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Qataris watch World Cup and start to dream of 2022

Agencies
July 11, 2018

Doha, Jul 11: In four years' time, Qatar's Khalifa International Stadium will host a World Cup quarter-final, but on Tuesday it had to make do with a big screen.

Some 4,500 people packed out the stadium's fan zone as it showed France beating Belgium in the semi-final in Russia, knowing that the clock is ticking for Qatar's World Cup in 2022.

Atef, a 30-year-old local who is supporting Belgium, says he has enjoyed the tournament.

"It's competitive, it makes it more interesting, to see someone new in the World Cup," he says.

But he admits the unpredicted success of Russia has put more pressure on Qatar to follow-up with a tournament equally as good.

"To be honest, yes, there is much pressure. This will be the first World Cup in the Middle East," says Atef.

"It's not only big for Qatar, it's big for the region."

The game has attracted people from all over Doha, mostly men, but there are plenty of families and women in attendance.

Fans drawn from Qatar, Kenya, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan are glued to the screen, screaming and jumping at several near misses.

Popcorn and soft drink sellers move among the crowd and people are still pouring in some 30 minutes after kick-off.

The stadium is air-conditioned and needs to be as the humidity of a Doha summer makes it feel like the temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), past nine o' clock in the evening.

It is clear that Belgium are the fans' favourites in the Khalifa stadium -- though some supporters are in French replica shirts -- but the game also shows the global appeal of the World Cup.

One Indian fan, Pooja, admits she does not really like football, but takes an interest in the game every four years when the World Cup comes around.

Nearby, Mohamed, a Qatari teacher is there to watch the match with his family, but is also thinking four years' ahead.

"I think we can make it better than Russia, because there have been more sports in Doha beforehand," he says.

Qatar's World Cup bid has been hit by several controversies over allegations of corruption, human rights' abuse and the vexed issue of alcohol for fans when some 1.5 million supporters are expected to descend on Doha in 2022.

Qatar, a conservative Muslim country, is not a dry state, but it has strict rules on the purchase of alcohol.

Booze will be sold at the tournament, but the plan so far is for it to be restricted to certain zones.

Mohamed though is not bothered.

"There's no problem with that, if you want to drink, drink," he says.

But won't locals be offended?

"No, I don't believe that," adds Mohamed.

Teenager Jassim from Bangladesh, is dressed in a Qatari thobe and says he cannot wait to watch games live in four years' time.

"This makes me so excited, I will go to games in 2022," says the 15-year-old.

High in the seats provided for fans sits Alex, 29, a security guard from Kenya, was cheering Belgium because a former Belgian national team player, Divock Origi, has Kenyan roots.

But his mind is as much on 2022 as the semi-final.

He has been in the Gulf for two years and one of the reasons he come to Qatar is the World Cup.

"It will be a privilege for me to see the World Cup," he says excitedly.

"If my visa expires, I will have to find a way to extend it so I am here for 2022."

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: India skipper Virat Kohli has said that the 2014 Test series against England was the lowest point of his career.

He made the revelation during a candid Instagram Live session with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

To date, the 2014 Test series in England remains one of the worst Test series for Kohli as he averaged just 13.40 from 10 ten innings with his highest score being 39.

"I felt like as a batsman, you know you are going to get out in the morning as soon as you wake up. That was the time I felt like that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail, was something that ate me up," Kohli told Pietersen.

However, just four years later, Kohli made a triumphant return to England as he scored a century in the opening Test of the 2018 series and finished as the highest run-getter in the series.

Kohli told Pietersen that the performance in 2014 came because he was just thinking about his own batting.

"2014 series happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation," Kohli said.

"I just got too engulfed with England tour - if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I am going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all," he added.
During the chat, Kohli talked about his favourite format in cricket and he also revealed the main reason for turning into a vegan.

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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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News Network
April 9,2020

New Delhi, Apr 9: The legendary Kapil Dev on Thursday slammed Shoaib Akhtar's idea of a made-for-television three-match ODI series between India and Pakistan to raise funds for the Covid19 pandemic, saying "India doesn't need the money" and it is not worth risking lives for a cricket match.

Speaking to news agency, Akhtar on Wednesday proposed a closed-door series to jointly raise funds to fight the deadly virus both in India and Pakistan. Dev said the proposal is not feasible.

"He is entitled to his opinion but we don't need to raise the money. We have enough. For us, what is important right now is how our authorities work together to deal with this crisis. I am still seeing a lot of blame game on television from the politicians and that needs to stop," Dev said.

"Anyway, the BCCI has donated a hefty amount (Rs 51 crore) for the cause and is in a position to donate much more if the need arises. It doesn't need to raise funds.

"The situation is unlikely to get normal anytime soon and organising a cricket game means putting our cricketers at risk which we don't need to," said the World Cup-winning former captain.

Dev said cricket should not even matter for at least the next six months.

"It is just not worth the risk. And how much money can you make from three games? In my view, you can't even think of cricket for the next five to six months," he said.

Dev said the focus, at the moment, should only be on saving lives and taking care of the poor who are struggling to make ends meet in a lockdown situation.

"Cricket will resume when things get normal. The game can't be bigger than the country. The pressing issue is to look after the poor, the hospital workers, the police and all other people who are on the frontline of this war," said the 61-year-old.

As an Indian, Dev feels proud that his country is in a position help other nations including the United States.

President Donald Trump has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping the United States with the supply of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug being touted as a potential cure for Covid19 patients.

"Helping others is in our culture and I feel proud about that. We should not seek credit after helping others. We should strive to become a nation which gives more and more rather than taking from others," he said.

Like everyone else, Dev is at home and practising social distancing.

Asked how he views the current situation, he said: "Nelson Mandela stayed in a tiny cell for 27 years. Compared to that, we are in a privileged position (that we just have to stay at home for sometime)."

"There is nothing bigger than life at the moment and that is what we need to save."

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