Sports Highlights

The following are the top sports stories at 2115 hours: SPO-CRI-IPL-TEAMS IPL should sever ties with Chinese sponsors, if not this season, then by 2021: Ness Wadia By Bharat Sharma New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia on Tuesday called for a gradual end to Chinese sponsorship in the Indian Premier League amid escalating tensions between the two countries owing to the violent clash in eastern Ladakh earlier this month. SPO-CRI-VIRUS-LD PAK Six Pak players, including Hafeez, test negative for COVID-19; to join squad in England Lahore, Jun 30 (PTI) Six Pakistani cricketers, who were found to be COVID-19 positive ahead of the team's departure for England last week, have now tested negative for the second time in three days making them eligible to join the squad in the UK.

SPO-CRI-MENON Ball management will be our biggest challenge when cricket resumes: Nitin Menon By Bharat Sharma New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Nitin Menon, the youngest member in the ICC elite panel of umpires, considers the Ashes series as the ultimate challenge but he says the biggest challenge in prevailing circumstances is to ensure that the players, knowingly or unknowingly, don't apply saliva on the ball. SPO-SHOOT-NRAI-CAMP Shooting body hopes to resume camp in mid-August, to review situation on July 15 By Abhishek Hore New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Hoping for a mid-August resumption of camps for its Olympics core group, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) office-bearers will meet on July 15 to review the situation and explore the limited options left with them amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPO-CRI-STOKES-LD CAPTAINCY Stokes to captain England in opening Test as Root takes leave to attend birth of child (Eds: Adding details and ECB statement) London, Jun 30 (PTI) England's World Cup hero Ben Stokes was on Tuesday named captain for the opening Test against West Indies in place of Joe Root, who has taken leave to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. SPO-GOLF-OPEN-WOM Women's Indian Open golf cancelled due to COVID-19 Gurugram, Jun 30 (PTI) The Hero Women's Indian Open golf tournament was on Tuesday cancelled in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPO-RIJIJU-NADA Rijiju launches NADA app to help athletes stay updated on banned substances New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday unveiled National Anti-Doping Agency's first mobile app to provide information about prohibited substances and their inadvertent use, calling the initiative an important step towards dope-free sports. SPO-CRI-SA-TRAINING South African cricketers return to training Johannesburg, Jun 30 (PTI) Led by Quinton de Kock, South Africa's 44 cricketers, who are part of a men's high performance squad, have returned to training amid the COVID-19 pandemic after getting approval from the country's sports ministry.

SPO-CRI-AUS-ZIM Australia-Zimbabwe ODI series postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic Melbourne, Jun 30 (PTI) The One-Day series between Australia and Zimbabwe was on Tuesday postponed by mutual agreement between the two boards due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SPO-CRI-ENG-STOKES My style won't change if given role of captaincy in absence of Root: Stokes London, Jun 30 (PTI) Star all-rounder Ben Stokes says he won't change his playing approach even if he is handed England's captaincy in the absence of regular skipper Joe Root for the Test series-opener against the West Indies.

SPO-CRI-JAYAWARDENE Bowlers now up against better batting units, feels Jayawardene New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene has tremendous respect for the legendary bowlers he faced in his heydays but feels the current lot of pacers and spinners is up against better batting units. SPO-CRI-SRIKKANTH-ROHIT Rohit is one of greatest ever ODI openers: Srikkanth New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Stylish India batsman Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest ever ODI openers, considering his ability to score daddy hundreds, says former captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

SPO-CRI-FINCH Finch in awe of Kohli's consistency across formats Mumbai, Jun 30 (PTI) The weight of expectations in a cricket-mad country like India is huge but Virat Kohli has done an exceptional job leading the side, says Australia's limited overs skipper Aaron Finch. SPO-GOLF-LD ATWAL Atwal to tee up on PGA Tour's Rocket Mortgage Classic this week (Eds: Recasting intro, adding inputs ) Detroit, Jun 30 (PTI) Arjun Atwal will become the first Indian golfer to compete on the restarted US PGA Tour amid the COVID-19 threat when he tees up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Thursday.

SPO-HOCK-VARUN Hockey players getting time at home will be recharged for challenges ahead: drag-flicker Varun Kumar Jalandhar, Jun 30 (PTI) Drag-flicker Varun Kumar believes that the Indian hockey team's one-month break from the sport will help the players recharge their batteries for the challenges ahead, the major one being next year's Tokyo Olympics. SPO-GYM-MAHA Maharashtra body wants gymnastics Centre of Excellence in state Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Jun 30 (PTI) Claiming that gymnasts from the state have done well in the national and international tournaments, the Maharashtra Amateur Gymnastic Association (MAGA) on Tuesday requested the sports ministry to allot a National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) for the sport here.

SPO-CRI-KRUNAL-TRAINING Krunal Pandya resumes outdoor training after 3 months Vadodara, Jun 30 (PTI) Confined within the four walls of his home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, India all-rounder Krunal Pandya on Tuesday resumed outdoor training after more than three months..