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Dravid to leadBoard XI MUMBAI: Karnataka's Rahul Dravid will lead the Board President's XI against Australia in a three-day match at Vishakh...

Dravid to lead

Board XI MUMBAI: Karnataka8217;s Rahul Dravid will lead the Board President8217;s XI against Australia in a three-day match at Vishakhapatnam from March one. Saba Karim, the one-day wicket keeper, will be Dravid8217;s deputy.

The team: Rahul Dravid capt., Karnataka, Saba Karim vice-capt., Bengal, Sadagopan Ramesh TN, JP Yadav MP, Amay Khurasia MP, VVS Laxman Hyderabad, Hrishikesh Kanitkar Maharashtra, Harbhajan Singh Punjab, Rahul Sanghvi Delhi, Abey Kuruvilla Mumbai, Vanka Pratap Hyderabad, Venkatesh Prasad Karnataka, Akash Chopra Delhi and Jyoti Yadav UP.

Taxing schedule

NEW DELHI: It8217;s taxing days ahead for the domestic cricketers. Soon after the last set of Ranji Super League matches, comes the Wills Trophy from March 22-26. Then follows the Ranji quarters from March 30-April 3, followed by the semis from April 9-13 and the final from April 19-23.

The Indian national side then goes to Sharjah and in May it will be time for the Inter-City Tournament.Meanwhile, the Australians will be playing in India to be joined by Zimbabwe later for the triangular series from April 1-14.

One-day series

MUMBAI: The BCCI is planning to host a three-nation limited overs cricket tournament, involving Kenya and Bangladesh along with the hosts, in May. The Indian team would consist of some established players along with a few youngsters so that the selectors would get more opportunity to assess the talent, BCCI secretary, JY Lele said.

Rain spoils play

MOHALI: NO play was possible on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Super League group A8217; match between Punjab and Railways at the PCA Stadium because of rain and poor visibility.

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The two umpires 8212; Kashyapan and Thyagarajan 8212; had a final inspection of the ground at 1400 hrs and decided to call off the day8217;s play.

Raut honoured

NEW DELHI: Dr Vinod Raut, a seven degree black belt from Nagpur, has become the first Indian to be given the world8217;s top one hundred exceptional martial artists goldmedal by the International Martial Arts and Kungfu Federation.Dr Raut has also been included among 122 well known martial artists of the world whose biographies will appear in a special compilation being made by the international federation.

Birla awards

NEW DELHI: National badminton champion P Gopichand, weight-lifter Kunjurani Devi and mountaineer Santosh Yadav were selected for the 6th KK Birla foundation 1996 awards for their oustanding contribution in the national and international field.

The Awards, instituted since 1991, carry a purse of Rs 75,000 each.