I don't care about a few as whole country loves me: Sania

September 15, 2015

New Delhi, Sep 15: She has always found her stupendous success on court go hand-in-hand with controversies off it and that is precisely the reason why Sania Mirza is hardly bothered about what a few people have to say about her.sania

Call it coincidence but both of her US Open titles were preceded by unwanted controversies.

Her US Open women's doubles title two days back, came after a court petition by an athlete, who questioned her selection for prestigious Khel Ratna award.

Last year too before her US Open mixed doubles title with Bruno Soares, a politician had opposed the move of making her the Brand Ambassador of newly-created state of Telangana.

"I actually don't care," Sania told PTI during an exclusive interview on her arrival from New York today.

"I don't read newspapers very often. I just try and play tennis. I try to perform the best and that gives me the pleasure. That's what I know how to do best. I am fortunate enough to be good at what I do, so I come back with victories. Besides that I don't pay attention to what a few people have to say, I know that rest of the country loves me," the Hyderabadi said.

In the past too, she has had endured many controversies, several needless ones.

Sania has enjoyed a lot success with Martina Hingis since joining forces this March last and she says that her partnership with the Swiss great will continue in the next season.

"Yes, we are going to play next year as well," she said but is not sure whether she would like to continue playing mixed doubles with Brazilian Bruno Soares, with whom she won 2014 US Open.

"At this point, I am not sure about Bruno, we have to see a few things."

Talking about their dominating run in the US Open, where they did not drop a single set en route to win, Sania said,"We have been playing well. Hard court is something we both like playing, it's my favorite surface. We kept getting better at every match and that is how we won the tournament."

Sania and Martina have won four titles this season and have not lost many sets. They have consistently gone deep into the main draws of several other tournaments.

Asked what still can be added to their partnership, the 28-year-old-said, there are a few things.

"I can definitely improve my net play and Martina can improve from the back of the court. We are already number one team and I am number one individually as well but there is always room for improvement."

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News Network
January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: The pitches in New Zealand have become a lot more batting-friendly over the years, says iconic former batsman Sachin Tendulkar, insisting that India have the “ammunition” to trouble the sprightly hosts during the upcoming series.

Tendulkar, who has been on a record five New Zealand tours since 1990, feels that from seaming tracks during his early trips years, the tracks became high-scoring hard ones during his last tour back in 2009.

“Of late, the Tests in New Zealand have been high scoring and surfaces have changed,” Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview.

India will play five T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests during the tour starting with the shortest format on January 24.

From 2002, when India played ODIs and Tests on green tops, to 2009, when India won only their second Test series in 32 years, Tendulkar has seen it all in New Zealand.

“I remember when we played in 2009, the Hamilton pitch was different compared to other pitches. Other pitches got harder (Wellington and Napier) but not Hamilton. It remained soft.

“But Napier became hard with passage of time (where Gautam Gambhir scored an epic match-saving 12-hour hundred in 2009). So, from my first tour (in 1990 till 2009), I realised pitches got harder with passage of time,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar is confident that the Indian bowling attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, has the ammunition to put New Zealand in trouble.

“We have a good bowling attack with quality fast bowlers as well as spinners. I believe we have the ammunition to compete in New Zealand.”

However, in Wellington, Tendulkar wants the team to be well-prepared to counter the breeze factor.

“Wellington, I have played and it makes a huge difference if you are bowling with the wind or against the wind. The batsman needs to be judicious in the choice of which end he wants to attack, it is very important,” he said.

Tendulkar said he would prefer spinners to bowl against the breeze.

“...the seamers bowling against the strong breeze need to be smart. So I would prefer that if there is strong breeze, let the spinner bowl from that end and from the opposite end, the fast bowler bowls with the breeze behind him,” he said.

The maestro is confident that Rohit Sharma's white ball experience will hold him in good stead in the Tests as well, an assignment that has been kept for the last leg of the trip, which begins with five T20 Internationals from January 24.

“The challenge would be to go out and open in different conditions. I think Rohit had opened in New Zealand in ODIs and has been there quite a few times, he knows the conditions well. Eventually, Test cricket is Test cricket,” he said.

“But all depends on surfaces that they provide. If they provide green tops, then it's a challenge.”

There is no Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar in limited-overs series but Tendulkar is not ready to press the panic button.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game when you play and push your body to the limits.

“When you play for your country you need to give your best and while you give your best, you can get injured. That's okay,” he concluded.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Thursday dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on the future of the former India captain who has not played since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand last year.

The BCCI announced the central contracts for the period of October 2019 to September 2020. Dhoni was in the A category, which fetches a player Rs 5 crore, until last year.

Skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma and top pacer Jasprit Bumrah were retained in the highest A+ bracket of Rs 7 crore.

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