Author: TheStateLine

Mumbai, Sep 10 (IANS) Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal hopes the much-anticipated encounter between archrivals India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai goes ahead peacefully, amidst concerns of tensions spilling over on and off the field. The high-voltage Asia Cup match on Sunday comes just four months after a military conflict between the two neighbours — their most serious standoff since the 1999 Kargil war. The conflict followed a terrorist attack on the Indian tourist site of Pahalgam in April, which killed 26 people.Amidst calls for a boycott of the match, the Indian government cleared it under its new policy, which allows participation against Pakistan in multinational tournaments but not bilateral series."Fans must show a big heart," Akmal, who played in seve...

New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) Former world champion Nico Rosberg believes Toto Wolff’s recent public criticism of Kimi Antonelli is a move by the Mercedes CEO and labelled his former boss as a very calculated man. Although he admitted he was surprised by Wolff’s comments, Rosberg believes it is just a move to put pressure on the Italian driver."It's a surprising one, because at the moment, the only choice you really have is to just give Kimi the most time possible in the most calm way possible, and that means also not criticising him publicly."And so this change of tone from Toto for the first time ever… usually there's a reason behind it. Toto is very calculated in his comments. Perhaps he's wanting to put some pressure on Kimi and his family to try a different approach, modify their approach ...

Sydney, Sep 10 (IANS) Star fast-bowling all-rounder Ellyse Perry believes Australia’s ‘huge depth’ across departments will play a key role in the defending champions’ successful defence of the Women’s ODI World Cup title, when the tournament takes place in India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2. "We're really conscious of the fact that we're incredibly fortunate to have some huge depth in our side, both batting and bowling. I think we've made a really conscious shift towards wanting to take the game on from the very start and probably keep our foot down for as long as we can.""Obviously, you've got to adapt to conditions and certain circumstances, but it just feels like there's a real ethos within the group to make sure that we can utilise everyone's talent on the day.”“It's g...