Gautam Gambhir thrashes allegations of rift between senior India cricketers

January 6, 2014

Gautam_GambhirJan 6: Gautam Gambhir on Sunday clarified that all the rumours about his differences with India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, or the famous dispute between Dhoni and Virender Sehwag is nothing but an ‘imaginative mind working overtime’.

Gambhir told Mumbai Mirror, “All this friction within the team is nothing but someone’s imaginative mind working overtime. I have said this before and I will say this again that there is nothing wrong between me and MS Dhoni or Viru bhai, Yuvi and Harbhajan. It is just a coincidence that we’re not in the team for various reasons like form and fitness but to look beyond all this is nothing but being disrespectful to the intentions of the players.”

The 32-year-old batsman, who was relegated from the Grade A of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) contract list to Grade B, says that he is not the only cricketer trying to make a comeback.

Gambhir said, “It still means that I am in the scheme of things for people who matter. Believe me, it is no disaster. I am not the first or the last cricketer trying to make a comeback. I think apart from Sachin Tendulkar, there is not a single cricketer in the Indian team who hasn’t been left out at some stage. I’m trying to evolve as a cricketer which is the most important thing to me.”

Talking about his batting technique, Gambhir defended himself and said he has scored runs all over and he does not rely on a few methods.

“I’ve scored some runs in front of the wicket as well — my game is not only about nudges. There was a time when I was not leaving enough balls outside the off-stump. I’m just trying to do that and thankfully it is working out for me. But there hasn’t been anything specific with either of the two coaches[Duncan Fletcher and Sanjay Bhardwaj],” he said.

Talking about insecurities, Gambhir said, “It’s not about being secure or insecure. At the end of the day you are competing with the opposition and not with insecurities. To put things in perspective, I spoke about insecurities when I was in and out of the side at the very start of my career but things are different after playing 50 Tests.”

Gambhir denied the allegation that he put club over country and played for his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, and missing the tour to the West Indies in 2011.

He said, “The Club vs Country notion was completely fabricated. I don’t go about advertising things but I have played with enough injuries for my country. To set the record straight, let me tell you that the reports of the scans on my shoulder and groin reached us only after the game in Mumbai. Had I known how serious my injury was, I’d have definitely opted out of the IPL and looked at the opportunity of playing for India. And I am yet to come across a cricketer who prefers playing for his franchisee in the IPL rather than his country.”

“I don’t think I was out of form. In fact, it was a combination of some good bowling and injuries that ruined my England tour,” Gambhir added.

Gambhir said he never believed in designations and always wanted to contribute to the team’s cause.

“Well I am not a great believer in designations. Captaincy or vice-captaincy is not the end, it’s the means to the end. The difference that I was trying to make as the vice-captain of the team, I was still doing that as member of MS Dhoni’s team. To the outside world, it might seem a catastrophe but I was certainly not losing sleep over them,” Gambhir said.

“My job is to score runs and not worry about selection. The idea is to evolve as a cricketer and individual which is exactly what I am focusing on. And I have not spoken to either the selectors or Dhoni. It is a simple equation: keep scoring runs and you will end up being in top teams, be it India, KKR or Delhi,” he added.

Gambhir said that he remains motivated to play cricket and he is enjoying the ongoing season with Delhi.

“Like most cricketers, I picked up my bat to score runs and help my teams win. So travelling the country to play Ranji games is as much fun as it has been travelling abroad with the Indian team. The zest to win in different conditions, the desire to take Delhi cricket forward and, in the process, evolve as a batsman, all this keeps me going. I love this sport and the very fact that I am involved in a contest,” he said.

Gambhir continued, “Sometimes, the contest is with the opposition, sometimes there is a battle within that I won’t hit a cover drive but it’s all fun and not a burden. To cite an example, when we travelled to Gujarat or Jharkhand, I was really looking forward to visiting these places and see for myself how they have developed. Being a cricketer is fun. As far as playing at Roshanara on green tracks is concerned, it was done to ensure outright wins for Delhi and nothing else. It would have been tough to get full points at Kotla and that is why we made this move.”

Gambhir thrashed the talks that he will be hoping for an opening in the Indian team in case Shikhar Dhawan or Murali Vijay flop on the tour of New Zealand.

He said, “It disappoints me that we cricketers are such a misunderstood lot. It is disgraceful to think that for my personal gains, I’d expect M Vijay or Shikhar (Dhawan) to fail. I’m sorry but I don’t approach my life or cricket that way. Vijay looked really good in South Africa, especially in tough conditions in the Johannesburg Test. I wish him all the very best for New Zealand. Shikhar again is extremely dear to me. He may not have scored in heaps but I’d really request the critics not to get after him. Just give him time, he’ll be fine. I wish both of them luck.”

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News Network
February 14,2020

Hamilton, Feb 14: Batting first, India finished at 263 for nine on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game against New Zealand XI here on Friday.

Hanuma Vihari made 101 off 182 balls before retiring, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 93.

Besides, Ajinkya Rahane (18) was the only other Indian batsmen to register double digit score.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw (0), Mayank Agarwal (1) and Shubman Gill (0) failed to cash in on the opportunity.

Scott Kuggeleijn (3/40) and Ish Sodhi (3/72) shared six wickets between them for New Zealand.

Brief Scores:

India: 263 for 9 in 78.5 overs (Hanuma Vihari 101, Cheteshwar Pujara 93; Scott Kuggeleijn 3/40, Ish Sodhi 3/72).

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News Network
January 29,2020

New Delhi, Jan 29: Badminton champion Saina Nehwal joined the ruling BJP today and is likely to campaign for the party ahead of the February 8 Delhi election.

"I have won medals for the country. I am a very hardworking and I love hardworking persons. I can see Prime Minister Narendra Modi does so much for the country, I want to do something for the country with him," the shuttler said, wearing the BJP scarf.

"I draw a lot of inspiration from Narendra sir".

Haryana-born Saina Nehwal, 29, is a major acquisition for the party in the middle of the Delhi poll campaign; she is one of the most popular sportspersons in India with a huge fan following and brand value. She is preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A former world number 1, she has been honoured with the country's top sporting awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award. She was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2016.

The Badminton player has won over 24 international titles. In the London Olympics, she won a bronze. She was world number two in 2009 and number one in 2015.

With her tweets praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saina Nehwal was widely seen to lean towards the BJP.

One of her tweets became controversial when it was found to be identical to several others in praise of a PM Modi speech last year. Saina was trolled on Twitter with screenshots of the identical tweets. She was also among the sportswomen who put up identical tweets on Diwali thanking PM Modi for his initiative to empower women, with the hashtag #bharatkilaxmi.

The BJP roped in many famous personalities last year, including cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who was elected MP from Delhi in the national election, and wrestler Babita Phogat. Just before the Haryana assembly polls, the party roped in wrestler Sushil Kumar, Babita Phogat and former Hockey team captain Sandeep Singh. Sandeep Singh won the election and was appointed minister.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

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