Dubai, November 7: The first lot of tickets for the Champions Trophy India vs Pakistan clash at Edgbaston, England, June 15 next year was sold out in just three hours after windows opened.
The tickets went on sale Monday, and the 15-match tournament's first match was a complete sell-out eight months in advance, said an International Cricket Council (ICC) press release.
The 2013 edition of the Champions Trophy will be the last, the previous having been held in 2009 in South Africa.
Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.
In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.
The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.
A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.
Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.
It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.
During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.
Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.
Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!
"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.
The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.
"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.
Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.
Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .
Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.
While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.
Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.
Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.
"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.
During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".
In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate."
Jan 10: Australian cricketer Shane Warne’s prized 'baggy green' cap raised more than A$1 million ($686,000) on Friday for bushfire relief efforts after the former leg-spinner donated it for auction.
Twenty-seven people have been killed and thousands made homeless in recent months as huge fires scorched through more than 25.5 million acres of land, an area the size of South Korea.
The baggy green is presented to Australian players when they make their Test debut and they receive just one for their entire career. The Aussie cricketer donated the cap to an online auction site on Monday. The auction closed at 10 a.m. on Friday (2300 GMT Thursday) with a final public bid of A$1,007,500.
"Unbelievable … so generous from everyone. Totally blown away," Warne said on Twitter shortly before the auction closed.
The auction attracted global interest and the price eclipsed the A$425,000 achieved by the late Don Bradman's baggy green when it was sold in 2003.
"We have been overwhelmed and it is a fantastic result," Marc Cheah, head of marketing for auctioneers Pickles, said.
"Other baggy greens have been auctioned and Don Bradman’s got $425,000 about 15 years ago, but the Don is the Don. He’s the greatest cricketer that ever lived," Cheah said in relation to the widely held recognition Bradman was the best batsman the game has produced.
"But Shane is also right up there and that drove a lot of traffic and momentum, while the cause is also very worthwhile."
Warne, 50, is one of many local and international athletes to support the fundraising for bushfire victims with several cricketers promising to donate a sum based on the number of sixes they hit in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 competition.
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