Aditya Patel lives a dream — twice

October 31, 2012

ADITYA

Chennai, October 31: It’s the kind of stuff dreams are made of: an Indian finishing on the podium, and that too in front of home fans at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC).

Aditya Patel lived this dream, not once but twice, while becoming the first Indian to climb on the podium at BIC. Driving in the fifth and penultimate round of the JK Racing Asia series, a support race for the Indian Grand Prix, the EuroInternational guest driver made it a wonderful weekend for the host when he took the third spot on the first day and went one better the next.

The 24-year-old Aditya was basking in the glow of the podium finishes when The Hindu caught up with him on Tuesday.

“It feels wonderful that I am the first Indian to get on the podium at BIC, but I am a touch disappointed that I could not finish on top. We could have heard our national anthem at BIC on both days as I was very close to winning,” he said.

Maiden outing

What made Aditya’s drive special was that it was his maiden outing at the BIC while his competitors, including Akhil Khushlani who took the fourth spot on day one, had had a taste of the circuit last year.

Aditya, who had not got behind the wheels of a racing car since July, said he only had a 30-minute practice session before getting into qualifying. “Frankly, I wasn’t expecting anything as I had very little time to prepare. But, once I qualified fourth, I knew I had a chance to make the podium,” he said.

With the BIC providing ample opportunities for overtaking, there were thrills aplenty for the spectators as the drivers went full throttle in the 10-lap races. “The track was cleaned thoroughly this year, and the drivers and teams were quite happy to race on the track,” said Aditya.

Alonso fan

Asked whether he bumped into any Formula One driver during the weekend, Aditya said: “No. I was so busy with my races that I couldn’t meet anyone. I would have loved to see [Fernando] Alonso as he’s my favourite. I like his driving style and feel he is a class apart.

“Though the Red Bulls and McLarens are quicker than his Ferrari, Alonso has managed to keep himself in the race for the drivers’ title. That’s why I admire him so much,” added Aditya.



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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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News Network
July 12,2020

New Delhi, Jul 12: Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to do away with 'umpire's call' whenever a team opts for a review regarding a leg-before wicket (LBW) decision.

The Master Blaster has also said that a batsman should be given out if the ball is hitting the stumps.

Whether more than 50 per cent of the ball is hitting the stumps or not should not be matter, he further stated.

"What per cent of the ball hits the stumps doesn't matter, if DRS shows us that the ball is hitting the stumps, it should be given out, regardless of the on-field call," Tendulkar tweeted.

With this tweet, the former India batsman also shared a video, in which he has a discussion with Brian Lara regarding the working of DRS.
"One thing I don't agree with, with the ICC, is the DRS they have been using for quite some time. It is the LBW decision where more than 50 per cent of the ball must be hitting the stumps for the on-field decision to be overturned," Tendulkar said in the video.

"The only reason they (the batsman or the bowler) have gone upstairs is that they are unhappy with the on-field decision, so when the decision goes to the third umpire, let the technology take over, just like in tennis, it's either in or out, there's nothing in between," he added.

This call for doing away with umpire's call has been recommended by many former players.
Whenever a verdict pops up as 'umpire's call, the decision of the on-field umpire is not changed, but the teams do not lose their review as well.

ICC recently introduced some changes to the game of cricket, and they gave all teams liberty of extra review as non-neutral umpires will be employed in Test matches due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, all teams will now have three reviews in every innings of a Test match. 

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Northamptonshire, Jul 31: Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus, and as a result, he will miss the British Grand Prix.

The Racing Point driver was absent from the circuit on Thursday after self-isolating following what his team called an "inconclusive" test. Perez then re-tested later in the day and it returned positive.

Formula 1 is following a strict testing regime as part of the safety protocols put in place when racing resumed earlier this month, and this is the first time a driver has tested positive.

"Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities," Formula 1 and the FIA said in a statement.

"With the assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined," the statement added.

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