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Need to be careful about 100-ball cricket: Ganguly

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Kolkata, May 11 (IANS) Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday joined some of the English players who have expressed their concerns about the England and Wales Cricket Board’s plan for a 100-ball competition, but remained open-minded about how it’s going to shape up.

“It’s actually 16 and half overs. So from 50 overs, it has come down to 20 and now to 16 and a half. Let’s see what happens. I think they are trying to make 100 a number instead of overs. We will have to wait and see how shorter it gets.

“You got to be very careful that it should not be such that before a spectator comes and blinks, the thing is over,” Ganguly said while speaking at the Pro Star League, an U-16 school cricket tournament which aims to identify and nurture talent at the grassroots.

“The spectator wants the fun and pressure to go on for a certain period of time and then find genuine talent and genuine winners,” he added.

Ganguly said the shorter the format gets, the gulf between the best and the ordinary reduces.

“The shorter the format gets, the difference between the very good and the ordinary becomes much lesser.”

The 45-year old put his weight behind test cricket, saying the real challenge is when you have to bowl with the same intensity even in the last session of a day.

“That’s why test cricket is the biggest challenge in cricket still. It tests you as you have to come and bowl in the morning and then in the afternoon and then at tea time when you’re tired fielding all day, you still have to bowl at 140kps and that’s when it’s tough.

“It requires concentration, skill, technique. T20 will remain, it’s commercial and fun but the real version will be the longer format of the game.”

The 100-ball cricket format was proposed in April as a way to attract new and younger audiences to the game but has had a mixed reaction from players and fans.

England director of cricket Andrew Strauss has said the 100-ball proposal, which the ECB wants to introduce from 2020, is aimed at “mums and kids in the summer holidays”.

The programme involves over 900 schools across 10 cities having 24 teams from four zones — east, west, north and south — qualifying for the mentorship phase.

Ganguly is one of the mentors alongwith Yuvraj Singh, V.V.S. Laxman and Zaheer Khan.

“When I was growing up, there was not enough school cricket in Bengal. Bombay had a lot of school cricket. The likes of Sachin (Tendulkar and Vinod (Kambli) had come up by scoring lots of runs in school cricket. So it’s important that school kids get an opportunity,” Ganguly said about the importance of school cricket.

–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma

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World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.

Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.

During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.

On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”

Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.

Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.

Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”

On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”

The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.

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