I'm a cricketer not a terrorist, says Chandila

August 6, 2013

ChandilaNew Delhi, Aug 6: Claiming innocence, tainted Rajasthan Royals spinner Ajit Chandila has said that the Delhi Police's proposed move to slap the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charges against him is completely unfair as he is a "cricketer and not a terrorist".

Chandila, who was granted an interim bail for two days (from August 3 to 5) to participate in the last rites of his elder brother, was optimistic that he will come out clean of the spot-fixing charges levelled against him.

"I dreamt of becoming a good cricketer, and to an extent I achieved that. But a tragedy struck and my dreams were shattered. People have seen my performance in last two seasons of the IPL. I am clean and I trust the judiciary," Chandila told 'Zee News' after coming out on interim bail.

Chandila said his family and he were in a state of shock after learning that the MCOCA might be levelled against him.

"My family and I are in a state of shock that such charges are being levelled against me. I am a cricketer not a terrorist," he said.

"My family has suffered a lot, and my brother was hospitalised the day I was arrested. But I have the support of my family. And soon, people will know the truth. I am innocent. I will make a comeback soon.

"I have no clue about the spot-fixing controversy. I have never been approached by anybody. I am absolutely unaware of this," Chandila added.

The lanky off-spinner from Haryana defended his lavish lifestyle, saying IPL offers a cricketer enough money to live like that.

"IPL offers so much money that there is no need to do any wrong thing to earn money. As far as my lifestyle is concerned, everybody wants to wear good clothes, shades, etc. There is nothing wrong in

wearing expensive things. So, if I had been spending on myself, it is my personal choice and nobody should be concerned about that," Chandila said.

Besides Chandila, two other Rajasthan Royals cricketers -- S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan -- were also arrested by Delhi Police during this year's IPL for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing. While Sreesanth and Chavan are out on bail, Chandila is still in jail.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Mumbai, Mar 3: India on Tuesday retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings despite a dismal Test series against New Zealand.

India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points. The 0-2 result against New Zealand was India's first series loss in the World Test Championship.

Kohli remains in second position in the batting rankings despite a forgettable Test series in which he made 38 runs in four innings, the ICC said in a statement.

New Zealand opener Tom Blundell and his Indian counterpart Prithvi Shaw and debutant paceman Kyle Jamieson were among the biggest movers in the rankings, released on Tuesday.

Blundell had a successful series against India, scoring 117 runs in four innings, with one half-century, which put him among the top two run-scorers in the series.

The performance meant he was rewarded with a jump of 27 places to No. 46. Shaw, who returned for his first series since his Test debut against West Indies in 2018, and made a punchy 54 in the first innings of the Christchurch Test, rose 17 places to No.76.

Australia's Steve Smith retained his top spot, holding a 25-point advantage over Kohli. Smith's apprentice Marnus Labuschagne jumped one spot to round off the top three, taking the place of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India opener Mayank Agarwal moved a spot each and swapped places to break into and fall out of the top 10 respectively.

Among bowlers, Tim Southee's Player of the Series winning performance against India took him into the top five, with a jump of two places to No.4, while Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult returned to the top 10, gaining four places each to occupy the seventh and ninth positions respectively.

But the biggest gainer was Jamieson, who rose from No. 80 to 43.

There was only one change in the top ten among all-rounders, with Southee dropping a spot to No.10 and team-mate Neil Wagner falling out of the top 10 with a drop of four spots.

As with the bowling rankings, Jamieson, who frustrated India with handy lower order runs, gained big on the all-rounders' table, rising 26 places to No. 22.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Northamptonshire, Jul 31: Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus, and as a result, he will miss the British Grand Prix.

The Racing Point driver was absent from the circuit on Thursday after self-isolating following what his team called an "inconclusive" test. Perez then re-tested later in the day and it returned positive.

Formula 1 is following a strict testing regime as part of the safety protocols put in place when racing resumed earlier this month, and this is the first time a driver has tested positive.

"Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities," Formula 1 and the FIA said in a statement.

"With the assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined," the statement added.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Karachi, May 8: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azhar had put two of his precious belongings -- the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India -- on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease.

Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.

Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of one million each for the bat and jersey and they had sold for 2.2 million.

He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.

Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest and Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs. 1.1 million for the shirt before the conclusion of the auction.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

"I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020," Azhar had tweeted.

Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in Day/Night Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.

"The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad," Ali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy."

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