Pietersen set to attract huge sum at IPL auction

February 7, 2014

Pietersen

New Delhi, Feb 7: Controversial England batsman Kevin Pietersen will be one of the first players to go under the hammer along with senior India discards Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh when the two-day auction of the cash-rich IPL commences in Bangalore on February 12.

The biggest draw of IPL VII auction -- New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson -- has been slotted at No 83 in the 10th set which has the second array of international all-rounders.

From the initial list of 651, the IPL governing council has pruned it down to 514 with 219 capped players featuring in it. Among the 219 capped players (who have played some form of international cricket), 169 are Indians while 50 are overseas players.

This will also be the first time in IPL’s history that 292 uncapped players which has 255 Indian first-class cricketers will be auctioned.

Cricketers have been divided into 53 sets with each lists ranging from eight to 10 players. The first list that consists of some of the biggest stars of Indian and international cricket named as Marquee 1 or M1.

While Pietersen’s international career may have come to an abrupt end, the maverick England batsman will be in demand as he is set to be the fourth player to be auctioned on the first day at the ITC Gardenia.

Along with Pietersen, the likes of Sehwag, Yuvraj, David Warner, Ashes hero Mitchell Johnson and Mahela Jayawardene, recently retired Jacques Kallis will also go under the hammer at the first go. Murali Vijay is also present in M1 list where all players have a base price of Rs 2 crore, save Warner (Rs 1.5 crore)

The second list of marquee player or M2 as they are slotted consists of New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, Australian ODI and T20 captain George Bailey, veteran speedster Zaheer Khan, South African batsman Faf Du Plessis, Australian batsman Michael Hussey and West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy to name a few.

Like in the previous years, no Pakistan players feature in the IPL list while there are a huge 28 sets slotted for the uncapped Indian and overseas players.

While young South African keeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, who scored a hat-trick of ODI centuries is in the first list of capped wicketkeepers (WK1) with a base price of Rs 1 crore, flavour of the season Anderson has been slotted in the second set of international all-rounder (AL2) at No 83.

Set No 25, which consists of uncapped Indian batsmen, will see a bidding war with likes of Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, KL Rahul in that list.

While most of the top Indian players have been retained by their franchises, Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore will be the 18th player who will be auctioned.

Among the list of premier fast bowlers, South Africa’s Morne Morkel will be a top draw at a base price of Rs 1.5 crore.

Umesh Yadav (Rs 1 crore) and R Vinay Kumar (Rs 1.5 crore) can also expect to get decent deals as India do not have too many quality fast men suited for the needs of the shortest format.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: Indian cricketers Suresh Raina and Harmanpreet Kaur were on Wednesday appointed as the global brand ambassadors of the WTF Sports.

Raina is also joining the brand as a Strategic Partner. WTF Sports, a fantasy sports gaming platform, was today formally launched in India and globally.

The announcement was made through a web conference with prominent cricket host, Vikram Sathaye moderating and hosting the webinar and Vinit Bhatia, Manit Parikh and Yash Kadakia Co-Founders - India and Global, WTF Sports introducing the cricketers as the Global Brand Ambassadors.

Kaur said it was a perfect fit for her and she can use her strategy and experience while playing.
"WTF Sports was the perfect fit with me, I can use strategy and my experience while playing, I've actually learnt to strategize better as I've played along. Additionally, when we were under lockdown and I couldn't really practice, it was fun to come on the platform and feel like I'm still playing," Kaur said in a statement.

On the other hand, Raina said, "It is exciting to be a part of a fantasy sports platform like WTF Sports not just as an ambassador but also as the strategic partner, it is everything that I embody and what I believe in, it's fierce, fun and competitive."

The app currently hosts three major sports, multiple playing modes, and exciting contests, ensuring that sports fans can get more skillful by letting them strategize and use their sports knowledge into rewarding behaviour.

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News Network
March 6,2020

Melbourne, Mar 6: Experienced middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy believes that "destiny" is in favour of first-time finalist India to win their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup title provided they get a grip on their nerves in the summit clash against Australia on Sunday.

India will have a psychological advantage going into the final as they had stunned the defending champions by 17 runs in the tournament opener.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India reached the final on the basis of their unbeaten record in the tournament after their semifinal against England was washed out on Thursday.

Krishnamurthy, who was a part of the Indian team that finished runner-up to England in the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup, knows the pain of missing out on a world title.

"It's all about destiny, and I'm a big believer in destiny. I feel like this is the way it was meant to be. There is a joke going around that this World Cup is made in such a way that it's helping us, starting from the wickets to everything else," she was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website.

"Being in the final is just reward for the way we played in the group stages. There was an advantage to having won all our games with the weather not in our hands."

The team's first target of reaching the final having achieved, the 27-year-old player said the Indians now need to hold their nerves and remain focussed leading up to the big day on Sunday.

"We said the first aim was to get to the final and take it from there. We've crossed the first stage. We need to make sure we hold our nerves and we do what we need to do on the final day," she said.

India's recent rivalry with Australia has taken fascinating twists and turns, with Kaur's outfit chasing down 173 in their recent tri-series, then getting home by 17 runs in the T20 World Cup opener.

But all is not hunky-dory for Krishnamurthy on the personal front. Considered a great finisher, she has recovered from a series of single-digit scores in the tri-series to score 20 from 11 balls in a finishing role against Bangladesh.

Having amassed just 35 runs from four matches in the tournament so far, the Karnataka batter knows her role in the team.

"As an individual, the role given to me is very consistent in the last year. They've put the effort in the last year to keep me there and I've been supported by every individual, not just one or two. The entire team, with all the support staff, have shown faith in me," she said.

"I know coming into the World Cup, I would play a crucial role to finish the innings well, which I felt I was unable to do in the last World Cup in the West Indies," she added.

Krishnamurthy said specific roles have been set for every player of the squad and they all are trying to contribute as much as they can to help the team achieve its goal.

"I was very motivated to do my role and I've been working on that. It's not just me, all 15 players involved know what their role is," she said.

"I'm happy we're all putting in efforts and executing our role properly. Even if it's a smallish contribution of saving a couple of runs, it's all panned out really well."

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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