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Hot Spot had a 'stinker', says Pietersen

September 25, 2013

PietersenEngland batsman Kevin Pietersen declared on Tuesday that Hot Spot "had an absolute stinker" during the Ashes series, but said that players remain supportive of the technology.

The decision review system (DRS) came in for criticism during the series, which England won 3-0, with Hot Spot's infra-red imaging falling under particular scrutiny after a number of inaccurate decisions.

Pietersen became embroiled in the debate when Australia's Channel 9 television station claimed he used silicone tape in a bid to prevent Hot Spot from detecting when the ball had hit his bat.

The South Africa-born batsman laughed off the claims at the time but says he was bewildered by the accusation that he was a cheat.

"Hot Spot had an absolute stinker this summer for whatever reason but no-one was taping their bats with any artificial strapping or silicone," Pietersen told talkSPORT radio station.

"I've had the same strapping on my bat since 1995, when I became a professional. All the pros put fibreglass tape on their bat and I copied everyone else. Every cricketer in the world does it.

"I woke up one morning in the team hotel and my Twitter had just blown up. People were calling me a cheat and some horrible expletives, and I didn't know what was going on.

"I had a look at it and saw they had broken the news at 6:00 am (0500GMT) on Channel 9 and my image was used and referenced.

"I clearly denied it straight away on Twitter and it was done and dusted from my mind. It didn't really bother me. I had a lot more things to worry about than the strapping on my bat.

"It was ridiculous. It was just somebody being naughty and had no bearing on anything I did, and it won't in the future."

Despite the Hot Spot controversies, Pietersen says that the technology retains the support of most players.

"We just don't understand how Hot Spot didn't work as well as it had done before," he said.

"We've never had these issues and I know the players are happy with Hot Spot and with DRS. There are no issues."

Pietersen was named in England's squad for the return Ashes series on Tuesday and says he will approach the tour in positive fashion after putting niggling knee problems behind him.

"It was tough but I've done some incredible rehab in the last three weeks and it feels like I have a different knee. I'm feeling so good on it," said the 33-year-old, whose next Test appearance will be his 100th.

"For the first time since February, I am totally pain-free and I am continuing to do the right things.

"It was probably the best decision I made for my career not to have surgery because if I had done, I would be out till next February."

He added: "When you get to 33, you are definitely in your second cycle of your career and it is a case of ticking all the right boxes to keep you on the field."

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News Network
June 13,2020

Mumbai, Jun 13: Vasant Raiji, who was India's oldest first-class cricketer at 100, died in Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday.

Raiji was 100 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"He (Raiji) passed away at 2.20 am in his sleep at his residence in Walkeshwar in South Mumbai due to old-age," his son-in-law Sudarshan Nanavati told PTI.

Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

He made his debut for a Cricket Club of India team that played Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur in 1939.

His Mumbai debut happened in 1941 when the team played Western India under the leadership of Vijay Merchant.

Raiji, also a cricket historian and chartered accountant, was 13 when India played its first Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had paid a courtesy visit to Raiji at his residence in January when he had turned 100.

It has been learnt that the cremation will take place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 9: The Indian Fed Cup team will travel to Dubai for this year's competition as the ITF has named the desert city as the new venue for the matches, to be held from March 3 to 7.

The ITF named the new venue after moving out the matches from then Chinese city of Dongguan due to Coronoavirus threat. The Asia/Oceania Group I matches were originally scheduled to be played from February 4-8.

"The event will be held in the week following the ATP Dubai tournament at the same venue, and will see six nations China P.R., Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Korea Rep. and Uzbekistan - compete for a place in the Fed Cup Play-offs in April," an ITF release said.

The six teams will vie for two spots in Fed Cup Play-offs.

"Being in Dubai makes no difference. But the dates give enough time to Sania for her recovery. Doubles is an important point. Ankita is playing well. The other team members will also get some tournament to play under their belt," India's Fed Cup captain Vishal Uppal told news agency.

Sania's participation was under doubt due to a calf injury she aggravated during the Australian Open, where she pulled out of the mixed doubles before retiring mid-way into her women's doubles opening round match.

"I think we have a good chance but we will have to be at our best and fight hard for every point, every game, every set, every match," Uppal added.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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