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‘Hectic schedule will drain players’
Turmoil in Sri Lankan cricket as Jayawardene also quits |
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Nayar ready for new challenge
Pak axe Kamran Akmal, Razzaq
45 probables for Azlan Shah Cup
Warne denies India coach talk
‘We were gutted after the loss to India’—Muttiah Muralitharan
Sports Journalist Chesterfield passes away
Nemat hits century
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‘Hectic schedule will drain players’
Chennai, April 6 "It does affect the performance of players. The physical aspect you can battle but because of the amount of cricket (you play) at times you find yourself mentally and emotionally quite drained," Dhoni told a press conference here when asked about the crammed schedule ahead this year. Less than a week after the conclusion of the World Cup that lasted over 40 days, IPL-IV kicks-off on Friday and will last 50 days. Indian players will play series against West Indies, England and Australia later in the year. "After the IPL, India play West Indies series, we then go straight to England, we come back, if we qualify (in the IPL) you play in the Champions League. Then there is another couple of tournaments before you move to Australia, so it's quite a hectic schedule ahead of us," Dhoni said. "Even if the demanding schedule may not affect all the players, it will affect quite a few players who have been part of all the cricket we have played for about the past six months," he added. Dhoni has just before the World Cup spoken against the busy schedule, saying that this has made the players physically and mentally tired. That led to angry reaction from the BCCI who said that players are permitted to take rest whenever they feel tired. The Chennai Super Kings skipper was in the city to kickstart CSK's latest IPL season. CSK won the tournament last year and also the Champions League Twenty20. Mahendra Singh Dhoni said it was a pleasure to hear words of praise from batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar who had said that he was the best captain he has played under. Dhoni said he was trying to serve the nation like Tendulkar has been doing for years. "I've tried to be honest throughout my career. Whatever responsibility is given on my shoulders, I try to fulfil it to the fullest extent. It's just my pleasure that he enjoys playing with me. I am also serving the nation like him," he told reporters ahead of his IPL side Chennai Super Kings' opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday. Dhoni paid tribute to outgoing coach Gary Kirsten, saying he has set high benchmarks for the team. "What Gary has done to Indian cricket, I think the benchmark set is really high. When I say really high, (I mean) really high. We will miss him for sure but I assure you, Gary will miss us more. "Someday when he decides to come back and coach a new team, he'll miss the Indian cricket team even more. There was a bond between him and the team and we'll definitely miss him," said Dhoni who led the Indian team to World Cup triumph last week. Asked about Australian spin legend Shane Warne's reported desire to coach the Indian team, Dhoni said, "I don't know about it. I heard it from the media. But one thing is for sure, whoever wants to come in or comes in, those (Gary's) are big shoes to fill." Happy with CSK team
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said that he was happy with the composition of his IPL team following the January auction with the core of last season's victorious team being retained and a few players added. "The new team is very good but I have always maintained it's not about how good the team looks on paper, but how we're doing on the field is what is very important," he told reporters ahead of CSK's match against Kolkata Knight Riders in the lung opener of Indian Premier season four. "It is very similar to the one we had last season to which a few additions have been made. We're hoping it will perform to fulfil the potential that we have," he said at the press conference to kickstart CSK's IPL season. Dhoni said he has seen players struggle with injuries in the IPL and if "everyone is fit and all 24 players are available for selection, it's a very good side." In the IPL auction in January, CSK retained Dhoni, Suresh Raina, local player Murali Vijay and South African Albie Morkel. Among their important new acquisitions were Morkel's compatriot and right-hand bat Francois du Plessis, West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, Australian pacer Ben Hilfenhaus and Sri Lankan spinner Suraj Randiv. They recently signed up Kiwi seamer Tim Southee, a sensation in the World Cup with 18 wickets. "We have (Murali) Vijay to start off and Badri(nath) is there, me, (Suresh) Raina, Albie (Morkel)... du Plessis is the one who's come in. Scott Styris is an all-rounder. I think we have quite a few players who can take runs when it really matters. Michael Hussey will also be joining us shortly," said Dhoni who led the Indian cricket team to World Cup triumph last week. CSK won both the IPL and Champions League Twenty20 last year under Dhoni's captaincy Dhoni, however, said the team would miss off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who they lost to Kochi after a fierce bidding war in the IPL auction. "Murali is a great cricketer, a very good influence in the dressing room, with plenty of ideas. We'll definitely miss him but we all knew it would be difficult to retain all our players in the auction. We'll also miss other key players such as (Laxmipathy) Balaji who joined other teams," Dhoni said. Asked what his next goal was, having already won the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, 2011 50-over World Cup and India becoming number Test side in the world under his captaincy, Dhoni quipped, "I don't mind repeating everything." — PTI |
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Turmoil in Sri Lankan cricket as Jayawardene
Colombo, April 6 "Mahela has sent a letter stepping down from vice captaincy. The officials would soon meet to discuss a replacement," Sri Lanka Cricket chairman DS de Silva said. The national selection panel — headed by Aravinda de Silva and comprising Ranjith Fernando, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgerally — has also offered its resignation to Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, officials said. Yesterday, Sangakkara had said that he was leaving the job to enable Sri Lanka find a suitable successor leading to the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Jayawardene, who was previously captain, has been Sangakkara's deputy since 2009. De Silva's selection panel was appointed in May 2010. His panel has come in for severe criticism when Sri Lanka loss to India in Saturday's World Cup final. — PTI Law to be interim coach Former Australia batsman Stuart Law has been asked to be interim coach of the Sri Lanka team for the tour of England starting next month. Law had assisted outgoing Australian head coach Trevor Bayliss since November 2009 and is expected to take over his a full-time successor. Bayliss, who was head coach for the past four years, had stated that he would be quitting the job after the 2011 World Cup, where Sri Lanka were losing finalists. "We have requested Law to take over as coach for the England tour until we finalise our headhunt,’’ said an official of Sri Lanka Cricket.
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New Delhi, April 6 "Just told on bus - apparently I put my hand up to coach India. Wow - first I have heard of it. Sorry to disappoint but never said that !!!" Warne tweeted, putting to rest all speculations. Kirsten quit India coach's post yesterday after guiding the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side to the World Cup title in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium last week. No sooner Kirsten retired, rumours flew thick and fast that the 41-year-old former Australian leg-spinner was interested in the job. A section of the Indian media had even quoted Warne as saying, "It's a very difficult job to be India coach. But with India doing so well, it is a lot easier to take over right now than it has been in the past. I'll enjoy working with the Indian cricket team for sure." Warne, who is in India as coach-cum-captain of Rajasthan Royals for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, had yesterday told reporters in Jaipur that it will be difficult for India to find a suitable replacement for Kirsten, under whom the side reached the pinnacle in world cricket. —PTI
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Nayar ready for new challenge
Chandigarh, April 6
Nayar has already been part of the Indian team and has played three ODI’s. But his progress was hampered by an injury, which has now healed. The Mumbai player is optimistic about his team’s chances in the IPL. “We have an edge in the bowling department. And for me, I have a great opportunity to come up in all three (batting, bowling and fielding) areas. So, I just want to do well in this IPL, not just for me, but for my team,” says Nayar “Our biggest strength is our team work,” says Nayar adding that no team in IPL can be regarded as weak, as “every team is strong in their own time.” Turning out for MI in the earlier seasons, he had the opportunity of playing alonside Sachin Tendulkar and he says he learnt a lot from him. “Playing with Sachin is a dream come true for any player. And my dream was fulfilled quite early. Undoubtedly, it is much easier to play with him, but playing against him this time, will be a challenge for me. But, I am looking forward to it,” says Nayar “Cricket is all about pressure. I may play for any team, there are expectations everywhere. So when I enter the field, I am ready to meet those expectations. I believe I can do well as I’m confident about my game.” Kings XI Punjab will be playing their opening match on his home ground Mumbai against Pune Warriors. Nayar will not be playing for his home team, but his heart and mind are all with the King’s XI now. And, he is up for the challenge.
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Lahore, April 6 Experienced pace bowler Umar Gul will also not be a part of the team for the tour as he has opted to take a break. In a major move, the selectors have inducted number of uncapped players in the touring side including wicketkeeper, Mohammad Salman, batsman Usman Salahuddin, allrounder Hammad Azam and fast bowler Aizaz Cheema. Junaid Khan, the left-arm pacer, who replaced the injured Sohail Tanvir in the World Cup squad but didn't get a chance to play any match during the tournament, has also been retained for the West Indies series, making it a total of five uncapped players in the side. "The idea is to use this tour to try out some promising youngsters and see how they adjust to international cricket," chief selector Mohsin Khan said. He also said the seniors who had not been selected for the upcoming One-day series were still very much in the scheme of things and would be in contention for the two Tests against the Windies. He, however, confirmed that wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who dropped a number of crucial catches during the World Cup, had been sidelined because of his struggling form. "Kamran needs to work on his game," he said. Sources said that for Kamran Akmal any chance of playing international cricket was virtually over as the selectors have already decided that during the Tests in the West Indies, his younger brother Adnan Akmal would keep wickets. — PTI
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45 probables for Azlan Shah Cup
New Delhi, April 6 India , who have won the Azlan Shah Cup five times, were declared the joint winners with South Korea last year when the final was abandoned due to rain. The probables were selected by senior selectors Co. Balbir Singh, B.P.Govinda, Syed Ali, Thoiba Singh and A.B.Subbaiah, besides Government observers Harbinder Singh and Dilip Tirkey. The final selection trials to pick the 18-member team for the Azlan Shah Cup will be held on April 18 and 19 at the National Stadium here. The seven-nation tournament will feature world champions Australia, Britain, South Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, and hosts Malaysia. Team: Goalkeepers: Bharat Kumar Chetri, Adrian D’Souza, P.R.Sreejesh, Gurpreet Singh and P Naveen Kumar. Defenders: Diwakar Ram, Dhananjay Mahadik, Rupinderpal Singh, William Xalxo, V Raghunath, Amit Prabhakar, Gurjinder Singh and Sunil Yadav. Midfielders: Gurbaj Singh, V Pillay, Ravi Pal, Vikas Pillay, Varinderjit Singh, B Lakra (jr), V.S.Vinaya, Preetinder Singh, Vikram Kant, A Roy, Vikas Sharma, Kothajit Singh, Amardeep Ekka, Rajesh Kumar and Vikas Choudhary. Forwards: Tushar Khandker, Shivendra Singh, Rajpal Singh, Arjun Halappa, Roshan Minz, GS Chandi, Mohd. Amir Khan, S.V.Sunil, Mandeep Antil, Danish Mujtaba, Sarvanjeet Singh, Prabhdeep Singh, Shashi Topno, Chinglensana, Hari Prasad, Bikas Toppo and S Arumugam.
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‘We were gutted after the loss to India’
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Muttiah Muralitharan
Colombo, April 6 The Lankan team thought that 274 was a good total but "God does not give everything", the off-spinner recalled about last Saturday's final at the Wankhede stadium. The match had been billed as a contest between two of the game's greatest, Sachin Tendulkar and Muralitharan. The Indian fulfilled his dream of a World Cup win but the Sri Lankan went wicketless. Muralitharan had ended his Test career last year on a sensational note taking his 800th wicket with his last ball against India. There was no such fairytale ending to his ODI career during which he took 534 wickets. "It simply wasn't our day", he said adding," what we didn't expect was the dew to come in. From the 25th over onwards the dew was there it was difficult to bowl and the ball started to come onto the bat nicely". Looking back at his 20-year career which had its share of controversies with regard to his bowling action, Muttiah Muralitharan said that the 1996 World Cup win remained the greatest moment in his cricketing career. Asked if he believed that his record of 800 Test wickets would be broken, he replied, "you never know. For a long time 300 wickets in Test cricket used to be the benchmark. "It took a long time to take it to 400 and that remained for a long time. Now it’s 800. If someone has a long career and is able to keep out of injuries it could happen", he said. Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the two best batsmen he has bowled to, said the veteran, adding that it was very difficult to single out one. "Both of them have excellent records. Lara scored over 600 runs during a series held here in 2001. Sachin has had his moments against me and I have enjoyed some success against them as well." — PTI |
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Kaymer faces threat from Donald
Augusta, April 6 Kaymer replaced Westwood at the top of the order after reaching the final of the World Match Play in February. Yet interestingly, it is another Englishman who the German believes presents the biggest threat to him capturing a second successive major. "Luke Donald's short game is unbelievable," said Kaymer. "Obviously he's not the longest, but he is very straight, so I think he has the best chances." Westwood may disagree, as he believes a lesson from his father, John, on Monday night has eradicated the putting problems. —AFP
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Sports Journalist Chesterfield passes away
Colombo, April 6 He moved his home to Sri Lanka in 2004. He wrote a weekly column with 'The Island' newspaper here since then. A renowned cricket writer known for his forthright comments, Chesterfield contributed guest columns to 'Times of India' and many Indian cricket websites. — PTI
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Never the one to mince words when it comes to speaking his mind, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today criticised the hectic cricket schedule, saying the crammed calendar this year will drain the players both physically and mentally.
Colombo, April 6
New Delhi, April 6
Colombo, April 6
“I want to make an impact in IPL as it is the highest platform in India for all cricketers. And of course I want to do well so that I may get a chance to play for Team India again,” said Nayar in an interaction with The Tribune here today.