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Virat Kohli becomes co-owner of Roger Federer's team in ITPL

September 11, 2015

Dubai, Sept 11: India Test captain Virat Kohli is becoming quite the entrepreneur when it comes to sports leagues. After his maiden venture in partnering with the Indian Soccer League (ISL) franchise FC Goa last year, Kohli has now taken a dip in the tennis pool, becoming a co-owner of the UAE Royals team in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

uaeroyals

The skipper joins two other owners - Neelesh Bhatnagar and Sachin Gadoya- in ownership of the Royals. The team will feature 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer this season along with 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, Ana Ivanovic, Daniel Nestor, Kristina Mladenovic and Tomas Berdych.

"Kohli is a big tennis fan, especially of Federer. He's made some investments in sporting ventures like the ISL franchise FC Goa. The owners of UAE Royals got in touch with him and he was excited to come on board," IPTL founder and ma naging director Mahesh Bhupathi told TOI from Dubai on Thursday.

Kohli has followed Federer for some time now, flying down to London earlier this year to see the Swiss Ace in action at Wimbledon.

"I am a huge fan of Federer and with him joining the Royals, my decision to be on board with the team was firm. The Royals feature some of tennis' greatest players and I am confident about the prospects of the team in the IPTL," Kohli said.

Joining Kohli in the franchise will be cricket team director Ravi Shastri. "The owners have also brought on Shastri as a mentor-cum-advisor. He is close to Kohli and has been working with the youngsters in the Indian team," Bhupathi said.

Asked how many rounds that the duo will attend, Bhupathi said, "It's still not clear how many rounds they'll be able to attend. They will be here in Dubai for the Royals' matches for sure. Kohli has expressed the desire to hit a few balls with Federer as well, so that will be something to look forward to."

The UAE leg of the league will be held from December 14-16 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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News Network
March 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: As India continues its fight against coronavirus, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly pledged to donate rice worth Rs 50 Lakhs to the needy people.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), in its statement, said Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice will provide rice to people who have been put in government schools for safety and security.
"#Sourav to provide Free Rice to the Needy It is heartening to note that Sourav Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice has come forward to provide free rice worth Rs 50 lacs to the needy people who have been put in government schools for safety and security. Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state. #CAB," CAB said in a statement.
CAB President Avishek Dalmiya has also lent support to the needy people as he donated Rs 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund.
"CAB President donates 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund to fight against #CoronaVirus/#Covid19," CAB said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to contain coronavirus.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

Chennai, Jan 26: Former India cricketer Kapil Dev on Saturday said that it will be a big loss for the Indian side when MS Dhoni decides to hang up his boots.

"I think he has served the country so well and nobody has done it like him. Everyone has to retire sooner or later. He is not playing matches currently. So I don't know when he will come out one day and say -- I have had enough. I think it will be our loss because he is such a fabulous cricketer," Dev told reporters here.

In the recently released BCCI contracts list, Dhoni did not find a place for himself. The former World Cup winning captain Dev said that it is unfortunate that Dhoni was not included in the contract list.

"I feel sorry that they have not included him. 

Tendulkar, Gavaskar had to witness the same. It's not my job and I am not there to give the contract to anyone. It is the job of the cricket board. So, I don't know. You can ask this question to the cricket board. They will be able to answer this question," Dev said.

The 38-year-old Dhoni is currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the tournament. 

Especially in the games against England and New Zealand (semi-final), he had to bear the brunt of netizens, who deemed him as the reason for the Men in Blue's loss.

BCCI released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

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