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We are well past that moment: Ashwin On Kohli- Kumble fiasco

Agencies
July 25, 2017

Jul 25: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be playing his 50th Test in the opening match against Sri Lanka at Galle said that the team is well past that moment when the difference of opinion emerged between captain Virat Kohli and former coach Anil Kumble.ashwin

Ashwin also reckoned that Ravi Shastri will have a positive influence and the team is looking forward to working together with Shastri and produce some amazing results. "We are well past that moment (when the difference of opinion emerged between captain Virat Kohli and former coach Anil Kumble).

The decision has been made and it is definitely something that I cannot really comment on. Ravi bhai (Shastri) has been a fabulous person to have in the dressing room," Ashwin told reporters after team's training session.

"Even when he was here last time, we lost that Test in Galle and really picked us up from that low point in our careers. And he (Shastri) is someone who can really have a positive influence on the dressing room. We are looking forward to working together and producing some amazing results," he added.

Ashwin termed Sri Lanka's tour of 2015 as a landmark for the Indian team for their come-from-behind 2-1 series win.

"In 2015, we were sandwiched into the middle of a leadership takeover. Virat had just taken over in Australia and we came here having played one Test in Bangladesh. We had set ourselves a lot of goals for each other and I would say we have achieved them and come out with flying colours over the last couple of years as a group," Ashwin added.

"We have produced a lot of good cricketers, some young cricketers have come in and put their hands up while others have excelled," he said.

The 2015 Lanka tour proved to be the watershed moment for at least three players -- Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and the then come back man Cheteshwar Pujara.

"That includes Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara and me. Pujara has made a sort of a comeback because he was not a part of that Galle Test in 2015. But he came on in the third Test (at the SSC in Colombo) and played exceedingly well on quite a tough wicket.

"From thereon, a lot of people have put their hands up and we have kind of become a pretty good unit. Sometimes, I feel that even good cricketers lose out in this particular team because of the quality we have in the dressing room," Ashwin said.

Ahead of his 50th Test, Ashwin was asked about some of his memorable dismissals, and he recalled: "Getting Kumar Sangakkara here in Sri Lanka especially in the second Test at the P Sara Oval (Colombo in 2015). AB de Villiers in Nagpur (2015), even though it was quite a helpful wicket but the set-up was very good.

"Shaun Marsh in Sydney in the second innings (2014) and David Warner in Bangalore (2017). There have been quite a few good balls that I have bowled," he added, recounting his favourite dismissals.

Ashwin cherishes the 'Cricketer of the Year' award and when asked to recall his favourite moments, the burly spinner said: "It has to be one of the special moments along with the 4-0 triumph over England. I think England were a far better side than the results showed. It was a kind of boxing game every time we walked out to play England. It was a closely-fought series, we won some of the tight moments.

"And I would also say the Bangalore Test (against Australia). It was fourth day when we won the Test match coming back from 1-0 down at Pune. We hadn't managed to do it against England in 2012 and it was good to pull one back on them. Australia came well prepared, so these three have to be top three moments."

In the early half of his Test career, Ashwin went through some hardships especially on the overseas tours, and was dropped from the Test side twice -- first at Durban against South Africa in 2013 and then at Adelaide on the 2014-15 Australia tour a year later.

Talking about missing that Adelaide Test, Ashwin tried to play it down.

"It does not mean much to me to be honest. As a cricketer, I only want to be excellent, I don't want to be a survivor by any stretch of imagination. If it doesn't go my way, it doesn't go my way," he said with an air of assurance.

Ashwin expressed confidence that he has the capability of doing well in life beyond cricket.

"I can do well in a lot of other careers in my life. I do think I am intelligent enough to cope on with it. I don't like to hold onto things desperately. I will only do so until I enjoy it.

"The day I think I cannot improve any more or cannot be excellent, I cannot perform at the best of my abilities, I don't think anybody needs to tell me. I am not a desperate person that way. I have a lot of pride in myself," insisted Ashwin.

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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
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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