VIRAT COMES CLOSE TO SACHIN, SAYS SAQLAIN

SOUTHAMPTON: He has been part of many enthralling duels with Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan’s spin great Saqlain Mushtaq says Virat Kohli is the only current player who “comes close” to matching the standards of his legendary contemporary. “As a batsman, Sachin was a very big player. I cannot compare (two eras) but today Virat is the only one who comes close,” said Saqlain. England’s spin consultant Saqlain said India’s turnaround in the five-match series would largely boil down to how Kohli leads the batting line-up. “We were talking amongst the English support staff about how he played at Trent Bridge. In this third Test alone, Jimmy Anderson beat his outside edge 40 times, and yet he played the next ball with so much confidence. Virat plays ball by ball, run by run and session by session. He has a tremendous hunger for runs and victory. When you have someone hungry like that, he can do anything to satisfy his hunger.”

B’desh cricketer accused of dowry harassment DHAKA: Bangladesh cricketer Mosaddek Hossain Saikat’s wife has accused him of driving her out of their home and torturing her over dowry, a media report said. Mosaddek, 22, who married his cousin Sharmin Samira Usha six years ago, has been included in the Bangladesh squad for the Asia Cup to be held from September 13-28 in the UAE. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Rosina Khan admitted the charges brought by Usha against the middle-order batsman and ordered an inquiry.

Bhuvaneshwar declared fit, to play for India A

BENGALURU: The BCCI on Monday declared pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar fit and said he will be a part of India A squad in the ongoing Quadrangular series. Bhuvaneshwar had aggravated his lower back injury while playing the third India-england ODI match in the UK. He was subsequently ruled out of the India-england Test series.

SC to hear Sreesanth’s plea against life ban

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday decided to hear after eight weeks the appeal of controversial cricketer S Sreesanth challenging a Kerala High Court verdict restoring the life ban imposed on him by apex cricket body BCCI in the wake of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. “Let the appeal be listed for final hearing after eight weeks,” a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said.