BCCI increases hostingand participation fee
New Delhi, Jan 10: The BCCI on Sunday decided to increase the hosting fee of the six state associations staging the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh besides hiking the participation fee of teams from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000. The T20 event that began on Sunday marked start of India’s domestic season which was delayed by months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (PTI)
Depleted West Indies squad arrives in Bangladesh
Dhaka, Jan 10: A 38-member West Indies touring party arrived in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, on Sunday morning. These players will only be allowed to train after two coronavirus tests and three days of isolation in their hotel. The first international side to arrive in Bangladesh since the Covid-19 outbreak, West Indies are scheduled to play three one-day games and two Tests Matches against their hosts. (AP)
Bio-bubble won’t affect performance of players: Azhar
Panaji, Jan 10: The players have shared the tough experience of staying in a bio-bubble but former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin feels that it won’t impact performance of the cricketers. Azharuddin though stressed on enough practice before the matches. A few players had likened the bio-bubble to five-star prisons. The players have complained of physical and mental fatigue by staying in restricted environment. The former Indian captain said that with the current COVID-19 condition, we can predict that bio-bubbles are going to stay here for some more time. (PTI)
Ramkumar, Ankita advance to 2nd round of AO Qualifiers
Melbourne, Jan 10: Indian tennis players Ramkumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina advanced to the second round of the Australian Open Qualifiers after recording wins in their respective singles draws. Ramkumar, who is yet to make a Grand Slam main draw appearance, ousted 10th seed Argentine Facundo Bagnis with a hard-fought 7-6(6) 7-5 victory in one hour and 53 minutes in men’s singles first round. In the women’s singles, Ankita outplayed Hungary’s Reka-Luca Jani 6-2 6-2 in 67 minutes. Sumit Nagal has already been awarded a wild card entry into the men’s singles main draw. (PTI)
Rakshna, Panwar win air rifle events at national trials
New Delhi, Jan 10: Tamil Nadu’s C Kavi Rakshna and Rajasthan’s Divyansh Singh Panwar won the women’s and men’s 10m Air Rifle events respectively at the National Shooting T2 trials here on Sunday. Kavi Rakshna, who has come through the ranks of the junior programme, emerged on top in a quality field which included current world number one Elavenil Valarivan as well as Tokyo Olympics quota holders Apurvi Chandela and Anjum Moudgil, among others. (PTI)
Christian Harrison upsets Garin at Delray Beach
Delray Beach (US), Jan 10: American qualifier Christian Harrison upset top-seeded Cristian Garin of Chile 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the second round at the Delray Beach Open. Harrison, ranked No. 789, squandered three consecutive set points serving at 6-5 in the first set and lost serve, but regrouped to dominate the tiebreaker on Saturday. He swept the final four games of the match to become the second-lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in tournament history. (AP)