New Delhi, September 29
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has gone ahead with naming a side that can be termed as interesting, for the first two One-day Internationals to be played against England next month. The news point is Harbhajan Singh not being included in the squad.

Harbhajan Singh will not be a part of first two ODIs against England.

Bhajji had pulled out of the series in England because of a stomach strain, which can now be called a tactical blunder. That just handed the spot to R. Ashwin on a platter, and with the entire BCCI now operating out of Chennai, it may be quite a job for the Punjab senior to make a comeback, as he is relegated to the N.K.P. Salve Challenger Trophy.

Given that almost everyone who can play cricket was in England over the last few days, it’s a little difficult to figure out who has been recalled and who has been retained. But all the names seen (or unseen) in England have been kept, apart from M.S. Dhoni’s choice of Rudra Pratap Singh, who also plays domestic cricket.

Varun Aaron is still in the side, and hopefully will get a match before he becomes a medium-pacer (if he is to make his debut on any of the flat Indian tracks on offer, that day may well be nigh). Also coming into the squad is S. Aravind, the Karnataka left-arm medium. But his selection has more to do with T20 success. But then, where else is there a chance for a young player to display his wares?

Delhi’s Umesh Yadav too makes the 15-man squad. He is, apart from Aaron, possibly the fastest of the lot (which almost ensures that neither will play).

The bowling has an interesting inclusion in Punjab leg-spinner Rahul Sharma. Once again, a T20 success, Sharma makes it ahead of Amit Mishra, which is a little strange, given that Mishra is definitely a better bowler. Or maybe Sharma is just keeping the Punjab slot intact.

The batting leaves little room for manipulation, since, with Dhoni always believing in seven batsmen, all the top seven on the list released are likely to play, while Manoj Tiwary can again bide rapidly-receding time. Also, with three more matches to go, you never know, everyone who plays cricket may get to play anyway. Just like the good old 1990s, when there were more India colours than State uniforms in Ranji Trophy team.

Gautam Gambhir gets to do both domestic and international, leading India Red in the Challenger Trophy before making it to the ODI team.

The squad: M.S. Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, S Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

Harbhajan to lead India Green

Harbhajan Singh has been assigned to domestic cricket duties as he will be leading India Green in the N.K.P. Salve Challenger Trophy to be played at Nagpur from Oct 10-13. S. Badrinath leads India Blue while Gautam Gambhir captains India Red.

The squads: India Blue: S. Badrinath (Tamil Nadu, capt); Murali Vijay (Tamil Nadu); Paul Valthaty (Mumbai); Manish Pandey (Karnataka); Dinesh Karthik (Tamil Nadu); Mandeep Singh (Punjab); Saurabh Tiwary (Jharkhand); Irfan Pathan (Baroda); Amit Mishra (Haryana); Pragyan Ojha (Hyderabad); Y.V. Krishanarty (Jharkhand); Prashant Parameshwaran (Kerala); Pradeep Sangwan (Delhi); Tanmay Srivastava (UP).

India Green: Harbhajan Singh (Punjab, capt); Robin Uthappa (Karnataka); S. Anirudha (Tamil Nadu); T. Suman (Hyderabad); Mohnish Mishra (MP); Ishank Jaggi (Jharkhand); Mohd. Kaif (UP); C.M. Gautham (Karnataka); Sarabjit Ladda (Punjab); Iqbal Abdullah (Mumbai); Abhimanyu Mithun (Karnataka); Samad Fallah (Maharashtra); Ishwar Choudhary (Gujarat); Sumit Narwal (Delhi)

India Red: Gautam Gambhir (Delhi, capt); Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi); Abhinav Mukund (Tamil Nadu); Ambati Rayudu (Hyderabad); Ashok Menaria (Rajasthan); Wriddhiman Saha (Bengal); Jalaj Saxena (MP); Piyush Chawla (UP); Bhargava Bhatt (Baroda); Pankaj Singh (Rajasthan); Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra); T. Sudhendra (MP); Yusuf Pathan (Baroda); R.P. Singh (UP). 

New Delhi, September 29
Goal-keeper Bharat Chhetri of Karnataka has replaced Rajpal Singh as the captain of the Indian hockey team for the tour of Australia from October 12 to November 5. Another senior player, midfielder Ignace Tirkey of Army, will be vice-captain.

Chhetri, 27, with 114 international caps to his credit, will be leading the country for the first time, while veteran Tirkey has turned up for the country on 232 internationals. India will play a four-nation nine-a-side International Super Series in Perth and another international tournament featuring Pakistan and hosts Australia, thereafter.

Drag flicker Sandeep Singh and midfielder Sardar Singh, who were banned for indiscipline before the Asian Champions Trophy, but were pardoned when they apologised last week, have been included in the team.

The change at the top clearly indicates that the players’ revolt in protest against the “paltry sum” of Rs 25,000 announced by Hockey India for the Asian Champions Trophy win has not gone down well with the HI top brass. Sports Minister Ajay Maken had to step in then to pacify the agitated players, led by Rajpal, by announcing a hike in reward to Rs 1.5 lakh for each player of the team. Interestingly, Chhetri had been replaced by P.R. Sreejesh in the title match against Pakistan at Ordos.

Hockey India selectors B.P. Govinda, Syed Ali, Thoiba Singh and A.B. Subbaiah, besides Government observer Dilip Tirkey, witnessed the selection trials at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bangalore on September 26.

The nine-a-side tourney will be played on a normal-dimension field but with many changes like an additional one-metre wider goal. One player must be in the attacking half at all times. There can be only two defenders besides the goalkeeper to stop penalty-corners and there must not be more than four players from the attacking team for taking these penalty-corners. The attacking players have to stand outside the 23-metre line before they receive the out push from the backline and the penalty-corner must be executed within 25 seconds. In the case of long corners, it will be five players versus five.

If the scores are level after 30 minutes of play, a penalty shootout will be applied where the striker will be allowed only eight seconds to score, starting from the 23-metre area. The match duration would be 30 minutes with two halves of 15 minutes each. The four-nation tourney will feature India, Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand.

India will begin their tour with a match against Australia A on October 17 and will then take on New Zealand the next day before the 9-a-side tournament, which has the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) sanction. This is the first time that such a format is being implemented at the international level.

The team: Goalkeepers: Bharat Chhetri and P.R. Sreejesh; defenders: Manjit Kullu, Rupinderpal Singh, V.R. Raghunath and Sandeep Singh; midfielders: Ignace Tirkey, Gurbaj Singh, Vikas Sharma, Manpreet Singh, Vikram Pillay, Arjun Halappa and Sardar Singh; forwards: Danish Mujtaba, Ravi Pal, Sarvanjit Singh, Rajpal Singh, Yuvraj Valmiki, S.V. Sunil, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Tushar Khandker and Bharat Chikara.

Bangalore, September 29
Skipper Gautam Gambhir and South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis scored brilliant half-centuries to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to an easy win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in a do-or-die game of Champions League Twenty20 here today.

Earlier, a splendid rear guard action by skipper Daniel Vettori alongside unknown Raju Bhatkal helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a challenging 169 for nine.

Down in the dumps at 91 for six in the 14th over, Vettori launched a swift yet brutal counter attack on KKR bowlers in company of Bhatkal. The duo added 61 runs in only 5.2 overs as Gautam Gambhir's bowlers lost the plot at the death. The last six overs produced 75 runs for the RCB.

Vettori was out of the last delivery of the innings after smashing 44 off 23 balls with the help of two sixes and five fours. Bhatkal contributed useful 25 from 18 balls with help of two fours and six.

KKR captain Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl. Brett Lee who has had a torrid time bowled a maiden first over to dashing Chris Gayle (25) while Sri Lankan captain Tillekratane Dilshan (18) was kept quiet at the other end.

However Gayle broke the shackles in the very next Lee over hitting him for two sixes. He hit another six but it was Jacques Kallis' perfect yorker that castled the former Windies skipper after the South African was hit for maximum a couple of deliveries earlier.

In the very next over, the dangerous Virat Kohli was out for a duck as Lee dug one short as the batsman chose to close the face of his bat. Rival skipper Gambhir didn't make any mistake at cover.

Saurabh Tiwary during his brief stay hit a six off Kallis and four off Bhatia but was holed out in the deep trying to pull Yusuf Pathan. — PTI 

New Delhi, September 29
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has reiterated its stand that India will be allowed to participate in FIH-sanctioned events, such as the 2012 London Olympics, only if the Sports Ministry recognised Hockey India as the sole custodians of the sport in the country.

FIH president Leandro Negre, in a letter to Sindhusree Khullar, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, has stated that the Government should adhere to the “mutually agreed points” discussed with him when he visited the Capital on September 13 and that the “Government will advise Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) not to proceed with the implementation of the broad arrangement” arrived at the behest of the Sports Ministry on July 25 this year when it was decided that the two bodies would co-operate for the smooth running of the game.

Copies of the letter were also sent to Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra, Indian Olympic Association acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Sports Authority of India Director-General Desh Deepak Verma and Joint-Secretary (Sports) Rahul Bhatnagar.

The Ministry had to take the IHF on board, following directions from the Delhi High Court that IHF should be recognized as the body controlling the game in India. But the FIH had disaffiliated IHF and recognised HI before India hosted the World Cup in Delhi last year.

Negre advised the Government to “recognise Hockey India under its guidelines as the national sports federation with complete and exclusive authority to govern men’s and women’s hockey in India”, in respect of both national competitions and Indian participation in international competitions.

The FIH has insisted that HI will continue to be supported by the Government in its various sporting activities, including in respect of its exclusive right to select teams for international competitions. The Government will not fund or support any hockey event not sanctioned by the FIH or HI.

The FIH also wants the amount of $500,000 due to it for holding the World Cup in India last year to be cleared “without any further delay” and the law suit presently in the court regarding IHF’s claims should be settled on the terms suggested by the FIH. 

London, September 29
Arsenal survived a chaotic defensive display to secure a 2-1 win over Olympiakos as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain announced his arrival on the Champions League stage with a fine goal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger paid £10 million to sign Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton during the close-season even though the 18-year-old winger had only a year's experience in League One on his CV.

It is quite a jump from English football's third tier to Europe's elite club competition, but Oxlade-Chamberlain showed no signs of being overawed as he marked his Champions League debut with a cool strike early in the first half.

Andre Santos's first goal for Arsenal should have finished off Olympiakos but David Fuster got one back for the Greeks as the Gunners' defence went into meltdown.

Only the woodwork and some excellent stops from Wojciech Szczesny prevented Olympiakos from snatching a draw.

Wenger will know there is still plenty of room for improvement, but his side remain on course for the last 16 after taking four points from their first two Group F matches.

He had made the bold decision to leave captain Robin van Persie on the bench just days after the Dutch forward scored his 100th goal for the club against Bolton and then admitted he couldn't guarantee signing a new contract.

Beating Bolton had provided a much-needed boost to Arsenal's flagging morale after the club's worst start to a season for 58 years and Olympiakos, who had lost all nine of their previous visits to England, initially seemed to pose no danger to that revival. — AP

Chandigarh, September 29
IOC will lock horns with Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) in the final of 41st SN Vohra All- India Gurmit Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament to be held here tomorrow. In the first match of the day, PSB defeated Indian Navy 3-1. For PSB, Onkar scored the first goal in the 26th minute while Parminder made it 2-0 in the 34th minute of the game.

Mandeep scored the third goal for the team in the 48th minute. For Indian Navy Amrit reduced the margin in the 52nd minute.

In the second match, IOC defeated Punjab National Bank (PNB) 4-3. Gagandeep took the lead for the team in the 6th minute while Bruno levelled the score in the 26th minute for PNB.

Deepak doubled the lead in the 46th minute followed by a goal in 48th minute for IOC but Ravinder took the score to 3-2 in the 59th minute. Didar struck the plank in the 60th minute to give IOC a two-goal lead while Bruno scored the third for PNB in 62nd minute of the game. 

Jalandhar, September 29
If all goes well, the winning team in the upcoming 28th Surjit Hockey Tournament will receive Rs 10 lakh as cash prize from the State Government. The prizes in this annual tournament were given by various sponsors till date.

This was revealed by president of the Surjit Hockey Society, Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, Priyank Bharti, during a press conference held to announce the 28th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament that will be held from October 8 to 15.

Bharti said a proposal in this regard was recently forwarded by the society to the State Government and a positive response was awaited.

He also mentioned that Pakistan Hockey Federation would be sending two teams — Asif Bajwa Hockey Club, Sialkot, and Punjab XI, Lahore. “Both the Pakistani teams will be seeded directly into the quarter final league stage,” he added.

Apart from star-studded holders Indian Oil, Mumbai, runners-up Air-India, Mumbai, Bharat Petroleum, Punjab Police, Jalandhar, Namdhari XI, Bhaini Sahib, BSF, Jalandhar, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, Punjab National Bank, Delhi, EME, Jalandhar, ONGC, Dehra Dun, and Punjab & Sind Bank will also be seen in action.

BRIEFLY

Saina regains No. 4 spot
New Delhi: Riding on her semifinal finish at the Japan Open Super Series, Saina Nehwal today improved a rung to be placed fourth in the latest world badminton ranking. While the 21-year-old Saina was stunned by Germany's Juliane Schenk in the last-four stage in Japan, she could not advance beyond the quarterfinals of the World Badminton Championship and China Masters. P Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram also surged one place ahead in the ranking to be placed 22nd and 24th respectively. — PTI

Oltmans, Brasa for WSH
Mumbai: Close on the heels of appointing Australian Dennis Meredith as Technical Director, the World Series Hockey (WSH) has signed on world's best eight coaches to officiate in the league. Highly distinguished Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans leads the group of eight which includes, four former India coaches, Harendra Singh, Rajinder Singh, Vasudevan Bhaskaran, Spaniard Jose Brasa, former India captain Jude Felix, recent India assistant coach Gundeep Singh and eminent foreign coach Andrew Meredith (Germany), a media release said. — PTI

Darby to stay: Bagan
Kolkata: Ending speculation over his future with the club, Mohun Bagan today said Steve Darby would stay as the chief coach despite the green-and-maroon brigade's shocking first-round exit from the Federation Cup. "We have no problems with Darby. He will start in the I-League (beginning October 22)," Mohun Bagan president Swapan Sadhan Bose told reporters here today. The high-profile coach came under scrutiny after the record 13-times champions were stunned 1-2 by debutants Royal Wahingdoh. — PTI

Ivanchuk shocks Anand
Sao Paulo: World Champion Viswanathan Anand suffered a rare loss, going down to Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in the third round of the fourth Bilbao Final Masters here. After two fighting draws, Anand did not achieve much in the opening as white, and once his position worsened Ivanchuk played in machine-like fashion to force a victory. — PTI

Tevez suspended by City
Manchester: Manchester City has suspended Argentinian star Carlos Tevez as they began an investigation into whether he refused to come on as a substitute in the Champions League tie with Bayern Munich. He denied that he had refused to come on when told to do so by manager Roberto Mancini, who had said after the match - which they lost 2-0 - he was "finished" at the club. — AFP

Salwan Marathon in Delhi
Chandigarh: One of the most significant events in the calendar of school children, 17th edition of Salwan Marathon, takes place on November 6 at the Army Equestrian Centre, Delhi Cantt. In an effort to reach out all in students community, this year the Salwan marathon has tied up with the organizations ‘Special Olympics Bharat’ and the NGO ‘Butterflies’ to get intellectually challenged students and street kids to participate in the run and with the schools for visually impaired students across India. UNICEF and FICCI are supporting the marathon this year. — TNS

Lahiri grabs lead
Gurgaon: Anirban Lahiri stamped his authority with a score of four-under 68 to grab the lead on day two of the Rs 95 lakh DLF Masters golf tournament here today. The Bangalore golfer, who had shot a 68 in round one as well, is now two shots clear of the rest of the field at eight under 136 at the DLF Golf & Country Club. Jyoti Randhawa, the overnight leader, fired a steady 71 to end the day in second position at six under 138. The cut was declared at six over 150. Fifty-one professionals made the cut. — PTI

Air Force, CRPF move up
New Delhi: Indian Air Force and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) moved ahead in the 124th Durand Cup Football Tournament knock-out round at the Ambedkar Stadium here today. Air Force beat ARC Shillong 3-2 while CRPF edged out Navy 2-1. Air Force took a 2-0 lead through G.S. Sandhu and V.V. Farhad in the first half, but Shillong equalised with goals from E. Somakanta and P. Ajit Kumar Singh, before Sandhu struck his second and the third for the Airmen. S. Oram scored first for CRPF while P.S. Sumesh restored parity. Amumacha hit the winner in the 89th minute. — TNS

Punjab win boxing c’ship
Patiala: Punjab eves outclassed their opponents to become overall champion in the 7th Youth Women Boxing Championship that was underway at Punjabi University, Patiala, today. They emerged runners up in the 6th Junior National Championship also. Around 249 boxers from 43 states took part in the championship. While 113 athletes from 22 teams battled for the national title in the Junior Championships, 136 boxers battled for glory at the Youth Championships. — TNS

Vani stretches lead
Gurgaon: Amateur Vani Kapoor maintained her stranglehold over the professionals for the second day running to stretch her lead to five shots in the fifth leg of the Hero Women's Golf Tour here today. For the second day running, the 17-year-old Vani shot a sub-par round of 71, and is now poised for sub-par score for the tournament at the Golden Greens. Vani is five shots clear of Nalini Singh (Siwach), who carded an even par 72 for the second round. Sharmila Nicollet is a distant third at 153 after rounds of 77 and 76. — PT