Cronje remembered and forgiven decade after his death

June 4, 2012

Hansie-Cronje


Johannesburg, Jun 4: Deceased South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje, who fell from grace by admitting to match-fixing in 2000, was remembered by his family, former teammates and fans on his 10th death anniversary.

Cronje was the central figure in the biggest crisis in international cricket in 2000 when he admitted to match-fixing during a game in India.

In his subsequent testimony at the Commission of Inquiry set up by the South African government, Cronje tearfully admitted that "the devil made me do it." He was banned for life from the sport after that.

The Commission ended inconclusively and Cronje was killed when a goods plane in which he hitched a ride crashed close to his home in 2002.

The investigation into that crash also ended inconclusively, with speculation still rife that Cronje's death may have been arranged by bookmakers who believed that he knew too much.

Ewie Cronje, Hansie's father, said he still could not believe that his son was gone.

"It feels as though he will appear at any moment," Cronje told the Afrikaans daily 'Beeld'.

Facebook fans declared Cronje the best captain the Proteas had ever had while former teammates said they had forgiven him.

Pat Symcox said the Cronje saga had divided South Africa and but was in the past and people should now move on.

Former paceman Fanie de Villiers believed that Cronje had done 90 per cent good and 10 per cent bad: "Anyone who influenced the scales like that, will be forgiven.


"I celebrate and embrace today only the good memories (of Cronje)," another retired fast bowler, Makhaya Ntini, told the daily.

A special service was held at Cronje's former school Grey's College in Bloemfontein, where a wall of remembrance was erected in his memory.

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News Network
April 30,2020

New Delhi, Apr 30: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday mourned the demise of veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, called his death 'unreal and unbelievable' loss.

"This is unreal and unbelievable. Yesterday Irrfan Khan and today Rishi Kapoor ji. It's hard to accept this as a legend passes away today. My condolences to the family and may his soul rest in peace," Kohli tweeted.

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
"It's shocking to hear about the sudden demise of #RishiKapoor ji. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace," Dhawan tweeted.

Earlier today, actor Amitabh Bachchan confirmed the news of the demise of the 67-year-old Rishi Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday.

In September 2019, the veteran actor returned to Mumbai after staying in New York for almost a year for cancer treatment.

He was last seen in the 2019 film 'The Body' alongside Emraan Hashmi and Shobita Sobhita Dhulipala.

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News Network
April 7,2020

London, Apr 7: Bowling coach Waqar Younis feels that it was the absence of pacers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir which saw Pakistan getting whitewashed during Australia tour last year.

Amir and Riaz had quit the red-ball format ahead of the matches against Australia in 2019.

"Just before the Australia series, they ditched us and we had the only choice to pick youngsters.

We were the new management and decided to go on with taking in the younger lot and groom them. ESPNcricinfo quoted Younis as saying.

Pakistan was not able to win a single match in Australia as they got defeated both in T20Is and Test series.

"It's not like we have lost a lot, but yes they left us at the wrong time. But anyway, we don't have any grudge against them," Younis added.

"We cannot control players' choice on what they want to play, but then there should be a mechanism so we all are on board. "It's not like I am saying we could have won in Australia but we could have done better than what we have done," he opined.

Amir gave up the red ball format in July in order to manage his workload and extend his white-ball career for Pakistan as well as in T20 leagues around the world, while Riaz took an "indefinite break" from Test cricket in September last year.

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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