Kapil Dev purposefully not invited for WC final to ensure he doesn't hog limelight: Sanjay Raut
Mumbai, Nov 20: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday alleged cricket great Kapil Dev was deliberately not invited for the World Cup cricket final match in Ahmedabad to ensure that he didn't hog the limelight at the game which was attended by some political leaders.
Speaking to reporters, Raut claimed the BJP had planned to encash the Indian cricket team's success to derive a political mileage but it failed to do so because India lost the game against Australia.
"Kapil Dev had captained the cricket team that won the maiden World Cup for India. He instilled confidence in us that we could win big tournaments. If Dev had been invited, he might have eclipsed the presence of some other political leaders at the Narendra Modi Stadium," Raut said responding to a query.
In the past, final matches of significant tournaments used to be held in Delhi or Mumbai, which has a legacy of cricket players, said Raut.
"However, the lobby of one state that has infiltrated the world of cricket first changed the stadium's name from Sardar Vallabhbai Patel to Narendra Modi Stadium. The BJP also planned to reap the benefits if the Indian cricket team had won the final match.
"An attempt was made to portray the match between the Indian and Australian cricket teams as the one between BJP versus the Australian team. Now you lost in (your) game," the Rajya Sabha member said.
Dev had told ABP News that he was invited for the final match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
"They didn't call me so I did not go. As simple as that. I wanted the whole '83 team to be there with me but I guess due to the fact that it's such a big event and people are so busy handling responsibilities, sometimes they forget," he said.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
