Sports
Indian Football Team Coach Igor Stimac’s Contract Extended Until 2026
Stimac, a member of the Croatia side that finished third at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, took charge of the Blue Tigers in 2019 and has won four major titles with the side, including two SAFF Championships.
“The federation, the members have decided to extended the contract of our national team, Igor Stimac, until the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. We have agreed to this, agreed to continue as one team,” AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said during a virtual interaction.
Stimac was seated beside Prabhakaran and Gawli as the top AIFF official made the announcement.
Most recently, Stimac guided the Indian men’s team to the round of 16 at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. It is the first time in 13 years that the team has progressed thus far in the continental showpiece.
“We are seeking to ensure stability in the national team. What we have experienced in the last few months, winning back-to-back tournaments, the performance on the pitch, even in the Kings Cup match against Iraq was great “We can only progress, we can only improve from here. The process cannot be halted in between,” Prabhakaran said.
Stimac was last week offered a fresh deal of two more years as head coach of the senior team with the AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey proposing the contract extension.
“I feel a part of this family. I have huge trust in my staff. I appreciate the AIFF for placing their trust in us. It’s been a busy last three-four days, and we know what is at stake here, we know we need to keep progressing.
“Having stable staff around me is important, it’s important to have great people around,” Stimac said.
Meanwhile the AIFF said the I-League is set to start from October 28 and the fixtures will be released soon.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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KKR Star Venkatesh Iyer, Bought For Rs 23.75 Crore, Pursuing PhD. Puts Education Over Cricket
Venkatesh Iyer was bought for Rs 23.75 crore in IPL 2025 auction© BCCI/Sportzpics
Bought for a whopping price of INR 23.75 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction, Venkatesh Iyer remains as grounded as ever. Despite seeing his IPL salary rising from Rs 20 lakh to over Rs 20 crore in a few years, Venkatesh isn’t letting go of the idea of continuing his education. In fact, in an interview, the Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder revealed that he is already pursuing PhD, having already done an MBA. Venkatesh might be 29 at the moment but he is already thinking of the time when he would be 60.
In an interview with the Indian Express, Venkatesh revealed that the first question he asks a player who comes into the Madhya Pradesh (state domestic team) side is if he is continuing his education or not.
“I come from an orthodox family, so it is tough to convince middle-class parents that I will pursue only cricket. But it was the other way around. I was big on academics. My parents wanted me to do well in the game as well. If a new guy walks into the MP (Madhya Pradesh) team, the first thing I ask him is ‘padhai kar rahe ho ki nahi?’ (are you studying or not?). Education will stay with you till you die, a cricketer cannot play till 60. You have to understand that there is a shelf life,” he said.
Venkatesh, thanks to the values his parents have taught him, feels being educated helps in making the right decision on the field too.
“After that, if you want to really excel in life, you have to be educated. Academics can give me the perfect switch-off from the game. I don’t want to be thinking of the game all the time, it adds pressure. If I can do two things at the same time, I will. Being an educated person helps me make better decisions on the field as well. There will be a situation when it won’t be just about the skill but whether you can make a better decision. I want cricketers to educate themselves not just with cricketing knowledge, but general knowledge as well. If you can complete your graduation or post-graduation, you definitely should. I am pursuing my PhD (finance) now. You will be interviewing me as Dr Venkatesh Iyer next time!,” he asserted.
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“He’s A Mumbai Batter…”: Ex-India Star Backs Rohit Sharma Amid Poor Show
Jatin Paranjape, a former Indian cricketer and national selector, believes despite Rohit Sharma being far from his best in the 10-wicket loss to Australia in Adelaide, he is still confident of the Indian skipper performing better in the remaining three matches of the series. In his return to the number six position in Test cricket after a six-year absence, Rohit could only muster nine runs at Adelaide Oval over the two innings. A continued poor run in Adelaide means Rohit’s average in his last six Tests is only 11.83.
Rohit also faced criticism as captain for not using his bowlers effectively and setting proactive fields. Travis Head’s 140-run knock, headlined by his aggressive square-of-the-wicket scoring, exemplifies this; India’s response was to offer open fields and only bowl four bouncers, despite his known vulnerability to them.
“I know he’s had a really bad run in the last few Test innings. But I think form is temporary, and class is permanent. I have a very, very good feeling about Rohit Sharma coming good, as let’s not forget that he’s a Mumbai batter.
“They are known to kind of win against you when things are hard. I thought he was a bit off-colour in this Test match at Adelaide, but I’m sure that he will bounce back There’s nothing wrong in his batting, but he just needs to get an hour or two under his belt on the field,” said Paranjape to IANS in an exclusive conversation.
He also thinks Rohit should return to being an opener in the third Test in Brisbane, starting on December 14. “Being back in the opener’s slot is something which is a comfort area for him. So I expect him to come back into the top slot to open with Jaiswal and have KL Rahul batting at five. I also thought he was a bit off with his captaincy on the first couple of days and I’m sure he will turn it around in the next three matches to come.”
Paranjape, co-founder of KheloMore and a member of the BCCI Cricket Advisory Committee, praised Australian captain Pat Cummins’ exceptional leadership in the hosts’ victory in Adelaide.
“Over the last three-four years, he’s the best captain in world cricket and he took it upon himself by picking five wickets in the second innings and bowled some pretty unplayable stuff. I did believe that after the first Test match, Cummins will kind of need to lift the Australian team which he did so. I thought he was the standout performer for them in Adelaide.”
As the Border-Gavaskar Trophy heads to Brisbane tied 1-1, Paranjape predicts India will make two bowling changes: swapping Harshit Rana for Akash Deep, and replacing Ravichandran Ashwin with Ravindra Jadeja.
“Bumrah, Akash and Siraj will be a good kind of partnership for this next Test match because the ball will seam in the game at The Gabba. I also feel we might leave Ashwin and play Jadeja because it gives them more space with the bat at number seven or eight. The series is going to be super exciting from now, as it’s going to go down to the wire and I expect India to bounce back.”
Having served on the selection committee for India’s 2-1 Border-Gavaskar triumph in Australia in 2018/19, Paranjape concluded by saying the lack of pink-ball experience impacted India, but he remains unconvinced by the concept of day-night Tests.
‘The pink ball is very difficult to see under lights and the seam of the pink ball is black in colour. On the whole, the seam and theme of the ball is extremely difficult to see. If you’re playing just one or two Test matches a year or maybe just one Test match a year or one Test match every two years, it becomes extremely difficult for any player to play against pink ball.
“But for me I fail to see the point of pink ball cricket, because when you’re playing for the World Test Championship, you need to keep all the rules consistent. But then that’s what the ICC has decided, so I’m sure they have they have more gravitas than me but I think playing the pink ball Tests inherently is hard to see.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Mohammed Siraj Handed Major Punishment By ICC Over Send-Off Row, Travis Head Escapes With…
Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj was fined 20 per cent of his match fee, while Australian batter Travis Head was also “sanctioned” by the ICC for indulging in a heated exchange of words during the just-concluded day-night Test in Adelaide. Siraj and Head were held guilty of breaching the world body’s code of conduct following a disciplinary hearing on Monday. “Siraj has been penalised 20 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel,” the ICC said in a statement.
The cited rule relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon dismissal.” The ICC said Head too was “sanctioned” for breaching Article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.
However, he escaped a fine for breaching the rule that relates to the “abuse of a player, player support personnel, umpire or match referee during an international match.” Siraj and Head also received one demerit point each on their disciplinary records, marking their first offence in the last 24 months.
“Both admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle,” the ICC said.
Head and Siraj had a brief showdown on day two of the match that Australia won by 10 wickets on Sunday. Head had struck a splendid 141-ball knock of 140 before being castled by Siraj, who went on to give him an aggressive send-off following an exchange of words.
The Indian endured booes from the Adelaide crowd following the confrontation.
Head later claimed that he had merely said “well bowled” to Siraj and that he was disappointed at how the visiting bowler had responded. Siraj disputed that claim, asserting that Head had abused him.
“I only celebrated and he abused me and you saw that on TV too. I only celebrated at the start, I didn’t say anything to him,” Siraj told broadcaster ‘Star Sports’.
“What he said in the press conference wasn’t right, it’s a lie that he only said ‘well bowled’ to me. It’s there for everyone to see that that’s not what he said to me.” Head also acknowledged his role in the incident.
“There was no confrontation leading up to him and I felt like it was probably, yeah, a little bit far at the time, and that’s why I am disappointed in the reaction that I gave back,” he said in a post-play press conference.
The two teams are tied 1-1 in the five-match series.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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