Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu named India's standbys for World Cup

Agencies
April 17, 2019

New Delhi, Apr 17: Young wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and veteran batsman Ambati Rayudu were on Wednesday named among the standbys for India's World Cup squad, reigniting their dashed hopes of making the trip to the UK in case an injury setback hits the side.

Speedster Navdeep Saini also found a place in the list of three back-ups for the mega-event starting on May 30.

Pant and Rayudu's exclusion from the squad of 15 had created quite a stir on Monday. While Sunil Gavaskar called Pant's omission surprising, the snub to Rayudu was questioned by Gautam Gambhir.

With the ICC doing away with the practice of letting countries announce a probables' list before the final squad, the BCCI also has the option of including anyone apart from these three but it is unlikely to happen.

"Just like ICC Champions Trophy, we have three standbys. Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu are the first and second standbys while Saini is the bowler in the list. So if anyone gets injured, as per requirement, one of the three will be going," a senior BCCI official said.

Rayudu took to Twitter to take a dig at his omission from the squad of 15 on Tuesday.

"Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup," Rayudu wrote on his twitter handle.

This was after chairman of selectors MSK Prasad justified preferring Vijay Shankar over Rayudu, citing the former's "three-dimensional qualities".

While Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan and Deepak Chahar will be travelling with the team purely as net bowlers, they can also be drafted in if the management feels so.

"Khaleel, Avesh and Deepak are not designated standbys. In case of bowlers, that possibility is there but when it comes purely to batsmen, it will be either Rishabh or Rayudu," the official said.

In other developments, there will be no Yo-Yo Test for the World Cup-bound players as the IPL is going to end only on May 12, just a few days before India head to the UK. India are scheduled to play their opening World Cup match on June 5 against South Africa in Southampton.

"The players are already in the middle of a gruelling T20 season. Once the IPL ends, they will need recovery time.

"It's not like that there is a gap between two series and you are having a test. If you are tired, the results may vary," the official explained.

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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: On the first day of the New Year 2020, Hardik Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share a photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The 26-year-old shared three pictures and a short clip on the social media platform. In one photo, Stankovic can be seen flaunting her ring.

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show 'Bigg Boss 8'.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: Indian cricketers Suresh Raina and Harmanpreet Kaur were on Wednesday appointed as the global brand ambassadors of the WTF Sports.

Raina is also joining the brand as a Strategic Partner. WTF Sports, a fantasy sports gaming platform, was today formally launched in India and globally.

The announcement was made through a web conference with prominent cricket host, Vikram Sathaye moderating and hosting the webinar and Vinit Bhatia, Manit Parikh and Yash Kadakia Co-Founders - India and Global, WTF Sports introducing the cricketers as the Global Brand Ambassadors.

Kaur said it was a perfect fit for her and she can use her strategy and experience while playing.
"WTF Sports was the perfect fit with me, I can use strategy and my experience while playing, I've actually learnt to strategize better as I've played along. Additionally, when we were under lockdown and I couldn't really practice, it was fun to come on the platform and feel like I'm still playing," Kaur said in a statement.

On the other hand, Raina said, "It is exciting to be a part of a fantasy sports platform like WTF Sports not just as an ambassador but also as the strategic partner, it is everything that I embody and what I believe in, it's fierce, fun and competitive."

The app currently hosts three major sports, multiple playing modes, and exciting contests, ensuring that sports fans can get more skillful by letting them strategize and use their sports knowledge into rewarding behaviour.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Jun 10: "It is never too late to fight for the right cause," said opening batsman Chris Gayle as he came out in support of former T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy. The debate around racism in sport has kickstarted once again after former Windies T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy alleged racism during his stint with SunRisers Hyderabad in the 2014 Indian Premier League. Taking note of Sammy's revelation, Gayle tweeted: "It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game".

Earlier, Gayle had also revealed that he too has been a victim of racism, and added that racism is something that has been bothering cricket as well.

On Tuesday, Sammy had released a video specifying that the racial slurs against him were used within the SunRisers camp.

"I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people," Sammy said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

"This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for SunRisers Hyderabad, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people," he added.

Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn't know the meaning, and his team-mates used to laugh every time after calling him by that name.

"I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny," Sammy said.

The former Windies skipper has been a vocal supporter of the protests that are currently going on in the United States over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd.

Sammy had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against social injustice and racism.

Ever since the demise of Floyd, protests erupted from the demonstrations in cities from San Francisco to Boston.

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