I never slammed the government for Sania's Khel Ratna: Advani

September 4, 2015

New Delhi, Sep 4: Hurt at being misquoted about his stance on the National Sports Awards, ace cueist Pankaj Advani today said he never took a jibe at any sportsperson and his critical remarks on Sania Mirza getting the Khel Ratna were nothing but a figment of somebody's imagination.

advaniAdvani was reported to have slammed the government for Sania getting the Khel Ratna even when deserving cueists were left out of the Arjuna list. But the 13-time World champion cueist insists that his remarks were totally misconstrued.

"I mean what I said about the Arjuna award and the whole selection process about the awards has been completely taken out of context. In fact the last thing I would want to do as a Khel Ratna awardee is to disrespect someone else who has just received it for her exceptional performances over the last so many years," Advani said.

"I think Sania has done extremely well for her country and in fact she broke at the international circuit about the same time as I did, over 10 years ago. I would also like to tell certain sections of the media to refrain from giving their representation of my statements or remarks that may cause damage to somebody's image and to the sport as a whole," Advani, who received the Khel Ratna in 2006 and the Arjuna in 2004, added.

Noted cueists Vidya Pillai, Chitra Magimairaj and Sourav Kothari missed out on the Arjuna Award this year and Advani said that his only contention was that the process of selecting players for the honour should be consistent.

"My point was only related to the Arjuna Awards, because cuesports players have been performing exceptionally well and I was surprised to see none of their names on the list of the Arjuna awardees this year. The guidelines that are being followed for one sport is not being followed for the cue sport players. Who am I to judge, who deserves an award and who doesn't?," he said.

"All I am saying is that if there is a particular guideline or policy then let it be same for everyone. I was not hitting out at the government. People are saying that I am panning the government or panning X, Y, Z sportsperson. I mean who am I? In fact I have the greatest respect for sportspersons.

"Being a sportsperson I know what it takes to reach and achieve at the top. And I know that the government also has been supporting us for so long. Yes, there are certain things and there is nothing wrong in just saying that listen, if the policies are going to be followed for certain sportspersons, all I am requesting the government is to follow it for all sports equally.

Advani reiterated that for him, the contentious issue is inconsistent policy."There should be consistency. I am not saying what has happened is wrong or it cannot be corrected. Ofcourse, it can be corrected. Next year maybe the policies will be followed for everyone and maybe things will be streamlined. I am not saying things should change now.

"Once the awards are given, I would like to congratulate every winner who has received it. They have a lot in their respective sports as well," he added.

Advani, who has been India's poster boy of cue sport for the last decade and more, called for equality in sport.

"I am basically speaking about a very broad topic over here and that is about equality in sport. I am not there is a bias or whatever it is. All I am saying is that if someone deserves it, let there case be considered with hundreds of others.

"But don't ignore someone and put someone else up and say that the guidelines are only meant for Olympic sports, only meant for X or Y sport. It should be inclusive of all sport.

So whether it comes to deciding the awards and whether it comes to handing out cash incentives, which by the way haven't come for five years. Let's be fair, let's be equal," he said.

"The awards are over now, I don't want to take credit away from the people who have received the awards and if someone has not received an award from cue sport then probably they are waiting for another exceptional performance. Probably they will get it next year.

"But I feel bad because I have received these awards and the process was very fair, I still believe that the awards hold a lot of meaning and importance and that's why I am saying as a fellow cue sport player that we are feeling a bit let down. I am just requesting the government to look into it and I am sure they will do it," he added.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Dubai, Jan 15: India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was on Wednesday named captain of the International Cricket Council's ODI and Test teams of the year, capping off a memorable season for the world No.1.

Apart from Kohli, there were four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

While the Test team featured double-centurion Mayank Agarwal, opener Rohit Sharma, speedster Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.

Kohli enjoyed a tremendous run in both the formats in 2019. The 31-year-old hit his seventh Test double hundred on the way to a career-best unbeaten 254 against South Africa in October last year.

It was a breakthrough year for opener Agarwal, who smashed two double tons, one century and went beyond the fifty-run mark twice. He hit a career-best score of 243 against Bangladesh in November.

Kuldeep, too, enjoyed a memorable year as he joined the golden list of bowlers with two hat-tricks. The chinaman claimed his second ODI hat-trick of his career against the West Indies last month.

In the absence of Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Shami rose to the occasion making the best in the business hop, skip and jump with his pace, swing and bounce through the season. He scalped 42 wickets in 21 ODIs over the last 12 months.

The ICC's Teams of the Year 2019:

ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

Test Team of the Year (in batting order): Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Rajkot, Jan 16: Skipper Virat Kohli is set to be back at his regular number three position after the strategy of coming two-down boomeranged in the lung-opener as India take on a resolute Australia in the must-win second ODI here on Friday.

India go into the game 0-1 down after Australia registered a 10-wicket win in the lung-opener at Mumbai, courtesy David Warner and Aaron Finch, who hit unbeaten hundreds.

In a bid to field all three in-form players -- Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul --, Kohli dropped himself down the order but the plan backfired spectacularly as he was unable to convert his start.

Opener Dhawan later said he was ready to bat at number three if asked to by the team management, but since Kohli has been successful at that position, the skipper would be more than willing to walk in one-down.

Kohli batting at three also provides stability to the middle-order.

With a concussed Rishabh Pant out of the second game, Rahul is a certainty as he will keep wickets.

So, like in the last game, Rohit and Dhawan, who made a dogged 74 off 91 balls in Wankhede, could open, and there could be a toss-up between Rahul and young Shreyas Iyer at number four. Iyer had a rare failure on Tuesday.

Pant's absence could pave the way for the inclusion of Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey, who made optimum use of the opportunity that he got in the third T20 against Sri Lanka in Pune.

It would also be interesting to see which among the experienced Kedar Jadhav and rookie Shivam Dube makes the squad.

Rohit, who had a phenomenal 2019, failed in the first game, but given the form he is in, the opener is expected to bounce back strongly here.

Ditto for Kohli, who is just one hundred short of equalling cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar's record of most hundreds on home soil for India.

The bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah had a forgettable outing at the Wankhede and they would be more than eager to make a strong comeback and prove their mettle.

Bumrah, since his comeback, has not been as effective as earlier and he would like to change the perception.

It would be interesting to see whether India play Delhi speedster Navdeep Saini or persist with Shardul Thakur, who gave away 43 runs in Mumbai.

Ravindra Jadeja looks a certainty and so the choice would be between chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who conceded 55 runs in the first ODI and Yuzvendra Chahal as the lead spinner.

On the other hand, a high on confidence Australia will be looking to seal the issue to register back to back series wins in India, a rare feat for any visiting team. The Finch-Warner combination will look forward to carry the momentum.

Their middle-order comprising the experienced Steve Smith, in-form Marnus Labuschange, Ashton Turner and Alex Carey looks more or less settled.

If all of them fire in unison, along with the openers, then it will hard for the opposition bowlers.

However, it will be quite a test of their middle-order at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium.

Australian bowlers also showed at the Wankhede, why they are considered among the best.

Led by pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, they bundled out India for a sub-par 255 and Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins would be raring to go once again.

Spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, not only contained the runs, but provided crucial breakthroughs and are expected to play a similar role again in the middle overs.

The track here is expected to be a belter and India can draw confidence from the home series against New Zealand in 2017, when they won 2-1 after losing the opener, co-incidentally in Mumbai.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Aaron Finch (Captain), Alex Carey (Wicket-keeper), Patrick Cummins, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschange, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner and Adam Zampa.

Match starts at 1.30.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Former opener Gautam Gambhir is mighty impressed with the way K.L. Rahul batted during India's comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I and said it amazes him why the right-handed batsman can't play the same way in Tests. On Tuesday, Rahul top-scored with a 32-ball 45 as India chased down the meagre target of 143 with utmost ease at the Holkar Stadium.

"Rahul is in unbelievable form. It amazes me every time I see Rahul bat that why didn't he play the same way in Test cricket," Gambhir told the host broadcasters. "It's not about only white-ball cricket; it is about Test cricket too. He just got into a shell too much. With the kind of quality he posses, he is someone who can get you a 50-ball 100 in Test cricket as well. The kind of shots he has is superb," he added.

Shikhar Dhawan, who is making a return to the team after an injury lay-off, also contributed with a "rusty" 30-ball 32. Both Dhawan and Rahul are virtually playing for the second opener's slot for the World T20, with Rohit Sharma set to be one.

And Gambhir feels going by the current form, Rahul should be opening the batting alongside Rohit in Australia. "You can't compare IPL to international cricket. When you're playing for Delhi Capitals, you know there's no one waiting for the opportunity, but when you're playing for the country and you know there's someone who's actually can replace you, there'll always be pressure. And today it was shown who's in better form," Gambhir said.

The cricketer-turned-politician, however, exuded confidence that Dhawan will bounce back strongly in the next game. "Shikhar Dhawan looked rusty but it's a good thing that he got some runs under his belt. It will help him when he walks out to bat in the next game. Had he got out early, the pressure would have been more," he said.

India will play Sri Lanka in the final T20I in Pune on Friday before taking on Australia in a three-match ODI series beginning January 14 in Mumbai.

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