Goswami retained captain

Calcutta: Pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami has been retained captain of the Indian women’s team that will play ODI and Twenty20 series against the West Indies, in Mumbai, starting next week. The West Indies will play five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals during the tour, the BCCI said in a statement.

The squad: Jhulan Goswami (capt), Mithali Raj, Poonam Raut, Harmanpreet Kaur, Rumeli Dhar, Amita Sharma, Anagha Deshpande (wicketkeeper), Soniya Dabir, Diana David, Gouhar Sultana, Reema Malhotra, Priyanka Roy, Samantha Lobatto (wicketkeeper), Neha Tanvar, Snehal Pradhan.

Tahir for SA

Calcutta: Pakistan-origin leg-spinner Imran Tahir has been granted South African citizenship and could make his national debut against India in the ODI series that follows the ongoing Test series. Tahir has already fulfilled the ICC rules with regards to representing his adopted country by not playing for his nation of birth for more than four years. The 31-year-old has 535 first-class wickets at 25.09 from 127 matches.

Venue shift

Vadodara: The Ranji Trophy semi final match between Baroda and Karnataka, from January 3-6, will be played at the Reliance Cricket Stadium, at Gorva on the outskirts of the city. Until now, all the Ranji matches upto the quarter final stage, were played at the Motibagh ground. However, the reason for the shift of the venue was not given.

PCB move

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board has again approached the International Cricket Council to allow it to select players involved in the spot-fixing scandal in their preliminary World Cup squad. The PCB has not yet cleared the names of wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, all-rounder Shoaib Malik and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, pending clearance for their alleged role in the spot-fixing scandal.

Arthur view

Melbourne: Australia could become a cricketing power again within 18 months if the selectors resist frequent changes in the team composition and show faith in injured skipper Ricky Ponting, feels former South African coach Mickey Arthur. Arthur, who is now the coach of Western Australia, said the Australian selectors must have the courage to pick a team for the future then stick to it just like South Africa did in 2006.

Swann point

Sydney: Australia’s decision to overlook top-line spinner Nathan Hauritz in the Ashes series had played into England’s hands, spinner Graeme Swann said Saturday. The English off-spinner believes leaving Hauritz out in Brisbane was one of the best things Australia could have done for the tourists and the 29-year-old’s continued absence from the series was baffling.

Basketball

New Delhi: Punjab trounced Andhra Pradesh 105-60 in a lopsided affair to sail into the quarter finals of the men’s event in the ongoing 61st National Basketball Championship. Talwinderjeet Singh and Amjyot Singh starred in Punjab’s victory scoring 16 and 15 points respectively to decimate the Andhra team and set up a quarter final clash against Uttarakhand.