1. Gayle Equals Yuvraj’s T20 Record with 12-Ball 50
Destructive West Indies batsman Chris Gayle equalled Yuvraj Singh’s Twenty20 record after hitting a 12-ball 50 for Melbourne Renegades in a Big Bash League match against Adelaide Strikers.
Gayle hit as many as seven sixes and two fours during his blistering knock. He was finally dismissed for 56, which came off just 17 deliveries, with a phenomenal strike-rate of 329.41.
The 36-year-old opening batsman’s knock also smashed the Big Bash record for the fastest fifty from 18 balls, which was jointly held by Tim Ludeman and Chris Lynn.
2. Federer: Time to Name Players Suspected of Match Fixing
Roger Federer has heard enough speculation about match-fixing in tennis. If players are suspected of corruption, he wants names.
Federer was responding to reports by BBC and BuzzFeed News published on Monday that tennis authorities have suppressed evidence of match-fixing and overlooked suspected cases involving players ranked in the top 50, including Grand Slam singles and doubles winners.
Roger FedererI would love to hear names. Then at least it’s concrete stuff and you can actually debate about it. Was it the player? Was it the support team? Who was it? Was it before? Was it a doubles player, a singles player? Which Slam? It’s super serious and it’s super important to maintain the integrity of our sport. So how high up does it go? The higher it goes, the more surprised I would be.
3. Djokovic Admits Fixer Offered Him $200,000 To Throw a Tennis Match
World number one Novak Djokovic said a member of his staff was approached about fixing a match early in his career
Novak DjokovicI was not approached directly, I was approached through people that were with my team. Of course, we threw it away right away. The guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly. There was nothing out of it. Unfortunately, there were some, in those times, those days, rumours, some talk, some people were going around. They were dealt with. In the last six, seven years, I haven’t heard anything similar.
In 2007, Djokovic said an approach had been made offering him $200,000 to throw a match at the St Petersburg Open in Russia – a tournament he did not ultimately play in.
4. After Series Defeat, BCCI Backs MS Dhoni
India have already lost the ongoing five-match ODI series to Australia 3-0 with two more matches to go with MS Dhoni’s captaincy coming under the scanner. However, despite the loss and the widespread criticism, the BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur backed the skipper.
“Mahendra Singh Dhoni is India’s most successful captain. Under him we have won two world titles in 2007 and 2011. He has been a consistent captain for last eight years. Just because of one disappointing series (3rd straight ODI series loss since mid-2015), it is unfair to blame him,” the secretary said, firmly backing the skipper.
“Obviously, the team management and the selection committee members are discussing as to what went wrong and what corrective measures need to be taken before the T20 Asia Cup and the World T20,” Thakur added.
5. Bumrah to Replace Injured Shami in T20I Squad
Gujarat medium-pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named as replacement for injured Mohammed Shami in the Twenty20 series against Australia starting 26 January.
The 22-year-old youngster has been in wicket-taking mould for Gujarat, bagging 14 scalps in nine Syed Mushtaq Ali games.
Bumrah will leave for Australia on 22 January along with other T20I team members – Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina and Hardik Pandya, the release added.
6. Dhoni Named Captain of Rising Pune Supergiants in IPL
India’s limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of Rising Pune Supergiants, owned by Sanjiv Goenka, for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.
Unveiling the team logo and captain, team owner Sanjiv Goenka said: “I welcome Dhoni as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants for the 2016 season. He has always been a phenomenal leader for teams that he has represented including the Indian side. His track record in both domestic and International arenas have been remarkable. I firmly believe he will lead our team extremely well on and off the field.”
7. Stinging Observation in Mudgal Report, BCCI has Faith in DDCA
Delhi High Court-appointed observer Justice (Retd) Mukul Mudgal submitted a stinging report on the corruption-hit DDCA but BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur is hopeful that the faction-ridden unit will be able to organise its share of the World T20 matches smoothly.
“Justice Mudgal has submitted his report today. Before World T20, they will host a T20 International against Sri Lanka and we have faith in the DDCA that they will do a good job in organising the matches,” Thakur said on the sidelines of a promotional event before he was apprised about the contents of the report.
The 27-page report submitted by retired Justice Mudgal before a Delhi High Court bench, comprising justices S Muralidhar and Vibhu Bakhru, said the internal audit of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) in its last report had pointed out shortcomings and financial irregularities.