Mithali Raj to be conferred with Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award; Dhawan to receive Arjuna Award

India women’s team cricketer Mithali Raj will be conferred with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent some names as recommendations earlier this year and Mithali was one of them.

“We had a detailed discussion and it was decided to send in the names of [Ravichandran] Ashwin and women’s Test and ODI skipper’s for the Khel Ratna. We are recommending Dhawan again for the Arjuna while we will also suggest the names of Rahul and Bumrah for the same," news agency ANI quoted a BCCI source as saying.

The Indian Women skipper, a right-handed batter has featured in 12 Tests, 220 ODIs and 89 T20Is. She has notched up over 600 runs in the longer format while has 7391 runs to her name in the ODIs at an average of over 51, which is the most for any woman cricketer in the history of ODI cricket.

Apart from this, India opener Shikhar Dhawan will be honoured with Arjuna Award. Dhawan has been one of the finest opening batsmen that the Indian team has ever seen. The left-hander played an important role in India’s successful campaign in the Champions Trophy back in 2013 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.

Before Mithali, Indian men cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been conferred the biggest sporting award in the nation.

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T20 World Cup | ENG vs BAN: England continue dominance; etch easy win against Bangladesh

England thoroughly dominated Bangladesh on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi to make it two wins out of the two matches that they have played in the on-going T20 World Cup. Riding on some aggressive batting from Jason Roy, England chased down a target of 125 runs by 8 wickets in just 14.1 overs. Roy along with Jos Buttler gave a steady start to the English team as the two put 39 runs for the first wicket in the fifth over. But Buttler eventually departed for 18 off 18 and Roy was then joined by Dawid Malan in the middle. The two batsmen then chipped in with a partnership of 73 runs for the second wicket before Roy was sent back in the hut for a 38-ball 61. The right-hander was caught by Nasum Ahmed off Shoriful Islam when the team score read 112. Later, Malan and Jonny Bairstow took the team over the line eventually. Earlier, in the day, Bangladesh batsmen failed to leave an impact. After opting to bat first, Bangladesh began the proceedings in a dismal manner as they lost some early wickets and were reduced to 26/3. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah tried to steady the ship as they put 37 runs for the fourth wicket. But Mushfiqur’s dismissal broke the shackles and Bangladesh began to lose wickets at regular intervals. They were soon left tottering at 98/7 and were eventually restricted to 124/9 in 20 overs. Tymal Mills was the pick of the bowlers for England after he returned with figures of 3/27 in 4 overs while Livingstone and Moeen Ali scalped a couple of wickets each. England captain Eoin Morgan hailed the bowlers and said that they have been very disciplined. “The bowlers have been very disciplined and have adapted well. The fielding has been good as well and has backed the bowling as well. It is a huge compliment the way our white ball cricket has come up. We have had players fighting for places. It is crucial for Roy and Dawid to get some time on the wicket. It is great to see him like this,” he said in the post-match presentation. England will now play Australia on Saturday in Dubai while Bangladesh will be up against the West Indies on Friday in Sharjah.

We are going in with some momentum into this clash against Scotland: Gerhard Erasmus

Namibia will commence the Super 12s stage against Scotland and the Gerhard Erasmus-led side will be coming into this game with some momentum after they defeated Netherlands and Ireland in the preliminary round. Talking about the same, captain Erasmus put his weight behind the team and insisted that the side can produce some positive results. “We are going in [with] some nice momentum into this clash tomorrow night. We've played well in the Abu Dhabi stadium as well, and if we can rock up with that energy and positive momentum going into a clash, I believe we can get the better of them,” he said. Scotland on the other side were thrashed by Afghanistan after they suffered a 130-run defeat. The Scotland team was bowled out for 60 while chasing 191 in 20 overs. Erasmus admitted that a team can have a disappointing day at the office and further added that his side will focus on the upcoming fixture more than Scotland’s last encounter. "We all know cricket is quite a rough game, and you can have days like that when another side is really on song and you find the going hard," he said. "So we wouldn't particularly be looking at their performance, we'll firstly focus on ourselves."

Sourav Ganguly to step down as ATK Mohun Bagan Director after RPSG acquire Lucknow IPL franchise

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has decided to step down as Director of football giant ATK Mohun Bagan, one of the two most celebrated Indian football clubs which plate in the Indian Super League. This decision is being taken to avoid a potential conflict-of-interest controversy that might involve Ganguly as he is an office-bearer in the BCCI and courtesy of RPSG Ventures Ltd, the owners of the ATK Mohun Bagan winning the record Rs 7000 crores bid for an Indian Premier League franchise for Lucknow, Ganguly would now come in direct conflict as he is also a shareholder of Mohun Bagan side. Sanjiv Goenka of the RPSG group, the owner of both Mohun Bagan and the new IPL franchise from Lucknow had already confirmed that Ganguly was to step down from his position at Mohun Bangan. "Well, I think he is going to step down from Mohun Bagan completely... I think today. It is for Sourav to make the announcement. I mean, sorry. I think I pre-empted it,” he said in an interview with business news channel CNBC.

Four Mumbai cricketers test positive for Covid-19 ahead of SMAT

Four Mumbai players, Sarfaraz Khan, Prashant Solanki, Shams Mulani and Sairaj Patil have tested positive for Covid-19. The four cricketers were subsequently withdrawn from the Mumbai squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and were sent back home. They were further advised to self-isolate for seven days. The selectors are yet to announce the replacement for the players. "This is the reality of the times. We cannot avoid Covid even after taking the best possible measures. The mandatory RT-PCR test was done a day before and the players were told not to go to the airport if any one of them is positive. But they still went. On seeing the positive report, they were sent back from the airport," a Mumbai Cricket Association official said. "The selectors have been informed and they will pick the replacements,” he added. SMAT 2021-22 is scheduled to begin on November 4 and will be played in Lucknow, Baroda, Delhi, Vijayawada, Haryana and Guwahati. The players have to report a week before as they have to undergo a mandatory five-day pre-tournament quarantine. The Mumbai team which will be led by Ajinkya Rahane is placed in the Elite B Group along with Karnataka, Bengal, Baroda, Chhattisgarh and Services.