Got heads up from team management that I am designated No 4, says Shreyas Iyer

News Network
November 11, 2019

Nagpur, Nov 11: The talented Shreyas Iyer has been given a "heads up" by the Indian team management that he will be the designated No 4 batsman in white-ball format after a string of impressive performances in the past few months.

India tried umpteen players at the number four spot in the lead up to the 50-over World Cup but none of them could cement their place in the team and it was used as a floating position during the mega event as the experiment with Vijay Shankar falling flat.

For me personally, they (team management) have given me a heads up that 'You'll be there at No.4. So just back yourself and believe in yourself'," Iyer, who smashed 62 off 33 balls including five sixes in the T20 series decider against Bangladesh, told mediapersons after the match.

"It has been a really important last few series for me to set the benchmark at the No. 4 position, which all of us are competing for at the moment," said Iyer, who scored a couple of half-centuries batting at No 5 in the ODIs against the West Indies.

Iyer will have to be one of the "finishers" in case team's top two batsmen skipper Virat Kohli and deputy Rohit Sharma are dismissed cheaply.

"Even if Kohli and Rohit get out, we need someone to finish the game and bat till the end.' That is a No. 4's role. That's what I was trying to replicate today and it worked out really well for me," said the 24-year-old, who has overcome the disappointment of missing out on ODI World Cup berth.

Asked how significant his knock was considering that team is trying out fringe players like him ahead of the World T20 next year, Iyer said: Yes, obviously there is lot of competition going in the team. I personally feel that I compete with myself. I don't want myself to be judged with anyone or when you say that this position is empty in the team.

While he will be batting at number four for some time now, Iyer is flexible and ready to bat at any position that the team wants him to.

"I am really open-minded and can bat at any number. So I just like to back myself in tough situations and today's innings showed that I can bat under pressure as well.”

In the final T20, Iyer went ballistic after being cautious at the beginning. Four of his five sixes came against the spinners and his knock allowed India to put up a defendable 174 for five.

"The support staff have given me the freedom -- not just me but all the batsmen -- that you need to have that intent when you go in there. And you should feel very positive when you're batting. If the ball pitches in my area, I am not going to control myself. I'll bat according to my instincts."

Iyer was dropped on 0 and if it wasn't for his innings, India would have struggled to reach 160. With the dew setting in the evening, it would have been a tough total to defend. The Mumbai batsman said it was one of the turning points of the game.

"The over in which I got three sixes shifted the momentum in our favour otherwise we would have finished with 150 of 155.

"It would have been a really tough to defend that total on this wicket where there was a lot of dew and pitch was getting better for batting. I would really give myself credit and also KL Rahul for the way he gave us the start," said Iyer.

According to him, the other major moments of the game were Deepak Chahar, who took a record breaking six-wicket haul including a hat-trick, taking two wickets in his first over and rookie Shivam Dube dismissing a well set Mohammad Naim and Afif Hossain off consecutive balls in the 16th over.

Iyer admitted that India were feeling the pressure when Bangladesh were going strong at 110 for two in the 13th over, chasing 175.

"We were going a little bit lethargic I would say at the start and once they got going Rohit recalled all the players inside the circle and gave us a pep talk, which was really motivating and after that we were really determined to win the game."

Iyer added that dew was much heavier in Nagpur than Rajkot and Delhi.

Talking about Chahar, who did not open the bowling and instead bowled more in the second half of Bangladesh innings, Iyer said:"I was also really surprised when we didn't start with him. I was actually asking one of our teammates at that point.

"It worked out for Deepak, coming in and picking up two wickets at a crucial time. He's been playing for so many years now. He's gained experience, and I feel he's a very confident lad. Currently, he's one of the main bowlers in the team."

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News Network
January 31,2020

New Delhi, Jan 31: Indian women's team captain Rani Rampal on Thursday became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious 'World Games Athlete of the Year' award.

The World Games announced the winner on Thursday after 20 days of polling by sports fans world-wide.

"Indian hockey superstar Rani is The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019! Huge congratulations!," the World Games said in a statement.

"With an impressive number of votes, 199,477, Rani is the clear winner of the Athlete of the Year race, where sports fans all over the world have voted for their favourite during 20 days of polling in January. All in all, over 705,610 votes were cast during the poll," it added.

Last year, India won the FIH Series Finals, and Rani was named Player of the Tournament. Under Rani's leadership, the Indian women's team qualified for just the third Olympic Games in its history.

"I dedicate this award to the entire hockey fraternity, my team and my country. This success has only become possible with the love and support from hockey lovers, fans, my team, coaches, Hockey India, my government, friends from Bollywood, fellow sportspersons and my countrymen who have continuously voted for me," said Rani, who was recently named among the Padma Shri awardees.

"Special thanks to FIH for nominating me for this prestigious award. Thank you to The World Games Federation for this recognition," she added.

Rani further said after a successful 2019, she is now looking forward to achieving greater heights with the national team in 2020, which also happens to be an Olympic year.

"It is my privilege and honour to win this award. It is always nice when your country recognises your effort. It is even better when the international sports community recognises it. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me," she said.

"2019 was a great year for our team because we qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As a team we want to make 2020 a great year!"

Rani, who has been a member of the national team since she was a 15-years-old, currently has more than 240 caps for India.

"Rani is an inspirational athlete, and a role model for many in India. It was amazing to see the support the Indians, even as high up as Mr Rijiju, the Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports, gave to her in this vote together with the Hockey fans all around the world. This is what sport is about: uniting people from different backgrounds and different countries," said International World Games Association President Jose Perurena.

The International Hockey Federation also congratulated Rani on being named for the award.

"Congratulations @imranirampal for becoming the first ever Hockey athlete to win the prestigious @TheWorldGames Athlete of the Year award!" the FIH, who nominated Rani for the award, said in its twitter handle.

"On behalf of FIH and the global hockey community, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Rani for having been voted The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019. This is an acknowledgement of her outstanding performances - together with her team-mates - and her dedication to hockey and her leadership," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said.

"This prestigious Award is also a great recognition for hockey globally. Furthermore, we are working hard for and looking forward to having Hockey 5s as a demonstration sport at The World Games 2021."

Congratulating Rani, Hockey India President Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said, "This is a very proud moment for all of us. She is the first Indian athlete to win this award and through her achievements Rani has been able to draw a lot of attention towards women's hockey. Many people are aware of the team's recent accomplishments and I am confident this team is capable of winning larger goals and I wish Rani and the team best of luck this Olympic Year."

There were initially 25 nominees, male and female nominated by their respective sports federations, which was later reduced to 10 in the final round of public voting.

The FIH has recommended Rani's name for her outstanding performances and her ability to lead by example.

Karate star Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine was second behind Rani with over 92,000 votes and Canadian powerlifting world champion Rhaea Stinn was third.

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Jun 20: Bengaluru FC (BFC) have signed Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva for a one-year deal, the ISL club said in a statement on Saturday.

As per the agreement, BFC have the option of extending Silva's contract for another year.

The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent the better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China.

Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League.

His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club.

The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn't materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move.

"I've signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city," said Silva.

Silva, thus, became BFC's first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals with Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu.

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva's addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring.

"Cleiton has a proven track record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we're looking forward to working with him," he said.

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