The big story: Sourav Ganguly brushes aside calls for becoming next BCCI chief

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly tempered talks about him taking over the Board of Control for Cricket in India by stating that “it’s too early” to speculate on his next move. Ganguly has been talked about as one of the frontrunners to succeed Anurag Thakur as BCCI chief.

Ganguly, who is the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, added that he will implement the recommendations suggested by the Supreme Court-ordered Lodha Committee, “We have got no choice. Nobody has a choice but to implement them. I still have two more years in the position. The recommendations have put a cap of three years for one post,” said Ganguly.

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Cricket

  •   Fali Nariman has declined to act as amicus curiae and suggest names for the post of administrators to govern the Board of Control for Cricket in India as directed by the Supreme Court on Monday. He has been replaced by senior lawyer Anil Divan.  
  •   Australia’s David Warner became only the fifth batsman to score a hundred in the opening session of a Test as he pummeled the Pakistan bowlers in Sydney on Tuesday. Australia ended the day’s play at 365/3 leaving Pakistan miniscule chances of winning the Test match. Warner played a stormy innings to reach his 100 which included 17 boundaries. Australia have already sealed the series with wins in the first two Tests.  
  •   Mumbai Captain Aditya Tare and Abhishek Nayar solid stand along with the lower-middle order chipping in with crucial knocks poweredtheir team past Tamil Nadu’s first-innings total. Once the primary target of 306 was achieved, Mumbai’s lower order took the lead past 100, and left Tamil Nadu in despair.  
  •   Sri Lanka were bowled out for 110 as Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander took four wickets apiece as South Africa dominated proceedings on day two of the second Test at Cape Town.  
  •   Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 73 powered New Zealand to a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first T20 in Napier. Along with Colin de Grandhomme he took his side past 141 with a loss of four wickets.  
  •   Kolkata Knight Riders have named former Indian seamer Laxmipathy Balaji as their new bowling coach for the 2017 IPL. He replaces Wasim Akram, who said “professional commitments and time constraints” had prevented him from being with the team this year.  
  •   All-rounder Mona Meshram lost her spot in India’s 14-member squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup Qualifier matches, which will be played in Colombo from February 3. She was the only player who was dropped from the squad that played West Indies in November last year.  

Football

  • Serie A leaders Juventus have signed Venezuela captain Tomas Rincon from Genoa on a three-and-a-half-year deal. Rincon moves for a fee of 8 million euros (£6.8m), although the fee could rise by another million.   
  •   Germany forward Julian Draxler has joined Paris St-Germain from Wolfsburg on a four-and-a-half-year contract. The French champions confirmed the signing on Tuesday after the two clubs agreed a deal on 24 December for a reported 42 million euros.    
  •   West Ham are appealing against the red card shown to Sofiane Feghouli during Monday’s defeat by Manchester United by referee Mike Dean. Feghouli was sent off for a challenge on defender Phil Jones 15 minutes into a match the Hammers lost 2-0.  
  • West Bengal and Railways have qualified for the third round of the Santosh Trophy in Nagpur. The former is pitted against Orissa and Chattisgarh in group A. In group B, Jharkhand, Railways, Sikkim and Bihar.

Boxing

After former boxing world champion Laishram Sarita Devi decided to turn professional, Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist boxer Pinki Jangra has decide to turn pro as well. However, she has not given up on her amateur career either.

Tennis

  •   The All India Tennis Association axed Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna from the Davis Cup side the association wanted send out a strong message to players against picking and choosing tournaments when representing the national team. Bopanna pulled out of India’s Davis Cup tie against Spain in September 2016 citing injury. On the final day of the tie on September 18, the 36-year old posted a video on Instagram, showing him enjoying a dance with his friends in a bar in Bangalore.    
  •   India’s Yuki Bhambri beat local hero Ramkumar Ramanathan as hewalked into the second round of the ATP Chennai Open with a commanding 6-1 6-1 win on Tuesday. Saketh Myneni, though, went out but put up a spirited display against Russian Mikhail Youzhny, losing 4-6 3-6.  
  •   French Open champion Garbine Muguruza saved a match point before seeing off Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the second round of the Brisbane International on Tuesday. Muguruza won 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7) over Kasatkina, who served for the match at 5-4 in the third set.