Senior India players Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni believe the Indian Premier League will survive the current corruption scandal.
Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has been suspended pending investigations of alleged corruption related to bidding for two of the clubs, television broadcast deals and other matters. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Former India captain Dravid, who plays for the Royal Challengers in the IPL, was hopeful the lucrative Twenty20 league would sort out the mess for the benefit of fans and said yesterday that it would not affect players.
“I’m sure they’ll do what is right for the game,” Dravid said on the sidelines of the SportAccord convention in Dubai.
“It’s important. The people of India love their cricket,” he said. “This league has been hugely popular and they deserve a well organized and good run league. I hope going ahead that will be the case.”
India captain Dhoni agreed, saying: “The IPL is here to stay. Not one individual but a few brains will have to work together to ensure it stays innovative.”
Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings to win the eight-team IPL competition last week, defeating Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians in the final.
“He [Modi] was part of it for the first three years, we have grown and with each season we have come up with something better,” he said. “I’m sure they will come up with something that is good for everyone involved.”
“We need to be patient and we certainly have enough time because the next edition is a year away,” Dhoni said.
Dravid said this year’s league was one of the best, with competitive matches all the way to the final. But he acknowledged that it would have been better to see the cricket on the back sports pages, rather than the front news sections.
“From a players perspective, it’s not nice there are negative things about anything you play in,” he said.
Still, he said the IPL and the booming popularity of Twenty20 cricket generally was bringing more money into the sport and attracting new classes of fans in India and beyond.
“What we are seeing in India is there are a lot more women and children getting hooked on the game,” Dravid said. “That is great for the game. It brings new audiences and new revenue which should hopefully benefit the other, more traditional forms of games. It gives players more opportunity to earn a decent living and showcase their talent.”
Dravid acknowledged the sport was a lot more commercial than when he came on the scene 15 years ago, but he insisted money was not to blame for the IPL’s current woes.
“I don’t think you can blame money. There is money in every sport,” he said. “The more popular a sport becomes, the more we want to make it commercially viable to provide facilities. I don’t think money per se is a problem.”
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS