IPL for me is just about expressing myself, says Dinesh Karthik

April 8, 2014

Dinesh_KarthikNew Delhi, Apr 8: Dinesh Karthik grabbed eyeballs when Delhi Daredevils bought him for an astounding Rs 12.5 crore at the last IPL auctions and the Tamil Nadu stumper knows only too well that the franchise has pinned a lot of hopes on his ability to win matches.

“Of course, there will be pressure. When a corporate invests in you, they have high expectations. But money is not the only issue here. As a professional, you are expected to give your best for the team irrespective of you getting more money or less,” Karthik said.

Karthik failed to make most of the opportunity in the Asia Cup which preceded the World Twenty 20. Called in as replacement for India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the wicketkeeper-batsman missed some crucial stumpings and could not come up with a noticeable performance with the bat.

But on his own admission, there are no specific areas that he has worked on.

“To be honest, I have not worked on anything specific. It would also be tough to gauge my form with the way I played in the domestic T20s (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) as IPL will be a different ball game,” said the 28-year-old.

The all new Daredevils squad starts training Wednesday and like other sides, doesn’t have much time to work on the team chemistry.

Karthik said it was too early to talk about how the team would fare in the seventh edition. Captain Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor, Quinton de Kock, Murali Vijay and Mohammed Shami are the other star players in the squad.

“It would be too premature to say anything on the team. I will only get to meet the coach (Gary Kirsten) and others in the camp. We have a good-all round team with some explosive international players but there are a whole lot of factors that determine success.

“Personally, I would like to take it match by match and see how it goes,” said the Chennai-based cricketer adding Pietersen and Taylor’s presence was a big boost to the franchise.

The pitches are expected to aid the spinners more than the faster bowlers. Delhi only have leggie Rahul Sharma and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem as frontline spinners.

“We might not have a lot of India players in the team but in the spin department, both Rahul and Nadeem have proved themselves in the past IPL editions.”

A good showing in the last IPL paved the way for Karthik’s return to the Indian team for the Champions Trophy. Is he planning something similar this time around?

“IPL for me is just about expressing myself. If I do well, the future will take care of itself,” he summed up.

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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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News Network
May 8,2020

New Delhi, May 8: India skipper Virat Kohli believes cricket in empty stadiums is a real possibility in post COVID-19 world and though it is unlikely to have a bearing on the intensity of players, he feels the magic would certainly go missing.

Cricket Boards across the globe are exploring the option of resuming the sport in empty stadiums. There is speculation that fans could be kept away from stadiums in a bid to salvage the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is currently under threat due to the global health crisis.

"It's quite a possible situation, it might happen, I honestly don't know how everyone is going to take that because we all are used to playing in front of so many passionate fans," Kohli said in Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.

"I know it will be played at a very good intensity but that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are very difficult to recreate," he added.

Kohli said the many moments which are created because of the passion brought in by fans, would be missing.

"Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created.

"We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by," he said.

Cricketers such as Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Pat Cummins have backed the idea of playing behind closed doors.

However, legendary Australian Allan Border has said it would defy belief to host a World Cup without spectators.

Another Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and some other cricketers have also expressed similar sentiments.

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels there are a lot of similarities between the Virat Kohli-led Team India and the Pakistan team when Imran Khan had led it as both captains instill strong self-belief in their respective teams.

Manjrekar also said that Pakistan under Imran had found different ways of winning matches even when it seemed all was lost.

"India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self belief is strong," Manjrekar tweeted.

The cricketer turned commentator expressed his opinion after India completed a rare 5-0 whitewash with a seven-run victory over New Zealand in the final T20 International in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Manjrekar also lauded KL Rahul, now also shouldering wicket-keeping duty, for his impressive showing in recent times.

"Samson & Pant... the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat's batting 'smarts' (mind) into their game," Manjrekar wrote.

The victory at the Bay Oval saw India stretch their record for most successive T20I wins.

This was their eighth win in a row, bettering the previous three instances when they won seven successive matches.

Kohli is the most successful Test captain in Indian cricket history, winning 11 consecutive series at home and are on top of the ICC rankings.

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