Fearing termination, RR distances from Kundra

June 8, 2013

KundraBangalore/New Delhi, Jun 8: Facing termination prospects, an embattled Rajasthan Royals distanced itself from?co-owner Raj Kundra, saying he has no role in the running of the franchise, and would be suspended if found guilty.

The Jaipur-based IPL franchise slipped into deep trouble after Kundra reportedly confessed to betting on his team before the Delhi Police on Thursday. According to IPL rule 11.3 (C), a franchise can be terminated if the owner or owners bring disrepute to the team or the league.

Royals, however, made it clear in a statement that Kundra had no involvement in the functioning of the team. Kundra would have to forfeit his shares in the franchise if he indeed breached any regulation.

“As a franchise, we have always been clear that the same rules apply to the players, management or the owners. As such, our actions will be consistent as in the case of the spot-fixing allegations with respect to our players,” said Rajasthan Royals chairman Ranjit Barthakur and CEO Raghu Iyer in a statement.

“Raj Kundra is a minority shareholder and he has no involvement in the running of the franchise. We believe that Kundra is a law-abiding citizen and would not act contrary to law.

“If however, he is proven guilty, or has breached any regulations, he will be suspended. He will also forfeit his shares. This is a strict governance procedure agreed to by all Rajasthan Royals shareholders and it is consistent with our zero tolerance approach,” the statement said.

Apart from Kundra, who holds 11.7 per cent shares in the franchise along with his wife Shilpa Shetty through Kuki Investment. Manoj Badale (Emerging Media, 32.4 per cent), Suresh Chellaram & family (44.2 per cent) and Lachlan Murdoch (Blue Water Estate Limited, 11.7 per cent) are the other shareholders.

The statement was issued after the Board of Control for Cricket in India convened an Emergent Working Committee meeting in Delhi on Monday to discuss issues related to the spot-fixing scandal, including the Kundra episode. The BCCI meeting will also discuss the report submitted by Ravi Sawani, chief of the

Board’s ACSU, on the fixing charges against three Royals players, S?Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.

In another development, Kundra has hired noted criminal lawyer Majeed Memon to defend him. “I was called by the Delhi Police since I am a minority shareholder of Rajasthan Royals and a few questions were put to me to which I have satisfactorily answered,” Kundra said in a statement issued through Memon.

“I would like to reiterate that I am innocent and equally anxious to know as to what went wrong within Rajasthan Royals. In case anything is established against me, I shall be willing to forfeit my shares in Rajasthan Royals,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have claimed that Shetty placed a bet of Rs 1 lakh during this IPL?season and they are planning to question Kundra again.

The police said Shetty placed a bet once during a match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in the national capital. However, investigators have to verify the claims.

“Kundra will be questioned again very soon and if need be, Shetty too,” said a senior police officer.

The officer said Kundra, in his statement, claimed to have lost Rs 12.5 lakh in betting during this IPL season, Rs 40 lakh the previous year and Rs 50 lakh in 2011.

The officer, however, declined to “buy this argument.” “He had told us that he placed bets on matches played by Rajasthan Royals. In this season, his team won 11 out of the 16 matches it played and it is hard to believe that he lost money,” said a senior police officer.

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News Network
April 12,2020

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.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Virat Kohli's natural talent makes him a cricketing equivalent of Roger Federer while Steve Smith's mental fortitude matches that of Rafael Nadal, said South African swashbuckler AB de Villiers comparing the two contemporary greats.

In an instagram chat with former Zimbabwe seamer Pommie Mbangwa, de Villiers spoke about the two batsmen, who are easily the game's biggest crowd-pullers right now.

"It's a difficult one, but Virat is definitely the more natural ball-striker, there's no doubt about that," de Villiers said during his interaction on 'Sports Hurricane'.

"In tennis terms, I'd say he's more like a (Roger) Federer whereas Smith is like a (Rafael) Nadal. Smith is mentally very strong and figures out a way of scoring runs - he doesn't look natural, but he ends up writing records and doing amazing things at the crease.

"I think mentally, Smith is one of the best I have ever seen. Virat has also scored runs all over the world and won games under pressure," de Villiers,himself a modern day great, said.

De Villiers also felt that when it comes to chasing, Kohli is a shade ahead of Tendulkar.

"Sachin is a role model for both of us (him and Kohli). The way he stood out in his era, the things he achieved and with the grace he did all that is a great example for everyone," de Villiers said.

"And I think Virat will also say that he set the standards for us to follow.

"But personally, in a chase, I'd say Virat is the best I've seen in my life. Sachin was amazing in all formats and all situations, but Virat comes out on top while chasing."

The world knows Kohli as a prolific cricketer but for de Villiers, he is a friend, who has interests beyond cricket and is spiritual at one level.

"He's much deeper than just a cricket player...I think most people realise after a while that there's more to life than just cricket," de Villiers said.

"...Virat's always been a thinker, he experiments (with) a lot of things, he loves trying new things out - gym wise, what he puts in his mouth. He thinks a lot about life after life - what's to come, the different religions, we talk about everything."

De Villiers said that he also shares a great bond with Indian captain's actor wife Anushka Sharma, conversing on a lot of issues including family life.

"We go pretty deep and his missus as well, Anushka, we have very deep conversations, which is fantastic. We talk about children and family. We're waiting for that first little Kohli to come.

"It's a good friendship and we always find a way to talk about cricket as well, but 90 per cent of the time we talk about other stuff. It's refreshing and in the middle of a very intense IPL tournament," he shared.

IPL, for de Villiers, is not just a tournament but also about friendships that he cherishes.

"Obviously, when it comes to the IPL in India, it's been more than friendship," De Villiers said, when asked who his best friends in cricket are.

"Virat obviously - not only during the IPL, we chat throughout the year, which means it's different than just the IPL or cricketing friendship.

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