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Sachin Tendulkar extends best wishes to Indian athletes for Tokyo Olympics

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has extended his best wishes for the Indian athletes who are going to participate in the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to start on July 22. 

Tendulkar highlighted that athletes have a huge challenge in their hands in the Olympics but expressed confidence that all of them are well and truly ready for the marquee vent.

“All of us have faced challenges, including our athletes, and I know that they are getting geared up to give their best in the Tokyo Olympics. Let's cheer for India,” Tendulkar said in a video message shared by the BCCI.

Earlier, the BCCI had joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in wishing best wishes to the Tokyo-bound group of 119 athletes.

“The BCCI proudly joins the Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi in extending our wholehearted support to the Team India athletes at Tokyo 2020. They have trained hard and are raring to go. Let us get together and Cheer 4 India,” the BCCI had tweeted.

Both the India Men and Women sides have extended their wishes for the athletes. India Men skipper Virat Kohli had urged the fans to watch and support Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics.

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ICC T20 World Cup: Is Mitchell Marsh 2.0 breathing down Steve Smith's neck?

The 1-4 drubbing at the hands of a powerful West Indies side was just the much-needed reality check which Australia needed ahead of the T20 World Cup slated to be played in UAE later this year. While there were several first-choice players who missed out on the tour, Australia was thoroughly outplayed in every department of the game with whatever options were available to them. Despite the batting debacles and the bowlers coming under the pump on most occasions, the positives which Australia can take from this series is definitely the all-round form of Mitchell Marsh. He was by far the best Australian player on display and not only did he justify the faith shown in him by the team management by sending him at No 3, he was also Australia’s best bowler of the series bagging 8. Ahead of the series against the Caribbeans, skipper Aaron Finch had hinted at some tough decisions for the showpiece event later this year. Finch had said that if the fringe players grab the opportunities in the series against West Indies and Bangladesh, it will be difficult to leave them out for the T20 World Cup. Current form and match practice always augur well especially in this format but with Australia's below-par performance in the series, the team management might be forced to bring back their main players for the showpiece event despite showing disappointment at their decision to withdraw from these two tours. Marsh or Smith who will be Australia No 3 in the T20 World Cup? Mitchell Marsh has been always rated very highly as a batsman but before the start of the recently concluded series against West Indies, he never got an opportunity to bat at the top order. However head coach Justin Langer definitely saw traits of a top-order batsman from Marsh and entrusted him with the responsibility of batting at No 3 against West Indies and he didn’t disappoint. Marsh started off with back to back half-centuries in the first two matches and some of his shots oozed class. Regarded as more of a slogger in the death overs in the early part of his career, Marsh showed immense responsibility at a crucial No 3 position and it never seemed that he was batting in this particular position for the first time in his career. Australia’s only victory in the series was largely possible due to a sensational innings of 75 from Marsh. He played very late and never allowed the skilful set of Windies bowlers to get under his skin. What was heartening to see was the way he was planning his innings. He played proper cricketing shots and never looked to slog or do anything uncharacteristic. He understood his role in the team and played it perfectly. Now does Marsh retain his No 3 position when Steve Smith makes himself available? Marsh will get five more matches against Bangladesh to solidify his case for that position. However, given Smith’s experience and ability to play different roles, the team management might be tempted to bring him back. No one in Australia can manipulate the field better than Smith in the middle overs and can also use the long handle to perfection in the death overs. Marcus Stoinis is also expected to return to the Australian squad and where does he fit in the playing XI? David Warner and skipper Aaron Finch in all likelihood will take up the mantle of opening duties in the showpiece event so where will Stoinis bat then? With Marsh and Stoinis being like-for-like players, the middle order woes could come back to haunt the Aussies which makes Smith a good option at No 3. It all boils down to the team management and the skipper and we could witness a broader picture once the series against Bangladesh concludes. If Marsh manages to come up with consistent performances at No 3 again, it will be very difficult for Finch and Langer to demote him down the order. Mitchell Marsh T20I record in different batting positions Position Inns NO 100s 50s HS Runs Avg S/R Catches St 3 5 0 0 0 75 219 43.80 152.08 2 0 4 3 0 0 0 45 85 28.33 118.06 3 0 5 3 0 0 0 19 38 12.67 108.57 0 0 6 9 5 0 0 39* 137 34.25 111.38 2 0 7 5 0 0 0 36 65 13.00 130.00 2 0 The stats here proves that Marsh loved his opportunity to bat at No 3. Not only is his average during the five-match series way better than his career average, his strike rate also looks way superior to his career strike rate. However, just as I mentioned earlier, it will be difficult to demote him down the order if he proves his mettle and consistency at No 3 even during the series against Bangladesh. All-round roles in the Australian team Coming into the five-match T20I series against Australia, Mitchell Marsh needed to come out of the shell and perform. Right from Game 1, Marsh grabbed the opportunity with both hands and made a strong case for himself with the T20 World Cup around the corner. Batting at No 3 is never an easy job especially for someone who has never played at that position before. However, Marsh took it as a challenge and went on to finish the series as the best Australian player by a distance. All through his career so far, Marsh was always treated as someone who can smash the long handle and contribute a few important overs with the ball in hand. However, in the recently concluded series, Marsh’s role changed drastically and he was up for the challenge. Technically he was the best Australian batsman on display as he was hardly troubled by the West Indies bowling line-up. The shot selection in particular was better than any of the Australian batters as he thrived in the opportunity to bat at the top of the order. Mitchell Marsh enjoying his new role Coming into the series, Marsh had never batted at No 3 but the faith shown in him by Justin Langer has reaped rewards for the Australian team and he makes a strong case for himself to book his ticket for the T20 World Cup later this year. Following his match-winning knock in the 4th T20I against the Windies, Marsh relished the opportunity to bat at the top of the order. “It's big having the responsibility of batting in the top three. It was a great partnership with Finch tonight. I thought the new ball came on well tonight, and it was fun to play with freedom, “Marsh had said. Marsh has never managed to seal his place in the national team but coming into the series against the Caribbeans, Marsh was very well prepared and it reflected in his performance all through the series. "I'm certainly loving the opportunity to bat up the top of the order and as we've seen, batting against the new ball is the time to really get after it and the time to get ahead of the game. I'm really enjoying the role but it is purely based – and we speak about it as a team, with the World Cup coming up – on playing a role,” Marsh had said following the conclusion of the series. "I'm 29 now, I've had a lot of experiences both good and bad in international cricket. I came to this tour really well prepared and had a great break. I feel in great physical shape and mentally feeling really good,” Marsh had added.

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Unfair and untrue: Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews hit back at Muttiah Muralitharan

Two of the biggest players among the current crop of Sri Lankan cricketers, Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne have hit back against former Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan for his comment over the contract dispute between players and Sri Lanka Cricket. The duo has written a letter to the great off-spinner and tried to convince him that the dispute over the contract was not only about money and his comment on national television did not reflect true situations. The duo also blamed Muralitharan for what they called “dissatisfaction and hatred” against the team. However, they maintained that they “treasure” their relationship with the off-spinner. The duo reminded Muralitharan that they demanded accountability and transparency from the board over the issue of “player evaluations”. The duo also reminded Muralitharan of the 15-months period in 2011 when Sri Lankan players did play without any payment. The duo also reminded Muralitharan of his association with the Australian side in 2017 when he was signed up as a consultant to assist Aussies on spinning pitches. The letter said that the team respected his decision as “professional” and did not make it a “monetary” issue like the off-spinner has alleged against the players fighting for the contract despite. They urged all the players of the past and the current crop to stand together and extend a helping hand in the hour of tough times for Sri Lankan players. Notably, the SLC and players were at loggerheads for a contract dispute and the board had threatened to field a different side against India if they would not have agreed to sign up the new terms.

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TNPL 2021: A look at full squads & teams

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is set to begin on Monday (July 19, 2021) with the first match to be played between Lyca Kovai Kings and Salem Spartans. All the matches will take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai without any spectators. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 after there was a Covid-19 outburst in the country. Here we take a look at full squads and teams in the tournament. Dindigul Dragons – K Vishal Vaidhya, S Arun, Advaith Sharma, R Suthesh, S Swaminathan, L Vignesh, R Srinivasan, RS Mokit Hariharan, S Lokeshwar, C Hari Nishaanth, C Ashwin, MS Sanjay, V Lakshman, K Mani Bharathy, AR Siva Murugan, Gurjapneet Singh, R Vimal Khumar, Kishan Kumar S, Vigneshwaran S, Ravichandran Ashwin, R Vivek and M Silambarasan. iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans – S Dinesh, S Manigandan, RI Raajkumar, S Mohan Prasath, S Siddharth, S Aravind, Maan K Bafna, P Francis Rokins, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, Aswin Crist A, Tushar Raheja, A Karuppusamy, C Shriram, M Mohammed, Mohammed Ashik N, Affan Khader M, Adithya Giridhar, Saathiyaannaryan L, M Rooban Raj, Mohan Prasath S, Maan K Bafna, R Rajkumar, Natarajan ST, Ashwin Balaji S, and Dinesh Karthik. Chepauk Super Gillies –B Arun, S Vijayakumar, Rajagopal Sathish, R Ram, Arvind, RS Jaganath Srinivas, V Santhana Sekar, Manimaran Siddharth, S Sujay, S Harish Kumar, V Arun Kumar, H Prasidh Akash, *R Sai Kishore, Narayan Jagadeesan, V Sai Prakash, M Kaushik Gandhi, R Alexander, U Sasidev, Sonu Yadav, Rahul D, Sandeep Warrier, Radhakrishnan S Siechem Madurai Panthers –R Mithun, V Gowtham, PS Nirmal Kumar, NS Chaturvedi, P Praveen Kumar, B Anirudh Sita Ram, KB Arun Karthik, R Rohit, R Aushik Srinivas, J Kousik, DT Chandrasekar, V Aaditya, R Silambarasan, M Shahjahan, K Deeban Lingesh, Varun Chakravarthy, J Subramanyam, Rajkumar K, Sughendiran P, Saravanan PK, Aaditya V, Sunil Sam and L Kiran Akash. Ruby Trichy Warriors –B Rahul, Akash Sumra, ME Yazh Arun Mozhi, M Poiyamozhi, Rahil S Shah, S Santosh Shiv, W Antony Dhas, Aditya Ganesh, Nidhish S Rajagopal, R Ganesh, Sumant Jain, Muhammed Adnan Khan, P Saravana Kumar, VP Amith Sathvik, G Hemanth Kumar, K Mukunth, G Karthick Shanmugam, Mathivanan, Karthik R, S Kesav Krishna and Varun Totadri. Salem Spartans –B Praanesh, S Abishiek, Akshay V Srinivasan, Murugan Ashwin, S Boopalan, Daryl S Ferrario, M Ganesh Moorthi, Gopinath KH, TD Lokesh Raj, G Periyasamy, S Shubham Mehta, U Sushil, M Vijay Kumar, Vijay Shankar, Kishoor G, Aarif A, Suganesh M, Abhinav Vishnu, Rathnam AVR, R Karthikeyan and Washington Sundar. Nellai Royal Kings –H Trilok Nag, CH Jitendra Kumar, Sanjay Yadav R, V Athisayaraj Davidson, T Ajith Kumar, M Abhinav, NS Harish, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, S Sharun Kumar, Baba Indrajith, Baba Aparajith, Ashwath Mukunthan, L Suryap Prakash, S Senthil Nathan, Jitendra Kumar CH, Rohit Ram R, Sathraj A, Veeramani T, Sri Neranjan R, Vivek R, Suresh C and Arjun P Murthy. Lyca Kovai Kings- P Shijit Chandran, J Suresh Kumar, J Gowjith Subash, K Vignesh, GR Manish, R Kavin, G Aravindh, V Ganga Sridhar Raju, U Mukilesh, Abhishek Tanwar, MA Atheeq Ur Rahman, N Selva Kumaran, Ashwin Venkataraman, B Sai Sudharsan, Nishanth Kumar Alwar, Shahrukh Khan, Srinivasan E, Thangarasu Natarajan, Kiran Kasshyap, Yudheeswaran V, Anandakumar S and S Ajith Ram