I want to see myself as world no 1 next season, says Sindhu

Agencies
December 28, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 28: Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu is eyeing the world no 1 position next season but said she will not lose her sleep over rankings as consistent performances will automatically earn her the numero uno spot.

Sindhu had achieved a career-best ranking of world no 2 for about two months in the later half of the season.

"I want to see myself as world no 1 in the upcoming season. I am at 3 now and it depends on tournaments, if you play well, you will automatically get the ranking. So I am not thinking much about the rankings. I just have to play well and I know I will automatically be there," said Sindhu, who guided Chennai Smashers to a 4-3 win over Mumbai Rockets in PBL last night.

The 22-year-old clinched titles at Syed Modi GPG, India Open, Korea Open, besides finishing second at World championship, Hong Kong Open and Dubai Super Series Finals this season.

Sindhu feels the duration of matches in women's singles have increased after her epic World Championship final against Nozomi Okuhara.

"There are more long matches going on in women's singles. World Championship was the longest match from my side and after that I could see that the matches in women's singles prolonging like one and one-and-half hours even though the scores are hear and there. I think each game is going upto 40 minutes," Sindhu said.

"In the current circuit, there are the Chinese, the Japanese, Okuhara, Tai Tzu Ying, so I don't think there are short matches any more."

Asked if she ever feels pressure when the crowd cheers for her, Sindhu said: "It actually feels very good to play in India, it motivates me when the crowd cheers for me. Recently, I played at Dubai and I was very happy with the huge support I got there.

"Expectations will always be there but we have to play our game and give our best. I don't feel any pressure," she added.

According to the new BWF schedule, India Open Super Series will be held by the end of January next year.

Asked if the rejig of tournaments affects the preparation, Sindhu said: "Every year some of the tournaments are shifting here and there. More tournaments are being added and we can't complain. It doesn't make any difference if the date and time of the tournaments shift here and there."

Coming back after recovering from a shoulder injury, Sameer Verma, who had clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold earlier in the season, said PBL is a good platform to judge his fitness and game.

"After injury there is a fear somewhere, so I was also not going all out but PBL is a good match practice as there are lots of top players. I will look to win the next matches. I am looking it as a super series so that I can win continuously. It will help me next season," he said.

Out of the circuit since the Japan Open in September, Sameer said he will look to remain fit for a long period next season.

"I have realised how important it is to be fit for long term. I was tiring out my body even when I was not getting results. So I will have to look for long term fitness now," he said.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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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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