Zaheer Khan's fitness is sore point

November 10, 2012

Zaheer_Khan

Mumbai, November 10: The big question surrounding Team India's bowling ahead of the first Test against England is Zaheer Khan's fitness. His ability or lack of it to last the distance will be crucial to India's chances. On Friday afternoon, when 14 of the 15-member squad arrived at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium for a preparatory camp, Zaheer clearly didn't seem very sprightly.

He walked on to the field with the rest of his mates, got into a huddle, played a bit of football as part of the warm-up' and headed straight to the massage table after a brief chat with coach Duncan Fletcher. Zaheer spent the next 40 minutes with physiotherapist Evan Speechly, who helped the bowler with his stretching and muscle relaxation routine. By then, the rest of the squad had hit the nets and put in a strenuous two-hour session. The left-arm seamer joined the rest of the bowlers in the nets later, bowling around 25 to 30 deliveries at military medium. His strides were slow and the trademark jump at the crease was non-existent.

There was no official information available on Zaheer's fitness' which first looked doubtful when the bowler had pulled up sore, clutching his groin, and walked away during Mumbai's Ranji Trophy match against Railways last Sunday.

He was expected to bowl on Monday but did not return to the field. His lack of match-fitness' evident during Friday's net session' only added to the mystery.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team - barring off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who couldn't make it to Mumbai as his flight got delayed - hit the nets with a great deal of camaraderie.

Coach Duncan Fletcher and bowling coach Joe Dawes kept a close watch as Sachin Tendulkar batted on three different practice pitches against a host of bowlers before spending a good 20 minutes knocking. Virender Sehwag, who had suffered a minor cut to his right index finger in a recent Ranji Trophy match, also batted in the nets and looked comfortable. The rest of the bowling attack looked in good touch. Spinners R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha bowled in tandem and so did Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, who ran in fast and hit the deck.

The younger lot - the recently engaged Cheteshwar Pujara' an in-form Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay - too padded up and spent quality time in the middle.

The squad looked in good shape and spirit, apart from, of course, Zaheer.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: India skipper Virat Kohli has said that the 2014 Test series against England was the lowest point of his career.

He made the revelation during a candid Instagram Live session with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

To date, the 2014 Test series in England remains one of the worst Test series for Kohli as he averaged just 13.40 from 10 ten innings with his highest score being 39.

"I felt like as a batsman, you know you are going to get out in the morning as soon as you wake up. That was the time I felt like that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail, was something that ate me up," Kohli told Pietersen.

However, just four years later, Kohli made a triumphant return to England as he scored a century in the opening Test of the 2018 series and finished as the highest run-getter in the series.

Kohli told Pietersen that the performance in 2014 came because he was just thinking about his own batting.

"2014 series happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation," Kohli said.

"I just got too engulfed with England tour - if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I am going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all," he added.
During the chat, Kohli talked about his favourite format in cricket and he also revealed the main reason for turning into a vegan.

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News Network
March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: Australia batsman David Warner on Tuesday decided to shave off his head to show support towards all those people who are working relentlessly on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.

After shaving off his head, Warner also challenged his Australian team-mate Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to do the same.

Warner, shared a time-lapse video on Instagram, of him shaving his head, and captioned the post as: "Been nominated to shave my head in support of those working on the frontline #Covid-19 here is a time-lapse. I think my debut was the last time I recall I've done this. Like it or not".

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australia's death toll stands at 19, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.

As of 8 am today, 4460 people across Australia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The World Health Organisation had termed coronavirus as a 'pandemic' on March 11.

Earlier in the day, Australia Test skipper Tim Paine also confirmed that the side's tour of Bangladesh is unlikely due to the virus spread.
"You don't have to be Einstein to realise (the Bangladesh tour) is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment," cricket.com.au quoted Paine as saying.

Currently, Australia has 296 points in the WTC from 10 matches, while India has 360 points from nine matches.

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