This is one of few good news to have come out of the ICC Cricket Committee’s conference hall this week. In a radical decision, the Anil Kumble-led committee decided not to do away with the toss for the ICC Test championship and felt that it was an integral part of Test cricket which forms part of the narrative of the game. While Darren Lehmann, the former member of the same committee, was a strong advocate of the fact and was blunt about the scenario facing visiting Test teams due to home advantage in pitch preparations, it is a fact worth noting that toss adds to the uncertainty of the game and with that, lies the beauty of watching a Test match. However, to reduce the home advantage in pitch preparations, the ICC Cricket Committee recommended that the best way would be to award points to the opposition should the match be abandoned. However, the recommendation will be reviewed and further discussed at the ICC's chief executives' committee during the annual conference in Dublin in June and will be ratified.

While the above one seems a logical decision to keep the sanity of Test cricket, one decision came out of the BCCI boardroom on Thursday won the hearts of millions. When in December the BCCI announced that India would play Afghanistan in the latter’s first-ever Test match, it triggered a celebration in the war-torn country. That was a wonderful reward for the giant stride that Afghanistan have taken in international cricket in the last decade and to further develop Afghanistan’s Test standard, BCCI announced on Thursday that all international teams touring India will now play one practice match against Afghanistan. The move was designed to constantly provide high-quality exposure to the neighbouring country. It has indeed been a great news and the exposure that the Afghanis will now get will keep them in good stead for much bigger and greater challenges that lie ahead, in what they can hope, in a bountiful future.

Doping has always been a dark chapter in any sports, but India, and weightlifting, in particular, has been affected the most by it. And when the news of Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sanjita Chanu being caught in dope test broke out on Friday, it must have been a sad news for all her fans in the country. The 24-year-old tested positive for testosterone, which improves muscle strength and endurance and although she denied the allegations, the IWF had already provisionally suspended her from participation which cast a shadow of doubt on her career.

When Zinedine Zidane came to the press conference room in Valdebebas to announce a news that nobody saw it coming that he was walking away from Real Madrid only five days after winning a third consecutive Champions League, there was a sense of melancholy among all Madridistas. Afterall the Frenchman left Santiago Bernabéu having won nine titles, including three consecutive European Cups and the decision was enough to leave anyone in shock. But, former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon claimed that fallouts with Real president Florentino Perez has forced Zidane to take the hard decision and he revealed that the fallouts appeared to range from decisions over new signings and regarding the strategy of how the club is going to utilise Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale going forward. While Zidane’s stint at Bernabeu was anything but glorious, his end was not one would have wished to see.