Former India batsman and current Member of Parliament from East Delhi Gautam Gambhir was recently in the news after he took a dig at ESPNcricinfo for lauding former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s World Cup winning six.
Gambhir on world cup winning
Gautam Gambhir on Thursday lashed out at those only celebrating M.S. Dhoni’s six to win the 2011 World Cup, saying it was won by the entire team and not just one hit. India lifted the World Cup on this day(April 2) nine years ago.
On the same day, Gambhir announced donating his two years’ salary to Prime Minister Cares Fund in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“People ask what can their country do for them. The real question is what can you do for your country? I am donating my 2 year’s salary to #PMCaresFund. You should come forward too,” read Gambhir’s tweet.
Throwback on IPL
Much like Gambhir’s plentiful fans, the announcement was also acknowledged by Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore who wrote a story before tweeting it on their official handle.
Former India batsman Gambhir donates two years’ salary as an MP to fight coronavirus! Read more now. 👇https://t.co/6P0eQNEhPs
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 3, 2020
Expressing his hate while losing against a formidable opposition in Royal Challengers, Gambhir appreciated them acknowledging his donation.
@RCBTweets I hated losing to you guys, but today you have won me over by this acknowledgment. Thanks a lot.
In the 22 matches that Gambhir played against Royal Challengers for Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders, the southpaw scored 713 runs at an average of 33.95 and a strike rate of 134.53 including seven half-centuries. Playing for KKR, a passionate and aggressive Gambhir was once seen in a heated exchange with RCB captain Virat Kohli.
Kevin Pietersen on Instagram posted a hilarious video
In order to prevent the corona virus spread Indian government imposed 21 day lock down through out the country. The spread of deadly virus seems increasing day by day in a rapid speed. Due to this disaster many scheduled events has been postponed including the cash rich Indian Premier League.
BCCI decides to start the tournament at the end of April or at the beginning of May. BCCI took this decision after having a conference call with the IPL owners. The board would lose around Rs.3869 Cr if the IPL tournament went down. Previously IPL has been postponed to April 15 but due to the 21 day lock down the execution of IPL at that time seems impossible.
Due to the world wide lock down the sports personalities turns towards social media to entertain their fans. In that order England former skipper Kevin Pietersen turns Instagram as a platform to entertain everyone.
Earlier Kevin Pietersen interviewed Indian skipper Virat Kohli, where Kohli reveals many interesting facts including his favourite batting partner.
In the video, a person, in full cricket kit inside a room, can be seen playing a defensive shot and then jumping on to a treadmill to run a single. “Whoever this is…GENIUS! Just been sent it on WhatsApp,” Kevin Pietersen captioned the video on Instagram. Kevin Pietersen has been very active on social media over the past few days and recently he has interviewed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on Instagram.
On Thursday, Pietersen caught up with his former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate and current Indian captain Virat Kohli.
The duo began the much-anticipated chat by discussing the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pietersen then asked Kohli where he got his nickname “Chiku” from and the Indian captain revealed, “I got this nickname from a coach in the Ranji Trophy. I used to have big cheeks then. In 2007 I thought I was losing hair. I got my hair cropped and my cheeks and ears stood out. I got the name from a cartoon character. The rabbit in the comic book Champak.”
Chateshwar Pujara spokes on 21 day lock down imposed to prevent spread of corona virus
Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara (born 25 January 1988) is an Indian international cricketer who plays Test cricket for Indian national team and represents Saurashtra in domestic cricket. He is a right-handed batsman who made his first-class debut for Saurashtra in December 2005 and made his Test debut at Bangalore in October 2010.
As of December 2019, he is the 6th ranked Test batsman in the world, according to the ICC Player Rankings with a tally of 791 points.
Pujara was one of the elite Indian sports persons who attended the video call held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to discuss ways to fight the coronavirus. The country is in the middle of a 21-day lock down.
Regarding 21 day lock down which was imposed by Indian government in order to control the spread of corona virus Pujara mention that “the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic can only be won by being indoors”.
He also states that “The Prime Minister wanted us to pass on the fighting spirit of a sportsperson to the general public. Sportspersons do inspire to fight,” Pujara told PTI over phone from Rajkot, his hometown.
“Most of us are following the government guidelines on lockdown but there are still some who are taking the virus casually. They don’t realise that they could too be affected.
“Every single person is a soldier at the moment. If you stay indoors, you are fighting the battle for your own country. There has to be a collective effort else we can’t win this,” said India’s Test batting mainstay.
After helping Saurashtra win their maiden Ranji Trophy title last month, little did he know that he would be spending all his time at home.
Pujara is enjoying the “forced” break and most of his time goes into entertaining his two-year-old daughter.
The closest he has got to a “hit in the nets” is by playing with a plastic bat.
“That is also for entertaining my daughter. No serious stuff. All of that can wait at the moment,” he said.
But a gym at home means he is not compromising on his fitness.
“I usually take everything in a positive way. Sometimes you need to take a break as a sportsperson and there can’t be a better time. We just won the Ranji and it is the right time to take three to four weeks off.
“Luckily I have a gym at home. Being a small town guy, I can’t go out to the gym and train there (because he will be mobbed). With gym at home, I can still do my strength sessions, cycling and running. I also do yoga which helps a lot,” said Pujara.
He was supposed to play county cricket in the UK but that too has been postponed at least till May 28 and faces cancellation.
Considering the current circumstances, Pujara might have to wait till the Australia tour starting November to play his first competitive game since the Ranji Trophy final.
But he is prepared for any eventuality.
“I would still have some first-class games before the Australia tour. I am prepared for anything. This is the time when we can’t just be thinking about sporting events. First, we have to win this battle against coronavirus,” he said.
“A person’s life is much more important than a sporting event. All the sporting events (including Olympics) have been postponed. One has to be prepared as we are going through rare times.
“We just need to make sure the virus is contained and things get back to normal. After that we can talk about the game.”
Pujara has fond memories of the previous Australia tour in 2018-19 when India won their maiden Test series Down Under.
He was named the player of the series for scoring 521 runs at 74.42, including three hundreds.
His long hours in the middle and pacers’ stellar performances made all the difference.
“I would still say it was a collective effort. Yes, I did perform exceptionally well. I am happy about that, no doubt, but when we go back again you have to start from the scratch. It (past performance) will help me for sure but one has to prepare again. You can’t take your past glories to the current series,” he signed off
Sachin Tendulkar Spokes out regarding lock down after PM Modi meeting
Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was one among the 40-odd elite sports persons with whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a one-hour video call to discuss the prevailing situation.
Corona death rate in India
In India the deadly corona virus affects 2902 persons with a death count of 68 as on Saturday (04-04-2020) morning. Earlier Indian government announced a 21 day lock down to control the spread.
Like everyone else, Tendulkar is also practising social distancing and said he now folds his hands to say ”Namaste” instead of shaking hands.
Tendulkar attends a video conference meeting with PM Modi
The legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has donated a sum of 50 lakhs(INR) towards the corona virus relief fund. And also advice peoples to maintain social distancing via social media.
Regarding the one hour meeting on Friday Sachin said managing the period after April 14 would be crucial to how India fares in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, a belief which was shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video conference with sports persons.
“He (PM Modi) highlighted and reaffirmed my belief that we should not let our guard down after the 14th of April, & how we manage that period will be very critical,” Tendulkar said in a statement after the interaction.
Like everyone else, Tendulkar is also practising social distancing and said he now folds his hands to say ”Namaste” instead of shaking hands.
“I also suggested that as much as possible, I will use our way of greeting – saying ”Namaste” instead of shaking hands, even after we overcome this pandemic,” he said.
Modi also spoke about this being the time when elderly people, who are more vulnerable, should be taken care of.
“Taking care of our elders who are most vulnerable and using this time to hear from them, their stories and experiences was something the Prime Minister resonated with.”
The mental aspect of a lockdown was also discussed.
“We also spoke about mental fitness being as important as physical fitness during this phase, and shared what I”m doing at home to keep fit.
“This is the time for our entire nation to come together and keep each other motivated. Like team spirit wins us games in sports, our nation should work as one team to overcome this,” Tendulkar concluded.
Indian all rounder Suresh Raina spokes out how he spends 21 day lock down with his family. The 33 year old has already done his bit in this fight against the deadly virus by donating Rs 52 lakh, one of the highest donations among elite sportsperson.
Raina says “it is all about life” at the moment. “Life is most important at this point of time. IPL can surely wait”.
“We all need to follow the government guidelines on lockdown else we all face the consequences. When life gets better, we can think about the IPL. So many people are dying at the moment, we need to save lives,” Raina told PTI in an exclusive interview.
While spreading awareness on the importance of staying home during the ongoing 21-day lockdown in the country through social media, the 33-year-old is trying to be the perfect homemaker as his wife recovers from the birth of their second child, son Rio, last week.
Raina at CSK’s training camp
Raina was always a “family man” but says the current crisis has shown why “we need to appreciate life much more more than we do”.
“I am relaxing in the lockdown, cooking and spending time with the kids. There is so much more to life than cricket, moments like these make you realise that. With this lockdown, people should realise the importance of being down to earth.
“At this time, three-meals-a-day matter much more than the size of your house and car, what you wear doesn’t matter. What you and your workers in the house are doing is the same. You are eating and feeding them at the same time. I am used to cooking since my hostel days, so I enjoy doing that. Wife (who gave birth to a boy last week) and kid are still recovering, so happy to contribute with the household work.”
Raina who start his practice in Chennai Super Kings camp much earlier states that “It was a nice camp. I was there for two months but then this happened. Got to spend some time with Dhoni. He was batting so well in the nets, he had the hunger of a youngster. In one session, he batted for three hours at a stretch,”.
Talk to Raina about the memorable 2011 World Cup, he said “Every year, we celebrate. Like the way we celebrate Holi and Diwali”.
Three out of the four opportunities he got in the tournament came in the knock-outs. His unbeaten 34 and 36 against Australia and Pakistan in the quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively, helped his team make the final.
“Whatever decision we were taking, it was all going in our favour. Zaheer bhai led the bowling attack. Everyone was talking about our strong batting line up but I would say he was the Sachin Tendulkar of the bowling department, getting us the breakthrough every time. Then the biggest contribution came from Yuvraj, who took wickets and finished games,” Raina fondly recollected
Even in the final, India was in a spot of bother at 31 for two with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar back in the hut. However, Raina said not for once that the team felt it could lose the game. “Even though Sri Lanka put up a challenging total, everyone was calm in the dressing room. Someone was in the shower, someone was taking an ice bath, someone was eating, yet everyone was thinking about the trophy, everyone in their zone and no one was talking to each other. “There was just one goal and that was to win the trophy. There was pin-drop silence when Sachin paaji got out but we remained calm”.
You should have seen the way Gautam Gambhir (who made 97) entered the field after Sehwag’s dismissal. He was so confident “Seeing his body language, I thought he would win us the World Cup. Dhoni (who made 91) came ahead of an in-form Yuvraj, that was a big call but Dhoni told Gary Kirsten (coach) that he could play Muralitharan well so he went in. “I still remember everything so vividly,” he concluded.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli reveals his favourite Innings he played so far
In a recent Instagram live episode, Pietersen hosted India’s skipper Virat Kohli, which was a much-awaited episode for the fans ever since it was announced by the former English International.
While talking to Kohli, Pietersen asked the Indian batsman to name the inning he enjoyed the most in his career. Even though Kohli has several memorable knocks in his name.
He still managed to name one during the conversation, according to Kohli his favourite inning was his 50-ball century scored against Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2016.
Virat Kohli’s favourite Innings
“I scored a century against KXIP in a match that was for 12 or 14 overs. I was hitting it so well. I just went on. I never felt like that before. I felt like I would never get out. That was fun.” said Kohli.
In that match, RCB managed to score 211 runs in 15 overs and won the match by 82 runs on the D/L method, surely a memorable day for the 31-year-old.
On the other hand, even Chris Gayle, who looked to have a great time with Kohli in RCB smashed 73 runs to add up to the unachievable tally by them.
The conversation between Kohli and Pietersen was purely candid and gave priceless inside talks of the game, meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal and Rishabh Pat were seen joking around during the conversation.
Despite being a strong hitter in the game, Kohli claimed that his favourite format of the game was test cricket. He said that it made him a better person in the long run.
Kumar Sangakkara registers maiden ODI century vs Pakistan in Sharjah
On this day in 2003, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara registered his maiden ODI century during the second match of the Sharjah Cup against Pakistan in 2003.
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (born 27 October 1977) is a cricket commentator, former cricketer and captain of the Sri Lankan national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Sangakkara scored 28,016 runs in international cricket across all formats in a career that spanned 15 years. At retirement, he was the second-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket and sixth-highest run scorer in Test cricket.
Playing his 86th ODI, the southpaw eventually converted his start into a three-figure score after coming in to bat at No. 4 in the 13th over.
Taking his time to get his eye in initially, Sangakkara completed his 10th half-century on the third delivery of the 39th over after he ran a couple of runs off Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik.
With Sri Lanka scoring 152/4 in 40 overs, a well-set Sangakkara took the onus on himself to put on board a respectable total of 223/6 after the then Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya won the toss and chose to bat.
It was on the penultimate delivery of the innings when he ran a single off Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami to register a century. Having scored 100* (111) with the help of nine fours, Sangakkara top-scored for his team in a match where they needed him to play till the end.
Coming on the back of defeating Zimbabwe by 68 runs in the first ODI, Pakistan made a similar start like Sri Lanka as they were reduced to 101/3 in 29 overs.
It was a match-winning 124-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Mohammad Yousuf (64) and Younis Khan (57) which sealed the chase for Pakistan in the 48th over.
Sangakkara, then 25, had scored four Test centuries before his maiden ODI century. There is no hiding to the fact that Sangakkara had a turnaround-of-sorts in his ODI career which saw him scoring 12,407 runs in his remaining 319 ODIs at an average of 45.78 and a strike rate of 80.32 including 25 centuries and 84 half-centuries.
Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings vice-captain Suresh Raina has iterated on the fact that the 13th season of the cash-rich league can “surely wait” in the times of the novel COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the out break of corona virus many sports event including IPL has been postponed. The cash-rich IPL has been scheduled to begin from March 29. Due to the corona issue and visa restriction BCCI announced to host the IPL in the mid of April.
Raina’s lock down session
“Life is most important at this point of time. IPL can surely wait. We all need to follow the government guidelines on lockdown else we all face the consequences. When life gets better, we can think about the IPL. So many people are dying at the moment, we need to save lives.
“I am relaxing in the lockdown, cooking and spending time with the kids. There is so much more to life than cricket, moments like these make you realise that. With this lockdown, people should realise the importance of being down to earth,” Raina was quoted as saying by PTI.
Dhoni and Raina
Suresh Raina remembers spending time with MS Dhoni
Things end but memories last forever. Remembering the rush, excitement, thrill of it all, of the fantastic moments leading up to us lifting the world cup. Irreplaceable. Unforgettable. Thankful to have been a part of this iconic moment in the history of cricket. #worldcup2011pic.twitter.com/qIISLuzS0k
Suresh Raina start his preparation at Chennai Super Kings franchise training camp. Dhoni and Raina starts their training in keen to get back their slots in Indian international team.
Raina’s Preparation in camp
During one such training session, Suresh Raina was spotted discussing something with Dhoni in the middle of the crease while the duo was batting. Raina accidentally hit Dhoni’s bat by mistake with his foot and suddenly worshipped the bat with heartwarming gesture. This attitude shows how he respect cricket and also the cricket materials.
“It was a nice camp. I was there for two months but then this happened. Got to spend some time with [MS] Dhoni. He was batting so well in the nets, he had the hunger of a younsgter. In one session, he batted for three hours at a stretch,” Raina said.
Jasprit Bumrah Shares Adorable Video Of Rohit Sharma's Daughter
Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian fast bowler, has been active on social media as India is in the middle of a 21-day lockdown in the fight against coronavirus. Bumrah has kept his fans engaged by constantly sharing interesting posts on social media.
In his recent Twitter post, Jasprit Bumrah shared an adorable video of Rohit Sharma’s daughter Samaira where she can be seen trying to copy his action. Bumrah captioned the tweet saying, “I think she does it better than me @ImRo45 and @ritssajdeh! I can safely say I am a bigger fan of hers than she is of mine.
Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were involved in an Instagram live session a few days back. During the chat, Sharma and Bumrah discussed different topics. Bumrah shared with the Indian vice-captain that he really likes Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Where Rohit Sharma trolled Rishab Pant.
The Indian fast bowler felt that there is a similarity between him and Ibrahimovic as both players were not taken seriously during the beginning of their careers. However, they proved many people wrong later. To this, Rohit Sharma agreed with Bumrah and told him that he is a great player.
About the IPL, there has not been any official announcement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India and as of now, it is scheduled to begin from April 15, 2020.
However, with global sporting events from around the world getting cancelled or postponed it is possible that the BCCI takes a similar route like the French Open or the Wimbledon. But fans will have to wait for an official statement from them.
Finally BCCI comes up with a decision to host the tournament at the end of April or at the beginning of May. BCCI took this decision after having the conference call with the IPL owners on March 24.
Delhi and District Cricket Association Announcements
A Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) official, also confirmed the same and said “All IPL related work was stopped in mid-March. Only the construction of VIP boxes was underway when this coronavirus pandemic forced us to go on a work-from-home. We were already told not to hold IPL-related work till April 15.”
David Warner reveals his favourite IPL moment
The destructive batsman took to Instagram and shared a photo with his team that won the IPL in 2016.
Warner captioned the image as: “My favourite IPL moment would have to be this for sure. My Indian family @sunrisershyd.”
There was a report regarding the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2020 getting postponed due to the coronavirus scare. With BCCI President Sourav Ganguly hinting at no change in the situation regarding IPL 2020, it won’t be a surprise if the tournament further gets delayed.
Being asked about the possible start date of the cash-rich league, the source believed that October-November can be a realistic possibility only if the T20 World Cup gets postponed. However, nothing concrete can be said at this point in time.
“We are still to understand what the Indian government will decide with regards to closing the international borders. In such a scenario, the only window that looks safe is the October-November one. But again, that collides with the T20 World Cup.
“Again, it would be the last step for the ICC to push the T20 World Cup from 2020 to 2022 because there is no window in 2021. So, at the moment, it is all a bit too far-fetched to be honest. But yes, the October-November window has been spoken about for the IPL, but a lot of external factors need to fall into place for that to become a reality,” the source said
Yuvraj Singh's savage response to Ravi Shastri for not mentioning him & MS Dhoni in World Cup post
April 2, 2011 it’s not just a date for Indian cricket fans. The day where millions of dreams comes true when India lifts world cup after 28 years. Though the expected openers failed, middle order batsmen save the game and lead India to a glorious win.
The finals have been played between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Gautam Gambhir with his impressive bat work scored 97 runs and missed a memorable Ton which helps India to chase the target 274.
Dhoni finishes off in style
“And Dhoni finishes off in style! A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years!” This sentence is still hitched in the minds of every Indian.
MS Dhoni’s huge six to finish the game will always be remembered as Shastri’s high-pitched tone said, “Remember the name”. The day, April 2, 2011, is still clear – from Shastri’s commentary to Dhoni’s six or Lasith Malinga’s opening burst.
Ravi Shastri’s Tweet
Team India head coach Ravi Shastri took to social media to celebrate the 9-year anniversary of India’s WC triumph. Ravi posted the video of Dhoni’s iconic sixer to win it for the Men In Blue and mentioned Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar in his post.
“Many Congratulations Guys! Something you will cherish all your life. Just like we from the 1983 group #WorldCup2011 – @sachin_rt @imVkohli,” his post read on Twitter.
However, former Indian allrounder Yuvraj Singh, who was crowned with the Man Of The Series award during the WC 2011, was not too impressed with Shastri’s post and pointed out that he can also mention him and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his post too.
Dhoni smashed 91 not out off 79 balls in the final against Sri Lanka.
“Thanks senior ! U can tag me and mahi also we were also part of it,” Yuvraj’s response read.
Thanks senior ! U can tag me and mahi also we were also part of it 😂
Dhoni's retirement plan revealed by his close friend
The former Indian skipper MS Dhoni was last seen in action against New Zealand in the ICC World Cup semifinal, a game India lost. He made himself unavailable for India’s international assignments post the WC exit and was eventually dropped from the BCCI’s list of centrally contracted players in January.
Dhoni’s future carrier depends on IPL 2020
As pointed out by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and India head coach Ravi Shastri, “Dhoni’s international future depends on his performances in IPL 2020 which comes in to consider him in T20 World Cup planned later this year in Australia”.
BCCI postponed the Indian Premier League to avoid the spread of corona virus. Thus the tension arises among Dhoni’s fan as this IPL plays a crucial role in his future International cricket role.
Earlier former Indian cricketer Sehwag and Australian bowler Brad Hogg throws their view on Dhoni’s possible return to Indian squad for T20 world cup. Sunil Gavaskar too insist Dhoni to retire from the cricket.
Sunil Gavaskar suggest Dhoni to retire silently
Message from Dhoni’s close friend
However, contrary to the earlier reports, one of MS Dhoni’s close friend from Ranchi has revealed that MS still wishes to play for the Man in Blue and has not considered his retirement plans yet. He also stated that Dhoni has been training as rigorously as he has ever done.
In a talk with ABP news, Dhoni’s friend revealed, “He [Dhoni] has worked even harder in the last few months before everything stopped. I haven’t seen him doing agility training so intensely ever. He knows he is not getting younger and perhaps that is why training even harder to keep himself fit.”
However, the person did not reveal his identity. But it is believed that he was one of the friends who appeared in the biopic of the Indian star– MS Dhoni: The untold story’.
“He has proved everyone wrong when no one backed him. Now there are millions of fans to back him. So he will take his chances for sure,” added Dhoni’s friend. “Mahi gets angry when we ask him questions on his retirement. He still feels he is the fittest of all and quickest wicket-keeper in India.”
