Chris Cairns approached me thrice for spot-fixing: Brendon McCullum

- I was shocked. I sort of thought he may have been joking, but I quickly became aware that he was not: McCullum on Cairns' spot-fix approach.
- McCullum said that Cairns had spoken to him in a hotel in Kolkata in 2008 during the first season of the Indian Premier League.
- McCullum also narrated a brief telephonic conversation and one over red wine and a curry with Cairns, about spot-fixing.

Adding credence of

Bowl as fast as you can when you are young: Zaheer Khan

Thoughts on retirement

I was preparing for the season when I figured things were coming to an end. I just went ahead with the decision. It was clear that it was time for me to walk away from the game.

Zak the bowler to Zak the coach?

It is pretty early right now but in whatever capacity I can, I would like to stay connected with the game. There are various things you can do to stay connected with the game. I'll see what is the best way for me to stay connected.

Can a county stint help the current set of fast bowlers?

Personally, I have always

Shashank Manohar invites PCB for bilateral series talks

• Since he (Manohar) was not at the ICC meeting I phoned him and he invited me to tour India for talks: Khan.
• I told the BCCI officials during discussions with them in Dubai that they must confirm or reject the tour in the next 10 to 12 days: Khan.
• The ball is now in the court of the Indian Board: Khan.  

After long periods of impasse, the prospects of an India-Pakistan bilateral series in

Lionel Messi Takes Family To Theatre In Barcelona & Gets A Standing Ovation

Lionel Messi put his injury woes to one side as he took his family out for a night at the theatre on Friday.

The Barcelona superstar, currently recovering from a knee injury sustained against Las Palmas last month, hobbled into the Teatre Tivoli on crutches.

The Argentina captain was dressed rather smartly for the occasion, sporting a waistcoat and shirt.

Messi was joined by

Cristiano Ronaldo released from Portugal squad after securing Euro 2016 spot... and Real Madrid star is making the most of it!

• Portugal have secured progress to next summer's Euro 2016 tournament
• Cristiano Ronaldo has been released from the squad by Fernando Santos
• Real Madrid star has been making the most of his time away from football 
• Santos has also allowed Tiago and Ricardo Carvalho to enjoy early break   

 

Cristiano Ronaldo has been released from

Schmeichel tells Klopp: Winning titles isn’t easy

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has risked the wrath of Liverpool fans by calling out Jurgen Klopp on his comments about winning titles on Twitter. 

Klopp signed a three-year deal to take over at Anfield on Thursday after Brendan Rodgers was sacked last week. The Northern Irishman had seemingly lost the faith of the fans and this appointment seems to have brought the optimism back at

Louis van Gaal tells Man Utd board to sign star forward from Premier League rivals Saints

MANCHESTER UNITED manager Louis van Gaal has instructed the Old Trafford board to tie up a deal for Southampton forward Sadio Mane in January, according to reports.

 

It is claimed Van Gaal was impressed with the Senegal international's sensational display in Saints' 3-1 victory over Chelsea at

Paytm waiting to fill Pepsi's big shoes

• Mobile commerce firm Paytm has thrown its hat in the ring for the title sponsorship rights of Indian Premier League (IPL) in case Pepsi pulls out
• Paytm recently bagged a Rs 203-crore deal as BCCI's title sponsor for home matches for a period of four years  

Mobile commerce firm Paytm has thrown its hat in the ring for

'Brand IPL still hot property'

• Even as PepsiCo India has made its "right choice" to disassociate from the title sponsorship of IPL, the brand of cricket league is still considered to be hot property
• Whilst past incidents may have somewhat dented IPL's image, most of the official sponsors said they will stick around and support the platform going forward  

Even as PepsiCo India has made its "right choice" to disassociate from the title sponsorship of IPL, the brand of cricket league is still considered to

IPL pullout: Pepsi facing own financial woes

• Top BCCI officials felt that Pepsi's decision was more to do with its "own financial problems" than the controversy surrounding Indian Premier League
• Pepsi had paid Rs 396 crore for the five-year IPL title sponsorship in 2012, almost double of what DLF had paid for the previous five-year period  

Indian Premier League (IPL), which has seen its image take a beating after the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, suffered another blow on Friday with

Pepsi set to end sponsorship deal with IPL

As reports of the cola giant Pepsi pulling out of their sponsorship of the Indian Premier League with two years still left on their contract began to gather steam, Rajeev Shukla, the chairman of the T20 league, praised Pepsi as being a 'very good partner' and stated that the matter will be brought up in the next BCCI meeting on October 18. BCCI has released an official statement, saying, "BCCI has assured that steps will be taken to address the concerns and will work necessary solutions in the interests of the league as well as Pepsico."

When contacted, PepsiCo mirrored BCCI's sentiments on

Sachin Tendulkar: There is room for improvement for Indian cricket

• Two years after announcing his retirement, Sachin Tendulkar reckons Indian cricket is moving in the right direction,although there is still room for improvement
• Tendulkar said as long as there is commitment and passion for the game, things will be on track for the young Indian team  

Two years after announcing his retirement, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar reckons Indian cricket is moving in the right direction, although there is still room for improvement. Tendulkar said as long as there is commitment and passion for

Mark Henry Planning To Retire After WWE WrestleMania 32?, Details Inside Here

In an interview with Philly.com, Mark Henry revealed that he plans on retiring after Wrestlemania 32. Here are highlights:

On when he will retire: “I don’t know how I let Vince [McMahon] convince me into signing another contract back in 2013. He did a bit of magic. He’s got that magic where you just go in the office and he’ll talk you into it. I won’t be signing any more contracts …I’m 100 percent sure (this is my final contract). I’m leading toward WrestleMania and

Chris Jericho Reveals His Worst Argument With Vince McMahon, WrestleMania 32 Plans?, More

In an interview with FOX Sports, Chris Jericho revealed the worst argument he ever had with Vince McMahon during his time in WWE. Here are highlights:

On the worst argument he’s had with Vince McMahon: “The worst argument is when I got the job to host Downfall, the game show that I had to audition for quite a few times. I didn’t tell him because I didn’t want him getting involved because

Carlito Responds To WWE Rumors. Will He Be Back?

Former WWE Superstar Carlito was interviewed this week after suffering a loss against Mr. 450 at WWC Aniversario 42, which you can watch in the video below. He said that even though he lost the title match, he will be back, although he did not say when. When the interviewer asked him about rumors regarding him returning to

Argentina and Brazil lose opening World Cup qualifiers

Argentina and Brazil got off to a miserable start to their World Cup qualifying campaign with defeat on Thursday.

The battle for progression to the Russia World Cup in 2018 began in unexpected style as Argentina, missing injured Barcelona striker Lionel Messi, were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at home by Ecuador, 30 places lower in the FIFA rankings.

To compound Argentina's misery, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero limped off injured midway through the first half and will miss next Tuesday's match away to Paraguay.

Frickson Erazo got Ecuador's opener on

Five things Manchester United must resolve before Premier League resumes

How long to persevere with Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney’s form is no longer the elephant in the room at Old Trafford. With the United captain approaching his thirtieth birthday this month, his lack of goals and form has now become an open debate.

Van Gaal has been staunch in his defence of Rooney, insisting he remains an important part of the team and confident that he will deliver the 20 league goals that he expects from his first-choice centre-forward. 

But Rooney has scored just

Avid Manchester United fan Usain Bolt forced to wear Arsenal shirt after losing a bet

Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt has committed a football crime.

The avid Manchester United supporter ditched his colours and donned a brand spanking new Arsenal jersey after losing a confident bet with Mexican television presenter Patty Lopez de la Cerda.

Bolt, a holding midfielder by trade, once publicly said he was good enough to play for his beloved Manchester United and tried to

Louis van Gaal insists that Manchester United complete the transfer of Southampton’s Sadio Mane – report

Louis van Gaal is desperate to add Southampton attacker Sadio Mane to his Manchester United squad, according to reports.

The Dutch boss was keen on signing the Senegalese forward in the summer but a move did not materialise.

However, LvG has now insisted that United complete a deal for him in January, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes.

Van Gaal wants to add some new attacking options to the United squad to take the pressure of young Anthony Martial.

And he will attempt to bring Mane to the club when the transfer window reopens.

India T20 team is a work in progress: Ravi Shastri

The final T20I may have been washed out but India team director Ravi Shastri felt that there was little that could be done. He also outlines the Indian T20 team's plan over the next few months among other topics in a press conference.

It's quite a long series that's coming up. How is the team looking at rebuilding ahead of the ODI and Test series?

You're right. It's a long season coming up. But I think, this has been a great exposure for the team. We might have lost the series, but I take it as great exposure in