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India will take 10 years to rebuild: Intikhab Alam

January 4, 2013

afthabKolkata, Jan 4: Intikhab Alam was overcome by nostalgia when he stepped on to the Eden Gardens on Thursday. "I vividly remember the time when I played here as a member of the touring Pakistan team in 1960. That was a very interesting Test match. We had lost six quick wickets for 120-odd runs before Mushtaq Mohammad and myself put on a 100-run partnership. It all seems like yesterday," said the former Pakistan captain, who was among 19 former Indian and Pakistani greats to have been felicitated at the halfway stage of the second ODI on Thursday.

The leg-spinning allrounder, who also took four wickets in that Test, still relishes the way he had castled star Indian batsman Abbas Ali Baig in the drawn match. 'Inty,' as he is fondly called, was all praise for young opener Nasir Jamshed, who on Thursday scored his second straight century of the ongoing ODI series against India.

"Jamshed is an exceptional talent. He was injury-prone earlier, but I am really very pleased with the way he has come on. It is good to see him fulfill expectations," Alam said.

Pakistan's first ODI captain felt India would take some time to rebuild the side after the retirement of greats like Sachin Tendulkar (ODI), Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. "If you lose three-four top class players, it takes time to rebuild the team. You just can't take a magic wand and get things right. It will take about 10 years to find good players," he stated. "The selectors need to be patient and have the vision to get the right replacements in place. I think India will bounce back soon," he added.

The former Pakistan coach described Sachin Tendulkar as one of India's finest ambassadors. "Sachin is a player who has done wonderfully well. The way he has carried himself all through his career makes him one of the finest ambassadors of Indian sport," Intikhab said.

"When I saw him bat for the first time, in Peshawar, I knew right then that he would become a great cricketer," Intikhab recalled about the 16-year-old Sachin, who made his international debut during that 1989 tour of Pakistan.

What actually surprised Intikhab the most about Tendulkar was his level of fitness. "Sachin has stayed very fit. That's the reason he could be at his best. A cricketer knows best when to retire and he has done that (from ODIs) at the right time," Intikhab said.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Feb 13: Veteran India batsman Suresh Raina feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the best captain India ever had.

Raina and Dhoni play for the same IPL franchise -- the Chennai Super Kings --, which is also led by the latter.

"I think we have the best captain who has changed the Indian team like anything. Now we have that same aura in our dressing room," Raina said on 'The Super Kings show' on Star Sports Tamil.

The 38-year-old Dhoni has retired from Test cricket but his future in the limited overs formats is a subject of intense speculation.

The two-time World Cup-winning former captain took a break from cricket after India's exit from the 2019 World Cup in England. He is set to be back in action at the IPL, where he will captain the CSK, starting March 23.

With three restricted stands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai finally being reopened, Raina urged the fans to fill the venue in every CSK home game.

"We have all the seats available. Hopefully, we'll have more fans now so that there is it will be more energy on the field," the 33-year-old Raina, a former India batsman, said.

Raina, who last played for India in 2018, also expressed his excitement about the prospect of playing with CSK's latest acquisitions.

"This year we have a lot of new talent in our team. Piyush (Chawla) is there, then we have Hazelwood, Sam Curran, Sai Kishore from Tamil Nadu, he has been bowling really well for them. So, I think we have a lot of mixture of youngsters and seniors."

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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Indian pacer S Sreesanth has slammed England all-rounder Ben Stokes for questioning MS Dhoni's intent during a World Cup match, saying that the former captain will end Stokes' career.

Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' had questioned Dhoni's intent during India's 31-run defeat at the hands of England in the premier tournament last year.

"For Ben Stokes, I will only say that you should pray that Dhoni does not play against you in the future. Dhoni does not forget things easily," Sreesanth said during a Live session on Helo.

"I wish Stokes all the best for whenever he faces Dhoni again, be it IPL or an England vs India match. You must be earning in millions now, Dhoni Bhai will end your career. Dhoni will strike the ball everywhere and he (Stokes) can never dismiss Dhoni. Before he (Stokes) opens his mouth, he should make sure to wear a helmet," he added.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding had also come out in support of Dhoni and said that the wicket-keeper batsman wanted to win the match against England.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding had said on his official YouTube channel.

"...It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 percent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," he had added.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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