No rift between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli: Mohammed Shami

June 28, 2015

Bengaluru, Jun 28: Insisting that all was well in the Indian cricket dressing room, pacer Mohammed Shami on Saturday said reports of rift between Test captain Virat Kohli and ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni are simply wrong.

dhoni"That the team is divided and the team is not performing -- there is no truth in these things. I have shared the dressing room with all of them including Virat and Mahi Bhai. I never felt anything like that (there is a rift between them). If media is making an issue then it is wrong," he told PTI here.

The injured pacer is in the city undergoing fitness training at the National Cricket Academy. Shami has been out of action since the World Cup due to discomforting pain and injury in his left knee.

Shami also requested media not to highlight "baseless" stories of disunity and rift between Kohli and Dhoni, and instead write about the team's ad players' performance.

"I request media not to highlight these baseless stories. This only divides the team, and affects team's and players' performance," he said.

Asked whether Dhoni should give up captaincy after a poor show by India against Bangladesh, Shami said it is not fair to draw conclusions on the basis of one bad series.

"I like his captaincy, I mean look at his record. Mahi Bhai has won us World Cups in all formats of the game. One should not draw conclusions based on just two series where we haven't performed. According to me, he should continue," he said.

Asked when is he likely to begin bowling in the nets,

Shami hoped that he would be able to do that next month onwards.

"I cannot write and give, but I hope to start bowling in the nets next month," he said.

Shami has been out of action since the World Cup after he complained of pain in his knees.

After he was ruled out of last IPL, Shami, who was the fourth highest wicket-taker of the World Cup with 17 wickets in seven matches, underwent knee surgery in New Delhi.

Asked how is he feeling after five to six days of his rehabilitation at the NCA, Shami said his body is in a better shape now.

"From past five to six days, I have been undergoing fitness training here. I am now in a comfort zone and my body is not feeling tight. There is no problem and I am slowly increasing the weight," he said.

Would it be a easy for him to get back into the Indian team after an injury, Shami said, "In my reckoning, whoever performs well, he should be in the team."

Asked if Dhoni missed his services in the dismal Bangladesh tour, Shami said indisciplined bowling cost India the series for the first time against the hosts.

"The series against Bangladesh went awry. As far as bowling is concerned, it is important to pick wickets with new ball in first 10 overs and in powerplays. That probably did not happen. We picked wickets late which resulted in Bangladesh scoring many runs. Even the line and length was a bit indisciplined," he said.

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January 14,2020

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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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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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