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There cannot be another Kapil Dev, says Azharuddin

Agencies
January 30, 2018

Kolkata, Jan 30: Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin said there cannot be another Kapil Dev, amid growing comparisons between Hardik Pandya and the World Cup winning skipper.

Pandya's whirlwind innings of 93 in the first Test against South Africa on a difficult track at Cape Town gave further fuel to the comparison between him and Dev.

"It is not advisable to do that. It is not good because there can never be another Kapil Dev. It is very difficult to get another Kapil Dev as the amount of hard work and workload he took over a period of time - he used to bowl 20-25 overs in a day - not many people can do it now," the 54-year-old told reporters at the sidelines of a school event.

Indian team suffered humiliating back-to-back defeats in the first and the second Test against South Africa but bounced back to win the final Test on the back of a splendid bowling show.

Terming the result as "unlucky", Azharuddin said: "The bowlers won the last Test match. They really put South African batsmen under pressure. We were bit unlucky that we could not get the series our way.

"It is good that we won the last Test. We redeemed our prestige. The team played very well in tough conditions. It was not an easy wicket to play on," he said.

"They batted well, bowled well everything clicked together. I am very happy with the team's victory. In the ODIs, hopefully, our batting will click and we will win the series," Azharuddin added.

On the debatable issue of dropping Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second Test, and not playing Ajinkya Rahane till the third Test, Azharuddin said: "I think they could have been played, but the captain and the team thinks in a different way. Outside everybody in India thinks they should have played."
The former skipper also praised captain Virat Kohli for his leadership skills and said his records speak for him.

With Prithvi Shaw's India on a roll in the Under-19 World Cup after their 203-run thrashing of Pakistan, Azharuddin hopes they will claim a fourth title.

"All the best boys. They have done the nation proud. Today's game - to get a team all out for 69 speaks volumes of the talent they possess. I hope they comeback with the World Cup," he said.

Asked about Shubman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, the two Under-19 star performers striking it rich in the IPL auctions, Azharuddin said: "It is always good to give them opportunities when they are doing well. Look at Pandya and Bumrah."

Azharuddin, who is in loggerheads with the Hyderabad Cricket Association after charges were levelled against him by president G Vivek, was barred from attending the SGM earlier this month.

"I will meet (Committee of Administrators chairman) Vinod Rai. He was travelling and I was not able to have a word with him. I will definitely like to give back to the game whether it will be coaching or as an administrator," he said.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Jan 6: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Sunday said the country's economy is not showing good signs though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has manifested tremendous leadership skills in fighting terror and in social welfare projects.

The fiscal decisions of the government have not yielded the desired results, the Rajya Sabha MP said here.

"Modi had shown tremendous leadership skill in fighting terror, in several social areas, micro areas like bringing toilets to every village home. But the economy is a complex system...," he said while taking part in a discussion.

While every minister is talking about a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024, but the current GDP growth has to be multiplied in four years to achieve that, the former Union minister said.

He said, if wages are slashed as a measure to cope with the situation, labor will become cheap but that will also cut down the people's purchasing power triggering dip in demand, closing down factories and rise in unemployment.

"This is one problem for which you really need an economist," he said.

Swamy said in jest, "I think Modi has one problem with me. Not only I am an economist but also a politician."

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News Network
March 4,2020

Tokyo, Mar 4: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said on Wednesday it was developing a drug to treat COVID-19, the flu-like illness that has struck more than 90,000 people worldwide and killed over 3,000.

The Japanese drugmaker is working on a plasma-derived therapy to treat high-risk individuals infected with the new coronavirus and will share its plans with members of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, it said in a statement.

Takeda is also studying whether its currently marketed and pipeline products may be effective treatments for infected patients.

"We will do all that we can to address the novel coronavirus threat...(and) are hopeful that we can expand the treatment options," Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda's vaccine business, said in the statement.

Takeda said it was in talks with various health and regulatory agencies and healthcare partners in the United States, Asia and Europe to move forward its research into the drug.

Its research requires access to the blood of people who have recovered from the respiratory disease or who have been vaccinated, once a vaccine is developed, Takeda said.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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