'It happens', exasperated MS Dhoni says on countless queries on Yuvraj Singh

April 7, 2014

Mirpur, Apr 7: An exhausted and disappointed Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni found it tough to explain Yuvraj Singh's painstakingly slow batting in the lost World Twenty20 final against Sri Lanka but insisted that the under-fire player tried his best.

Yuvraj's 21-ball 11 was a major factor in India totalling a mere 130 after being put in to bat on Sunday. Sri Lanka overhauled the target in 17.5 overs after losing just four wickets

"It was an off day for Yuvraj. He tried his best but it's not easy to come in and start slogging from ball one," Dhoni said at the post-match press conference where most of the questions centred on Yuvraj's performance.

MS_DhoniThere were a few which Dhoni completely deflected during his shortest media interaction in the whole tournament.

Was there a message for Yuvraj when he got stuck in the middle, Dhoni said, "No he was just trying his best. That's the most you can do."

Dhoni was specifically asked about Yuvraj's future in the team considering others have more or less performed their duties or at least have age on their side.

The smiling skipper gave an open-ended reply. "Indian cricket season is over, and now we have all domestic tournaments including the Indian Premier League. The next selection is far away so let's not talk about it."

There had been angry reactions from the fans and Dhoni got a bit serious while answering a query.

"Look, you need to understand that fans can be angry but they can't be more disappointed than the individual who is out there in the middle. As a player you don't want to do badly in front of 40000 people. You don't want to drop catches. But off days happen. And it can happen with any athlete. May be it was an off day for him (Yuvraj).

"Fans will be disappointed but it is the player who is always more disappointed than the fans," he explained.

When asked if Yuvraj's innings "robbed the team" of momentum, Dhoni seemed like wanting to put an end to the endless queries.

"It's a team thing. So let us not talk about individuals."

Dhoni also tried hard to explain the reason for sending Yuvraj ahead of Suresh Raina at No. 4.

"Most of our batsmen take time to hit the big shots and it is only Raina, who can start hitting big from the onset. That was the reason that we sent Yuvi up the order at No. 4."

Dhoni was all praise for the Sri Lankan team, especially the manner they bowled "wide yorkers" at the death.

"We wanted to score as many runs as possible in last four overs but credit to Lankan bowlers. They bowled perfect wide yorkers. I for one, know that Malinga bowls these superb wide yorkers. They got only one wide during that phase. They executed their plans brilliantly.

"We were a bit disappointed at the break for not having scored more than 130 but then we were thinking about Champions Trophy. It was also a 20-over match but here we had one fielder more outside the circle," the skipper said.

As for why he didn't start with his best bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, Dhoni defended the move saying, "We wanted to use Ashwin in middle overs against left-handers. So we couldn't start with him. But the pacers went for runs and I had to bring him early and he also got a wicket."

"Also the wicket changed a bit under lights as the ball started coming onto the bat," he added.

Dhoni tried to count the positives from the tournament, having been consistent right from the practice match against England.

"The spinners have bowled well as they got a bit of help and turn from the track. Virat (Kohli) has been brilliant for us as he has been in the last one and half years and even more. We were consistent from start and hence there weren't too many changes in the playing XI."

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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February 17,2020

Hamilton, Feb 17: Mayank Agarwal found form on his birthday and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India’s warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw here on Sunday.

The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings.

Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name.

To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell. There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper.

While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions. He didn’t curb his aggression, though, there were times when he was ready defend the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries.

Even though Pant is considered a better batsman than Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the New Zealand second innings is Agarwal’s poor run coming to an end. The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal’s footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn’t cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings. He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match.

Once he had got his form back, he didn’t come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action.

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June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has said that wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and is one of the easiest guys to interact with.

Bravo was doing an Instagram live chat with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa and it was then that the all-rounder was asked to talk about his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

"I think a lot of credit for CSK's success has to be given to Dhoni and Fleming, obviously the owners, they trust both Fleming and Dhoni, so there is no outside interference when it comes to decision making, both are very big students of the game, players love MS and it's an environment and franchise that allows you to be you," Bravo told Mbangwa during the chat.

"MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and in our team. He was one of the easiest people to interact with, outside of the cricket field, he is like playing video games, his door is open at all times, whenever you talk about the biggest superstar and then you think a person like Dhoni is the most humble of them all. CSK is a special team and we have the most loyal fans," he added.

Bravo has been with the CSK since 2011. He has played a total of 104 matches for the franchise, picking up 121 wickets.

The all-rounder has also managed to win the Purple Cap (most wickets in IPL) two times (2013 and 2015).

CSK has won the IPL thrice (2010, 2011 and 2018) and all the titles have come under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the high-profile game.

This year, Dhoni did not find a place for himself in the BCCI's centrally contracted players list.

The board had released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

Dhoni is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).

Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He would have been leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29.

However, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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