All-rounder Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Saturday, bringing the curtain down on an illustrious career which included a World Twenty20 triumph.
The 35-year-old left-arm seamer played 29 tests, 120 one dayers and 24 T20Is for India, picking a total of 301 international wickets.
“I have been fortunate to share the dressing room with greats of the game like (Sourav) Ganguly, (Rahul) Dravid and (VVS) Laxman. I am calling time on my career,” Pathan announced on broadcaster Star Sports.
Pathan’s biggest contribution to Indian cricket came in the game’s shortest format as he was named man-of-the-match in the World T20 final against Pakistan in 2007. He took three crucial wickets as India lifted the trophy in Johannesburg.
He is one of three Indian bowlers to have claimed a test hat-trick and the first in the world to claim it in the first over of the match.
“I will keep contributing to Indian cricket, but it is always better if someone else takes my place in domestic cricket,” Pathan added.
Russia on Friday formally contested a four-year ban from major sporting events over doping violations that President Vladimir Putin has condemned as “unjust,” the head of its RUSADA anti-doping agency said.
“In accordance with established procedure, today we have sent a package of documents to the World Anti-Doping Agency,” RUSADA director general Yury Ganus told reporters in Moscow.
“The package contains a notice about disagreement with WADA sanctions.”
Ganus, who has long argued for a major crackdown by Russia against doping cheats, warned that the legal challenge could backfire, however.
The formal statement of disagreement with WADA will trigger an appeal process against the ban at the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
WADA confirmed Friday in a statement it had received the RUSADA package and would promptly refer the matter to the CAS, whose decision will be final and binding for all involved.
Ganus, whose rigorous stance puts him at odds with his own government and supervisory board, argues that Moscow needs to accept the sanctions and own up to its faults in order to be able to reform.
He, however, said he was obliged to relay the position of the supervisory board.
He said he also sent a letter to WADA informing the anti-doping agency of his personal stance.
“I regret to inform you that all my attempts, including attempts to introduce changes to the RUSADA notice, have failed,” said the letter.
Ganus told AFP on Thursday that “it is practically impossible” to contest the ban.
WADA this month banned Russia for four years from major global events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, over manipulated doping data.
Under the sanctions, Russians will still be allowed to compete, but only as neutrals and if they can demonstrate that they were not part of what WADA believes was a state-sponsored system of doping.
Putin has called the sanctions politically motivated, indicating a lengthy legal battle loomed.
He argued that the majority of Russian athletes were clean and should not be deprived of the right to compete under the Russian flag due to the actions of some individuals.
Outgoing WADA president Craig Reedie said the organization “remains convinced that it made the right decision on December 9,” when the ban was officially instituted.
“The proposed consequences are tough on the Russian authorities while robustly protecting the integrity of clean sport around the world,” he said. “We will defend that decision with the utmost vigor at CAS.”
Ganus warned that contesting the doping ban could in fact make matters worse because CAS could make sanctions against Russia more severe.
Iranian women fans are free to enter a football stadium Thursday for the first time in decades, after FIFA threatened to suspend the Islamic republic over its controversial male-only policy.
Iran has barred female spectators from football and other stadiums for around 40 years, with clerics arguing they must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men.
World football’s governing body FIFA last month ordered Iran to allow women access to stadiums without restrictions and in numbers determined by demand for tickets.
The directive came after a fan dubbed “Blue Girl” died after setting herself on fire in fear of being jailed for dressing up as a boy in order to attend a match.
Women were quick to get their hands on tickets to attend Iran’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Cambodia at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Thursday.
The first batch sold out in under an hour, and additional seats were also snapped up in short order, state media said.
A sports ministry official said the 100,000-capacity stadium — whose name means “Freedom” in Farsi — was ready to host even more women.
One of the 3,500 women to have secured a ticket was Raha Poorbakhsh, a football journalist.
“I still can’t believe this is going to happen because after all these years of working in this field, watching everything on television, now I can experience everything in person,” she told AFP.