Fans for Diversity chief and West Ham academy graduate Anwar Uddin will become first British South Asian ex-player to join FA Council, Sky Sports News has reported.
The 39-year-old is Aldershot assistant boss and is the first British-Bangladeshi to play professionally in England.
Last month the Football Association had advertised sven FA Council roles, and after the completion of the interview process, Uddin is all set to become one of the Council's new members.
Uddin's father hails from Sylhet in Bangladesh and the Council would benefit from his experience as he came through the ranks at West Ham and captained the club at U18 level during their famous FA Youth Cup-winning campaign in 1999.
He went on to play for Bristol Rovers before joining Dagenham & Redbridge in 2004 where he made more than 200 appearances across six seasons.
Uddin also became the first British South Asian to captain a league side during his time with Dagenham & Redbridge. He also became the first British South Asian to lift a trophy at Wembley when Daggers clinched promotion to League one with a 3-2 win over Rotherham in the 2010 League Two Play-Off final.
That summer he joined his former boss John Still at Barnet, before going on to become interim assistant manager to Giuliano Grazioli when Still left. It was a first when someone from Britain's South Asian community became the first league coach.
Uddin had stints at non-League Sutton United and Eastbourne Borough, and managed non-League sides Sporting Bengal United and Ware. At Conference side Aldershot as assistant manager, Uddin is currently the most senior south Asian coach employed in English football.
As campaign manager of the Football Supporters' Association's Fans for Diversity campaign, he promotes diversity and inclusion in football.
Moreover, Uddin has also worked with the Show Racism the Red Card charity, Kick It Out and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).
The ICC described Dhoni as someone who redefined the role of a wicketkeeper-batter, bringing 'brute force and power-hitting' to a position traditionally filled by lower-order players. (Photo: Getty Images)
FORMER India captain MS Dhoni has been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame for 2025, along with six other cricketers, including South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith, and two women players – former Pakistan captain Sana Mir and England’s Sarah Taylor.
Also inducted were Australia’s Matthew Hayden, New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori, and England’s Taylor, who joins Mir as the only two women recognised this year.
The induction ceremony was held at Abbey Road Studios in London, near Lord’s, where the World Test Championship final begins on Wednesday. Both captains – Australia’s Pat Cummins and South Africa’s Temba Bavuma – attended the event.
Dhoni’s unmatched leadership record
Dhoni, who led India to three ICC white-ball titles – the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy – was acknowledged by the ICC for his overall contribution to cricket. The former wicketkeeper-batsman scored 10,773 runs in 350 ODIs at an average of 50.57, including 10 centuries and 73 fifties. He also played 90 Tests, scoring 4,876 runs with six centuries, and 98 T20Is, with 1,617 runs.
“It is an honour to be named in the ICC Hall of Fame, which recognises the contributions of cricketers across generations and from all over the world,” said Dhoni, who played in this year’s Indian Premier League at age 43. “To have your name remembered alongside such all-time greats is a wonderful feeling. It is something that I will cherish forever.”
Dhoni remains the only captain to win all three ICC white-ball tournaments. He also led India in 60 Tests, with 27 wins, 15 losses, and 18 draws. In ODIs, he captained the side in a record 200 matches, winning 110. In T20Is, he led India in 72 games, with 41 wins.
ICC tribute: calm, consistent and unconventional
The ICC praised Dhoni’s achievements, stating, “Celebrated for his calm under pressure and unmatched tactical nous, but also a trailblazer in the shorter formats, MS Dhoni’s legacy as one of the game’s greatest finishers, leaders and wicketkeepers has been honoured with his induction into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.”
“With 17,266 international runs, 829 dismissals and 538 matches across formats for India, Dhoni’s numbers reflect not just excellence but extraordinary consistency, fitness and longevity,” it added.
“Dhoni’s ODI legacy is studded with records, including the most stumpings in the format (123), the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper (183*), and the most matches as captain for India (200), to name a few,” the ICC said. “His glove work defied convention. Dhoni’s technique behind the stumps was unorthodox, yet extraordinarily effective... completing stumpings in the blink of an eye, and pulling off catches with a style all his own.”
The ICC described Dhoni as someone who redefined the role of a wicketkeeper-batter, bringing “brute force and power-hitting” to a position traditionally filled by lower-order players. It said the 2007 T20 World Cup win under Dhoni sparked a new era in Indian cricket and confirmed “that the future of its leadership was in safe hands”.
Other inductees honoured
Hashim Amla, who became the first South African to score a triple century in Tests with 311 not out at the Oval in 2012, was honoured alongside his former teammate Graeme Smith. Smith, who captained South Africa in a world-record 109 Tests, said, “This is also a proud moment for South Africa, as two of us have got recognition this year.”
Amla added, “It is an honour to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, especially alongside Graeme.”
Hayden was a key part of Australia’s successful sides in the early 2000s, scoring 30 Test centuries at an average above 50. Vettori, who now serves as an assistant coach with Australia, is one of only three players to score 4,000 runs and take 300 wickets in Tests.
Women stars recognised
Sarah Taylor, regarded as one of the finest wicketkeepers in women’s cricket, helped England win multiple global tournaments, including the 2017 ODI World Cup on home soil.
Pakistan’s Sana Mir, the first woman from her country to enter the ICC Hall of Fame, took 151 wickets in ODIs and led the national team to gold at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games.
“From dreaming as a little girl that one day there would even be a women’s team in our country to now standing here, inducted among the very legends I idolised long before I ever held a bat or a ball – this is a moment I couldn’t have dared to imagine,” said Mir.
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Alcaraz became the first man to win a Grand Slam after saving match point since Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final.
CARLOS ALCARAZ came from two sets down to defeat Jannik Sinner in a five-set French Open final on Sunday, saving three championship points in a match that lasted five hours and 29 minutes.
Alcaraz, the defending champion, won 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (10/2) to claim his fifth Grand Slam title. The 22-year-old remains unbeaten in Grand Slam finals and ended Sinner's 20-match winning streak in majors.
"This was the most exciting match that I've played so far without a doubt," said Alcaraz. "I think the match had everything."
The Spaniard completed his first-ever comeback from two sets down in what became the longest final in Roland Garros history. He saved three match points while trailing 5-3 in the fourth set.
"Today was all about believing in myself. Never doubted myself today and I tried to go for it," he said. "Real champions are made in those situations."
Alcaraz became the first man to win a Grand Slam after saving match point since Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final. The only other man to do so in the Open era was Gaston Gaudio at Roland Garros in 2004.
Comeback from the brink
Sinner missed out on a third straight Grand Slam title, following wins at the 2023 US Open and 2024 Australian Open.
"It's easier to play than talking now," Sinner said. "I won't sleep very well tonight but it's OK.
"We try to delete it somehow and take the positive and keep going. There are no other ways," he said. "It hurts, but you cannot keep crying."
This was Sinner's fifth consecutive loss to Alcaraz and their first meeting in a Grand Slam final. It was also the first major final between two men born in the 2000s. Alcaraz now leads their head-to-head 8-4, having also beaten Sinner in the Rome final after the Italian returned from a three-month doping ban in May.
Set-by-set battle
Alcaraz started the final by creating three break points, but Sinner held and created his own chance soon after. Alcaraz broke in the fifth game to lead 3-2 but gave it back immediately. Sinner took the first set after breaking again at 5-4.
Sinner went up 3-0 in the second set and tightened his serve after facing seven break points in the first. Alcaraz broke back when Sinner served for the set, but Sinner won the tie-break with a series of strong points, including a cross-court forehand to finish.
Sinner then broke at the start of the third set, but Alcaraz responded by winning four straight games to go up 4-1. After losing serve at 5-3, Alcaraz broke to love to take the set, ending Sinner’s 31-set winning streak in Grand Slams.
The fourth set was close, with Sinner breaking for a 5-3 lead and reaching three match points. But Alcaraz broke back and forced a tie-break, which he won to take the match into a decider.
Dramatic final set
Alcaraz broke early in the fifth and held on despite pressure.
Sinner broke back while trailing 5-3 and went on a three-game run, forcing Alcaraz to hold serve to stay in the match.
Alcaraz held, and then dominated the 10-point tie-break, winning on his first championship point with a forehand winner.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Rahul, who has experience batting across the order, is seen as a likely option to partner Jaiswal at the top. (Photo: Getty Images)
KL RAHUL scored a century in the second unofficial Test against England Lions, offering some clarity to India’s top-order plans ahead of the five-match Test series in England.
Rahul, opening alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, made an unbeaten 116 on Friday in Northampton. He batted on a lively pitch under overcast skies without offering any chances.
India are currently without experienced batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who both retired from Test cricket last month. The team, now led by Shubman Gill, is looking to rebuild its top order.
Rahul, who has experience batting across the order, is seen as a likely option to partner Jaiswal at the top. Gill or Karun Nair could be considered for the No. 4 position previously held by Kohli.
Nair, who last played a Test in 2017, made a double hundred in the first unofficial Test in Canterbury.
“We haven't really decided on the (batting order), we still have some time,” Gill had said at his pre-departure press conference in Mumbai.
“We will be playing an intra-squad match and we will be having a 10-day camp in London. So we still have a little bit of time and I think we can decide on the batting order once we go there.”
The five-Test series starts in Leeds on June 20.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Jos Buttler raises his bat as he walks to the pavilion after losing his wicket, LBW bowled by West Indies' Alzarri Joseph. Reuters/Lee Smith
FORMER captain Jos Buttler scored a superb 96 off 59 balls, and Liam Dawson took four wickets on his international return, as England beat West Indies by 21 runs in the T20 series opener at Durham's Riverside ground on Friday (6).
After making a 3-0 winning start to Harry Brook's captaincy in the one-dayers, England kept the momentum in the shorter format with an innings of 188-6 after winning the toss and batting first.
West Indies finished on 167-9, with Romario Shepherd caught on the final ball of the match.
Buttler, in at number three with England 16-1 after Ben Duckett was caught by West Indies captain Shai Hope off Shepherd, brought up his half century from 25 balls in the eighth over.
He had earlier smashed three sixes and scooped a four from the first four balls of a devastating sixth over with Alzarri Joseph bowling.
The 34-year-old, who stepped down as white-ball captain last February following England's group-stage exit from the Champions Trophy, continued to look like a man relieved of a heavy burden as he hit six fours and four sixes.
Needing just four for the century, he was out lbw to Joseph in the penultimate over.
The tally was Buttler's highest T20 international score on home soil.
West Indies were 33-2 off 5.2 overs after losing Johnson Charles for 18, stumped by Buttler off Dawson, and Hope caught by Duckett, who repaid his own dismissal in like-for-like fashion, for three off debutant Matthew Potts.
England restricted the visitors to 44-2 at the end of the powerplay, compared to 78-1 at the same stage of the home innings.
Evin Lewis hit West Indies top score of 39 off 23 balls, before being caught by Brydon Carse with Jacob Bethell bowling.
Dawson, back in the side at 35 and playing his first England match since 2022, claimed his second and third wickets when Duckett caught Sherfane Rutherford (2) and Roston Chase (24) in quick succession.
The left-arm spinner wrapped up with a fourth wicket, for 20 runs from his four overs, by bowling Rovman Powell as West Indies slipped to 115-6 on a tough night in the north-east.
"I feel really good. Really pleased to contribute to a really good win," said Dawson after being declared player-of-the-match.
"When you get 190 on the board, you can go out there and simplify everything. You can bowl defensively and they've got to come to you. Tonight, it worked.
"It's been maybe three-and-a-half years since I played. I was nervous going into the game but I'm happy to contribute."
Hope said his side had not bowled as well as they had wanted to and needed also to perform better with the bat.
"We've got to put this behind us and we've got two games to win the series," he said.
(Reuters)
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FILE PHOTO: Piyush Chawla. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
VETERAN leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who played key roles in India's 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup victories, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday (6) after more than two decades in the sport.
The 36-year-old made the announcement through an Instagram post, describing his decision as the end of an "incredible journey" while hinting at a new unspecified venture ahead.
"After more than two decades on the field, the time has come to bid adieu to the beautiful game," Chawla wrote. "Though I step away from the crease, cricket will always live within me. I now look forward to embarking on a new journey, carrying with me the spirit and lessons of this beautiful game."
Chawla represented India across all three formats, playing three Tests, 25 ODIs and seven T20 internationals, claiming 43 wickets in total. However, his most memorable contributions came as part of India's World Cup-winning squads in 2007 and 2011.
"From representing India at the highest level to being part of the victorious 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup squads, every moment in this incredible journey has been nothing short of a blessing," he said. "These memories will forever remain etched in my heart."
The spinner enjoyed particular success in the Indian Premier League, playing for four franchises during his career - Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. He was part of KKR's 2014 IPL championship team and famously hit the winning runs in the final against Punjab Kings in Bengaluru.
Chawla paid tribute to the IPL franchises who showed faith in him, describing the tournament as "a truly special chapter in my career". He also thanked his coaches, particularly K.K. Gautam and the late Pankaj Saraswat, for nurturing his development.
The Uttar Pradesh player burst onto the cricket scene as a teenager, making his competitive debut at just 15 and his first-class debut at 17. He gained national attention when he bowled out batting legend Sachin Tendulkar with a googly during the Challenger Series in 2005-06.
In domestic cricket, Chawla accumulated over 1,000 wickets across all formats, representing India Under-19 and Uttar Pradesh Under-22 teams during his early career.
"Today is a deeply emotional day for me as I officially announce my retirement from all forms of international and domestic cricket," he said, paying special tribute to his late father. "A special mention to my late father, whose belief in me lit the path I walked. Without him, this journey would never have been possible."