Dhoni tells me not to cross the line of aggression: Kohli

June 11, 2012

Dhoni_Stop

Virat Kohli's on-field aggression has been the topic of discussion in the cricket fraternity but the India vice-captain is working hard on changing his attitude with words of wisdom from his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"I have been speaking to MS (Dhoni) a lot about it. He is one who doesn't sink or go above that line. He is someone who is always around that calm line. It is important to learn such things from such important people.

"He keeps telling me that once I stay around that line I would keep improving as a cricketer. Once that graph goes too much above or drops you end up putting yourself under pressure," Kohli said on Sunday.

Asked whether vice-captaincy has made him more conscious, he stated, "When I became vice-captain, people around me told me that I need to change my aggression. Because people are watching me more and I need to change my aggressive attitude.

"You learn with time. Initially, I reacted in a way I shouldn't have. When I look back now...it was not natural. The build-up and the pressure or the special occasions make it tough to control the aggression."

Call him a senior batsman in the team, and the 23-year-old retorts, "Please, I am not a senior batsman in this team. Good performances in a mere couple of seasons don't make anyone a senior batsman. A person becomes senior batsman when he has performed consistently for six or seven years."

By his own admission, Virat had put a lot of pressure on himself prior to the IPL after a great international season.

"To be honest, I was feeling the pressure more during the first half of IPL. I thought that I have set certain standards and I have to live up to it. It shifted me away from game plan. Latter half (of IPL), I was back on track.

"I am happy that it happened soon, I was able to realise that and able to learn from it. It is important you need to know your mindset and how to meet the expectations regardless of whether you are in or out of the team."

Asked if he is under extra pressure with Rahul Dravid's retirement opening the door for another youngster among the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma or Ajinkya Rahane in the Test XI, Kohli said, "It's impossible to match consistency of someone like Rahul bhai. But I thrive in pressure situations. If there isn't pressure, there is isn't any fun."

"I like challenges. You look to improve in areas that you wouldn't have thought before. I don't pay attention to comparisons. Six or seven of us are there who will all be playing for India for a long time. Among the lot I will leave Rohit out as he is way talented among the lot. I know we will all be colleagues in the Indian team in near future."

Kohli felt that 10 Tests at home will give the new-look middle-order time to settle down before they play overseas.

"It's a good thing that we will play at home. Remember England and Australia beat us in their backyard. I can site my example. Before Tests in Australia, I had played against West Indies and got a few runs, it boosted my confidence."

And what was it that he did differently in Australia, Kohli replied with a wry smile, "I stopped reading the newspapers. In the first two matches, I was getting influenced by what all was being written and said about me. Criticism is natural when you are not doing well.

"I just blocked that out of my system. I started believing in myself. I kept telling myself that I had 8 ODI hundreds and that can't be fluke. I am good enough to do well at this level. I was in a zone and I played in a manner I wanted to. I didn't try and copy someone else."

According to Kohli, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus are the two best pacers he has played against, with Sunil Narine and Saeed Ajmal being the two most difficult spinners to face.

Since there isn't any chance to play the longer version of the game before the New Zealand Test series, Kohli said that he is going to increase his batting time at the nets.

"We will have some practice games. Even if we don't have, I am sure to increase the hours I put in at the nets. I will be batting for at least three hours. Each individual has his own way of preparing. I will again be starting from zero and would like to improve as a batsman," he concluded.



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News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

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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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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?

Since then the Olympic silver-medallist -- and strong contender for her country's first Games gold -- has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.

Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics when much of the world locked down against the virus in March.

"I thought (distribution) would be impossible because I'm not physically present," Diaz, 29, told news agency.

"It's a good thing that I have trusted friends and trusted family members who understand why we need to do a fundraising."

That circle of supporters has handed out the packages, which include vegetables, eggs and rice, to more than 400 families.

The food was bought with donations from about 50 people who joined sessions that lasted up to three hours, and gave them a rare chance to train with an elite athlete.

Diaz rose to fame in 2016 after snagging a surprise silver in the 53 kilogramme category in Rio, becoming the Philippines' first female Olympic medallist and ending the nation's 20-year medal drought at the Games.

Two years later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

However, her quest to qualify for Tokyo is on hold ahead of the Games' rescheduled opening in July 2021.

"I thought all the hard work would soon be over... then it was extended," she said. "But I'm still thankful I can still continue with (the training) I need to do."

Still, the lockdown broke her daily training regimen, keeping her away from weights for 14 days for the first time in her career.

"I felt like I was losing my mind already. I've been carrying the barbell for 18 years and all of a sudden it's gone. Those were the kinds of anxiety that I felt," she said.

But she got access to some equipment, and with her coach's urging, got back to work. She was relieved to find her strength was still there.

Instead of a Tokyo berth, the past months have been about a different kind of accomplishment for Diaz: helping her countrymen get through the coronavirus crisis.

Rosemelyn Francisco's family in Zamboanga City, Diaz's home town, is one of the first to get help from the athlete's initiative, and is deeply grateful.

Her family was not wealthy to begin with, and the pandemic has cost her husband his construction job.

"The food she donated has all everything we need, including eggs," said Francisco, 27.

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