Sachin Tendulkar greatest contemporary cricketer: Australian media

October 11, 2013

Sachin_TendulkarMelbourne, Oct 11: With the headline 'Tendulkar departs as a deity of cricket', Sydney Morning Herald said that the Indian batsman combined brilliance with incredible longevity and none of his contemporaries commanded god-like status like he did.

Sachin Tendulkar's impending retirement from Test cricket evoked unreserved admiration for the batting icon from the Australian media which described him the "deity of cricket" and one of the history's two greatest batsmen along with Don Bradman.

With the headline Tendulkar departs as a deity of cricket, Sydney Morning Herald said that the Indian batsman combined brilliance with incredible longevity and none of his contemporaries commanded god-like status like he did.

"A batting genius who has played the game for almost a quarter of a century, he combined brilliance with incredible longevity. He outlasted fellow greats such as West Indies champion Brian Lara, Australian legend Ricky Ponting and Indian teammate Rahul Dravid, and inspired a new generation of players who wanted to be like him," the newspaper said.

"The others were all champions, and South Africa's relentless all-rounder Jacques Kallis is still going, but none of his contemporaries commanded Tendulkar's god-like status, which coincided with India's rise as a cricket superpower," it said.

There were several write-ups, columns and video footages of the past which had comments made by experts and former players over the years during Tendulkar's long career of 24 glorious years, all leading to one conclusion that he is the number one contemporary batsman, equal in greatness only to Bradman in the history of the game.

'Daily Telegraph' said it's now accepted by the cricketing world that Tendulkar and Bradman are the greatest batsmen in the history of the game.

"The cricketing cognoscenti are largely united when it comes to naming history's two greatest batsmen: Sir Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. But as for identifying the greatest of the pair? That remains one of the game's most polarising debates," the newspaper said.

"Many have attempted to anoint a winner. A Griffith University researcher, Dr Nicholas Rohde, crunched the numbers two years ago and determined Tendulkar was superior to Bradman. Others, like Steve Waugh, have relied on less scientific and more subjective measures to declare Bradman's brand of batsmanship as cricket in excelsis," the SMH said.

"We look at some of factors that, by any standard, have propelled Bradman and Tendulkar beyond all-comers," it said.

"His retirement will leave a massive hole in the game.

Cricket, in its modern guises, is unlikely to produce another player like him," it added.

The newspaper said Brian Lara might be a more damaging batsman when he was on song but Tendulkar was more consistent.

"The Indian's record against Australia -- 3630 runs at 55 -- and in Australia -- 1809 at 53.21 -- is a testament to that. His affinity with the SCG lasted his whole career; he averages 157 there, and Englishman Walter Hammond is the only touring batsman to have made more runs at the ground," said the newspaper which also put up several Tendulkar's photos during his tours in Australia.

"Tendulkar's super-stardom did not dull his runmaking. He churned out a phenomenal 51 Test centuries. A master of spin, he played Warne better than anyone. It takes a genius to know one and the pair became great friends. The incomparable Australian leg spinner is one of the few people on the planet who knows what it's like to be him, who could comprehend the fame that made Tendulkar wait until the middle of the night to drive his luxury car through the streets of Mumbai.

"He carried himself with remarkable grace, on and off the field. To hear the noise of an Indian crowd when he is at the crease, then the silence when he gets out, no matter the importance of the game, is one of sport's greatest thrills." 'Daily Telegraph' also carried out an online poll on who is the greatest batsman of all time and Tendulkar won hands down, beating Bradman. The newspaper asked its readers to choose the best ever from among 10 batsmen -- Tendulkar, Bradman, Lara, Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Gary Sobers, Jacques Kallis, Len Hutton, Rahul Dravid and Allan Border.

6234 voted and Tendulkar received 4094 votes (65.67%), far ahead of Bradman, who polled 1171 (18.78%). Lara and Richards were distant third and fourth, garnering 269 (4.32%) and 253 (4.06%) respectively.

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News Network
June 5,2020

Jun 5: The Asian Football Confederation has awarded the hosting rights of the 2022 Women's Asian Cup to India for the first time since 1979.

The decision was taken at the AFC Women's Football Committee meeting. In February, the AFC Women's Football Committee had recommended India to be hosts.

In a letter to the All India Football Federation, Dato Windsor John, General Secretary, AFC wrote: "The Committee awarded the hosting rights of the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 Finals to the All India Football Federation."

The tournament will likely be held in the second half of the year. In the 1979 edition, India had finished as runners-up.

"I need to thank the Asian Football Confederation for finding us suitable to host the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2022," AIFF President, Praful Patel said.

"The tournament will galvanise the aspiring women players and bring in a holistic social revolution as far as women's football in the country is concerned," he added.

The tournament will feature 12 teams, expanded from the previous slot of eight teams.

India qualifies directly as hosts. The event will also serve as the final qualification tournament for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The tournament comes as the latest boost to AIFF as India is slated to host the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup next year.

India had also hosted the AFC U-16 Championships in 2016 and the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017.

"The tournament will play a huge role in further popularising women's football in India. The Women’s Asian Cup 2022 comes on the back of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020, and will help us sustain, and build on the momentum gained," AIFF General Secretary, Kushal Das said.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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Agencies
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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