Dhoni wants Test to end in 3 days: Eden curator

December 2, 2012
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Kolkata, December 2: After having single-handedly fought a 'pitched battle' with BCCI and CAB for five days, Eden Gardens curator Prabir Mukherjee 'retired hurt' on Saturday, but not before lashing out at skipper MS Dhoni's demand for a rank turner for the third Test between India and England starting here on Wednesday.

Mukherjee, 83, reluctant to oblige Dhoni's 'unreasonable demand', complained of uneasiness on Friday night and was advised by his doctors to take complete rest for the next few days. Bowing to family pressure, the octogenarian - who lost his wife and daughter earlier this year - requested CAB on Saturday morning to grant him leave on medical grounds. But by evening, Mukherjee was back tending the Eden Gardens pitch following a sordid day-long drama.


It started with the veteran curator's now-show at Eden on Saturday morning. Instead, he addressed the media at his home during the course of which he took pot shots at Dhoni.

"Dhoni has asked for a square turner. This is immoral because you (organisers) are selling tickets for a five-day Test. On a square turner, there's every chance of a match ending in three days. Why rob people of two days' play? It's immoral and illogical to tamper with the pitch. I've not done it in my life," Mukherjee, Eden's curator for 15 years, said.

Reminded about Dhoni's preference, an agitated Mukherjee shot back: "If he asks for the moon, is it possible to give him that? The players are contracted to the BCCI and get paid handsomely to play good cricket. Their contracts don't stipulate that they would get this (turners). Climatic conditions vary from state to state. What you get in Mumbai, you won't get in Kolkata because the conditions and soil content are different," he added.

Pointing out that tending to pitches was his passion, not profession, Mukherjee said: "I don't want to be a party to tampering with the pitch at Eden Gardens. If anything goes wrong, I don't want to be hanged."

Mukherjee felt aggrieved after the BCCI rushed East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick to Eden to "assist" him prepare the pitch. Mukherjee made it clear that he had nothing against Bhowmick. "He is a good man. Unfortunately he can't say I won't do this because he's just starting off. On the other hand, I'm at the fag end of my life," said Mukherjee, who also took CAB to task for not backing his stand on the pitch issue.

"They're threatening to suspend me if I talk about the pitch. This is the treatment I get after more than two decades of service at CAB," Mukherjee lamented.

Sensing Mukherjee's belligerent mood, CAB rushed treasurer Biswarup Dey to Mukherjee's home in the afternoon to pacify him. Dey escorted Mukherjee to CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya's residence. It required the former BCCI chief's considerable persuasive powers to convince Mukherjee to return to the Eden Gardens later in the day and resume his supervisory role. Mukherjee was seen interacting with Bhowmick, instructing the ground staff, signalling the end of the day-long drama.


"There's no issue at all. We've sorted out the differences. Prabir Mukherjee remains the Eden Gardens curator. He will be in-charge of the Test match against England starting on December 5 and the India versus Pakistan ODI on January 3 next year," Dalmiya told newsmen.

He blamed the media for creating an "unnecessary" controversy. "I've been hearing all sorts of stories everyday created by the media. He (Prabir) couldn't come to Eden Gardens this morning because he wasn't well. I've requested him to come at least for a few hours daily to supervise preparation of the pitch," Dalmiya said.




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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Melbourne, Jun 13: Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and current opener David Warner have expressed gratitude to two Indian students for helping people in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gilchrist thanked Sharon Varghese, an Indian student who did her Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Wollongong.

Varghese has been was working on the frontline along with other health care workers to look after the residents of aged-care during the global health crisis.

"She gave up her time to work as an aged-care worker throughout that time. Sharon, I want to say congratulations on the selfless act and for wanting to thank people in Australia because you have enjoyed three and a half years living here. And that’s wonderful to hear," Gilchrist said in a video message.

"Just want to let you know, all of Australia, all of India and more importantly, your family will be so very proud of your efforts."

In another short video, Warner thanked Queensland-based Indian student, Shreyas Sheth.

"Namaste. I am here to say thank you to Shreyas Sheth who is doing selfless work to help others during the COVID crisis. Shreyas is doing his Masters in Computer Science at the University of Queensland and he has been part of University’s outreach program, preparing and delivering food packets to students in need right now," Warner said in the video.

"So I just want to say ‘good on ya’. I am sure your mum and dad and India are proud of you. Keep up the great work."

The videos were shared by Austrade India official twitter account, which have hit almost 10 thousand views in last one week.

Apart from the two cricketers, another Social Media Influencer Amy Aela also sent her thank you note to Liya, an Indian student from Griffith university for her work in providing mental health support to communities in Australia during the pandemic.

"Liya I just want to thank you...we definately need more people like you...just remember that Australia is so so proud of you, India is proud of you..please keep up the good work," Aela said.

Former Australian footballer Craig Foster also sent his thank you message to another Indian origin nurse Arushi from Deakin University. More than 100,000 Indian students are studying in Australia, currently making them one of the biggest cohorts of international students in the country.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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