Jesse Ryder in coma after bar brawl in Christchurch

March 28, 2013

Christchurch, Mar 28: Troubled New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder was in an induced coma with a fractured skull and serious internal injuries on Thursday after being severely beaten as he left a bar in the South Island city of Christchurch, police said.

The 28-year-old was in a critical condition in hospital, and his family were at his bedside.

The attack came just days before the talented batsman was to take up a lucrative Indian Premier League ( IPL) contract.

Ryder has a history of disciplinary lapses and alcohol-related incidents, but although he had been drinking before the early morning attack police said alcohol was not a factor.ryder

Detective senior sergeant Brian Archer said there was a brief altercation involving Ryder and "two or three" people when he stepped outside the bar.

Ryder then crossed the road to a nearby fast-food outlet where he was attacked by one of the people from the initial confrontation.

"The hospital advise he is in a critical condition. He is in an induced coma as a result of suffering multiple injuries," Archer said.

A witness, identified only as Adam, told Fairfax Media Ryder tried to fight back as four men "absolutely smashed him".

He said he was not sure if the attackers were known to Ryder but said they "damn knew who he was".

The incident occurred while Ryder was having a night out with his Wellington team-mates after earlier losing a season-ending one-day match to Canterbury.

The batsman is on a self-imposed break from international cricket to address "personal issues" following a series of incidents.

New Zealand Cricket Players' Association chief executive Heath Mills said Ryder was known to have resumed drinking in recent weeks.

"It will be an ongoing struggle for Jesse and we need to do all we can to help him. So it shouldn't be a surprise if, in the future, we have to deal with isolated issues," Mills said.

"What I will say is Jesse was having a few drinks with his team-mates at the conclusion of his season. The actual assault was not an alcohol-fuelled incident."

Ryder, who last played for New Zealand a year ago, was due to fly out to India this weekend to compete for the Delhi Daredevils, who paid US$260,000 for his services at an auction.

Last year, Ryder, who has a Test average of 40.93 and a highest Test score of 201, took his manager and a psychologist with him to India when he played for the Pune Warriors.

"We are all shocked by what has occurred and extremely concerned for Jesse. New Zealand Cricket's thoughts are with him and his family," said New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White.

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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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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Mumbai, May 26: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that if he was playing currently he and Virat Kohli would have been the best of friends off the field, but real enemies whenever they stepped on the field.

Akhtar also said that he would have liked to challenge Kohli to drive the ball.

"Virat Kohli and I would have been the best of friends as both of us are Punjabi, but on the field, we would have been the best of the enemies. I would have loved to get inside the head of Kohli. I would have told him that you cannot play a cut or pull shot against me," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I would have gone wide of the crease and bowled a ball that would go away from him, I would have forced him to drive the ball as it is his favourite shot. So I would keep forcing him to play the drive shot at my pace," he added.

Akhtar also said that he wishes that Kohli could have played against some of the top bowlers in the game.

The Rawalpindi Express said that Kohli would have enjoyed the challenge of facing bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, and Waqar Younis.

"I would also keep talking to him, because if I get him to lose his focus then that would have been great. The great thing about Kohli is that he gets more focused when he is challenged. But I believe Virat Kohli would have still scored the same amount of runs if I was playing," Akhtar said.

"I really wish that he had played against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, and then Virat would have also enjoyed the challenge," he added.

Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in second place in the Tests rankings.

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