Shahrukh asks people to stop comparing him with Ganguly

May 16, 2012

stp_comparing_to_ganguly


Kolkata, May 16: A visibly annoyed Shah Rukh Khan today sought to put an end to his comparison with KKR's former captain Sourav Ganguly and asked the fans to "grow up" and stop correlating the two.

"Grow up please. This is sport. Let's play it like a sport. We keep on talking about Kings and Khans... This is crap to be honest. I say this with love and respect to all of you," SRK said on the sidelines of the Kolkata Knight Riders post-match party.

The Bollywood superstar, who raged a debate after he dumped the left-hander following a forgettable three-season stint, said it's high time people get over it and leave the former India skipper alone.

"To be honest, if we don't outgrow this, it is embarrassing not only to us, not only to me, its embarrassing for Dada also...

"We should get over this. Every time I come to Kolkata, if you are going to bring this up for a few headlines and some spicy titbits I think it's a little unfair." he said.

"It's not only unfair to me. It is unfair to the great legend that Sourav Ganguly is... Let him play his cricket, lead his life in whichever team he plays for, whether it's an Indian team, an IPL team or a domestic team.

"We should all be cheering for the greatness that he has achieved instead of making him small with these comparisons and belittling the importance of what Sourav Ganguly has achieved in Indian sports history," the actor said.

Asked whether he might think of bringing in Ganguly as a mentor for his side, Shahrukh, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, said, "I'm the mentor of this team. The owner of this team. The hero of this team. I'm the God of this team."

"Generally what I'm saying is we have a lot of love for all the cricketing greats. We have had some wonderful memories with him. We wish him all the best. We wish him whenever he plays. He is one of the great legends the country will ever see in any sport.

"Personally, I'm the greatest fan of Dada as far as cricket is concerned. We worked together (for a commercial) many years ago. We had a lot of great moments together with his family," he reiterated.

Ganguly, who headed Pune Warriors against KKR earlier this month at the Eden Garden, stirred Bengali's emotions to the hilt as loyalties were divided among the masses. The match was seen as a Dada versus Khan battle.

The Knight Riders play Mumbai Indians tomorrow at the Wankhede stadium, before heading to Pune for a return leg match on May 19. Having suffered two defeats in succession, the Knight Riders need to notch one win from their remaining two matches to advance to the next stage.


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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore's Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson returned to New Zealand on Tuesday after being stranded in India for over a month amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ex-New Zealand player and coach had arrived in India on March 5 for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League but was stuck in the country after the lockdown was imposed and all flights were suspended.

"What a wonderful sight after spending over a day on a bus to get to Mumbai airport. The staff on @FlyAirNZ were simply outstanding on our return to New Zealand," Hesson tweeted.

He also thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the New Zealand Embassy in India, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"Special thanks to Down pointing backhand index @NZinIndia @MFATNZ @narendramodi @jacindaardern #repatriationflight #india #NZ" he added.

To stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, India and New Zealand had announced lockdowns in their respective countries last month, alongside travel restrictions, forcing the 45-year-old to stay in Bengaluru.

While India remains in lockdown till May 3, New Zealand eased its stringent measures on Tuesday.

The IPL, which was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29, has been suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.

The cornavirus outbreak, that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected over 30 lakh people across the world while killing more than two lakh.

All sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, have either been cancelled or postponed.

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