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Can apos;t Forget Cause Of Charity Game: Sachin

2020-06-26T03:14:14Z

MairaH2371061202:

Sachin Tendulkar is ready for [https://footballncrickethub.bookmark.com/sachin-tendulkar-family-history footballncrickethub.bookmark.com] catch-ups, slip-ups and entertaining cricket in Sunday's all-star charity contest, but it is Australia's catastrophic bushfire crisis that is weighing most heavily on his mind. Tendulkar, India's greatest ever cricketer, is the biggest name involved in the match at Melbourne's Junction Oval featuring teams captained by Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. Tendulkar is listed to coach the Ponting XI that features Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Brett Lee and Wasim Akram. The once-in-a-generation superstar shunned the spotlight throughout his decorated career and that trend has largely continued since retiring in 2013. But when Lee reached out to the reclusive legend, wanting to put him in touch with Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts regarding the fundraising fixture, the answer was a prompt and enthusiastic yes. Tendulkar is looking forward to chewing the fat with Lee plus Ponting and Andrew Symonds, having struck up a rapport with the two batsmen when they were at Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians. But that is not why the 46-year-old, who fell in love with Australia while spending almost four months here as an 18-year-old on a Test tour, agreed to make the trip. "We must enjoy each other's company and, above all, not forget the cause. That's the prime reason I am here," Tendulkar told reporters at the SCG. "This is an alarming situation. It's catastrophic, that's an understatement." Australia's unprecedented bushfire season has claimed the lives of 33 people and an estimated one billion native animals, also destroying thousands of homes and decimating habitats and communities. "You see the number of lives it has affected and not just humans, but also the wildlife. Which sometimes people don't talk about and I think that is equally important," Tendulkar said. "People have suffered, have lost virtually everything." Tendulkar suggested a shoulder injury prevented him from playing on Sunday, although he teasingly noted he "might just pick up a bat". "I'm so happy that I'm here, in whatever possible way, to support the cause and raise money. Australia has always been dear to me," he said. Speaking alongside Tendulkar on Friday, compatriot Yuvraj Singh expressed sadness at the extent of death and destruction in recent months. "It's sad times for humanity," Singh said. "But there's a lot of humans and we're here to support each other. Hopefully from the game, we're able to generate as many funds a possible from around the world."

Disguised Boy To Girl Wonder: India apos;s Verma Eyes World Cup Glory

2020-06-25T11:16:13Z

MairaH2371061202:

Teenage India cricket sensation Shafali Verma stands in front of a picture of her idol Sachin Tendulkar in Rohtak Shafali Verma once disguised herself as her brother to play cricket, and went on to win "man of the match and series". Now the teen sensation wants to help India win the women's Twenty20 World Cup. Verma, who turned 16 on Tuesday, made her India debut last year in a Twenty20 against South Africa but turning up in her elder brother Sahil's jersey is her most cherished memory. "I told my father that I will go and play disguised as my brother (who was sick) and even had his name on my back," Verma told AFP. "I played and became man of the match and series. "Organisers complained to my dad that you made your daughter play instead of your son and he replied that 'you were lucky, if my daughter can hit so hard, imagine what my boy would have done'." Verma, an attacking opener, is now in Australia for a Twenty20 tri-series warm-up for next month's World Cup -- a trophy that has eluded India's women. But the prodigy's ambitions were almost ended by the lack of opportunities for aspiring female players where she grew up. World ambition: Shafali Verma, 16, wants to help India win next month's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia When she was nine, she decided to cut her hair short to play with the boys in her home town, Rohtak. Her cricket-obsessed father went along with the plan. "Whenever I went out to play, boys would not take a small girl in their team, fearing I would get hurt," she said. "After cutting my hair I went to play with the boys and they did not even realise that I am a girl. But they got it after a few days and felt happy." - Torn gloves, broken bat - Verma grew up in conservative northern Haryana state, where women are not encouraged to play sport. But she shared her father's mad passion for cricket and India legend Sachin Tendulkar. A visit by her idol to Lahli village near Rohtak for his final domestic Ranji Trophy match in 2013 inspired her. "That motivated me and I became serious for cricket and began to work hard to emulate my idol," Verma said as she sat in the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli. But Verma found there was only one academy for girls in the region despite the sport's overwhelming popularity in India. But her prodigious talent was spotted by coaches and she was picked to play in the boys' team. There were also struggles off the field, after her father Sanjeev was conned out of all his family's money to a imposter who had promised him a job. Breaking down in tears, Sanjeev told AFP in his humble one-room house where he runs a small jewellery repair shop, that they became so poor Verma played with torn gloves and a broken bat for several months. Batting prodigy: Shafali Verma hones her skills at net practice in Rohtak The setbacks only made Verma work harder. Backed by her father, who also dreamt of being a professional cricketer, she established herself in state cricket. "My father has been a huge pillar of support. I wouldn't have been here had it been because of his efforts. He made me practise hard," Verma said. - 'Next superstar' - Last year she was picked for the Velocity team in the women's T20 Challenge, which was played alongside the men's lucrative Indian Premier League, and walked onto the field with women's cricket great Mithali Raj. She shared the dressing room with international stars including England's World Cup-winning all-rounder Danielle Wyatt, who called her the next "superstar" of Indian cricket. Verma made her India Twenty20 debut in September and became the youngest Indian to score an international half-century in her fifth outing against the West Indies -- surpassing a 30-year-old record held by Tendulkar, who was 16 when he made his maiden Test fifty. Shafali Verma, then 15 years old, warms up last year with the India team in Surat, ahead of a Twenty20 match against South Africa Her proud father -- who kept the torn gloves and broken bat as a reminder of the hardships they went through -- is confident her fearless approach will encourage others including her seven-year-old sister Nancy, who bats left-handed. "(Shafali) will take women's cricket to greater heights and [https://footballncrickethub.bookmark.com/sachin-tendulkar-family-history footballncrickethub.bookmark.com] get India the women's World Cup -- T20 and ODI," Sanjeev said as he watched Nancy practising her batting in the house's small verandah, which doubles up as a makeshift cricket pitch.

Sri Lanka apos;sold apos; 2011 Cricket World Cup Final: Minister

2020-06-25T10:33:16Z

MairaH2371061202: Created page with "India won the 2011 World Cup final by six wickets Sri Lanka "sold" the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country's former sports minister said Thursday, reviving one..."

India won the 2011 World Cup final by six wickets Sri Lanka "sold" the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country's former sports minister said Thursday, reviving one of cricket's most explosive match-fixing controversies. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was sports minister at the time, is the second senior figure to allege the final was fixed, after 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. "I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals," Aluthgamage told Sirasa TV. "Even when I was sports minister I believed this." Aluthgamage, sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and now state minister for renewable energy and power, said he "did not want to disclose" the plot at the time. "In 2011, we were to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved," he said. Sri Lanka lost the match at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium by six wickets. Indian players have strongly denied any wrongdoing. Ranatunga, who was at the stadium as a commentator, has previously called for an investigation into the defeat. "When we lost, I was distressed and I had a doubt," he said in July 2017. "We must investigate what happened to Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Cup final." "I cannot reveal everything now, but one day I will. There must be an inquiry," added Ranatunga, [https://footballncrickethub.bookmark.com/sachin-tendulkar-family-history footballncrickethub.bookmark.com] who said players could not hide the "dirt". Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 off 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out for 18. But India turned the game dramatically, thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka, who were led by Kumar Sangakkara. Sangakkara called on Aluthgamage to share his allegations with the the International Cricket Council, the global governing body. "He (the minister) needs to take his 'evidence' to the ICC and the Anti corruption and Security Unit so the claims can be investigated throughly," Sangakkara tweeted Thursday. Sri Lankan cricket has regularly been involved in corruption controversies, including claims of match-fixing ahead of a 2018 Test against England. Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the International Cricket Council was investigating three unnamed former players over alleged corruption. Sri Lanka introduced tough penalties for match-fixing and tightened sports betting restrictions in November in a bid to stamp out graft. Another former sports minister, Harin Fernando, has said Sri Lankan cricket was riddled with graft "from top to bottom", and that the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the world's most corrupt nations. Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended in 2018 for corruption relating to a limited-overs league. He was the third Sri Lankan charged under the ICC anti-corruption code, following former captain and ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, and former paceman Nuwan Zoysa. Jayasuriya was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and banned for two years. Zoysa was suspended for match-fixing.

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2020-06-24T00:13:25Z

MairaH2371061202: Created page with "Feb 17 (Reuters) - Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi were declared joint winners of the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award in Berli..."

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