I've 10 months to decide whether I want to play one more year: Dhoni on IPL future
New Delhi(PTI): The legendary MS Dhoni stayed immune to the growing clamour around his future in the IPL, saying the decision to bring curtains on his career depends on how his body reacts to the demands of top-flight cricket and he has "10 months" to take a call.
In this IPL, Dhoni has not been able to make the kind of impact that he usually does while batting in the lower middle-order.
His lack of timing and ineffectiveness, evidenced in the 76 runs that he made from four matches, have prompted several experts to urge the multiple World Cup-winning skipper to move on.
"I am still playing the IPL and it is one year at a time for me. I am 43 now and by the end of this IPL season, I will be 44," Dhoni said on entrepreneur Raj Shamani's podcast recently.
"So, I have 10 months to decide whether I want to play one more year and it's not me to decide as it is my body that decides whether I can play or not," he added.
However, the former Chennai Super Kings skipper, who led CSK to five IPL titles, said he is quite content with his achievements on the field.
"It is not about whether I am happy or unhappy. Whatever has happened has happened. It cannot be changed. It's about accepting all of it. You know, whatever happens I will not be able to add one more run to my international runs, and no one will be able to reduce them," he said.
Dhoni has always been a man of the present. But, for once, he set aside that pragmatic side to reveal his wish of seeing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh assemble in the same team once again.
"I will stick to Indian players. Viru pa opening the innings, Sachin, Dada… and now you imagine everyone at their prime. Then you will get this feeling that there can't be anyone better than them.
"It's tough to pick an all-time eleven. Now, when you see Yuvi hitting six sixes, you will feel that I don't want to watch any other batsman. It's all about enjoying what they have done for India. Some of those talents we have seen are mind blowing," he added.
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
