फीफा विश्व कप 2022 का एंबेसडर कोरोना वायरस से हुआ संक्रमित

कतर में 2022 में होने वाले विश्व कप फुटबॉल के एक 'ब्रांड एंबेसडर को कोरोना वायरस से संक्रमित पाया गया है। टूर्नामेंट के आयोजकों ने इसकी पुष्टि की। कतर के पूर्व मिडफील्डर 54 वर्षीय आदेल खमीस इस...

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My First IPL Match: The Shah Rukh Khan pep talk and watching Sachin Tendulkar bat, Mandeep Singh recalls debut

For 18-year-old Mandeep Singh, to be inside the Kolkata Knight Riders dressing room was a surreal experience. He had appeared for India in U-19 World Cup in January of 2010, played a solitary game for Punjab in Vijay Hazare Trophy in February and a month later, found himself surrounded by the likes of Chris Gayle, Sourav Ganguly and Shane Bond, in the KKR setup.

After waiting for some games to get his debut, and when he eventually got the chance against Mumbai Indians in Mumbai, Mandeep was equally excited and nervous as he was going to watch his idol Sachin Tendulkar bat from close quarters.

For someone who had grown up watching Tendulkar bat and score runs and cheered each one of those boundaries and sixes sitting in front of a TV set, the world had flipped upside down for him. He was suddenly asked to stop the same man from scoring runs because he was in the opposition team. It was a tumultuous occasion, but it gave a huge satisfaction that Sachin and him were playing in the same match. Mandeep did not even get to bat in the match but that would never be a reason to forget his IPL debut.

"What I remember (from that debut match) is fielding and watching Sachin Tendulkar bat in that match from close quarters," Mandeep told Firstpost.

"He was the one, like many of us, who inspired to take up the sport. I started playing cricket because of Sachin Tendulkar. He was a school to me while growing up. And now, to see him field, was incredible. I was having total fun, to be honest. Just being in that moment. That was surreal. He was batting right in front of me and the stadium was jampacked. That was the first time I was playing a match with or against him. And he had demolished us. He had hit us all over the park. But to be honest, I was having great fun as well watching him bat. We ended up losing the match but I was somewhere also happy for the fact that there was Sachin Tendulkar in my first IPL match," said Mandeep, whose voice gave a peek into that 18-year-old over the phone.

It was a fantasy land in the early days for Mandeep, who was star struck and in disbelief all the time, watching the big guns go about, sharing the dressing room with them and travelling from one city to another, to play cricket and staying in the big hotels.

"Sometimes, I used to think, how did I come here? At the very start, I have to say, I was star struck. Also, staying in the big hotels and travelling. It was very strange and awesome. And slowly, everything settled down, as I began bonding with other players," Mandeep recalled.

Of many surreal things happening with him during that edition, the one more worth mentioning is his meeting with Shah Rukh Khan. The KKR co-owner, who was passionately involved in the functioning of the team, had called him and the other debutant Harpreet Singh to his room for a chat. Mandeep still remembers that chat.

"We all had seen Shah Rukh in films and I thought I was going to meet Shah Rukh Khan. That was a big thing for me. I don't think so I would have got a more better start before my debut match," said Mandeep.

"He spoke to us in Punjabi also. He said don't be scared, just play your natural game and as the Punjabis are known for, play like a warrior. That talk really calmed me down."

A new team, a dream-like dressing room, jam-packed stadiums, a bollywood star as a cheerleader and a million watching in their homes, Mandeep's 18-year-old self looks at all of this as a freakish yet learning experience. The crowd cheering him from behind as he saved a boundary as a substitute fielder, was an unexpected happening. It remains an unforgettable experience for him. But he also remembers that Brett Lee ball that got him out after he had hit the Australian pacer for a boundary the previous bowler. That was also a learning.

With no T20 experience behind him, he was a seeker of valuable inputs from the format itself.

"I was only 18, and from childhood, I was told to defend, if the ball went a certain distance off the bat in the nets, the coach used to ask you to pack your bags and leave and here suddenly, you had to score quick runs. I think that season also gave me a lot of learning in terms of how to approach batting in T20s," said Mandeep.

Yet, for Mandeep, the thrill and fun of playing, for the first time, in IPL, is hard to forget.

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Umar Akmal suffers from epilepsy, refused treatment in past, reveals former PCB chief Najam Sethi

Karachi: In a startling revelation, former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi has claimed that banned Test batsman Umar Akmal suffers from epilepsy for which he had refused to take treatment.

Umar was recently slapped with a three-year ban for not reporting corrupt approaches before the start of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Sethi, who was Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman and Head of Executive Committee between 2013 and 2018, said when he took over the reins of the cricket body, the first problem he faced concerned Umar.

"We had medical reports that confirmed he suffered from epilepsy fits and we called him back from the West Indies. When I met him I told him it was a serious problem and he needed to take a break and get proper treatment. But he was not willing to accept this. He was mentally not there," Sethi told a TV Channel.

"Anyway I stopped him from playing for two months but later on we sent the medical reports to the selectors and left it to them because I didn't like to interfere in their work."

Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behaviour, sensations, and sometimes loss of awareness.

Sethi also claimed that Umar put himself above the team despite being a supremely talented cricketer.

"...but he refuses to accept discipline and he is an individualistic player prone to play with instinct. He plays for himself not for his team. He is outside all discipline."

The former official also feels the three-year ban imposed on Umar would eventually end his career.

"I am afraid his career is threatened and it appears to me to be the end of the line for him. Umar has always been someone outside all discipline and this three-year ban was going to happen," he said.

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The greatest last wicket stand: Revisiting Shute Banerjee and Chandu Sarwate's 1946 record-breaking display at the Oval

In 'Nostalgia Drive', Anindya Dutta celebrates a significant victory in Indian cricket which occurred in that corresponding month in history

***

The year was 1946. In the first summer of first-class cricket after a devastating and debilitating war, the last team from Undivided India to tour Britain landed on her shores.

The squad included Hindus, Muslims, a Parsi (Rusi Modi), and a Christian (Vijay Hazare) — a side that represented the country's diversity. Leading the team, was Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi, a man who had made his debut for England during the infamous Bodyline Series of 1932-33.

It was one of the wettest summers recorded in England, made worse by the early May start. But that did not prevent the crowds from coming out in numbers to witness the return of first-class cricket. This was a British Isles caught between the exhilaration of emerging victorious from the Second World War, and the devastation the war had wrought upon the country. The prospect of cricket was as invigorating as the summer rain.

Pataudi's team would play 33 matches on a tour that lasted four months. Twenty-nine of the matches, including three Tests, were first-class, and the Indians would win 11 of them, losing only four.

Starting their tour in Worcester and stopping by at Oxford, the visitors came to the Oval in London for a match that was destined to adorn the history books for decades to come.

‘What’s the Hurry in Surry?’

If you drive down the beautiful country roads in Surrey, barely an hour south of London, signs accost you every so often sending a subtle message to slow down, given the outstanding scenery. They read — What’s the Hurry in Surry?

On 11 May 1946, at the Oval, where Surrey plays their home matches, their captain, Nigel Bennett, (an amateur club Cricketer, who urban legend suggests was leading the side in a case of mistaken identity — the invitation to captain the county had gone out to him instead of Major Leo Bennett, a more accomplished cricketer) would ignore the sage advice displayed on the roads of his home county, in his hurry to end the Indian innings.

During the war, as Martin Williamson wrote in ESPN Cricinfo, ‘The Oval had been used as a searchlight site and then a prisoner-of-war detention centre. German bombs had damaged the pavilion and stands. The square, fenced off, had not been touched for six years. This was the inaugural first-class match at the ground since the end of hostilities the year before.’

Miraculously, the wicket was in good condition, and the Indians batted sensibly after losing two quick wickets. The one Surrey bowler who troubled them was Alec Bedser, about to make his debut in the first Test match, barely a week away.

By three minutes past four in the afternoon, Bedser had the Indians in dire straits at 205 for 9. It was at this stage that No 11 SN ‘Shute’ Banerjee strode out to join No 10 CS ‘Chandu’ Sarwate at the crease.

‘Banerjee came to join me,’ Sarwate was to later recall. ‘The Surrey captain then thought that we would last hardly a few minutes. He called the groundsman and was trying to tell him the roller that he would require.’

Banerjee and Sarwate — Two Contrasting Careers

Sarobindu Nath ‘Shute’ Banerjee was 35-years old when he stepped on to the Surrey turf that day. It was not his first tour of England.

In 1936, he had come to the British Isles as a feared fast-medium pacer in a team led by the unworthy Vizzy. Unwittingly made a pawn in a game of upmanship and petty rivalry between Vizzy and CK Nayudu, Banerjee was told just before the Test match started that he would no longer be a part of playing XI and would be replaced by Baqa Jilani. Jilani had ‘earned’ his place by publicly insulting Nayudu at the breakfast table on the instigation of Vizzy.

Ten years later, he would once again be denied a Test cap in England as lesser players won theirs. Banerjee would eventually play a sole Test match at home at the age of 38 against the West Indies in 1949, picking up five-wickets on a debut that had been delayed by 13-years.

In a fulfilling first-class career stretching more than 30 years, Banerjee took 385 wickets in 138 matches at an average of 26.61. For a fast-medium bowler operating on largely unresponsive tracks, these were magnificent numbers. His stock delivery was the one that came into the batsman, often resulting in a thick edge to the wicket-keeper. Slower balls that moved away after pitching in line was a variation that brought him a lot of wickets.

He was no mug with the bat either. With 3,715 runs including five centuries and 11 fifties, Banerjee made his wicket count as long as he was at the crease. As he walked in that day at The Oval, with his team’s situation precarious, Banerjee took comfort from the fact that in the previous season's Ranji Trophy, he had scored a fifty opening the innings for Bihar.

The man greeting him midway at the pitch was another remarkable character.

Chandrasekhar Trimbak ‘Chandu’ Sarwate was a fingerprint expert by profession with degrees in Arts and Law, and a cricketer by design. With 494 wickets against his name, this leg spinner in a career spanning 32 years had made a name for himself in the domestic circuit. And with 14 centuries and 38 fifties, he was far more accomplished than any No 10 batsman had a right to be. He was fated to be luckier than Banerjee, getting the opportunity to play nine Tests without particularly distinguishing himself in the process.

More importantly, Sarwate had also opened for Holkar, scoring a hundred in the Ranji Trophy semi-final, and the Banerjee-Sarwate pair had actually opened together for East Zone in 1945-46.

But the inexperienced Nigel Bennett could not have known any of this, and was in for the surprise of his life.

The Greatest Last Wicket Stand in History

Sarwate would later sum up what happened next when he recalled: ‘That evening we couldn't do anything wrong.’

Indeed they couldn’t.

The two men attacked with some brilliant hitting on the off side and Surrey had no answer, handicapped after Bedser’s 39-year-old fast bowling partner Alf Gover had gone off with a strained tendon in his heel.

By close of play on that first day, Sarwate had reached 107, Banerjee was 87, and the pair had added 193 in two hours. As the players trooped off The Oval that evening, Bennett did not even glance at the groundsman. The roller had long been forgotten.

John Arlott, making his debut as a BBC commentator in the series, wrote in his match report: ‘The two men batted capably and correctly, defending well against Bedser who bowled industriously, and scoring, chiefly in front of the wicket, by strokes made out of confidence and with no trace of last-wicket anxiety.’

The next day was Sunday, a rest day. At 12.27 pm on Monday, the stand finally ended when Banerjee was dismissed. The pair had added 249 in three hours and ten minutes, Sarwate making 124 not out and Banerjee 127. It had been the greatest last-wicket stand in history. Never before nor since have both No 10 and No 11 both scored a century in a first-class match.

The demoralised Englishmen were dismissed for 135, CS Nayudu taking a hat-trick with his leg spin. Pataudi gave Banerjee a rest from bowling. He had done enough.

Surrey followed on, ending the day at 172 without loss. But the next day Sarwate got into the act with his leg spin and picked up five for 54 to make the match truly memorable for him.

When the Indian opening pair walked out to score the 20-runs needed to register their nation’s first win in 10-years in first-class cricket, Surrey had their final surprise. As a reward for his all-round showing, or perhaps in a blatant display of princely schadenfreude, captain Pataudi had sent Sarwate out to face the first ball of the innings.

Chandu Sarwate did not hit the winning runs as his captain had hoped, losing his wicket in his eagerness to score. But as India rattled off the runs, and Sarwate and Banerjee embraced each other in the dressing room, they were not to know that seven decades on, their dual centuries, scored while batting at No 10 and 11 respectively, would endure in the record books, their names forever immortalised by this greatest last-wicket stand in cricket.

Anindya Dutta is a cricket columnist and author of four bestselling books. His latest, Wizards: The Story of Indian Spin Bowling won India’s Cricket Book of the Year award for 2019 and is long-listed for the MCC Book of the Year.

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अगरकर को बताया फिसड्डी! हर्षा भोगले ने दिखाया आईना

नई दिल्ली कोविड- 19 (Covid- 19) महामारी के चलते दुनिया भर की तमाम खेल गतिविधियां थम चुकी हैं। ऐसे क्रिकेट इतिहास के पुराने पन्नों को फिर से खंगाला जा रहा है और इन दिनों इस खेल के महान और फिसड्डी खिलाड़ियों पर खूब चर्चाएं हो रही हैं। इसी कड़ी में फॉक्स क्रिकेट ने भी 'सर्वकालिक 11 फिसड्डी पुछल्ले बल्लेबाजों' की सूची तैयार की है। इस फेहरिस्त में पूर्व तेज गेंदबाज () का भी नाम है। मशहूर कॉमेंटेटर () ने फॉक्स क्रिकेट कर आईना दिखाया है। इस फेहरिस्त में अजीत अगरकर का नाम देखकर हर्षा भोगले भी चौंक गए और उन्होंने इस ट्वीट पर अपना जवाब देते हुए लिखा, 'अगरकर? उनके नाम टेस्ट शतक है! वनडे क्रिकेट में 21 गेंद में पचासा भी जमाया है!' अगरकर की बल्लेबाजी काबिलियत साबित करने के लिए भोगले का इतना जवाब शायद फॉक्स क्रिकेट के लिए काफी है। वैसे अपने करियर में 191 वनडे और 26 टेस्ट खेलने वाले तेज गेंदबाज अगरकर के नाम एक टेस्ट शतक और तीन वनडे फिफ्टीज हैं। अगरकर के अलावा इस फेहरिस्त में भारत से एक और खिलाड़ी का नाम है, वे हैं जसप्रीत बुमराह। बुमराह ने अभी हाल ही में अपना क्रिकेट सफर शुरू किया है, जबकि इस फेहरिस्त में शामिल लगभग सभी खिलाड़ी संन्यास ले चुके हैं। ये है फॉक्स क्रिकेट की सर्वकालिक फिसड्डी टेलेंडर्स XI टीम क्रिस मार्टिन (न्यूजीलैंड, कप्तान), कर्टनी वॉल्श (वेस्टइंडीज), ग्लेन मैकग्रा (ऑस्ट्रेलिया), मोंटी पनेसर (इंग्लैंड), अजीत अगरकर (भारत), जसप्रीत बुमराह (भारत), फिल टफनेल (इंग्लैंड), ब्रूस रीड (ऑस्ट्रेलिया), डेवोन मैल्कम (इंग्लैंड), हेनरी ओलंगा (जिम्बाब्वे), पोमी मांग्वा (जिम्बाब्वे)।

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The greatest last wicket stand: Revisiting Shute Banerjee and Chandu Sarwate's 1946 record-breaking display at the Oval

In 'Nostalgia Drive', Anindya Dutta celebrates a significant victory in Indian cricket which occurred in that corresponding month in history

***

The year was 1946. In the first summer of first-class cricket after a devastating and debilitating war, the last team from Undivided India to tour Britain landed on her shores.

The squad included Hindus, Muslims, a Parsi (Rusi Modi), and a Christian (Vijay Hazare) — a side that represented the country's diversity. Leading the team, was Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi, a man who had made his debut for England during the infamous Bodyline Series of 1932-33.

It was one of the wettest summers recorded in England, made worse by the early May start. But that did not prevent the crowds from coming out in numbers to witness the return of first-class cricket. This was a British Isles caught between the exhilaration of emerging victorious from the Second World War, and the devastation the war had wrought upon the country. The prospect of cricket was as invigorating as the summer rain.

Pataudi's team would play 33 matches on a tour that lasted four months. Twenty-nine of the matches, including three Tests, were first-class, and the Indians would win 11 of them, losing only four.

Starting their tour in Worcester and stopping by at Oxford, the visitors came to the Oval in London for a match that was destined to adorn the history books for decades to come.

‘What’s the Hurry in Surry?’

If you drive down the beautiful country roads in Surrey, barely an hour south of London, signs accost you every so often sending a subtle message to slow down, given the outstanding scenery. They read — What’s the Hurry in Surry?

On 11 May 1946, at the Oval, where Surrey plays their home matches, their captain, Nigel Bennett, (an amateur club Cricketer, who urban legend suggests was leading the side in a case of mistaken identity — the invitation to captain the county had gone out to him instead of Major Leo Bennett, a more accomplished cricketer) would ignore the sage advice displayed on the roads of his home county, in his hurry to end the Indian innings.

During the war, as Martin Williamson wrote in ESPN Cricinfo, ‘The Oval had been used as a searchlight site and then a prisoner-of-war detention centre. German bombs had damaged the pavilion and stands. The square, fenced off, had not been touched for six years. This was the inaugural first-class match at the ground since the end of hostilities the year before.’

Miraculously, the wicket was in good condition, and the Indians batted sensibly after losing two quick wickets. The one Surrey bowler who troubled them was Alec Bedser, about to make his debut in the first Test match, barely a week away.

By three minutes past four in the afternoon, Bedser had the Indians in dire straits at 205 for 9. It was at this stage that No 11 SN ‘Shute’ Banerjee strode out to join No 10 CS ‘Chandu’ Sarwate at the crease.

‘Banerjee came to join me,’ Sarwate was to later recall. ‘The Surrey captain then thought that we would last hardly a few minutes. He called the groundsman and was trying to tell him the roller that he would require.’

Banerjee and Sarwate — Two Contrasting Careers

Sarobindu Nath ‘Shute’ Banerjee was 35-years old when he stepped on to the Surrey turf that day. It was not his first tour of England.

In 1936, he had come to the British Isles as a feared fast-medium pacer in a team led by the unworthy Vizzy. Unwittingly made a pawn in a game of upmanship and petty rivalry between Vizzy and CK Nayudu, Banerjee was told just before the Test match started that he would no longer be a part of playing XI and would be replaced by Baqa Jilani. Jilani had ‘earned’ his place by publicly insulting Nayudu at the breakfast table on the instigation of Vizzy.

Ten years later, he would once again be denied a Test cap in England as lesser players won theirs. Banerjee would eventually play a sole Test match at home at the age of 38 against the West Indies in 1949, picking up five-wickets on a debut that had been delayed by 13-years.

In a fulfilling first-class career stretching more than 30 years, Banerjee took 385 wickets in 138 matches at an average of 26.61. For a fast-medium bowler operating on largely unresponsive tracks, these were magnificent numbers. His stock delivery was the one that came into the batsman, often resulting in a thick edge to the wicket-keeper. Slower balls that moved away after pitching in line was a variation that brought him a lot of wickets.

He was no mug with the bat either. With 3,715 runs including five centuries and 11 fifties, Banerjee made his wicket count as long as he was at the crease. As he walked in that day at The Oval, with his team’s situation precarious, Banerjee took comfort from the fact that in the previous season's Ranji Trophy, he had scored a fifty opening the innings for Bihar.

The man greeting him midway at the pitch was another remarkable character.

Chandrasekhar Trimbak ‘Chandu’ Sarwate was a fingerprint expert by profession with degrees in Arts and Law, and a cricketer by design. With 494 wickets against his name, this leg spinner in a career spanning 32 years had made a name for himself in the domestic circuit. And with 14 centuries and 38 fifties, he was far more accomplished than any No 10 batsman had a right to be. He was fated to be luckier than Banerjee, getting the opportunity to play nine Tests without particularly distinguishing himself in the process.

More importantly, Sarwate had also opened for Holkar, scoring a hundred in the Ranji Trophy semi-final, and the Banerjee-Sarwate pair had actually opened together for East Zone in 1945-46.

But the inexperienced Nigel Bennett could not have known any of this, and was in for the surprise of his life.

The Greatest Last Wicket Stand in History

Sarwate would later sum up what happened next when he recalled: ‘That evening we couldn't do anything wrong.’

Indeed they couldn’t.

The two men attacked with some brilliant hitting on the off side and Surrey had no answer, handicapped after Bedser’s 39-year-old fast bowling partner Alf Gover had gone off with a strained tendon in his heel.

By close of play on that first day, Sarwate had reached 107, Banerjee was 87, and the pair had added 193 in two hours. As the players trooped off The Oval that evening, Bennett did not even glance at the groundsman. The roller had long been forgotten.

John Arlott, making his debut as a BBC commentator in the series, wrote in his match report: ‘The two men batted capably and correctly, defending well against Bedser who bowled industriously, and scoring, chiefly in front of the wicket, by strokes made out of confidence and with no trace of last-wicket anxiety.’

The next day was Sunday, a rest day. At 12.27 pm on Monday, the stand finally ended when Banerjee was dismissed. The pair had added 249 in three hours and ten minutes, Sarwate making 124 not out and Banerjee 127. It had been the greatest last-wicket stand in history. Never before nor since have both No 10 and No 11 both scored a century in a first-class match.

The demoralised Englishmen were dismissed for 135, CS Nayudu taking a hat-trick with his leg spin. Pataudi gave Banerjee a rest from bowling. He had done enough.

Surrey followed on, ending the day at 172 without loss. But the next day Sarwate got into the act with his leg spin and picked up five for 54 to make the match truly memorable for him.

When the Indian opening pair walked out to score the 20-runs needed to register their nation’s first win in 10-years in first-class cricket, Surrey had their final surprise. As a reward for his all-round showing, or perhaps in a blatant display of princely schadenfreude, captain Pataudi had sent Sarwate out to face the first ball of the innings.

Chandu Sarwate did not hit the winning runs as his captain had hoped, losing his wicket in his eagerness to score. But as India rattled off the runs, and Sarwate and Banerjee embraced each other in the dressing room, they were not to know that seven decades on, their dual centuries, scored while batting at No 10 and 11 respectively, would endure in the record books, their names forever immortalised by this greatest last-wicket stand in cricket.

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बिना वैक्सीन के खेल बहाल नहीं हो, वाडा से हरी झंडी लेना ना भूलें: प्रणीत

भारत के शीर्ष बैडमिंटन खिलाड़ी बी साइ प्रणीत का मानना है कि खेलों की बहाली तभी हो जब कोरोना वायरस का वैक्सीन बन जाए और इसे विश्व डोपिंग निरोधक एजेंसी से मंजूरी मिल जाए। टेनिस स्टार नोवाक जोकोविच...

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कोविड-19 के कारण डायमंड लीग स्थगित, निराश हैं भाला फेंक एथलीट शिवपाल सिंह

भाला फेंक एथलीट शिवपाल सिंह इस बात से राहत महसूस कर रहे हैं कि वह पहले ही ओलंपिक के लिए क्वॉलिफाई कर चुके हैं, लेकिन इस बात से निराश हैं कि कोविड-19 महामारी के कारण वह प्रतिष्ठित डायमंड लीग सीरीज में...

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बहुत हो रहा क्रिकेट, यह चिंतन का समय: होल्डिंग

नई दिल्ली वेस्ट इंडीज के महान तेज गेंदबाज () ने कहा है कि डॉलर कमाने की कवायद में जरूरत से ज्यादा क्रिकेट हो रहा है। कोरोना वायरस (Coronavirus) के कारण मिले ब्रेक का इस्तेमाल इस आत्मविश्लेषण के लिए किया जाना चाहिए कि खेल सही दिशा में आगे जा रहा है या नहीं। क्रिकेटर से कॉमेंटेटर बने 66 साल के होल्डिंग का निजी तौर पर मानना है कि खेल के अत्यधिक व्यावसायीकरण के बीच कुछ समय का ब्रेक जरूरी था। होल्डिंग ने 'ईएसपीएनक्रिकइंफो' से कहा, 'इस ब्रेक का इस्तेमाल खेल पर गौर करने के लिए करें, यह देखने के लिए कि प्रशासकों, खिलाड़ियों के साथ क्या हो रहा है और सोचिए: क्या हम सही दिशा में आगे जा रहे हैं? हमारे खेल के साथ क्या सब कुछ सही है? निजी तौर पर मुझे ऐसा लगता है।' उन्होंने कहा, 'हर व्यक्ति हर संभावित डॉलर कमाने की कोशिश में जुटा है। लेकिन क्या हम थोड़ी देर रुक सकते हैं और बैठकर देख सकते हैं कि क्या सब कुछ ठीक है? काफी क्रिकेट खेला जा रहा है।' कोविड-19 महामारी के कारण दुनिया भर में खेल प्रतियोगिताएं ठप्प पड़ी हैं और अधिकतर प्रतियोगिताओं को स्थगित या रद्द कर दिया गया है। बेहद लोकप्रिय इंडियन प्रीमियर लीग (IPL) को अनिश्चितकाल के लिए स्थगित किया गया है और इस साल ऑस्ट्रेलिया में होने वाले टी20 विश्व कप पर भी संशय के बादल छाए हैं। इस घातक बीमारी के कारण दुनिया भर में लगभग दो लाख 18 हजार लोगों की मौत हो चुकी है, जबकि भारत में एक हजार से अधिक लोगों की जान गई है। होल्डिंग ने कहा कि कभी न कभी प्रशासकों को क्रिकेट दोबारा शुरू करने का फैसला करना होगा और अगर जरूरी हुआ तो खाली स्टेडियमों में। उन्होंने कहा, 'काफी प्रशासकों को पता चल गया है कि प्रसारणकर्ताओं की संतुष्टि के लिए उन्हें खेल का कोई ना कोई प्रारूप शुरू करना होगा। लेकिन प्रसारणकर्ताओं को अगर वह चीज नहीं मिलेगी, जिसके लिए वह भुगतान कर रहे हैं तो वे अपना पैसा वापस मांगेंगे।' होल्डिंग ने कहा, 'इसलिए उन्हें खाली स्टेडियम में क्रिकेट खेलने का प्रयास करना होगा या जिस भी प्रारूप में खेलने का मौका मिले उसे खेलना होगा।'

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Ross Taylor wins New Zealand Cricket's player of the year award for third time

Wellington: Veteran batsman Ross Taylor has won the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal as New Zealand’s cricket player of the year, claiming the top award for the third time in its 10-year history.

The presentation was made by Hadlee on Friday, on the final day of New Zealand Cricket’s virtual awards ceremony.

In a season of milestones, Taylor surpassed Stephen Fleming as New Zealand’s leading Test run-scorer and became the first player from any nation to play 100 international matches in all three formats.

The 36-year-old scored 1,389 runs across in tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches in the 2019-2020 season, playing in all but one of New Zealand’s 32 internationals in the awards period.

“It’s been full of ups and downs,” Taylor said. “A World Cup final, losing that final. The Boxing Day test which was such a proud moment to be part of and to have so many Kiwis there supporting us was something I’ll never forget."

Hadlee, regarded as New Zealand’s greatest cricketer, spoke to Taylor by video link in a ceremony forced online by the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve followed your career since 2006 as I was part of the selection panel when you played your first ODI and then Test match," Hadlee said. “I’ve watched your progress over the past 14 years and I just want to congratulate you on all your performances and records to date.

“You’ve been a wonderful performer, you’ve got a fantastic record and on behalf of New Zealand Cricket I’d just like to say thanks very much for your contribution, not only to New Zealand cricket, but to world cricket.”

Seam bowler Tim Southee was named New Zealand’s Test Player of the Year after previously winning the award as best bowler. In the four tests New Zealand won during the awards period Southee took 25 wickets at an average of 16.4.

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Premier League: Liverpool unhappy with city mayor's comments on ending current season

Premier League leaders Liverpool said they were ‘disappointed’ by the city’s mayor saying the season should not be re-started even behind closed doors because of the risk of fans gathering outside Anfield.

Liverpool were 25 points clear of closest rivals Manchester City, who have a game in hand, when the league was suspended in March and need only two wins to secure their first top flight title in 30 years.

Premier League clubs are set to meet on Friday to discuss ways to finish the season, with some already back in individual training.

Mayor Joe Anderson told the BBC on Thursday that health and safety was the bottom line and the best thing to do was to declare the season over and hand the title to Liverpool as deserving champions.

“Even if it was behind closed doors, there’d be many thousands of people who would turn up outside Anfield,” said Anderson, a fan of Liverpool’s city rivals Everton.

“There’s not many people who would respect what we were saying and stay away from the ground, a lot of people would come to celebrate so I think it’s a non-starter.

“I think it would be really difficult for the police to keep people apart and maintain social distancing if they were going to celebrate outside Anfield. It would be farcical.”

Liverpool replied in a statement saying there was “a lack of evidence to support such claims”.

“In recent weeks, we have engaged with supporters’ groups who have informed us of their determination to respect social distancing measures,” the club added.

“In the event of a resumption of football being announced, we would continue to work with them and other key stakeholders in keeping with our collective desire to achieve this crucial objective.”

Mark Roberts, the national lead for football policing, said on Wednesday that police want to be able to cancel the season if fans did not respect social-distancing guidelines once matches returned.

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इस साल कोई ओलंपिक क्वॉलिफायर नहीं, विश्व रैंकिंग पर भी रोक: विश्व तीरंदाजी

विश्व तीरंदाजी ने गुरुवार (30 अप्रैल) को यह फैसला लिया कि कोरोना वायरस महामारी के कारण इस साल कोई ओलंपिक क्वॉलिफायर नहीं होगा और विश्व रैंकिंग पर भी रोक लगा दी। विश्व तीरंदाजी ने अगस्त के आखिर तक के...

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बीएफआई की गलती के कारण नुकसान नहीं उठा सकते : AIBA

भारतीय मुक्केबाजी महासंघ (बीएफआई) द्वारा जारी किए गए बयान का संज्ञान लेते हुए अंतरराष्ट्रीय मुक्केबाजी महासंघ (एआईबीए) ने साफ कर दिया है कि वह बीएफआई की नियम पालन में की गई असफलता के कारण नुकसान...

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ओलंपिक गोल्फ क्वॉलिफाइंग को जून 2021 तक बढ़ाया गया

अंतरराष्ट्रीय गोल्फ महासंघ (आईजीएफ) ने घोषणा की है कि टोक्यो ओलंपिक गोल्फ क्वॉलिफाइंग को जून 2021 तक बढ़ाया दिया गया है। अब पुरुष गोल्फरों को अगले साल 21 जून तक तथा महिला गोल्फरों को 28 जून तक ओलंपिक...

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पेरिस सेंट जर्मेन बना 2019-20 फ्रेंच लीग-1 सीजन का विजेता

पेरिस सेंट जर्मेन (पीएसजी) को गुरुवार को फ्रांस फुटबॉल लीग फ्रेंच लीग-1 का 2019-20 का विजेता घोषित कर दिया गया है। लीग ने एक बयान में कहा, “लीग-1 की समाप्ति के बाद और सभी खेलों में हासिल किए गए...

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टेनिस स्टार सानिया मिर्जा फेड कप हर्ट अवॉर्ड के लिए नॉमिनेट, ऐसा करने वाली पहली भारतीय महिला खिलाड़ी

भारत की स्टार महिला टेनिस खिलाड़ी सानिया मिर्जा को फेड कप एशिया/ओसनिया ग्रुप वन  हर्ट अवॉर्ड के लिए नामित किया गया है। इस अवार्ड के लिए नामित होने वाली वह पहली भारतीय महिला खिलाड़ी बन गई हैं। अखिल...

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WWE Rumor राउंडअप: रोमन रेंस ने बचाया था साथी सुपरस्टार का करियर, ब्रॉक लैसनर के बारे में बड़ी जानकारी

रोमन रेंस से लेकर ब्रॉक लैसनर तक के बारे में बड़ी जानकारी इस आर्टिकल में पाएं।

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AEW Dynamite रिजल्ट्स: WWE दिग्गज की पत्नी शो में नजर आईं, पूर्व इम्पैक्ट स्टार ने डेब्यू किया

पूर्व WWE स्टार और इम्पैक्ट स्टार डायनामाइट में नजर आईं, जानिए क्या हुआ AEW डायनामाइट में?

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Cricket News - डेल स्टेन ने चुनी अपनी बेस्ट इलेवन, किसी भी भारतीय खिलाड़ी को नहीं किया शामिल

डेल स्टेन की इस टीम में सिर्फ दो ही विदेशी खिलाड़ी हैं

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WWE NXT रिजल्ट्स: चैंपियनशिप मैच ने फैंस का दिल जीता, सुपरस्टार को किडनेप करने का किया प्रयास

पढ़िए WWE के NXT ब्रांड में क्या बड़ी चीज़ें देखने को मिली।

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ये हैं आईपीएल 2018 की पांच सबसे बड़ी पारियां, वापसी करते ही चेन्नई ने मचाया था धमाल

चेन्नई ने एक बार फिर से वापसी के बाद जमाया था दबदबा

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बेन स्टोक्स बोले- अलग ही लेवल पर बैटिंग करते हैं स्टीव स्मिथ, मैं उनकी बराबरी नहीं कर सकता

बेन स्टोक्स का मानना है स्टीव स्मिथ बल्लेबाजी के लिए मैदान पर आते हैं, तो वो एक अलग स्तर पर बल्लेबाजी करते हैं

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Coronavirus Outbreak: Feels a long way away from getting back to playing cricket, says England pacer Stuart Broad

London: England pacer Stuart Broad does not foresee a resumption of cricket any time soon even as the stakeholders of the game consider holding matches in empty stadiums to counter the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak has caused a collapse of sports events worldwide, forcing either cancellations or postponements.

Like other sports, international and domestic cricket too has been disrupted leading the national boards to contemplate resuming the game behind closed doors.

"It's strange for players. It does still feel a long way away from getting back to playing cricket," Broad told the BBC.

The 33-year-old is confident that the stakeholders of the game won't be going ahead with tournaments if any risks are involved.

"One thing is for sure the sport won't take any risks. We will only be back playing live cricket when it has been deemed safe to do so by the government," Broad said.

"I think that would be behind closed doors and players and management staff would be in a close environment.

"There has been talks about playing in grounds with hotels built in them so you don't have to leave and move too far. Obviously, we will be shining the ball and there will be contact quite naturally," he added.

However, the England speedster feels the players must continue to do whatever is in their hands to get back on the field.

"But we just have to make sure we are doing everything we can right now as players and don't delay playing due to fitness reasons once we are told to play," he said.

Last week, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suspended all forms of professional cricket till 1 July.

England were scheduled to launch the inaugural edition of The Hundred, a new 100 balls per side format to be played by eight franchises, in July.

But with the latest delay in the commencement of the game, the tournament may be delayed.

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उमर पर प्रतिबंध का कुछ हिस्सा निलंबित हो सकता है : पीसीबी सूत्र

कराची पाकिस्तान क्रिकेट बोर्ड (पीसीबी) के सूत्रों ने कहा कि क्रिकेट बोर्ड का अनुशासनात्मक पैनल उमर अकमल को लेकर जब जल्द ही अपना विस्तृत फैसला सुनाएगा तो उनके प्रतिबंध का कुछ हिस्सा निलंबित हो सकता है। पीसबी ने उमर पर भ्रष्ट संपर्क की जानकारी नहीं देने के लिये तीन साल का प्रतिबंध लगाया है। सोमवार को लाहौर में पैनल की एक घंटे तक चली सुनवाई के बाद न्यायमूर्ति (सेवानिवृत) मिरान चोहान ने यह फैसला सुनाया था। उमर स्वयं सुनवाई के लिए पहुंचे थे। सूत्रों ने कहा, ‘लोग तीन साल के प्रतिबंध को लेकर सीधे नतीजों पर पहुंच गये लेकिन अभी विस्तृत फैसला नहीं आया है। उमर पर तीन साल का प्रतिबंध लग सकता है लेकिन इसमें दो साल या ऐसा ही कुछ निलंबित प्रतिबंध शामिल हो सकता है।’ उन्होंने कहा कि इसकी पूरी संभावना है क्योंकि उमर पर भ्रष्टाचार निरोधक इकाई ने जिन नियमों के तहत आरोप तय किए उसे देखते हुए जज तीन साल के प्रतिबंध के अधिकतर हिस्से को निलंबित रख सकते हैं।

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Kane Williamson named ODI player of the year at New Zealand Cricket's virtual awards

Auckland: Skipper Kane Willamson was on Thursday named the men's ODI Player of the Year at the annual New Zealand Cricket awards for his stellar performance throughout the year.

Ross Taylor and White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine took home the men's and women's T20 Player of the Year award respectively, while Suzie Bates was rewarded for her consistency with the bat as she claimed the women's ODI player of the year.

The awards were presented online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Williamson had a hugely successful year, both individually and with the New Zealand team, which he led to the World Cup final.

At the World Cup, the 29-year-old amassed 578 runs at an average of 82, including two centuries, which culminated in him being named player of the tournament.

"Kane was simply exceptional at the ICC Cricket World Cup last year," New Zealand head coach, Gary Stead said.

"Kane fully deserved his selection. He builds great partnerships with our well-established middle order and when he bats deep in an ODI innings, we'll invariably be in a good position to win most of those matches.

"He leads the team well, he has his own style and certainly the respect of his peers. His calm, purposeful demeanour flows through his leadership and, in turn, the team," he added.

Veteran Blackcaps batsman Taylor scored 330 runs at a strike-rate of 130 to take home the honour in the shortest format of the game.

"A man of Ross' international experience is very valuable in the fast and furious nature of T20 cricket," Stead said.

"He has the ability to sum up batting conditions quickly and accurately in a variety of venues and countries. This is a skill which serves the team well and helps us adapt plans quickly in the shortest form of the game."

In women's cricket, Bates was named the ODI player of the year after making two half-centuries in three matches against South Africa - the team's only games in the format in the past year.

Despite only having one ODI series against South Africa at home this summer, Bates showed her class scoring 142 runs at an average of 42.

"Suzie has been a world class performer for many years," White Ferns head coach, Bob Carter said.

"She paces an ODI innings really well and has the ability to read fields and pre-empt what opposition captains are trying to do and how they are looking to contain or restrict her game."

In women's T20, Devine enjoyed an unprecedented year, scoring her maiden T20 century while also becoming the first player, male or female, to reach 50 in five, and then six, consecutive T20 Internationals.

"Sophie had an exceptional season with the bat in T20 cricket," Carter said.

Devine scored 429 runs at an average of 71 and at a strike-rate of 132 employing a power game that rivals the best female players in the world.

"Our T20 side is at its best when Sophie is scoring runs at the top. She gives others around her the freedom to play their natural game.

"Sophie's ability with the ball in T20 cricket goes under the radar at times. She will often step up and bowl the hard overs and uses changes of pace to her advantage. She is a top quality all-rounder and an exceptional T20 talent," Carter said.

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छोटे स्तर के टूर्नामेंट से होनी चाहिए खेल की शुरुआत: WHO स्वास्थ्य सलाहकार

विश्व स्वास्थ संगठन (डब्ल्यूएचओ) द्वारा जारी की गई सलाह में कहा गया है कि खेलों के दोबारा शुरू करने की शुरुआत छोटे स्तर के टूर्नामेंट से की जा सकती है। कोरोना वायरस के कारण पूरे विश्व भर में खेल...

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Happy birthday Rohit Sharma: Wishes pour in for Indian batting superstar

India’s star batsman and Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma turned 33 on Thursday. The right-handed batsman who made his debut in 2007 saw his career take a massive turn when he was asked to open for India in the 2013 Champion's trophy.

On his birthday, wishes have been pouring in from all across India, including those from the cricketing fraternity.

His Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians was one of the first to wish him. “As the clock strikes 12, we wish our Captain - our Leader more boundaries, more sixes, more runs, more records and many more trophies Paltan, send out your wishes with #HitmanDay #HappyBirthdayRohit #OneFamily @ImRo45," read the post.

As the clock strikes 1️⃣2️⃣, we wish our Captain - our Leader more boundaries, more sixes, more runs, more records and many more trophies

Paltan, send out your wishes with #HitmanDay #HappyBirthdayRohit #OneFamily @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/Gflye8ZyVq

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 29, 2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) too posted a video on Twitter, remembering Rohit Sharma’s debut in Test cricket.

Happy Birthday, Hitman

On @ImRo45's special day, here is a recap of The Hitman show in whites. This one was in one of his favourite hunting grounds - Kolkata #HappyBirthdayRohit

— BCCI (@BCCI) April 30, 2020

Indian cricket coach Ravi Shastri wished a "great year ahead" to the ‘hitman’ and wished health and happiness for Sharma and his family as well.

Happy Birthday, Sharmaaaa! Have a great year ahead. Here's wishing you and your family health and happiness - God Bless @ImRo45 #HappyBirthdayRohit #HitmanDay #HappyBirthdayHitman pic.twitter.com/lNlGfYN9aa

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) April 30, 2020

“Happy birthday to Rohit Sharma, a master of the pull shot,” the International Cricket Council wrote on their Twitter wall.

364 international appearances
14,029 runs
39 centuries

Happy birthday to Rohit Sharma, a master of the pull shot pic.twitter.com/ikHjVBApob

— ICC (@ICC) April 30, 2020

Khaleed Ahmed, Mohammad Shami, Mayank Agarwal and the official twitter handle of IPL too extended their wishes to Sharma on his birthday.

You are one of the nicest and most genuine people I know. Wish you a very happy birthday bro @ImRo45 #HappyBirthdayRohit #HappyBirthdayHitman

— Khaleel Ahmed (@imK_Ahmed13) April 30, 2020

Happy birthday to you. From good friends and true, from old friends and new, may good luck go with you and happiness too!”@ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/5wtgrhUsbn

— Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) April 29, 2020

Throwback to this special moment with @ImRo45 as he guided me to my first test hundred. Happy Birthday, Rohit!

Can't wait to recreate this!#HappyBirthdayRohit pic.twitter.com/OP961EtkKh

— Mayank Agarwal (@mayankcricket) April 30, 2020

Happy birthday @ImRo45 👏🎂

On his birthday, let's relive the Hitman's IPL 💯 at his favourite Eden Gardens 📽️🔥#HappyBirthdayRohit

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2020

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'It's been going around for hundreds of years now': David Warner against saliva ban to shine ball

Star Australian opener David Warner does not see the need to abolish the use of saliva to shine the ball when cricket resumes in the post COVID-19 world as he feels it is no more or no less risky than sharing the change room with fellow players.

There is speculation that the use of saliva to shine the ball will be stopped to cut down the risk of the highly contagious infection when international cricket restarts.

"You're sharing change rooms and you're sharing everything else, I don't see why you have to change that," Warner told cricket.com.au.

"It's been going around for hundreds of years now, I can't recall anyone that's got sick by doing that. If you're going to contract a bug, I don't think it'd necessarily be just from that.

"I'm not too sure but it's not my place to comment on whether or not we should or shouldn't (use saliva to shine the ball). It's up to the ICC and the governing bodies to decide."

However, former fast bowler Shaun Tait believes it is important to be open about changes and the use of saliva could become a thing of the past.

"I've never been a huge fan of the saliva on the ball, it's not very nice really," Tait said.

"We have to be open to some possible changes there."

The subject of legalisation of ball tampering has led to divided opinions with West Indies pace great Michael Holding saying it is a bit "self contradictory", while South Africa legend Allan Donald being open to the idea.

Among others, batting great Sachin Tendulkar said players will be wary of using saliva to shine the ball, while Pakistan legend Waqar Younis, former India pacer Ashish Nehra and spinner Harbhajan Singh have supported the use of spit.

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अलविदा ऋषि: सचिन, विराट ने दी श्रद्धांजलि

नई दिल्लीबॉलिवुड के दिग्गज ऐक्टरों में शुमार ऋषि कपूर () का 67 साल की उम्र में गुरुवार को निधन हो गया। एक दिन पहले ही ऐक्टर इरफान खान (Irrfan Khan) इस दुनिया से चले गए और अगले ही दिन ऋषि भी। उनके निधन पर भारतीय क्रिकेट जगत भी स्तब्ध है और अपने पसंदीदा कलाकार को गमगीन होकर याद कर रहा है। महान क्रिकेटर , टीम इंडिया के कैप्टन , पूर्व धुरंधर ओपनर वीरेंदर सहवाग समेत कई दिग्गजों ने ऋषि कपूर को श्रद्धांजलि दी। देखें, सचिन ने उनकी तस्वीर ट्वीट करते हुए लिखा, 'ऋषि जी के निधन के बारे में सुनकर बहुत दुख हुआ। मैं उनकी फिल्में देखते हुए बड़ा हुआ हूं और जब हम वर्षों बाद मिले, तो भी वह बहुत शालीन थे। उनकी आत्मा को शांति मिले। नीतू जी, रणबीर और पूरे कपूर परिवार के प्रति मेरी हार्दिक संवेदना।' कैप्टन कोहली ने लिखा, 'विश्वास नहीं हो रहा। कल इरफान खान और आज ऋषि कपूर। यह स्वीकार करना ही मुश्किल हो रहा है कि दिग्गज नहीं रहे। उनके परिवार को सांत्वना, ईश्वर उनकी आत्मा को शांति दे।' पूर्व ओपनर सहवाग ने लिखा, 'ऋषि जी के निधन के बारे में जानकर बेहद दुख हुआ। उनके परिवार के प्रति हार्दिक संवेदना। ओम शांति !' दिग्गज भारतीय बल्लेबाज वीवीएस लक्ष्मण ने भी इस दिग्गज को श्रद्धांजलि दी। सिने जगत के दिग्गजों में शामिल रहे ऋषि कपूर अपनी लाजवाब अदाकारी और बेबाक अंदाज के लिए जाने जाते रहे।

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Sana Mir retires: A legend of game who blazed a memorable trail

A lost conversation. That’s what I think about when I think of Sana Mir. I was interviewing her for this article on the rivalry between India and Pakistan’s women’s teams, and as I started to transcribe it later, I realised that a part of the recording was incomplete. I scrambled to type out everything I remembered from the chat; thankfully, most of it was safe, recounting stories of stone-pelting (Asia Cup 2006, when Pakistan toured India), record-breaking (2012, when Pakistan beat India for the first time in World Cups), and an Asian collusion at Lord’s.

This last occasion was in 2014, when Mir played alongside Jhulan Goswami, Mithali Raj, and Shashikala Siriwardene for a Rest of the World side playing against the MCC, as part of the club’s double centenary celebrations. “I remember Mithali was standing at mid-off, and that was the first time Mithali was cheering for me, ‘that was a good ball, do it again’. It was quite an amazing feeling cheering for each other,” Mir told me at the time.

It is an anecdote that reflects Mir’s global appeal, attested to by the many congratulations that have poured in upon her retirement. They recognise Pakistan’s greatest female cricketer, whose intangible legacy is as rich and valuable as her tangible one.

Let’s count what we can first. Mir finishes as ODI cricket’s fifth-highest wicket-taker, and she is in the top-10 in T20Is too. She led her country to two Asian Games gold medals, pieces of metal that were instrumental in the transformation of the image of women’s cricket in Pakistan in the early 2010s.

She was recently named captain of Wisden’s Team of the Decade, underlining how highly her leadership is rated around the world. Her career survived an early back injury, and the switch from medium pace to off-spin that it demanded. Her bowling evolution saw her reach the No 1 rank in ODIs, the first Pakistani to do so (by which time she had added leg-spin to her bag of tricks). Most significantly, she led Pakistan to two WT20 wins against India, in 2012 and 2016, the only times a Pakistan team have had success over India in World Cup cricket.

But to understand what Sana Mir means to Pakistan, it is necessary to peek into Pakistan. I had that honour when I was a part of the India Under-21 team that toured Lahore in 2005, when Mir was making her first appearances in green. But 15 years ago is a long time. To stay current I called up Ahmer Naqvi, Karachi-based freelance journalist who wrote this profile of Mir in 2015.

“If you stop the comparison with male cricketers, then Sana Mir is easily the most recognisable athlete in Pakistan,” he said. Athlete, not just female athlete. She has been the face of campaigns run by bigwigs like Uber and Pepsi. She has been the voice of social causes, speaking out against body shaming. She has been on billboards, as a contradiction and inspiration to countless women who are told they cannot ride pillion on motorbikes unless they sit side saddle.

Women’s cricket in Pakistan has been walking a tightrope for a decade. Naqvi describes the Overton Window of society there, where feminism and women’s rights are difficult conversations even in well-educated circles.

Cricket is inseparable from the national psyche, but expanding this construct to include women in a leap many are yet to take. To even have discussions on women’s cricket, you need to find a few firm feet on a lake of thin ice. And in those rare and unwelcoming patches, women’s cricket finds a few inches to put down roots, seeking sunlight and space.

“In that sense, the idea of women playing cricket is just very difficult to discuss in polite society. For it to survive it always needs to not be too apparent, until suddenly it becomes acceptable. That’s a really central dilemma,” says Naqvi.

In this context, Mir’s 15-year international career grows even taller, especially the first Asian Games gold medal in 2010 (India did not send men’s or women’s teams). From receiving death threats a decade earlier, the Pakistan women’s team were briefly the toast of the nation, elevating them above the men, who won the bronze.

Charged with not just becoming the best cricketer she could, but also helping her team believe the same, Mir’s competitiveness has paved the way for other leaders to emerge. Bismah Mahroof and Javeria Khan have both led the side since 2017, and Nida Dar became the first Pakistani to play in the Women’s Big Bash.

Helping the team believe they could beat powerhouse neighbours India is something she counts most special. “We had a mental block before that (2012) that we could not beat India because we had never beaten them... Once you beat a team, they are not unbeatable next time you face them. That’s why that match is very special to me. To be able to do it, cross the line.”

The latter third of her career saw some inevitable clashes with the establishment. She was the first woman cricketer to achieve national recognition, a sister-figure to many in the team, even after the captaincy passed on to younger players. Perhaps it was the unavoidable complications of being the first woman to truly shine in a male-dominated cricketing landscape. We do not know. What we know is that there was certainly discontent at her exclusion for the squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup, with the captain Mahroof mentioning that she would have preferred to have Mir in the side.

Mir eventually did make the World Cup, at the invitation of the ICC to the historic final at the MCG, where she was among a few select legends of the game to provide a guard of honour to the two teams in the innings break. It was a grand moment to be a part of, with more than 86,000 clapping on, but as a fellow player, I think Mir might have preferred to retire on her own terms, with her teammates flanking her, no matter if there was no one in the audience. But sport carries no guarantees, no scripts, and we all sign up to that.

My favourite Sana Mir memory comes from that lost audio clip, describing the second time Pakistan beat India, in a rain-affected game at Delhi in the 2016 WT20. As the captains were informed about the outcome, Mir’s teammates started their celebrations, but she held on for a split second, showing the grace to not smile too widely as she shook hands with her Indian counterpart. And she told me in that interview that she later counselled her teammates against celebrating too much in the dressing room, cognizant of the fact that the catering and stadium staff who had taken such good care of them so far were all Indian.

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Part of Umar Akmal's three-year anti-corruption ban could be suspended, according to PCB source

Karachi: Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal could have a part of his three-year anti-corruption ban suspended when the judge heading the Cricket Board's disciplinary Panel gives out his detailed judgement soon, a source in the PCB has said.

File image of Pakistani cricketer Umar Akmal. AFP

After the hour-long hearing of the panel held on April Monday in Lahore, where Umar appeared himself to plead his case, Justice (retd) Miran Chohan announced a three-year ban on the batsman for failing to report corrupt approaches.

"People are jumping to conclusions about the three-year ban but the detailed order is yet to come out. Umar might eventually get a three-year ban with two years suspended or something like that," the source told PTI.

He said there are chances the judge will suspend most part of the three-year ban given the clauses under which Umar has been charged by the Anti-Corruption Unit and also given his past track record.

"Umar could get a suspended sentence in his three-year ban because this will also test him as an individual to see how he behaves and conducts himself in future," the source said.

"When majority part of a ban is suspended, the player has to be careful with his behaviour or he could end up being banned for the entire duration of the ban," he explained.

Umar has the right to appeal against the panel decision 14 days after he gets a copy of the detailed judgement. His appeal will be heard by an independent adjudicator to be appointed by the board.

Two years ago, the Anti-Corruption Tribunal of the PCB, headed by Lt. General (retd) Tauqir Zia, had also banned Sharjeel Khan for five years with half of the sentence suspended, which allowed him to make a comeback in the Pakistan Super League 5 in February.

Umar was suspended from playing in the PSL 5 on 20 February by the PCB in the spot-fixing approach case.

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हैपी बर्थडे: 33 के हुए टीम इंडिया के 'हिटमैन'

नई दिल्ली भारतीय क्रिकेट टीम के सलामी बल्लेबाज रोहित शर्मा का आज (30 अप्रैल) को जन्मदिन है। 1987 को आज ही के दिन उनका जन्म नागपुर में हुआ। रोहित को क्रिकेट की दुनिया में 'हिटमैन' के नाम से जाना जाता है और हो भी क्यों नहीं, उनके नाम एक, दो नहीं बल्कि तीन-तीन दोहरे शतक लगाए हैं। एकदिवसीय अंतरराष्ट्रीय क्रिकेट में उन्होंने 2014 में 264 रनों की पारी खेली थी जो किसी भी बल्लेबाज द्वारा बनाया गया सर्वाधिक स्कोर है। टेस्ट क्रिकेट में भी उन्होंने धमाकेदार शुरुआत की और अपनी पहली दोनों पारियों में उन्होंने सेंचुरी लगाई। इसके बाद हालांकि वह अगली 16 पारियों में सिर्फ दो बार पचास का स्कोर पार किया। हालांकि पिछले साल साउथ अफ्रीका के खिलाफ उन्होंने टेस्ट में बतौर ओपनर बल्लेबाजी की और शतक लगाए। वनडे क्रिकेट की बात करें तो 2013 में उन्हें बतौर ओपनर आजमाने का महेंद्र सिंह धोनी का फैसला रोहित के करियर में मास्टर स्ट्रोक साबित हुआ। उन्होंने उस साल चैंपियंस ट्रोफी में दो हाफ सेंचुरी लगाईं और उसके बाद ऑस्ट्रेलिया के खिलाफ 209 रन बनाए। साल 2015 में उन्होंने साउथ अफ्रीका के खिलाफ अपनी पहली टी20 इंटरनैशनल सेंचुरी लगाई। इंडियन प्रीमियर लीग में मुंबई इंडियंस में बतौर कप्तान उन्होंने शानदार प्रदर्शन किया और चार बार (2013, 2015, 2017 और 2019) में ट्रोफी पर कब्जा किया। बीते साल इंग्लैंड में खेले गए 50 ओवर के वर्ल्ड कप में उन्होंने शानदार प्रदर्शन किया और पांच शतक लगाए।

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Former US Olympic gymnastics coach Maggie Haney suspended for verbal and emotional abuse of athletes

Former US Olympic coach Maggie Haney has been suspended for eight years by USA Gymnastics for verbal and emotional abuse of athletes.

USA Gymnastics confirmed the penalty in a statement Wednesday.

The decision came after two months of hearings that included Olympic champion Laurie Hernandez testifying against her longtime coach and world champion Riley McCusker writing a letter critical of Haney.

“The independent hearing panel – comprised of three members of the gymnastics community, including an attorney, a club owner, and a former national team athlete – found that Ms. Haney violated the USA Gymnastics Code of Ethical Conduct, Safe Sport Policy, and other policies,” USA Gymnastics said in the statement.

Haney is suspended from membership and any coaching of USA Gymnastics athletes or in member clubs for eight years, effective immediately, followed by a two-year probationary period. After the suspension concludes, USA Gymnastics said Haney may reapply for membership after submitting proof of completing certain specified Safe Sport courses.”

“The ruling is regrettable but in no way surprising considering the heavy-handed nature of the investigative and hearing process,” Russell Prince, Haney’s attorney, told the Southern California News Group. “There is no fundamental fairness to the manner in which these matters are resolved. Clearly, I would anticipate an arbitration.”

The 42-year-old Haney coached Hernandez and McCusker at MG Elite Gymnastics in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey.

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CA include Marnus Labuschagne in contracted players list of 2020-21 after breakout year; Usman Khawaja dropped

Melbourne: Star batsman Marnus Labuschagne and two other Test players, Joe Burns and Matthew Wade, have been added by Cricket Australia to its list of 20 contracted players for the 2020-21 season.

The value of each contract is still uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic which has forced Cricket Australia to furlough the bulk of its staff.

Players are usually ranked by selectors and paid an income that corresponds to where they are rated on the list but COVID-19 uncertainty continues to affect the upcoming schedule and Cricket Australia's revenue projections.

Among those upcoming events in doubt are the men’s Twenty20 World Cup, which Australia is scheduled to host in October and November. The Australians are also scheduled to host a series against India involved four Test matches, three one-day internationals and three T20Is.

Labuschagne didn't have a central contract last season but is expected to be one of the most highly ranked players for 20-21 after a strong Ashes series in England and home summer against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Labuschagne scored four half-centuries against England after joining the Ashes series midway through the second test as Steve Smith’s concussion substitute. He then added three centuries and one double century in five tests in Australia.

He also made his ODI debut in January and has scored 305 runs in six innings at an average of 50.33, including his first ODI century against South Africa in Potchefstroom.

Usman Khawaja, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Harris, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis were dropped from the list, making way for Ashton Agar, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson, opening batsman Burns and veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Wade.

“We feel all deserve their inclusion recognizing the performances of those players in the past 12 months and, as importantly, what they can offer in the next 12 months,” chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said on Thursday.

“Marnus’ rise has been meteoric and well documented, Joe has been a good test match player, Ashton Agar’s form in T20 internationals has been exceptional, while Kane Richardson has been outstanding in the 20-over and one-day games."

Cricket Australia 2020-21 men's contracted players list: Ashton Agar, Joe Burns, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

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Coronavirus Outbreak: European football leagues differ in ideas over resumption of matches

England is scrambling to find a solution to the billion-pound question: How to restart the Premier League?

However, the competition with the most to lose financially if the season is abandoned is unlikely to see a clear path forward if it looks across to its European counterparts.

So far, European countries have taken very different approaches to getting sports up and running again amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The French and Dutch leagues have been cancelled in the last week after orders from the government.

Players in Italy can train again from next month but the government has started to express unease about Serie A resuming.

Spanish authorities, too, are wary about players gathering on pitches too soon.

Of the major European men's leagues, only Germany is accelerating a plan to get the Bundesliga back underway – potentially inside two weeks. Switzerland's government said Wednesday that teams will be allowed to start training again on 11 May, with the hope of games starting up in June in empty stadiums.

Even then, medical experts are warning that playing games without fans does not eliminate the risk of COVID-19 being spread by the hundreds of people still required inside stadiums.

“There are real worries about infection risks,” Jonas Baer-Hoffman, general secretary of global players’ union FIFPRO, said Wednesday. “There are worries about what that means for their families and friends that they engage with. They are worried very much that they represent something in society that might give a bad influence.”

Leagues have until 25 May to tell UEFA how they plan to complete or curtail the 2019-20 season.

Ultimately, any decision depends on the status of the national lockdowns, which halted leagues across Europe in March as governments tried to contain the pandemic.

“We are planning on trying to squeeze in the rest of the season,” Lars-Christer Olsson, president of the European Leagues body, said Wednesday. “We have problems with this big uncertainty ... and when it comes to decisions made in the different countries, by the different authorities.”

“Project Restart” is the Premier League plan being worked through with the government ahead of a conference call with clubs on Friday. The league has already warned politicians that the competition is facing losses of more than a billion pounds ($1.3 billion) if the season cannot be completed — mainly due to the need to fulfil the most lucrative television contracts in world football.

The Premier League has an optimistic aspiration to resume the season on 8 June, with leader Liverpool 25 points clear with nine games remaining.

Arsenal and Tottenham are among the clubs starting to re-open their training facilities this week for individual work on pitches as players try to get back into shape.

“There are big prizes up for grabs and huge economic loss that’s going to be incurred,” said former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, who is now co-owner of fourth-tier professional club Salford City and a Sky Sports broadcaster. “It does cloud minds, in terms of the level of risk people are willing to place on lives in order for the return of football.”

Some clubs wanted the season to be declared null and void but the Premier League and three lower leagues are determined to finish the season.

A variety of plans for the league restarting have been swirling around -- from squads and coaching staff isolating together to only a small number of stadiums being used.

The police see the benefits of games being at a neutral venue to minimise disruption to emergency services.

“Playing all those fixtures (in the original stadiums) would present challenges – that’s an awful lot of people moving around the country,” said Mark Roberts, who heads football policing in England. “The police, the ambulance service and all those other functions that are going to be stretched."

One of the key challenges across Europe is securing and funding enough COVID-19 tests to test thousands of people a week around training and matches to protect players and support staff.

The Spanish league wants daily testing of squads and coaches, a plan that the players’ association has objected to as long as tests are scarce among the general public. The government is allowing players to resume training next week, although the sports minister has cautioned games might not be allowed before the summer

French plans to restart Ligue 1 ended when the prime minister on Tuesday announced a ban on all major sporting events until September — a decision that startled the Spanish league.

“I do not understand why there would more danger in playing football behind closed doors, with all precautionary measures, than working on an assembly line,” La Liga President Javier Tebas said. “If important economic sectors cannot restart, in a safe and controlled manner, they could end up disappearing. That could happen to professional football."

But Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said the French cancellation of the season “could push Italy and other European countries to follow that line.”

Serie A teams are holding an emergency meeting on Friday and Spadafora said he doubts there will be enough resources to carry out the necessary COVID-19 testing.

“I see the path to restarting Serie A getting ever narrower,” Spadafora said. "Resuming training is an important sign but if I was among the presidents of the soccer teams I would be thinking about next season.”

In the Netherlands, legal action is already being prepared by at least one topflight club — FC Utrecht —- after last week's decision to cancel the remainder of the season and base the final league standings on current point totals.

UEFA initially insisted in early April that leagues should not prematurely abandon the season but is now giving flexibility to adopting a “different format” like playoffs to determine the final standings that feed into European qualification.

This season's quarterfinals of the Champions League and Europa League are yet to be played, but UEFA is giving domestic competitions priority.

“In full respect of local legislation, it is definitely possible to plan the restart of competitions suspended during the 2019-20 season,” UEFA medical committee chairman Tim Meyer said.

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कोविड-19 : जर्मनी, नीदरलैंड्स और फिनलैंड मोटो जीपी रेस रद्द

जर्मनी, नीदरलैंड्स और फिनलैंड मोटोजीपी रेस को कोविड-19 महामारी के कारण रद्द कर दिया गया है। इनका आयोजन जून और जुलाई में होना था। आयोजनकर्ताओं ने बुधवार को इसकी जानकारी दी।  मोटोजीपी की आधिकारिक...

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कोविड-19: फीफा डॉक्टर बोले, अब थूकने पर पीला कार्ड दिखाया जाए

फीफा मेडिकल समिति के चैयरमैन माइकल डी हूघे ने कहा है कि कोरोना वायरस के खतरे को देखते हुए फुटबॉल के मुकाबले सितंबर तक नहीं कराए जाने चाहिए और जब फुटबॉल शुरू हो तो मैदान पर थूकने वाले खिलाड़ी को पीला...

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थॉमस और उबेर कप फिर स्थगित, अब अक्टूबर में

नई दिल्लीथॉमस और उबेर कप फाइनल्स को कोविड-19 महामारी के कारण बुधवार को दूसरी बार स्थगित कर दिया गया। विश्व बैडमिंटन महासंघ (बीडब्ल्यूएफ) ने अब इन दोनों वैश्विक टीम चैंपियनशिप का आयोजन तीन से 11 अक्टूबर के बीच डेनमार्क के ऑर्थस में करने का फैसला किया है। पूर्व निर्धारित कार्यक्रम के अनुसार इन टूर्नमेंट का आयोजन 16 से 24 मई के बीच होना था लेकिन विश्व भर में फैली महामारी के कारण 20 मार्च को इन्हें 15 से 23 अगस्त तक स्थगित कर दिया गया था। बीडब्ल्यूएफ ने बुधवार को फिर से इन टूर्नमेंट को स्थगित कर दिया। उसने कहा कि सितंबर से पहले इनका आयोजन करना संभव नहीं है। विश्व बैडमिंटन महासंघ ने बयान में कहा, ‘डेनमार्क सरकार का अपने देश में बड़े आयोजनों पर प्रतिबंध अगस्त के आखिर तक बढ़ाने के छह अप्रैल के निर्णय के बाद दोनों पक्ष इस पर सहमत थे कि इन चैंपियनशिप का आयोजन 15 से 23 अगस्त के बीच करना संभव नहीं होगा।’ पढ़ें, इसमें कहा गया है, ‘बीडब्ल्यूएफ ने बैडमिंटन डेनमार्क, टूर्नमेंट के आयोजकों, स्पोर्ट इवेंट डेनमार्क और स्थानीय ऑर्थस सरकार के साथ विचार विमर्श के बाद यह निष्कर्ष निकाला कि इसका अक्टूबर में आयोजन सर्वश्रेष्ठ समाधान होगा।’ बीडब्ल्यूएफ के महासचिव थॉमस लुंड ने कहा, ‘हमारी मुख्य प्राथमिकता खिलाड़ियों, स्टाफ, स्वयंसेवकों, जज और संपूर्ण बैडमिंटन समुदाय का स्वास्थ्य और सुरक्षा है। हमने विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन (डब्ल्यूएचओ), विभिन्न स्वास्थ्य विशेषज्ञों, स्थानीय सरकार और डेनमार्क की सरकार की सलाह पर गौर किया और यह स्पष्ट हो गया कि बीडब्ल्यूएफ थॉमस और उबेर कप फाइनल्स सितंबर से पहले करना मुश्किल होगा।’ पढ़ें, उन्होंने कहा, ‘हमें पूरा विश्वास है कि हम तीन से 11 अक्टूबर की नई तारीखों में सुरक्षित और सफल चैंपियनशिप का आयोजन कर सकते हैं।’ इससे पहले बीडब्ल्यूएफ ने ऑल इंग्लैंड चैंपियनशिप (11 से 15 मार्च) के बाद महामारी के कारण अपने कई टूर्नमेंट स्थगित या रद्द कर दिए।

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तुर्की की ऐथलीट का लंदन ओलिंपिक का नमूना डोपिंग पॉजिटिव

पैरिसअंतरराष्ट्रीय ओलिंपिक समिति (आईओसी) ने कहा कि तुर्की की ऐथलीट को लंदन 2012 ओलिंपिक खेलों से ‘अयोग्य’ घोषित कर दिया गया है। मिंगिर का नमूना डोपिंग परीक्षण में पॉजिटिव आया है। तीस साल की मिंगिर आठ साल पहले महिलाओं की 3000 मीटर स्टीपलचेज स्पर्धा में 27वें स्थान पर रही थीं। मिंगिर ने 2012 यूरोपीय चैंपियनशिप में गोल्ड मेडल जीता था। आईओसी ने बयान में कहा, ‘मिंगिर के लंदन 2012 के नमूने में दोबारा की गई जांच में प्रतिबंधित पदार्थ पाया गया है।’ 30 साल की मिंगिर ने 2011 में यूरोपियन अंडर-23 चैंपियनशिप (चेक गणराज्य में आयोजित) में 3000 मीटर स्टीपलचेज में भी गोल्ड मेडल अपने नाम किया था। वह 2013 में आयोजित यूनिवर्सिएड में तीसरे स्थान पर रही थीं।

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Cricket News - मेरे क्रिकेट बोर्ड और चयनकर्ताओं ने उतना भरोसा मुझ पर नहीं दिखाया, जितना धोनी ने दिखाया : ड्वेन ब्रावो

ड्वेन ब्रावो ने एम एस धोनी के लिए काफी बड़ी बात कही है

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WWE Rumor राउंडअप: लैसनर के दुश्मन को कंपनी से निकाला गया, समोआ जो को मिले टिप्स

मनी इन द बैंक से बाहर हुए सुपरस्टार्स से लेकर WWE से रिलीज़ हुए बड़े नामों के बारे में जानकारी पाएं।

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'जाओ और फिर से गेंदबाजी करो, मैं अभी भी यहीं पर हूं'

सचिन तेंदुलकर ने 1999 के एक टेस्ट मैच का जिक्र किया है

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Cricket News - क्रिस गेल ने रामनरेश सरवन पर साधा निशाना, जमैका तलावाज से निकाले जाने को लेकर प्रतिक्रिया

क्रिस गेल को जमैका तलावाज की टीम ने रिलीज कर दिया है

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5 मौके जब WWE सुपरस्टार्स ने कमेंटेटर्स पर अटैक किया

जानिए ऐसे मोमेंट्स के बारे में जब WWE सुपरस्टार्स ने कमेंटेटर्स पर अटैक किया?

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Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey picks Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Virender Sehwag in 'Best of Enemies' XI

Sydney: Former Australian batsman Mike Hussey on Wednesday picked the Indian trio of swashbuckling former opener Virender Sehwag, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and current skipper Virat Kohli in his 'Best Enemies XI' in Test cricket.

File photo of Michael Hussey. AFP

Hussey, who played Test cricket for Australia from 2005 to 2013, picked the Best XI of opponents he has played against in Test cricket on "The Unplayable Podcast".

The 44-year-old named Sehwag, known for his explosive batting, and former South African captain Graeme Smith as openers in the strong batting line-up which also includes the likes of Brian Lara, Tendulkar, Kohli, Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara.

Hussey picked Tendulkar and Kohli to bat at number four and five respectively.

South Africans Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, English pacer James Anderson and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan made for the bowling attack.

 

The Australian said it was difficult for him to leave out former Chennai Super Kings teammate MS Dhoni. He justified his decision, stating that the dasher from Ranchi was pipped by Sangakkara based on the impact in the longest format of the game.

"I wrestled with this one between Kumar Sangakkara, MS Dhoni and AB de Villiers. But I think the latter two have got more impact in the shorter formats T20s and ODI."

"Sangakkara had immense impact in Test cricket," Hussey said.

Asked what it was like facing bowling legends like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Brett Lee in the nets, the former middle-order batsman said the sessions were ruthless.

"It was brutal. If you can get through your net sessions unscathed you know you can get through any thing in Test cricket."

"That was real strength of the Australian team when I was playing," he added.

Hussey, was part of a dominant Australian side,and the southpaw, believes "high quality training" was the reason behind the team's success.

"Seeing the current team train now, the high quality training probably sets up apart from the other countries certainly the West Indies. Have seen a couple of their training session and they are much more relaxed."

"I think that has played an important part in Australia's success in the past."

Michael Hussey's 'Best of Enemies' XI: Virender Sehwag, Graeme Smith, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, James Anderson, Muttiah Muralitharan.

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हसी ने अपनी टीम में धोनी को नहीं चुना, क्यों

सिडनी ऑस्ट्रेलिया के पूर्व बल्लेबाज माइकल हसी ने बुधवार को भारत के विस्फोटक सलामी बल्लेबाज वीरेंदर सहवाग, दिग्गज सचिन तेंडुलकर और वर्तमान कप्तान विराट कोहली को टेस्ट क्रिकेट में अपनी ‘सर्वश्रेष्ठ विरोधी एकादश’ में शामिल किया। ऑस्ट्रेलिया की तरफ से 2005 से 2013 तक टेस्ट क्रिकेट खेलने वाले हसी ने उन खिलाड़ियों को अपनी एकादश में जगह दी है जिनके खिलाफ उन्होंने टेस्ट मैच खेले। इस 44 वर्षीय क्रिकेटर ने अपनी विस्फोटक बल्लेबाज के लिये मशहूर सहवाग और दक्षिण अफ्रीका के पूर्व कप्तान ग्रीम स्मिथ को अपनी सलामी जोड़ी बनाया है। मध्यक्रम में उन्होंने ब्रायन लारा, तेंडुलकर, कोहली, जाक कैलिस और कुमार संगकारा को रखा है। हसी ने तेंदुलकर और कोहली को बल्लेबाजी क्रम में चौथे और पांचवें नंबर पर रखा है। उनके गेंदबाजी आक्रमण में साउथ अफ्रीका के डेल स्टेन, मोर्ने मोर्कल, इंग्लैंड के जेम्स एंडरसन और श्रीलंकाई स्पिन दिग्गज मुथैया मुरलीधरन शामिल हैं। इस ऑस्ट्रेलियाई बल्लेबाज ने कहा कि उनके लिये चेन्नै सुपरकिंग्स के उनके पूर्व साथी महेंद्र सिंह धोनी को बाहर रखना मुश्किल था। उन्होंने हालांकि अपने फैसले को सही बताया कि क्योंकि खेल के लंबे प्रारूप को देखते हुए उन्होंने धोनी पर संगकारा को प्राथमिकता दी। हसी ने कहा, ‘कुमार संगकारा, महेंद्र सिंह धोनी और एबी डिविलियर्स को लेकर मुझे काफी माथापच्ची करनी पड़ी। लेकिन मेरा मानना है कि धोनी और डि विलियर्स ने टी20 और वनडे में अधिक प्रभाव छोड़ा है। संगकारा ने टेस्ट क्रिकेट में काफी प्रभाव छोड़ा है।’ हसी से ग्लेन मैकग्रा, शेन वॉर्न और ब्रेट ली जैसे गेंदबाजों का नेट्स पर सामना करने के बारे में पूछा गया तो उन्होंने कहा कि यह बहुत मुश्किल होता था। उन्होंने कहा, ‘अगर आपने नेट सत्र आसानी से झेल दिया तो फिर आप टेस्ट क्रिकेट की कैसी भी परिस्थिति से पार पा सकते हो। मैं जब खेला करता था तब यह ऑस्ट्रेलियाई क्रिकेट की वास्तविक मजबूती थी।’ माइकल हसी की सर्वश्रेष्ठ विरोधी एकादश : वीरेंदर सहवाग, ग्रीम स्मिथ, ब्रायन लारा, सचिन तेंदुलकर, विराट कोहली, जॉक कैलिस, कुमार संगकारा, डेल स्टेन, मोर्ने मोर्कल, जेम्स एंडरसन, मुथैया मुरलीधरन

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Coronavirus Outbreak: David Warner casts fresh doubts over Australia's UK tour in July

Melbourne: It is "highly unlikely" that Australia's scheduled limited-overs tour of England and Scotland will go ahead given the coronavirus pandemic, star batsman David Warner has said.

Australia are scheduled to take on Scotland in a T20 on 29 June before playing three T20s and three ODIs against world champions England from 3 July.

"At the moment it's highly unlikely we're going to go over there given what's happened in England," Warner told cricket.com.au.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has suspended all cricket in the country until at least 1 July and England's Test series with the West Indies set for June has already been rescheduled.

The ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said any further delays to their season would likely mean "losing cricket rather than rescheduling".

Australia has already seen a two-Test tour of Bangladesh that had been scheduled for June called off, while a planned limited-overs home series against Zimbabwe in August is also unlikely to proceed.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just recovered from the COVID-19 infection and Warner said beating the disease should now be the priority.

"He's back up on his feet now and that's fantastic news, but there's a lot more to this than just sport being played.

"The biggest picture is making sure we're doing all the right things we can to flatten this curve and doing what we can do to play our bit in that. We've done a great job so far and all Australians should be credited," he said.

Warner rejected the idea of resuming sport without spectators.

"No doubt at all, you want crowds no matter where you go and where you play. I love playing in England, it's awesome.

"You've always got someone they always try and rev up, and fortunately for the team it's pretty much just me, and that takes a lot of the heat off the other guys," he said.

"We're there to put bums on seats and hopefully we can entertain the crowd by playing a good brand of cricket.

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Spit-and-polish: Challenges of enforcing saliva ban as cricket mulls new-normal measures

Post the COVID-19 pandemic, as and when we reach that stage, what will be the new normal? That’s the question paramount on the minds of the global populace, still searching for answers to completely arrest the sweeping spread of the coronavirus that has already claimed upwards of 200,000 lives.

What’s for sure is that life as we have lived it will never be the same again. To what extent things change will depend on topography, mindset and attitudes; suffice to say that inter-personal contact will undergo seminal shifts, at least in the immediacy of a return to near-normalcy.

It’s inevitable that sport will also witness the shifting of literal goalposts. Particularly in focus will be team and contact sports, though even non-contact disciplines such as swimming and tennis too will not be immune to the seismic shifts that will shake up the very fabric of what used to be.

Tennis has already experimented with, and temporarily cast aside, doing away with the practice of ball-kids fetching sweaty towels to and from the players. The trial at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in November 2018, necessitating players to walk across to towel racks to wipe the sweat off their faces and limbs, received mixed reviews from the protagonists. Ironically, no one seemed inclined to get the opinions of the ball-kids themselves, for whose protection the towel racks were actually introduced.

It has been reported in the last few days that cricket authorities might well contemplate outlawing one of the longest standing constants in the sport, the use of saliva to ‘maintain’ the cricket ball. That’s both understandable and prudent; even before this current scenario, the use of saliva from different players on the same orb of destruction appeared unhygienic, if not ‘pretty gross’, as former Australian paceman Jason Gillespie put it. And yet, saliva has been as integral to cricket as a bat and the ball itself, as stumps and gloves and abdomen guards and pads.

Even without exactly knowing why, we would apply saliva to cricket balls when in school, and not just on the one side as is required to maintain the imbalance that facilitates shine and thus swing. It’s what we had seen our heroes do, either in person or on television. Gradually, as we understood the dynamics of the use of that natural produce, several of us in the same team rigorously followed the principle of maintaining the shine on one side of the ball, never mind if it didn’t exactly produce the wicket-taking results it was designed to do.

Those who have graduated to international cricket have inevitably spent at least a decade, if not more, using various age group levels as stepping stones to higher honours. To them, using saliva to polish the ball is a sub-conscious exercise, almost second nature. It’s become muscle memory, so to speak. If there is a new legislation in place that bans the use of saliva, will they be able to cope with unlearning what they have learnt over the years? How much of an effort will it take to consciously keep reminding oneself, at the very beginning if not later, to resist taking the hand towards the tongue?

“It won’t be easy, that’s for sure, but it can be done,” says Venkatesh Prasad, the former India swing exponent who has served as the bowling coach too of the national team. “In the beginning, it will be a big struggle. You have to constantly be aware, should we reach that situation, that saliva can no longer be used to work on the ball. Is the use of saliva another example of muscle memory? Yes, and no. It’s different to, say, bouncing the tennis ball X number of times before serving. That’s a routine, it helps calm you down, gather focus, get into rhythm. Using saliva to keep the shine is another matter altogether; it actually has a say in how the ball can behave, and is a particularly significant tool on flat tracks where reverse-swing can be a huge asset.”

Prasad feels that despite their substantial track record of shining the ball, international players might be able to desist from using saliva. “The greater focus must be on age-group cricket,” he insists, “where the risks could be larger.”

It’s no surprise to hear Prasad the swing bowler espousing the virtues of saliva. “Sweat can probably help you retain shine to an extent, but sweat by itself isn’t enough because it doesn’t have the viscosity of saliva,” he points out. “So while you might have a one-side shiny ball, that side won’t be as heavy as it would be if you used saliva, which in turn could rule out reverse-swing.

“I fear that a ban on the use of saliva might sound the death-knell for swing bowlers, conventional and reverse. The onus will then shift to the fast men; India could be at a disadvantage because speed has never been our traditional strength, even though we have a current crop of bowlers capable of hustling the best batsmen in the world. You look at what happened in hockey, for instance. India, and the Asian teams, were immediately at a distinct disadvantage when the surface changed from natural grass to artificial turf.”

It has been suggested that teams be allowed to use an agreed upon artificial substance under the supervision of the umpires to maintain the shine and attempt a level-playing field between bat and ball. The ethicality of such a move, however necessary it might be deemed, will be debated furiously. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in particular will, whether they see the humour in it or not, perhaps chuckle mirthlessly at the irony of it all, having served bans of various durations for the use of sandpaper in the Cape Town Test against March 2018 against South Africa. To have legislated ‘ball-tampering’, which by definition is the use of artificial substances to alter the condition of the ball, is something they might find extremely difficult to come to terms with.

Prasad is adamant that artificial sources of ball-shining should not be encouraged. “How is that any different from doping?” he shoots back. “Taking drugs is a performance-enhancing attempt. So will be the use of non-natural means to shine the cricket ball. How can one be illegal and the other acceptable?”

All this, of course, is work in progress. The ICC’s Cricket Committee, headed by former India skipper Anil Kumble, and the MCC’s World Cricket Committee will deliberate on this matter in due course, guided by medical experts. It will take a great deal of work before, should the authorities decide to do away with saliva, it’s decided what artificial substance(s) can be used on the varying brands of the red cherry which all have unique characteristics.

But hey, what about spitting itself? On one’s hands, as Ricky Ponting used to, or on the field of play itself, like a majority of the players do. Won’t that saliva contain potential dangers, too? Just asking.

from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/2YflGOw