.

The following are the top/expected stories at 1715 hours:

EXPECTED STORIES: *Copy on Rahul Dravid deposition on conflict of interest.

*Report of Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across various venues. *Report of Pro Kabaddi league.

STORIES ON THE WIRE:

SPO-TENDULKAR-OPENING

Had to 'beg and plead' to open innings for India: Tendulkar New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) Batting great Sachin Tendulkar says he had to "beg and plead" to open the innings for India in an ODI against New Zealand in 1994, recalling a major turning point of his career.

SPO-TNCA-3RD LD ELECTIONS

TNCA Elections: Rupa Gurunath elected unopposed, promises "zero tolerance" towards corruption Chennai, Sep 26 (PTI) Rupa Gurunath, daughter of former BCCI chief N Srinivasan, was on Thursday elected unopposed as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), making her the first woman to head a state unit of the Indian Board.

SPO-MITHALI

Shafali can be the opener India are looking for: Mithali Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) India's ODI captain Mithali Raj on Thursday lavished praise on 15-year-old Shafali Verma and said the aggressive opener can serve the women's team for a long time with proper grooming and exposure.

SPO-RAHANE

Test cricket is about mindset and I am sure Rohit will do well as opener: Rahane Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane finds it "hard" to see Rohit Sharma sitting out as he seeks to revive his career in the traditional format in the role of an opener.

SPO-BAD-LD IND

Badminton: Kashyap enters quarters of Korea Open Incheon, Sep 26 (PTI) Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap on Thursday advanced to the Korea Open men's singles quarterfinal after a three-game triumph over Malaysia's Daren Liew here.

SPO-GOLF-IND

Ajeetesh best Indian at Panasonic Open in Japan Kobe (Japan), Sep 26 (PTI) Ajeetesh Sandhu shot a two-under 69 and was the best Indian at tied 22nd in the first round of the Panasonic Open Championship here on Thursday.

SPO-ATH-WORLD-IND

India enter World Athletics Championships with low expectations Doha, Sep 26 (PTI) Medal is too far-fetched a thought and even hopes of making the finals seem barely believable as India enter the World Athletics Championship without two of their biggest stars -- the injured Neeraj Chopra and Hima Das.

SPO-SA-WARMUP

South Africa vs BP XI: Opening day washed out Vizianagaram, Sep 26 (PTI) The opening day of the warm-up game between Board President's XI and the visiting South Africa side was washed out after heavy rain played spoilsport here on Thursday.

SPO-SA-MARKRAM

Certain players might still be carrying baggage of last tour's 0-3 loss: Markram Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh), Sep 26 (PTI) Bracing up for the upcoming Test series against India, South African batsman Aiden Markram has acknowledged that some of his teammates "might still be carrying a bit of baggage" of the 0-3 drubbing they endured in 2015 here.