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
March 26,2020

Karachi, Mar 26: Pakistan's centrally-contracted cricketers will contribute Rs 5 million to the national government's emergency fund to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ehsan Mani on Wednesday said apart from centrally-contracted players contributing Rs 5 million, the employees in the board, up to the senior manager level, will contribute their one day's salary.

Those employed as general managers or on higher posts will give two days' salary to the fund.

"The PCB will collect all these funds and deposit it to the government's coronavirus fund," he said.

Pakistan has recorded more than 1,000 positive cases of the deadly virus, which has claimed more than 19,000 lives all over the world.

"It is the history of the cricket board that we always stand by the government in difficult times," Mani said.

The PCB has already given its high performances centre in Karachi at the national stadium to be used by paramedical staff working at the special coronavirus hospital set up at the expo centre in the in the city.

Mani said though cricket has been disrupted by the virus outbreak but it was far more important for the nation to stand by the government and also take all precautionary steps during the pandemic.

Pakistan's centrally-contracted players are entitled to monthly salaries ranging from Rs 5 to 12 lakh besides match fee and other earnings.

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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he doesn't think Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play for India again, adding to the guessing game over the future of the superstar former captain.

Dhoni, 38, has not appeared for club or country since last year's 50-over World Cup and India's coronavirus lockdown could threaten his chances of getting back into the national team.

The Indian Premier League, the main platform before this year's scheduled T20 World Cup, is likely to be truncated or cancelled because of the pandemic.

Harbhajan, who plays with Dhoni at IPL side Chennai Super Kings, said international retirement was on the cards for Dhoni and that he was increasingly being asked about his teammate.

"It's up to him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again," Harbhajan said in an online forum.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India's blue jersey again. IPL he will play, but for India I think he had decided the (2019) World Cup was his last."

Dhoni, who gave up Test cricket in 2014, started training for the Super Kings in March but has not commented on his international future.

Dhoni led India to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. He hit a six to seal the 2011 World Cup final victory and, along with it, his status as a national hero. He has amassed 10,773 runs from 350 ODIs.

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