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Sourav Ganguly all set to become BCCI President: Reports

Agencies
October 14, 2019

Mumbai, Oct 14: Meetings and counter meetings ruled the roost as the affiliated units of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), along with the bigwigs of the board, met in Mumbai on Sunday.

At the end of the day, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is leading the race to be the next BCCI President, according to reports, while ex-India batsman Brijesh Patel is likely to bag the position of IPL Chairman.

Jay Shah and Arun Dhumal are being seen as the other new faces who will take control of the BCCI when the Committee of Administrators (CoA) hand over power to the BCCI office bearers on October 23.

While Brijesh Patel was leading the race to take over as President, Ganguly is said to have made it clear that he wanted only one post, unless Jay Shah was becoming the next BCCI chief. It will be interesting to see who between Jay Shah and Arun Dhumal be the Secretary and who will be made the Treasurer. Jay Shah could in fact be the Treasurer, reports suggest

But there was more to the Sunday post-lunch back-door meetings than just two names emerging as the next faces of the BCCI, as it was a three-way battle between Brijesh, Jay Shah and Ganguly. The former India captain was also offered the post of IPL Chairman, but it is being said that Ganguly turned down the offer at around 6 pm on Sunday evening.

But it all started on Saturday evening.

The long meeting between the bigwigs of Indian cricket administration in the national capital on Saturday ended without a unanimous decision. While the likes of Anurag Thakur, N. Srinivasan, Sourav Ganguly, Rajeev Shukla and Niranjan Shah met in the capital, a few senior members, who will represent their respective associations in the BCCI elections, had their own closed door meeting in Mumbai.

The likes of Jayesh George and Prabhtej Patel could also be handed the other hot seats in what will be a fresh start for the BCCI office bearers after the CoA regime comes to an end.

The affiliated units of the board will now be apprised of these names as Monday is the last date for filing nominations for the office bearers' posts and the five candidates are set to do the same in person.

While Ganguly's name was all but certain for the position of President till Sunday afternoon, the stalwarts of the game believed that Jay Shah and Brijesh could be slightly ahead in the race with the latter becoming the President and Jay Shah taking over as Secretary.

Those aware of the jigsaw that is BCCI politics believed that a final call would be taken only during dinner on Sunday in Mumbai and that is exactly how it panned out.

"The old warhorses felt that the way forward was to have equal representation, and while only five names can be given for the top spots, the Apex Council will also see a similar widespread representation. The idea is to give people their right to express themselves," a BCCI functionary told IANS.

It will also be interesting to see how the Supreme Court decides to act on the Electoral Officer's decision to disqualify eight full members of the board as they were not fully compliant with the newly registered constitution of the BCCI.

"We are approaching the Supreme Court on Monday. Basically, the recommendation by the CoA was sent to the Electoral Officer and the Amicus Curiae. Since the officer has said that we are not qualified, we will go to the court. That is the only option left because the court allowed us to conduct the elections and said the disqualification didn't apply to the Apex Council members which is what has been incorporated," an official of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association

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News Network
April 9,2020

New Delhi, Apr 9: The legendary Kapil Dev on Thursday slammed Shoaib Akhtar's idea of a made-for-television three-match ODI series between India and Pakistan to raise funds for the Covid19 pandemic, saying "India doesn't need the money" and it is not worth risking lives for a cricket match.

Speaking to news agency, Akhtar on Wednesday proposed a closed-door series to jointly raise funds to fight the deadly virus both in India and Pakistan. Dev said the proposal is not feasible.

"He is entitled to his opinion but we don't need to raise the money. We have enough. For us, what is important right now is how our authorities work together to deal with this crisis. I am still seeing a lot of blame game on television from the politicians and that needs to stop," Dev said.

"Anyway, the BCCI has donated a hefty amount (Rs 51 crore) for the cause and is in a position to donate much more if the need arises. It doesn't need to raise funds.

"The situation is unlikely to get normal anytime soon and organising a cricket game means putting our cricketers at risk which we don't need to," said the World Cup-winning former captain.

Dev said cricket should not even matter for at least the next six months.

"It is just not worth the risk. And how much money can you make from three games? In my view, you can't even think of cricket for the next five to six months," he said.

Dev said the focus, at the moment, should only be on saving lives and taking care of the poor who are struggling to make ends meet in a lockdown situation.

"Cricket will resume when things get normal. The game can't be bigger than the country. The pressing issue is to look after the poor, the hospital workers, the police and all other people who are on the frontline of this war," said the 61-year-old.

As an Indian, Dev feels proud that his country is in a position help other nations including the United States.

President Donald Trump has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping the United States with the supply of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug being touted as a potential cure for Covid19 patients.

"Helping others is in our culture and I feel proud about that. We should not seek credit after helping others. We should strive to become a nation which gives more and more rather than taking from others," he said.

Like everyone else, Dev is at home and practising social distancing.

Asked how he views the current situation, he said: "Nelson Mandela stayed in a tiny cell for 27 years. Compared to that, we are in a privileged position (that we just have to stay at home for sometime)."

"There is nothing bigger than life at the moment and that is what we need to save."

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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News Network
February 29,2020

Feb 29: India were all out for 242 in their first innings following a stunning battling collapse, triggered by paceman Kyle Jamieson on the opening day of the second cricket Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, here on Saturday.

India were steady at 194 for five at tea but lost wickets in quick succession after the play resumed. Jamieson returned figures of 14-3-45-5.

Hanuma Vihari top-scored for India with his combative 55 while Prithvi Shaw (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (54) hit contrasting half-centuries.

Virat Kohli's (3) poor run continued while his deputy Ajikya Rahane (7) also fell cheaply.

India lost last five wickets for 48 runs, of which 26 were contributed by last-wicket pair of Mohammed Shami (16) and Jasprit Bumrah (10).

Brief Scores:

India 1st innings: 242 all out in 63 overs. (H Vihari 55, P Shaw 54, C Pujara 54 batting; Kyle Jamieson 5/45, Tim Southee 2/38, ).

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