It's passion for game not money that drives Mithali and Co.

September 23, 2012
Mithali__co
Colombo, September 23: The huge gap between the pay cheques of Indian men and women cricketers notwithstanding, the manner in which Mithali Raj and Co. go about their task gives one the impression that they are hardly perturbed by this disparity.

While the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli earn a whopping Rs 7 lakh per Test, their women counterparts have to be satisfied with a mere fee of Rs 1 lakh, not per match, but per international series.

"After we have come under BCCI wing, the players get Rs 1 lakh per international series," women's team manager Vidya Yadav informed.

In fact, even the Tripura Ranji team players earn a match fee of Rs 1.5 lakh per domestic first-class game and Rs 35,000 for one-day matches.

Asked about the match fee for domestic tournaments for women, Yadav said: "Players get Rs 2500 per match apart from DA."

Besides getting Rs 7 lakh for a Test match, the Indian men's team earn Rs 4 lakh per ODI and Rs 2 lakh for T20 for being in the playing XI and half if he is part of the squad.

Skipper Mithali tried to put things into perspective.

"We can't complaint as to why the men get paid more. It's simple...they earn much more revenue and thus get paid more.

"But the situation in women's cricket has improved a lot from the early 90s when lot of talented women cricketers had to leave the game due to lack of monetary assistance," said Mithali.

Manager Yadav said that any change doesn't happen overnight.

"Look, it will take a lot of time but change is happening. When my brother Shivlal Yadav played for India, he used to get Rs 5000 for a Test match and compare what cricketers of current times are getting.

"Obviously, this change hasn't happened overnight," Yadav said.

As they quietly trudged out from their dressing room at the Bloomfield Cricket Club ground, there weren't hordes of cameramen or journalists, but the Indian cricketers seemed unperturbed by the lack of attention.

While each and every movement of Dhoni and his boys is dissected keeping in mind the minutest of details, the quiet entry of the Indian eves in the island nation hasn't bothered many.

The intensity and resolve was very much there, though, during the two-hour practice session.

The Indian women's team hasn't played any longer version matches since 2006 and Mithali felt that having only played ODIs and T20 Internationals, it will be difficult to switch to the Test mode.

"Initially, we used to miss playing Test matches for a year but now it will be difficult for us to switch to longer format as we have only T20s and ODIs. If Tests are scheduled in the series, it will be difficult for us," the Indian captain said.

The Indian women's team has consistently reached the semi-final stages of the ICC but she admitted that they need to step up their game in order to beat top teams like Australia and England.

"We must admit that we don't have the physique to consistently hit big shots but we need to find the gaps and focus on our strengths," she said.




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News Network
February 4,2020

Feb 4: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday said the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash has impacted his outlook towards life, which he feels, is sometimes taken for granted in pursuit of control over the future.

Bryant, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash last month along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also a budding hoopster.

"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games in the morning and watching what he did on court. But when someone that you have looked up to in some ways, passes away like that, it does put things in perspective," Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand here.

"...at the end of the day, life can be so fickle. It's so unpredictable. I think a lot of the times we get too caught up in the pressures of what we have to do tomorrow...we really forget living life and enjoying life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life we have," he added.

Kohli said a tragedy like this makes one realise that nothing can be more important than enjoying every moment of existence.

"...it did put things in perspective for me massively. It just makes you feel like not wanting to have control of things in front of you all the time, and just embracing life and appreciating it.

"You start looking at things from a different point of view suddenly and you want to enjoy every moment you're going through. You realise that what you're doing at the end of the day is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself," Kohli signed off.

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Agencies
March 25,2020

Lausanne, Mar 25: The World Archery has hailed as a 'brave decision' the International Olympic Committee (IOC) move to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until next year due to coronavirus pandemic.

"We commend the conscientious and brave decision taken by Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee to delay this summer's Games in the face of an unprecedented challenge to humanity," Ugur Erdener, the World Archery president, said in an official statement.

The decision to postpone the Summer Olympics was confirmed by the IOC, on Tuesday, after the organising body for the event and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to reschedule the quadrennial event in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is not an easy situation, especially for the athletes who had been training hard for Tokyo 2020. I hope that everyone understands why this decision has been made and I urge archers around the world to retain hope and reset for this new timetable," he added.

The IOC has, however, said that the original name of Tokyo 2020 will remain intact irrespective of the fact that it will take place next year.

The Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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