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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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
