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Cricket Special
Mumbai July 3:
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar advised young cricketers to aim for the India cap and said playing in the cash-rich Indian Premier League could not be their ultimate goal.
"Today, parents are encouraging their children to take up cricket as a career option because of the IPL and the amount of money it provides. But the worrying factor is far too many youngsters see IPL as the be all and end all," Gavaskar said at the inaugural Dilip Sardesai Memorial Lecture here.
The former opener also saw a worrying trend among the youngsters to pull out of domestic matches in order to be injury-free ahead of the IPL. "A lot of players miss out on domestic cricket before the IPL to avoid injuries.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
July 3,200
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Dubai July 3:
Gautam Gambhir is India's highest ranked Test batsman at number three and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, at sixth, is the highest placed Indian bowler in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings issued.
Gambhir, the Delhi left-hander with 847 rating points, is the only Indian to figure in the top 10 batsmen's chart, followed by Sachin Tendulkar (13th), VVS Laxman (15th) and Virender Sehwag (20th). In the bowlers' chart, Harbhajan is the lone Indian in top 10, followed by Zaheer Khan (11th) and Ishant Sharma (20th).
In the team ranking, India (117 points) are placed third behind top ranked Australia (128) and South Africa (119). Meanwhile Pakistan, currently sixth, will go into their three-Test series against Sri Lanka starting at Galle on Saturday targetting the fourth place, replacing the Lankans.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
July 3,200
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New Delhi July 3:
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned the logic behind Indian cricket team's on-going four-match one-day series in the Caribbean and said with an already crammed international schedule in place, such tours only add to the players' exhaustion.
India flew straight to the West Indies after their disappointing ouster in the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup in England. Defending champion India's early exit from Twenty20 World Cup also raised serious questions over the fitness of players, who seemed to be struggling with their forms and consistency with the series against the West Indies currently levelled at 1-1.
"I think it's a slightly ridiculous idea that you travel all the way to the West Indies and just play four one-day internationals, that too immediately after the World T20.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
July 3,200
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Mumbai July 1:
Guwahati, deprived of international cricket due to reasons varying from weather to security, was among the seven cities picked by BCCI today to host the India-Australia one-day series scheduled in October-November this year.
Delhi, Mumbai, Mohali, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Jaipur were the other six cities chosen for the series. Guwahati was scheduled to host the final India-England ODI last year in November but Kevin Pietersen and his men returned hom midway through the series after the Mumbai terror attacks. The match had looked in trouble even before that because of serial blasts in the North Eastern city.
A couple of years earlier, the city lost out on hosting the two teams due to bad weather which led to crowd violence. BCCI's Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee decided that the match schedule for the India-Australia would be finalised after the logistics are worked out, Board secretary N Srinivasan, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Lalit Modi, said in a statement.
The domestic schedule for the season was also drawn up. It was decided that the Duleep Trophy would be held on a knock-out basis and South Zone would host the inaugural edition of the BCCI Corporate Trophy from September 1-8. The 12 participating teams in the Inter-Corporate tournament would be divided into three groups of four sides each and matches will be played on league-cum-knockout basis.
The inter-state Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, that was not held in the previous season, will be held, Srinivasan said. Women cricketers would be playing only limited overs matches, one-dayers and T20 ties. In junior cricket, the C K Nayudu Trophy for under-22 players and the Cooch Behar Trophy for under-19 cricketers would be played in a two-tier format - Elite Group and Plate Group - on a home and away basis.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
July 1,200
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St Lucia July 1:
West Indian pace surprise Ravi Rampaul has found an admirer in Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has praised the right-armer for his ability to force mistakes from batsmen by consistently bowling in the right areas.
Rampaul returned career-best figures of 4-37 against India as West Indies beat India by eight wickets in Kingston to stay afloat in the four-match series currently tied 1-1. "Rampaul swings the ball really well, bowls in the right area, he forces you to play a big shot like the cover drive," Dhoni said ahead of the third one-dayer here on Friday.
Rampaul's spell left India tottering at 82 for eight after they won the toss and batted first, but Dhoni hit a responsible 95 to lift his side to 188 all out.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
July 1,200
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Jaipur June 29:
Indian cricketers should opt out of the Indian Premier League if a major international tournament is scheduled immediately after it, said the team's former physio John Gloster.
Talking to reporters, Gloster said players should avoid tournaments like the IPL to make sure that they are at the peak of their physical and mental fitness before a crucial international tournament like the World Cup. "Skip IPL if possible. Some of the Australians skipped it," he said.
"The IPL has taught cricketers to adapt to different conditions and situations quickly but it is wiser to skip it if it is close to any important series because it involves too much of travelling which leads to stress," he added. Defending champions India looked jaded in the Twenty20 World Cup in England and failed even to make the semifinals.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
June 30,20
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Kingston June 29:
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's defiant 95 went in vain as India suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat at the hands of an inspired West Indies in the second cricket one-dayer here.
After dismissing the visitors for a modest 188 in 48.2 overs, the Caribbean team rode on openers Chris Gayle (64) and Runako Morton's (85) fabulous batting to overhaul the target in 34.1 overs and level the four match series 1-1.
Earlier, electing to bat first, Dhoni waged a lonely battle as India succumbed to a batting collapse against the West Indian pace attack led by pacer Ravi Rampaul. Rampaul produced a career-best four-wicket haul and combined with Jerome Taylor (3/35) to rip through the top-order before joining hands with Dwayne Bravo (3/26) to get rid of the Indian lower half.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
June 30,20
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Kingston June 28:
Having survived a scare in the opening match, India go into the second cricket one-dayer against the West Indies on Sunday, fully aware that they need to maintain their intensity right through the game to take an invincible 2-0 lead.
The Indians just about managed a narrow 20-run victory in the first match on Friday and appeared to be a little complacent in the later stages of the game. They very nearly paid the price for it.
The close game will serve as a wake-up call for the visitors who are determined to make amends for their Twenty20 World Cup debacle by clinching the four-match series. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has already warned his teammates not to get complacent and it remains to be been seen how the Indians respond to their captain who finds himself under some pressure now.
With the dashing Virender Sehwag not available for the series, the Indians have struggled to get the starts though new opener Dinesh Karthik did well by scoring 67. The left-handed Gautam Gambhir has not been in good nick for some time now and the Delhi batsman will be keen to rediscover his touch.
Yuvraj Singh, who clobbered a rollicking 131 in the first match, has been in excellent form and will have to shoulder the responsibility of taking India to a healthy total. Bowling in the slog overs continued to remain an area of concern for India as home side was in the game till the end despite the tourists plucking seven wickets in 40 overs. They conceded 29 runs in extras.
In Dhoni’s own words, giving pacer Ashish Nehra the ball in the closing stage was a gamble which paid off. “It was a gamble. We were thinking of giving that over to an off-spinner or a pacer. Finally, we chose a pacer as the ball was getting reverse swing,” he said. Dhoni also admitted they had to toil hard to defend their mammoth 340-run target because his teammates got complacent after removing the top-order of the West Indies.
“Most of the guys thought that we have won the game when they were seven wicket down but it was a mistake and hopefully we won’t repeat that. It was more close than thought,” he said. West Indies, who were brave in their chase despite losing wickets at regular intervals, will surely look to bounce back to draw parity in the series.
They needed one batsman to play a big innings like Yuvraj had done for the Indians and the others could play the supporting role. That their bowlers let India recover to set such a massive target after twice applying break to their run-spree shows they needed to buckle up too. The West Indies’ bowling appeared indisciplined as they did not maintain the right line and length on the slow track.
Skipper Chris Gayle confessed his batsmen failed to capitalise on the good start. “We came close and the effort can’t be faulted for the way we went about it. I think that we had a good start (to the innings) and a couple of the top-order batsmen got good starts, which we should have capitalised on,” he said. “It was a good effort. We batted well. Shiv played a top innings at the top,” he said.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
June 28,20
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Melbourne June 28:
He denies being an alcoholic, but troubled Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds concedes he is a binge drinker and struggles to cope with the attention that comes with being an international cricketer.
"I'm not an alcoholic. I've been diagnosed as a binge drinker. I'd go out and drink too much, too fast," Symonds revealed in an interview with 'Nine Network'. "I'm not proud of the times that I've drunk too much and been rude to someone or broken team rules," the burly Queenslander said.
Symonds was called back home from the Twenty20 World Cup in England and Cricket Australia dumped him from its central contract for an alcohol-related indiscretion. He had undergone rehabilitation before being picked for the Twenty20 World Cup. That was after he missed team meetings, turned up drunk for a match and had been involved in drunken brawls among other controversies.
Looking back, the 34-year-old says he is glad to be free of the pressure. "Now I'm out of that environment, that won't happen anymore for those people in that team and for me," he said. I'm not an alcoholic: Symonds Melbourne (PTI): He denies being an alcoholic, but troubled Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds concedes he is a binge drinker and struggles to cope with the attention that comes with being an international cricketer.
"I'm not an alcoholic. I've been diagnosed as a binge drinker. I'd go out and drink too much, too fast," Symonds revealed in an interview with 'Nine Network'. "I'm not proud of the times that I've drunk too much and been rude to someone or broken team rules," the burly Queenslander said.
Symonds was called back home from the Twenty20 World Cup in England and Cricket Australia dumped him from its central contract for an alcohol-related indiscretion. He had undergone rehabilitation before being picked for the Twenty20 World Cup. That was after he missed team meetings, turned up drunk for a match and had been involved in drunken brawls among other controversies.
Looking back, the 34-year-old says he is glad to be free of the pressure. "Now I'm out of that environment, that won't happen anymore for those people in that team and for me," he said.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
June 28,20
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New Delhi June 28:
India will play a four-match cricket tri-series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in September this year, the BCCI announced. The series would be hosted by Sri Lanka and the itinerary for the event would be released soon.
"Sri Lanka will host India and New Zealand in a tri-series of one-day internationals in September 2009," BCCI secratary N Srinivasan said in a statement. "The teams will play each other once, and the top two teams will meet in the final. Thus, a total of four matches will be played," the statement added.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
June 28,20
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