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‘IPL will not affect our chances’
Warne’s no to retention of players
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A bigger, better IPL next year: Amin
Brawn criticises Button
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‘IPL will not affect our chances’
Mumbai, April 27 He said the scheduling will not be a concern for India as the team is together for most part of the year. “It’s not that we have not played games. Sometimes you have to just take the schedule what is available, no point complaining about it. IPL was supposed to finish on 25th. We had one and half day rest after that, then one whole day of flight and then after reaching there we have 2-3 days which is more than enough,” Dhoni told reporters ahead of Team India’s departure later tonight. “We played throughout the year. We are together for almost 250 to 300 days so I don’t think that should be a concern at all,” he told a pre-departure press conference here. “If we play to our potential, if every player plays according to his role and responsibility I feel we have good chances. So, hope for the best,” Dhoni added. His views were backed by India coach Gary Kirsten who said the team will give its best shot in the tournament no matter what the schedule is. “We have got the schedule and can’t do anything about it now. The Indian players may feel the heat of it more because all of them played in the IPL but our responsibility is to go out there and ensure that we are well prepared. We will do what we can in these circumstances,” he said. “We are looking forward to the World Cup. It is a big tournament and we will like to go out there and perform. We know we can play good cricket,” Kirsten added. Going into the World Cup, Yuvraj Singh's form is a major concern for India but Dhoni said his return to runs is just a matter of time. “Yuvraj is a great player, one of the best in T20 format, one of the biggest hitters of the ball and he can contribute with the ball at the same time. He has not scored too many runs in the IPL but at the same time it’s not a big worrying factor.” “In T20 format you need just 5 to 10 deliveries to strike form. He is hitting the ball still well. So we are not too much worried about it,” he said. The India skipper said the best thing about his team was that inspite of playing such a lengthy tournament like IPL, there was no injury worries in his team. It is not the first time we are going for a World Cup. It is the not first year when we played plenty of cricket. We played throughout the year and will continue to do so. We don't have any injuries right now, so it will definitely help us,” Dhoni said. Dhoni expects the wickets in the West Indies to be on slower side. “The last time we went there the wickets were on the slower and flatter side and helped the batsmen to score runs. We have some practice sessions and we will be watching the practice games of other teams and see how it goes. Hopefully, as the tournament progresses the spinners will come into action,” he said. Asked about the plight of Ravindra Jadeja, who could not play in IPL III after he was banned for breaching player guidelines, Dhoni said he was sure the Saurashtra all-rounder would have worked hard keeping in mind the tournament. “He (Jadeja) would be fresh and I am sure he would have been practicing for this tournament,” he said. The India captain said he has plenty of spin bowling options at his disposal in the Twenty20 World Cup. “Both Yusuf (Pathan) and Harbhajan (Singh) did very well for their teams opening the bowling in IPL. We also have very good part-timers in the team. Yusuf, Jadeja and Harbhajan have done well in all formats of the game over the years to be called as specialist spinners,” Dhoni said. “I don’t think bowling should be a problem," he added.
— PTI |
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Warne’s no to retention of players
New Delhi, April 27 Warne, the legendary Australian spinner, is of the view that for the sake of transparency, in the wake of the ongoing controversy, retention of the players should be avoided. “IPL must be transparent in everything it does, all questions and suspicions are taken away, that's why there must be no retention of players,” Warne wrote on his twitter page. “I am heading into office today to write a summary of IPL, the final and recommendations for IPL 4,” he wrote in another tweet. BCCI committee comprises former players Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and MAK Pataudi, who are also IPL Governing Council members. Let ICC supervise IPL: Miandad
KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad is not surprised by the mess the IPL finds itself in and wants the International Cricket Council to 'supervise' its organisation in future. Miandad said keeping in mind the huge stakes involved in the so called domestic event of the BCCI, the world governing body of the game must intervene. “Just to say the IPL is a domestic event does not work. IPL has too much foreign participation and interest at stake. ICC must supervise its organisation from now on,” he said. Miandad, who is Director-General of Cricket in the PCB, said that he was not surprised at the turn of events in the IPL or the suspension of its commissioner Lalit Modi. “It is not surprising because when you allow a private enterprise to deal directly with players bypassing the boards there is always bound to be trouble. I have been saying from day one that the ICC can't allow any Board to operate such private enterprises without a proper system of check and balance,” Miandad said.
— PTI |
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A bigger, better IPL next year: Amin
Vadodara, April 27 Amin replaced the high-flying Lalit Modi who was suspended from the job barely a few minutes after the prize distribution ceremony of the IPL final on Sunday. “The show will go on. IPL IV would be on schedule and it would be bigger and better. The cleaning up is already happening. My job is to run IPL in the most transparent manner,” he added. And he also has some changes in mind for the event, one of them being to stop the after-match IPL parties introduced by Modi. “I don’t know about the cheerleaders but the IPL nights will be stopped,” he said. Asked about his style of functioning, Amin said it would be there for everyone to see in the coming days. “I have my own working style which will evolve. Flamboyance has got nothing to do with cricket. Cricket is itself a religion, it sells itself,” he said. Amin will also be interacting with franchise owners to ease their anxieties after Modi’s ouster. “My job is to interact with franchises and assure them that their investment is safe and will flourish. IPL management is under the radar but I don't think cricket is under scanner. IPL's brand image is strong, no one can touch that. It's a storm but it will pass,” he assured. Asked about missing documents on franchise bids and TV and internet rights, Amin said the matter is being investigated. “Nothing is out of control. There has to be a total of audit of things. Some documents are missing and the Board is looking into it,” he said.
— PTI |
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Injured Beckham out until March 2011
Beckham underwent surgery in March after rupturing a tendon while on loan at AC Milan. He had initially been told he would be back in action by September. “I won’t be running for another three months, so I will be playing again in, probably, November,” Beckham said in a video posted Monday on the website of U.S. TV network ABC. Beckham was still on crutches Monday when he went to the studios of ABC. “My mentality is to kind of push it and get moving and running and soon as possible. But it’s an injury that has to take time to heal,” Beckham said in a separate TV interview. “It’s frustrating. It’s obviously disappointing because I’ve been working for the last two years to get into the English squad (for the World Cup).” Despite the injury, Beckham is still set to travel with England to the World Cup in South Africa. England opens its campaign against United States on June 12. “At the moment, it’s just getting the motion back into the ankle, the tendon, because it's still repairing,” Beckham said on the MLS website. “I’m trying to get mobilization back into the ankle.” Beckham was injured near the end of Milan's match against Chievo Verona on March 14 when he was by himself on the pitch with the ball at his feet. “It was like being hit by a hockey puck. I thought someone was behind me and kicked me,” Beckham said. “Obviously, no one was there and I saw my foot hanging, and then I felt down there and there was a hole.” Beckham had joined Milan from the Galaxy to stay in shape during the MLS offseason and boost his chances of becoming England's first player to appear at four World Cups. He has played 115 internationals, the most for an England outfield player and only second in the country's history behind goalkeeper Peter Shilton's 125 matches from 1970-90.
— AP |
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Brawn criticises Button
“We are still friends. We were on the same flight back from Malaysia and we had a good chat. But on the racetrack it is different. There are no friends on the racetrack,” The Sun quoted him, as saying. “Jenson was a fabulous member of our team last year but now he is the history and we have to beat him. He also wanted to prove himself at McLaren against the guy who is probably the fastest and most naturally talented in motor racing - Lewis Hamilton. He's set himself a massive challenge and he is doing very well so far.” The Mercedes GP chief was speaking at the launch of The Brawn Lifeboat Challenge. The object is to raise 350,000 pounds for the RNLI to buy a new lifeboat for the River Thames. Brawn is confident that Michael Schumacher will start winning races, while also helping his teammate Nico Rosberg’s career.
— ANI |
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Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne is not in favour of IPL franchisees retaining any player for the next season. BCCI yesterday formed a three-member committee which will liaise with the franchisees and discuss the modalities of withholding three foreign and four Indian players for the next season. The players, who competed in the first three editions of the Twenty20 tournament, had a three-year contract with their respective franchisees and a fresh auction will be held in September for
IPL-IV.
London, April 27
London, April 27
