Connect with us
Tuesday,13-May-2025
Breaking News

Sports

Most of our auction purse went into putting together first eleven, reveals Royals coach Sangakkara

Published

on

Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara has credited the team’s performance this season to the painstaking effort put in by his support team during the IPL mega auction earlier this year, saying 90-95 per cent of the purse was spent on putting together the first eleven.

The Sri Lankan legend added that the entire focus was on “experience”, given the high-pressure IPL environment, and added that while the side had a “spattering of youngsters”, they were being groomed to become future stars.

Sankakkara also said that it was very difficult to overcome the big loss to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 at the Eden Gardens and credited the boys for staging a fine comeback to defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday night.

RR defeated RCB by seven wickets with 11 deliveries to spare as the Sanju Samson-led side overhauled the modest target of 157 in 18.1 overs. England’s charismatic batter Jos Buttler hit a stroke-filled unbeaten 106, while Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy grabbed three wickets each to lead the Royals into the final for only the second time in the history of the tournament.

“Very satisfying (win). All the planning, all the hard work. Really tough with the close defeat to Gujarat Titans but the guys got back up and came back strongly. Jos Buttler backs his strengths and manoeuvres the bowling to bowl more and more to his strengths. The great thing is he can accelerate anytime. Overall he is a wonderful guy who thinks deeply about his game and himself. The entire bowling unit was outstanding.

“Special mention to Prasidh (Krishna). We had 16 to defend in the last game. Then Trent Boult. And Obed McCoy, his mother has been quite ill back home, but he has been able to put that aside. She is recovering well. And Ashwin and Yuzi (Chahal) have run the show. At the auction table,” said Sangakkara.

Sangakkara also revealed how, before the auction, his team compiled date on players in order to help build a winning unit.

“We spent 90-95 per cent of our purse on putting together our first XI. We worked hard on data to work on the players we wanted. We put emphasis on experience at the moment. We have a spattering of youngsters who will become stars later, but our first XI has a strong share of seasoned internationals. Full credit to Giles Lindsay, our analyst, Zubin Barucha and the rest of the staff. Wins don’t just happen. It takes a lot of planning, hard work, execution on the field,” added the Sri Lankan.

Business

Centre approves reopening of 32 airports as tensions ease on India-Pakistan border

Published

on

New Delhi, May 12: The Centre on Monday issued the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to reopen the 32 airports that had been shut down since May 9 due to the cross-border drone and missile attacks following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre of 26 tourists by Islamabad-backed terrorists.

The airports that will gradually reopen include Chandigarh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhuntar, Kishangarh, Patiala, Shimla, Kangra-Gaggal, Bathinda, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Halwara, Pathankot, Jammu, Leh, Mundra, Jamnagar, Hirasar, Porbandar, Keshod, Kandla and Bhuj.

The airports will be opened gradually as, although the ceasefire announced following the Pakistan DGMO’s (Director General of Military Operations) request is largely holding, the government does not want to take any chances.

“The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir and other areas along the International Border. No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” according to a statement issued by the Indian Army on Monday.

The opening of these airports which are close to the Pakistan border reflects a de-escalation in the cross-border hostilities which saw India successfully launching ‘Operation Sindoor’ to avenge the Pahalgam killings.

The reopening of these airports will help to restore normalcy in flight operations which have undergone widespread disruption due to the conflict.

Meanwhile, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Monday that operations at the airport are “currently smooth,” however, due to changing airspace conditions and increased security measures, some flight schedules and security checkpoint processing times may be affected.

The airport management has advised passengers to follow updates and instructions from their airlines, allow extra time for security checks due to heightened measures and adhere to hand baggage and check-in luggage regulations.

Passengers have been advised to check the latest flight status through their airline or the official Delhi Airport website.

Although an agreement for a ceasefire was reached on Saturday, the government is not taking any chances on the security front.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on Sunday with the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff to take stock of the latest situation.

Continue Reading

Sports

PCB postpones men’s domestic tournaments with immediate effect amid India-Pak tensions

Published

on

Lahore, May 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday announced the immediate postponement of all men’s domestic tournaments in the country owing to escalating cross-border tensions with India.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board confirms that the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-II, Regional Intra-District Challenge Cup, Inter-District U19 One-Day tournament have been postponed with immediate effect due to prevailing security condition in the country.”

“The tournaments will resume from the same stage later and a revised schedule will be shared closer to the resumption,” said the PCB in its official statement on Saturday.

Previously on Friday, after the BCCI paused IPL 2025 for a week due to growing tensions between the two nations on the border areas, the PCB had announced it has postponed the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for an indefinite period, citing the advice given by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The tournament’s postponement news came hours after PCB claimed it was going to host the remaining eight matches of the tournament in the UAE, though the organisation didn’t specify the dates or venues of those rescheduled matches.

PSL’s future had come under great uncertainty after a drone had crashed at a food street near the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium, which resulted in Thursday’s match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings being postponed indefinitely.

Two weeks after 26 people were gunned down by terrorists in Pahalgam – a popular tourist destination in Jammu & Kashmir, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.

Pakistan continued its aerial attacks, comprising drones and missiles, on Indian border cities as well as across other military stations in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat on Friday. But all of them were successfully foiled by India’s defence systems.

Continue Reading

Sports

IPL 2025 suspended indefinitely, BCCI cites national interest

Published

on

New Delhi, May 9: Amid the escalating military conflict between India and Pakistan, the BCCI has decided to suspend the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season indefinitely in an emergency meeting on Friday, sources told Media.

After Thursday’s IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was called off after 10.1 overs of play at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala following the air and drone strikes from Pakistan which resulted in blackouts in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur, all of which are in close proximity to Dharamshala, the future of the tournament looked uncertain and BCCI convened emergency meeting to decide the way forward.

“IPL to be suspended, BCCI will issue detailed information anytime soon, the BCCI sources told Media on Friday. “Yes, the meeting just got over. After discussing with all the concerned authorities, this decision was made. Further details will be shared by the BCCI, ” it added.

“BCCI wants to stand with the nation at this time and thus suspends IPL 2025 with immediate effect. It’s indefinite at the moment (on a window to resume IPL 2025 in future). It will only happen if there will be time later in the year. But for now nothing,” said IPL sources to Media.

Following the abandonment of the Dharamshala match, several Australian players involved in the league reportedly expressed anxiety over their safety.

A special train has been arranged to evacuate both Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals players and support staff members, match officials, commentators, broadcast crew members and other key personnel associated with IPL 2025 to get them to a safe place.

After India launched precision strikes targeting nine high-value terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok), in response to the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, Pakistan attempted to engage in number of military targets in Northern and Western India on May 7-8.

India on Thursday morning targeted the Air Defence Radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan, during which the one at Lahore has been neutralised.

Later, Pakistan launched aerial attacks on Jammu as well as several military stations near the western border, but those were successfully foiled by India’s air defence systems.

Continue Reading

Trending