Shocking! Upset Mahendra Singh Dhoni to quit international cricket after the ongoing World T20!

April 1, 2014

Apr 1: What was just a rumour till a week back is now almost official: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is extremely upset that his name has been badly sullied by irresponsible rumours about his so-called involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL) fixing scandal.

A week back an upset Dhoni had phoned N Srinivasan, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President, about his desire to step down from the captaincy. Dhoni, who enjoys the unqualified support of Srinivasan, heard him patiently. The BCCI chief told him that while he has his full sympathy he cannot afford not to have him as India captain.

Dhoni_quitA source who is close to both Srinivasan and Dhoni revealed that the Indian captain is too well-mannered to instantly oppose an elder who has played such a huge role in his career. Srini had told Dhoni to sleep over the matter and that he would have a different view point in a few days.

Srini was right; Dhoni slept over the matter but decided merely stepping down from the captaincy was not going to solve his miseries. He had to give up international cricket and even playing the IPL. For long he has believed that despite achieving far more than any Indian captain and despite being the most dangerous batsman-wicketkeeper in world cricket, he has been viciously attacked by a section of people. The feedback he got was that these people were targeting him because of Srinivasan, who proximity with Dhoni needs no elaboration.

Dhoni spoke to his wife Sakshi and his business manager and they felt that financially his retirement would not have any adverse effect on him; if anything being free from international cricketing assignments would give lot more free time to tap his commercial value, the way Sachin Tendulkar is doing. Moreover, there is nothing more left to achieve for Dhoni: he has taken India to the pinnacle of success in the World T20 (2007), the Asia Cup (2010), the World Cup triumph (2011) and the Champions Trophy (2013). Besides, he has led India to the No 1 position in Tests and has made Chennai Super Kings a powerhouse, winning both the IPL and the Champions League T20. He has got everything and more a cricketer can aspire. Dhoni, who will be 33 in a few months’ time, wants to go out with his head high.

That Dhoni has made up his mind about his retirement comes from someone who is extremely close to the Indian captain. He has apparently told the team of his decision and the team wants to win the remaining two matches to give their beloved captain a fitting farewell.

Dhoni has requested the BCCI to make the announcement a couple of days after he lands in India, so that he can get time to pack up and leave the country to an undisclosed destination to be away from the media frenzy that will follow once the news becomes public. Quite clearly, Dhoni has a few good years of cricket in him to serve Indian cricket. It’s unfortunate that he has been forced to make a premature exit because of entirely avoidable circumstances.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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Agencies
February 4,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 4: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Divyaansh Saxena guided India to a comfortable ten wickets win over Pakistan in the ICC U19 World Cup semifinal at Senwes Park on Tuesday and progressed to the final of the tournament.

Chasing 173, Indian openers Jaiswal and Saxena played cautiously and stitched an unbeaten partnership of 176 runs.

The duo built the highest opening partnership of the tournament's history. Jaiswal, the left-handed batsman, scored his maiden century of the tournament as he amassed unbeaten 105 runs studded with eight fours and four sixes.

Saxena scored 59* off 99 balls including six fours. India chased down the total in 35.2 overs. This is the first time in the history of the U19 World Cup that a team won a knockout match by ten wickets.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.

Opener Haider Ali and skipper Rohail Nazir's half-centuries guided the side to a respectable total of 172. Ali played a knock of 56 runs while Nazir accumulated 62 runs including six boundaries.

Pakistan did not have a good start as they lost Mohammad Hurair (4) in the second over. Fahad Munir, came to bat at number three, failed to score a single run and was departed by Ravi Bishnoi on a duck in ninth over.

Apart from Ali and Nazir, Mohammad Haris was the only batsman to score runs in double digits. He played an innings of 21 runs off 15 balls. Indian bowlers showed a spirited performance as they bowled out arch-rival in 43.1 overs.

Pacers Karthik Tyagi and Sushant Mishra bagged two and three wickets respectively. Spinner Ravi Bishnoi clinched two scalps and conceded 46 runs in his ten overs.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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