Entertainment
‘Switch off your phones and sleep’, Indian skipper tells team before Pakistan clash
India’s players need to block out the noise as they prepare to again face rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup amid controversy over their previous clash, skipper Suryakumar Yadav said on Saturday.
The eight-team tournament has been dominated by headlines about Pakistan and India’s first meetings on the pitch since the military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May this year.
India prevailed in the politically-charged Group A match last week but their players refused to shake hands with their Pakistan opponents after the match.
Suryakumar dedicated India’s seven-wicket victory to their armed forces, while several of his teammates took to social media to express similar thoughts.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) called for match referee Andy Pycroft’s immediate removal for a code of conduct violation and considered withdrawing from the tournament before going ahead with UAE match after referee tendered apologies.
Naqvi, flanked by former chairmen Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi, told reporters at Gaddafi Stadium that Zimbabwe-based match referee Andy Pycroft had formally apologised to national captain Salman Ali Agha, the coach and the team manager, acknowledging the concerns raised by the side.
With the controversy likely to rumble on in the build-up to Sunday’s clash, Suryakumar offered some blunt advice for teammates struggling to cope with external pressure.
“Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep. I think that’s the best. It’s easy to say, but sometimes it is difficult,” he told reporters. “It’s on you, what you want to listen to, what you want to have in your mind.
“I have been very clear with all the boys. I think it’s very important if you want to do well in this tournament and going forward. We will have to shut a lot of noise from outside and take what is good for you.”
Despite India’s triumph in their previous encounter, Suryakumar insisted past results would count for nothing when the rivals meet again in the Super Four match.
“I feel our preparation has been really good leading into the tournament. We have also had three good games, so we are actually focusing on what we can do best,” he added.
“We want to follow all the good habits that we have been doing from the last two or three games. We take it one game at a time. It doesn’t give us an edge that we have played them once, and we had a good game. We have to start from scratch.”
When asked about the historic rivalry — which was much more intense in 2000s, he said, “At that time, I don’t know. I have never played. So I can’t say,” he laughed.
“If we talk about rivalry, I don’t know what kind of rivalry you are talking about. After going on the ground, I feel that the stadium is full. And when the stadium is full, I tell my team and everyone that it is time for entertainment. So many people have come to watch the match, so you have to entertain everyone. Let’s play some good brand of cricket. And according to me, we don’t think much,” he added.
Another question asked Suryakumar about the ‘other things’ India did against Pakistan, without explicitly mentioning the handshakes, and he simply said: ‘By other things, you mean we bowled well, isn’t it?’
Imagine Jenna Ortega in Hereditary. Creepy, right? Also… almost real.
The Wednesday star just dropped a surprising confession while chatting with Kid Cudi on his podcast – she auditioned for Ari Aster’s now-iconic horror film when she was just 12.
“I think I auditioned for Hereditary, which obviously wouldn’t have made any sense, especially for, like, my disposition as a kid, so I understood,” she said.
She did not even have the full script – just a couple of mysterious pages.
“I didn’t know what I was looking at… it was like two pages of just ominous words that as a 12-year-old went over the head,” she explained. Still, something clicked: “I feel like this is an important movie.”
She was not wrong.
The role eventually went to Milly Shapiro, while Toni Collette led the film – and horror history was made.
Watching it later in theaters, Ortega had a full-circle moment: “This is the one that I said was going to be in.”
Rejection, though? Never her villain origin story. “I never really question it… what’s meant to be mine will come to me.”
In fact, she almost quit acting altogether – until YOU happened. On set, one experience, and suddenly: “Yeah, there’s no way I could let this go.”
Fast forward, she’s now booked, busy… and finally learning how to cook.
Hollywood almost lost her. Imagine that horror story.
Love is strong… but tour schedules? Brutal.
Demi Lovato and husband Jordan Lutes (aka Jutes) are about to hit a relationship milestone – their first wedding anniversary – and unfortunately, they will be celebrating it miles apart.
Jutes, gearing up for his European tour in May and North American run in August, admitted the timing could not be worse.
“It’s one of those things where we get sad when we talk about it,” he shared. “So we’re like, ‘We won’t think about it yet.’ It’s gonna be tough, there’s no way around that.”
Romantic? Yes. Ideal? Not even close.
Still, he is not letting distance win. “We’re just gonna pretend,” he joked. “As soon as tour is over and we’re together, we’re gonna celebrate and that’ll be awesome. It’s part of the job and we’ll just have to FaceTime a ton and figure it out. We’ll get through it.”
Between shows, Jutes is riding high on his new single Disassociate and prepping what he calls his “biggest” tour yet – funded largely by fans.
“People coming to the show is by far the most important thing to me,” he said. “Nothing is going to replace showing up and a bunch of fans being there singing your songs.”
And Demi? Still his biggest fan.
“She believes in me more than I believe in myself,” he said. “We love to see each other win—seeing her win makes me feel better than seeing myself win.”
As for marriage rumours being “hard”? Jutes is no buying it: “Should we pretend to fight or something?”
Sean Diddy Combs filed a new appeal in the court for his immediate release with a new argument against his allegedly unfair trial.
The 56-year-old disgraced music mogul presented the argument through his legal team Alexandra Shapiro and Nicole Westmoreland in New York on Thursday, April 9.
They claimed that the Bad Boy Records founder ought to be freed under the First Amendment, according to the details obtained by Page Six.
Shapiro and Westmoreland argued that Diddy was wrongfully convicted under the Mann Act, while he was involved in the creation of independent adult tapes, which is legal under US laws for freedom of speech.
The Last Night rapper’s legal team claimed that the Judge Arun Subramanian who was in-charge of the case, used the wrong allegations against Combs to sentence him strongly.
“We made it abundantly clear. The District Court should not consider the acquitted conduct,” Shapiro said, adding that Combs’ sentence is the “highest sentence ever imposed on a Mann Act defendant under the same-based defence level.”
The attorneys demanded immediate acquittal and release of the music mogul or at least his freedom and resentencing to lesser time.
However, Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik called the whole argument “meritless” marking the distinction between Diddy and adult filmmakers.
He also doubled down on Judge Subramanian’s “correctly applied” ruling given the “aggravated manner in which [Combs] committed his Mann Act offenses.”
Combs was was convicted of transportation for prostitution in July 2025 after his arrest in September 2024.
UK, Bangladesh to reactivate trade, investment dialogue
Jenna Ortega makes surprise revelation about role she lost
Meta’s New AI Asked for My Raw Health Data—and Gave Me Terrible Advice
-
Business1 week agoJaguar Land Rover sees sales recover after cyber attack
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
[CinePlex360] Please moderate: “Trump signals p
-
Entertainment7 days agoJoe Jonas shares candid glimpse into parenthood with Sophie Turner
-
Tech7 days agoOur Favorite iPad Is $50 Off
-
Sports6 days agoUConn Final Four run could trigger a $50M furniture giveaway for Massachusetts-based Jordan’s Furniture
-
Entertainment7 days agoBlake Lively reacts to harassment claims dismissal against Justin Baldoni
-
Business7 days agoVideo: Why Is the Labor Market Stuck?
-
Politics7 days agoIran can sustain Strait of Hormuz closure for years, will cut US military logistics: Official