Sreesanth Wants to Play for India in the 2019 World Cup

News Network
August 8, 2017

New Delhi, Aug 8: Talent was never a problem for S Sreesanth. But he was allegedly found to have been involved in spot-fixing in 2013 during the Indian Premier League and was immediately banned for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

But with the Kerala High Court on Monday revoking the ban, the pacer hopes to be a part of the Indian team which will play the 2019 World Cup in England.

“It will always be harder. My dream is to play 2019 World Cup for India. But I know it is next to impossible and it would be a miracle if I play in that World Cup.

But I have always believed that miracles can happen. There might be stiff competition for fast bowlers' spot now. But there was competition even when I made my way into the Indian team.

I have always felt that competition gets the best out of me. I just hope that I can do justice to my talent on my comeback. There was always a question of Sreesanth not being focused enough.

 All I can say is that I was always focused. I have learnt a lot from my past experience. I just pray and hope that I get an opportunity to show the world I am good enough and can clock 140kmph yet. It is a matter of me staying away from injury,” he said.

On Monday, the Kerala HC said: "No materials or evidence before the disciplinary committee to conclude that Sreesanth was guilty of the violation of the anti-corruption code formulated by the BCCI.

 They relied on circumstantial evidence. The disciplinary committee ought to have been careful in analyzing evidence especially when the deal itself had failed to work.

"BCCI’s effort’s to weed out corruption and to uphold the dignity of the game while need to be emphasized but that should not be in a way by over zealously reacting to it.

It must be remembered that in every disciplinary action related to a player of national repute, the player suffers his repute and confidence which he built through hard-work. It is the duty of BCCI to safeguard such interest of the player without compromising purity and integrity of the game."

But the road ahead is tough as speaking to CricketNext, BCCI’s acting president CK Khanna said that the board would look into the matter and take appropriate action after consulting its legal team.

"We have asked our legal team to look into the order and give us their opinion and after that we will place it in front of the appropriate panel," Khanna said.

"I had a lot of support from people, I want to thank all of them. I am very happy and proud that the ban has been lifted by the court. I am only 34, so hope can play for at least 6 years.

I hope to be back soon. The next step is to play for the Kerala Ranji team at the earliest. I will have to start from the scratch. thanks to all those who prayed for me," an elated Sreesanth said.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Karachi, May 8: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azhar had put two of his precious belongings -- the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India -- on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease.

Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.

Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of one million each for the bat and jersey and they had sold for 2.2 million.

He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.

Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest and Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs. 1.1 million for the shirt before the conclusion of the auction.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

"I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020," Azhar had tweeted.

Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in Day/Night Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.

"The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad," Ali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy."

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News Network
March 18,2020

Washington, Mar 18: Hundreds of distressed Indian students, stuck in the Philippines, are seeking help through video messages as they are unable to fly back home due to the travel restrictions imposed by India to contain the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus, according to friends and relatives of some of these students in the US.

The Indian government on Tuesday banned the entry of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines and Malaysia to India with immediate effect amid stepped up efforts against the spread of COVID-19.

In a video message by one of these students Akhil Bala Nair, around 200 Indian students had booked their flight tickets for India in the next few days. But all of them have been cancelled due to the new policy.

Most of the students, she said, had booked their flights for March 17 and rest were schedule to travel to India on March 19 and 20. But the flights were cancelled and scores of Indian students are now stuck at the airport in Manila, Nair said in the video message sent to Prem Bhandari, head of the Jaipur Foot USA.

“It is need of the hour that the Indian government send a plane to bring these Indian students back home,” Bhandari, who in the past has worked for the cause of the Indian diaspora, and who was approached by these students told PTI.

According to these students, some 100 of them have been at the airport since Tuesday.

They all have confirmed tickets but the airport authorities are not allowing them to check in because of the new travel regulations.

While the airport authorities have asked them to go back to their respective place of residence, the students said they were unable to travel because of the absence of local taxi or shared ride services.

The students said that they are running out of time as the Philippines government has given them 72 hours time to exit the country, which started from March 16, after which the country will go into lockdown.

“This means we would not be able to travel anywhere outside Philippines after March 20,” Nair said in her message.

The students said that there are many of them who have applied for renewal of their visas and are unable to travel to India.

There are nearly 1,000 Indian students presently in Manila who are willing to travel back home, they said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Manila, in a tweet, said that they, along with the Ministry of External Affairs, are trying to work out a solution.

“It is requested to all to kindly have patience,” the embassy said.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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