Sports Highlights

SPO-CRI-RANKINGS Malan displaces Azam from top spot Dubai, Sep 9 (PTI) England batsman Dawid Malan has replaced Pakistan's Babar Azam at the top of the ICC player rankings for T20I batsmen after a fruitful home series against Australia. SPO-CRI-JHULAN Full-fledged women's IPL will be great for India, says Jhulan New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Veteran India seamer Jhulan Goswami feels the introduction of a full-fledged women's IPL will be a great thing for the country, the game and its young players.

The following are the top stories at 2110 hours: SPO-CRI-RACISM-RHODES Racism still part of ecosystem, South African cricket administration in chaos: Rhodes (Eds: A PTI EXCLUSIVE) By Bharat Sharma New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Jonty Rhodes strongly believes that the long-standing administrative crisis in South African cricket is responsible for the national team's inconsistency and acknowledged that "racial inequality" remains a part of the country's ecosystem. SPO-CRI-YUVRAJ-LD COMEBACK Yuvraj decides to come out of retirement, writes to BCCI (Eds: Adding a detail) New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) World Cup-winning former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has decided to come out of retirement, giving in to a request from the Punjab Cricket Association more than a year after he called it quits. SPO-SHOOT-RIJIJU Ammunition will be delivered at your doorstep: Rijiju tells shooters New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Indian shooters will be able to train without having to travel away from their home ranges amid the COVID-19 pandemic as Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said ammunition will be made available to them at their doorstep.

SPO-CRI-IPL-LD GANGULY Ganguly lands in Dubai to take stock of IPL preparations (Eds: Updating, changing dateline) Dubai, Sep 9 (PTI) BCCI president Sourav Ganguly landed here on Wednesday to oversee preparations for a bio-secure IPL beginning on September 19. SPO-FOOT-U17-WOM-CAMP Women's U-17 World Cup football camp in Jharkhand from October 15 By Abhishek Hore New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das on Wednesday said that the camp for the U-17 Women's World Cup team will start from October 15 in Jharkhand, whose eagerness to host the players surpassed other states.

SPO-BOX-VIKAS Vikas Krishan gets SAI nod to train in US New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) Olympic-bound boxer Vikas Krishan has got the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) approval to train in the USA, where he also plans to resume his career in the professional circuit. SPO-CRI-CPL Knight Riders to face Zouks in Hero CPL final Tarouba, Sep 9 (PTI) Trinbago Knight Riders and St. Lucia Zouks registered dominant wins in their respective semifinals to qualify for the Hero Caribbean Premier League final here.

SPO-CRI-ECB-WATMORE COVID-19 pandemic would leave global game in crisis if it disrupts 2021 season: Watmore London, Sep 9 (PTI) New ECB chairman Ian Watmore feels the COVID-19 pandemic would leave the board with "very severe cash constraints and a global game in crisis" if it continues to rage on and disrupts the next domestic season. SPO-CRI-MALAN-KOHLI Nowhere near guys like Kohli: Dawid Malan Southampton, Sep 9 (PTI) England batsman Dawid Malan is not a sure starter despite averaging close to 50 in T20Is and says he can only be compared to guys like Virat Kohli if he played at least 50 games.

SPO-MINISTER-NDTL-WADA NDTL is now fully WADA compliant, request you to lift suspension: Rijiju New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Claiming that the National Dope Testing Laboratory is now "fully WADA-compliant", Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has requested the global anti-doping agency to lift its suspension on NDTL, which was punished for non-conformity with international standards. SPO-CRI-RAFIQ-RACISM Ex England U-19 captain Rafiq says he has no confidence in investigation by Yorkshire county Karachi, Sep 9 (PTI) Former England Under-19 captain Azeem Rafiq, who had made claims about institutionalised racism against South Asian players at Yorkshire cricket county, says he has no confidence in the investigation announced by the club.

SPO-GOLF-SHARMA Sharma seeks redemption at Portugal Masters Vilamoura (Portugal), Sep 9 (PTI) Going through one of the worst patches of his career, Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma will look for redemption this week when he tees up at the Portugal Masters here on Thursday. SPO-GOLF-WOM-IND Determined Diksha and in-form Tvesa ready for Swiss Challenge Holzhausern (Switzerland), Sept 9 (PTI) Tvesa Malik, who recorded her career-best result last week, will look to continue the good form, while Diksha Dagar is determined to turn around her fortunes this week as the Indian duo tee up at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open here on Thursday.

SPO-GOLF-LAHIRI Lahiri excited about new season; set to tee off at Safeway Championship Napa (US), Sep 9 (PTI) Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri will look to regain momentum as he embarks on his sixth season at the PGA Tour, teeing up at the Safeway Championship here on Thursday. SPO-CRI-RANKINGS Malan displaces Azam from top spot Dubai, Sep 9 (PTI) England batsman Dawid Malan has replaced Pakistan's Babar Azam at the top of the ICC player rankings for T20I batsmen after a fruitful home series against Australia.

SPO-CRI-JHULAN Full-fledged women's IPL will be great for India, says Jhulan New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Veteran India seamer Jhulan Goswami feels the introduction of a full-fledged women's IPL will be a great thing for the country, the game and its young players. SPO-CRI-SLC-T10 SLC to launch inaugural T10 tournament in December Colombo, Sep 9 (PTI) With the inaugural Lanka Premier League scheduled to be held in November, the country's cricket board (SLC) is now planning to launch a T10 tournament in December.

SPO-CRI-RACISM-CHRISTIAN Racism in Australian cricket is not in your face but it is definitely there: Dan Christian Melbourne, Sep 9 (PTI) Racism in Australian cricket is "not in your face but it is definitely there", says former all-rounder Dan Christian as he opened up on the raging issue..