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Upbeat Afridi regains Twenty20 captaincy

September 17, 2014

Karachi, Sep 17: Shahid Afridi returned as Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain on Tuesday and then announced that he was looking forward to leading a team of “lion-hearted cricketers” to international laurels including the next T20 World Cup in 2016.

AfridiThe flamboyant all-rounder has replaced Mohammad Hafeez, who stepped down as skipper earlier this year after Pakistan failed to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals in Bangladesh.

In addition, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reaffirmed that Misbah-ul-Haq will continue to captain Pakistan in Tests and One-day Internationals till next year’s ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“In line with my policy of taking decisions democratically I consulted Cricket Committee and my Board members before announcing these decisions. I wish both Afridi and Misbah very good luck in their upcoming assignments,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said in the statement.

Chosen ahead of young contender Sohaib Maqsood primarily because of his vast experience, Afridi stressed that he would lead by example and put the country’s underachieving Twenty20 team on the victory path.

“I’m honoured to get national captaincy again,” he told ‘The News’ in an interview soon after PCB announced that Afridi has been installed as the T20 captain till the 2016 edition of the Twenty20 World Cup.

“It’s an exciting responsibility and the fact that the team management is backing my completely gives me great confidence,” he said.

Afridi made it clear that as captain he would not live with “chicken-hearted” players and would instead support boys exhibiting a “lion-hearted approach”.

“As (Twenty20) captain my message to the players would be simple: don’t be scared of failure,” he said.

“There is no place for chicken-hearted players in the Twenty20 format. You need a lion-hearted approach and that’s what I intend to promote in our team,” he added.

Pakistan reached the final of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and then went on to win the coveted title two years later in England. But since then Pakistan’s performance graph in the tournament has dipped.

Afridi believes that unlike the past when Pakistan were among few teams with plenty of expertise in the slam-bang format, other sides have really caught up.

“Winning Twenty20 matches isn’t easy for us anymore,” he said. “Other teams have gradually learned how to flourish in this format and have hence improved.”

But Afridi was quick to make it clear that under his command Pakistan would be one of the major contenders for the T20 World Cup in 2016.

“We have a good Twenty20 team and all we need is to show that killer instinct needed to win major tournaments,” he said.

Afridi was Pakistan’s hero in their title-winning triumph in 2009 when he produced match-winning performances in the semifinal and final.

But his personal stats have taken a hit in recent times and Afridi is fully aware of it.

“I need to regain my form both with the bat and ball,” he said. “As captain I know that I will have to lead by example because that’s the only way you can get the best out of the players.”

Afridi, 34, was forced to give up captaincy in the summer of 2011 following a public spat with team coach Waqar Younis and the then PCB chairman Ijaz Butt.

Butt is long gone but Waqar is back in the saddle as national coach. However, Afridi is certain that what happened in 2011 following Pakistan’s World Cup semi-final defeat against India would not get repeated in the future.

“What happened in the past stays in the past,” he said. “I would want to focus on the present and as far as Vicky bhai (Waqar) is concerned I must say that he is a changed man and I’m enjoying working with him,” he added.

During his previous stint as captain, Afridi captained Pakistan in 19 Twenty20 Internationals between August 2009 and April 2011. Pakistan won eight and lost 11 matches under his captaincy.

He is one of the most capped players in the Twenty20 format and also one of its most accomplished. In 74 appearances, Afridi has accumulated 1112 runs at an average of 19.17 and a strike rate of 144.04. He has also bagged 77 wickets at 22.61. Over the last 12 months, he has taken 10 wickets at an average of 26.80 in 11 matches and scored 173 runs at a strike rate of 150.

Afridi will begin his latest stint as captain with a one-off Twenty20 International against Australia in Dubai on October 5.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Mumbai, May 21: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has chosen legendary Sachin Tendulkar over current skipper Virat Kohli as a better batsman in the ODI format, considering the changed rules of the game and the Mumbaikar's longevity of career.

Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, played 463 ODIs and amassed 18, 426 runs with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

Kohli, on the other hand, has played 248 ODIs and scored 11, 867 runs with 43 tons at an average of 59.33.

"Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside, it will be Sachin Tendulkar for me," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

Nowadays, a one-day innings is played with two white balls and with three powerplays.

In the first power play (overs 1-10), two fielders are allowed beyond the 30-yard circle, while in the second powerplay (overs 10-40) four fielders are allowed. In the last powerplay (overs 40-50), five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.

Gambhir, who was the star performer in 2011 ODI World Cup final which India won, feels that the change in rules has helped batsmen.

"It's difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well but I think the rules have changed as well, which has helped a lot of new batters," elaborated Gambhir, who played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.

"The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier.

He said he would also go with Tendulkar, considering his longevity and flow of the ODI cricket format at that time.

"Probably I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar if we see the longevity and flow of the one-day cricket format.

"Look at how Sachin Tendulkar has played, different rules, that time 230 to 240, was a winning total," Gambhir signed off. 

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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