Dhawan, Jadeja and Kohli are India's nucleus for 2015 WC: Bedi

June 24, 2013

Dhawan_KohliNew Delhi, Jun 24: Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi on Monday hailed the brilliant performance of the Indian team in the Champions Trophy and said the "nucleus" of the squad that will represent India in the 2015 World Cup is ready.

"This tournament has given us an idea about what will be Indian team's nucleus during 2015 World Cup. Shikhar (Dhawan), Virat (Kohli), Jadeja (Ravindra) and Suresh Raina will form the core of Dhoni's team for the World Cup Down Under," Bedi said during an interview.

The legendary left-arm spinner, however, cautioned that one shouldn't get carried away as this is the time to build upon this stupendous show.

"Let's not get carried away by this performance. They are deserving winners no doubt but we need to build upon this victory. We shouldn't bring the team down if they lose a few matches. The best part was that same XI played throughout the tournament and it happens when a team is full of self-belief," the 66-year-old former spinner observed.

The stand-out player in the tournament, according to Bedi, has been Jadeja, who has shown "remarkable temperament".

"Jadeja has been outstanding in the tournament. He has improved by leaps and bounds in the last two years. He bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament and contributed with the bat when the team needed him the most. It seems that he has worked a lot on his game. He has shown remarkable temperament in," Bedi said.

For Bedi, the key factor in winning the Champions Trophy has been the performance of the Indian bowling unit which has made the difference.

"The trio of Bhuvneshwar (Kumar), Ishant (Sharma) and Umesh (Yadav) should be praised for their performance. The bowlers made a worthwhile effort and took the bulk of the burden. Such was their performance that there was no place in the playing XI for boys like Vinay (Kumar) and Irfan (Pathan), who were equally deserving," he explained.

"If you look at how the team performed, the middle-order wasn't tested at all during the entire duration of the tournament until the final which turned into a T20 affair. I am a firm believer that T20 is a game of lottery," Bedi said.

Bedi made an interesting observation about the match and the composition of the England squad.

"England team went into the toss thinking about 50-over game and it turned out to be a T20. Now the playing XI is not exactly what England prefers when they play the shortest version. Cook doesn't play T20, nor does Trott. Now the moment it became T20, the plans went haywire," Bedi explained.

Someone who is not known to mince words, Bedi however didn't make any comments about the future of the famed quartet of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.

"I can't comment on their future and it's not for me or you to assess where these guys see themselves in the current scenario. I believe they are the best judge when it comes to knowing where they stand right now," he concluded.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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