The Odisha Express

The medical team of BCCI released an update on the fitness and availability of several star players who were under the injury cloud. Ashwin, who reportedly played the four-Test series against Australia series despite sports hernia, and has been advised 6-8 weeks of rehabilitation, due to which he will miss the entire season. Vijay, on the other hand, requires surgery on his right wrist and will also undergo rehabilitation for his left shoulder, which could effectively rule him out of the entire season as well. With already Virat Kohli set to miss the start of the IPL, the Royal Challengers Bangalore were in for further bad news as KL Rahul, the in-form wicketkeeper-batsman, is set to miss this edition of the tournament to undergo rehabilitation following a probable surgery on his left shoulder. Kohli, the captain of the Bangalore-based franchise, who sustained a shoulder injury in the third of the four-Test series against Australia in Ranchi and subsequently sat out

Ravichandran Ashwin, the Rising Pune Supergiant offspinner, is set to miss the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League after being ruled out for six to eight weeks with a sports hernia injury, it was reported on Friday(March 31). Ashwin, who had the most number of overs in a Test season, having had played non-stop cricket since July, is set to start with rehabilitation soon and regain full fitness in time for India's title defence at the Champions Trophy in June. Ashwin's exclusion doesn't come as a complete surprise, given that he had first picked up the injury right after the England Tests in December. As a result, he also withdrew from the Tamil Nadu squad for the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Karnataka. Across Test series' against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia at home, the offspinner bowled 738.2 overs in 13 Tests and returned a record 82 wickets. Bowling in tandem with Ravindra Jadeja, they finished as the most successful bo

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday sought a report from the Indian ambassador in Poland regarding a media report of an Indian student beaten in Poland’s Poznan city. Swaraj’s comment came in response to a tweet by a netizen who approached her with a news item in Polish media about the death of an Indian student after being beaten. In reply to Swaraj’s tweet, Indian ambassador in Poland Ajay Bisaria said preliminary enquiry suggested that the student survived after being attacked in a Poznan tram on Wednesday, adding that further details were awaited.

The gujarat assembly on Friday passed a bill enhancing punishment for cow slaughter from the present seven-year jail term to life imprisonment. The amendments -- which give Gujarat the harshest law in the country to protect cattle -- include a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh and permanent confiscation of the vehicle used for transportation. The offence is also likely to be made cognizable and non-bailable The issue has been central theme of chief minister Vijay Rupani’s public speeches amid speculation that the party will push for an early state election. “During this auspicious occasion of Chhetri Navratri, the government, on suggestions of several sadhu-sants, has made amendments to the Gujarat Animal Protection (Amendment) Act, 2011. This is the harshest law in the country,” said minister of state for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja. As the move comes months before the assembly election scheduled for November-December, opposition Congress termed it politically motivated. “This is not ou

The last few days have seen a literal tug-of-war between the BCCI's Committee of Administrators (CoA) and office-bearers over who should have the final say in the affairs of the board. In such a scenario, Thursday's IPL Governing Council's meeting came as a surprise as it went ahead in a cordial atmosphere, without any rancour or dissent. Those who had to fall in line with Vinod Rai, chairman of CoA, did so without making much of a fuss. The idea is to make IPL-10 a grand success and ensure the game doesn't suffer at any cost. From signing the venue agreement to logistics and payment issues, both the CoA and office-bearers - including IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly - were on the same page. The staging associations have already been promised financial assistance to meet the expenses for hosting the games. Shukla chaired the meeting and Rai later told TOI: "I have no issue with anyone chairing the meeting. The Governi

Bangladesh pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman has admitted that he is still unsure about participating in IPL 2017. The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer, who will certainly be skipping at least the first leg of the tournament, revealed that he still hasn't received permission from the Bangladesh Cricket Board to play in this year's edition. The 21-year-old played a pivotal role in the Hyderabad franchise winning the title last year. He picked up 17 wickets in 16 games at an economy of 6.9 and finished as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament in his debut season. "I have learnt a lot from the IPL, but I don't think I will be able to make it for the tournament this time around. I am waiting for a permission from the Board," Mustafizur told Sportstar on Thursday (March 30) from Colombo where he is currently playing the One-Day International series against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh have a tight international schedule ahead of them. Their ongoing tour

NEW DELHI: A group of 20 alleged Naxalites attacked an Odisha railway station with explosives early this morning to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit there. Th blasts occurred around 12.15 am on Friday at Doikalu station between Rayagada and Titilagarh station of the East Coast Railway, 450 kms away from the capital Bhubhaneshwar. During the attack on the Doikallu station, the alleged Naxals caused two huge explosions and left behind posters protesting the PM's visit. They also took away walkie-talkies from there. Modi is scheduled to attend the BJP's two-day national executive body meeting in Bhubaneswar next month. The Naxals fixed a small tiffin bomb inside the station master's offce and to the engine of a goods train halted at the station. The train's engine is slightly damaged as are the electronic accessories inside the station master's room. Nobody was injured in the attack, said Ambadola's police.

Already sweating over the fitness of their skipper Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore have been dealt with another major blow ahead of the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League with the prospect of their in-form wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul skipping the upcoming season due to injury. Rahul, who carried a shoulder injury throughout the recently-concluded four-match Test series against Australia, is likely to travel to England next week for a surgery that could effectively rule him out of the entire IPL 2017. Despite the injury, the 24-year-old batsman was India's second highest run-getter in the Test series with 393 runs, behind Cheteshwar Pujara, who had 405. While there is no clarity on how long Rahul would take for full recovery, the Karnataka player and the national side would be hoping he is back in the thick of things by the time the team reunites ahead of the 2017 Champions Trophy in England in June. The limited-overs competition w