sports

Kevin Pietersen: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Kevin Pietersen Wishes He Had Exclusive Copyrights To ‘Palti Hit’

What he said:

"I should’ve taken a patent on that shot… With so many batsmen playing it these days, I would have made a pile from the royalty."

Kevin Pietersen regrets not patenting the “Switch Hit”, a shot in which he switches grips and sides, inverting field placements and befuddling bowlers with his power hitting—equally devastating in his left-handed avatar.

What he really meant:

“The Pepsi commercial doesn’t count, of course.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Definitely easier pickings  than penning an autobiography.”

Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Graeme Swann Is Not a ‘Character Assassinator’

What he said:

“They would have realised it was not a character assassination.”

Graeme Swann clears the air on the controversy surrounding Kevin Pietersen’s portrayal in his autobiography, “The Breaks Are Off”.

Swann, in his book, dissed the No.4 saying he was not a natural leader and should never have been made skipper.

Swann is skipper of the T20 side and needs Kevin Pietersen to fire on all cylinders to salvage a disastrous ODI tour of India where the visitors were thrashed 5-0.

Swann said:

“My relationship with KP has unchanged. It’s fine. I am afraid people churned out stories that did not exist.”

Swann defended his characterisation of KP:

When I wrote the book it was certainly not a character assassination on anyone. It was certainly not more than myself. So I did not feel the alter the timing of its release.
It was an opinion of mine some years ago. Some people chose that for a headline of me slamming (Pietersen). A few more people could have seen it the way it was and they would have realised it was not a character assassination.

What Graeme Swann really meant:

“And they would have realised that the book is a huge bore.”

What Graeme Swann definitely didn’t:

“Kevin, how about a half-way split of the royalties?”

Roger Federer: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Fedex Meets The Federer Express

What he said:

"I have never named a locomotive before, let alone one bearing my own name.”

Fedex or the Federal Express has a locomotive named after him—The Federer Express.

Roger Federer was honoured by National Suisse with a locomotive bearing his name and image.

Federer is the Suisse’s brand ambassador.

The National Suisse will contribute to the Roger Federer fund for every kilometre the locomotive travels.

Jeannine Pilloud, Head of the Passenger Division at SBB railways, said:

“Our passengers are world champions in rail travel. Now they can look forward to meeting Roger Federer, the best tennis player of all time, on all inter-city routes.”

What he really meant:

“How would you  like to do the Loco-motion with me?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Why can’t my sponsors be normal and name an airplane or a ship for me?”

Marat Safin: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Marat Safin Hopes To Join The Law Makers

What he said:

“I could be the best looking guy in the Duma. But that’s only because all the other guys are over 60.”

Marat Safin is running for public office.

The former tennis star—winner of two majors—is up for election to the lower house of Russian parliament on December 4, 2011.

Post-retirement, Safin involved himself with the Russian tennis federation and is a member of the Russian Olympic committee.

What he really meant:

“I could be their (Duma’s) fresh-faced poster boy.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“The change (in Russian politics) will be merely cosmetic.”

Women’s Tennis: Caroline Wozniacki lays down the law for Stacey Allaster to enforce (Humor)

That grunting (and shrieking) is really getting on my nerves.

What is that horrible sound?

That is the sound of cheating, according to Caroline Wozniacki:

I think there are some players who do it on purpose. They don’t do it in practice and then they come into the match and they grunt. I think they [officials] could definitely cut it. If you grunt really loudly your opponent cannot hear how you hit the ball. Because the grunt is so loud, you think the ball is coming fast and suddenly the ball just goes slowly. In tight moments, maybe the grunt helps them with getting less nervous.

So whom is the Woz’s remark aimed at?

PT Usha: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

English: This picture is of P. T. Usha, a former Indian athlete. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PT Usha Is Not Sporting About Formula 1

What  she said:

“I feel very bad because such hi-fi business has nothing to do with 99% of Indians. It is a criminal waste (of money). First, Twenty20 cricket spoiled the spirit of Indian sports, and now here comes another avatar which will mostly attract corporate money, who (Corporate) rarely spend for sports promotion. Only God can save the Indian sports.”

Former track and field superstar, PT Usha, is not enamoured with the Formula 1  Indian Grand Prix to be held on the 30th of October, 2011 at the Buddh International Circuit, NOIDA.

Usha narrowly missed bronze in the 400 meters hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and runs an athletic school in her home state, Kerala.

Usha said:

“Till this date I have never and I don’t want to follow any motor business, which I do not want to call as sport.”

What she really meant:

“Neither does the Olympics consider F1 a sport (in cricket’s case—not yet).”

What she definitely didn’t:

“Formula 1 epitomises ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’.”

West Indies Cricket: The Curious Case of Christopher Henry Gayle

The curious case of Christopher Henry Gayle grows stranger by the day.

Here is a man who has two Test triple hundreds under his belt; his ability to scorch opposition bowlers with his big hitting has the best demoralised and he continues to take the  West Indian domestic league, Regional Super 50, by storm.

Middlesex are yet another team that seeks to have the buccaneer in their midst.Gayle is perhaps the most successful free agent in the cricketing realm.

Following the exit of Brian Charles Lara, Gayle dons the mantle of ‘Entertainer’ with typical Calypso swagger . However, he has no place in the current West Indian scheme of things.

His running feud with the West Indian Cricket Board is well-documented. The West Indian Players Association (WIPA) rallied to his defence but to no avail.

Gayle rubbed the high-and-mighty in the corridors of power the wrong way with his damning indictment of their high-handed ways. His displacement from the national side following disagreements with Dr. Ernest Hilaire of the WICB forced him to cast aside the kid gloves and  slam the board’s idiosyncratic ways.

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Women’s Tennis: No Beach Picnic For Maria Sharapova This Year

What she said:

"The last couple of years at this time I was sipping a margarita on the beach and now I have another tournament.”

Maria Sharapova contrasts her experiences over the past two years with 2011.

Though the Russian is yet to win a Slam since 2008, she climbed the rankings to be No.2 this year.

What she really meant:

“More work, more tennis, less play, less Margaritas.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“I’d rather be picnicking on the beach.”

Rashid Latif Bats Economically For Danish Kaneria

What he said:

"I would say it’s an economical murder of a player who has served the country very well and is still eager to continue."

Former Pakistani skipper, Rashid Latif, continues Pakistani cricketers’ saga of recriminations against their administrators.

Latif accused the PCB of a lackadaisical attitude to one of the premier spinning talents in the country—Danish Kaneria.

Kaneria was arrested for spot-fixing together with fellow Essex bowler Mervyn Westfield in 2010 but was released without charge.

An hearing of an integrity committee of the PCB failed to clear him. Kaneria has filed a petition in a bid to force the PCB to allow him to represent the country.

Latif claimed:

All around the cricketing world they preserve their players, however in Pakistan the ideology is just the opposite as the PCB is destroying Kaneria’s career.

He is the most successful spinner of the country, hence should be treated with respect.

What he really meant:

“It’s not a reference to Kaneria’s bowling figures.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Who’s Adam Smith? And what’s he doing on a cricket field?”

Saurav Ganguly Is Practical About One-Day Cricket

What he said:

“The problem with England is they have too much theory in one-day cricket.”

Saurav Ganguly analyses the reasons for England’s 4-0 washout against India in the five match ODI series in India.

The former Indian skipper was commenting on England’s unwillingness to have Ian Bell open the innings in the 50 over format.

Bell is rated the best batsman in the world by leading experts.

What he really meant:

“I’m all for anti-theory—especially when it comes to opposing sides.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Wasn’t this the same side that beat us in the ODI series at home?”