To me attacking someone over religion is pathetic: Kohli slams 'spineless' online trolls

India pacer Mohammed Shami had faced some trolling on social media after the side lost the T20 World Cup fixture against Pakistan. Captain Virat Kohli has now opened up about the same and has slammed the trolls stating that attacking someone on the basis of religion is pathetic.

"To me attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing a human being can do. Everyone has the right to voice their opinion but I personally have never even thought of discriminating someone over their religion,” Kohli said during the pre-match press conference.

The right-handed batsman further added that he and the team stand by Shami 200% and the passion the fast bowler poses for playing for India.

"They have no understanding of the fact that Mohammed Shami has won India a number of matches...If people can overlook that and his passion for the country, I honestly don't want to waste even 1 min of my life on them. We stand by him 200%. Our brotherhood cannot be shaken," added Kohli.

The Indian skipper labelled these online trolls as “spineless”. "There's a reason we are playing on the field and not those spineless people. It is so unfortunate and sad to see people getting entertained. That is why we are doing what we are, & those spineless people are doing what they are," said Kohli.

India will now be up against New Zealand on Sunday in Dubai. Both the sides have lost their first respective matches and would seek to make a return in the competition.

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First to take 10 wickets and score 100 runs in a Test, Aussie legend Alan Davidson passes away

Legendary Australian allrounder Alan Davidson passed away at the age of 92 on Saturday morning, October 30th. Known for his ability to bowl and bat with equal measures, Davidson ended off with the second-best Test average among bowlers with more than 150 scalps in Test cricket’s history. Only SF Barnes of England has a better average than the New South Wales player. In his career which began in 1953 and ended in the summer of 1963-64, Davidson represented the Aussies in 44 Tests. In these Tests, he took 186 wickets and scored 1328 runs with 80 being his highest score. His best bowling figures in an innings were 7/93. He was not only great with bat and ball but was a great catcher of the leather ball as well. His accuracy with catching was high that he was nicknamed 'The Claw'. The most famous Test for Davidson was the one against a touring West Indies side in the summer of 1960-61. The left-arm batter entered the match with a broken finger and finished it with the honour of becoming the first to take 10 wickets and score 100 runs in a Test. With the ball he grabbed 5-135 and 6-87; with the bat, he posted 44 and 80, the second-innings contribution keeping the locals in the game which eventually ended in a tie. The passing of Davidson has now meant that in less than 24 hours Australia lost two of its very famous Test cricketers as former Test off-spinner Ashley Mallett died on Friday at the age of 76. "On behalf of Cricket Australia, and all those who benefitted from Alan's vast contribution across Australian cricket, I offer my deepest condolences to the Davidson family as well Alan's many close friends, colleagues and former teammates,” Cricket Australia chair Richard Freudenstein said in a statement.

T20 World Cup | Mohammad Nabi slams Pak journalist for asking Taliban related questions

Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi slammed a Pakistani journalist who tried to get him to answer related Taliban take over of the Afghan government and relations with Pakistan after the team’s clash against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. Nabi at first asked him politely to ask questions related only to cricket and the Afghanistan team, but the journalist still tried to play smart and asked the same question in a different tone. The Journalist, Mohammad Idris, asked, “Nabi, do you have any kind of pressure or fears that the new regime might ask you difficult questions when you go back home and the second one, in the new era of the Afghan regime, relations are better with Pakistan now, so can we expect that Afghan cricket would benefit from that?” Nabi, seemingly not pleased with the effort from the Pakistani scribe said in chaste Urdu, “Our team has prepared very well for this World Cup and is here to participate in it and win matches. Let other issues stay where they are and please ask me questions related to my team’s performances and preparations.” As far as the game was concerned, the Afghan team remained in it till the 18th over and almost had the upper edge with 24 required from two overs and two new batters in Shadab Khan and Asif Ali at the crease. However, Asif had other ideas and he muscled four sixes in one over, the 19th, bowled by Karim Janat to take his team to the third straight win of this World Cup.

Ticketless fans forcefully enter Dubai Stadium during PAK-AFG clash, ICC seeks thorough investigation

An amazing display of cricketing skills by the players of Pakistan and Afghanistan was marred by the incidents related to hooliganism and forceful entries by the ticketless fans, most of Afghanistan cricket as their skipper Mohammad Nabi even asked during his post-match press conference for them to not repeat it in other games. The International Cricket Council has taken note of the incident which was probably the first of its kind after the building of new stadiums in the United Arab Emirates. Issuing a statement, the world body said that it has asked Emirates Cricket Board, the body of cricket governance in UAE to investigate the matter thoroughly. “More than 16,000 tickets had been issued for tonight’s game between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, thousands of ticketless fans travelled to the venue and then attempted to force entry into the stadium,” the ICC said in a statement. “Dubai Police and security staff secured the stadium to ensure the safety of everyone inside. At approximately 7 pm, Dubai Police directed that all gates should remain closed and no further entry was permitted to maintain a safe and controlled environment inside the venue. “The ICC has asked the ECB to undertake a thorough investigation into tonight’s events to learn any lessons and will work closely with authorities to ensure there is no repeat of this situation in the future,” it added. The ICC further apologised to fans who couldn’t attend the game even after having valid rockets because of the incident.

Alyssa Healy bats for women's IPL after $2bn payday on two new men’s teams

The big money that has been invested in the induction of two new IPL teams has made headlines and raised a few eyebrows. While there have been talks and plannings about the next edition of the Indian Premier League, there hasn’t been any discussion about the women’s IPL and which has certainly left Australia’s Alyssa Healy disappointed. “I feel like I have made some thoughts known in the past about the way that has unfolded,” Healy said as per news.com.au. “From a personal perspective it was disappointing they postponed the women’s exhibition games. They did everything they possibly could to put the back end of the IPL on (after it was abandoned in April) leading into a World Cup and then within a week of that starting they have two new men’s IPL teams,” she added. Healy further said that she is hopeful that the money would be invested in women’s cricket and maybe a women’s IPL can be planned in the near future. “They just got a $2bn payday and hopefully some of that will go back into women’s cricket and maybe a women’s IPL in the near future,” Healy said. She is presently featuring in the Women’s Big Bash league and is a part of Sydney Sixers team.