Surprised at winning 'Spirit of Cricket' award after years of being under scanner: Virat Kohli
He also named captain of ICC's ODI and Test teams of year
Dubai, Jan 15: Indian captain Virat Kohli says he is surprised at winning the ICC's Spirit of Cricket Award after "years of being under the scanner for the wrong things", referring to his past flare-ups.
He won the award for his gesture at the 2019 World Cup, when he egged the crowd on to support and not boo Steve Smith soon after his return to international cricket from a one-year suspension for ball-tampering.
From once stopping short of calling his Australian rival a cheat to urging the crowd to back him, it has been an incredible turnaround for Kohli, one of the world's best batsmen alongside Smith.
"I'm surprised that I have got it, after many years of being under the scanner for the wrong things," Kohli said in a statement issued by the ICC.
Explaining his reasons for backing Smith the way he did, Kohli added, "That moment was purely understanding an individual's situation. I don't think a guy who is coming out of a situation like that needs to be taken advantage of."
The passionate Kohli, who was once fined 50 percent of his match fees after he was seen showing the middle finger to the crowd as a reaction to some hostility from fans, is strictly against booing.
"That should not be a representation of our fans and what we stand as a cricketing nation, a sporting nation.
"We need to all take responsibility towards that. Intimidate the opposition, definitely try and have an upper hand but in a matter that is not targeting someone emotionally.
"That is not acceptable at any level and people should be wary of that."
Nearly three years ago, Kohli stirred up a major controversy by virtually accusing the then Australian captain Smith of cheating in the usage of DRS. Smith had looked towards the dressing room for instructions at that time and had apologised for the "brain fade".
The incident had escalated tensions between the two sides during a heated Test series in India.
India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was on Wednesday also named captain of the International Cricket Council's ODI and Test teams of the year, capping off a memorable season for the world No.1.
Apart from Kohli, there were four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
While the Test team featured double-centurion Mayank Agarwal, opener Rohit Sharma, speedster Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.
Kohli enjoyed a tremendous run in both the formats in 2019. The 31-year-old hit his seventh Test double hundred on the way to a career-best unbeaten 254 against South Africa in October last year.
It was a breakthrough year for opener Agarwal, who smashed two double tons, one century and went beyond the fifty-run mark twice. He hit a career-best score of 243 against Bangladesh in November.
Limited overs vice-captain Rohit had a splendid ODI World Cup campaign, slamming a record five hundreds and a half century in the United Kingdom.
Kuldeep, too, enjoyed a memorable year as he joined the golden list of bowlers with two hat-tricks. The chinaman claimed his second ODI hat-trick of his career against the West Indies last month.
In the absence of Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Shami rose to the occasion making the best in the business hop, skip and jump with his pace, swing and bounce through the season. He scalped 42 wickets in 21 ODIs over the last 12 months.
The ICC's Teams of the Year 2019:
ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav
Test Team of the Year (in batting order): Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.
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Azim Premji Foundation to help up to 2.5 lakh girls across 18 states pursue higher education
Bengaluru, May 15 (PTI): Azim Premji Foundation announced Azim Premji Scholarship on Thursday to support girls pursuing higher education after school.
Speaking to PTI, Anurag Behar, Chief Executive Officer, Azim Premji Foundation, said they have decided on 18 states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
"These states were chosen because we have more partners and more ground presence in these states. Our intention is to expand it to the whole country by next academic year or the year after at most," said Behar.
According to him, they have really simple eligibility criteria. "Girls who have done their class 10 and 12 schooling in government schools with admission in a bona-fide higher education institution in a degree or diploma programme," added Behar.
Selected students will receive Rs 30,000 per year, payable in two instalments.
"After the completion of the year, and once it is verified that they are continuing their education, the next cycle will begin. This will continue until they complete their course," said Behar.
Behar said they are likely to sponsor nearly 2.5 lakh students.
"We did a pilot round in the academic year 2024-25, containing ourselves to Madhya Pradesh, and certain districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. We received nearly 1.10 lakh applications. Out of which only 25,000 were eligible," he added.
The Foundation, said Behar, is making a significant commitment to support girls to pursue higher education.
"This will help them gain greater control over their life's trajectory," he added.
The application process for the 2025-26 cycle will start in September 2025.
