I wanted Indian team to return home after Sydney Test: VVS Laxman

December 5, 2018

New Delhi, Dec 5: Batting great VVS Laxman on Tuesday recollected how he wanted the Indian team to return home immediately after the infamous monkey-gate scandal at Sydney in 2007-08.

"I was the one who suggested that we should go back home immediately because it was clear it was one-sided and it was not fair but Anil (Kumble) showed great leadership qualities and managed everything," Laxman said during the Delhi launch of his book '281 and Beyond' here.

India lost the second Test of the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy after Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds found themselves in the middle of a racial abuse scandal which, coupled with some questionable umpire decisions, had snowballed into a big crisis and Indian team had threatened to abandon the tour before ICC intervened.

"Perth win mattered for what happened at Sydney. We as a team felt that we were let down by umpires, there were a lot of atrocious decision given against us, and we lost that match, so it was important for us to win at Perth."

Laxman credited the "big-hearted" Indian tail-enders for making it possible for him to score runs during his illustrious Test career for India.

"I was very selfish because no. 6 was not a position suited to my batting. My batting suited number 3 as I could use the pace of the ball. Batting at No. 6 meant that invariably the opposition captains would set the field and ball at the tail-enders," he said.

"So I had to come up with a strategy to score runs, to build a partnership. I used to play big shots and get out initially. So I had a discussion with John Wright and we thought it was important to enhance the batting skills of the bowlers.

All these bowlers had a big heart. There were challenging bowlers at that time which required technique. So it was decided that each batsman was responsible for a bowler, so I realised that the only way I can score runs was by rotating the strikes. So thanks to them for playing with such mental toughness."

Laxman said he had a lot of negativity after failing to retire with a win against Australia Down Under in a four Test series in 2011-12.

"There was a lot of frustration and negative emotions in me specially after losing 0-4 in Australia because it was my dream to retire on a high and I was not able to achieve that and I was shattered," he said.

Laxman also narrated a lot of anecdotes from his illustrious career right from when he was uncomfortable sharing the room with Zaheer Khan, to being late for a Test match and India skipper MS Dhoni riding a bus at Nagpur during a Test match against Australia.

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News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: England batsman James Vince lashed out at people for not taking proper measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and said people are going out as if "everything is normal".

"Just seen the pictures of people out and about today as if everything is normal. What selfish people, surely by now they've realised this is serious. Well done to everyone who's doing their bit and staying in," Vince tweeted.

On March 13, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Europe was now the 'epicentre' of the disease.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 4,313 with at least 708 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day rise since the start of the outbreak as confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The total number of cases in the UK as on Saturday is 41,903, a rise of 3,735 cases in the last 24 hours.

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News Network
June 23,2020

Karachi, Jun 23: Pakistan cricketers Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and rookie Haider Ali on Monday tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed three players - Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan - have tested positive for Covid-19," said the PCB in a statement.

"The players had shown no symptoms until they were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men's national cricket team's tour to England."

The infected players will go into self-isolation.

"The PCB medical panel is in contact with the three who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation," the statement said.

Earlier this month, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was tested positive for the deadly virus.

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February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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