Kohli officially signs for Surrey, to miss Afghanistan Test

Agencies
May 4, 2018

New Delhi, May 4: India captain Virat Kohli officially inked his deal with top English county side Surrey in his bid to prepare for the tour of England, starting in July.

While Kohli joining the London-based team was an open secret, the county officially announced the deal on Thursday on their official website.

"Surrey County Cricket Club are delighted to announce the signing of India captain Virat Kohli for the month of June," the club announced on their website.

Speaking after signing for the club, Kohli said: “It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season. I can’t wait to get to the Kia Oval.”

Alec Stewart, Surrey’s Director of Cricket, added: “We are thrilled to have signed the biggest name in world cricket for the month of June.

“Playing and training alongside Virat will be a massive benefit for our players who will have the opportunity to learn so much from him.

“At a time when there is much discussion around the future of county cricket, the arrival of Virat should give our domestic game a massive boost and positive exposure around the cricketing world which in turn can benefit every county,” the former England captain said.

With Kohli playing three county championship matches in June, he is all set to miss the historic first-ever Test match against Afghanistan scheduled in Bengaluru from June 14-18. The Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai has already said that Kohli will be encouraged to play county in his bid to prepare for the Test series in August.

According to Surrey website: "Kohli will be available for all cricket throughout the month until the close of Surrey’s trip to Scarborough to face Yorkshire."

The 29-year-old will become the fourth Indian Test player in county cricket this year with fellow batsman Cheteshwar Pujara currently at Yorkshire and seamers Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron plying their trade at Sussex and Leicestershire respectively. Axar Patel is scheduled to play for Durham in August.

Since his Test debut in 2011, the middle-order batsman has scored 5554 runs at an average of 53.40 in the five-day game while his 9588 ODI runs have come at a rate of 58.10 per innings

Kohli, who won the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC World Cricketer of the Year in 2017, averages more than 50 in all three formats of the international game.

After taking over the Test captaincy during India’s tour of Australia in 2014/15, Kohli has led his country to the top of the ICC rankings with 21 Test wins from 34 matches.

In 2017, Kohli was also named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World and as captain of the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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News Network
June 13,2020

Islamabad, Jun 13: Pakistan cricket team’s former captain Shahid Afridi, who has tested positive for coronavirus,  appears to have contracted the virus during his recent visit to Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) where Pakistan has been sending its corona positive patients.

The former Pakistan cricketer was seen attending gatherings in Muzaffarabad last month without wearing a mask and not maintaining social distancing. He spewed venom against India during his rallies. 

Afridi visited PoK to also express his solidarity with the people there who have been left to fend for themselves in combating COVID-19 as Pakistan has refused to provide any COVID fighting equipment like PPE kits and ventilators to the area’s handful of hospitals. 

In fact, Pakistan has been using the PoK as a “dumping ground” for COVID-19 affected persons from all across the country as authorities want to keep Punjab province free of corona positive persons. 

The locals held massive protests against Pakistan for setting up quarantine centres and shifting patients from parts of Pakistan to PoK. 

People are immensely suffering in Pakistan occupied Kashmir due to spread of coronavirus as the region lacks proper medical facilities and has a handful of COVID-19 testing labs. There is also lack of expert medical staff to conduct COVID-19 tests. 

A large number of people here are presumed asymptomatic and they are fast spreading the virus because of lack of medical care. 

Pakistan has reported over 1,25,000 coronavirus cases and 2,463 casualties. In Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the COVID-19 cases have increased to 534, whereas in Gilgit-Baltistan 1,030 have been  reported. 

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News Network
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be finally reaching India late on Saturday after being stuck in Germany for over three months due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes.. Anand will be returning today," the chess maestro's wife Aruna told PTI on Saturday morning. Anand, who boarded an Air India flight (AI-120) from Frankfurt on Friday night will reach Bengaluru via Delhi.

He is expected to reach Bengaluru at 1.15 pm. The five-time world champion will undergo 14 days quarantine as per rules laid down by the Karnataka government.

"He will complete quarantine procedures and come to Chennai as per protocol," Aruna Anand said. The flights from Germany are only scheduled to land only in Delhi and Bengaluru.

The chess ace was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess league and was to return to India, but was forced to stay put after the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted sporting schedules across the globe, apart from restricting movement.

He was staying near Frankfurt and was doing online commentary for the Candidates tournament which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic and led the Indian team in the Online Nations Cup early this month.

Anand had been in touch with his family in Chennai on a regular basis via video calls and kept himself busy with chess-related work.

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