A few football-loving film stars might be seen on the pitch in the exhibition match for ‘Messi’ in Kolkata
A few of the Bollywood and Tollywood stars who once had a habit of playing football regularly or who are passionate about the game, like John Abraham and Tiger Shroff, might be requested to wear jerseys and take part in the much-awaited exhibition match, to be held at the Salt Lake Stadium on 13th December, in honor of Lionel Messi. However, the exhibition match will be played between Mohun Bagan Super Giants and Diamond Harbour FC. Now, after Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, Hyderabad has added the list of Argentine captain’s trip. Satadru Dutta, the sports promoter and organizer of Messi’s three-day trip to India, revealed while speaking to Parallel Sports, “The footballers of both the teams who will play on the day will be finally selected by the clubs. I will request them to include a few celebrities who are passionate about the game. I will have meetings with both Mohun Bagan and DHFC top brass regarding the matter next week to finalize the players’ list for the match.” Dutta also revealed, he will be trying to issue tickets offline for Messi-show in Kolkata. “But Kolkata Police has advised me to make it digital. I am constantly in touch with them. I hope the ticket-selling issue will be solved between 26th and 28th of this month,” he added. When asked about the launch of his dream project, ‘Messi Football School, Dutta informed, “I have plans to launch my Edu Soccer in a small way during Messi’s tour. But it will come up in a broader way as I already had a discussion with Messi’s father regarding the project.”
Gill says adjusting to different formats of games depends more on psychological flexibility than physical ability
Ahead of the first test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens, starting from Friday, India skipper Shubman Gill was asked in the media conference on Thursday at the Eden Gardens that how he is being able to manage the character of the game’s different formats while switching from the ‘white-ball’ cricket to the ‘red-ball’ Test cricket. “I think in 4-5 days of turnaround, coming from another country and playing different formats is not easy. It’s more mental than showing physical ability. “I am still trying to figure out how to manage it. I think the workload, starting from the Asia Cup, we have been playing kind of back-to-back, travelling to different countries, switching between formats within 4 to 5 days. So, I am also trying to figure out what gives me the best chance to be able to perform and succeed in all those formats that I am going to play. But the challenge is definitely more mental than physical. Bodily, I feel fine. There’s obviously a little bit of jet lag when you are coming from Australia. Apart from that, physically, I feel completely fine. It’s a bit challenging at times because the requirements for different formats in different places of the world are different, so I think it’s a good challenge and a good learning curve for me, Gill explained in the media conference. Additionally, returning from Australia to India, and the adjustment to the climate is not as easy as the captain added, “There’s a good amount of time difference between India and Australia. So, the body takes a bit of time to get used to it. Then, after coming here, there’s a different challenge of playing Test cricket in India as compared to playing white-ball cricket in Australia. Definitely, it’s a bit challenging mentally and physically. But as a professional cricketer, it’s about how you tackle these things.” The 26-year-old has been playing and juggling the three formats on a consistent basis. Gill played the England series from June to August. He was then announced as deputy for T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav for the Asia Cup in the UAE, which went on from September 9-28. There was little rest for the weary skipper, however, with Gill then coming back to India to lead in the 2-match West Indies series, which went on from October 2-October 14. After the Windies series, Gill had to fly in for a white-ball tour to Australia, consisting of 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is, which started on October 19 and ended on November 8. That makes it 6 months on the road where Gill has played 7 Tests, 12 T20Is, and 3 50-over matches. With the South Africa series starting on November 14 and its associated preparations, that doesn’t afford Gill much of a turnaround time. However, he also did not hesitate to reveal that playing at the Eden Gardens has always been homely for him. Eden Gardens was the ground that shaped his formative years when he burst onto the scene for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL in 2018 after a successful U-19 World Cup campaign in the same year. It’s, however, ironic that since becoming captain of the India Test and ODI teams, Gill’s concept of ‘home’ has been basically living out of a suitcase.
Inter Kashi moves to the Delhi High Court against Churchill Brothers CEO on ‘the conflict of interest’ issue
Inter Kashi has filed a writ petition against Churchill Brothers CEO Valenka Alemao, citing a conflict of interest. Inter Kashi has filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court accusing Valenka Alemao, the CEO of Churchill Brothers, of a ‘conflict of interest as she is also a member of the AIFF Executive Committee. The Delhi High Court has pushed the matter to Friday following today’s hearing. This is another litigation involving Churchill Brothers and Inter Kashi. After the dispute regarding the title of the last I-League season, the two clubs have opened another front. This writ petition is primarily centred on the conduct of Valenka Alemao. In the petition, they have stated, “The Petitioner has brought to the notice of AIFF several instances where Ms. Valanka has misused her position as a member of the Executive Committee of AIFF to benefit CBFC; however, no action has been taken in such complaints, to date.” “Instances such as not returning the I-League Champions Trophy to AIFF despite having lost before the highest sports adjudicatory body in the world, namely, Court for Arbitration for Sports, to deliberately procuring sensitive/non-public documents of the petitioner club in her capacity as member of the Executive Committee of AIFF to use such information to initiate and by further holding the original trophy to itself on the false premise that it has not been directed by CAS to return the same.” The litigation surrounding the last season of the I-League and its winner has not yet concluded. However, based on the order of CAS, AIFF has awarded Inter Kashi with the I-League trophy and promotion to the Indian Super League for the 2025-26 season.
