After Centurion win, sense of deja vu for India skipper Virat Kohli

Agencies
February 17, 2018

Centurion, Feb 17: Virat Kohli has literally made the 22-yard strip his own kingdom and the India captain is not in a mood to "compete with anyone" for any specific "tag" such as the best batsman in world cricket.

Kohli was again at the forefront scoring a staggering 558 runs (including three hundreds) in his team's 5-1 ODI series win against South Africa but made it clear that he has never ever played cricket to be a "headline grabber".

"At this stage, I don’t feel like competing with anyone. It’s all about how I prepare before the game and what my work ethics are and how I am feeling on game day. My only motivation is to get into that frame of mind. I am not competing with anyone at all," Kohli said at the post-match press conference.

The key to consistency is not thinking too ahead of himself. "But if you are thinking about being ahead of someone else then you will be found out very soon by this game and you are compromising on what the team needs as well,” the skipper said after anchoring his team home with yet another ODI hundred.

Asked if he can now be termed as the best batsman in world cricket, the straight-talking skipper said: "As I said, I don’t want any tags. I don’t want any headlines. I just go out there and do my job, it is up to the people to write what they write, I don’t want to be called anything. It’s my job, I am supposed to do what I am doing and I am not doing anyone a favour, so just want to be in this zone of working as hard as I can and trying to do the best for the team," the skipper added.

The skipper once again made it clear that public perceptions are least of his concerns as long as his team knows his worth. "What matters is what the management thinks about me, what I think about the players and what the players think about me. That’s all that matters to me. I know the headlines change from day in and day out. Tomorrow I play a bad shot and get out for zero everyone will conveniently do what they want to do, so it’s not my job to say anything about what I do.

"Yes, if I make a mistake I will come here and accept it. I have never been one to give excuses and will remain like that. But I am never one to come here and praise myself. I can never do that because as I said, this is a job for me. I am not doing anyone a favour,” the skipper's statement showed that how much the criticisms in the past has hurt him.

While India's ODI juggernaut has rolled on, there have been questions raised about the quality of opposition playing ODI cricket and the skipper's views made it clear that he wasn't amused one bit. Questioned if this was India's best overseas win, pat came a terse response: “You people can tell!"

"One month back we were a very bad team. Now we are being asked these questions. We haven't changed our mindset. Now whether this is the biggest win or no, whoever wants to analyze, write will do so," Kohli's response made it clear from where it was coming.

It was a sense of deja vu for the skipper, who had a slight altercation with the media at this very venue after the team lost the Test series. “I know for a fact that 90 percent people didn’t give us a chance after two Tests. I was sitting in the same room giving a press conference. So we understand where we’ve come from," the sarcasm was not lost on anyone.

"I am not going to live in a dreamland right now and accept all the praise, sit here and feel good about this, because it doesn't matter to me. Honestly it doesn't. It didn't matter when we were 2-0 down, it doesn't matter now that we are 5-1 up because what matters is the respect in the change-room," the disdain and disregard for the media was once again evident in each and every sentence that he spoke.

The skipper sounded a bit irritated when asked about South Africa being laid low by injuries to senior players. “Whether the team was what it was supposed to be was not in our hands. It’s none of our concern. We want to take the best team as far as we can on the field and have the best mindset to perform on every given day that we represent our country. That remains our mind set regardless of what happens."

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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Agencies
March 25,2020

Lausanne, Mar 25: The World Archery has hailed as a 'brave decision' the International Olympic Committee (IOC) move to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until next year due to coronavirus pandemic.

"We commend the conscientious and brave decision taken by Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee to delay this summer's Games in the face of an unprecedented challenge to humanity," Ugur Erdener, the World Archery president, said in an official statement.

The decision to postpone the Summer Olympics was confirmed by the IOC, on Tuesday, after the organising body for the event and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to reschedule the quadrennial event in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is not an easy situation, especially for the athletes who had been training hard for Tokyo 2020. I hope that everyone understands why this decision has been made and I urge archers around the world to retain hope and reset for this new timetable," he added.

The IOC has, however, said that the original name of Tokyo 2020 will remain intact irrespective of the fact that it will take place next year.

The Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9.

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News Network
May 30,2020

St John's, May 30: The Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Saturday announced a temporary 50 per cent reduction in salaries and cricket funding across the entire regional cricket system, effective from the start of July due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which resulted in the suspension of all the cricketing activities across the globe since March.

"This decision has been necessary in the face of debilitating economic challenges which have resulted from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no international cricket currently being played anywhere in the world, and with great uncertainty of when regular cricket activity will resume, CWI - like many other international sporting organisations worldwide - is facing a significant loss of income, whilst also being uncertain of the long-term impact of the crisis on our operations," the CWI said in a statement.

During Thursday's teleconference, CWI's Board of Directors received recommendations from the Financial Strategy Advisory Committee (FSAC). The FSAC was formed in April by CWI president Ricky Skerritt, to make recommendations on how CWI could best manage its resources in order to continue its core business over the next few months in view of the changing and uncertain economic environment created by the global pandemic COVID-19. These recommended measures followed close consultation with all stakeholders.

"Cricket is the beating heart of our region for many individuals, communities, and economies. This pandemic is hurting every West Indian and this decision to cut staff and player incomes has been a very difficult one to make; one that will impact so many members of the cricketing family around the Caribbean," Skerritt said.

"This business continuity plan, unfortunately, requires all stakeholders to make a huge sacrifice, but I am confident that it won't be long before CWI will be in a position to ensure that the sport we love can restart and be enjoyed once again by the thousands of cricket fans across the region and diaspora," he added.

CWI has kept staff, players, umpires and coaches on full-pay since the outbreak of COVID-19 and have tried our best to avoid any cuts for as long as possible. CWI hopes that these temporary measures will only be in place for not more than three to six months. These measures will also include a 50 per cent reduction in funding for Territorial Boards, Territorial Board Franchises and WIPA, as well as a 50 per cent cut in all retainers and allowances for Directors and Executive management.

Earlier in the day, CWI gave its approval for a 'bio-secure' Test tour to England.

West Indies were first slated to play three Tests against England in June, but the original starting date of the series was pushed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is looking to go ahead with the series against West Indies in July and then the Three Lions will play three Tests against Pakistan.

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