“I am a married man, do you think I would have any other answer?”
Rahul Dravid is not averse to wives and girlfriends joining cricketers on tour. The former India No. 3 pooh-poohed notions that the practice adversely impacts players’ performances.
“On a serious side, cricketers travel 11 months in a year, I think wives and girlfriends should be allowed to travel with players. You can’t start blaming wives or girlfriends for performances, that’s not done.
Since I’m married, I would say yes. Wives, girlfriends, or a partner of any gender should be allowed, because the Indian team travels for almost the entire year. You can’t start blaming them for the players’ poor performance. In fact, if you don’t allow them, that would be a bigger problem!”
What he really meant:
“Do you really think I wish to argue with my home minister (wife) about this? Spare me the torture.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’m going to be the best man at Virat’s wedding.”
“I don’t know because they almost bought and created a new team. So now you have to fix it together – the team itself. It’s not a question anymore about the quality of the players, or are they good enough. But to make a mixture of good players is very difficult.”
On United’s transfer policy:
“There should be a logic always, but the big problem is to manage all these players. It’s the same thing with Barcelona. They now have Suárez, Messi, Neymar – how do you play them together? If you see them individually then they are great players. It’s the same at Manchester United. Individually they are great but they have to play like a team.
Then you get another problem. They are all famous. They earn a lot of money both on and off the field. How can you create a team and bring all these egos together? The main goal for Manchester United is for them to play well – and not have a player saying, ‘I play well, I scored two goals’. Because if I score two goals but three goals go into our net then we lose. They provide [Van Gaal] with a lot of good players but he has to turn them into a team. And you can’t arrange the chemistry of the team in two weeks. It needs time.”
On whether it will take United a full season to regain their preeminent position:
“No, no. That’s too long. But it doesn’t mean they will win the league. But you can see a better performance every week and you can aim for a better fit as a team in the details. And [Van Gaal] is a person of details. So it could be possible that things work. But, once again, can these people develop their own game for the sake of the team? It’s not easy.”
On their respective soccer philosophies:
“No. Not much. We’re both Dutch and that is always a [shared] basis. But I always think of being in charge of the speed and of the ball. Maybe he knows more than me but I always want control of the ball. When I don’t have control of the ball what do I do? I press to get it back. It’s a way of defending. But more important is that I like to have the ball.
Van Gaal has a good vision of football but it is not mine. He wants to gel winning teams and has a militaristic way of working with his tactics. I want individuals to think for themselves.…I’ve always been an individual who likes to create something himself within a team performance. I am happy if my players start thinking. [Pep] Guardiola is a good example. As a player he was tactically perfect but he can’t defend. That’s what he said. I said: ‘I agree – in a limited way. You’re a bad defender if you have to cover this whole area. But if you have to defend this one small area then I think you’re the best. Take care that there are people there to help you cover the other areas. As long as you do that you can be a very good defender.’ And he did become very good.
That’s why I believe in individual coaching sessions to prepare players properly. You have to take care of the individual for the benefit of the team – as our work with Guardiola showed.”
Tangentially:
“Football is now all about money. There are problems with the values within the game. And this is sad because football is the most beautiful game. We can play it in the street. We can play it everywhere. Everyone can play it but those values are being lost. We have to bring them back.
In the Premier League the money is a problem but I don’t really know how to control it. If you look at England or even Spain you see the problems. How many England players are in the first four teams in the Premier League? How many Spanish forwards are playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid?”
On Pep Guardiola, whom Cryuff considers his natural successor (not Van Gaal):
“Yes, he’s got it. Normally I would say that the most important thing for a coach is that he [overcame] difficulties when he was young. Look at Guardiola and myself. Like me he was very thin and he had to take care of his technique. You see it with Iniesta and Messi too. They must do something quick otherwise they will never get there. It means that they are aware of all the details. You have to think quicker and see more things. And if you see more things you can help more people.”
What he really meant:
“It’s a slow reaction—a slow burn if you’d like to term it so. It takes time for the team to reach ignition.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Two Weeks Notice—that’s all coaches and players need.”
“I was shocked. I thought at least, you know, I would get a face to face or something. But there was nothing. It was just a phone call and I did not hear from him again.”
Caroline Wozniacki reveals the back-story behind her sudden break-up with Northern Irish golfer Rory McIllroy. The nuptials were called off by the golfer ending a three-year relationship.
“It was very hard because he made it very public from the start. He put out a press release so I didn’t have a choice, you know, it just got put in my face.
I was shocked. I thought at least, you know, I would get a face to face or something. But there was nothing. It was just a phone call and I did not hear from him again.
I don’t think you expect to find yourself in a situation like that, you can’t prepare yourself or your body for anything like that so I think I was in a bit of a shocked phase there for a while.”
Wozniacki has since moved on and poked fun at her former boyfriend’s lack of inches.
English: Profile portrait of Rory McIlroy, golfer from Northern Ireland. Taken at Royal Dublin Golf Club, Dublin, Ireland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“I went to Miami after the French Open and Serena was there and we had a great time. I came back from that and I felt refreshed, I felt like a new self.
I started practising towards Wimbledon and I was playing well. I think you just have to take life as it goes and I believe you never get things put on you that you can’t handle. I’m definitely on the other side now — I’ve moved on.
I think it is very important to have a life off the court and to me it wasn’t that hard to balance tennis and a relationship.
I would like a taller guy so I can wear my heels. Someone who is fun to be around who doesn’t take himself too seriously.”
A fakeQuinton De Kock Twitter account was in the news with leading dailies attributing the above tweet to the chubby-faced South African opening bat.
Saeed Ajmal has been banned with immediate effect from all international cricket after his bowling action was deemed illegitimate by the ICC.
Bio-mechanic analysis revealed the the Pakistani off-spinner flexed his elbow as much as 35 degrees against the permitted 15 degrees.
The bowler can apply for a reassessment anytime once his action has been rectified. However, he is permitted to take part in domestic cricket under the supervision of his country’s cricketing board, the PCB.
Maninder Singh, a former India left-arm spinner, squarely blamed the ICC for the current mess.
He said:
“”The problem started with Muralitharan. The menace should have been stopped then. If that had happened, all boards would have taken steps to prevent this.Now it (chucking) has become a norm, it is like ‘if he (Murali) can do it, anyone can’.”
On young bowlers choosing the wrong role models:
“This has ruined careers. Whether you call it 12 or 15 degrees, it is to be blamed.”
On why English and Australian bowlers are not called that often:
“People there are basically honest, and they will own up. We don’t, and in fact start backing them.”
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal said:
“”Even in my academy, so many boys bend their elbows. They see lot of cricket on TV and try to imitate them. It gets difficult to correct them once they are set in their ways.”
English: Saeed Ajmal in the field during a 50-over warm-up match against Somerset at the County Ground, Taunton, during Pakistan’s 2010 tour of England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“It is disappointing to learn the result of the biomechanic test in Brisbane but I have not given up. I don’t see the ban as a major problem as I know I can work out on the flaws and make a comeback.
Obviously, I have to follow their advice but from what I know is that once we get the full medical report, we have a right of appeal and to challenge these findings.
I want to play in the World Cup and see my country doing well and I will do whatever it takes to be ready for the tournament. I am a fighter and I know what I have to do to get back into international cricket before the World Cup.”
Bishan Singh Bedi tweeted:
At long last ICC nets a big shark but not b4 it devoured more than 350 Intnl scalps!Tragedy remains as many 'chucking' sharks still at large
“”It was inevitable. But it’s a decision taken too late, when all the damage has been done and Ajmal has taken so many wickets in international cricket.
What was the ICC doing till now? All those batsmen who lost their wickets to him, all those teams which lost a game because of an Ajmal spell, should they now come forward and say we have been wronged? If they can’t, then what is the point of rehabilitating these bowlers.”
Bedi added:
“Most people who claim to be mystery spinners enjoy an unfair advantage because they are being allowed to bowl illegal deliveries.What is the point of correcting their action in a laboratory and then letting them loose? Is the ICC a reformatory school? A chucker cannot reform. He is merely rendered ineffective.”
What the Fake Quinton De Kock really meant:
“Saeed Ajmal can’t bowl! Saeed Ajmal can’t bowl! With or without his 35 degrees of hyper extension…Ajmal can’t bowl…”
“We’re definitely not predictable. You bowled two overs the other day.”
Dale Steyn contradicts himself without seemingly realizing it. The lanky pace bowler commented on his teammate A B De Villiers bowling for only the second time ever in ODIs. South Africa were playing Zimbabwe in Harare.
AB De Villiers recently came out strongly against Australian sledging terming it “personal.”
“There was lots of personal stuff and certain guys take it in a different way. I see that it’s part of the game… but they can’t expect us to be mates with them off the field then, if they get very personal.”
The South African skipper was referring to comments made during the third Test in Cape Town.
David Warner, meanwhile, apologized for accusing De Villiers of ball-tampering during the series.
Warner said:
“Obviously with myself coming out and saying the comment about AB de Villiers probably wasn’t the smartest thing, and I regret saying that.We set a standard where we want to go out there and play aggressive and hard cricket and not cross the line.
There are some times you do nudge that line a fair bit and the odd occasion you might step over that, but you do have to realize that we’re out there to win.
We do like to be aggressive and sledging is a form of the game when we’re out there.”
What Steyn really meant:
“Wasn’t that a pleasant surprise? …AB bowling two overs. I certainly didn’t expect that.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Outliers… by Malcolm Gladwell—yeah, that’s my favorite read.”
Actress and pop diva Priyanka Chopra confesses that she draws some satisfaction from her new-found ability to physically match almost anyone post training for the title role of her latest film, ‘Mary Kom’.
Chopra was all laughs claiming that building the muscles for the role “tired her”.
“But it was worth it! Building muscles can’t make you feel empowered, but stronger. I did! I have lost all my muscle now, but I still feel strong. I still believe I have those muscles. Muscles are a very superficial thing. What they did for me, honestly, was being able to learn a sport. I’ve never learnt a sport in my life. That too a contact sport. For me, it was a huge challenge to learn an entire sport. Today, you can put me in a boxing ring. I may not be able to beat another boxer, but I’ll be able to give her a tough fight. I’ve learnt it that much.”
The thespian now believes that every woman should learn some form of self-defence.
“I think girls should be able to do what they want, be free and not be worried about protecting themselves. But I think that in the world that we live in today, unless the laws that have been made to protect us have been implemented well enough, we should learn some form of self-defence just for confidence. You may not be able to beat a guy who’s coming at you, but you’ll be able to put up a fight. And that can really scare some people off. So, with that, you will be able to put up a fight, and say, ‘You cannot take advantage of me’. For some, that power comes from the gym. But one has to find an individual source. For me, it came from being agile, from learning this new sport.”
Meanwhile, Mary Kom, was all praise for Priyanka Chopra’s work in the biopic.
“Priyanka did a great job. I am very happy for her. She is the best person to fit in the role.Priyanka did hard work, and you can see the muscles.”
The five-time World champion believes that her sport—boxing— should be promoted like kabaddi and soccer.
“If people like it (film) then it could happen. Promotion is necessary. Just like kabbadi and football. The country is getting medals in individual sports like archery, weightlifting, wrestling, and with promotion more medals could come in future.”
What Priyanka Chopra really meant:
“Now, I can get my own back on anybody who messes with me—by knocking them flat on their backs. ‘Chops’ is for real.”
“A cheetah would be cooler. I can see the headlines, ‘Usain Bolt beats cheetah’.”
The champion sprinter was replying to a question whether he would like to race against a fast car or a cheetah.
The cheetah is the fastest land animal and can reach speeds of 90 to 128 kmph. Bolt, however, has clocked a top speed of about 45 kmph.
(1936 four-gold medal winner Jesse Owens raced against horses in exhibits but he cheated. The starting gun was fired next to the thoroughbred’s head startling it and giving the sprinter a head-start.)
Bolt was in Bangalore to play a seven-a-side exhibition match against a team which had some of India’s top cricketers including Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. The face-off was titled ‘Bolt and Yuvi – Battle of the Legends’.
On breaking new records:
“It’s possible. After running 9.58 seconds I’ve never said, ‘Never again.’ My coach knows there is no limit because I never knew I was going to go that fast. But when you go there, you have great competition, you push yourself to the limit and if you are in great shape anything is possible. No, I don’t have any magic number in mind. To me, the 100m record is not the one which matters now. It is the 200m where I want to go sub-19.”
Asked if yam and chicken nuggets were his secret ingredients:
“Yeah, but chicken nuggets was just one time in China as I didn’t want to take a chance with other food. Otherwise, I eat normal food. I’m not the kind of person who would give advice on diet (laughs) because I’m bad when it comes to my diet as I eat anything that I like.”
On Sachin Tendulkar:
“Everybody knows him. Sachin is one of the greatest ever in the sport. I remember the days when he depressed me by beating West Indies. There is another funny story. When I was growing up I never supported West Indies. I was a Pakistan supporter which my dad could never understand. But then I was a huge Waqar Younis fan.”
What he really meant:
“I’d like to prove I’m the fastest beast on the planet—I’m not a machine. I get injured and no mechanics can repair me.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Let’s race cars and we’ll headline it ‘Usain goes to Hollywood'”.
“Real mates are honest with each other. I’m no longer in the England dressing room and it is my job now as a pundit to give my honest thoughts.
I texted Cooky after the Test series victory over India saying I was proud of the way he conducted himself but that he should get away from the one-dayers as quickly as possible.
I think being one-day captain is a poisoned chalice for him. He just doesn’t need the job. The cricket England are playing in 50-over cricket is outdated and I fear it will be a painful winter for the team.
I don’t want him to be part of it. This is not a witch-hunt against ‘Cookie’ and I’m still a huge supporter of his captaincy in Test cricket. But, in one-day matches, I want England to play the exciting cricket they promised six months ago when Peter Moores took over as head coach.
We’re happy to tootle along in a two-litre diesel in a Formula One race.
If England do badly in the World Cup Cooky will be back to where he was earlier this summer when some people were waiting for him to mess up. He should be resting now, making sure he is fully recharged for the 17 Test matches England have next year.
I’m 100 per cent behind him as Test captain. I went to his wedding and he offers to send me a turkey each Christmas from his farm. I hope I’m not off his list now!”
What he really meant:
“ODI and T20 cricket is less about strategy,endurance, finesse and technique and more about tactics, fitness and speed. We can hardly have slow coaches chuggin’ along on high-speed rails.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Just appoint me Cook’s tooter and I’ll change my tune fast enough.”
“They can go on holiday, or go back home. They can even come to India if they want.”
BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel minces no words about Team India’s bowling coach Joe Dawes’ and fielding coach Trevor Penney’s options on being relieved of their duties post the disastrous result in the Big Test series against England.
What he really meant:
“What they do now on their own time is none of the BCCI’s business. It’ s a purely professional transaction. They’re hired based on past results and recommendations and fired based on results and feedback. Can they have it any other way? Besides, they deserve a holiday—a well-earned one—and I can recommend no better place to vacation than India.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“How about Tourism India roping in Dawes and Penney as brand ambassadors?”
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