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La Liga: Messi won't be 100 percent for 'Clasico' - Luis Enrique

November 21, 2015

Barcelona, Nov 21: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will not be at full fitness for Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' at Real Madrid if he makes his return from injury but "the feelings are positive", coach Luis Enrique said on Friday.

messiMessi has not played since injuring his knee at the end of September, during which time champions Barca have pulled three points clear of second-placed Real at the top, largely thanks to the form of the Argentina captain's South American compatriots Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Luis Enrique said a decision would be made on Saturday whether Messi will start the clash at the Bernabeu, when a win for Barca, chasing a sixth La Liga title in eight years, would put them six points clear of Real after 12 matches.

"Since he started training again (on Monday) the feelings are positive," Luis Enrique told a news conference. "He has recovered and he is playing at the same level as the rest of the squad," added the former Barca and Spain midfielder. Obviously he won't be at 100 percent in physical terms due to the time he has been out but he is so important that to have him recovered at least gives us some security."

There was more good news for Luis Enrique on the injury front this week when Barca's Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic returned to training after a calf injury.

If Messi and Rakitic start, Messi will be reunited with Neymar and Suarez in attack and Rakitic will likely join Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets in a three-man midfield.

Luis Enrique said he was not worried about which match officials would take charge of Saturday's game.

An assistant referee last month filed an anonymous complaint through a lawyer with the state anti-corruption prosecutor claiming instructions had been given by the Spanish soccer federation's refereeing committee to favour Real.

The federation (RFEF) and the professional league (La Liga)dismissed the allegation, although Spanish media have reported a probe has been launched by the state prosecutor.

"When that came out I asked it be investigated and that is being done," Luis Enrique said.

"Until conclusions are drawn I won't comment. I am not worried about who is refereeing. I am just focused on the things I can control."

Security is being ramped up for Saturday's game following last week's attacks in Paris, with more than 2,000 police and

other security and emergency services personnel to be deployed around the stadium.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Thursday dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on the future of the former India captain who has not played since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand last year.

The BCCI announced the central contracts for the period of October 2019 to September 2020. Dhoni was in the A category, which fetches a player Rs 5 crore, until last year.

Skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma and top pacer Jasprit Bumrah were retained in the highest A+ bracket of Rs 7 crore.

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News Network
April 22,2020

Dhaka, Apr 22: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has decided to auction the bat he used during the 2019 ODI World Cup to help raise money for the fight against deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Shakib, who is currently serving a two-year ban from all forms of cricket -- one of which is suspended -- for not reporting corrupt approaches, is the second Bangladeshi cricketer after wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim to auction a personal cricketing gear to raise money for the cause.

"I had said before that I want to put up a bat for auction. I have decided to auction the bat I used in the 2019 World Cup. It's a favourite bat of mine," Shakib said during a Facebook live session.

The 33-year-old all-rounder had a hugely successful World Cup in England last year, scoring 606 runs in eight matches at an average of 86.57, which included two centuries and five fifties.

Besides, he also picked up 11 wickets in the tournament and became the only cricketer to score 600 plus runs and scalp 10 wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.

"I had a good World cup with the bat and ball. There were some good performances especially with the bat. I had used a single bat throughout the World Cup and even used tapes on it to get through games," Shakib said.

"It's not that this bat has only been used at the World Cup. I have scored over 1500 runs with this bat and had used it prior to the tournament and after it as well.

"Although I like the bat a lot but I have decided to put it up for auction with the thought that maybe it can leave some contribution to forming a fund during the ongoing coronavirus crisis."

The money raised from the auction will go to the Shakib Al Hasan foundation.

"This is a very special bat to me, but my people are even more special to me," Shakib said.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Bollywood celebrities have taken it to their social media platforms to express their excitement and shared their thoughts.

Taking to Twitter handle, senior Bollywood actor Anupam Kher extended his best wishes to his legion of followers for the Ram Janmabhoomi Pujan.

While 'Masti' actor Riteish Deshmukh, on the micro-blogging site tweeted multiple hashtag 'Jai Shree Ram' to mark the historic day.

'Queen' actor, Kangana Ranaut's official Twitter handle team wrote: "What could not happen in 500 years happened this year.... this is not picture of the day but the moment of many centuries #JaiShreeRam #RamMandirAyodhya"

Actor Kirron Kher, legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, filmmaker Ashok Pandit and others also marked the day and expressed their excitement.

Earlier, evergreen star Hema Malini, through an audio recording congratulated the devotees of Lord Ram on the occasion.

The Mathura MP expressed her excitement on the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the much-awaited Ram Temple.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the special Bhoomi Poojan at Ayodhya ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony.

He also released a commemorative postage stamp on 'Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir'. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi Temple in Ayodhya.

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