India open to embrace new sports, says NBA commissioner

NEW DELHI: Basketball is not a popular game in India but US-based National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver feels the country has the space in its sporting culture to “embrace new ideas and new sports”. Silver, who recently begun his second calendar year as commissioner, said basketball is a 21st century sport which can make its presence felt among Indian youngsters in the coming time. “We think basketball is the sport of  the 21st century. It has all the important values of teamwork, discipline, respect which are important for young people. It’s a game that can be played by both boys and girls. It’s a game that doesn’t require a lot of space,” he said. Silver said though they are promoting the game big time in India, the NBA has no plans to hold any exhibition match in the country for now. “We have no plans yet (to hold an exhibition match in India) but Vivek Ranadive, who was born in Mumbai, has told me that when we do play an exhibition match in India, he plans to ensure that his team Sacremento Kings is a part of that,” the NBA commissioner said. (PTI)

Ian Gould becomes 15th umpire to stand in 100 ODIs

SYDNEY: Ian Gould became the 15th umpire to stand in 100 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) when he took the field in the Australia versus Sri Lanka match in World Cup 2015 at Sydney cricket ground on Sunday. On completing 100 ODIs, Gould said in a statement: “I love umpiring and really consider it a great honour to be on the field with the some of the greatest players in the world. Cricket is just such a great game.” He made his international umpiring debut in an ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Oval in June 2006, while he made his Test debut two years later in Bloemfontein in a match between South Africa and Bangladesh. Gould joined the first-class umpires’ panel in England in 2002 and was elevated to the Emirates International Panel of International Cricket Council (ICC) Umpires in 2006. During his playing days, he was a wicket-keeper-batsman for Middlesex, Sussex and England in a career that ran from 1975 to 1996. He kept wickets for England in 18 ODIs in 1983, including seven during the World Cup 1983 in which he scored 66 runs and accounted for 12 batsmen behind wickets. (IANS)

Will never do anything to harm my team or country: Waqar

KARACHI: Pakistan’s under-fire cricket coach Waqar Younis has tried to play down the controversy over the selection of wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, saying he is a patriotic Pakistani and will never do anything to harm the team or the country. “I am a very patriotic Pakistani. I will never do anything to harm my team or country. This is my team, I am all for them. We are going to try to make our people proud of us. We are going to try to do the best things we can do with our knowledge and experience,” said Waqar. (PTI)