Lara on Kohli: Good to see that game has a leader now
Bengaluru, Nov 3 : Eulogising Virat Kohli's phenomenal achievements is the new normal and latest to join the bandwagon is West Indies legend Brian Lara, who is happy to find that the game "has a leader at the moment".
"Whatever Kohli is doing today is phenomenal. The rate of scoring, his fitness, and the importance he gives to a lot of different things. It is great to see that the game has a leader at this moment," Lara told PTI during an interaction on Saturday.
In the city to participate in the fourth edition of Krishnapatnam Port Golden Eagles Golf Championship, Lara refused to comment on the Kohli-Sachin Tendulkar "who is better" debate.
Lara spoke about how and Tendulkar never bothered about comparisons.
"If you talk about Sachin and me - you read a lot about it and you hear about the comparisons and it was not a significant thing (for us)," Lara said.
"I am sure Kohli also does not pay much attention to these things. I think everyone gets it wrong. Everyone grows up in a different era and you have to appreciate what anyone brings to the table," he added.
Lara feels that nobody should sit in judgment to declare whether Viv Richards was btter than Sir Garfield Sobers or Tendulkar was superior compared to Ricky Ponting as all these players brought different styles to the game.
"In my era, you had (Rahul) Dravid, (Sachin)Tendulkar, (Jacques) Kallis, myself and Ricky Ponting - all of us brought something different to the table. How can any of us sit down here and say that somebody is better than Viv Richards, or Sir Garfield Sobers, or any of those great players?" he asked.
"We just appreciate the career they have had and move on."
During his playing days, Sachin Tendulkar was engaged in some fierce duel with a quality West Indies side of the 90's but the steady decline of the Caribbean teams over the years, has disappointed his "friend", said Lara.
"I paid a surprise visit to Sachin's house. We not only spoke about golf, but also a lot on cricket. We spoke about the great fast bowlers like Curtly Ambrose.
"During the conversation, I felt, he was disappointed with the present state of affairs in West Indies cricket, whose players are more interested in franchise cricket than playing international games," Lara recalled his discussions with Tendulkar.
While he doesn't have anything against players who are earning from cash-rich leagues, Lara appladed those Caribbean players, who are turning out for the West Indies for a far lesser salaries.
Quality of coaching has also affected West Indies cricket badly.
"Let me explain, when Malcolm Marshall came into the scene, he was guided by Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner. These greats would have passed on their knowledge."
"Likewise, when I came into the scene, Viv, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Gus Logie were the guys from whom you could learn a lot. And, I am just wondering about coaching. Whatever they teach now is mechanical. Our bowlers are not bowling freely compared to earlier generations. May be that is a hindrance," he said.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
