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MS Dhoni will be India's trump card in World Cup 2019: Zaheer Abbas

Agencies
May 22, 2019

May 22: "Brain" of his cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be India's trump card at the World Cup because of his vast experience, reckons former Pakistan skipper Zaheer Abbas.

India grabbed the Twenty20 World Cup under Dhoni's leadership in 2007 apart from winning the ODI World Cup in 2011. The team also won the Asia Cup twice (2010 and 2016) under Dhoni and the Champions Trophy in 2013.

His lightning skills behind the stumps are still intact but his image of the world' best finisher took a hit, recently.

However, Abbas said at a big event like the World Cup, Dhoni's experience will count a lot.

"India has a genius called Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the team. He is the brain of cricket in the team. He understands the game so well and has experience of leading India in two World Cup wins. His experience will be vital for both captain and coach and he can be their trump card," Abbas told news agency Bhasha.

"Also, it is the first World Cup under Virat Kohli's captaincy and he would be eager to prove his mettle as a captain," he felt.

Abbas also said the pitches in England will suit the strong Indian batting line-up where 400 or 450 runs in an innings could be a possibility.

"We have seen that in the recently-concluded Pakistan-England series, that over 300 runs were scored and chased. Now in the World Cup, 450 runs could be a possibility as there is no grass on the wickets and bowlers will get little help from the conditions," said the stylish batsman who was called Asian Bradman during his playing days.

"In such a scenario, India will benefit as they have one of the strongest batting line ups. English wickets are now a batsmen's paradise," he said.

There has been a lot of talk about who should bat at no 4 for India but Abbas said there should not be many changes in the top order.

"It is purely a captain's decision but my view is that the top four batting order shouldn't be changed frequently. You can make changes in the lower middle order but not at the top," said the veteran who has played 78 Tests and 62 ODIs for Pakistan between 1969 to 1985.

Pakistan, Australia, England and New Zealand are the top contenders for the semifinals apart from India, according to Abbas.

"Fitness will be the key in this World Cup given the format and the weather in England. I think that the fittest teams will reach the last four."

When asked about the Pakistan team which has seen some last moment changes in the final squad, Abbas said that this is the "best possible combination".

"They should now forget the loss against England and focus on World Cup. They must improve their fielding," said the veteran.

Pakistan have failed to win a single WC match against India so far. Can the team break this jinx this time?

"The record is with India but Pakistan can beat any team on their day. It will depend on who handles the pressure well. It will be the match of the tournament for sure, no matter who wins."

India and Pakistan will lock horns on June 16 in Manchester.

"For me, Indo-Pak cricket rivalry is much much bigger than the Ashes and like every cricket fan, I am eager to see that match," he said.

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News Network
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be finally reaching India late on Saturday after being stuck in Germany for over three months due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes.. Anand will be returning today," the chess maestro's wife Aruna told PTI on Saturday morning. Anand, who boarded an Air India flight (AI-120) from Frankfurt on Friday night will reach Bengaluru via Delhi.

He is expected to reach Bengaluru at 1.15 pm. The five-time world champion will undergo 14 days quarantine as per rules laid down by the Karnataka government.

"He will complete quarantine procedures and come to Chennai as per protocol," Aruna Anand said. The flights from Germany are only scheduled to land only in Delhi and Bengaluru.

The chess ace was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess league and was to return to India, but was forced to stay put after the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted sporting schedules across the globe, apart from restricting movement.

He was staying near Frankfurt and was doing online commentary for the Candidates tournament which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic and led the Indian team in the Online Nations Cup early this month.

Anand had been in touch with his family in Chennai on a regular basis via video calls and kept himself busy with chess-related work.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Zurich, Apr 19: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia was among the 50 footballers to take part in the FIFA's initiative to pay tribute to 'humanity's heroes' amid the coronavirus pandemic.

FIFA, in its statement, expressed gratitude towards all the healthcare workers and other professionals who are giving their all to ensure society continues to function in the face of the coronavirus.

"To all of these heroic people: football thanks you, football remembers you and football supports you," FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA shared a video on their official Twitter handle where footballers from present and past came been seen applauding the frontline workers.

The 50 fotballer were Bhutia, Holger Badstuber, David Beckham, Lucy Bronze, Gianluigi Buffon, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Iker Casillas, Deyna Castellanos, Giorgio Chiellini, Charlyn Corral, El Hadji Diouf, Youri Djorkaeff, Han Duan, Magdalena Eriksson, Samuel Eto'o, Pernille Harder, Javier Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Kaka, Harry Kane, Carli Lloyd, Harry Maguire, Diego Maradona, Marta, Vivianne Miedema, Ajara Nchout, Michael Owen, Mesut Ozil, Norma Palafox, Pavel Pardo, Park Jisung, Pele, Gerard Pique, Alexia Putellas, Sergio Ramos, Nicole Reigner, Wendie Renard, Roberto Carlos, James Rodriguez, Ronaldo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Virginia Torrecilla, Yaya Toure, Marco van Basten, Danielle van de Donk, Ivan Vicelich, Arturo Vidal, Javier Zanetti and Zinedine Zidane.
"As footballers, we are used to receiving applause, but this time, we have the opportunity to show our appreciation for the many people who are risking their lives to protect ours," FIFA.com quoted Beckham as saying.

"You are humanity's heroes and we want to show that all of football supports you and everything that you do to defend all of us," he added.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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