SRK-MCA officials fracas: Mamata, Bollywood back Shah Rukh Khan; IPL should be closed, Lalu says

May 18, 2012
laluNew Delhi/Kolkata, May 18: Bollywood and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee have come out in support of superstar Shah Rukh Khan after he was banned from the Wankhede Stadium for five years following a scuffle with MCA officials.

The 46-year-old actor and co-owner of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders ( KKR) said that he lost his cool when he saw MCA officials manhandling his daughter and other children.

B-town was all praises for the actor and took to Twitter to say that his action was justified.

Director and friend Karan Johar said, "SRK is one of the best fathers I know and protective about every child. He was being just that, a protective parent!!! Why blame a man who was just reacting as a father... who wouldn't have done the same in his place?"

Actress and new mother Celina Jaitley said, "Speaking even as a new mother of twins, when it comes to one's children a parent will go to any length to protect them, SRK is a good dad. When it comes to my children I would go to any lengths to protect them, he was being a dad at that moment... are stars not human?"

"Kahaani" director Sujoy Ghosh also voiced his support for SRK, saying, "Read about the SRK incident. I think @iamsrk was very decent about the whole thing. I'd have ripped their heads off if it was my daughter (sic)."

Director Anurag Basu said, "SRK's behaviour is completely justified, I'd have smashed their heads if it was my daughter."

Music composer-singer Vishal Dadlani tweeted, "Straight up. Touch my family, I destroy you. No question. SRK was right."

"I've got first hand reports of the fracas with @iamsrk. His daughter was touched and shoved. He protected. Well done Dad!! At Wankhede, SRK was a father, not just an actor... Please don't expect a father to apologise for protecting his baby.. Satyamev Jayate (sic)," TV actor Ronit Roy tweeted.

Mamata calls for reconsideration of ban on SRK

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday called for reconsideration of the decision to ban Shah Rukh Khan, who is the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders and brand ambassador of West Bengal, from entering the Wankhede Stadium for five years.

"I will appeal please reconsider the decision," Mamata said when reporters sought her reaction on the decision of the Mumbai Cricket Association.

"We love Maharashtra, capital of India's business. We love Shah Rukh, Sachin, everybody. Shah Rukh is our brand ambassador and that is why you are asking me the question."

"I do not know whether it will be proper for me to comment anything about the incident. I do not want to interfere about other states' business."

"I request you not to distort my saying - whatever I am saying. It is a sensitive issue," Banerjee said.

IPL should be closed: Lalu

With the Indian Premier League hit by controversies, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday demanded that the tournament should be closed down.

"IPL should be closed," he told reporters outside Parliament House when asked to react on the spat between Shah Rukh Khan and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) officials and other controversies surrounding the game.

On the Shah Rukh Khan episode, he alleged that the policemen, who were present when the scuffle broke out between the Bollywood star and MCA officials, were working at the behest of certain political parties.

"All this was done in hatred," Yadav alleged.

Wankhede episode sad but not right for govt to interfere: Salman Khurshid

Law minister Salman Khurshid on Friday said the Wankhede brawl involving actor Shah Rukh Khan was "sad" but it is not right for the government to interfere in every matter.

"These are very sad developments in our society. Clashes between citizens and authorities are always very sad things," he told reporters outside Parliament.

On whether government should interfere in the matter, Khurshid said, "It is not right that government should interfere on every matter. I cannot comment on Shah Rukh incident because the authorities concerned should do something about it. The matter is not before us when it will come we will definitely take it seriously."

Khurshid, however, supported the media role in the whole episode saying media has the right to show this to public as "part of democracy".



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News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is tired of his constant comparisons with India skipper Virat Kohli and says he would rather be compared to the greats at home.

Babar, six years younger to Kohli, has a long way to go in getting close to Kohli's staggering numbers across formats. The India skipper has 70 hundreds to his name and averages more than 50 in all three formats.

"I would be more happy if you compare to me say a Javed Miandad, Muhammad Yousuf or Younis Khan. Why compare me to Kohli or any Indian player?" asked the 25-year-old, who is in England with the national team, said in an online media interaction on Thursday.

Babar has scored 16 international hundreds and averages more than 50 in ODIs and T20s. In 26 Tests, he has scored 1850 runs at 45.12.

He also said that he is not targeting any English bowler for the series next month.

"I don’t see who the bowler is or his reputation. I just try to play each ball on merit. England no doubt has a top bowling attack and they have advantage of playing at home but this is a challenge I want to score runs in," he said.

Before the squad’s departure for England, Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan said that pacer Joffra Archer will be a handful for the Pakistani batsmen.

Babar said that he would try to play every English bowler on merit but conceded that after getting runs in Australia last year, he was keen to leave his footprint in the coming Test and T20 series in England.

Reminded that some former Test players had already written off Pakistan for the England series, Babar said they were entitled to their opinion.

"But we don’t have a bad team and already we have been enjoying our training. It is good to be back on the field after such a long lay-off. I think we have the bowlers to trouble them like Abbas, Naseem, Shaheen and others while we have some experience in our batting line-up."

Babar said he would love to get a triple century in a Test match.

"When you score a century, you naturally want to go on and convert that into a double or a triple century. This is something I would like to do during the Test series.

"I like to play my natural game but my selection of shots depends on the conditions and bowlers."

Babar also ruled out any problems in the Pakistan dressing room due to the presence of former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was sacked last year.

But he said that since Muhammad Rizwan had been playing in all formats for Pakistan in recent times, he would be the starting keeper in the Test series ahead of Sarfaraz.

"I think we first have to give Rizwan a proper chance and Sarfaraz is there as back up."

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News Network
April 27,2020

Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.

Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.

Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.

"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.

Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.

"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.

"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.

Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia. 

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News Network
May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Sunday, 31 May 2020

Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good. 

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