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Rahul Dravid writes...
Harender, Sandeep differ on foreign coach
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Asif to challenge ban
PCB lifts domestic ban on ICL players
Jayawardene to quit captaincy
We’ll never lose 0-10 to Oz, Harender tells Ric
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Rahul Dravid writes...
So much has been said and written about G. R. Vishwanath that it is with some care that I even begin this exercise. Those who have played with and against him are in an ideal position to talk about his batting. I never had that privilege, but I was fortunate to experience Vishy's light touch at different stages of my career and it's a pleasure to recount some of the personal interactions.
When I moved to more serious cricket, under-15s and then under-17s inevitably the managers of teams were people who had played with Vishy. You never went long without hearing of the little boy from Bangalore who took on the fiercest and the best in the world. I was in the stands when Vishy played for India but then I was a distracted little boy and unfortunately I can't form a clear picture of him batting in a Test. Of course, there are distinct recollections of how he handled bowlers in league cricket at a time when it really meant something - 5000 people would turn up to watch a game played on matting. What I remember vividly is going to keep wickets at the Karnataka Ranji nets when I was in the under-15s. It was Vishy's last Ranji season and it was such a thrill to be part of the training sessions. Even then, when I was just a little kid Vishy had such warmth and friendliness it left a lasting impression. He was approachable, generous with his time and quick with humour to make you feel at home - it typifies the man he is. It was Vishy, as chairman of selectors, who picked me to play the Ranji Trophy from the under-19s and presented me my cap in Pune. At that time he was also travelling with team as manager and this resulted in some of my fondest memories. We used to take a lot of long train journeys and as the night wore down Vishy would be enjoying his favourite tipple and the hours flew by as he and the likes of Kirmani talked cricket. Rubbing shoulders with them and listening to those conversations left a lasting impression. It's no coincidence that a batch of us who grew up under Vishy's tutelage went on to play regularly for Karnataka, win the Ranji Trophy and then some onto higher honours as well. Over the years, when I've travelled abroad, especially to places like Australia I've bumped into some former cricketer who heard I was from Karnataka and asked, "Oh, from the land of the little man, how's he doing?" There's a genuineness to the friendship and huge respect that people feel for Vishy all around the world - especially the way he played fast bowling - that has to be seen to be believed. From the first time I met him, till today, it's always a pleasure to meet Vishy. There isn't the slightest trace of bitterness in him, he's happy with the person he is and never looks back at the past in a negative way. He hardly ever talks about himself or his cricket and in some ways that's a shame because there's so much we can all learn from him. I clearly recall a time when he walked up to me, after I'd just played a few Tests, and had a quiet chat. "After every Test you should go back and think about the game you just played, and learn from it. Only then does it become experience. Just by playing a number of matches you don't become experienced," Vishy said, and to this day it's one of the best pieces of advice I've received. A lot of people think the game just came naturally to him and that he just went out there and batted brilliantly, but he's also someone who thought a lot about his game. Vishy was the chairman of the national selection panel when I was picked to play for India after the 1996 World Cup, and inevitably there were some doubts raised about whether I was the right choice. I just hope that I haven't let him down. The lifetime achievement award is a deserving recognition of little big man from Bangalore. Happy Birthday Vishy. — PMG |
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Harender, Sandeep differ on foreign coach
New Delhi, February 11 But young captain Sandeep Singh sounded a different note, as he felt that it did not matter whether a foreign coach was at the helm or not, but what mattered was that whoever coached the national team should be able to take the country to a higher level. Harender, along with the team, who finished second in the Punjab Gold Cup, were in Delhi on way to Australia and New Zealand to play a Test series. The coach observed that the Indian team were not able to realise their full potential due to the absence of expert, modern coaching. He observed that India had never really produced good coaches in comparison to the foreign teams, particularly the European teams. He said the foreign teams did well as they were lucky to get the right kind of coaching, with thrust on improving skills and techniques while what the Indian players lacked was proper guidance. “Otherwise, there is not much difference between the Indian players and their European counterparts. Our players are no less when it comes to playing abilities,” he elaborted. India will play a two-Test series in Australia followed by a four-Test tour of New Zealand. Captain Sandeep Singh was not too concerned about whether the team were being trained by a foreign coach or an Indian expert. “Our job is to play and play well. The decision to appoint a foreign coach is the job of the administrators. “We are more keen to give good performances against Australia and New Zealand than bothering about who would be the foreign coach,” Sandeep said. He said the present Indian team had some flaws, which needed to be corrected for the team to progress to the next level. “Our defence and mid-field would have to play better”, he noted.
Tirkey ‘hurt’ by Aslam’s comments
Former captain Dilip Tirkey today expressed his disappointment over ad-hoc committee member Aslam Sher Khan's remarks on senior players, saying that such comments in the middle of a tournament can hurt the morale of a team.
His remarks were not liked by many with the Sports Minister MS Gill warning the administrators to stay away from such comments especially in the middle of a tournament. ''I really felt bad with his comments,'' Tirkey said here today. ''During the middle of a tournament, I think such remarks should not have come because it can disrupt the morale of the team especially when the players were playing so well,'' he added. The former captain further asserted that he was satisfied with the performance of the seniors in the hockey Gold Cup, where India finished runners-up losing to European Champions Netherlands 1-2 in the final. Tirkey admitted that the current Indian team has been doing well but there were a few areas which needed to be worked out. ''We played good and attacking hockey. If you see the number of goals that we hit majority of them were field goals. ''I guess we conceded a few short corners which could have been avoided and we need to use Sandeep's talent in a much better way. ''We are playing well and hopefully we'll soon see a rise in the rankings as well,'' Tirkey, who was here with the whole Indian team which will leave for Australia later tonight to play a two-Test series, replied. From Australia, India will head towards New Zealand where they will a four-Test series against the Kiwis. If fitness permits, Tirkey said, he would like to give another shot at the 2010 World Cup as he plans to continue his playing career for another year. ''I want to play for another year but that depends on my fitness and yes, if every things goes fine, I will play the next year's World Cup,'' he conceded. —
UNI |
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IPL bans Asif for one year
Mumbai, February 11
After finding the 26-year-old fast bowler guilty of violating the anti-doping code, the IPL Drug Tribunal, chaired by legal expert Shirish Gupte, made the formal announcement today though it arrived at the decision yesterday. Media reports, quoting sources, had already claimed that Asif will be banned. Apart from Gupte, the tribunal also comprised former Vice-Chancellor of MUHS, Ravi Bapat and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. Asif, playing for Delhi Daredevils had tested positive for banned substance - nandrolone - during the inaugural edition of the cash-rich event. A statement from the IPL Drugs Tribunal said that the ban, which suspends the bowler from taking part in the second edition of the tournament starting April 10, will be effective from September 22 last year. "The year's ineligibility for Mohammad Asif's ban runs from as September 22, 2008 as that was the date when the IPL had imposed the suspension order, post which the cricketer has not been allowed to play any match," the release said. Asif, who has already been banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board, told the Tribunal last month that he unknowingly took the substance which was present in an eye drop that he was using for allergy.
Asif has a series of run-ins with controversies and was detained in the Dubai airport for 19 days last June with 0.24 grams of opium in his possession when he was returning home after playing in the
IPL.
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PCB lifts domestic ban on ICL players
Karachi, February 11 "We have allowed them to play domestic cricket but only the ICC can decide on lifting the international cricket ban on the ICL players," PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt told a news conference today. "We are waiting as the ICC is holding talks with the ICL and Indian Board on the issue of granting recognition to the rebel league or find some other solution," Butt added. He also made it clear that the ICC had toughened its regulations that govern the right of home boards to allow tournaments and matches in their own countries. Butt said the ICC had allowed the ‘rebels’ to play domestic cricket if they got relief from courts. A total of 19 Pakistani players had earlier filed a petition in the Sindh High Court challenging the ban imposed on them by the PCB. — PTI |
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Jayawardene to quit captaincy
Colombo, February 11 Jayawardene though wants to continue as a player of the team, which suffered a 1-4 mauling in the five-match one-day series at the hands of India. "This is something I have been considering for some time as it has been my long-held belief that my successor should have at least 18 months in the job to imprint his vision on the team for the 2011 World Cup. “After much thought, I have concluded that the right time has now come for fresh leadership to takeover,” he said. “It was not an easy decision to make because being the Sri Lanka captain has been the source of enormous pride. I am very grateful to have been granted the honour of leading the team," Jayawardene added. — PTI |
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We’ll never lose 0-10 to Oz, Harender tells Ric
Harender promised to end his association with the game if Australian coach Ric Charlesworth's assertion of beating his wards 10-0 comes true during the team's tour Down Under.
Charlesworth, a former consultant with the Indian team, left the post under bitter circumstances last year and took up the Aussie coach's job. He recently challenged Indians, saying the Aussies would beat them 10-0 during their two-Test tour Down Under. “Indian hockey is not in a such a bad state that it will lose 10-0 to Australia or any side. If that happens it will be the last day of my association with hockey,” Harender said when asked about Charlesworth's statement. On a high after the runners-up finish in the Punjab Gold Cup hockey tournament, Harendra said the team would be working on the grey areas of its game during the tours of Australia and New Zealand. Harender, under whom Indian hockey started its revival journey drawing last month's four-Test away series against Argentina 2-2, said although the eight-time Olympic champions lost the Gold Cup final to European Champions Holland 1-2, there were a lot of positives to be taken from the event. “Post Olympic qualifying debacle, the team was low on confidence and morale but the performance in Argentina and in the Punjab Gold Cup has brought back their confidence,” Harender told reporters on the sidelines of a felicitation function organised ahead of their departure to Australia today. The two-match series against Australia wuld be followed by another four-match series in New Zealand from February 19. “I have set realistic targets for my team. The tours fall within the plan for the 2010 World Cup, it’s a step by step process. The main idea behind the tours is to make the players ready for playing in any adverse climate. —
PTI |
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When you're growing up in Karnataka with cricket on your mind it's difficult to think of Vishy as anything but an icon. In the backyard games of make-believe Test matches that I played with my brother it was always Vishy or Gavaskar who scored centuries. 
During the recently concluded four-nation Punjab Gold Cup, former Olympian Aslam Sher Khan had said that the seniors must perform else they show quit the game.