BCCI keeping watch on Virat Kohli's conduct

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

Mumbai, Jan 13: India spearhead Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday headlined the BCCI Annual Awards function, grabbing the prestigious Polly Umrigar award apart from annexing the Dilip Sardesai honour for his exploits in international cricket in the 2018-19 season.

Polly Umrigar award is presented to the best male International cricketer and it carries a citation, trophy and cheque for Rs. 15 lakh.

Dilip Sardesai award is conferred on both the highest wicket-taker and highest run-getter in Test cricket. Bumrah took 34 wickets in six matches with three five-wicket hauls.

Prolific Saurashtra batsman Chetshwar Pujara was picked for the honour for scoring 677 runs in 8 matches at an average of 52.07 with three centuries and two half centuries.

Bumrah, the world's number ODI bowler made his Test debut during India's tour of South Africa in January 2018 and hasn't looked back since.

He picked up a five-wicket haul in South Africa, England, Australia and the West Indies, becoming the first and only Asian bowler to achieve the feat.

He played a stellar role in the historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia, India's first Down Under and which helped them retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

While Bumrah netted the biggest prize in the men's category, Poonam Yadav claimed the top prize in women's section and was awarded the best international cricketer.

The award will be another feather in the leg-spinner's cap who recently received the Arjuna Award.

Former India captains Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra were presented the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award and the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for women respectively.

A member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Srikkanth took on the fearsome West Indies fast bowlers and scored an attacking 38, the top individual score in the low-scoring final at the Lord's.

He also captained India and post-retirement served as the chief selector and it was during his tenure that the 2011 World Cup squad was picked.

Anjum is one of the finest batswomen and the first Indian to play 100 ODIs. In a career spanning 17 years, Anjum represented India in four 50-over World Cups and two T20 World Cup (played in one).

Mayank Agarwal, who emerged as an impact batsman starting with his debut series in Australia in 2018-19, received the best international debut in men's category while talented 15-year-old Shafali Verma grabbed the same in the women's category.

Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube, who impressed in the recently concluded T20 series against Sri Lanka, was presented the Lala Amarnath Award for the best all-rounder in the Ranji Trophy while Delhi's Nitish Rana received the same for doing well in the limited overs competition.

India's middle-order batsmwoman Deepti Sharma received the Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy for best woman cricketer in senior domestic circuit while Shafali was picked for honour in the junior category.

Virender Sharma was adjudged the best umpire in domestic cricket while Vidarbha Cricket Association were presented the best performance award in domestic cricket for wining the Ranji Trophy.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said, “The BCCI Awards is our way of recognising the finest on-field performances right from the age group to senior level and also honour our legends.”

Board secretary Jay Shah said, “We wanted to make Naman bigger and better and have introduced four new categories highest run-getter and wicket-takers in WODIs and best international debut men and women from this year.”

New Delhi, May 3: In a startling revelation, India speedster Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago, forcing his family to keep a watch over him at all times.

He said his family members feared he "might jump" from their 24th floor apartment.

Shami, one of India's leading bowlers in recent years, opened up on his personal and professional life during an Instagram chat with teammate and limited overs squads' vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday.

Now one of the mainstays of Indian bowling attack across formats, the 29-year-old was struggling to focus on his cricket, then.

"I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.

"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said.

In March 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan had accused him of domestic violence and lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections.

The upheaval in his personal life forced his employer BCCI to withheld the player's central contracts for a while.

"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit.

Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot."

Speaking about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup, Shami said it took him almost 18 months to get back on the field.

"When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period.