This win is as big as '83 World Cup win if not bigger: Ravi Shastri

Agencies
January 7, 2019

Sydney, Jan 7: India coach Ravi Shastri equated India's maiden Test series win on Australia soil with the historic 1983 World Cup triumph terming it "as big if not bigger". 

India beat Australia 2-1 to win their first Test series in Australia in 71 years and Shastri wasn't short of praise for his wards.

"I will tell you how satisfying it is for me. World Cup 1983, World Championship of Cricket 1985 this is as big, or even bigger, because it is in the truest (Test) format of the game. It's Test cricket, which is meant to be the toughest," Shastri said on Monday.

While formats can't be compared but India's 1983 World Cup triumph came against an all-conquering West Indies side that featured Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd along with four fearsome fast bowlers in Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Joel Garner.

Not someone who is shies away from expressing his thoughts, Shastri said that he believes in living in the present as he expectedly lauded skipper Virat Kohli.

"Past is history, future is a mystery. We have won today after 71 years and I'd like to live in the present. And salute my captain for being the captain of the team that beat Australia for the first time in Australia in a series," he added.

Glowing in his praise, Shastri repeated what he has often said about the skipper, his passion and ability to lead from the front.

"I don't think anyone plays Test cricket with more passion than he does. At least I don't see any other international captain coming close to him on the field when it comes to showing that passion needed to play the game," the former all-rounder said. 

"He is very expressive, which is different to others. Other captains could have different personalities but Virat is someone who is in your face and it rubs off on all the youngsters who are watching the game in India," he tried explain the skipper's persona.

The best part about Kohli, according to the coach, is his ability to walk the talk by setting examples.

"His entire team that watches him, they want to emulate him. And to believe that they can be someone like him who can go out there and strive for excellence. So when an individual puts his neck on the line as captain then the others follow. 

"And you have seen that transition happening over the last two-three years where guys in the team have become more and more confident, about their own ability and the ability of the team as well and it's made all the difference," he added.

For Shastri, the series win in Australia is a culmination of all the hard work put in during the year starting from the away series against South Africa in January, last year.

"This tour didn't start in Australia. This tour started 12 months ago in South Africa, where we said there's a certain brand of cricket that we are going to play, we will experiment with combinations, find out what suits the team the best and take it forward from there. 

"We learnt a lot in South Africa and we learnt a lot in England. We made mistakes, which we didn't make in this series. We learnt from those mistakes and fired it home properly. So the most satisfying part of this was it was a team that was working over those last 12 months," said Shastri.

The hallmark of a good team is being able to seize the vital moments and the current team has slowly started doing that.

"What we learnt is to seize the important moments. Going back to the first Test when we were 40/4, or 70/4 or 80/5, from thereon to reach 250, you knew deep down that could have a huge impact on the series. 

"Similarly, taking wickets in Melbourne with Jasprit Bumrah going through that spell when he was hot, and you know taking six wickets on the trot. Those are the kind of sessions that could be crucial," he said.

The Indian team especially, Kohli and Shastri have always maintained that 1-4 scoreline in England wasn't an indicator of how closely the series was fought.

"In England, we lost it because the lower order often got runs against us. When we could have bowled out England much more cheaply, we didn't do it. Here at least, we managed to do that. So that can be a big difference. 

"And in fact, our lower order when least expected got runs, so that made the difference with the opposition. If anyone tells me that this Australian attack is not quite there, put your pads on and go and play them, you will find out," the coach said with his customary swagger.

Ravichandran Ashwin's persistent injuries in foreign conditions has been a thing of worry but Shastri is happy that Kuldeep Yadav with his five-wicket haul could soon be in line for a permanent place in the Test line-up irrespective of conditions.

"Why abroad? Test cricket. Period. If Kuldeep can deliver like that, if he can improve, there could be a permanent place for him, for all you know. That's what we have done with this team. You mentioned Bumrah. You see Hanuma Vihari. You see Rishabh Pant. You see Mayank Agarwal. These are guys who have got opportunities this year. 

"There is Prithvi Shaw, who got an opportunity; unfortunately he is injured, but as many as six players have broken into the ranks. You don't see that many coming through in a year in an established team that is ranked number one. We have given the opportunities, and it is up to the guys to grab it," the proud coach stated.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
April 2,2020

Lausanne, Apr 2: The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and the shutdown of the sporting calendar because of the coronavirus pandemic are going to hit international sports federations hard financially.

Many sports that are part of the Games depend heavily on the payouts every four years from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"The situation is tense and very gloomy. An assessment will be made, but clearly some posts are under threat," said an official of a major international federation.

The 28 international federations (IF) of the sports that were due to be present at the Tokyo Olympics, would have received substantial sums from the IOC.

However, the postponement of the Games until 2021 could lead to a freeze of their payment.

"We have a lot of IF with substantial reserves, but others work on a different business model, they have income from major events which are suspended, which can be a problem for the cashflow if they don't have enough reserves," said Andrew Ryan, director general of the Association of International Olympic Summer Sports Federations (ASOIF), which is responsible for distributing this money.

The five additions to the Tokyo Games programme - karate, surfing, skateboarding, climbing and baseball/softball - are not eligible.

The Olympic payout totalled 520 million after the Rio Games, four years ago.

"The Olympic money could be less than for Rio 2016," Ryan warned before adding: "My advice is to budget the same as in Rio".

The federations receive money on a sliding scale determined by their audience and size.

The three largest (athletics, swimming and gymnastics) can expect approximately 40 million.

For the second tier, made up of cycling, basketball, volleyball, football and tennis, the sum is 25 million.

For group three, which contains eight sports, including boxing, rowing, judo and table tennis, it is 17 million.

The nine sports in the next level (including sailing, canoing and fencing) receive 12 million.

For the three in the last category (rugby, golf, modern pentathlon) the payout is 7 million.

For the largest associations, such as football's FIFA which has a 1.5 billion nest egg, or basketball body FIBA which has CHF 44.4 million (42 million euros) in reserves, IOC aid represents a small proportion of their income.

For others, it is vital.

"Some IF probably don't have the cashflow to survive one year," said Ryan.

For most federations, the postponement of the Olympic Games has a domino effect, forcing them to reschedule their own money-earning competitions.

"The revenues from these events will eventually come in," said Ryan. "But this impacts the cashflow." World Athletics has already postponed the 2021 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon to 2022.

The International Swimming Federation (FINA) will have to do the same for its World Championships scheduled for next summer in Fukuoka, Japan, when they would probably clash with the Tokyo Games.

"One edition of the World Championships means for us 10 million in revenues," said one sports federation official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"If this income is postponed, totally or partially, for a year, we will face major problems, especially if the IOC money, originally expected in September, is not paid out."

The Singapore-based International Table Tennis Federation has already taken steps, with "the Executive Committee agreeing to reduce their expenses and senior staff offering to take a salary reduction," said marketing director Matt Pound, but, he added,"further cuts will take place if needed."

- 'Significant loss of revenue' -

The ITTF has suspended all its competitions until June and that is costly.

Kim Andersen, the Danish president of London-based World Sailing, said commercial revenues are not immune.

"The IOC will eventually pay out its aid, but what weighs most heavily is the uncertainty about whether our competitions will be held and whether our sponsors will be maintained," he said.

The IOC is not prepared to go into details of what it plans.

"It is not possible at this stage to assess the overall impact" of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, an official told AFP.

"It depends on a number of variables that are currently being studied." According to an official of one federation: "the IOC will discuss on a case-by-case basis, sport by sport".

Another option is for the federations to ask for a share of the public aid set up to deal with the coronavirus crisis, in Switzerland, where 22 ASOIF members are based and also in the United Kingdom, home of World Sailing.

"Can sports federations benefit from federal aid? The answer is yes, in principle," Philippe Leuba, State Councillor of the canton of Vaud, in charge of the economy and sport, told.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.