Hey BCCI, why pressurise youngsters for Sachin's 200th Test?

September 7, 2013

Sachins_200New Delhi, Sep 7: BCCI's move to facilitate Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test milestone on home soil is likely to have serious repercussions on the Indian team's curtailed South Africa tour.

After a timid encounter against Zimbabwe during the months of July and August, a fresh and rejuvenated Indian side was supposed to take on the World No.1 Proteas in November in their backyard with aplomb, sans any fatigue.

India were supposed to tour South Africa for three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20 matches between November 18 and January 25. However, with the BCCI adamant on holding a West Indies series - two Tests and three ODIs - before the South Africa tour, an exhausted Indian side may find it difficult to face Proteas on their soil where the visitors already have a dismal record.

India have won just two Tests in South Africa and their ODI win-loss ratio, too, is far from impressive. With fresh pool of talents like Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay leaving a mark in previous home series and Champions Trophy, expectations were high from this current batch of youngsters.

But it seems the Indian board is hell bent on adding psychological pressures of an unwanted home series against the Caribbean side onto the youngsters, only to facilitate a fading star by helping him reach another milestone.

The board's adamant stand appears more foolish when Tendulkar himself has asserted that 200th Test is just a number and he has no intentions of quitting the game even after reaching the magical number. "Where is the rush? I don't think at this stage I need to do that," said Tendulkar when asked about his retirement plan.

Tendulkar had a chance to quit on a high note had he been allowed to reach the 200th Test during a challenging South Africa tour, rather than against a weak West Indies side in the sub-continent. A Tendulkar special against a ferocious attack consisting of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel would have been a delight for all his fans.

Tendulkar had reached his 50th Test ton during the South Africa tour in 2010. Though, India lost the match, the famous hundred at Centurion was a face saver for the visitors after the first innings collapse.

Tendulkar's fans are looking for another such knock from him. And if he guides the young team to a Test series win in South Africa, it would have been another prominent feather to his cap, rather than completing a double ton of Test matches on home soil.

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated an undisclosed amount to financially help 4,000 underprivileged people, including children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tendulkar made the donation to the Hi5 Foundation, a non-profit organisation based out of Mumbai.

“Best wishes to team Hi5 for your efforts in supporting families of daily wage earners,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The organisation, through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.

“Thanks @sachin_rt for proving once again that #sports encourages compassion! Your generous donation towards our #COVID19 fund enables us to financially aid 4000 underprivileged people, including children from @mybmc schools. Our budding sportspersons thank you, Little Master!”

The legendary batsman had earlier contributed Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the country’s fight against COVID-19. Tendulkar had earlier pledged to bear the cost of feeding 5,000 people for a month in a couple of areas in Mumbai.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Veteran cricketer Mithali Raj was on Thursday demoted to Grade B from A in the BCCI central contracts while Radha Yadav and Taniya Bhatia were elevated to the middle bracket.

Mithali not being kept in the Rs 50 lakh category was expected as the 37-year-old retired from T20s in September last year. However, she remains the ODI captain and plans to carry on till the 2021 World Cup.

T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur retained his A category contract alongside Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav.

Radha and Taniya, who both had a Grade C contract worth Rs 10 lakh last year, have now entered Grade B (Rs 30 lakh).

Players getting a central contract for the first time are 15-year-old opener Shafali Verma and Harleen Deol, who like the teenager is an attacking batter.

Shafali has attracted a lot of attention ever since making her India debut last year. She recently made 124 against Australia A in Brisbane. The opener will be expected to deliver in the upcoming T20 World Cup Down Under.

Dropped from the list is Mona Meshram, who was in Grade C last year and hasn't played a single game in recent times.

The latest contracts run from October 2019 to September 2020.

Grade A (Rs 50 lakh): Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav.

Grade B (Rs 30 lakh): Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma.

Grade C (Rs 10 lakh): Veda Krishnamurthy, Punam Raut, Anuja Patil, Mansi Joshi, D Hemlatha, Arundhati Reddy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia, Shafali Verma.

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