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Gary Kirsten named chief coach of Delhi Daredevils

September 3, 2013

Gary_KirstenHyderabad, Sep 3: Former India coach Gary Kirsten was today appointed chief coach of the Delhi Daredevils for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League.

The 45-year-old South African, who guided the national team to World Cup triumph in 2011 apart from taking the Test side to the No.1 spot, has been roped in to turn the fortunes of one of the most popular franchises in the IPL after their disastrous eighth-place finish in the last season.

However, the support staff will remain intact with Eric Simons now working as an assistant coach alongside his close friend while T A Sekar continues to be the Team Mentor.

Mushtaq Ahmed is also expected to be the spin consultant once again.

"It is indeed a massive privilege to work with the Delhi Daredevils side after having worked with two international sides (India and South Africa). I have always maintained that building a quality side is a process and I am looking forward to taking up this new challenge in franchise cricket," Kirsten told mediapersons here.

Kirsten admitted that it was through his "old friend" Simons that he was offered the role of chief coach.

"I was recommended by Mr Simons and after having a chat with the owners, I found them to be good people. My job will be to help the boys perform to the best of their abilities. Also having Simons around helps a lot as we go back a long way and complement each other really well."

"The IPL at this stage of my career is a perfect thing to have happened considering the commitments I have towards my family. They are my priority and devoting three months a year is fine for me," the soft-spoken gutsy opener of yesteryears explained.

The newly appointed chief coach did admit that a whole lot of thought process needs to go into building a good team as there will be a fresh auction before IPL VII next year.

As a coach, would he like the controversial 'Player Retention Policy' to be done away with which might give a chance to re-visit the hit combination of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gary Kirsten?

To this question, there was a huge grin and he replied, "I am not going to let out any strategies at the moment. That will be between me and the owners. It's a quick tournament and it is important to carry on with a momentum. Yes, I have some names that I would want in my team having had the knowledge of working in India.

"I will reveal those names to the owners when the time is right. Obviously, T20 demands a certain level of skill sets and I would like to get that in my team also."

Kirsten did admit that he doesn't have a magic formula to change Daredevils' fledgling performance overnight. He feels that it would be unfair if the Daredevils' fans expect him to work wonders since he has had a successful stint with the Indian team.

"Success should teach one to be humble. Whatever success I have had with the Indian team is not relevant over here. It's a new start and I need to be as humble as possible. I do have the expertise of a fantastic support staff," he said.

With so many coaches in the team, is there a chance of clash of ideas? Kirsten gave a pragmatic reply.

"It's my responsibility. I believe we have a mutual role of information sharing. Obviously, everyone has got a lot of experience in coaching and we can have exchange of ideas before coming to a final decision."

Team Mentor and noted fast bowling coach, Sekar stated that it was an unanimous decision by the management to appoint Kirsten as the coach after an intense performance review session.

"Gary's credentials are unquestionable and we are confident that he will take the team to greater heights. The respect that both senior Indian and South African cricketers have for him is immense," he said.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi Jul 30: After Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal's ban was reduced to 18 months, Danish Kaneria criticised Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) policies and said that the 'zero tolerance policy' applies only to him.

"Zero Tolerance policy only apply on Danish Kaneria not on others, can anybody answer the reason why I get life ban not others, Are policy applies only on cast, colour, and powerful background. I am Hindu and proud of it that's my background and my dharma," Kaneria tweeted.

Earlier on Wednesday, Akmal's three-year suspension was reduced to 18 months by an independent adjudicator, former Pakistan Supreme Court judge, Faqir Mohammad Khokhar.

On April 27, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel, Justice (retd) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, had banned the wicketkeeper-batsman for three years after finding him guilty of breaching the PCB's Anti-Corruption Code in two separate incidents.

Akmal, on May 19, filed an appeal against the three-year ban imposed on him, seeking a reduction in the duration of the sanction. He will remain suspended effectively from February 2020 till August 2021.

The batsman said he might appeal again to get the ban "reduced further".

"I am thankful to the judge for listening to my lawyers properly. I will decide about the remaining sentence and try to get it reduced further. For now I am not satisfied and will consult my lawyers and family how to take this ahead," ESPNcricinfo had quoted Akmal as saying.

"There are many players before me who made mistakes and just look at what they got and what I got. So all I say right now is thank you very much," he had added.

On the other hand, Kaneria was found guilty of spot-fixing while playing for English club Essex and was banned from the sport.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's cricket governing body 'advised' Kaneria to approach England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) if he wants to play domestic cricket after the cricketer had appealed to the PCB, seeking permission to play domestic cricket. 

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News Network
January 3,2020

Jeddah, Jan 3: Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is aiming to create history as the first Formula One world champion to win the Dakar Rally when the 12-day marathon gets underway in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Alonso, who won the F1 championship with Renault in 2005 and 2006, is one of 351 starters in this year's 7,500 km race which has moved from South America to Saudi Arabia, both venues a long way from the original 1979 route between Paris and the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Among the starters will be motorbikes, quad bikes and trucks but Alonso, who will have five-time bike champion Marc Coma navigating his Toyota, will be in the car category as he bids to become one of the greatest all-round drivers of all time.

Apart from his success in F1, the 38-year-old Spaniard has also won the Le Mans 24-hour race and has singled out the Indianapolis 500 as his priority for 2020. He describes Dakar as “the biggest challenge of my career”.

Alonso is not the first F1 driver to take part in the race, however.

The Belgian Jacky Ickx, a winner of eight grand prix and six-time winner of Le Mans, won Dakar in 1983 and came second in 1986 and 1989. Frenchman Patrick Tambay, who had two wins in his 114 grand prix, came third in 1988 and 1989.

Given the treacherous conditions--long stretches of sand dunes--Alonso is not overly confident of challenging for victory, noting that even the nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb was unable to deliver when he raced the Dakar. Loeb won 13 stages but could only finish second in 2017 and third in 2019.

“If Loeb still hasn't won the Dakar, imagine me, who is coming from asphalt,” Alonso told RTVE. “I think the goal is more to approach the rally as an enriching experience for us.”

Fellow Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah is a more likely candidate, not least because the Qatari is a three-time winner and reigning champion.

"Give me some sand and I'm happy," Al-Attiyah told dakar.com.

He will be pressed, however, by the Minis of Carlos Sainz and 'Monsieur Dakar' aka Stephane Peterhansel who has won 13 Dakars across bikes and cars in 30 races.

“We are obviously very excited about the Dakar in Saudi Arabia. It will be a new challenge for everyone,” said Peterhansel who will be partnered by Paulo Fiuza after the Frenchman's wife Andrea pulled out for health reasons.

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to contest the rally with Andrea, as was planned, however I have known Paulo Fiuza for a very long time. According to the organisers, the navigation will be very complicated and play a major role this time.”

Cyril Despres, a five-time winner on bikes, is also back with a new teammate -- explorer Mike Horn.

“I was stuck in the ice for a month, and now I'm heading to Jeddah. For the first time, the Dakar Rally is in Saudi Arabia and I'm doing it with a very good friend of mine, Cyril Despres,” tweeted Horn whose adventures include an 18-month solo journey around the equator without using any motorised transport.

Horn is also the first man to travel without dogs or transport to the North Pole during winter, in permanent darkness.

Across the dunes of Saudi Arabia that experience may come in handy.

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