Kohli the leader must play more responsibly: Prasanna
New Delhi: Kohli is expected to captain India in all formats at some point but before that happens the star batsmen must start taking more responsibility towards his team, says spin great Erapalli Prasanna. “In all probability, Kohli will captain the Indian team in the next World Cup. For that, he needs to start taking more responsibility towards his team and ensure he holds the unit together,” Prasanna told PTI on Monday. Prasanna’s comments come in the wake of Kohli’s performance in a big-ticket tournament like the World Cup. “It is okay to play with an aggressive approach but you always can’t fight fire with fire. Kohli is a good player but at times he needs to respect the opposition. You can’t always take on the bowlers,” said the former off-spinner, referring to his mistimed pull shot off Mitchell Johnson in the semifinal. Kohli had a quiet World Cup by his high standards though he ended up scoring 305 runs from eight games at an average of 50.83. What disappointed many of his fans was that he could not fire in big games. (PTI)
Zidane aims for Real and France hot seats
Paris: World Cup legend Zinedine Zidane says he wants to be the coach for Real Madrid or France. The former Juventus and Real star, who has been learning the ropes as coach of Real’s reserve side Castilla, set out his ambitions on French channel Canal Plus. Would he take over the Real job? “Yes I would go for that,” he said, while adding “there is already a coach (Carlo Ancelotti) in place who is doing a great job.” “Do I feel ready if I was offered the first team? You are never ready, but if it happened like that I would have to say yes.” The 42-year-old added France, with whom he won the World Cup in 1998, to his wish list in the programme late Sunday. “I was a player in this team and it would be good, one day (to be coach), but for the moment there is a coach (Didier Deschamps) who is doing a great job. But yes I have this target, this ambition,” Zidane said. The former world player of the year retired from club and international football in 2006. Zidane said he has time to wait until taking on a bigger post. “I am doing fine at Madrid.” (AFP)
We need to focus on domestic cricket: Afridi
Karachi: Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that Pakistan need to focus and invest a lot in its domestic cricket in order to be able to compete in a rapidly changing game at the global level. Afridi, who announced his retirement from one-day internationals after the World Cup and will now lead the national T20 squad, said Pakistan needed to take care of its domestic players. “If we now want to defeat the big guns and become a consistent side, we will have to do lot of hard work on our grass root level cricket. There is a need to provide more facilities to our players in domestic level,” Afridi said on a local TV channel. Afridi, who played in 398 ODIs, said that it was only Pakistan with its raw talent that was still able to defeat big teams like South Africa and Australia despite its limited resources and limitations. “No other country would have survived for long as a strong outfit internationally if it stopped hosting Test teams at home,” he said. (PTI)
Windies pacer Edwards joins Hampshire
London: English county cricket club Hampshire have signed West Indian fast bowler Fidel Edwards for the second part of the 2015 season. The 33-year-old, who will be available for all the three formats, it was announced in an England and wales Cricket Board (ECB) release on Monday. Edwards said: “I’m delighted to have signed for such an ambitious club as Hampshire. I hope I can play a part in helping to bring success to the Ageas Bowl this year. “I’m very much looking forward to my first taste of county cricket. It’s also an honour to follow other Bajans like Marshall and Gordon Greenidge to Hampshire.” Edwards has played 55 Test matches and 50 one-day internationals for the West Indies. (IANS)
