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MS Dhoni's presence in World Cup important for decision-making: Yuvraj Singh

Agencies
February 8, 2019

Feb 8: Veteran Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh on Friday said that wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni's presence is crucial for the country's World Cup chances as he is a "guiding" force for current captain Virat Kohli and "important" in decision-making.

Dhoni's place in the side has been a subject of debate owing to his inconsistent form but many, including former captain Sunil Gavaskar, have said that his tremendous grasp of match situations makes him invaluable.

Yuvraj, the 2011 World Cup's player of the tournament, echoed the sentiment when asked about the Dhoni factor at an interaction.

"I think Mahi (Dhoni) has a great cricket brain. And as a wicket-keeper, you are in the best position to monitor the game and he has done that fantastically over the years. He has been a great captain. (He is) with the young players and guiding Virat (Kohli) all the time," Yuvraj said.

"So, I feel his presence is very important in decision-making. He had a fantastic tournament in Australia and it is good to see him hit the ball how he used to do, and I wish him all the best," added the batsman, who had hit six sixes in an over during the World T20 in 2007.

But Yuvraj steered clear of queries on which batting position Dhoni should come in.

"That you have to ask Dhoni, which number he has to bat," he said.

Yuvraj will be competing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and said that he would look to ease the pressure on skipper Rohit Sharma.

"I think, if I can contribute in the middle-order, it will just take some weight off him (Rohit) and he can just go and play his natural game, while opening. (We will) see how the combinations (go)," Yuvraj told reporters.

The 37-year-old left-hander found a buyer quite late at the IPL players' auction held in Jaipur last December for his base price of Rs one crore after going unsold initially.

"I'm very fired up boss, I have been training in the nets everyday," said Yuvraj.

He also lauded fellow Punjab player Shubman Gill, who recently made his India One Day debut in New Zealand, saying his progress over the last one year has been amazing.

"I was excited to see him (Shubman) play for India. It is amazing, how he has improved so much. He came back from the (India) A tour, scored lot of runs in domestic cricket, straightaway got an opportunity," said Yuvraj.

Yuvraj also was pleased with rise of teams like Vidarbha, Gujarat and Saurashtra in the domestic circuit.

"Very impressed with Vidarbha, they have got some great players. They have got an outstanding coach -- Chandrakant Pandit -- who's definitely got the best out of the team. Also impressed with how domestic cricket is improving, the other teams are improving...Saurashtra are playing well, Gujarat has also been playing very well, so it is good to see that in domestic cricket," he signed off.

Vidarbha on Thursday lifted their second successive Ranji Trophy title with a comfortable 78-run win over Saurashtra in the final.

Meanwhile, the 2019 ICC World Cup is slated to take place from May 30 to July 14 in England and Wales.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Karachi, Jan 10: Former Pakistan batsman and current U-19 head coach Ejaz Ahmed feels that his side can beat defending champions and arch-rivals India in the forthcoming ICC Youth World Cup beginning in South Africa on January 17.

"India has a very good cricket system and it is organized but I know that we have more passion than them when we play against each other and that is how we also beat them in the semi-finals of the recent Asian Emerging Nations Cup," Ejaz said.

Ejaz, who has played 60 Test and 250 ODIs, was head coach of the Pakistan Emerging side which beat India before eventually winning the title in Bangladesh last year.

"Even in the past, we beat India because of our greater passion and this time also I know the passion of our players will prevail over them although they have a very strong outfit," he added.

The 51-year-old Ejaz, however, said at the end of the day it would be all about how a team plays on that particular day.

"It is the same in the World Cup it does not matter which team is number one or defending champions what will matter is how a team plays on a given day. I personally feel our team is well balanced," he said.

Ejaz did not believe that India would get advantage of having played a four-nation tournament with South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe in South Africa before the World Cup.

"Our players have also trained hard in Lahore and we have played around 11 matches. We will also reach South Africa nine days before the World Cup and we have some practice games and I think our preparations are also very good for the tournament," he said.

The former batsman also said the absence of fast bowler Naseem Shah will not impact much on the team's performance. Naseem was withdrawn from the Pakistan U-19 squad after he played for the senior team in three Test matches against Australia and Sri Lanka.

"Look there was no controversy at all. The way we now see things is that you can't expect a MBA to go and take BA exams. That is how we look at Naseem Shah, he has made the grade for Pakistan and now he should be performing for the senior team," said the head coach.

"We have a couple of exciting young talent in the ranks. I expect Rohail and Haider to play for the senior team in two to three year's time, they are that good."

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