Star footballer Drogba feels Dhoni is a good leader

June 18, 2012

dogra

New Delhi, June 18: Star footballer Didier Drogba, who played a key role in English Premier League side Chelsea's Champions League triumph last month, said he followed last year's cricket World Cup in India and feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a good leader.

"I know your (cricket) captain though I cannot pronounce his name. I followed the last (cricket) World Cup. The Indian team was the world champions. I think he (Dhoni) is a very good leader," Drogba told a packed press conference here during his first visit to the country.

The Ivory Coast striker, who scored the equalising goal and also the winner -- a penalty kick -- for Chelsea against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Munich, was here to grace the Pepsi T20 Football Grand Finale at Thyagaraj Stadium. He is also the brand ambassador of Pepsi.

Prodded further about his knowledge of Indian cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, Drogba said, "I know they are the world champions and if many people in England are talking about them they must be good."

"I respect all sports. They (Indian cricketers) have been picked to represent your country from among millions of people. Just like few footballers like me are professionals," he replied when being told about football being a global sport while cricket is being played by around a dozen country.

Drogba said it was difficult for him to follow cricket initially but later he was able to understand the basics of the game after being taught by some players. "It took time to understand cricket. In the beginning it was difficult for me to understand. But some players explained the game to me and I thought it's very exciting," he said.

The star striker, who is known for his physical strength and ability to score goals from nowhere, however, said that he did not have much knowledge about Indian football. "I don't know much about Indian football and footballers. But I saw them play some months ago. I am thrilled to know that football has big fan following here."

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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
April 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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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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