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Forced to travel on bus by ICC, Team India utilising time to fine-tune strategy

Agencies
July 4, 2019

London, Jul 4: Going into the World Cup, the Indian team management was keen to travel to different cities in England by train as it not only saves time, but is also less tiring on the players. While their pleas did not cut ice with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Indian players have been travelling on bus, they have turned it into a classroom for the players.

Speaking to media, sources in the know of developments said that the team management felt that it was apt to use the time travelling from one city to another by discussing strategies with players.

"You can call it the class on wheels actually. While there is the share of fun and jokes and chilling, the support staff sometimes also has used this time to discuss strategies with the players and also address certain areas which they feel a player is struggling with. Nothing majorly serious, this is more about pep talks and discussions to clear the mind," the source explained.

Coming back to the travel plan, the source said that it was strange how the ICC decided to stick to travel by bus when even the English Premier League sides take the train.

"Intercity travel is still being done in buses whereas football teams in the EPL have moved onto trains for travel as it saves time," the source pointed.

Interestingly, the Indian team once again travelled from Birmingham to Leeds on Wednesday and while a bus journey took close to five hours, the same could have been completed by train in less than two hours.

The cumbersome travel style notwithstanding, India has been on a roll in this edition of the tournament and have lost only one game so far, against England at Edgbaston on Sunday. But more than the one loss, it is the conviction with which the players have expressed themselves in the middle that has impressed all.

There are wins and then there are convincing victories and this team has registered thumping wins and shown that it is for a reason that they are the number one ranked ODI side at present.

While they have a couple of days to go before they play their last group game against Sri Lanka on Saturday, the Men in Blue qualified for the semis after beating Bangladesh in their previous group game at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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News Network
May 8,2020

New Delhi, May 8: India skipper Virat Kohli believes cricket in empty stadiums is a real possibility in post COVID-19 world and though it is unlikely to have a bearing on the intensity of players, he feels the magic would certainly go missing.

Cricket Boards across the globe are exploring the option of resuming the sport in empty stadiums. There is speculation that fans could be kept away from stadiums in a bid to salvage the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is currently under threat due to the global health crisis.

"It's quite a possible situation, it might happen, I honestly don't know how everyone is going to take that because we all are used to playing in front of so many passionate fans," Kohli said in Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.

"I know it will be played at a very good intensity but that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are very difficult to recreate," he added.

Kohli said the many moments which are created because of the passion brought in by fans, would be missing.

"Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created.

"We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by," he said.

Cricketers such as Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Pat Cummins have backed the idea of playing behind closed doors.

However, legendary Australian Allan Border has said it would defy belief to host a World Cup without spectators.

Another Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and some other cricketers have also expressed similar sentiments.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Bengaluru, May 27: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that he was never able to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the nets.

The Rawalpindi Express praised the former Pakistan skipper and said Inzamam could see the ball one second earlier than the rest of the batsmen could.

"Honestly, I don't think I could ever get him (Inzamam) out, he had the time and I always felt he saw the ball a second earlier than the rest of the batsmen because I had a complicated action unlike Brett Lee, I felt I could never dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I couldn't get him out in the nets, I think he could see the ball a second before anyone else," he added.

Inzamam played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs for Pakistan.

He finished his career with 20,569 runs across all formats.

The right-handed batsman called time on his career in 2007 and he played his last Test against South Africa in Lahore.

On the other hand, Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

The Rawalpindi Express last played an ODI in 2011 as he played against New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup.

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