Ahmedabad, Mar 16: Cricketer Irfan Pathan met Chief Minister Narendra Modi in his chamber in the Assembly building Friday and invited him for the wedding of his elder brother and cricketer Yusuf Pathan in Mumbai on March 27.
Yusuf is getting married to physiotherapist Afreen. She works in Vadodara while her parents live in Mumbai. Officials in CMO said Modi, who had so far avoided attending wedding of cricketers, was willing to attend Yusuf's wedding.
Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.
Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.
"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.
"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."
In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.
"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.
His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."
"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.
"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."
Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.
Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."
The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.
"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."
Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.
"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.
"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."
The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.
The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.
Jun 25: After asserting that the 2011 World Cup final was "sold" by "certain parties" in Sri Lanka to India, the island nation's former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has now called his claim a "suspicion" that he wants investigated.
The Lankan government has ordered an enquiry into the matter and a special Police investigation unit recorded Aluthgamage's statement on Wednesday. He told the team that he was only suspicious of fixing.
"I want my suspicion investigated," Aluthgamage told reporters.
"I gave to the Police, a copy of the complaint I lodged with the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 30 October 2011 regarding the said allegation as then Sports Minister," he said.
Aluthgamage has alleged that his country "sold" the game to India, a claim that was ridiculed by former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who demanded evidence from him.
Set a target of 275, India clinched the trophy thanks to the brilliance of Gautam Gambhir (97) and then skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91).
"Today I am telling you that we sold the 2011 world cup, I said this when I was the sports minister," Aluthgamage, who was the sports minister at the time, had stated.
Sangakkara, the captain of Sri Lanka at that time, asked him to produce evidence for an anti-corruption probe.
"He needs to take his 'evidence' to the ICC and the Anti corruption and Security Unit so the claims can be investigated thoroughly," he tweeted.
Jayawardene, also a former captain who scored a hundred in that game, ridiculed the charge.
"Is the elections around the corner...like the circus has started...names and evidence?" he asked in a tweet.
Aluthgamage said that in his opinion no players were involved in fixing the result, "but certain parties were."
Both Aluthgamage and the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa were among the invitees at the final played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Following his allegations, Aravinda de Silva, the former great who was the then chairman of selectors, has urged the BCCI to conduct its own investigation.
De Silva has said he is willing to travel to India to take part in such an investigation despite the current COVID-19 threat.
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