Gavaskar's poser for Srinivasan: Why didn't you act if you knew a player was guilty?

November 19, 2014

GavaskarNov 19: Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has hit out at Gurunath Meiyyapan, son-in-law of ICC President N Srinivasan, over his involvement in betting and also questioned the Tamil Nadu strongman's silence in the whole spot-fixing and betting issue.

"The full force of the law must come down on Meiyyapan," Gavaskar said while speaking to the India Today Group in Melbourne.

Gavaskar said Srinivasan needs to explain why he did not act against players if he knew they were involved in fixing.

"There are reports which say the Mudgal committee report has found that Srinivasan knew about betting but did not do anything about it. Srinivasan should answer for why he did not act if he knew that a player was guilty," Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar was in Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend a special reception at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was hosted by Australian PM Tony Abbot.

Several Indian and Australian cricketing legends such as Kapil Dev, VVS Laxman, Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath, Allan Border, Jason Gillespie also attended the reception today.

Gavaskar said that there should be zero tolerance against match-fixing and betting and if any player is found guilty of having participated in wrong acts then he should be jailed and his entire cricketing history deleted from the record books.

Gavaskar said, "New Zealand has come up with a new law on betting which says that guilty players will be jailed. India should have the same law." The former captain also suggested that the government should think about legalising betting in India.

"A lot of betting happens through black money. But if you open official betting shop, Government will be able to increase its revenues. It's like prohibition, if someone wants to bet illegally, they will. Government should think about legalising betting," said Gavaskar.

The cricket legend sought to draw a distinction between team owners who were found guilty of betting and players, saying that players should not be punished till the time it can be established that the owner of the team influenced the player.

Speaking about the forthcoming India's tour of Australia, Gavaskar said that he felt that the Indian team would face a very tough time.

"Indian players will need to be patient. They will need to keep extravagant shots in their pockets when they play in Australia. This is not T20 or One-day Internationals. Australian pitches are the best to bat on but the players have to be patient."

Meanwhile, Gavaskar also shared some lighter moments with Prime Minister Modi while the World Cup and Border-Gavaskar trophies were being displayed for the two PMs of the two countries.

"When the photo opportunity was on, I saw Modi was holding the World Cup trophy. Abbot held the Border-Gavaskar trophy. I told the PM that you are holding the right trophy. This is the one we want next year. India already holds the Border-Gavaskar trophy, we don't need it just now."

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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News Network
March 19,2020

London, Mar 19: Talking about the break in cricketing activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa pacer Dale Steyn said that the disease seems to be to the only topic of conversation these days.

"I don't know how to describe it. Doesn't matter where you go, everyone is talking about it - whether it is on an airplane or you are just popping into a grocery store. It just seems like it is the only topic of conversation," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Steyn as saying.

"Yeah, it's so strange. Normally if I am on holiday I'll be planning a fishing trip or a surfing trip. At the moment I am just chilling at home," he added.

Steyn was last seen in action in the Pakistan Super League where he took two wickets in two matches.

When asked whether he has enough hand sanitizers, he replied: "We just decided that stockpiling is definitely not the way to go. It is not fair on everybody who needs that stuff. I went to the grocery store the other day and everyone had bought all the toilet paper. We have what we need, and when that runs out, that runs out, and we need to go and get some more".

"We didn't feel it was necessary to go and absolutely just, like, zombie our lives up. There's other people that live on a day-to-day basis. They are not going to get all of that stuff, so we thought it was best not to do that".

Steyn also had a message for the fans, "Stay healthy, wash your hands, look after yourself, don't be greedy. Right now they are saying old people are really struggling, so if in a position to help, rather help them than help yourself. Pretty simple, really."

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the ODI series between India-South Africa and Australia-New Zealand have been postponed.

The start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been postponed until April 15.

Cricket South Africa has suspended all forms of cricket for 60 days while Cricket Australia has advised all its employees to work from home.

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