Kohli touches career-high 911 points, Kuldeep Yadav in top-10 bowlers chart

India captain Virat Kohli strengthened his position at the top of ICC ODI rankings for batsmen by touching a career-high 911 point, while Kuldeep Yadav broke into the top-10 of the bowlers' chart at sixth on Wednesday.

Their rise comes despite India losing the ODI series against England 1-2 last night.

Kohli ended the series with scores 75, 45 and 71. He earned just two points but those were enough to take him to 911 points, highest since Australia's Dean Jones tally of 918 points in March 1991.

Yadav has broken into the top-10 for the first time in his career. The left-arm wrist-spinner took nine wickets in the series, including six for 25 at Trent Bridge, which have been rewarded with a rise of eight places to a career-high sixth position, the ICC said in a statement.

Yadav is the second India bowler to feature in the top-10 after number-one ranked Jasprit Bumrah and the fifth spinner to find a place in the 10 highest-ranked bowlers. The other four are Rashid Khan (second), Imran Tahir (seventh), Adil Rashid (eighth) and Yuzvendra Chahal (10th).

IPL win: Dhoni says fitness counts, not age, of CSK's 30-plus brigade

Chennai Super Kings' fairy tale comeback is a proof that fitness matter more than age, said skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after guiding his team to a third IPL 2018 title.

At the auction, CSK were criticised for picking up nine players in their 30s including Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu, who eventually were instrumental in the team's triumph.

"We talked a lot about age but what matters is the fitness. Rayudu, for example, is 32, he's someone who is fit, covers a lot of ground. Even if he plays a few games where he spends a lot of time on the ground and in the field, he never complains. So it is the fitness that really matters more than the age aspect," said the 36-year-old Dhoni after the crushing win over SRH.

"What captains want is players who move well in the field. It doesn't matter which year a player is born in, whether you are 19 or 20 - you have to be agile. You have to accept your shortcomings.

"For example, if I push Watson to stop a single, there is a very good chance that he'll burst his hamstring and won't be available for the next game. So what you tell yourselves is that they have to commit and try, but there's no point getting injured for a single," said Dhoni before adding the CSK squad will be heading to Chennai tomorrow for further celebrations.

Uber hails Virat Kohli's commitment to India, gets him as brand ambassador

Cab hailing platform Uber on Friday said it has it has roped in Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador in India.
"Uber India's association with Virat Kohli will lay the foundation for a host of brand-led interventions in 2018. Besides being the face of the brand, Virat will be actively involved in a series of innovative marketing and customer experience initiatives to be rolled out by Uber India," the company said in a statement.
It, however, did not disclose the financial terms of the partnership.

This is the first time the company has announced a brand ambassador in the Asia Pacific region.

Last month, it had named footballer Mohamed Salah as the brand ambassador for the Egypt market.
"In Virat, we've found a partner who reflects the drive we share with everyday India, while embodying our commitment to serving the country," Uber India and South Asia President Amit Jain said.
India is a key market for Uber, which is locked in an intense battle for market leadership with homegrown player, Ola. 

IPL 2017 gets bigger with sponsors, key players missing in the 10th edition

Amid much fan-frenzy, and competition among sponsors and players, the Indian Premiere League turns 10 this season. And organisers are preparing for a big celebration for the landmark edition, which kicks off on Wednesday. Unlike past editions, the 10th season will host eight different opening ceremonies, one before the first home game of each franchise, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla announced on Monday.

After Pepsi terminated its contract with IPL, Vivo Electronics bagged the title sponsorship for two years in 2015. Business Standard had earlier reported that Vivo will pay Rs 100 crore a year, against the Rs 80 crore Pepsi was paying annually.

Broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has signed up 11 sponsors, including Amazon, and it is targeting over Rs 1,200 crore in advertisement revenue from the 10th season.

E-commerce major Amazon, mobile handset maker Vivo and telecom giant Vodafone will be the presenting sponsors, while Ceat, wire-maker Polycab, Yamaha Motorcycles, Vimal Pan Masala, MakeMytrip, Parle Agro's Frooti, Voltas and YES Bank are associate sponsors.

However, the only regret for some fans of the cricket extravaganza this year is going to be the absence of some blockbuster names in the game. Thanks to international cricketing calendar getting busier with every passing year, the players are getting more prone to injuries. Even before the start of the touranment, injuries have already started bothering the franchises as well. Many star players could give this year's IPL a complete or partial miss.

The biggest among missing names in IPL 2017 is Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli, who is out due to his shoulder injury. Kohli, however, is likely to return on the field by the second week of April.

K L Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mitchell Marsh, Murali Vijay will completely miss the tournament due to their respective injuries. While Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to regain fitness, they would be missing some of the initial matches. Lasith Malinga is on a national duty and might miss the first few matches, while J P Duminy pulled out of the tournamnet citing personal reasons. (READ MORE)