McGregor fight won't go the distance: Mayweather

Agencies
August 11, 2017

Las Vegas, Aug 11: Floyd Mayweather has said he has done his homework on mixed martial artist Conor McGregor and promised their multi-million dollar fight in Las Vegas on Aug. 26 will not go the distance.

Both fighters have now tipped a knockout finish to the hotly-anticipated bout between arguably one of the greatest boxers of all time and the explosive UFC champion. "Expect excitement. He's gonna talk trash, I'm gonna talk trash, there's gonna be a lot of blood, sweat and tears," Mayweather told reporters at a media conference at his gym in Las Vegas.

Casually dressed in a black T-shirt and shorts, the bluster and profanity of the recent four-city promotional tour undertaken with McGregor was replaced by a more sober analysis. "It's about doing your homework. It's not really watching fight tapes, it's about knowing the person you're facing across the ring from you. You want to know what they like to eat, what they're doing when they're not in camp," said the undefeated 40-year-old.

"That's called really doing your due dilligence, doing your homework on your opponent."

Mayweather brushed off suggestions that the left-handed McGregor might cause him problems.

"Last time I checked I was undefeated, whether it was orthodox or southpaw. McGregor, he's gonna come out and keep switching (stances) ... but when you keep switching all you're doing is burning energy," he told reporters.

The brash 29-year-old Irishman, who has never boxed professionally, became the first UFC fighter to hold two belts simultaneously when he added the lightweight belt to to the featherweight title he already held last November. Having scored two knockouts to win his belts, McGregor has confidently predicted he will floor Mayweather within four rounds to hand the American his first defeat in what will be his 50th professional bout.

"He's looking forward to getting out there and ending the fight early. I'm looking forward to going out there and ending the fight early. It won't go the distance," said Mayweather, the winner of a slew of titles in various weight classes. "He's confident. They're always confident. But it's different when you get in there with Floyd Mayweather."

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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News Network
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Former India skipper Rahul Dravid has praised the batting of MS Dhoni during the backend of a match, saying that the wicket-keeper often played during the period as if the result did not really matter to him.

Dravid also said that in pressure-cooker situations, not worrying about consequences can help players bring out the best in themselves.

"You watch MS Dhoni play during the backend of a match when he was at his best, you always felt like that he is doing something really important to him but he is playing it like the result does not really matter to him," Dravid told Sanjay Manjrekar during a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I think you need to have that or you need to train for it. It is a skill that I never had. The consequences of any decision mattered to me. It would be interesting to ask MS Dhoni that is this something that has come naturally to him or did he work on this during his career," he added.

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, but he truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005 when he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Vishakapatnam.

He 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 first led an inexperienced Indian side to the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007. He then took over ODI captaincy, but he had to wait for leading the Test side as Anil Kumble was doing the duties in the longest format.

Over his career, Dhoni has been reowned for his finishing skills and he is often viewed as the best finisher that the game has ever seen.

In December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 in the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.

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 recently had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place in the list of BCCI's centrally contracted players from October 2019 to September 2020.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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