Saina, Srikanth, Prannoy enter second round

Odense

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal knocked out Olympics champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the opening round of the women's singles in the Denmark Open here today. Saina defeated Marin 22-20 21-18 in a hard-fought battle. Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy also made positive starts to the tournament but B Sai Praneeth crashed out in the opening round. World No. 8 Srikanth overcame a spirited challenge from compatriot qualifier Subhankar Dey, winning 21-17-21-15. On the adjacent court, Praneeth lost 10-21 15-21 to Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus in a lop-sided contest. Earlier, world No. 15 Prannoy recovered from a 6-11 deficit in the second game to oust Denmark's Emil Holst 21-18 21-19. It was his third win over the Danish shuttler.  Young doubles specialist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered twin defeats in the mixed and men's doubles competition. Satwik and his mixed doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa lost 19-21 17-21 to the local pair of Niclas Nohr and Sara Thygesen. In the men's doubles, Satwik and Chirag Shetty failed to go past the Korean pair of Chung Eui Seok and Kim Dukyoung, losing 21-14 18-21 17-21.

Johannesburg

CSA to investigate T20 Global League Cricket  

South Africa (CSA) has said that they would carry out an investigation to find out what went wrong in the planning of the failed inaugural edition of T20 Global League. The inaugural edition of the league, which was due to start from November 3 this year, was postponed to next year. The tournament had been facing multiple logistical challenges, including the failure to secure a broadcast deal or a title sponsor.

Karachi

BCCI neither approved nor rejected playing with us: PCB 

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has neither approved nor rejected playing with Pakistan in the new bilateral series plan floated at the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Auckland, said PCB chief Najam Sethi. Pakistan and India are scheduled to play 19 matches in the new Future Tours Programme schedule, which will come into force in 2019 for four years as per the ICC recommendations. “The ICC floated an FTP for all Test playing nations for the 2019-2023 period, including the Pakistan-India matches. BCCI has neither approved nor rejected the proposed FTP,” said Sethi.

Karachi

Unfit Mohammad Amir picked for Sri Lanka T20s   

Left-arm Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir, who has been struggling with a shin injury, has been named in the squad for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka. Amir had hurt his right shin during the second Test in Abu Dhabi. He was advised rest for two to three weeks after he underwent an MRI scan. — Agencies