Gambhir and Sehwag's dip in form is a concern: Kapil

October 20, 2012

kapil

New Delhi, October 20: Former India cricket captain Kapil Dev today conceded that the form slump of senior openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag is a big worry for the team ahead of the twin Test series against England and Australia.

"Of course, it is a cause of worry if players of that calibre don't get runs. They have big reputations and when you have such big reputations then there is a case for you to defend that," Kapil said on the sidelines of the Junior National tennis Championships where he was chief guest for the finals.

"They are big players and it is important for them to score runs not only for the team but also for themselves otherwise there will be worrying signs," he added.

Both Gambhir and Sehwag struggled at the recent World Twenty20 Championships but remain India's best opening option ahead of the upcoming home series against England next month and Australia which will come here in February-March.

Kapil sidestepped queries on the issue of whether Sachin Tendulkar should retire from international cricket.

"Bade player ke baare mein na hi baat karein to accha hai (It is better not to talk about the decisions of big players)," he said.

"He had recently given an interview and he has said what he had to say," he added referring to Tendulkar's statement that he would reassess his plans next month.

On to other issues and Kapil said the general expectations from Mahendra Singh Dhoni the captain are much more than what one should have.

"You can't expect him to win all the time. He has given you World Cup, World T20, won Test matches, been number one in ICC rankings, so you can't expect him to win everytime," Kapil said.

Kapil tried to put things in perspective when asked about the concept of multiple captains being tried out in India. "If you have someone who is good enough to lead in all three formats, why do you need separate captains. But is there anyone who can do it? Do we have options for three formats?" he asked.

"There are certain things that Australia does and we tend to follow that but when we do certain things, we are criticised," he added.

The legendary all-rounder said that no selection committee can ever make everyone happy with its decisions. "Selectors can't please everyone but I am ok if they are working for the benefit of Indian cricket. It's an administrative decision to appoint a selection committee and I would like to let them do their job," he said.

Asked about speculation of him coming back as the Director of the National Cricket Academy, Kapil said, "It's time for me to leave."

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News Network
March 28,2020

Milan, Mar 28: Juventus star Paulo Dybala revealed how he "struggled to breathe" after contracting coronavirus which has killed over 9,000 people in Italy.

The Argentine international announced last Saturday he was one of three Juventus players to catch the virus along with Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi, who both had no symptoms.

"I feel better now after some strong symptoms," the 26-year-old Dybala told JTV channel.

"A couple of days ago I was not well, I felt heavy and after five minutes of movement I had to stop because I was struggling to breathe.

"Now I can move and walk to start trying to train, because when I tried in the past few days I started to shake too much.

"I gasped for air and as a result I couldn't do anything, after five minutes I was already very tired, I felt the body heavy and my muscles hurt.

"Now I'm fine. My fiancee Oriana (Sabatini) has also overcome the symptoms."

Dybala has scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, including in league leader's Juventus's last game against Inter Milan before Serie A and all sport in Italy was suspended.

"The goal against Inter was the greatest emotion, (Aaron) Ramsey provided the perfect assist - it's a pity that there was no public," added Dybala.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

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News Network
February 22,2020

Sydney, Feb 22: India's demolition of a formidable Australia in the Women's T20 World Cup opener will give them a huge boost going forward, said star batswoman Mithali Raj, who also lauded leggie Poonam Yadav for her magical performance.

Poonam took four for 19 to help India complete a 17-run victory against defending champions Australia on Friday.

"Everyone has been talking about how much batting depth Australia have, yet they couldn't chase 132," Raj, a former India Test and ODI captain, said in an ICC release.

"India will take so much confidence from that victory, but this World Cup is still very open. The match between Australia and India proved how competitive the tournament will be. It proves it does not matter where you stand in the ICC rankings.

"We will be seeing more of the same drama yet. This victory proves every team has a chance," said Raj, who has retired from T20 cricket.

The 37-year-old veteran batswoman said "the opening match definitely lived up to the hype of the tournament".

"It was a whirlwind. There were so many ups and downs. It was a great start to the tournament not only because India beat the defending champions on home soil, but also because of how the game progressed altogether.

"At no point could you say it was going in one side's favour. First we saw our early wickets fall, then we recovered and Australia had to chase 132 before their middle-order collapsed. India and Australia both took the game their own way at different points which made it fascinating for spectators to watch."

Raj said Poonam's spell was the turning point.

"She's been one of the main spinners for India for quite some time now, and her style worked again. Getting their (Australia's) middle-order out really titled the match towards India, she was brilliant.

"Although we recovered our innings through Deepti Sharma and her partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, it was Poonam's flurry of wickets against Australia's megastars, which completely changed the game," Raj said.

Raj also praised 16-year-old Shafali Verma for scoring 29 off 15 on her World Cup debut.

"Shafali Verma impressed me too on her debut. She gave India's middle order the cushioning they needed to regain momentum. Verma has stuck with stroke play that she demonstrated in the tri-series," she said.

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