Bumrah rises to No 2 in T20I rankings
dubai: Indian medium pacer Jasprit Bumrah's impressive show in the just-concluded series against Zimbabwe lifted him to a career-best second spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 International rankings released here on Thursday. Bumrah, who took five wickets in the three T20Is vaulted six places to become India's highest ranked bowler in the shortest format after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slipped four places to seventh following his decision to miss the series. Bumrah now has number-one ranked Samuel Badree firmly within his sights. The West Indies wrist spinner leads Bumrah by 46 points. Bumrah's new ball partner Barinder Sran, who finished the series as the most successful bowler with six wickets, has broken into the rankings in 225th position. Among the batsmen, Mandeep Singh and lokesh Rahul have returned to the rankings in 100th and 102nd positions respectively, while other notable movers are Manish Pandey in 152nd (up by 119 places) and Ambati Rayudu 217th (up by 133 places).
Azarenka withdraws from Wimbledon
london: Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon because of a right knee injury. It was the same knee she hurt at the French Open, forcing her to retire during her first-round match. She hasn't played since. Azarenka, ranked No. 6, was seeded the same for the grass-court Grand Slam starting on Monday. The Belarusian has earned three titles this year, including two of the biggest outside of the majors, Indian Wells and Miami, in March. She beat Serena Williams in the Indian Wells final. At Wimbledon, she has reached the semifinals twice, and quarterfinals twice. Williams stopped her in three of those runs.
Vardy agrees 4 year deal with leicester
lEICESTER: Jamie Vardy agreed to stay with leicester on Thursday to spearhead their English Premier league title defense and their first Champions league campaign. The central England club announced its top scorer agreed to extend his contract by four years, appearing to end Arsenal's hopes of signing the striker. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid says it has extended its contract with France forward Antoine Griezmann until 2021.The one-year extension to Griezmann's current contract was announced by Spanish club on Thursday.
Bindra, Narang miss out on final
Baku: Ace Indian shooters Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang and Kynan Chenai narrowly missed out on medals after qualifying for the finals of their respective events at the ISSF World Cup here. Bindra, India's only individual Olympic gold medallist and Narang, london 2012 bronze winner, reached the eight-man final of the men's 10m air rifle event, while youngster Chenai, who will be embarking upon his first Olympics also reached the six-men trap final. Chenai shot a superb 123 out of 125 to qualify for the finals in second place.
Scholes signs up for Premier Futsal
Mumbai: Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes has signed a deal to play for the next three seasons of Premier Futsal, the world's first-ever multi-national futsal league. Scholes, part of Manchester United's class of 92 — famous golden generation which included stars like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and the Neville Brothers — is widely regarded as one of greatest midfielders of the game.
Agencies