Virender Sehwag Becomes Shahid Afridi’s Hat-Trick Victim In T10 League Match

New Delhi, Jun 14: From being a 20-year-old mischievous talented striker to 35-year-old, India captain Sunil Chhetri has seen Indian Football through thick and thin. Coaches, who have nourished the striker with utmost care to yield the best for the team have seen numerous changes from close quarters but one aspect has remained absolutely perpetual, resolute - Chhetri's never-say-die attitude and 'dedication.'

Igor Stimac, current head coach of the Blue Tigers recalled seeing Chhetri during the preparatory camp ahead of the King's Cup 2019 - his maiden assignment with the Blue Tigers.

The Croatian pointed out that despite being the senior-most member of the troop, "Chhetri craved to push maximum to achieve the result after the heartbreak in AFC Asian Cup."

"Dedicated, workaholic and team man -- those are some of the attributes which define Sunil Chhetri. When I first saw him last year, they were back to the National Team camp after a long gap following the AFC Asian Cup. A few boys were new but the fire under his belly probably was more than anyone else. That's the secret of his long career. Congratulations!" All India Football Federation (AIFF) quoted Stimac as saying.

Sukhwinder Singh, while reminiscing the India-Pakistan bilateral series in 2005, revealed that he wasn't sure about the youngster's credibility at all.

"I needed someone who had the trickery, didn't have the fear and had to be quick. Honestly, Sunil wasn't in my mind at all. He wasn't my first option. I had my doubts," Sukhwinder, coach during Chhetri's first national team endeavour, recalled.

He had seen the youngster from close quarters while coaching in JCT FC where Chhetri started blossoming and hogging the limelight. Chhetri, who scored more than 20 goals during his 3-season-long stay in JCT, had already shown signs of performing in the bigger stages which convinced Sukhwinder Singh picking him up for the high-octane bilateral series in Pakistan.

"I haven't seen anyone as dedicated as Sunil. I saw him maturing in JCT and there were flashes of what he could do in the future. I still remember his hunger. In 19 years of my coaching career, I haven't seen anyone as dedicated as Sunil. He remained undaunted and was never willing to shy away from working hard. Shouldering the responsibility for 15 years demands discipline and he keeps it above everything else," Sukhwinder maintained.

According to Stimac, Chhetri is someone who always runs the extra yard, breaks some more sweat during the training session which, in the process encourages the youngsters to emulate him. The entire process aids the cumulative progress of the team and raises the bar.

"I see him as someone who always pushes the bar in the training and never compromises with the regime. He drives the team and he is the character who defines the team. Numerous characters have glorified the Indian Football history and he's definitely one of them who have made his country proud," Stimac said.

Washington D.C., Jan 6: 'The Irishman,' and 'Two Popes' were shut out from the winners list despite getting multiple nominations, the movies didn't win a single award at the Golden Globes Award held on Sunday (local time). Other movies in the list include 'Bombshell,' 'Dolemite Is My Name,' 'Harriet,' 'Jojo Rabbit,' 'Knives Out' and 'Little Women.'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The Irishman' may have gone into the 2020 Golden Globes with the second-highest number of film nominations, tied with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' with five nods, but Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated mob epic for Netflix was completely shut out at the award ceremony.

Netflix landed the most film nominations of any company with 17 mentions, but it won only one award which is the best-supporting actress for 'Marriage Story's' Laura Dern. Netflix's nominated films 'Dolemite Is My Name' and 'The Two Popes' was tied with 'Joker' with four mentions each and failed to grab any awards.

'Dolemite Is My Name' star Eddie Murphy was expected by a number of pundits to win for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy.

'Bombshell', 'Harriet',' Frozen 2', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'Knives Out', 'The Lion King', 'Little Women' and 'Pain and Glory' are among the other films that received multiple nominations but didn't win a single award.

On the TV side, Netflix's 'Unbelievable' tied in the race to most small-screen nominations with 'Chernobyl' and 'The Crown' with four nominations, and 'The Crown' won only one award, for star Olivia Colman.

The three-time nominees 'Barry', 'Big Little Lies', 'The Kominsky Method' and 'The Morning Show' also didn't grab any award. 'Catch-22', 'Killing Eve', 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' and 'The Politician' who were two-time nominees that were also iced out.

'Hustlers' star Jennifer Lopez failed to take home the best-supporting actress award as she was predicted to win the award by a number of pundits. Billy porter also failed to make history with the best drama actor win for his role on 'Pose,' if he would've won the award, he reportedly would have been the first openly gay African-American to win that award.

'Chernobyl' won two of its four nominations. Despite that, star Jared Harris didn't win the best actor in a limited series Globe which was predicted by many prognosticators. The award was bagged by Russell Crowe for his portrayal of Roger Ailes in 'The Loudest Voice.' But the star was absent from the ceremony.

Karachi, Jul 3: There was a sense of insecurity among Pakistan players during the 2019 World Cup, claims former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, who also reckons that the PCB should have given Sarfaraz Ahmed more time as captain instead of removing him abruptly.

Inzamam said captains need to be backed since they get better with time.

"Even in the last World Cup I felt the captain and players were under pressure because they were thinking if we don't do well in the tournament we will be out. That environment was created and this is not good for cricket," Inzamam said.

"Sarfaraz achieved some notable victories for Pakistan and was learning to be a good captain but unfortunately when he had learnt from experience and mistakes he was removed as captain," the former captain told a TV channel.

Inzamam remained chief selector from 2016 till the 2019 World Cup. During his tenure, most of the time Sarfaraz remained captain.

Soon after Inzamam was replaced by head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan Cricket Board removed Sarfaraz as a player and captain from all three formats.

"Sarfaraz won us the Champions Trophy and also made the team number one in T20 cricket. He got us some good wins. He should have been given more time as captain by the board but it acted in haste and didn't give him confidence or patience."

The PCB has now given the Test captaincy to senior batsman, Azhar Ali while young batsman Babar Azam leads the side in the white ball formats.

Inzamam, the most capped player for Pakistan, also said that the captain's own performance can dip as he had to focus a lot on other players.

"But a captain learns all this with time. There is no shortcut to it."

He pointed out that people praise Imran Khan’s leadership qualities and captaincy but he also won the World Cup on his third attempt as captain.

"He won the 1992 World Cup because by that time he had become a seasoned captain and learnt to motivate his players and get them to fight in every match."

Inzamam said giving confidence to new players and youngsters is very important for the selectors. He gave the example of Babar Azam.

"Babar struggled initially in Test cricket but we never had any doubt about his ability so we persisted with him and see today where he is standing in all formats."

He also described Babar and pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi as and future stars.

"Babar is always compared to Virat Kohli but the latter has played a lot more cricket and if you look at their stats and performances at the stage Babar is now, he has not done badly at all."