them. Essentially though, our involvement would be on the anti-corruption side. As we speak, I think the contract between the BCCI and the ICC ACSU is under negotiation. So it is a little bit premature to say if our services are actually going to be used but that’s probably very likely,” Richardson said during a media interaction here. Asked if BCCI pays for ICC’s ACSU unit maintenance, Richardson said, “Yes, they contribute to the costs.” (PTI)
Hope to convince Kumble on DRS: ICC
DHAKA: The BCCI might be adamant in its opposition to the Decision Review System but ICC CEO Dave Richardson says the world body is hopeful of changing the Indian stand by first convincing ICC Cricket Committee chief Anil Kumble about the controversial innovation. “Can Kumble convince the BCCI? First of all, we must convince Mr Kumble. I’m more worried about them taking part in the debate rather than just sitting outside refusing to even talk about it,” the ICC chief executive said during a media interaction here on Friday. “At the moment, Anil Kumble chairs the ICC cricket committee. He’s a member of a working group set up to specifically review DRS and how technology is going to be used in the future. I don’t want to put a time limit on it,” he added. He further added, “How long would it take to convince BCCI? Your guess is as good as mine. All that we need to make sure is that they’re at least privy to the latest information so that they understand the quality of the technology that is available.” (PTI)
BCCI wants IPL players in domestic T20
New Delhi: The BCCI has issued a circular to all its 27 affiliated units asking them to ensure the Indian Premier League-contracted players appear for their domestic teams instead of joining the franchises for IPL preparations. The five zones will organise their respective Twenty20 leagues from March 30-April 5. But, with the IPL set to start in the UAE from April 16, most of the franchises were looking to get the players for preparatory camps. The West Zone league will be played in Mumbai from March 30, Central Zone teams will compete in Nagpur from March 31. North, South and East Zone leagues will start in Chandigarh, Vijayawada and Kolkata respectively from April 1. (PTI)