I'm a cricketer not a terrorist, says Chandila

August 6, 2013

ChandilaNew Delhi, Aug 6: Claiming innocence, tainted Rajasthan Royals spinner Ajit Chandila has said that the Delhi Police's proposed move to slap the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charges against him is completely unfair as he is a "cricketer and not a terrorist".

Chandila, who was granted an interim bail for two days (from August 3 to 5) to participate in the last rites of his elder brother, was optimistic that he will come out clean of the spot-fixing charges levelled against him.

"I dreamt of becoming a good cricketer, and to an extent I achieved that. But a tragedy struck and my dreams were shattered. People have seen my performance in last two seasons of the IPL. I am clean and I trust the judiciary," Chandila told 'Zee News' after coming out on interim bail.

Chandila said his family and he were in a state of shock after learning that the MCOCA might be levelled against him.

"My family and I are in a state of shock that such charges are being levelled against me. I am a cricketer not a terrorist," he said.

"My family has suffered a lot, and my brother was hospitalised the day I was arrested. But I have the support of my family. And soon, people will know the truth. I am innocent. I will make a comeback soon.

"I have no clue about the spot-fixing controversy. I have never been approached by anybody. I am absolutely unaware of this," Chandila added.

The lanky off-spinner from Haryana defended his lavish lifestyle, saying IPL offers a cricketer enough money to live like that.

"IPL offers so much money that there is no need to do any wrong thing to earn money. As far as my lifestyle is concerned, everybody wants to wear good clothes, shades, etc. There is nothing wrong in

wearing expensive things. So, if I had been spending on myself, it is my personal choice and nobody should be concerned about that," Chandila said.

Besides Chandila, two other Rajasthan Royals cricketers -- S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan -- were also arrested by Delhi Police during this year's IPL for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing. While Sreesanth and Chavan are out on bail, Chandila is still in jail.

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Skipper Virat Kohli has become the first Indian to reach the 50M followers mark on social media platform Instagram. Kohli, who is breaking cricketing records with each passing match, has a great social media following.

The 31-year old has so far made 930 posts on the platform and his social media posts continue to enthrall fans worldwide. Overall, Instagram's official account has the most number of followers and it is followed by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 200M followers.

In terms of Indians with most number of followers, Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra is on the second spot with 49.9 followers while Deepika Padukone is on the third place with 44.1 followers.

Last year, Kohli had become the most successful Indian Test captain, surpassing Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Currently, Kohli is in action against New Zealand and his side would take on the hosts in the two-match Test series, slated to commence from February 21.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was on Wednesday named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked ex-pacer Harvinder Singh to the five-member group.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, R P Singh and Sulakshana Naik, picked the two selectors with Joshi replacing South Zone representative MSK Prasad.

In an unprecedented decision, the BCCI said the CAC will review the panel's performance after one year and make recommendations accordingly.

"The committee recommended Sunil Joshi for the role of chairman of the senior men's selection committee. The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI," read a statement from BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Harvinder was chosen from central zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the panel.

The existing members of the selection panel are Jatain Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh.

"We have picked the best guys for the job," Lal told news agency.

The CAC had shortlisted five candidates for interviews -- Joshi, Harvinder, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan and L S Sivaramakrishnan -- from a list of 40 applicants.

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