Italy celebrate on road to redemption at Euro 2016

Jun 1: Premier India pacer Jasprit Bumrah won't miss the hugs and high-fives as part of a wicket celebration but he will certainly miss applying saliva on the ball and feels an alternative should be provided to maintain the red cherry.

The ICC Cricket Committee, led by former India captain Anil Kumble, recommended a ban on using saliva on the ball as an interim measure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Committee did not allow the use of artificial substances as a substitute move.

The new rule makes life tougher for the bowlers and Bumrah, like many former and current fast bowlers, feels there ought to be an alternative.

"I was not much of a hugger anyway and not a high-five person as well, so that doesn't trouble me a lot. The only thing that interests me is the saliva bit," said Bumrah in a chat with Ian Bishop and Shaun Pollock on ICC's video series 'Inside Out'.

"I don't know what guidelines we'll have to follow when we come back, but I feel there should be an alternative," he added.

Bumrah said not being able to use saliva makes the game more batsman-friendly.

"If the ball is not well maintained, it's difficult for the bowlers. The grounds are getting shorter and shorter, the wickets are becoming flattered and flatter.

"So we need something, some alternative for the bowlers to maintain the ball so that it can do something - maybe reverse in the end or conventional swing."

When former West Indian pacer Bishop pointed out that the conditions have been favorable to the fast bowlers over the last couple of years, Bumrah nodded in agreement.

"In Test match cricket, yes. That is why it's my favorite format because we have something over there. But in one-day cricket and T20 cricket… one-day cricket there are two new balls, so it hardly reverses at the end.

"We played in New Zealand, the ground (boundary) was 50 metres. So even if you are not looking to hit a six, it will go for six. In Test matches I have no problem, I'm very happy with the way things are going."

He finds it amusing that the batsmen keep complaining about the swinging ball.

"Whenever you play, I've heard the batsmen - not in our team, everywhere - complaining the ball is swinging. But the ball is supposed to swing! The ball is supposed to do something! We are not here just to give throwdowns, isn't it? (laughter)

"This is what I tell batsmen all the time. In one-day cricket, when did the ball reverse last, I don't know. Nowadays the new ball doesn't swing a lot as well. So whenever I see batsmen say the ball is swinging or seaming and that is why I got out - the ball is supposed to do that.

"Because it doesn't happen so much in the other formats, it's a new thing for the batsmen when the ball is swinging or seaming," said the 26-year-old.

The Ahmedabad-born pacer finds himself in an unusual position as he has not bowled for over two months due to the lockdown imposed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

When India will play next is not clear yet and Bumrah said he is not sure about how his body will hold up when he returns to action.

"I really don't know how your body reacts when you don't bowl for two months, three months. I'm trying to keep up with training so that as soon as the grounds open up, the body is in decent shape.

"I've been training almost six days a week but I've not bowled for a long period of time so I don't know how the body will react when I bowl the first ball.

"I'm looking at it as a way to renew your own body. We'll never get such a break again, so even if you have a small niggle here and there, you can be a refreshed person when you come back. You can prolong your career," he said.

Bumrah has risen rapidly in international cricket despite experts having reservations about his longevity due to his unorthodox action.

The gritty fast bowler sees similarities in his career graph to Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"Our personalities are different. But the story I could relate to is that not many people thought he would make it big. There was a similar case with me growing up as well.

"Wherever I went, it was the general feedback from people that 'this guy would not do anything, he would not be a top-rated bowler, he won't be able to play for a long period of time with this kind of action'.

"So, having the self-belief is important and the only validation that is required is your own validation. I saw that in his (Ibrahimovic's) story, so that's the thing I could relate to," added Bumrah.

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

New Delhi, Apr 15: Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday urged people to beat coronavirus by staying at home and by maintaining social distancing. He termed the virus 'mother of all World Cups' and asked people to combat this disease together and win the World Cup of humanity.

Taking to Twitter, Shastri shared a video post where he cited cricket examples to aware people about the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. "As I would know, sports teaches you life lessons that can be applied to just about anything you want to pursue in rest of your life.

Today the COVID-19 has put us in a situation where we got our backs to the wall. To combat this coronavirus is like chasing a World Cup where you give your everything in trying to win it. What's staring you at the face is no ordinary World Cup. This is the mother of all World Cups where not just eleven are playing but 1.4 billion are in the playing arena and competing. Guys we can win this. For that, we have to observe the basics. You have got your Prime Minister leading from the front ahead of the curve like other countries have farmed out," Shastri said.

"You have to obey the orders that come from the top: be it centre, state or the frontline workers who are risking their lives. Two orders that stand out: staying home and maintaining social distancing. It is not easy but to win the game you got to go through the pain to break the chain and see the gain. Come on, guys! let's do it together. Let us get out there in a bruit force of 1.4 billion and beat this corona and get your hands on the World Cup of humanity. Let's do it," he added.

With 1,076 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 11,439, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

Out of the total tally, 9,756 cases are active while 1,306 patients have been cured/discharged and migrated. With 38 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll rises to 377.