Time To Move On?

The football transfer market has been abuzz with some exciting but HIGHLY SPECULATIVE moves of late. Here’s a pick of the most interesting, but yet-to-be confirmed moves, involving some of the biggest names in the footballing world.

Sevens - The Passion Of Malappuram

Sevens football KEEPS THE BEAUTIFUL GAME ALIVE IN KERALA. It also helps players of varying skills make a living.

Ushering In A New Era

Ultimate Table Tennis’ mission to be a ‘world class league that inspires the youth, entertains and ENGAGES FANS, drives development at grassroots level and delivers value to all the stakeholders’ is certainly achievable.

A Tale Of The Tail!

It’s a dead-heat between Adam Gilchrist and Kapil Dev as to who was the best lower order batsman ever. And I haven’t chosen these two names as a cop-out solution. They were SIMPLY TOO GOOD, actualising their potential and setting a threshold by which future generations of players too would be judged.

Goal No. 600 For Messi

Lionel Messi’s strike from a free­kick helped Barcelona to a 1­0 win over second­placed Atletico Madrid.

A Dash Of Tiger In Virat

A few years back, I had said that Virat Kohli will bring a more dashing edge to the captaincy like Tiger Pataudi did in the 1960s. At that time it was not known that he was dating a film star like Tiger did, but it was simply the way he carried himself on the field.

‘Keep It Simple'

The year was 2013. Karnataka was playing Delhi in a Ranji Trophy game at the Feroze Shah Kotla and I had just started my career.

One Had A Blister, The Other Was Simply Blistering!

Roger Federer uses every weapon in his vast arsenal to EXPLOIT EVERY WEAKNESS of his younger opponents. “It is cruel sometimes,” the 35-year-old Swiss noted in his Centre Court interview after punishing Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in a disappointing Wimbledon final. Federer was referring to the foot blister that hampered the 28-year-old Croat.

Willing Her Way Past A Williams!

Garbine Muguruza made history as the first player to beat both Serena and Venus Williams, her girlhood role models, in Grand Slam finals. With just four overall titles, two of which are majors, the AMBITIOUS SPANIARD REMAINS mystifying inconsistent. Will her boom-and-bust cycles return, or will she reign in the post-Serena era? And, whatever happens, don’t count the venerable Venus Williams out, too.

A Struggle At SW19

A bunch of four Indian kids —Zeel Desai, Mahak Jain, Mihika Yadav and Siddhant Banthia — SHOWED THAT SUCCESS is hard to come by, even in doubles, at SW19.

Adding Another Hue To The Rainbow?

Apart from reinforcing his DEIFIED STATUS by comparing him to Lord Krishna in the Hindu mythology, it is hard to note what new fact or perspective Devendra Prabhudesai has come up with, in Hero, his biography of Sachin Tendulkar.

My Satisfaction Stems From How Much I Can Torment The Batsmen

“Unfortunately or fortunately most team captains have been batsmen and when it comes to leading the side and taking a decision everything is based on what he feels and thinks is easy or difficult for him. That’s always been a BANE FOR A BOWLER,” says Ravichandran Ashwin in a free-wheeling chat with G. VISWANATH.

Indian Women's Spirited Show And The Unsporting Aussies

Despite the loss in the final, the performance of the Indian women’s team has made everybody SIT UP and take notice. In almost every match there has been some player or the other who has put her hand up and taken the team home.

The Transfer Market Absurdity

I’m working hard on my vocabulary for this one,but I’m stuck with absurd,outlandish, ridiculous and bizarre. The European football transfer market is all this and more. And it’s come to a point where I don’t know what to make out of it any more!

Pakistan: From Outsider To Champion

Pakistan put behind the caning it received against India in Edgbaston. And on June 18, it left The Oval with the ICC Champions Trophy after posting a stunning victory over India, a result even the most ardent of Pakistan supporters would not have predicted at the start of the tournament. It was a triumph of talent, persistence and belief.

Surprises In The English Summer Of 2017

There seems to be a fundamental shift in the game itself irrespective of the format. Well, that’s the beauty of this glorious game, its dynamic nature and the ability to keep moving the goal-post.

The Brabourne Classic Of 1949 And After

The book, which takes the readers on a time travel, IS ENGAGING

Five Or Three? The Davis Cup Mindset!

The proposed reduction of singles matches in the Davis Cup to the best of three sets, from five, has stirred debates all over the tennis world. It was FASCINATING TO ASSESS the pros and cons through the minds of some of the India’s best tennis players.

Shoring Up Their Defences

Defenders and goalkeepers are being bought at a premium as clubs look to BOLSTER THEIR SQUADS AHEAD of the new season.

no messing with ronaldo now!

real madrid’s cristiano ronaldo has forever been the petulant star, overshadowed by archrival barcelona’s lionel messi, despite his many on- and off-field achievements. the portuguese international, however, had a dream 2016, winning a plethora of personal accolades, to perhaps finally edge ahead in this great debate of who is the game’s outstanding superstar.

finding his feet in the english isles

for united’s zlatan ibrahimovic, eight goals in 17 matches across all competitions is a startling decline from his 50 goals in 56 fixtures for paris saint-germain last season. it’s all the more worrisome when viewed against fellow 2016/17 premier league forwards like diego costa (12 in 16), sergio aguero (14 in 15) and romelu lukaku (10 in 13).

Where Fantasy Is Reality

At United London FC, the position of a traditional coach is unnecessary. Instead, the line-up is SELECTED BY THE TEAM’S FANS each week. Formed this year and currently playing in the Essex Alliance Premier League — the 12th tier of England’s competitive football pyramid — United London FC claims to be the world’s only manager-less club.

Surmounting Human Limitations

The challenges that the athletes had to overcome at the Paralympics in Rio were tremendous. YET, THEY WERE VERY INSPIRING.

It's Time To Batten Down The Hatches

The current generation of youngsters has an unbelievable appetite to consume football. And the interest to play the game among those in their early teens has never been this high. In fact, in the AFC Under-16 Championship recently, the Indian team gave a rather good account of itself and showed what even a half-decent structure can help achieve. FLASH-IN-THE-PLAN glamour does give a head start, but what follows that will shape the future and it’s high time India realises this,

Ravichandran Ashwin: Getting Big Breaks With The Off-break!

Ravichandran Ashwin’s career is 38 Tests old, and despite a later start than most spinners (who tend to begin in their teens, Ashwin played his first Test at 25), is still closer to the start of his career than perhaps even the midpoint. Any assessment of his qualifications to be included in that exclusive class known as the “greats,” must acknowledge this. 

This, That and Everything!

Ravindra Jadeja has the profile of an ALLROUNDER. He has the ability to pick wickets regularly, can bat more than usefully and qualifies to be among the world’s best fielders.

Ashwin Rising

India had been waiting for a reliable all-rounder for a long time and Ravichandran Ashwin has now shown that he is not only a match-winner with the ball but can be a GAME-CHANGER with the bat as well.

A Philosophical View Of The No 1 Test Ranking

There has been only a muted reaction to India’s return to No.1 on the ICC’s Test rankings, after victory over New Zealand in the second Test in Kolkata. There is, it is fair to say, a general lack of enthusiasm around the rankings themselves and nobody is particularly thrilled.

Reliving India's 500 Tests

A commemorative edition celebrating India’s 500 Test appearances, has been published by SPORTSTAR AND THE HINDU. This rare book of cricket history, a compendium of facts, is a compelling collector’s item.

A Simple, Graceful Cover Drive

THINGS ARE CHANGING all the time and the new generation of top international batsmen are more unorthodox than the majority of the players of my era.