Just to blame Viru for Delhi's ouster not fair: Gambhir

January 6, 2014

Viru_for_DelhiNew Delhi, Jan 6: Putting his weight behind the embattled Virender Sehwag, senior opener and Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir said it is unfair to solely blame the swashbuckler's poor form for the team's early ouster from the Ranji Trophy.

Sehwag's wretched form with the bat has been a talking point this Ranji season in which he has scored 234 runs at an average of less than 20 in 13 innings.

"Look, had each and everyone of us were performing at the same time, then Delhi would have been in contention for winning the Ranji Trophy," Gambhir told PTI in an interview here.

"While Viru didn't exactly have a great season but then it can happen in sport. That's the beauty of the game. It was Mithun (Manhas) and my responsibility to carry the team forward. Actually what cost us is one bad innings (first innings) against Punjab when we didn't get a big lead. Just to blame Viru for Delhi's failure to qualify for knock-outs is not right," the seasoned opener explained.

Gambhir also defended his decision to blood young Haryana boy Navdeep Saini in Ranji Trophy as he believes that while selecting a squad of XI, a player's domicile is of little significance if the particular cricketer is talented.

"Those who have questioned my decision to play Navdeep should check how many players in the past have played for Delhi not belonging to the state," Gambhir said on the criticism he faced for selecting a non-Delhi boy like Saini.

"I don't wish to comment about what some individuals had to say. For me, it is important whether the player is valuable for the team or not," he added.

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi had led the chorus against the selection of Navdeep, who got a total of five wickets in two low-scoring Ranji Trophy matches, by signing a protest letter to erstwhile DDCA president Arun Jaitley.

"I don't know what Bishan paaji had said and would rather not get into it. I only know that I saw the kid (Navdeep), who till two years back used to play tennis-ball cricket, bowling well at the nets", he said.

"I found that the boy is talented and needed a chance. It didn't matter to me if he was from Delhi or not. Only thing mattered was that I felt that he can add value to the side.

Also, I don't wish to name but there were former players who played for other states and had nothing to do with Delhi cricket. But later they came and played for Delhi and no one found anything wrong," a peeved Gambhir said.

Gambhir said he loves his white flannels and that's the reason he decided to play for Essex in the last county season.

"It was a good time to play county when I went there. Most of the teams were either fighting a battle to win the championship or fighting to save relegation.

"The wickets were result-oriented and it helped playing 96 overs of competitive cricket. I love my whites and it was great learning experience. That helped me score a century against West Indies A," Gambhir said.

On a different topic, Gambhir paid rich tributes to legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis with whom he shared the Kolkata Knight Riders dressing room for three years including the victorious campaign in 2012.

"I have shared some unbelievable time with Jacques (Kallis) in the KKR dressing room. I mean records are there today and tomorrow someone might surpass them. But he is not only a legend because he has scored more than 13,000 runs, taken close to 300 wickets and taken 200 catches.

"Those are his on-field achievements but what remains is the selfless attitude that he had played the game. A player who was always willing to do anything that the team wanted him to do," Gambhir said waxing eloquent.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Jun 20: Bengaluru FC (BFC) have signed Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva for a one-year deal, the ISL club said in a statement on Saturday.

As per the agreement, BFC have the option of extending Silva's contract for another year.

The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent the better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China.

Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League.

His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club.

The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn't materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move.

"I've signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city," said Silva.

Silva, thus, became BFC's first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals with Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu.

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva's addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring.

"Cleiton has a proven track record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we're looking forward to working with him," he said.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9: BWF World Championships defending champion PV Sindhu on Thursday cruised to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters after winning a second-round match.

The 24-year-old had the upper hand in the clash and thrashed Japan's Aya Ohori in straight games 21-10, 21-15 that lasted for 34-minute. The world number six will now play in her quarterfinal match on January 10.

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal defeated South Korea's An Se Young 25-23, 21-12 in 38 minutes. The first game saw back and forth action between both shuttlers. In the end, Nehwal kept her cool to win the match.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old had outclassed Belgium's Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.

Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing their matches to Japan's Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei respectively. 

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News Network
February 9,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Defending champions India are overwhelming favourites to win a record fifth U19 World Cup title on Sunday but a tough fight is expected from first-timers Bangladesh in an all-Asian final.

If the India squad for the 2018 edition had the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, who have expectedly gone on to play for the senior team, the exploits of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, spinner Ravi Bishnoi and pacer Kartik Tyagi in the current edition have made them overnight stars.

Irrespective of what happens in the final, India have reinforced the fact that they are undisputed leaders at the under-19 level and the cricketing structure the BCCI has developed is working better than any other board in the world.

India, who walloped arch-rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets in the semifinal Tuesday, will be playing their seventh final since 2000 when they lifted the trophy for the first time.

Having said that, success at the U-19 level doesn’t guarantee success at the highest level as not all players have the ability to go on and play for India. Some also lose their way like Unmukt Chand did after leading India to the title in 2012.

His career promised so much back then but now it has come to a stage where he is struggling to make the eleven in Uttarakhand’s Ranji Trophy team, having shifted base from Delhi last year.

Only the exceptionally talented like Shaw and Gill get to realise their dream as the competition is only getting tougher in the ever-improving Indian cricket.

India probably is the only side which fields a fresh squad in every U-19 World Cup edition and since there is no dearth of talent and a proper structure is in place, the talent keeps coming up.

“The fact that we allow a cricketer to play the U-19 World Cup only once is a big reason behind the team’s success. While most teams have cricketers who have played in the previous edition,” India U-19 fielding coach Abhay Sharma said from Potchefstroom.

“It just goes to show that the system under the visionary leadership of Rahul Dravid (NCA head) is flourishing. Credit to BCCI as well that other teams want to follow our structure.”

Heading to the mega event, India colts played about 30-odd games in different part of the world. To get used to the South African conditions, they played a quadrangular series before they played their World Cup opener against Sri Lanka.

In the final, India run into Bangladesh, a team which too has reaped the benefits of meticulous planning since their quarterfinal loss at the 2018 edition.

Though the Priyam Garg-led Indian side got the better of them in the tri-series in England and Asia Cup last year, Bangladesh has always come up with a fight and fielding coach Sharma expects it would be no different Sunday.

They are a very good side. There is a lot of mutual respect. I can tell you that,” he said.

Considering it is their maiden final, it is a bigger game for Bangladesh. If they win, it will be sweet revenge against the sub-continental giants, who have found a way to tame Bangladesh at the senior level in close finals including the 2018 Nidahas Trophy and 2016 World T20.

“We don’t want to take unwanted pressure. India is a very good side. We have to play our ‘A’ game and do well in all three departments. Our fans are very passionate about their cricket. I would want to tell them, keep supporting us,” said Bangladesh skipper Akbar Ali after their semifinal win over New Zealand.

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