Ankle sprain causes injury scare for Vijay

Injury scare for M Vijay: India opener M Vijay hurt his ankle while attempting a single on the third day of Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy opener against Andhra in Chennai. He retired hurt on 13, during Tamil Nadu's second innings, and did not return to bat later in the day. The team's physio, Thulasiram, allayed fears of a serious injury and said, "Vijay has an ankle sprain. He might bat on Monday but we will take a call in the morning only."

Vijay had added 19 for the first wicket with captain Abhinav Mukund before hobbling off the field in the 14th over of the innings. He had earlier endured a fairly lengthy layoff following a surgery for a wrist injury suffered during the Test series against Australia in March. He returned to action in the 20-over Tamil Nadu Premier League before scoring 17 runs and taking five wickets in a Duleep Trophy match last month.

BCCI disciplinary committee accept Gowtham's apology: After offspinner K Gowtham was dropped by the BCCI from India A's squad that was set to play New Zealand A for 'grossly insulting the domestic system', the board's three-man disciplinary committee accepted his apology and let him off with a warning.

Following the decision of the committee, Gowtham is allowed to carry on with his commitments and it is understood that he has joined the Karnataka squad ahead of their Ranji Trophy season.

Gowtham was pulled up by BCCI after he opted out from playing a Duleep Trophy game, producing a medical certificate for his illness, but was found playing in the Karnataka Premier League only two days later.

Ojha set to leave for home: Pragyan Ojha has been given a no-objection certificate by the Cricket Association of Bengal after a long impasse. As a result, the left-arm spinner may well play for his home state of Hyderabad in the opening round of the Ranji Trophy.

"They [CAB] have given clearance last night, so if he is fit and if his registration form has been uploaded and accepted, he's eligible to play today," Hyderabad Cricket Association secretary T Seshnarayan told ESPNcricinfo. "Anyhow the match hasn't started [yet] because of rain. I don't know what the selectors have done, but we have included Ojha in the fifteen [member squad]. I spoke to the [acting] BCCI president [CK Khanna] also and the BCCI also don't have any objection. After all, it's a question of a player's [career]."

Ojha debuted for Hyderabad in 2005 and but left the state in 2015, seeking to play for a team in the top rungs of the Ranji Trophy. Before the start of this new season however, he asked Bengal to release him from his contract so he could move home to be with his family. But the CAB did not offer him an NOC, saying he was too valuable to their plans for the new Ranji season. That was when contact between the two parties supposedly broke, to the extent that Bengal had to replace Ojha with a rookier spinner Pradipta Pramanik for the opening match against Services.

On Thursday, however, the CAB said it had received a letter from Ojha saying it was "difficult for him to leave Hyderabad" and that missing matches at his age of 31 was "detrimental to his career". In response, CAB joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya said: "The matter was discussed with the president [Sourav Ganguly]. The matter has been considered sympathetically based on Mr. Ojha's request to the President and therefore the Association would have no objection if he plays for Hyderabad."

Jadeja unavailable for Haryana game: Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was part of Saurashtra's squad for their first match against Haryana from October 6, has opted out of it due to personal reasons: he has to attend a wedding. Left-arm spinner Jay Chauhan replaces him in the squad. Jadeja will be available to play from the second round, in which Saurashtra take on Jammu & Kashmir.