Sports

New Delhi, Feb 8: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's image of holding the World Cup trophy at Wankhede has been immortalised in cricketing folklore but not many know that Indian cricket's poster boy was once a ticket collector at the Kharagpur railway station. Son of a Paan Singh and Devki Devi, Dhoni had humble beginnings and needed a job to sustain his cricketing pursuits, writes author and journalist

Sydney, Feb 8: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday approved fast bowler Mohit Sharma as replacement for the injured Ishant Sharma in India's World Cup squad, after the Event Technical Committee and its medical practitioner found the extent of Ishant's knee injury serious enough to warrant replacement. Ishant, who suffers from a knee injury he sustained during the Boxing Day Test

Adelaide, Feb 7: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said the break after the winless Test and Tri-series campaign Down Under helped the defending champions to "recharge their batteries" going into the cricket World Cup starting February 14. The past few months have been difficult for India with the team failing to win a single international game Down Under. They were beaten 2-0 by Australia

Gurgaon, Feb 7: Just a week ahead of the cricket World Cup, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni yesterday became a father after his wife Sakshi gave birth to a baby girl at a private hospital. The 33-year-old cricketer became a father for the first time after his daughter was born at Fortis Hospital in the evening. The baby weighs 3.7 kgs, according to the doctors. Dhoni is currently busy preparing

New Delhi, Feb 6: India go into the World Cup without the reassuring presence of retired batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar for the first time since 1992, which surely must bring relief to arch-rivals Pakistan. Pakistan have lost all their five World Cup meetings against India and Tendulkar, who featured in all of them, proved a stumbling block on at least four occasions. India and Pakistan face

New Delhi, Feb 6: Former India captain Rahul Dravid feels that Sri Lanka are a "terrific" side and one of the most "well-balanced" units in the Cricket World Cup starting February 14. "It's a terrific squad, it's a really well balanced squad. They've got some really experienced batsmen. They've got the likes of Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Dilshan upfront with that experience with the bat. Even

Dubai, Feb 5: Cricket fans from around the world are rushing to get their tickets and with just nine days before the start of the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, ticket sales is heading for the million mark. The 14 ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 venues around Australia and New Zealand are filling up for what promises to be the most intense competition ever for the silver and gold trophy

Feb 5: South Africa’s hopes of ending a World Cup hoodoo will rest with some of the finest players currently active in the one-day game. Captain AB de Villiers is the top ranked one-day international batsman and will arrive at the tournament after displaying dazzling form in a series against the West Indies, including the fastest one-day international century, made off a scarcely credible 31 balls

New Delhi, Feb 4: India's batting line-up led by Virat Kohli can chase any total on a given day but bowlers need to "stand up and be counted" in order to retain the cricket World Cup, feels ace spinner Harbhajan Singh. "India possess a fabulous batting line-up with Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane forming the core but we would need the likes of Umesh Yadav

Islamabad, Feb 4: Pakistan's former leg-spinner Abdul Qadir has said the outcome of Pakistan-India match will decide their future in the tournament. “It will boost the morale of the winning team and give an additional edge as well. It will surely be a final before the final,” he added. He said the much-anticipated match between the arch-rivals would be the most crucial match of the tournament