Injury haunts Sania's Wimbledon

Sania Mirza's Wimbldeon campaign rests on MRI scans she will undergo to know the extent of damage to her left knee.

Sania lost her singles first round match to Virginie Razzano of France on Tuesday and is schedule to play the doubles with Russian Elena Vesnina and mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopanna.

"The doctor wants to get her to do an MRI today before allowing her to play in doubles and mixed at Wimbledon. The main concern will be that she should not damage the knee further," Sania's father and coach Imran said.

"As for the pain, she is ready to fight through that, provided the doctor gives her the clearance that the injury will not deteriorate."

The knee was troubling Sania even before the match got going as she came out on to the court with a heavily-strapped left lower leg.

She put up a good show winning the second set after conceding the first but Razzano dominated the final set to advance.

Sania's career has been troubled with consistent back and wrist injuries and she had recently announced her delight at being completely fit.

She had been playing constant tennis since the last 12 months and had also risen over 50 places to be ranked 60 going into the Wimbledon.

If the injury is serious, it will be a bitter blow to the Indian's chances of pushing higher up in the rankings this year.

Whatever the results of the scans, Sania has already decided to take a break from tennis for a short period after Wimbledon.

Sehwag to undergo shoulder surgery, out of IPL

	Delhi Daredevils will be without their captain Virender Sehwag for the remainder of the IPL © AFP

Virender Sehwag will miss the rest of the IPL after deciding to undergo surgery on his injured right shoulder. The operation is due to take place later this week and, with recovery time pegged at six to eight weeks, it should rule him out of India's upcoming tour of the West Indies, from June 4, and perhaps even the England series that begins in mid-July.

"It will be a miracle if he plays another match," PB Vanchi, director of GMR Sports, owners of Delhi Daredevils, said. Delhi - who will now be led by James Hopes - are currently seventh in the points table and, with three games left, have a slim chance of making it to the qualifiers.

Vanchi said the decision was taken after Sehwag held talks on his injury with the BCCI, who advised him to undergo surgery as soon as possible. "He has a problem, he struggled in the last match too. The BCCI is making the arrangements for the surgery," Vanchi said. "They are waiting for a date. If he needs surgery we are not going to be coming in the way."

Sehwag confirmed the development and is expected to travel to London at the earliest for the surgery. The injury is the same one that had ruled him out of the two World Twenty20s and, more recently the one-day series in South Africa in January. Sehwag was declared fit in time for the World Cup after having undergone rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Though he did not bowl during India's victorious campaign, Sehwag finished seventh overall in therun charts, in the tournament, including a blistering century in the opening game against Bangladesh.

Sehwag's decision to play the IPL was always going to be potentially risky, especially in light of the heavy workload during the World Cup. But he had the dual responsibility of leading Delhi as well as being their best batsman. Sehwag is currently the top scorer in the IPL with 424 runs and his loss is likely to further hamper Delhi's chances, who have managed just four wins out of their 11 games played so far. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Players can't ignore IPL lure - Law

"India, they are the big brother, we've got to look after them, we don't want to upset them." © Getty Images

Stuart Law, Sri Lanka's interim coach, has expressed sympathy with Lasith Malinga's decision to quit Test cricket due to a knee condition, but has also acknowledged that the lure of the IPL - with its bumper signings and opportunities to secure oneself financially in quick time - makes it difficult for players to continue playing international cricket. He added it was important to keep India "sweet", as that's where a significant part of the revenue for several cricket boards lies.

Malinga made himself unavailable for Sri Lanka's upcoming tour of England and announced his decision to quit Tests because of a "long-standing degenerative condition in the right knee". While the condition made it difficult for him to play in the longest format, he intends to continue playing limited-overs cricket, and is currently the leading wicket-taker in the IPL, where he represents Mumbai Indians.

"'It's disappointing that he doesn't want to play [the] longer [format cricket] but you can't make [force] a guy who goes through hell every time he bowls a cricket ball," Law told The Age. "I can sympathise with him. I would love him to play every game for us but that's impossible, no one does that these days.

''It's a tough one for the players because we're not talking about $10,000 here and there. We're talking about a million dollars and Malinga, when he bowls, he puts his body through hell, so … two more years of IPL cricket and he can put his feet up and not go through that pain again."

Apart from Malinga, there are three other prominent Sri Lanka players participating in the IPL - Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. The tour of England clashes with the latter stages of the IPL, and there's been confusion in Dilshan's case about when he'll join the Sri Lanka squad. He had said he wanted to join as early as May 10, ahead of the first warm-up game, but the BCCI and the Sri Lanka board are negotiating his release date. Sangakkara and Jayawardene, meanwhile, will join their squad ahead of the second warm-up fixture.

''The IPL situation - we've got to be smart with that,'' Law said. ''India, they are big brother, we've got to look after them, we don't want to upset them. It's where a lot of the world cricket boards make a lot of their money, so we've got to keep India sweet.''

The financial incentive of the IPL was a major temptation for players, Law said. ''You want the best for your players and the best Sri Lanka can supply to the players at this stage is nowhere near what other international players are getting.

''I think [better pay] will arrive one day but right now it is difficult to attract the players to continue to play international cricket when they can go to the IPL for six weeks and earn five years' money.''

Sri Lanka have undergone a change in leadership since finishing runners-up in the 2011 World Cup, with Sangakkara and Jayawardene stepping down as captain and vice-captain respectively - decisions Law could "totally respect and understand" - and their selection committee resigning. Dilshan has been named the new captain and Law has taken over from Trevor Bayliss, who he worked with as assistant coach.

''Sri Lanka will go through a rebuilding phase now," Law said. "But the amount of talent that is yet to play international cricket at this stage is amazing." © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Saina requests BWF to conduct video conference

Ace India shuttler Saina Nehwal has requested the Badminton World Federation to conduct a video conference after the BWF insisted her to meet the media even if she misses the Super Series Finals in Chinese Taipei due to injury.



The BWF has accepted Saina's plea for injury as the reason for skipping the season-ending championship, which is an exclusive event for the top-eight players in Super Series rankings but still asked her to meet the media in person before the start of the tournament.

The world number four Indian had pulled out of the USD 500,000 Super Series Finals to be played between January 5 and 9 because of a ligament injury in her left leg. On Friday, Saina, who is placed seventh in the Super Series standings, sent all the relevant documents, including the medical certificates in order to avoid the new fine of USD 5,000 for not participating in the event.

"The international body accepted the letter and the documents but asked Saina to travel to Chinese Taipei for two days on January 3," Saina's father Harvir Singh told PTI. "She has not recovered from her injury and won't be able to travel so we have requested the BWF to arrange a video conference instead. We are waiting for a response for them now," he added.

In case, BWF declines the request, Saina will have to pay the fine of USD 5,000 for failing to show up at the tournament. "It all depends on the BWF now. They have asked her to be present their to perhaps address the media regarding her injury. If she doesn't go and if BWF declines her request then, she will have to pay the USD 5000 fine," Punnaiah Choudary, a senior official of Badminton Association of India, said. "Nothing is in our hand. We will go by the BWF norms," he added.

The BWF had amended its regulation last month and imposed a penalty of USD 5000 instead of the previous meagre USD 250 fine for pulling out of the Super Series Finals. The decision was taken in the wake of the rampant pullouts by top shuttlers citing mild injuries. Saina had injured her leg during the final of the Hong Kong Super Series and skipped the Indian Open Grand Prix in Hyderabad this month at the last minute fearing it might aggravate her injury. -PTI