Thursday December 20, 2018
Brathwaite an asset to KKR: Mysore JAIPUR, India, CMC – Kolkata Knight Riders managing director, Venky Mysore, believes all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite will be an asset to the franchise and could form a dynamic combination with fellow West Indies teammates, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, in next year’s Indian Premier League. The 30-year-old Brathwaite was picked up by KKR for US$709,000 following a bidding war with Kings XI Punjab, making him one of the most expensive buys in Tuesday’s auction here. “It’s great to get Carlos Brathwaite to the KKR set up. He’s a quality player, a terrific individual, great attitude. He will fit in nicely into the KKR setup,” Mysore said after acquiring the Windies Twenty20 skipper.“More importantly, I think the multiple skills that he brings will supplement what we already have so we’re really looking forward to working with him.” Brathwaite will now join Narine and Russell, forming a potentially lethal trio, espe-
West Indies T20 skipper, Carlos Brathwaite. cially with their powerful allround skills. Narine is best known for his brilliant off-spin which has already earned him 112 wickets in 98 IPL matches but in recent seasons has been used a pinch-hitter with some success at the top of the order. Russell, 30, is broadshouldered, big-hitting lower-
order batsman who gathered 316 runs last season and grabbed 13 wickets with his pace.Mysore anticipates KKR could benefit from the trio’s collaboration. “I think the think tank has ideas about how to create certain combinations and a lot of it depends on the opposition and conditions, but that could be a very interesting propo-
sition,” he explained. “If you look at the top 200 T20 players, the top two are Andre and Sunil, and Carlos is not too far from there so to have the luxury of three world class all-rounders could make a big difference.” The move for Brathwaite takes him back to the place where he first made a name for himself in international cricket. It was at Eden Gardens in 2016 when he blasted consecutive sixes from the four four balls of the last over of the T20 World Cup final, to earn West Indies a dramatic title-win. And Mysore said those memories would still be fresh in the minds of supporters. “He’ll remember that, the Eden crowd will remember that and all the fans that saw that exciting moment,” Mysore said. “Hopefully he’ll be able to create some magic when he plays and I’m quite confident he will, so I’m looking forward to that.” IPL season 12 bowls off March next year.
Hamilton deserves more recognition, says Wolff LONDON (Reuters) Lewis Hamilton may be the greatest Formula One driver of all time but ‘negativity and envy’ are denying him the recognition he deserves, according to his Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. Comparing the five-time world champion to retired Ferrari great Michael Schumacher, Wolff suggested people might not appreciate the 33-year-old Briton’s achievements until he too had left the scene. “Not everybody recognises a great career, a great sportsman or greatness overall while it’s happening. There is a lot of negativity and envy whilst it happens,” Wolff told Reuters in a telephone interview. “It’s only being recognised once a career has ended as having been really great and I don’t know why that is. We are extremely privileged in following a career of maybe the greatest racing driver of all time. “Obviously Michael has set the records and was unbelievable but Lewis is on a similar trajectory,” he added. “Also with Michael, it was only recognised after he retired and even more when tragedy struck. And I think it’s a pity.” Schumacher, who turns 50 in January, has not been seen in public since the German suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident five years ago. Hamilton has set a string of records on his way to his fifth title this season, and could go
Formula One World Champion, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton speaks next to Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff ahead of the United States Grand Prix during an interview October 17, 2018. (REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo) on to match Schumacher’s seven championships and 91 wins. The Briton, now on 73 victories, has won 51 of the 100 grands prix in the V6 turbo era that started in 2014 and four of the last five championships. Hamilton also has a record 83 pole positions and is only the third driver ever to win five titles or more. RUNNER-UP Last Sunday, he was runner-up in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards — a public vote — to Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas. He was condemned on social media for ‘slum’ comments about his boyhood town Stevenage, words he later clarified, and has been criticised for moving to the tax haven of Monaco where
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many other Formula One drivers reside. “We are live spectators, live witnesses of a great racing driver at the peak of his abilities,” said Wolff. “In the U.S. you are very much inspired by success. In Europe it triggers much more envy and negativity. “I am certainly biased because I have an emotional attachment to Lewis, for me the greatest sports person that is in his career in Britain.” Wolff said Hamilton was fully motivated to chase his sixth title next season and that the Briton, who leads a jet-setting celebrity lifestyle with interests in fashion and music away from the racetrack, would also not be the champion he was without dividing opinion. “Everybody wants to be
recognised, particularly in their own country and in order to achieve the success he has, you need to be sensitive,” he said. “He is that exceptional sports personality also because he polarizes. And I think at the end of the day, he’s thinking that he’d rather polarise than be just in the middle and boring. “He stays true to himself and his values and that is the most important thing.” Mercedes have won both titles for the past five years, something only Ferrari had ever done previously, and the German manufacturer has enjoyed the best year of its motorsport history. Their British driver George Russell won the Formula Two title, Schumacher’s son Mick was European Formula Three champion in a Mercedes-powered car and Mercedes also won the DTM (German Touring Car) championship. “I think we have achieved records this year which I think the sport has not seen,” said Wolff. “We have exciting new challenges ahead with Formula E that we are going to embark on in season six (2019-20), replacing DTM, and in the same way Formula One provides its own challenges about staying relevant.“I have no doubt that Ferrari and Red Bull in Formula One are going to continue to push the organisation too. Remaining on top and setting benchmarks is an exciting objective.”
Solskjaer handed caretaker manager role by Manchester United LONDON (Reuters) Manchester United have turned to former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to steady the ship until the end of the season, confirming the Norwegian as caretaker manager in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s sacking on Tuesday. Solskjaer, who leaves his role as manager of Norwegian club Molde, will be joined by Mike Phelan as assistant manager. Phelan previously carried out that role under former United boss Alex Fergsuon for five seasons before leaving in 2013. United parted company with Mourinho with the club in sixth spot in the Premier League having made their worst start to a season for 28 years, culminating in a limp 3-1 loss to bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. The appointment of Solskjaer to inject some life into United in some ways mirrors his playing career at the club where he scored 126 goals between 1996-2007, often as an impact sub. His most memorable contribution came in the 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich when he netted a stoppagetime winner. “Manchester United is in my heart and it’s brilliant to be coming back in this role,” the 45-year-old former Cardiff City manager, said in a statement. “I’m really looking forward to working with the very talented squad we have, the staff and everyone at the club.” Coincidentally Solskjaer’s first task will be to try and guide United to a much-needed three points away at Cardiff — the club who were relegated from the top flight on his watch in 2014 — on Saturday. CLUB LEGEND “Ole is a club legend with huge experience, both on the pitch and in coaching roles,” United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward said. “His history at Manchester United means he lives and breathes the culture here and everyone at the club is delighted to have him and Mike Phelan back. “We are confident they will unite the players and the fans as we head into the second half of the season.” Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna, both part of Mourinho’s backroom staff, will be retained at the club to work under Solskjaer,
who won six Premier League titles and two FA Cups to go along with the 1999 Champions League triumph at United. Solskjaer was given the blessing of Molde, who he steered to two Norwegian titles in 2011 and 2012, and even earned some plaudits from Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who tweeted: “FINALLY CONFIRMED! Great day for Norwegian football. Good luck keeping control of the Red Devils, @olegs26_ole” Molde said that their manager’s ‘temporary’ departure to United was an endorsement of the team’s success. “The fact that Manchester United asked to borrow Molde’s manager is in itself a happening, and a vote of confidence in both Ole Gunnar and in Molde FC,” the Norwegian club, who begin their new season in March, said in a statement. “We’re happy to lend them Ole Gunnar and wish both him and the club success,” it added. First team coach Erling Moe will take temporary charge of Molde, who finished second in the league last season. Following the loss to league leaders Liverpool, Manchester United (26 points) are 19 points adrift of their rivals after 17 matches and 11 behind fourth-placed Chelsea. Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as the early favourite to take over as United’s permanent boss next season and the Argentine did little to quell speculation during a news conference on Tuesday. “Like always in football nobody can guarantee anything. What’s going to happen in the summer? What is going to happen tomorrow? Nobody knows, The most important thing is to enjoy the journey,” Pochettino told reporters. The 46-year-old Pochettino, who joined Tottenham from Southampton in 2014, has guided the London club to three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League but is yet to win a trophy. However, his attacking style and youth development are traits that were synonymous with the dominant United sides under Ferguson but largely absent since the Scot retired in 2013.