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.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 2,2020

Jun 2: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has spoken strongly against the killing if George Floyd in USA, and has now urged the ICC & all the other boards in the world to come together and fight the evil.

In a series of tweets Sammy wrote how the blacks have been suffering for a long time.

“For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter,” Sammy wrote.

He also wrote, “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

“Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.”

Earlier, West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has said racism exists in cricket too, saying he gets the 'end of the stick' even within teams.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 7,2020

London, Apr 7: Bowling coach Waqar Younis feels that it was the absence of pacers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir which saw Pakistan getting whitewashed during Australia tour last year.

Amir and Riaz had quit the red-ball format ahead of the matches against Australia in 2019.

"Just before the Australia series, they ditched us and we had the only choice to pick youngsters.

We were the new management and decided to go on with taking in the younger lot and groom them. ESPNcricinfo quoted Younis as saying.

Pakistan was not able to win a single match in Australia as they got defeated both in T20Is and Test series.

"It's not like we have lost a lot, but yes they left us at the wrong time. But anyway, we don't have any grudge against them," Younis added.

"We cannot control players' choice on what they want to play, but then there should be a mechanism so we all are on board. "It's not like I am saying we could have won in Australia but we could have done better than what we have done," he opined.

Amir gave up the red ball format in July in order to manage his workload and extend his white-ball career for Pakistan as well as in T20 leagues around the world, while Riaz took an "indefinite break" from Test cricket in September last year.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.