Passion for speed takes MS Dhoni into world of racing superbikes

August 28, 2012
Dhoni

New Delhi, August 28: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's love for bikes is no secret. His garage boasts of a Hellcat X132 (only one in South Asia), a Kawasaki Ninja, a Yamaha 650cc, aHero Honda CBZ Xtreme and a TVS Star Cityamong others.

The Indian skipper has now taken his passion a step further by foraying into the world ofSuperbike championship with his own team -MSD R-N Racing Team India.

This team - the only one from India - is currently competing in the Supersport World Championship after making its debut in the Czech Republic race in Brno last month. The team was put together in a matter of weeks and is expected to take part in the full championship next year. Frenchman Florian Marino and Dan Linfoot of Great Britain are the two riders of the team.

The Supersport series was introduced as a support class to the World Superbike Championship in 1990. The series is organized and supported by FGSport and sanctioned by FIM - motorbiking's international governing body.

The news about Dhoni's involvement with the team was kept under wraps for weeks until it was reported on the official website of the championship. Dhoni's close friend Arun Pandey is the chairman and managing director of the team. Dhoni is mentioned as part of the management of the team which also includes Telugu film actor Nagarjuna as one of the directors of the team.

"We are definitely involved with the superbike team but I can't reveal more details at this moment," Pandey told TOI from Moscow, where the team competed in its third race of the season.

The team has been launched to cash in on the arrival of the World Superbike Championship in India. The Buddh International Circuit is set to host the first race next year in March.

"We are looking at it from the long term perspective," team principal Amit Sandill said at the launch last month. "Trying to grow the sport in Asia. The sport itself is in a pretty nascent stage in Asia so this is a first step. Trying to get to the championship and making a kind of mark in the championship and then take the sport to India and then other countries in Asia. We would also like to start a racing academy. Behind all this is the passion, which comes as a bonus."

The team officials, however, are keen on keeping mum about Dhoni's involvement. "We have just launched the team a couple of weeks back. We are planning a full-fledged launch soon but it depends on Dhoni's availability," a team official said.

In the first race of the season, Marino managed a 13th place finish on his Kawasaki ZX-6 R bike after starting in the 23rd place. The Frenchman followed that up with a 19th place in Silverstone on August 5. In this weekend's race in Moscow, Marino and Linfoot came in 14 and 16.

What is World Supersport Championship?

Supersport series was introduced as a support class to the Superbike World Championship in 1990 as the European Championship.

A Supersport Championship race takes place at every Superbike World Championship round.

Each race is approximately 100 km long.



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Agencies
June 23,2020

Islamabad, Jun 23: Seven more Pakistan cricketers, including Muhammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, selected for the tour of England have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total to 10, the PCB revealed on Tuesday.

The seven who tested positive on Tuesday are Kashif Bhatti, Muhammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Rizwan, Imran Khan, Hafeez and Riaz. Shadab Khan, Haider Ali and Haris Rauf had returned positive tests on Monday.

“It is not a great situation to be in and what it shows is these are 10 fit and young athletes...if it can happen to players it can happen to anyone,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO, Wasim Khan told a media conference.

He said a support staff member, masseur Malang Ali, had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Khan said that the players and officials would now assemble in Lahore and another round of tests would be carried out on June 25 and a revised squad would be announced the next day.

The squad has to leave on June 28 for the series scheduled to be held next month, he said.

“It is a matter of concern but we shouldn’t panic at this time as we have time on our hands,” Khan said.

He said the players and officials would be retested on reaching England.

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News Network
July 14,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who features in the list of A category players released by BCCI, has revealed his first-ever paycheck.

Bhuvneshwar was participating in a question and answer session on Twitter where he gave his take on fans' queries.

The 30-year-old bowler was asked about his first paycheck by a fan and Bhuvneshwar responded by saying, "It was for Rs 3000. I shopped and still managed to saved some."

During the question and answer session Bhuvneshwar picked Barcelona striker Lionel Messi over Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The right-arm bowler also revealed that football and badminton are his favourite sports other than cricket.

Earlier this year, Bhuvneshwar was named in the list A category of players. BCCI had released the list of centrally contracted players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020. Annually, A category players get Rs 5 crore.

The right-arm bowler would have been in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: As devotees across the world celebrate Easter today, former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka and said someone must seek answers to the questions which still remain unresolved.

"A year on we all share the pain of the families grieving lives lost, we stand with you and for you. We remember. So many questions still unanswered, but answer them someone must," Sangakkara tweeted.

On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday.
The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500.

A local terror group called National Thowheeth Jama'ath had claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks.

The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.

The Sri Lankan police had then said that 293 suspects were arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in the island country in April.

This year, most of the devotees would be offering the prayers from their homes as mass gatherings have been suspended in most countries due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It also marks the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penance.

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