Virender Sehwag is proving to be as instinctive when dealing with the media as he is when tackling opposition bowlers.
His comment about Bangladesh being "ordinary" prior to the opening Test in Chittagong tickled, angered and aroused cricket lovers the world over.
Sure, Bangladesh are no great force, but for an opposition captain - Sehwag is standing in for the injured MS Dhoni - to call them "ordinary" was just not cricket.
But Sehwag's comment must be examined closely in a world that is changing and becoming highly opinionated. Sehwag just said what others believed, but did not have the courage say so in public.
That his side let him down the very next day when the Bangladesh bowlers claimed eight wickets for a little over 200 runs is another matter. Sure, Sehwag looked silly after his soft dismissal, especially when the bowler, Shakib Al Hasan, happened to be his opposite number.
But he still scored a half century without which India's situation would have been all the more dire. That India were down in the dumps less than 24 after Sehwag made his extraordinary comment was a great story for the media.
But, spare a though for Sehwag, who has given aggressive batting such a good name in the recent past. Only last month, he was spoken of in the same breath as Sir Don Bradman when he nearly got his third triple hundred in Test cricket, against Sri Lanka.
It is a fact that Bangladesh have been poor. Before their two wins against the West Indies last July, they had only one Test victory to their name and that one came against lowly Zimbabwe in 2005.
It has been 10 years since the International Cricket Council (ICC) admitted them into the Test fold and they have made very little progress in this form of the game. Experts were right to slam the Jagmohan Dalmiya-led ICC when Bangladesh was awarded Test status in 2000.
All that they had going for them was passionate following for the game. Public interest cannot entitle a country to play at the highest level; only a strong domestic structure that regularly produces talent should be the criteria. Everyone profits from experience, but no team can gain too much by losing regularly.
Perhaps, that is what has happened to Bangladesh, and the ICC have not done much to arrest the quality problem. A way of helping Bangladesh could be to strip them of their Test status and introduce a system to facilitate a steady production line.
That is what the rulers of the game are expected to do too and not just oversee Test matches and organise World Cups and Champions Trophies. Sehwag's comments have caused a bit of embarrassment among his teammates too. It was reported Sachin Tendulkar told the media on Sunday he would not answer questions about Sehwag's pre-match comments. Not surprising, because Tendulkar is no expert when it comes to stoking fires.
However, Sehwag and his seniors should not be too defensive of his view on Bangladesh. Nor do they have to be childish when it comes to reacting to criticism.
The former Australia captain, Ian Chappell, stated recently that he did not believe India had enough firepower in their bowling to win consistently around the world.
"They've got some good bowlers ... sure, they've got a very good batting line-up, but the bowling is really not good enough to see them win consistently all around the world," Chappell said.
Harbhajan Singh was quick to react in a newspaper interview: "Who is Ian Chappell?" he asked. The Indian team need to handle criticism better.
To answer Harbhajan's question, Chappell is one of the most respected voices in the game apart from being a fine captain. If you disagree with his view, you have all the freedom to say so, but to question someone's expertise is ridiculous. We all have opinions. It is a simple fact of life.
Knowing Chappell as I do, he will not take too much notice of how people react to his view on India's bowling. Harbhajan is not the only cricketer to have a problem with Chappell's views and I am reminded of a story the Aussie told me while I was interviewing him at Lord's in 2007 as he celebrated 30 years of broadcasting.
While commentating on the 1977 Ashes in England, a member of the Australia team who happened to play under Chappell asked him why was he criticising him all the time.
Chappell told his former teammate that there was a button on the television set which he could use to turn off the volume and if he did not want to see his face, there was another button to turn off the set. Chappell was also questioned as to why he was being harsh on a struggling Kim Hughes in 1984 since he knew exactly how difficult it was to lead Australia.
He immediately reminded the Hughes sympathiser that he was not the Australia captain, but a commentator and journalist and it was only fair to be honest and direct with his viewers and readers.
Sehwag has been just that in his comment about Bangladesh being ordinary on the Test scene. It would be uncharacteristic of him to back away.
Clayton Murzello is the Group Sports Editor of the Indian newspaper Midday
The specs
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Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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'Ashkal'
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
'Peninsula'
Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Aguero 1', 44', 61'
Arsenal 1
Koscielny 11'
Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
MO
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Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
