Virat Kohli breaks silence, says he is "hurt" for being blamed for India's World Cup exit

April 10, 2015

Kolkata, Apr 10: India's Test captain Virat Kohli on Friday lashed out at critics, who blamed his girlfriend Anushkha Sharma for the team's exit from ICC Cricket World Cup, stating that they "should be ashamed of themselves" as "no one has won more matches" than him in the last five years.

Virat KohliKohli, opened up for the first time since the World Cup exit, after which his filmstar girlfriend took a lot of unnecessary flak in various social networking sites.

"At a human level, I would say I was hurt and the people who said those things and the way they said should be ashamed of themselves," Kohli said at a promotional event of his IPL side Royal Challengers Bangalore, in reference to the abuse that the Bollywood star had to face after Kohli's poor show in the semi-final

Kohli was unusually open during his interaction with media today as he didn't forget to mention his performance during the past five years.

"Personally, I was very disappointed. In last five years, the number of matches I've helped India win and the consistently I've played is more than anyone else in the team. I don't think there's anybody else in the team who has done better than me," Kohli answered with same swagger that one finds in his batting.

Kohli feels that now he knows "whom to trust" after the public outrage over his poor show against Australia in the semi-final of the World Cup.

"To see those reactions after just one match was very disappointing for me personally. It makes you lose faith in a lot of people. It's a good thing in a way. You get to know who's with you and who's not. It was not in my control. But the reactions were very disappointing," Kohli said at the function where RCB announced its tie-up with home appliances brand Midea.

Taking a dig at the media, Kohli sarcastically remarked that there are different parameters for different players when it comes to dip in form.

"It's funny that I never know when my rough patch comes but you make the judgement. In my case, if I don't do well in two games, it's dip in form but if some other player performs two games out of 10, they come back in form," Kohli was at his sarcastic best.

"So I don't get the balance and I really don't pay attention to it. It's about how you hit the ball on that particular day," Kohli was again in his usual dimissive self.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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Agencies
April 25,2020

London, Apr 25: Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.

Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa. Watson slammed a half-century in the first innings of the second Test of the series.

However, the medium-pace bowler was ruled of the next test after suffering an ankle injury. He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where scalped his career-best 2 for 67 but failed to leave a mark with the bat as Kangaroos lost the series.

In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a major role in their Sheffield-Shield win in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons.

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News Network
January 12,2020

New Delhi, Jan 12: Flamboyant India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was on Saturday pulled out of the India A team's tour of New Zealand after he failed mandatory fitness tests in Mumbai.

The selectors had picked him in the squad without testing him in the Ranji games.

Tamil Nadu captain Vijay Shankar has been drafted into the India A team and he has already boarded the flight to New Zealand where they will play two 50-over warm-up games, three List A games and two four-day 'Tests' against the home A team.

It has been learnt that Pandya failed a couple of mandatory fitness tests and his scores were well below the permissible range suggesting that he is far from being fit for international cricket. In this situation, pulling him out of the India A squad was expected.

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