The Rafa-Roger show behind the mike

December 13, 2015

New Delhi, Dec 13: They are known to bring the house down in their on-court face-offs, but tennis icons Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal showed that they could do exactly the same with just a mike in front of them.

rrAddressing a joint press conference at the end of the International Premier Tennis League's India leg, the two contemporary legends of the game were jovial and sharp-witted, sending down some verbal aces while engaging in light-hearted banter.

Sitting between the two during the interaction was IPTL founder Mahesh Bhupathi, who had a good time laughing along with the media.

Federer was the more vocal of the two but when it came to answering a question on pressure, he stumped Nadal by passing it on to him.

"Go ahead Rafa, I am too nervous sitting here so I prefer Rafa to break the ice," Federer said, leaving Nadal wide-eyed in surprise.

"Well! I am always so cold talking in English," was a grinning Nadal's hurriedly-thought response to which, Federer said, "It's such a joy for me to listen to it."

The playful exchange was met with more laughter and some applause as well before Nadal brought some order back by speaking about how competitive the two are no matter which part of the world they are playing.

"We tried our best, we played with our heart and we played our best tennis that we had today. We cannot say we are playing under pressure here, we have fans. I am really excited about the week I had in the IPTL and I cannot wait to come back next year," said Nadal on a more serious note, describing the IPTL face-off between the two in which he came out trumps in a shootout.

Federer though had a different take on the IPTL format, where a clutch of five different one-set games are played between two teams in a round-robin set-up.

"It's a strange kind of pressure because you have just one set, you are worried to just get a blow at 6-1, you know, you are not even in the match but it's over and then you are like, that was your only chance by the way. But now you can go home and think about it, think about it for a year. So I was worried coming in because this was my first match back," said Federer.

"We are actually both very happy that the match went the distance and we had more tennis to play," he added.

The next laugh-out-loud moment came when a question was asked on just why they have not had any of their showdowns at the US Open so far.

"The blame is on me, I messed up one time on match point. He was waiting (in the final), I hope next year may be," said Federer referring to the 2010 US Open in which he lost a gruelling semifinal to Novak Djokovic.

"Actually, it is twice," interjected Nadal, referring to the two match points Federer frittered away in the clash.

"I didn't want to say that Rafa," Federer responded before adding, "but yeah I messed up. The blame is on me."

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Chennai Super Kings have rejected the idea of an IPL with only Indian players in the near future, differing with Rajasthan Royals, the franchise which is keen on the option given the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IPL, which is indefinitely postponed, can be held in the September-October window if the scheduled T20 World Cup in Australia doesn't take place.

"CSK is not keen to do an IPL with only Indian players. That way it would be playing another Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (domestic T20 competition). The franchise has not been in touch with the BCCI of late as the situation is worsening," a CSK source said on conditions of anonymity.

"Let's hope we can have the IPL later this year," he added.

CSK are three-time IPL champions, making them the second most successful team in the event's history after Mumbai Indians, who have won the tournament four times.

The BCCI is also very keen to stage the IPL and if it doesn't happen, the world's richest board would be in financial trouble like Cricket Australia.

"The board will take a revenue hit of Rs 4000 crore if it doesn't happen. The board will be in a big problem," BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal said earlier this week.

With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in India, the board and IPL team officials see little point in discussing when the event can be held.

"There has been no discussion with the BCCI ever since it postponed the IPL. There is no point in discussing also as things are unlikely to be okay anytime soon," the CSK source said.

"We expect the BCCI to take the best possible decision when the time comes," he added.

For the IPL to happen with foreign players, travel restrictions, which are currently in place, will have to be eased.

There is an option of conducting the IPL outside India and Sri Lanka Cricket has even offered to host the biggest T20 league in the world.

M S Dhoni was expected to make a much-awaited comeback with the IPL but that too has been postponed indefinitely.

Teammates like Suresh Raina and Piyush Chawla have already spoken about how eager Dhoni was to return.

According to them, Dhoni had the determination of a youngster before the league was suspended due to the lockdown imposed to contain the pandemic.

"Dhoni is his own man but I see him playing the IPL for at least two three years. When it comes to playing for India, only he knows best," the source added.

Last month, Rajasthan Royals executive chairman Ranjit Barthakur had said the franchise was open to a shortened IPL with only Indian players.

"Earlier we could not think of an Indians-only IPL but now there is enough quality to choose from. It is better to have an Indians-only IPL than not have it at all," he had told news agency.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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News Network
April 22,2020

Dhaka, Apr 22: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has decided to auction the bat he used during the 2019 ODI World Cup to help raise money for the fight against deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Shakib, who is currently serving a two-year ban from all forms of cricket -- one of which is suspended -- for not reporting corrupt approaches, is the second Bangladeshi cricketer after wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim to auction a personal cricketing gear to raise money for the cause.

"I had said before that I want to put up a bat for auction. I have decided to auction the bat I used in the 2019 World Cup. It's a favourite bat of mine," Shakib said during a Facebook live session.

The 33-year-old all-rounder had a hugely successful World Cup in England last year, scoring 606 runs in eight matches at an average of 86.57, which included two centuries and five fifties.

Besides, he also picked up 11 wickets in the tournament and became the only cricketer to score 600 plus runs and scalp 10 wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.

"I had a good World cup with the bat and ball. There were some good performances especially with the bat. I had used a single bat throughout the World Cup and even used tapes on it to get through games," Shakib said.

"It's not that this bat has only been used at the World Cup. I have scored over 1500 runs with this bat and had used it prior to the tournament and after it as well.

"Although I like the bat a lot but I have decided to put it up for auction with the thought that maybe it can leave some contribution to forming a fund during the ongoing coronavirus crisis."

The money raised from the auction will go to the Shakib Al Hasan foundation.

"This is a very special bat to me, but my people are even more special to me," Shakib said.

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