Fit-again Atwal draws Vijender hopes to be back Chinese...

THE HIMALAYAN MAIL 7JAMMU THURSDAY JULY 02, 2020

NEW DELHI:India's Ar-jun Atwal has turned uplighter, stronger and pain-free for this week's RocketMortgage Classic as he seeksto follow Phil Mickelson's ex-ample for longevity on thePGA Tour.

Since becoming the PGATour's first Indian winner atthe 2010 Wyndham Cham-pionship, Atwal has spentmuch of the last decade bat-ting inconsistent form and

career-threatening shoulderand wrist injuries.

The 47-year-old says he isdrawing inspiration fromfive-times major championMickelson, who lost 15pounds last year to get backinto shape in a bid to keepchallenging for titles.

"Phil is showing that any-body in his 40s or 50s can dowell and it gives us inspira-tion," Atwal, who is at theDetroit Golf Club on a spon-

sor's invite, told the PGATOUR.

"I'm in Detroit to competeand I'm going in with themindset of trying to win agolf tournament.

"I want to get on a roll andget competitive... I still havethe desire to win as long asmy body can perform. Ifthose things are there, then Iwill play. As of right now, I'mfeeling great."

Thanks to his new diet andfitness regime, Atwal has gothis weight down to what itwas in 2004, the year hemade his debut on PGATour, and the eight-timewinner of the Asian Toursays he can feel the differ-ence."I'm looking forward tothis one as my body feelsokay for the first time in along while. To play a tourna-ment pain free would begreat. Look forward to play-ing without back pain," headded.

"I've added swing speedtoo ...The legs feel strongerand I'm hoping that when Iget to Sunday, it'll show upwhen you're carrying lessweight."

Fit-again Atwal drawsinspiration from Mickelson

NEW DELHI:Flamboy-ant all-rounder RavindraJadeja has been named asIndia's Most ValuablePlayer (MVP) in Test cricketin the 21st century by Wis-den magazine.

With an MVP rating of97.3, the 31-year-old Jadejawas also rated as the secondMost Valuable Player inTests worldwide, behindonly Sri Lanka legend Mut-tiah Muralitharan.

"It has been a dream toplay for India and abovethat when you are rewardedfor being the most valuableplayer, you feel even moreblessed," Jadeja said.

"Would want to thank allmy fans, team-mates,coaches and support stafffor their unconditional loveand support."

Jadeja has played in 49Tests since making his de-but in 2012, scoring 1,869

runs with one century and14 fifties to his name. He haspicked up 213 Test wickets.

Based on analytics pro-vided by CricViz, eachplayer in world cricket hasbeen awarded an MVP rat-ing using a statistical modelto rank their 'match impact'compared to their peers.

"It might come as a sur-prise to see Jadeja...featureas India's number one. Af-ter all, he's not even alwaysan automatic pick in theirTest team. However, whenhe does play he is picked as afrontline bowler and hasbatted as high as No. 6 --contributing to a very highmatch involvement," saidCricViz's Freddie Wilde.

"But Jadeja's position isbased on more than simplyvolume: it's what he doeswhen he's involved that re-ally counts...His batting andbowling average differentialof 10.62 runs is the secondbest of any player this cen-tury to have scored morethan 1,000 runs and taken150 wickets."

Jadeja is India's Testcricket MVP in 21st century

NEW DELHI:CricketSouth Africa (CSA) will fi-nally get to trial a new for-mat that will see threeteams compete in a single36-over match on July 18after winning governmentapproval for the fixture tobe played at SuperSportPark in Pretoria.

CSA had to postpone thematch from its original dateof June 27 as the govern-ment had not provided thenecessary approval fortraining and match-dayprotocols.

However, the players re-turned to the nets on Mon-day and the game will nowbe staged on the 102nd an-niversary of the birth of for-mer president Nelson Man-dela.

"I can’t think of a moreappropriate day on which tohold this game than NelsonMandela Day when itsprime objective is to raisefunds for those who havebeen badly affected by theCoronavirus," CSA ActingChief Executive JacquesFaul said in a statement on

Wednesday.AB de Villiers, Quinton de

Kock and Kagiso Rabadawill lead three teams ofeight batting for a total of 12overs, six per innings, dur-ing which time they will faceboth opponents.

At the fall of the seventhwicket, the last remainingbatsman can carry on butonly score in even numbers-- twos, four or a six -- andthe team with the highestaggregate total at the endwill be declared the win-ners.

South Africa to stage unique three-team fixture on July 18

NEW DELHI:TheBoard of Control for Cricketin India's decision regard-ing Chinese sponsorship inthe Indian Premier Leaguewill be made keeping inmind the 'best interest ofcricket and country', a BCCIsource said while confirm-ing that no date has beenfixed for the IPL reviewmeeting yet.

"As of now, no date hasbeen decided for the IPL re-view meeting. There areother issues that BCCI islooking into. The franchisesare entitled to their opinion.We will make a decisionwhich will be in the best in-terest of cricket and coun-try. The meeting will takeplace once we work on allsurrounding issues of IPL,"the BCCI source stated.

Calls for boycotting Chi-nese products have intensi-fied after 20 Indian soldierswere killed in the GalwanValley clash on June 15.

Chinese mobile phonemaker Vivo is the IPL titlesponsor and it pays theBCCI Rs 440 crore annu-ally for the five-year dealending in 2022.

Other companies in-volved in the IPL -- Paytm,Swiggy, Dream 11 -- haveChinese investments. Not

just the IPL, the teams tooattract Chinese sponsor-ship.India on Mondaybanned 59 Chinese appsincluding Tik Tok and UCBrowser.

The Ministry of Informa-tion Technology had saidin a release that it decidedto block the 59 apps inview of the informationavailable that "they are en-gaged in activities which isprejudicial to sovereigntyand integrity of India, de-fence of India, the securityof the state and public or-der".

Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia onTuesday called for a grad-ual end to Chinese spon-sorship in the IPL, whichhas been suspended indef-initely this year due to thecoronavirus pandemic.

"We should do it (severties with Chinese sponsorsin IPL) for the sake of thenation. Country comesfirst, money is secondary.And it is the Indian Pre-mier League, not the Chi-nese Premier League. Itshould lead by example andshow the way," Wadia said.

Chinese sponsorship in IPL: BCCI totake decision in 'best interest of country'

NEW DELHI:Morethan six months havepassed since he last steppedinto the ring but Indianboxing star Vijender Singhis hopeful of getting back tocompetition in the nextthree months after his US-based promoter restartedbouts earlier this month.

Signed by Hall of FamerBob Arum's Top Rank Pro-motions in 2018, Vijenderwas last seen in action inNovember 2019 when hedefeated Ghana's CharlesAdamu to keep his un-beaten record intact in theprofessional circuit.

The 2008 Olympicbronze-medallist said thathe has had a word with TopRank and plans are afoot fora fight at least by October.

"It will be outside Indiabecause it is unlikely thatrestrictions because ofCOVID-19 pandemic willease by then. From what Igather, in the next two-three months, I will proba-bly be able to fight," the 34-year-old said.

Top Rank resumed actionamid the pandemic on June9 with Olympic silver-medallist Shakur Stevensondefeating Felix Caraballo ina TV-only event held with-out spectators.

"That's the future giventhe situation. I think that'show professional boxingwill be. Unfortunate butthat's how it will adapt,"said Vijender.

Speaking of adapting tothe new normal in the pan-demic-scarred world, theformer amateur worldbronze-medallist said fansshould be kept away com-pletely for the time beingeven if action resumes.

"First of all, there should-n't be a rush. Secondly, youjust cannot have crowds. Iknow they add to the at-mosphere but safety first.You have to take every pre-caution to ensure that thisdoesn't spread," he said.

"The post-COVID worldwould be great for broad-casters and advertisers be-cause there is immensehunger for live sports rightnow," he added.

"Boxing is easier to con-duct in that sense because avery limited number of peo-ple are involved in action.They can be tested and keptin a bio-secure zone to en-sure that nothing untowardhappens."

And when does he see livesports resuming in Indiaeven as COVID-19 casesinch towards the six-lakhmark, Vijender said it is dif-ficult to say right now.

"India has always been anunpredictable country, onecan never be sure howthings pan out here," helaughed.

"On a serious note, Iwould only urge utmostcaution before any decisionon resuming competitionsis taken," he added.

Vijender hopes to be backin ring by October

NEW DELHI:The Chi-nese Super League will kickoff on July 25 after a delayof almost five months fromits scheduled start, the Chi-nese Football Association(CFA) said on Wednesday.

The league was originallyset to start on February 22but was postponed indefi-nitely because of the spreadof COVID-19, which firstemerged in China late lastyear.

"China's battle to preventand control the epidemichas achieved major strate-gic results and the nationalepidemic prevention and

control situation continuesto improve," the CFA saidin a statement.

"To satisfy the people’seagerness to see the ... Su-per League resume, theChinese Football Associa-tion decided, after a study,that the 2020 Chinese Su-per League will be held inSuzhou and Dalian."

Chinese media have re-ported that the teams willneed to arrive in the twocity hubs -- Suzhou nearShanghai and Dalian in thenortheast of China -- byJuly 21.

China has been cautious

about resuming profes-sional sport, even as neigh-bouring South Korea,Japan and Taiwan haverestarted soccer and base-ball leagues.

China's basketballleague, which like the CSLhas a slew of marquee for-eign players, resumed onJune 20 in hubs in Qingdaoand Dongguan with no fanspresent.The coronavirusshutdown has exacted aheavy toll on Chinese foot-ball, with a slew of clubsfolding under financialstrains, including CSL sideTianjin Tianhai.

Delayed Chinese footballleague to kick off on July 25

NEW DEHLI:Sanjay Bangarwas popularly known as 'Buddha'during his playing days becauseof his composure even in themost demanding situations.

The all-rounder was instru-mental in the Railways's rise indomestic cricket as he led them totheir maiden Ranji Trophy title in2001-2002. The success immedi-ately paved the way for his selec-tion into the Indian team.

Bangar's all-round abilitiesmade him a vital player in over-seas conditions. His mediumpace bowling gave India the op-tion of playing two spinners evenaway from home.

"Sourav (Ganguly, then India'scaptain) always showed faith inmy abilities throughout my timewith the Indian team," recallsBangar.

After his playing days, he tookup coaching and delivered instantresults. Entrusted with the highpressure job of coaching theKings XI Punjab in IPL 2014, hesteered the franchise to its best-ever result as they finished run-ners-up to the Kolkata KnightRiders.

He then took a huge step in hisyoung coaching career when hewas named India's batting coachduring the tour of England in2014, which marked the begin-ning of an impactful five-yeartenure with the national squad.

Players like Virat Kohli andAjinkya Rahane have creditedBangar for their development asbatsmen.

The improvement of Indianbatsmen overseas is testimony to

the impact Bangar made. It is nosurprise that during his tenurethe team felt confident to playfive bowlers away from home,which was instrumental in get-ting a lot of Test wins abroad.

Bangar was later promoted asassistant coach in 2017, underRavi Shastri, as India continuedto improve and win Test matchesin South Africa, England and reg-ister a historic first-ever Test se-ries win in Australia in 2018-2019.

"It was all about preparation,discussions, giving options to theplayers, keeping them in a goodmental space, but ultimately it isbecause of the sheer will and de-termination of the players I hadthe privilege to work with," SanjayBangar tells Rediff.com's HarishKotian. The first part of an exclu-sive interview:

Your stint with the Indian teambegan in 2014 when you were ap-pointed batting coach for the one-day series in England after Indiahad been whitewashed in theTests. Were you surprised by thatsudden appointment during themiddle of a series?

At that point in time, I had suc-cessful stints with Kings XI Pun-jab and India 'A'. Bharat Arunand R Sridhar also had a success-ful campaign with India Under-19 and were involved with theNCA (National Cricket Academy).

So slowly the perception thatIndian coaches could do a job ofhandling the Indian team wasgetting formed.

So when the BCCI chose us un-der the leadership of Ravi Shas-tri, we set out quietly confident.At the same time we were awareof our responsibilities of the out-

come on the future of Indiancoaches.

Hopefully, the perceptionabout Indian coaches haschanged for the better since 2014.

You worked under DuncanFletcher, Anil Kumble and RaviShastri. How much did you learnfrom them?

Duncan was very particularabout some technical aspects ofbatsmenship.

Anil was very methodical interms of tactics and planning.

Ravi Shastri is big on playingwith an aggressive and coura-geous mindset.

So, yes from that perspective,you could always observe variousstrengths of a leader and learnfrom them.

When Ravi Shastri and the newcoaching group took over, Indiawere ranked No 7, but since thenIndia has had a consistent run,winning 30 out of 52 Tests and 82out of 122 ODIs. How does it feelto play a role in taking India tothe top of world cricket?

We all believe that the 2014Australia tour and the brand ofcricket played by the team laid agreat foundation of the brilliantrun of success enjoyed across allformats and conditions.

On that tour India became oneof the rare overseas team to scoreover 400 runs in the first inningsof every Test match.

It also coincided with ViratKohli enjoying the responsibili-ties of leading the team and thenputting his heart and soul intotaking the Indian team to ascendmany unconquered summits.

Exclusive! How this man transformed India's batting