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When he will sit down to decide his playing XI for Mumbai Indians' opening match against Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad on March 24, head coach Mark Boucher will have a couple of issues to sort out.

He will have to fill in a couple of big gaps in the middle-order for the injured Suryakumar Yadav, who is likely to miss the first few matches because of an ankle injury he picked in South Africa, and Cameron Green, who had done well for MI last season but was traded to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in an all-cash deal just before the auction.

Though Green's departure brought in the cash that paved the way for Hardik Pandya's return to the franchise where he started his career and the Indian T20 captain could fill the all-rounder's role, a replacement for SKY is sure to be a big headache for Boucher's team management.

On Monday, Boucher said he is still awaiting an update on Suryakumar Yadav's fitness from the Indian team management. The middle-order batter -- a 360-degree player considered the best in the business in T20 cricket currently -- is still waiting for an update on him from the Indian team management.

"So, Surya at the moment is under the guidance of the Indian cricket team as well. So we're just waiting for updates on that. I don't like to micro-manage. We've got a world-class medical team that's in control of all of that. Yes, in the past we've been hampered by a few fitness issues.

"We're always going to be in that sort of domain of having fitness issues, as other teams are as well. Every time I look at my WhatsApp, there are reports of other teams also losing players. So, yeah, we trust our medical team that they're doing the right things. And look, if we lose one or two from a fitness perspective, it is what it is. That's sport and we just have to keep on the right track and try to find replacements for that," said Boucher.

He said they have identified some players that can fill the breach left by Cameron Green's departure.

"Regards to Cameron Green. Yeah, so that's the beauty of the IPL, is that the auction changes the dynamics of a lot of different teams and seasons. And Cameron Green had a fantastic season for us. I think the way that he played an exciting brand of cricket that he played was great from our perspective.

"We had a couple of holes in our team that we needed to fill up and unfortunately, we went for the decision to let go of him. But we've selected along the lines of looking at players that can hopefully fulfil that role again. We've got a couple of options available to us and hopefully, that guy can come in the big shoes that Cameron did have and then fill him with flying colours. So, yeah, Cameron did have a great season for us, but we have one or two players to perform the role he performed," said Boucher.

Boucher is satisfied with Mumbai Indians' preparations so far and was keen on seeing how the intra-squad warm-up games pan out. “We are in a good space at the moment. We have a big squad. We’ll be playing our first warm-up game today. I’m looking forward to a couple of players putting their hands up for selection,” Boucher said.

The South African felt the team was well-rounded and the new additions are particularly exciting. “We have got new international players. They are very energetic, which is always good. We had a pretty good season. We are in a pretty good space at the moment,” said Boucher, hinting that they may go in with fewer foreign players than allowed by IPL in some of the matches. He said the selection of overseas players in the playing XI will depend on the conditions for that match.

"We have a very good set of Indian players and we are hoping that they will play their role well. We will decide the composition of our foreign players as per the conditions on the day, but I can tell you that we may go in with three overseas players in some matches depending on the conditions.

Both Boucher and Hardik were excited to have Jasprit Bumrah back to full fitness, saying the Indian pacer is a top-class bowler and has done well for MI in the past.

Boucher said it was interesting to see new bowling coach Lasith Malinga interacting with Nuwan Thushara, whose action is similar to him, adding he was expecting the young Sri Lankan bowler Thushara to do well this season.

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 India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem are javelin superstars and a symbol of perfect friendship.

Both the athletes are getting ready for the upcoming outdoor season. While Chopra is currently training in Turkey, 27-year-old Nadeem’s preparations have hit a ‘snag’.

The Pakistani recently said he is struggling to acquire an international standard javelin for many years and has been “using one for the past seven to eight years.”

Chopra, the world and defending Olympic champion, is rather surprised to hear this.

As per SAI statement, Chopra, who competed with Nadeem in the world athletics championships in Budapest last year, said, “It is hard to believe that he has been struggling to get a new javelin. Given his credentials, this should not be a big issue at all.”

Arshad Nadeem, who finished second behind Chopra in Budapest, was recently quoted in the media, saying: “It has now got to a stage where the javelin is damaged and I have asked the national federation and my coach to do something about it before the Paris Olympics.”

“When I started off in 2015, competing in international events I got this javelin … for an international athlete aiming to win a medal in the Olympic Games, you need proper equipment and training facilities.”

Chopra, whose entire training and international tours are funded by the Indian sports ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme, feels that Nadeem is the pride of Pakistan and must be supported.

With a 90.18m throw, Arshad Nadeem had created a new javelin throw record at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham to finish on top of the podium. It ended Pakistan’s 60-year wait for a CWG gold medal.

“It can’t be that he (Arshad) doesn’t have the means to buy a javelin. He is a champion and must be doing some brand endorsements. I reckon he has earned a bit of money too. But having said that, his government can look at Arshad’s needs and support him just like how my government is doing so.

“Additionally, Arshad is top javelin thrower and I believe that the javelin makers will be more than happy to sponsor him and provide what he wants. This is a piece of advice from my side,” said Chopra.

If all goes well, the javelin competition at the upcoming Paris Olympics could see a strong Asian field. Chopra and Kishore Jena will spearhead India while Nadeem, who finished fifth in the Tokyo Olympics, will hope to replicate another 90 metre-plus throw in Paris and pose a serious threat to a sport usually dominated by Europeans.

In December 2022, the Pakistani had a serious elbow operation in the UK. Last year, Nadeem had a niggling knee operation done and skipped the Hangzhou Asian Games where Chopra won the gold. The outdoor javelin season starts with the Doha leg of the Diamond League in May.

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In his second year as head coach at the Mumbai Indians, Mark Boucher will be working with a new captain in Hardik Pandya and has said he will be looking forward to the association as the all-rounder will bring his new perspective to the job.

With a new captain, some exciting new talent and the return of some senior players like seasoned pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Boucher feels he is looking forward to an exciting season during which MI will hopefully do their best and be competitive till the end.

Boucher will have Kieron Pollard as his new batting coach while Lasith Malinga returns as the bowling coach.

So, with so many changes, Boucher hopes that one more thing will change for Indians this season -- they will win their first match in the IPL.

Mumbai Indians have not won their opening match in the IPL for the last many years and Boucher admitted they have been slow starters and hoped that they will make a good start when they open their campaign against Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad on March 24.

"We've had a history of maybe not starting too well, so we've addressed that as well and we hope we found one or two things that we feel that we can do within the squad to make us more ready for that first game and hopefully get up to a good start," Boucher said during Mumbai Indians's pre-season press conference here on Monday.

"Not putting pressure on the players at all. If we get up to the normal start that we've had then so be it. That's fine. We'll just have to catch up a bit. But hopefully, the measures that we put in place over the last sort of week and a few days to come is going to put us in a very good space to start the competition nice and strong," he added.

Asked how different it will be working with Hardik after a season with Rohit Sharma, the former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter said working with a captain brings its own set of challenges and he is looking forward to sharing the team's responsibilities with Hardik.

"Last year had its challenges with regard to our injuries at the beginning of the season and obviously working under Ro (Rohit) was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. This year is a new challenge, working under a new captain as well. I've been a cricketer, I've played under different captains, I've played under different leadership coaches with different players.

"And as I said, it's great for me to be able to be in the situation, to get different perspectives and challenge myself in different ways as well. So, I've got no doubt that Ro (Rohit) challenged me. Hardik is going to challenge me as well. I'm really looking forward to that challenge and hopefully, try to help him out as much as I can and get everyone going in the right direction ultimately, the reason why we are here is to try to win a trophy. So if we can do that, I'm going to support the captain as much as possible," said Boucher.

He said that the new season brings in its own set of challenges which is always good for the team.

"Obviously, the dynamics have changed a bit, but with change, it brings new challenges, new perspectives, which is always good, and a little bit of freshness as well. We've got a new batch of players coming in as well and we are eager to learn and some of them, their first time, that they're coming into the IPL as well."

Asked about his focus areas before the start of IPL 2024, Boucher said he wants to focus on the moment -- which is to get the team off to a good start, put it in the right direction and ensure role clarity in the team.

"So I think we are set up for a good season. Obviously, we want to start well and that's where my focus is at the moment -- going in the right direction, and giving different role clarity to different players," said the head coach.

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The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday announced the dissolution of the ad hoc committee for the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

This decision comes following the lifting of the ban imposed on WFI by the United World Wrestling and the successful completion of the selection trials overseen by the ad hoc committee appointed by the IOA.

“Refer to this office Order No. IOA WFI/I-28/2023/1560 dated 27 December 2023, wherein an Ad Hoc Committee for wrestling was appointed, it is hereby ordered that the said Ad Hoc committee is dissolved with immediate effect,” the IOA said in a statement.

“The decision to dissolve the Ad Hoc committee comes in light of the lifting of the ban of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the United World Wrestling (UWW) and the successful completion of Selection Trials by the Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the IOA as per the directives of the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi. Consequent upon the aforementioned developments, there is no further need for running the activities of the WFI through an Ad Hoc Committee,” it said.

“However, as instructed by the UWW, it is imperative that the WFI appoint a Safeguarding Committee/Officer at the earliest to address the concerns of abuse and harassment and to ensure adherence to all rules, regulations and guidelines set forth by the UWW and other relevant authorities. Furthermore, the WFI is also directed to conduct the elections of the Athletes Commission in a time-bound manner, in accordance with the established procedures and guidelines. This step is essential to promote athlete representation and participation in the decision-making process of the WFI.

“The WFI is also instructed to repay the loan provided by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to the Adhoc Committee for managing WFI's operation. All concerned are requested to take necessary actions to implement this office order effectively. This is issued with the approval of President IOA,” the letter read.

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 A bit agitated over the captaincy change, Mumbai Indians fans would at least have one thing to look forward to watching the upcoming 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) -- a vintage Hardik Pandya essaying his role as an all-rounder.

Pandya, who is coming back from an injury that he suffered during India's match against Bangladesh during the 2023 Cricket World Cup in Pune in October, is fully fit and on Monday assured his fans that he would play all the 14 matches during the IPL and would be bowling as much as the teams needed him to.

"I got injured during the World Cup in October and initially, it was felt that it was just niggle and that I would recover in a few days. I went to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to get it checked and to ensure that I was doing the right thing with it.

"But within a couple of days, my ankle had swelled into a big angle and then we realised that it would take time. It later recurred and kept me out for nearly three months as there was no cricket in two of those months. I did not want to play in the World Cup only 50% fit," said Hardik Pandya during Mumbai India's pre-season press conference here on Monday.

Pandya said he is now fully fit and is looking forward to doing his bit for the franchise with which he started his IPL career in 2015.

"I will be bowling in the IPL. I have recovered fully from the injury and I am looking forward to contributing with both the bat and ball

Though he loves to bat and finish games, Pandya said he enjoys being the all-rounder most and therefore is looking forward to contributing to the team's cause with both the bat and ball during the upcoming IPL.

Pandya said his focus for the next couple of months will be only on Mumbai Indians and the IPL and he will not be thinking about the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup later this year. But said that if during the tournament, he comes across any performance worth remembering, he will take into account for the T20 World Cup.

He said he will not be skipping any matches to preserve himself for the T20 World Cup, which will be started five days after the end of the IPL.

"I have rarely missed any matches in IPL and so I will be playing all 14 matches this season," said Pandya.

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