Demolish unauthorised construction in Chidambaram Stadium: SC
New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that the three stands (I,J,K) of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will not be used for seating spectators during cricket matches as they do not conform to regulations and public safety and their unauthorised parts need to be demolished. “Your starting point was wrong. You are not an average citizen constructing one room or so, you are TNCA. Everything smells and everything stinks,” a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R.V. Ramana told the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association which owns the stadium, formerly called Chepauk Stadium. It asked the TNCA to submit to the Chennai Municipal Corporation its plan for the demolition of unauthorised structure. Directing that the requirements of setbacks must be complied with by carrying out necessary demolitions, the court said that once it is done, the TNCA would inform the CMC and seek inspection. (IANS)
Jayawardena to build grassroot cricket in Sri Lanka
Colombo: Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene is set to take over a role with the country’s cricket administration to develop the infrastructure of the local game at the feeder level. Sports Minister Navin Dissanayake said that Jayawardene, 37, has consented to a futuristic role in restructuring the schools and junior level cricket. Jayawardane, who retired from ODIs after the World Cup, was one of the finest batsmen to come through the highly competitive school cricket set up. He was a brilliant batsman for Nalanda College in Colombo, which has produced so many Sri Lankan internationals, including Sri Lanka’s first Test captain Bandula Warnapura. In the recent years the school system has failed to produce outstanding cricketers to be fed in to the national team. Introduction of T20 cricket at school level is being seen as a major reason. (PTI)
KKR players Neesham and Lynn ruled out of IPL
Kolkata: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be without the services of New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and Australian middle-order bat Chris Lynn for this season in the IPL. Neesham, who was bought at this year’s auction, and Chris Lynn, retained from last year, have both been ruled out based on the injury reports received from their respective boards, a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) release said on Tuesday. KKR have roped in former Pakistan cricketer Azhar Mahmood and former South African spinner Johan Botha as replacements for the injured duo. (IANS)
Neymar wins Samba Gold trophy
Barcelona: Stricker Neymar has been awarded the Samba Gold trophy for being the best player from his country who is based in Europe. Neymar received the trophy on Tuesday and shared a picture of him along with the trophy on his club FC Barcelona’s official website. The striker was handed the trophy presented by French organisation Sambafoot after he received 19 votes, three more than Spanish team Atletico Madrid’s Joao Miranda and Turkish side Galatasaray’s Felipe Melo, who got 16 each in a poll. Defender Thiago Silva had won all three previous editions of the award, and Barcelona’s Dani Alves came second in 2011. This was the seventh edition of an accolade that has been presented since 2008. (IANS)
