ICC questions starlet over spot-fixing row

June 12, 2012

icc_fixing

Mumbai, June 12: The International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption officer Alan Peacock was in Mumbai on Monday to question small-time Bollywood actress Nupur Mehta, whose name has figured in the recent match and spot-fixing allegations. The questioning took place at a suburban hotel in Mumbai, following which Mehta told TOI that she has been "given a clean chit by the ICC". However, sources in the sport's world governing body told TOI that they were not aware of any "clean chit" to Mehta yet.

Mehta's name first surfaced in March this year when a UK daily carried out a sting operation on a Delhi bookie. The sting was done to investigate allegations of match-fixing during the 2011 ICC World Cup held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The sting raised suspicions about Mehta being used by bookies to lure players. Although her name was not mentioned by the paper, a blurred image of Mehta was carried along with the story.



"I was quizzed for two-and-a-half hours by the ICC official and they are satisfied with the answers I have provided," Mehta told TOI on Monday. She added that the ICC asked her for names of cricketers who she claims are her social friends, and she provided them.



"I have many friends who are cricketers and with whom I socialize -- Yuvraj (Singh), Parthiv (Patel), Ishant (Sharma). I also know a lot of international players," said Nupur. In the past she has also claimed to have dated Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan.



When asked about her photograph published in the UK daily, she said she wasn't aware of any bookie nexus and was of the opinion that the daily must have used her photograph to cite her familiarity with international cricketers. "I don't know any bookie and I have no connections with anybody," said Mehta.

The actress, who has only one Bollywood movie (Jo Bole So Nihal) to her credit, said the ICC official kept asking her about how she came to be in touch with the cricketers. "I met them (cricketers) through my event management company and have accompanied them to parties where I kept getting introduced to more players," she said, adding that one player bumped into her in a pub.

"This player was sitting a few feet away and I did not know who he was. After some time he walked up to me to introduce himself. That's how we became friends," Mehta said. She claimed that he then introduced her to other players.

ICC sources, meanwhile, have rubbished Mehta's claims. While they confirm that Peacock did meet Mehta in Mumbai, they said it was for routine questioning. "She's not the only one. From time to time, we have been questioning people -- from cricketers to sponsors. We don't have anything to say on this (Mehta's comments)," said an official in the know of developments.



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Agencies
January 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Opening batsman Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the third-fastest batsman to register 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He achieved the feat in the ongoing third ODI against Australia here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Only Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have achieved the feat faster than Rohit.

Sharma brought up the milestone in the first over of the Indian innings as he clipped Mitchell Starc away for a single.

With this, the right-handed batsman has become just the sixth Indian to achieve the milestone.

Apart from Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar have more than 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, 20 batsmen have more than 9,000 ODI runs to their name.

In the match between India and Australia, the former won the toss and elected to bat first.

Steve Smith played a knock of 131 runs to propel Australia to 286/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

 

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News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: There was a sense of insecurity among Pakistan players during the 2019 World Cup, claims former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, who also reckons that the PCB should have given Sarfaraz Ahmed more time as captain instead of removing him abruptly.

Inzamam said captains need to be backed since they get better with time.

"Even in the last World Cup I felt the captain and players were under pressure because they were thinking if we don't do well in the tournament we will be out. That environment was created and this is not good for cricket," Inzamam said.

"Sarfaraz achieved some notable victories for Pakistan and was learning to be a good captain but unfortunately when he had learnt from experience and mistakes he was removed as captain," the former captain told a TV channel.

Inzamam remained chief selector from 2016 till the 2019 World Cup. During his tenure, most of the time Sarfaraz remained captain.

Soon after Inzamam was replaced by head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan Cricket Board removed Sarfaraz as a player and captain from all three formats.

"Sarfaraz won us the Champions Trophy and also made the team number one in T20 cricket. He got us some good wins. He should have been given more time as captain by the board but it acted in haste and didn't give him confidence or patience."

The PCB has now given the Test captaincy to senior batsman, Azhar Ali while young batsman Babar Azam leads the side in the white ball formats.

Inzamam, the most capped player for Pakistan, also said that the captain's own performance can dip as he had to focus a lot on other players.

"But a captain learns all this with time. There is no shortcut to it."

He pointed out that people praise Imran Khan’s leadership qualities and captaincy but he also won the World Cup on his third attempt as captain.

"He won the 1992 World Cup because by that time he had become a seasoned captain and learnt to motivate his players and get them to fight in every match."

Inzamam said giving confidence to new players and youngsters is very important for the selectors. He gave the example of Babar Azam.

"Babar struggled initially in Test cricket but we never had any doubt about his ability so we persisted with him and see today where he is standing in all formats."

He also described Babar and pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi as and future stars.

"Babar is always compared to Virat Kohli but the latter has played a lot more cricket and if you look at their stats and performances at the stage Babar is now, he has not done badly at all."

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Agencies
June 23,2020

Belgrade, June 23: Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia.

The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia.

His wife also tested positive. “The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena's, while the results of our children are negative," Djokovic said in a statement.

Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Viktor Troicki said Tuesday that he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus, while Grigor Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, said Sunday he tested positive.

Borna Coric played Dimitrov on Saturday in Zadar and said Monday he has also tested positive. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country and Djokovic and other players were seen hugging each other and partying in night clubs and restaurants after the matches.

 “Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” Djokovic said.

“Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.” Djokovic, who has previously said he was against taking a vaccine for the virus even if it became mandatory to travel, was the face behind the Adria Tour, a series of exhibition events that started in the Serbian capital and then moved to Zadar.

He left Croatia after the final was canceled and was tested in Belgrade. The statement said Djokovic was showing no symptoms.

Despite the positive test, Djokovic defended the exhibition series. “It was all born with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this,” Djokovic said.

"We organized the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met. “Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with.”

Djokovic said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days and also apologized to anyone who became infected as a result of the series. Organizers of the Adria Tour said the third stage of the event, scheduled to held next week in Bosnia, has been cancelled.

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