New Delhi, September 16
Deprived of a place in the India ‘A’ squads, Harbhajan Singh finds himself with limited opportunities to stage a comeback, but the out-of-favour spinner is determined to make an impact in the upcoming Champions League T20 to force his way into national reckoning.

Unlike some of the other seniors like Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan who have been drafted into the India ‘A’ team for the series against West Indies ‘A’ for their comeback trail, Harbhajan has no choice but to prove his worth in the T20 event.

“I am always happy to play any format, be it days cricket, one dayers or T20. Whatever adjustments you make, the basic principles of success do not change. Whether it's Tests or T20s, the art of picking up wickets remains the same,” said Harbhajan, who’s training with Mumbai Indians squad for CLT20.

“You can think about being restrictive in T20 format, whereas you can afford to experiment in Tests. But in both formats, you need to bowl those wicket-taking deliveries that win you matches. At this point of time, I am totally focussed on doing well for Mumbai Indians in the Champions League T20,” the 33-year-old bowler, who played a pivotal role in MI's IPL triumph with 24 wickets, said.

Harbhajan, who has taken 694 international wickets across the three formats, reckons that he still has the hunger and the ability to perform at the highest level.

“There is a lot of hunger left in me to perform at the international level. But I would like to concentrate on what I have at hand. I would like to take one match at a time and give my hundred percent. My job is to perform in whatever matches I am playing. I would be happy to play more longer format games but would like to wait till Ranji Trophy for that,” said Harbhajan, who last played against Australia in Hyderabad, in March this year. Asked about whether he worked on anything specific during the off-season, Harbhajan stated, “I was in Jalandhar where I trained at my own academy under my childhood coach (Davinder Arora). I focussed on the basics and that's most important.

Then I took a few days off and now I am again training with MI.” On whether he faced competition from current Team India regular Ravichandran Ashwin or the upcoming Perveez Rasool, Harbhajan said, “I only love to compete with myself. That has always been the case in my 14 years in international cricket and would like to keep it like that.” MI had won the Champions League Twenty20 in 2011 under his captaincy and those happy memories certainly give him a lot of boost.

Bangalore, September 16
Yuvraj Singh, who smashed a blistering century against West Indies A, said his knock was very satisfying as it came against a high quality West Indies attack. Yuvraj spoke highly of paceman Ronsford Beaton and likened him to great Caribbean bowler Curtly Ambrose.

“I think it was a complete international attack. (Andre) Russell has played for his national side and Beaton is the future fast bowler for the West Indies. He reminds me of Curtly. Obviously Curtly was great, but I think he has lot of potential and I think it was a very good attack,” he said. Yuvraj said hitting a hundred in the first game of the season was special. “I think I have worked hard in my off-season on my batting and other skills in last couple of weeks,” he said.

Yuvraj showered praise on his private French trainer Tim Exeter for making him and Zaheer Khan match fit.Yuvraj said he has shed a few kilos and feeling stronger and moving quickly on the ground. “I was always quick on the field and I just worked on those aspects and I am feeling better,” he added. — PTI

Bhubaneswar, September 16
Out-of-favour India opener Virender Sehwag feels that team’s success is “more important” than individual feats of players.

Sehwag, who is desperately eyeing a comeback to the national side, said he is more happy when he is able to contribute to the team's cause.

“For me the success of the team is always more important than individual performances of the players,” said the out-of-favour dashing opener. “

I feel happy when I score a 40 or 50 and the team wins rather than when I score a double century and the team loses,” he added. Sehwag, who scored only 27 runs in his last two Tests against Australia at home, is hoping for a place in the Test squad which will take on West Indies in a two-Test series in November this year. — PTI

Chandigarh, September 16
Four seasons after Champions League T20 was launched with a promise of gruelling contests between the world's best T20 sides chosen from each nation, the league is still struggling with existential problems. Part of the blame lies in its part namesake — Champions Trophy — that partly clashes, and more importantly, confuses the layman. The obscurity of international but domestic T20 teams adds to the haze around the tournament. The lack of contests and paucity of media buzz does the rest.

However, with the arrival of Faisalabad Wolves and minor visa hitches, there is a prospect of both, at least in the qualifying stage of the main tournament.

The Pakistan T20 champions, on Tuesday's opening qualifying match, would mainly rely on their young players including promising medium-pacer Ehsan Adil, Ali Waqas, Khuram Shahzad, Asad Ali, besides banking on the star power of Misbah and Saeed Ajmal against New Zealand's Otago Volts at the PCA Stadium. The Wolves are only the second team from Pakistan to try to compete in the qualifiers, after Sialkot Stallions' attempt and failure last year.

This would be followed by a star-studded Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by Delhi-dasher Shikhar Dhawan, squaring off against Sri Lanka's Kandurata Maroons in the second qualifier. Barring Volts, the other three teams in the qualifiers come from the subcontinent, but none among the four feels that either has any big advantage in the event. The top two teams will advance to the main draw, which has three Indian teams in fray — IPL champions MI, runners-up CSK and third-place finishers RR.

“Barring Misbah and Ajmal, we are mainly a young squad, but there is lot of potential in our young players. We are confident that they will deliver at the big stage,” the team's wicketkeeper and vice-captain, Mohamed Salman said.

“Even though we don't have international cricket happening in our country, the standard of our domestic cricket is very high...I don't see the lack of international cricket in Pakistan making any difference to our performance,” he said.

Salman and coach Naveed Anjum feel that Misbah brings with him a wealth of experience and has also performed brilliantly in the shorter version of the game.

“Misbah performed brilliantly for us in the shorter versions, especially in the last season. He was the highest run-getter for us in our domestic T20 tournament. Besides being highly important to the team as a batsman, he plays a very crucial role as the leader,” said Anjum.

In the second game, Shikhar Dhawan's star-studded Sunrisers Hyderabad, featuring the likes of Parthiv Patel, Cameron White, Darren Sammy, Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera and Ishant Sharma, would aim for a win. Dhawan feels captaincy is a new challenge and he is looking forward to it. 

New Delhi, September 16
Banned fast bowler S Sreesanth claimed innocence in a letter to the BCCI’s disciplinary committee and said his confession to Police in the spot-fixing saga was under duress.

“Under the threat of arrest of my close relatives a statement was forcibly taken in the manner directed by the police,” said Sreesanth, who was banned for life after being found guilty of spot-fixing in the IPL in an internal inquiry conducted by the Board’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani.

“There is no confession recorded by me willingly to the police. The police have mentally and physically harassed me and obtained signed statements. The conclusion arrived at by the Commissioner of Enquiry that I have committed offences... is based on conjectures, guesses, inferences, and inadmissible police reports,” Sreesanth said in the letter which was submitted to the Disciplinary Committee just before the hearing.

“The police have not intercepted any conversation between me and any others in support of the wild and fantastic charges levelled against me which has put me into manifest injustice and prejudice as I had no opportunity to refute them,” said the 30-year-old pacer.

Sreesanth said it is too “distressing” for him because there is no concrete evidence against him.

“As regards seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe there is no trace of evidence pointing out to any such incident at all,” the Kerela pacer said.

“As regards the charges I respectfully beg to submit that all of them as has been conceded in the report itself are based on media reports and not any concrete and reliable evidence,” he said.

New Delhi, September 16
In future, if an Indian cricketer is caught for cheating/fixing or doping, he would not be able to take cover under the plea that he was not aware of such malpractices. Taking note of the unethical behavior of some of the players in the recent past, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has clubbed anti-corruption tutoring, along with anti-doping lectures by its designated experts, in its bid to create awareness among the players about these malpractices, so as to discourage players from taking short-cut to quick riches and success.

Though the anti-doping lectures were started by the BCCI last year, the anti-corruption lectures were added only last month, in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal in IPL season six. Around 35 Delhi cricketers, including those attending the Challenger camp, and belonging to all age groups (both in the men’s and women’s section), sat through nearly four hours of lectures by BCCI experts on how not to get trapped in the corruption and doping webs, at the Delhi and District Cricket Association conference hall here today.

Dr PSM Chandran, who is among the BCCI panel of doctors on doping, gave a detailed presentation to educate the players on the menace of doping— about banned/prohibited substances and drugs on the WADA (World Anti-Doping Acency) list.

A notable feature of the four-hour session was that the presence of each player was recorded. For, if any of them was caught for any of the offences for which the classes were taken today, they would not be able to say that they were not aware of such matters.

London, September 16
Experienced as they are there will still be a few first-night nerves this week as Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho set off on new Champions League journeys with plenty to prove and reputations to polish.

Each with two Champions League triumphs on their managerial CVs, two of them are attempting to work their European magic in new surroundings while the third has returned to the club at which the continent’s biggest club prize proved elusive.

After a year-long sabbatical, having twice taken Barcelona to European glory in a glittering reign, Guardiola has arrived at Bayern Munich tasked with retaining the trophy won in such style by Jupp Heynckes in May.

Ancelotti, after his brief stay at Paris St Germain, will be expected to deliver Real Madrid’s 10th European Cup without delay, having twice led Milan to the summit.

Mourinho, who Ancelotti has replaced in the Spanish capital, will seek to steer Chelsea all the way to the final in Lisbon having returned to London determined to win club football’s biggest prize with a third club.

Guardiola’s Bayern open the defence of their crown at home to CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid will unleash Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in Turkey against Galatasaray while Chelsea face Swiss side FC Basel at Stamford Bridge.

Rafa Benitez, another manager with a proven Champions League pedigree, will have to hit the ground running as his Napoli side host last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund in what looks like being a devilishly difficult Group F.

With so many Champions League masterminds among the 32 coaches setting off this week, Manchester United’s David Moyes and Barcelona’s new coach Gerardo Martino look like rookies in comparison as they prepare for their first ventures in the groups stages of the tournament.

Moyes will need all his steely calm and self belief as he plots United’s first Champions League campaign in the post-Alex Fergsuon era.

The Scot will have a tough baptism with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen first up on Tuesday in a group that also contains Real Sociedad and Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

A good start in Europe will go a long way to helping Moyes establish himself but the Champions League, as even Fergsuon would testify to, can be an unforgiving place.

“(Ferguson) said he thinks this is one of the hardest draws United have had in the Champions League,” Moyes, whose only flirtation with the competition was a final qualifying round defeat while in charge at Everton, said.

“If that’s coming from him it must be tough.”

Martino has started life confidently at the Nou Camp and with Lionel Messi already having scored six league goals and with Brazilian Neymar about to make his Champions League bow, Barca will again start as one of the favourites.

The Catalans are in Group H - the only section comprised of all former winners - with Celtic, Milan and Ajax Amsterdam who they begin against on Wednesday in one of the ties of the week. — Reuters

Chandigarh, September 16
After spending a harrowing day and an uncertain night, Faisalabad Wolves finally saw the back of their visa troubles as they settled down in the team hotel in Chandigarh on Monday evening. Ahead of their qualifying match against New Zealand's Otago Volts on Tuesday, the Pakistan T20 champs woke up still unsure, anchorless and walked gingerly to the PCA Stadium for the morning training session. The visa issue still unresolved, the spotlight continued to be on them even as all talk invariably was about updates on the unresolved issue.

It was only towards the sunset at 5.30 pm when an official communication was received and the team finally shifted to the team hotel where all other players are staying.

Punjab Cricket Association, in a statement, said, “The Faisalabad Wolves was granted visa by Govt. of India of all venues in India where these matches are taking places along with the venues like Ranchi, Delhi etc and of Mohali. There being a typical situation in tri-city that star hotels are in Chandigarh and the stadium is in Mohali.”

The statement added: “The problem came to the notice yesterday (Sunday) on the arrival of the Faisalabad Wolves team which was made to stay in Punjab Cricket Club (PCC) instead of Chandigarh. The BCCI immediately took up the matter with Ministry of Home Affairs and added Chandigarh on the visa list. Yesterday being Sunday the action could initiate late in the evening and Ministry of Home Affairs has taken appropriate decision and has done the needful. The Faisalabad Wolves have shifted to their designated hotel." — TNS

New Delhi, September 16
The three Indian boxers, who had alleged manipulation in the World Championships trials, have submitted their response to the showcause notices issued to them by the national federation and a decision on their fate will be taken by September 20.

Indian Boxing Federation President Abhishek Matoria said the trio of Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar (91kg), national champion Dilbag Singh (69kg) and Praveen Kumar (+91kg) have given their response to the notices.

They had been given until September 15 to present their case.

“We have received their responses and now the Indian Boxing Federation’s disciplinary committee will meet and a decision on them will be taken by September 20 latest,” Matoria said.

The disciplinary panel, comprising IBF vice-Presidents I D Nanavati and Mukharjee Nirwan and chairman of the Ring Officials Commission Narottam Singh Rawat, had its only meeting on September 4 when it issued showcause notice.

Sources said two of the disgruntled boxers — Dinesh and Praveen — have submitted apologies for alleging bias and manipulation in the trials for the October 11 to 27 event in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Matoria, however, refused to comment on this.

London, September 16
Novak Djokovic produced a masterful performance on Sunday to help Serbia roar back to defeat Canada 3-2 and set up a Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic.

On a weekend in which the sport’s biggest names, with the exception of Roger Federer, put their individual schedules to one side and donned national colours instead, Djokovic helped ensure Serbia stayed on course to repeat their 2010 triumph.

Rafael Nadal, fresh from winning his 13th grand slam title at the US Open, helped Spain crush Ukraine to retain their place in the World Group while world number three Andy Murray steered Britain back amongst the elite with three points in his side’s playoff victory over a weakened Croatia.

In a sport where individual prizes dominate the calendar the Davis Cup is often regarded as a sideshow but try telling that to the 15,000 fans who produced a deafening roar in Belgrade.

Serbia trailed 2-1 going into Sunday’s two singles rubbers before Djokovic levelled the tie with a 7-6(1) 6-2 6-2 win over Milos Raonic before Janko Tipsarevic beat Vasek Pospisil in straight sets to spark wild celebrations.

“This is one of the sweetest wins of my career and I hereby wish to thank my team mates for their support. See you right here in the final against the Czechs,” Tipsarevic said. “I think it will be a pretty open match against the Czech Republic. They have Tomas Berdych of course and have a strong doubles team. It’s going to be very tough and I expect a very dramatic final.”

There was nothing dramatic about the Czech’s demolition of an Argentina side missing the muscle of Juan Martin del Potro. Berdych and Radek Stepanek had put the 2012 winners 2-0 ahead on Friday and then teamed up to win the Saturday doubles.

“It’s definitely very exciting; Davis Cup means a lot, it’s special for us, for the whole country,” said Stepanek. “We loved so much delivering the trophy last year - it never gets old and we’d like to keep that trophy because it’s beautiful.”

Like Murray, Nadal was playing in the Davis Cup for the first time in two years. Showing no sign of fatigue after his US Open exploits he was unstoppable, winning his singles against Sergiy Stakhovsky for the loss of four games and then partnering Marc Lopez to doubles victory.

Murray beat Ivan Dodig 6-4 6-2 6-4 to give Britain a 3-1 lead and put them in next week’s draw for the World Group. “I’m looking forward to playing against some of the biggest countries in the world it will be exciting and hopefully I can be part of it,” Murray said. — Reuters

Chandigarh, September 16
While Jeev Milkha Singh and SSP Chowrasia had uneventful weeks — both professionals missed the cut at the KLM Open in the Netherlands — their compatriots back home are looking forward to teeing it up at the Chandigarh Golf Course where the PGTI Players Championship gets underway tomorrow.

Ajeteesh Sandhu, Abijit Singh Chadha, Sujjan Singh, Ranjit Singh, Harendra Gupta and Harmeet Kahlon will spearhead the local challenge but the player currently in best form, Chiragh Kumar will be the player to watch.

“It is always great to play in front of home crowds as we play on this course almost everyday, so I am looking forward to teeing it up tomorrow,” said Gupta.

Chiragh Kumar played exceedingly well on the Asian Tour last week and finished tied fifth at seven-under-par at the Asian Tour’s Yeangder Tournament Players Championship. Gaganjeet Bhullar who started the week as the defending champion was 41st while Rahil Gangjee ended the week tied 55th.

It will be a golf bonanza for local golf enthusiasts as leading Indian professional golfers Jyoti Randhawa, defending champion and current Rolex Ranking leader Mukesh Kumar, Shamim Khan, Rahil Gangjee, Ashok Kumar, Rashid Khan, Om Prakash Chouhan, Shankar Das, Manav Jaini, Digvijay Singh and Gaurav Ghei and Vinod Kumar display their world class skills.

Jyoti and Ashok will be looking to make a comeback as both professionals will be playing competitive golf after a break of four months.

“It’s nice to be back here and to play in Chandigarh,” said Digvijay. “It’s a course we know well and I am sure all the professionals are looking forward to playing some competitive golf.”

Las Vegas, September 16
It was not even close on Saturday night at the MGM in Las Vegas when Floyd Mayweather expertly tamed Saul Alvarez over 12 repetitive rounds to claim a couple of pure gold light-middleweight world title belts.

Mayweather made $19,213 per second, cleared $3.4m per round and collected a record guarantee of $41.5m (£26m) when he improved his record to 45 fights without defeat.

He also raised a few questions after his punches took Alvarez to the very tipping point of quitting and the main two are: how good is he and who is next?

“I could have pressed it and got the late stoppage but experience played a major key,” Mayweather said at the end of a fight that had the type of crossover appeal that has eluded the sport since Mike Tyson’s best and worst days. However, the brutal truth is that Tyson delivered something easily digestible in his controversies and violence, but Mayweather is far more difficult to understand because of his aversion to risk. There was a clear sense of confusion inside the arena on Saturday night and the crowd became less vocal as Mayweather won without too much glitz. Some veteran Vegas hacks insisted that the crowd was too “white collar” to appreciate the fight, claiming the traditional fans had packed the city’s sold-out big screenings, where 25,000 watched for $100 each.

In the hours after the fight Alvarez looked like a man who would gladly have traded the cash for what Mayweather had robbed him of during the 36-minute boxing lesson. The Mexican, who lost his unbeaten record, is only 23 but he looked desolate as he slumped through the obligatory post-fight search for an answer to the Mayweather enigma.

“I didn’t know how to get to him,” admitted Alvarez. “It’s as simple as that and the frustration was getting to me in there.” It is the latest typical dejected, savage and pitiless assessment from one of Mayweather’s broken opponents; it has become a familiar lament, a weary offering in the fading glow of a losing fight. It is also a lame excuse for a seasoned prizefighter to use, knowing that he is about to trouser in excess of $12m. Mayweather took his heart and that is a pact that no fighter agrees to.

Alvarez was, let us not conceal the truth, poor and came close in my opinion to walking away during the fight in what would have been a spectacular repeat of what the great Roberto Duran did in his rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980. Duran simply waved it off, uttered the deathless cry of “no mas” in round eight and walked to his corner; Leonard was not hurting Duran but the iconic Panamanian simply could not get close enough to connect. On Saturday I saw that same look of total hatred a couple of times on Alvarez’s broken face as he found his heavy legs in bad positions and was made to look clueless for most of the fight.

Mayweather never wasted a punch, clearly held back several times, and it is this seeming reluctance to finish fights that creates the one potentially damning blot on his brilliant resumé. The great boxers finish fights and the very best, such as Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, do it with an instant savagery that just seems to appear from a secret place once an opponent has been broken.

Also, critics – and there are many in the boxing business – point out that at various times in the last 10 years Mayweather has chosen to avoid certain fighters. He has often, as a sensible businessman, waited a few years before agreeing terms and only then when it seemed that the fighter was no longer at his peak. It is a claim that has definite legitimacy but there are dozens of other similar instances in the boxing record books.
— The Independent

Tokyo, September 16
In the absence of Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap, P.V. Sindhu will spearhead the Indian challenge at the $200,000 Super Series tournament, starting on Tuesday.

Tired after the hectic Indian Badminton League (IBL), Saina decided to take rest but Kashyap was forced to pull out at the last moment as he could not recover from his ankle injury. “I’m not playing the Japan Open as I could not recover from the ankle injury I had suffered during the IBL,” Kashyap said.

All eyes will be on world no. 10 Sindhu, who will be playing in her first international tournament after winning the prestigious bronze medal at the World Championship in China. Sindhu, seeded eighth, will take on two qualifiers in the first two rounds and is likely to make it to the last eight without much ado. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Dhoni's penchant for bikes puts police on toes
Ranchi: The local police today requested the family of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to inform them about India captain's early morning bike rides purely for security reason. Dhoni's love for mean machine is well known and in the last few days, he has been seen driving early morning to the local stadium to watch the training of young archers and footballers. “He can ride a bike, but we have informed them (family) to tell us before he goes out anywhere (so that) escort parties could go," Senior Superintendent of Police Saket Kumar Singh told PTI. Ahead of the September 22 CLT20 match against Titans at the JSCA Stadium, the captain of the CSK went to train riding a bike but he had a securuty cover deployed for his to and fro journey from residence to stadium.

Lorgat meets Sanjay Patel at the ICC Chief Executives' meet
Dubai: The BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel on Monday met CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat on Monday on the sidelines of the ICC Chief Executives' meet. Monday was the first of the two-day meet where the member nations discussed on a host of issues ranging from the use of DRS to two new white balls in ODI. “Yes, Patel and Lorgat did speak to each other for a few minutes but it is difficult to comment about what transpired during those few minutes. They were certainly cordial with each other,” a source told PTI.

Maha CM Chavan may take on Pawar in MCA elections
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is likely to contest the next month's election for President of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), a post held in the past by top politicians from the State.If everything goes according to indications available till now, he may be pitted against NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who too has expressed willingness to throw his hat in the ring. Mazgaon Cricket Club has nominated Chavan as its representative, fulfilling one of the pre-requisites for contesting elections for the prestigious post. "Prithviraj Chavan has filed his representation," an MCA source said. However, it is not known whether Chavan will finally take the plunge and contest the October 18 election.

Mohammedan Sporting reach Durand Cup final
New Delhi:Mohammedan Sporting Club of Kolkata kept themselves in line for their second Durand Cup title as they beat Mumbai Tigers 3-1 in semifinals. Mohammedan Sporting dominated first semifinal as they led 2-0 at half time at Ambedkar Stadium. — PTI

J&K’s Rubiya eyes glory in women’s cricket 
Srinagar: Keen to leave behind memories of a childhood, ridden with violence and uncertainty, Rubiya Sayeed dreams of becoming a successful international cricketer, who could bring glory to the nation. Hailing from South Kashmir Anantnag district, Rubiya idolises Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. She led her side to victory in the under-19 women tournament, organised by Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA). She scored 48 runs and took six wickets in the final against neighbouring district of Pulwama to bag the Woman of the match award. Asked about her dreams and she instantly said, “I want to become an international cricketer. MS Dhoni is my favourite player. His success story is great and he leads from the front. Some day, I want to become like him and achieve what he has. Playing in such a tournament is a great experience. The competition brings out the best in you and I think I played to the best of my capabilities,” she said.