Unhappy Katich tenders resignation from SRH assistant coach's post over baffling auction big buys
New Delhi, Feb 18: Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad is once again in news for all the wrong reasons after former Australian batter Simon Katich resigned from the post of assistant coach after reportedly being unhappy with some of the side's hefty auction buys.
Katich, who along with West Indies legend Brian Lara and former India batter Hemang Badani, were added to the SRH coaching group headed by Tom Moody and Muttah Muralitharan, resigned immediately after the auction.
Although the SRH management, headed by Kavya Maran, hasn't yet issued any official statement, it is understood that his resignation has been accepted and well-known coach Simon Helmot, who has earlier worked with the franchise, has been brought back.
'The Australian' reported that Katich's resignation was primarily due to the fact that the pre-auction strategy discussed wasn't followed at the two-day auction where SRH had some whopping big buys like Nicholas Pooran (Rs 10.75 crore), Washington Sundar (8.75 crore) and Rahul Tripathi (8.50 crore).
Some of the SRH big buys have been baffling although it's not always a player's quality but the auction dynamics that determines the final price of a player.
Left-handed spin bowling all-rounder Abhishek Sharma's Rs 6.75 crore deal also grabbed eye balls.
Abhishek is being looked as a potential opener for this edition of IPL.
The 21-year-old hasn't done anything in his four seasons in the league which would warrant such a steep price and many were shocked at Pooran's bid after he had endured one of the worst IPL seasons in the UAE last time round.
SRH's three retentions have also come under scanner as they couldn't convince their best performer spinner Rashid Khan to stay back while keeping New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who has a recurrent elbow condition.
Add to that, they kept two Kashmiri youngsters, pacer Urman Malik, more for his raw pace and Abdul Samad for his big hitting prowess for Rs 4 crore each.
Even Romario Shepherd, who might not get a start, was bought for over a million dollars (Rs 7.75 crore), based on his CPL exploits.
The SRH management was embroiled in the controversy last year when they stripped David Warner from captaincy and then unceremoniously dumped him from the playing eleven during the second phase in the UAE.
The Australian, who led SRH to its only IPL title in 2016, was also not allowed to sit in the dug-out.
Coach Trevor Bayliss and assistant coach Brad Haddin were not retained after the season but Moody, who was the 'Director of Cricket' back then is now head coach and Muralitharan stayed back as the premier brains in the team management.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
