India&#39;s first gymnast to qualify for the Olympics Dipa Karmakar&nbsp;wants to&nbsp;return&nbsp;the BMW given to her by Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar for her standout performance -- she came fourth -- at the Rio Olympics.&nbsp;

&quot;There are two main reasons behind it. First, there is no BMW service centre in Agartala and secondly, the roads are not suitable to drive a posh car such as this,&quot; Karmakar&#39;s coach Bisheswar Nandi told the Times of India. &nbsp;

Nandi added that the collective decision was taken by Karmakar&#39;s family members.

Instead, Karmakar reportedly wants another car that she can drive on the roads of Agartala (the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Tripura).&nbsp;

&ldquo;We just want to replace it with another one as it is difficult to drive and maintain such a vehicle in Agartala,&rdquo; Karmakar&#39;s father Dulal&nbsp;told the Hindustan Times.

Karmakar herself&nbsp;was unavailable for comment.

V Chamundeswaranath, president of the Hyderabad Badminton Association, had bought the car to felicitate Karmakar, along with Olympic bronze medallist&nbsp;Sakshi Malik, silver medallist&nbsp;PV Sindhu,&nbsp;and her coach Pullela Gopichand. The&nbsp;BMW cars were presented to the Olympians by Tendulkar.

Karmakar has reportedly spoken to&nbsp;<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/V-Chamundeswaranath" pg="AS1_InlineMedia#AS1_Link#AS1_http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/others/Dipa-Karmakar-to-return-her-BMW-owing-to-maintenance-issues/articleshow/54805964.cms">Chamundeswaranath</a>&nbsp;asking&nbsp;for a replacement car.

WION)

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Her family said the car was too posh to be driven on the roads of Agartala; Karmakar has reportedly asked for another car

India's first gymnast to qualify for the Olympics Dipa Karmakar wants to return the BMW given to her by Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar for her standout performance -- she came fourth -- at the Rio Olympics. "There are two main reasons behind it. First, there is no BMW service centre in Agartala and secondly, the roads are not suitable to drive a posh car such as this," Karmakar's coach Bisheswar Nandi told the Times of India. Nandi added that the collective decision was taken by Karmakar's family members. Instead, Karmakar reportedly wants another car that she can drive on the roads of Agartala (the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Tripura). “We just want to replace it with another one as it is difficult to drive and maintain such a vehicle in Agartala,” Karmakar's father Dulal told the Hindustan Times. Karmakar herself was unavailable for comment. V Chamundeswaranath, president of the Hyderabad Badminton Association, had bought the car to felicitate Karmakar, along with Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, silver medallist PV Sindhu, and her coach Pullela Gopichand. The BMW cars were presented to the Olympians by Tendulkar. Karmakar has reportedly spoken to Chamundeswaranath asking for a replacement car. WION)

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar wants to return BMW car presented by Sachin Tendulkar

Cricket pitches need to be more bowler-friendly if the rising imbalance between bat and ball is to be addressed, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar has said. 
 
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) world cricket committee on Tuesday recommended limitations on the thickness and depth of bats amid concerns that the sport has tilted heavily in favour of the batsmen in recent years.&nbsp;A report commissioned by the MCC, the guardian of the game&#39;s laws, in 2014 found the thickness of bats had marginally increased in the last century and that edges had broadened by 300 per cent, meaning even mistimed shots could still find the boundary. 
 
Tendulkar, who quit international cricket in 2013 as the game&#39;s most prolific batsman both in tests and the 50-over format, demanded more assistance for the bowlers from the playing surface. 
 
&quot;The wickets need to change; they need to be more helpful for bowlers,&quot; Tendulkar said.&nbsp;&quot;In T20s, the greatest of bowlers are being reverse-swept. Three-hundred is no longer competitive in ODIs.&nbsp;So there should be at least one format where bowlers have a better chance of executing their skills and making it more interesting for spectators.&nbsp;I don&#39;t think it&#39;s got much to do with bats, but I&#39;m sure people on the (relevant) panel will be able to look into it.&quot; 
 
Tendulkar&#39;s views echoed the sentiments of Australian opener David Warner who said last week that flat pitches rather than bats with thicker edges are the reason batsmen have the upper hand in test cricket. 
 
Tendulkar was part of the panel that recommended Anil Kumble for the India coach&#39;s job and he expects the team to benefit from the vast experience of the former leg-spinner. 
 
&quot;A fabulous player, a hard competitor and will not make any compromises on the field,&quot; Tendulkar told ESPNcricinfo. &quot;He will be out there to win each and every moment.&nbsp;He played for almost 20 years, so there is plenty to share. I&#39;ll just tell the players to grasp as much information from Anil as possible.&quot; 
 
Kumble, who came out to bowl with a bandaged jaw in a 2002 Antigua test, can also teach the players how to handle adversity, said Tendulkar. 
 
&quot;There are always big, crunch moments in any match and how to approach those moments is important,&quot; Tendulkar said.&nbsp;&quot;In sport, over a period of time what you learn is not every day you are successful, sometimes you have to face failures.&nbsp;It is all about being a tough character and be able to stand back on your feet again and to compete the next day. Every day is a fresh day, new beginning. That is something I feel Anil will teach them.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Marylebone Cricket Club world cricket committee recommended limitations on thickness and depth of bats which give upper hand to batsmen

Cricket pitches need to be more bowler-friendly if the rising imbalance between bat and ball is to be addressed, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar has said. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) world cricket committee on Tuesday recommended limitations on the thickness and depth of bats amid concerns that the sport has tilted heavily in favour of the batsmen in recent years. A report commissioned by the MCC, the guardian of the game's laws, in 2014 found the thickness of bats had marginally increased in the last century and that edges had broadened by 300 per cent, meaning even mistimed shots could still find the boundary. Tendulkar, who quit international cricket in 2013 as the game's most prolific batsman both in tests and the 50-over format, demanded more assistance for the bowlers from the playing surface. "The wickets need to change; they need to be more helpful for bowlers," Tendulkar said. "In T20s, the greatest of bowlers are being reverse-swept. Three-hundred is no longer competitive in ODIs. So there should be at least one format where bowlers have a better chance of executing their skills and making it more interesting for spectators. I don't think it's got much to do with bats, but I'm sure people on the (relevant) panel will be able to look into it." Tendulkar's views echoed the sentiments of Australian opener David Warner who said last week that flat pitches rather than bats with thicker edges are the reason batsmen have the upper hand in test cricket. Tendulkar was part of the panel that recommended Anil Kumble for the India coach's job and he expects the team to benefit from the vast experience of the former leg-spinner. "A fabulous player, a hard competitor and will not make any compromises on the field," Tendulkar told ESPNcricinfo. "He will be out there to win each and every moment. He played for almost 20 years, so there is plenty to share. I'll just tell the players to grasp as much information from Anil as possible." Kumble, who came out to bowl with a bandaged jaw in a 2002 Antigua test, can also teach the players how to handle adversity, said Tendulkar. "There are always big, crunch moments in any match and how to approach those moments is important," Tendulkar said. "In sport, over a period of time what you learn is not every day you are successful, sometimes you have to face failures. It is all about being a tough character and be able to stand back on your feet again and to compete the next day. Every day is a fresh day, new beginning. That is something I feel Anil will teach them." (Reuters)

Former Indian cricketer Tendulkar calls for bowler-friendly pitches

A panel including former captains Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly will select India&#39;s next head coach from a shortlist of 21 candidates by June 22, said&nbsp;the the Board of Control for&nbsp;Cricket&nbsp;in India&nbsp;(BCCI). 
 
The BCCI received 57 applications and despite recommending a smaller pool of nominees, all of the petitions will still be available to a panel which also includes former test batsman VVS Laxman, said&nbsp;board secretary Ajay Shirke in a statement. 
 
The post has been vacant since Ravi Shastri&#39;s tenure as the team director ended with India&#39;s semi-final exit at the World Twenty20 tournament on home soil earlier this year. 
 
Shastri has thrown his hat in the ring once more, while former captain Anil Kumble and chief selector Sandeep Patil have also confirmed they were keen to take on one of the most challenging jobs in international cricket. 
(Reuters)

The post has been vacant since Ravi Shastri's tenure ended with India's semi-final exit at the World Twenty20 tournament earlier this year

A panel including former captains Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly will select India's next head coach from a shortlist of 21 candidates by June 22, said the the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI received 57 applications and despite recommending a smaller pool of nominees, all of the petitions will still be available to a panel which also includes former test batsman VVS Laxman, said board secretary Ajay Shirke in a statement. The post has been vacant since Ravi Shastri's tenure as the team director ended with India's semi-final exit at the World Twenty20 tournament on home soil earlier this year. Shastri has thrown his hat in the ring once more, while former captain Anil Kumble and chief selector Sandeep Patil have also confirmed they were keen to take on one of the most challenging jobs in international cricket. (Reuters)

21 candidates shortlisted for Indian cricket head coach's role