Tag: Cricket

Fiery Yuvraj Singh draws curtain on coveted international career

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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One performance is never enough to highlight Yuvraj Singh’s contribution to Indian cricket. But if there was one phase when he ruled world cricket, it had to be during the 2011 World Cup in India. And the man who almost single-handedly won India the coveted trophy announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday.

Yuvraj, who has not been a part of the Indian team for quite some time, has been contemplating retirement from international cricket and rumours are rife that he might pursue a career as a freelance cricketer in various ICC approved foreign T20 leagues.

Starting off in 2000 during the ICC KnockOut Trophy, he last played a Test match for India in 2012 and featured in a limited-overs series in 2017.

In the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League, he had almost gone unsold before Mumbai Indians grabbed him at his base price. He played only four matches for the franchise scoring 98 runs with one half-century.

Coming back to the highlight of his career, the 37-year-old had a dream run at the 2011 World Cup as he amassed 362 runs including one century and four fifties. He also picked 15 wickets, won four Man-of-the-Match awards and was also awarded the Player of the Tournament. In the process, he became the first all-rounder to score 300-plus runs and take 15 wickets in a single edition of the showpiece event.

After the World Cup, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his left lung and underwent chemotherapy treatment in Boston and Indianapolis. While he did make a return to the national team post recovery, life was never the same and he became an on and off a member of the Indian team.

Apart from the 2011 World Cup, another highlight in his illustrious career would be the 6 sixes he hit at the inaugural edition of the World T20 in South Africa in 2007. In India’s Super 8 match against England at Durban, he hit six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad and brought the crowd to its feet. In the process, he reached the fastest fifty ever in a T20 game, off just 12 balls, which was also the fastest in any form of international cricket.

Not to forget what the youngster did during the 2002 Natwest Trophy final at the Lord’s. In what seemed a game that was there for England to win — after India’s famed top-order flopped — Yuvraj combined with Mohammad Kaif to take the visitors home as visuals of a shirtless Sourav Ganguly waving the jersey from the Lord’s balcony is one folklores are made of.

In all, Yuvraj played 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for India in which he scored 1900, 8701 and 1177 runs respectively.

In 2012, he was conferred with the Arjuna Award and two years later, he was awarded the Padma Shri. At the 2014 IPL auctions, Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Yuvraj for an all-time high price of Rs 14crore and in 2015, the Delhi Daredevils bought him for Rs 16crore making him the most expensive player ever to be sold in the cash-rich league.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Focus on cricket diplomacy as PM Modi gifts bat to Maldives president Solih signed by Indian cricket team

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will help promote cricket in the Maldives and fulfil President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s mission to develop the sport in the country to consolidate people-to-people relations.

Modi gifted a cricket bat to Solih signed by the Indian cricket team after holding bilateral talks.

“Connected by cricket! My friend, President Solih is an ardent cricket fan, so I presented him a cricket bat that has been signed by Team India playing at the CWC2019,” Modi said on Twitter.

India is helping in training Maldivian cricket players and bringing it up to the requisite standard, the external affairs ministry said in New Delhi on Thursday.

India is also looking into constructing a stadium in the Island nation which is another request made by it, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.
He said the ministry is working with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to train Maldivian cricketers.

“A team from the BCCI visited the Maldives earlier in May for the training of Maldivian cricketers, organising coaching programmes and supply of kits,” he said.

To consolidate people-to-people relations, Modi’s latest emphasis is on cricket diplomacy in the island nation, helping the mission of President Solih to develop cricket, official sources said.

In April, Solih attended an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Bengaluru and subsequently expressed interest to develop a cricket team in the Maldives and sought India’s assistance in training this team and bringing it up to the requisite standard.

Modi arrived in the Maldives on Saturday on his first foreign visit after re-election as Prime Minister to strengthen the bilateral ties.

While Modi visited the Maldives in November 2018 to attend President Solih’s swearing-in, this visit is the first by an Indian prime minister at a bilateral level in eight years.

The two-day state visit of Prime Minister Modi is aimed at further cementing ties with the Indian Ocean archipelago.

India in March assured the Maldives that it will “positively consider” its request to help build a cricket stadium in the island nation during then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit.

A joint statement at the end of Swaraj’s visit to the Maldives in March said that the Maldivian side requested Indian assistance for the construction of a cricket stadium. “The Indian side agreed to positively consider the request,” it said.

Cricket Board of Maldives governs the gentleman’s game in the island nation. It became a member of the Asian Cricket Council and an affiliate of the International Cricket Council in 1998.

The Maldives national cricket team represents the country in international cricket. It made its Twenty20 International debut in January this year after the International Cricket Council decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members.

Indians are the second largest expatriate community in the Maldives with an approximate strength of around 22,000.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Cricket World Cup: A superstar extravaganza

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The most defining fact about the 2019 World Cup is that even one of the lowest-ranked teams, Afghanistan, has got two players who are superstars in the world of cricket. As a team, Afghanistan is expected, if at all, to provide a scare to one or two of the biggies, or even stage an upset to add some spice to what should otherwise be a four-team race to the title.

The way cricket and its different formats has evolved — especially T20 with a plethora of leagues around the year — has given rise to a good number of superstars across nations. Barring the Indian ones, these A-listers ply their trade across countries, and have managed to not only continuously hone their skills against the best, but also create a global following of fans.

While their exploits will underline the dominance of their teams in England, these superstars could also prove to be the proverbial Achilles’ heel for many a team during this World Cup.

Starting with the top four teams expected to reach the semi-finals — England, India, Australia, South Africa — we are talking over 20 players who dominate the game when they take the field. If it is Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and M.S. Dhoni for India, the hosts have an enviable top line consisting of Joe Root, Jason Roy, Jos Butler, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes.

Add to these Steven Smith, David Warner, Glen Maxwell, Mitchell Starc from Australia, and South Africans Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Cock, Imran Tahir, and Kasigo Rabada. Don’t forget that ABD would be ruling this list if he hadn’t opted to stay away. With this kind of star power at play these four teams would in most cases run through their opposition.

But it is here that the reverse could also be equally true. Taking into consideration the kind of pressure on them to perform, not just for the country, but also with an eye on their future clubs, the chances of them cracking are higher. Their performances in the T20 format might have pushed up their value, but in a totally different format, much more is required of them, and a combination of these factors could prove detrimental to the fortunes of the team.

The emphasis on superstardom was very evident when Rishab Pant was not picked for the squad to England. There is still a large section of cricket lovers who believe that Pant should have been the obvious choice over the veteran, Dinesh Karthik. This mass perception is fostered by Pant’s heroics in the Indian Premier League (IPL), though Karthik was definitely more suited for the role and was rightly chosen for it.

While these superstars will rely on their immense skill and experience to rule the arena, the fact that it is a team game will require stellar performances from the next rung of stars too. Here we are talking about the likes of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Moeen Ali, Shikhar Dhawan, or even a David Miller, Hashim Amla, and a Dale Steyn.

How the leaders of these stars manage to elicit maximum out of their talent will separate the winners and losers. On that front, Kohli is blessed with a MSD, while Finch can draw on Smith. Eoin Morgan for England and Faf for the Proteas come with their own confidence levels and cool demeanour which should prove handy during tough situations.

Just like Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi for Afghanistan, don’t ignore the superstars from the remaining teams. Leading the pack is Chris Gayle and Andre Russell for the West Indies, Lasith Malinga for Sri Lanka, Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh, and a Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik for Pakistan.

Include the Kiwi captain Kane Williamson along with his key bowlers, Trent Boult and Tim Southee. These teams, especially the West Indies and New Zealand, could actually be a nightmare for many a team, including the top four, as their superstars, without too much burden of expectation on their bat and ball, could turn a game on its head. These two teams with a small sprinkling of superstardom combined with workhorses equipped to play their role to perfection under calm leaders are the dark horses for this World Cup.

On the other hand, the top four teams will need their superstars to come down to earth and work in a focused and cohesive manner to reach their potential, or each of the A-listers in these teams will be left looking at each other to bail them out.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow