Sachin Tendulkar said MS Dhoni would make a good captain: Sharad Pawar

November 10, 2013

Sachin_Tendulkar_capMumbai, Nov 10: Mumbai Cricket Association chief Sharad Pawar has revealed that it was Sachin Tendulkar who batted for Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain of the Indian team after Rahul Dravid expressed his desire to give up captaincy in 2007.

"Sachin loves to lend a helping hand to fellow players, especially the juniors, and believes in team spirit. Humility is his middle name. He gave up captaincy to concentrate on his game," Pawar wrote on his blog on Sunday.

"Now, a cute story which will delight the countless fans of Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni as well. It so happened that a few years ago the Indian cricket team was playing in England. As BCCI chief I too was in London," he said.

"One day Rahul Dravid came to me with a request that took me by surprise. Dravid said he wanted to give up captaincy as it affected his game. I flatly said no. The Twenty20 series was to begin soon and the World Cup match was barely a year away," the union agriculture minister recalled.

Pawar said Dravid had suggested Tendulkar as the possible replacement but the senior batsman was not keen.

"How could Dravid think of giving up captaincy at such a critical juncture? Who would be his successor? Dravid persisted. He suggested Sachin's name as the next captain. I talked to Sachin on the issue. He didn't seem eager to step into Dravid's shoes. Instead, he suggested Dhoni's name. This came as a twist in the tale.

"'Dhoni is an excellent wicket-keeper. But, will he make a good captain?' I asked Sachin. 'You try him out. He will make a great captain. I say this with a sense of responsibility', Sachin replied," said Pawar in his recollection.

"Accordingly, the BCCI's selection committee chose Dhoni as the team captain. And he did India proud. We won the Twenty20 World Cup and, later, the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai as well. Handsome praise

was heaped on the new captain which he rightly deserved. This happened because of Sachin's far-sightedness."

"Sachin is all set to retire. However, he can't keep himself away from cricket for too long. I am sure grooming young players will be a part of his post-retirement plans. Best wishes to the Master Blaster," Pawar said.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Manchester United's Paul Pogba on Monday paid tribute to George Floyd, stressing that violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated and they have to stop.

Pogba took to Instagram to write: "During the past few days I have thought a lot about how to express my feelings about what happened in Minneapolis. I felt anger, pity, hatred, indignation, pain, sadness."

"Sadness for George and for all black people who suffer from racism Every day! Whether in football, at work, at school, Anywhere! This has to stop, once and for all! Not tomorrow or the next day, it has to end today! Violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated," he added.

Protests erupted in Minneapolis and other US cities on Tuesday after Floyd, an African-American man, died following his arrest by the four officers.

A viral video showed a police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinning 46-year-old Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes. Floyd died at a local hospital shortly thereafter.

The four police officers were fired. Chauvin was also charged with murder and manslaughter, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

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zaki ahmed
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Jun 2020

This photograph in the above mentioned article is of Floyd Mayweather Jr , the world welterweight & super heavy weight champion & wrongly menitoned as Pogba .

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News Network
February 12,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 12: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday berated his bowlers for their mediocre performance as he tried to explain the team's first ODI series whitewash in over three decades, saying that the visitors lacked composure all through.

The five-wicket defeat here meant that India lost the series 0-3 to an injury-plagued New Zealand that had been deflated by a 0-5 whitewash of its own in the T20 format just last week. It was India's first whitewash in 31 years in an ODI series in which all matches have been played.

"The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. It boils down to those chances that we didn't grab. I don't think it was not enough to win games in international cricket," Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

"With the ball, we were not able to make breakthroughs, we were not at all good on the field. We haven't played so badly but when you don't grab those chances, you don't deserve to win," he added.

"Batsmen coming back from tough situations was a positive sign for us, but the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn't enough to win games," he asserted.

The ineffectiveness of Indian bowlers can be gauged from the fact that the team's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah finished the series without a wicket and the attack couldn't dismiss the complete rival line-up even once.

Kohli lauded New Zealand for bouncing back after the T20 hammering.

"New Zealand played with lot more intensity. We didn't deserve to win because we did not show enough composure," he said.

The batting mainstay is looking forward to the Test series, which begins on February 21, to make amends for the disappointment.

"I think because of the Test Championship, every match has that more importance. We have a really balanced Test team and we feel we can win the series here, but we need to step on to the park with the right kind of mindset," he said.

His opposite number Kane Williamson, who missed the first two games due to injury, was lavish in his praise for the home team's grit.

"An outstanding performance, very clinical. India put us under pressure, but the way the guys fought back with the ball and kept them to a par total. The cricket in the second half was outstanding to see," he said referring to the side's effortless chase of a 297-run target.

"We know how good they (India) are at all formats but for us the clarity about the roles the guys had was the most important thing. Outstanding effort against a brilliant India side," he added.

Player of the Match Henry Nicholls, who scored 80 on Tuesday, said his team benefitted from good batting starts during the series.

"To come back and win 3-0 after the T20Is is nice. The way (Martin) Guptill played today allowed us to get ahead. We got a 100-run stand, but we were fortunate enough to get good starts this series," he said.

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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