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Former India opener Gautam Gambhir reckoned it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team if IPL is not played this year. Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical. He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of the T20 league being played are remote due to the Coronavirus.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he [Dhoni] be selected since he's not been playing for the last one or one-and-a-half year?" Gambhir said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

Gautam Gambhir

Rahul, an ideal replacement
Gambhir, 38, picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni. "Obviously, his [Rahul's] keeping is not as good as Dhoni's, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni's chances for a comeback look dim. "Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

Dhoni's future
The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision. "As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir. However, his former teammate and Test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL. "Not only this IPL, he [Dhoni] will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

Laxman said that the new selection committee chief Sunil Joshi will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him. "Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned. The new selection committee will have to sit down with Dhoni," said Laxman.

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The unprecedented health crisis, triggered by COVID-19, is perhaps a stark reminder that man should now learn to respect nature and not tinker with it, says Indian shuttler Sameer Verma. In India, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 500 people and infected over 17,000, forcing the government to lockdown the country till May 3 to contain the deadly disease. The global situation is worse as 1,65,174 deaths have been recorded so far and more than 24 lakh positive cases reported. "We have been running after materialistic things for so many years now and this lockdown period, whatever is happening globally at the moment, it has taught us a lot that we shouldn't tinker with nature," Sameer told PTI.

"I hope after the crisis is over, it will change people's outlook towards things. We should not do anything that harms nature," added Sameer, who is spending so much time at home after about 14 years. The shuttler also felt that the coronavirus-forced break is an opportunity to fix mental weakness and that a six-week training regime should be good enough to regain match-fitness after normalcy returns. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Badminton World Federation (BWF) to suspend all tournaments till the end of July and forced countries across the globe to shut borders. "It is an opportunity for everyone to analyse their own game and work on them. When we play, there are moments where we have been mentally weak, so during this time, you can rectify that and come out mentally stronger. I think it is a good time to work on mental strength," Sameer said.

"This break brings everyone at same level. If someone was playing well then his rhythm will be broken and someone who was not in form, it gives a chance to regain that." The Tokyo Olympics also got pushed to 2021 due to the rapidly-spreading pandemic with the BWF freezing world ranking by backdating it to March 17, 2020 until the international tournaments start again. "When things become normal, I don't think people will straight away run after tournaments. It is same situation for everybody right now, so at least players will train for at least six weeks before turning up for tournament," Sameer said. The 25-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, who won three tournaments in 2018, was close to breaking into coveted top 10 bracket last year but a shoulder injury followed by a dip in form dented his chances.

"Last year I had shoulder injury after June-July but I couldn't perform much in the second half. Fortunately, I'm completely fit now, so was looking forward to this year. I played three events this year before everything was suspended," said Sameer, who slumped from world number 11 to 31. Asked how is he maintaining his fitness, he said: "We are doing some basic training like strengthen, agility, push ups, wall practice, standing shadows to maintain our basic fitness." Athletes across the globe have been stressing on the need to maintain mental health during his lockdown period and Sameer said working out physically regularly will keep all mental issues at bay. "If you are training or doing exercises or being in touch with the sport you love even in a small way then I don't think you will get affected mentally," he said. The 2018 World Tour Finals semifinalist was also not too worried about the financial implications of the pandemic. "Everyone will be affected, people will suffer loses but then life is important and once things get normal, you can recover from the losses," he signed off.

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The VIVO IPL has been home to some of the greatest tactical brains in the game and on the 13th birthday of the glamorous tournament, Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming was declared the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) among coaches by an esteemed Star Sports jury on the latest episode of their flagship show Cricket Connected. Another CSK veteran, Shane Watson, one of the most decorated all-rounders in the storied history of the tournament, was nominated as the G.O.A.T all-rounder on the show.

The 47-year-old former New Zealand captain Fleming, who has been with the Yellow Army since its inception, got the nod ahead of Mahela Jayawardene and Trevor Bayliss, who had won two titles each with Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. Fleming’s chemistry with captain MS Dhoni, who has also been part of CSK since 2008, was key to the team’s success. The Blackcap southpaw, who played in the inaugural edition in 2008, took over coaching duties and has since shepherded CSK to three title wins (in 2010, 2011 & 2018), despite the team being suspended from the league for two years. Under his tutelage, Rising Pune Supergiants also reached the VIVO IPL final in 2017.

Speaking about the greatness of Fleming, former England skipper Kevin Pietersen said on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected, “You are only as good as your players. I have played under Fleming at the Melbourne Stars. I love him for what he has achieved. To have that longevity to be in a cut-throat environment for such a long time is just a standout achievement.”

Besides, Jayawardene and Bayliss, Fleming also surpassed Tom Moody, Rahul Dravid and Shane Warne, who was the coach and captain when Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural crown in 2008, in the pecking order. Fleming managed to get 81% of the votes in his favour. Right from Peterson to Ian Bishop and his country-mate Scott Styris, Fleming garnered 18 out off the 22 votes.

Meanwhile, Shane Watson topped an elite nominee list that included Andre Russel, Dwayne Bravo, Jacques Kallis, Kieron Pollard, Yusuf Pathan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan. The last two years have been nothing short of phenomenal for Watson, the first player to win Man of the Tournament in the VIVO IPL, twice. Having featured in 134 VIVO IPL games so far, the 38-year-old sublime batting all-rounder has amassed 3575 runs at an excellent strike-rate of 139.53. Despite having to overcome a string of fitness issues, Watson has punched above his weight to take the Yellow Army to many a famous win. In the 2019 final, he nearly carried CSK to another title, despite a bloodied knee.

Speaking about Watson’s greatness, former England captain Kevin Pietersen said on the latest episode of Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected, “He has been such a player that if his bowling has gone off, his batting has become a lot better. I have played with him for a couple of years. He would have bowled so much faster had he not had so many back issues as a youngster. When he was younger, he used to bowl really fast.”

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir too showered praise on Shane Watson’s all-round abilities on Star Sports 1 Hindi show Cricket Connected, “If we talk about the past 12 years, for me Shane Watson is the best player because he has done magic with Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. No doubt, his bowling was on a decline in the latter half of his career, but he had an overall impact on the game. He was an excellent player when he used to play for Rajasthan Royals. He not only used to bowl with the new ball but also batted in the middle order. If you ask me the same question two to three years down the line, Andre Russell will win, hands down. But right now, I will go with Shane Watson.”

Ex-New Zealand pacer and renowned commentator Danny Morrison lavished praise on Watson on the show. He said, “I live in the land of Shane Watson. It’s Kevin Pietersen’s all-time favourite city. Brisbane is where’s Watto’s from, he’s loved to bits and pieces. He is a guy you will want to have in your line-up.”

In addition, Star Sports experts Scott Styris, Dean Jones, Brad Hogg and Simon Doull all ensured Watson topped their list of GOAT batsmen.

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Michael Vaughan has revealed that many former England players were jealous of Kevin Pietersen after the latter bagged a huge contract with the Indian Premier League (IPL).

In 2009, Royal Challengers Bangalore had bought Pietersen for $1,550,000, which made him the highest-paid IPL player along with Andrew Flintoff at that time.

"I think there was a lot of jealousy," Vaughan said in an interview with foxsports.com.au. "And the players will completely deny it now but I think there was at the time when Kevin was on a massive contract.

"There were all sorts of whispers and rumours of cliques in the team. There was a little band of a few; Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, (James) Anderson, (Stuart) Broad and Matt Prior. The whispers were they were on one side and Kevin was kind of standing on his own on the other side," the former England captain said.

The 45-year-old further said that while Pietersen was off the view that playing in the IPL would further the development of the one-day team, England players felt he was going after money.

"It wasn't anything other than that Kev (Kevinn Pietersen) around that time wanted to go to the IPL. That's how it all started to blow up and that's when those factions came into play," said Vaughan.

"He was saying to the team he wanted to play because it would further the development of the one-day team and all the one-day players would get the chance to play there and improve their game. They deemed that he just wanted to go for the money. He was on a big contract while not many of the other players were even getting sniffed at.

"It was very much Kevin against the team in terms of that one," he added.

During the course of the interview, Vaughan also said that Pietersen should have never played for England again after the infamous Text-gate scandal in 2012.

Pietersen, who was born and brought up in South Africa, was accused of sending texts to South African during a Test series between the two teams against his captain Andrew Strauss and a few of his team-mates.

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Star India batsman KL Rahul said the heartbreaking World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand, after a near-perfect show in the group stages, "continues to haunt" him and his teammates. In a chat show 'The Mind Behind', Rahul said if he was given a chance to change the result of any one match in the past, it would be the 2019 World Cup semi-final at Manchester.

"Most of us haven't got over that loss, it still haunts us. I can't imagine what the senior players must have felt but you know, in a World Cup, it just becomes even harder knowing that we played so well in the entire tournament. I still wake up to that nightmare sometimes," he said. India were perhaps the most dominant side in the group stage of the tournament, winning each of their matches except the one against hosts England.

The Virat Kohli-led side were the favourite going into the semi-final against eventual runner-up New Zealand but lost the contest by 18 runs. Just like other Indian cricketers, Rahul too is currently enjoying a rare break from the game because of the COVID-19 pandemic-forced lockdown.

"Let me talk about myself. I've just been sitting and doing some homework. I've been watching some videos from the past and taking notes of the things I was doing right and where I could improve," he signed off.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore teammates AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli have put up equipment -- that were used during their historic partnership against Gujarat Lions in 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) -- on auction in order to raise funds for the fight against coronavirus pandemic.

de Villiers on Monday took to social media to upload images of the signed equipment and announced all the proceeds will go to both the countries in their respective fights against the ongoing crisis.

The duo struck the highest-ever partnership in the history of the tournament when they put together 229 runs against Gujarat in 2016 IPL. Both the players slammed respective centuries during the course of the historic partnership.

"Cricket has given me many incredible memories -- and among the most precious stands the partnership with Virat Kohli, playing for RCB against Gujarat Lions in 2016," de Villiers wrote on his Instagram account.

"Everything clicked on what was an unforgettable night in the IPL. The capacity crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium were going crazy and we both scored centuries in a partnership of 229 off 96 balls. More importantly, RCB won the match by 144 runs.

"Now we find ourselves in a global crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic and Virat and I would like to help the people in need, people struggling to put food on the table.

"So we are putting some items from that special day in 2016 and creating one unique auction item. All money raised will be donated to charities supporting people most affected by the crisis, split 50/50 between charities working in South Africa and India," he added.

Kohli also used the repost option to share de Villiers' post onto his Instagram account for his followers to see and take part in the auction as well.

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In Plandemic, the former chronic fatigue syndrome researcher makes countless unsubstantiated claims and accusations

Gurinder Chadha's aunt passed away on Sunday due to Coronavirus complications. The UK-based filmmaker shared the news on social media. "She was my buaji, dad's sister. She survived the Partition and, sadly for us, no one could be with her in person in her final moments. But two nurses in the Surrey hospital held her hand, FaceTimed her children who chanted Sikh prayers. God bless the #NHS heroes who made my dear aunt's passing humane (sic)," wrote the Beecham House (2019) director.

"Today we said goodbye to my dearest bhuaji /aunt from #covid19 complications. She was my dad's little sister," Gurinder wrote alongside a family picture.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Today we said goodbye to my dearest bhuaji /aunt from #covi̇d19 complications. She was my dads little sister She is the aunt sitting down in these final pictures from #viceroyshouse and doted on me. She survived the Partiton of India and sadly for us, her family no one could be with her in person in her final moments 😢 BUT two nurses in the Surrey hospital held her hand, FaceTimed her children who all chanted Sikh prayers during which her soul departed. God bless the #nhsheroes who made my dear aunts passing humane. 🙏🙏🙏

A post shared by Gurinder Chadha, OBE (@gurinder.chadha) onApr 19, 2020 at 5:10am PDT

"God bless the #nhsheroes who made my dear aunts passing humane," she added.

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Shah Rukh Khan's trademark wit was at work when he commented on Salman Khan's new song, Pyaar karona. SRK's quip came during an interactive Twitter session with fans titled "#asksrk", when a user asked him what he thought of the new song that Salman has released on the coronavirus outbreak, titled "Pyaar karona".

"Bhai kamaal ka Single aur Singer hai..." was Shah Rukh's reply.

Many fans feel SRK was playing a pun using the word "Single" -- which could refer to the song, as well as Salman's bachelor status. "Bhai" could be a reference to Salman, of course, but Shah Rukh could also be addressing the fan.

Among several other interesting questions, SRK was asked who he would love to work with -- Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan. His reply, again, was a cryptic one, and many users felt he is hinting at a possible collaboration with Rajkumar Hirani in the future.

Replying to the question about Scorsese or Nolan, Shah Rukh tweeted: "Wow both are awesome and I have met them... but Raju apna sa lagta hai... nahi?"

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