Swashbuckling India opener Rohit Sharma believes the presence of David Warner and Steve Smith will make the tour of Australia later this year a "different ball game" for the his side, which is also at its best right now. India won the 2018-19 Test series 2-1, their first in 71 years of touring Down Under, but it came against a depleted Australian team which didn't have Warner and Smith, who were both serving a one year ball-tampering suspension.

"I was looking forward to the New Zealand series but unfortunately, injury (calf muscle) happened at the wrong time," Rohit told 'India Today' on Wednesday. "I can't wait to go to Australia and play the Test matches there. Australia in Australia with those two guys will be a different ball game," India's white ball vice-captain said.

For him, opening is a challenge that he has relished and a testimony to that was his stupendous start against South Africa at home. However, he has been ready for the job since the 2018 Australia tour when the team management gave him enough hints. "I was told you might be opening in Tests as well. It was two years ago. I was preparing myself from then onwards," he said.

For him, watching the game from the dressing room is no fun. "You wanted opportunity, everybody wants to be out there in the middle. I wanted to play and not watch the game. "When the chance came along, I was ready. There were some technical aspects, I needed to be aware of," he said. Rohit said the Australia series will be an exciting one as this Indian team is currently playing its best cricket.

"As a team, we are playing best cricket right now, everybody wants to take the game back to the opposition. If it happens (amid the COVID-19 pandemic), it will be a great series to be part of," he said. The tour is planned between October and January but there is speculation on whether it can be conducted smoothly amid the global heath crisis which hasn't shown any signs of being under control as of now.

England's Ben Stokes has said his Australian rival and IPL teammate Steve Smith is a "genius" as well as "strange" as he hailed the number one Test batsman. "He's still strange to play against and he's still strange to play with. And the best thing about it is that he admits it," Stokes said in a podcast broadcast by their Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. "But I feel to be a genius you have to be a bit strange and you know he's certainly both," Stokes said from Britain. "Personally, I could not think about cricket in the way that he does when it comes to batting.

I could never be like that. Obviously, he's on all the time but that's why he averages 60-plus in Test cricket." The 30-year-old Smith averages over 62 in 73 Tests and improves to 65.11 when playing against arch-rivals England. Smith was the leading scorer in the 2019 Ashes in England, retained by Australia after the series finished 2-2, with a whopping 774 runs in four matches.

Ben Stokes

"Even though he plays for Australia, biggest rivals England and Australia, you've just got to hold your hands up sometimes to players like that and go 'yeah you're on a different level when it comes to batting,'" said Stokes, who scored 441 runs in five matches during the series. "You have to be on a different level with something to be like those guys when it comes to batting." The flamboyant all-rounder also threw his backing behind Test cricket, saying the five-day format is the "pinnacle" for him and there is no room to tinker with it.

The International Cricket Council has floated the idea of four-day Tests to deal with the cluttered cricket calendar, but the plan met with intense criticism from many within the game.

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Veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor passed away today after he was admitted at the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai.

Earlier today, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan took to social media site Twitter to confirm the news of the death of Rishi Kapoor.  Sachin Tendulkar, Mithali Raj, Harbhajan Singh and his wife Geeta Basra all took to Twitter to express their feelings on the sudden death of Rishi Kapoor this morning.

"Very very sad to hear about the passing away of Rishi ji. I grew up watching his movies and he was always very gracious when we met over the years. May his soul Rest in Peace. My heartfelt condolences to Neetu ji, Ranbir and the whole Kapoor family," said Tendulkar on Twitter.

Indian women's ODI team skipper Mithali Raj termed the actor's demise as "huge loss" and said she will miss him on the silver screen.

"Shocked by the demise of veteran actor Rishi Kapoorji.Never quite got his due for the acting genius that he was! His boyish smile,straight talking ,jovial & endearing personality won him millions of followers.Huge loss.Will miss dearly on the silver screen. OM Shanti #gonesoon," Raj tweeted.

Shocked by the demise of veteran actor Rishi Kapoorji.Never quite got his due for the acting genius that he was! His boyish smile,straight talking ,jovial & endearing personality won him millions of followers.Huge loss.Will miss dearly on the silver screen. OM Shanti 🙏🏻 #gonesoon

— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) April 30, 2020

India spinner Harbhajan Singh also mourned the death of the actor and wrote, "Woke up with this very sad news @chintskap is no more #RIPRishikapoor ji Condolence to the family.."

When we haven’t got over yesterday.. today another tragedy! This year is full of grief and such sadness! @chintskap ji.. may you rest in peace! A legend always.. a library of films you have left us with! To even write this just doesn’t feel right... 💔🙏

— Geeta Basra (@Geeta_Basra) April 30, 2020

Harbhajan Singh's actress wife Geeta Basra also took to Twitter to share a quote from his film as a tribute to Rishi Kapoor.

Ek hasina thi.. ek deewana tha.. kya umar.. kya sama.. RIP to a legend.. @chintskap my condolences to the whole family 🙏💔 a very sad day.. pic.twitter.com/3DVNq6IUHu

— Geeta Basra (@Geeta_Basra) April 30, 2020

In September 2019, the veteran actor returned to Mumbai after staying in New York for almost a year for cancer treatment. He was last seen in the 2019 film 'The Body' alongside Emraan Hashmi and Shobita Sobhita Dhulipala.

Inputs from ANI

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Australia will not allow the use of saliva or sweat to shine the ball once cricket training resumes in the post COVID-19 world, says a framework released by the federal government regarding the staged return of sports amid the pandemic. There is speculation that use of saliva to shine the ball will be stopped to cut down the risk of the highly contagious infection with reports suggesting that the ICC is considering the possibility of allowing the use of artificial substances to polish the red ball under the supervision of umpires.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in consultation with medical experts, sporting bodies and federal and state governments, has come up with guidelines, restricting the use of saliva and sweat to shine the ball. The framework, which outlines a staged return to play, has three stages—Level A, Level B and Level C.

Currently, restrictions on sport are outlined as being at "Level A", which restricts all training except that of the individual kind. But in little more than a week from now, restrictions will be moved to "Level B" which will allow the following: "Nets—batters facing bowlers. Limit bowlers per net. Fielding sessions—unrestricted. No warm up drills involving unnecessary person-person contact. No shining cricket ball with sweat/saliva during training."

The third and final "Level C", to be permitted later in the year, is outlined as: "Full training and competition. No ball shining with sweat/saliva in training."

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In a startling revelation, India speedster Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago, forcing his family to keep a watch over him at all times. He said his family members feared he "might jump" from their 24th floor apartment. Shami, one of India's leading bowlers in recent years, opened up on his personal and professional life during an Instagram chat with teammate and limited overs squads' vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday. Now one of the mainstays of Indian bowling attack across formats, the 29-year-old was struggling to focus on his cricket, then. "I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.

"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said. In March 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan had accused him of domestic violence and lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections. The upheaval in his personal life forced his employer BCCI to withheld the player's central contracts for a while.

"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit. Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot." Speaking about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup, Shami said it took him almost 18 months to get back on the field. "When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period."

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India ODI skipper Mithali Raj wants to add that elusive World Cup trophy to her cabinet before calling time on her illustrious career.

Raj helped India reach final of the tournament on two occasions -- 2005 and 2017 -- but the 'Women in Blue' suffered heartbreaks against Australia and England respectively.

Raj has stated that constantly churning out good results against top sides has helped the team gain a solid reputation in recent times. According to her, teams don't take India lightly anymore.

"Teams don't take us lightly anymore and come prepared for us," Raj was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

"Consistently beating the best sides in the world – be it Australia in the ODIs or England in the T20Is – has given us the confidence that we too are a side to beat."

Raj took retirement from the shortest format after the T20 World Cup last year in a bid to prolong her ODI career. She revealed how this is motivating her to keep herself fit during this enforced break put forward by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Fitness, at my age, is something I need to consciously and constantly keep up. I know I can't forget my skill. I still have some batting in me. I might need a few sessions to get my rhythm going," she said.

"Some of us have running space while others like me have to manage within the restricted spaces indoors, so our trainers are adapting routines for us. (Coach) WV Raman is trying to be creative with our skill training regimen.

"It is difficult because irrespective of how much we train indoors, we need to get out onto the ground to be fully prepared," she added.

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Ravi Shastri is convinced that the class of India's 1985 team, of which he was a vital cog, was such it could trouble even the current team led by Virat Kohli. Shastri was the key man back in 1985 when the team under Sunil Gavaskar won the World Championship of Cricket. He was hero of India's triumph in Australia and had won the famous Audi car for being 'player of the tournament'. He is still influential in India's cricket set up, sitting in head coach chair, having played a significant role in team's ascendancy in world cricket across formats.

"No question about that. They (team of 85) will give any team that India puts up in white ball cricket, a run for their money. That team of 85 will give this team a run for money," Shastri said during 'Sony Ten Pit Stop' show on channel's FB page. Shastri also has a firm belief that that the team of 1985 was qualitatively better than the side that won the 1983 World Cup because it was a perfect blend of youth and experience. "I go one step ahead and say the team of 1985 was a stronger team compared to 1983.

"You know, I was part of both teams, I played in the 1983 World Cup and 1985, when you look man to man, 80 per cent of that 83 team was still there, but then some of the youngsters that you got in there like a Sivaramakrishnan, Sadanand Vishwanath, Azharuddin, those kind of guys came in to add to the experience you already had of 83 (and it) was fantastic." Shastri said that winning Test series in Australia in 2018-19 for the first time in 71 years was special but when it came to white ball cricket, 85 was special.

"It is great to be part of those two teams, as a coach that series in Australia, is going to be very very special and hard to beat, because that team wasn't beaten in 71 years by any Asian team. "There have been plenty who have gone there, tried their best and everyone knows how tough it is to beat Australia in Australia in Test match cricket, but in white ball cricket you can't beat 1985 as a player. To win both is fantastic."

Shastri then shared a hilarious anecdote about a team meeting before the final against Pakistan. Shastri imitated what Kapil Dev said in his typical English. "Kapil said, 'if I win car, I keep 25 percent (by selling) and rest share. Jimmy came and (said) "Yaar jisko mila mila' (whoever gets it, gets it). When my turn came, I said, if I win it, I am keeping the car and I can only share the stepney," Shastri said in typical tongue-in-cheek manner.

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Indian-American Seema Nanda has announced that she was stepping down as the CEO of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), it was reported. The Boston College Law School and Brown University grad, who took over as the DNC CEO in June 2018, succeeding Mary Beth Cahill, announced the move via Twitter on Friday, the American Bazaar reported.

"After two years, I will be stepping down as CEO of the DNC. I couldn't be prouder of the infrastructure we have built, the primary process we have run, and the team we have built. "I look forward to continuing the fight for our democracy and to elect Democrats everywhere," she added.

Nanda however, did not reveal the reason behind her decision nor did she announce her next move. During her tenure, Nanda worked closely with DNC Chair Tom Perez, managing the group's day-to-day operations.

The two had worked together at the Department of Labor during the former administration of President Barack Obama. Perez's term as DNC chair will end after the November presidential election. While accepting the position in 2018, Nanda described the job as "the opportunity of a lifetime".

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On August 8, 2019, the Government of Luxembourg submitted to parliament draft law to implement the requirements of the second European Union Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD 2), which tackles hybrid mismatch arrangements.

In a letter to Banerjee, Shah accused the Bengal government of not allowing "shramik (worker)" trains to reach Bengal and warned that non-cooperation would create hardship for state's migrants

Singapore is engaging businesses on tweaking the design of its new carbon tax, which is proposed to be in place by 2019.

On September 10, 2019, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz presented to the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, the Government's draft Budget for 2020, which includes tax reduction measures.

On October 7, 2019, the Greek Ministry of Finance presented to parliament the 2020 Budget, which includes numerous tax cut measures announced recently by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

On November 12, 2019, Hungary's Ministry of Finance announced that it has submitted to parliament the seventh and final part of its Economic Action Plan, which includes various tax measures.

Highlights: Most kids are being glued to mobile phones due to COVID-19 social distancing Staying indoors a

G7 countries are committed to working towards a consensus-based solution to the tax challenges of the digital economy, according to the final communique issued at the conclusion of the G7's summit in Charlevoix, Canada.

Olanzapine decreases the risk of nausea and vomiting among patients with advanced cancer, according to the study published in iJAMA Oncology/i. Charles Loprinzi, M.

A delegation from the European Parliament's PANA Committee will travel to Switzerland to discuss the efforts being taken to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax offences.

Bahrain has committed to pushing towards the introduction of the Gulf Cooperation Council's value-added tax framework by the end of the year.

The Dutch Government will allow taxpayers to defer payments of certain taxes under a new package of coronavirus economic relief measures.

On June 25, 2019, the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved amendments to four double tax avoidance agreements which have been pending in the Senate for several years.

Value-added tax avoidance will be considered by a new EU anti-tax avoidance committee, the creation of which is expected to be endorsed at an EU parliamentary plenary on March 1, 2018.

Intermittent fasting has worked on the liver to help prevent disease, stated researchers in Australia. The findings will help medical scientists working

Having HPV in your hand does not increase the risk of transmitting HPV infection to a sexual partner, finds a study published in iThe Lancet Infectious Diseases/i.

Skin vaccination generates protective CD8 T-cells that are recruited to the genital tissues. Study conducted by King's College London scientists has revealed

Among people aged 15-49 years, every day, there are more than 1 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs), revealed data released today by the World Health Organization.

IWMI commits to a water-secure world as it has announced a new five-year strategy aimed at boosting the center’s research and its influence in tackling global water challenges.

Water-related natural disasters are major impediments to human security and sustainable socioeconomic development. Climate change has made extreme weather events more severe by altering their frequency, timing, intensity and duration.

The sight of water flowing from taps may soon be a luxury, with people having to queue up at tankers for just a bucket load of water for their daily needs.

Understanding Ethiopia’s past experience to guide future investments

Despite progress, old mindsets continue to challenge gender and social inclusion in community water management.

Scientists at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) were invited to contribute to a number of chapters in WWDR 2020, including chapter 4 (Water-related extremes and risk management).

Water-related natural disasters are major impediments to human security and sustainable socioeconomic development. Climate change has made extreme weather events more severe by altering their frequency, timing, intensity and duration.

The recent instances of sex-selective abortions being facilitated by doctors, and ward boys turning doctors have certa

Texas laws require that physicians who provide abortions in clinics also have hospital admitting privileges; and that abortion clinics meet strict building

A new review published in i Frontiers in Neuroscience /i explores the current literature and advancements in the applications of neuroscience in law.

In some kids with HIV, starting the antiretroviral therapy (ART) within hours of birth has been hypothesized to have positive effects raising the possibility

Olanzapine, a generic drug used to treat nervous, emotional and mental conditions, also may help patients with advanced cancer manage nausea and vomiting unrelated to chemotherapy.

Breastfeeding mothers who use e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapies may be putting their breastfed babies at higher risk for skull defects, reports a new study.

The much vaunted climate change conference has come to an end at Bali, Indonesia, on an almost anticlimactic note.

The real madness of March? Staying up too late to catch NCAA basketball games night after night. In a survey conducted by the American Academy of Sleep

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