Stokes, Archer in England squad for India Test series

LONDON: England all-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Jofra Archer will return for the four Test series in India next month as ECB named the squad for the first two matches on Thursday.

Batsman Rory Burns also returns to the side after he skipped the Sri Lanka tour to stay at home for the birth of his first child. England’s selectors have decided to rest Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood, who are currently in Sri Lanka while Craig Overton will also return home after the second Test in the island nation.

Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

Amit Pagnis quits as Mumbai coach

MUMBAI: Amit Pagnis quit as Mumbai’s coach on Wednesday after teams disastrous showing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

“I would like to step down from the current position given the team’s performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy,” Pagnis wrote to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Mumbai finished bottom of Group E after losing four of the five matches.

“While I take responsibility for the team’s poor performance, wish to highlight that lack of preparation amidst the pandemic has been a major setback. (The) team barely got any time to prepare and practice together as a team,” he added in the letter.

The MCA will meet next week to review team’s performance and appoint a new coach.

Will win BFI elections with 70% votes: Shelar NEW DELHI: Ashish Shelar on Thursday filed his nomination for the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president’s post and expressed confidence about sweeping the elections on February 3.

Shelar said that he and his team had met virtually every state unit in the run-up to the much-delayed elections and have noted their dissatisfaction with the current functioning of the association headed by Ajay Singh. “We are going to win the

BFI elections by garnering over 70 per cent of the votes,” Shelar said. “The federation itself has been run in an autocratic manner which has been a huge setback for Indian boxing at the grassroots level.”

Sindhu, Sameer sail into quarters; Prannoy loses BANGKOK: PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma entered the quarter-finals of the Thailand Open on Tuesday but HS Prannoy lost.

Sindhu outclassed Malaysia’s world No 92 Kisona Selvaduray 21-10, 21-12. World No 31 Sameer also continued his impressive run, stunning world No 17 Rasmus Gemke 21-12, 21-9. Prannoy competition but lost to Malaysia’s Liew Daren 17-21, 18-21.

Mumbai City to face East Bengal

MUMBAI: Mumbai City FC will look to return to winning ways when they face a much-improved East Bengal outfit in the ISL on Friday.

Mumbai’s four-match win streak was halted by Hyderabad FC in a goalless draw in their previous game. East Bengal haven’t lost in seven games now and will pose a sterner challenge to Sergio Lobera’s men.

In Thursday’s match, substitute David Williams’ stoppagetime goal helped ATK Mohun Bagan to a dramatic 1-0 win over Chennaiyin FC.

Ben Stokes