Chandigarh, January 29
India have lost their No. 1 ranking after losing the One-day series to New Zealand. More significantly, though, they seem to have lost their way in their preparations for the 2015 World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

Before leaving for New Zealand earlier this month, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said: “Yes, the next World Cup will be in Australia and New Zealand, so most of the players will get the feel about the wickets.” After losing the series, Dhoni had this to say: “When it comes to talent, we definitely have bowlers who can do well. But at the same time they will have to start using their brains more and improvise themselves.”

Dhoni seems to be at his wits end, and it's not merely the bowling that's causing the strife.

Shikhar ( in pic) and Rohit have looked a pale shadow of their dominant selves ever since India left for South Africa.

Starting troubles

Shikhar Dhawan, the find of the year 2013, has flopped miserably in South Africa and New Zealand. Dhoni was forced to drop Dhawan in the fourth ODI and open the innings with Virat Kohli. That's a big change, for Kohli is quite settled at No. 3 — he averages 52.16 at No. 3, though even better (62.57) at No. 4. Rohit Sharma, after success at home against Australia and West Indies, has made 178 runs in six innings in South Africa and New Zealand. His stunning knock of 209 against Australia, made barely three months ago, seems a very distant memory.

Centre can't hold

Sadly, it's time to realise that Suresh Raina may never become the great player Greg Chappell thought he'd be. Outside the Subcontinent, on tracks with bounce and swing, he's never looked comfortable. He averages 26 in Australia. Though his average in New Zealand is better (41.8), it's boosted by his first knock there (66 in 2009) and two unbeaten knocks. His last four innings have earned him 8, 18, 35 and 31 runs. Not enough.

Yuvraj Singh remains a mystery. He's among the most talented players to emerge over the last 15 years, yet he's been unable to devise a method to deal with challenging conditions and the bouncing ball despite playing for India for over 13 years. He averages 38.64 in Asia but 30.35 in Australia and 21.27 in New Zealand. He was the Player of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup. In 2015 in Australia-New Zealand, in light of his record in these countries, he's unlikely to make the squad.

The frailty of the batting, which has come to the fore in South Africa and New Zealand, makes it clear that Cheteshwar Pujara is needed in the team when playing in challenging conditions.

All-round issues

Ravindra Jadeja's last two knocks, (66* and 62*) have been the sole bright spot for India in the series. This is against all expectation, for Jadeja, maker of multiple triple-centuries in domestic cricket, has been comically inept when batting at the international level and it's his bowling that has kept him in the team. His last two knocks were encouraging, but the air of uncertainty over his batting has not dispelled yet.

Perhaps Dhoni wanted to experiment, but he may have miscalculated with his team composition in New Zealand. It's odd that spinners have bowled a very high number of overs (86 overs in the series) while the pacers have bowled 104. Does Dhoni plan to win with spin on the tracks of New Zealand? That's strange, to say the least.

Stranger is the fact that having picked up Stuart Binny — a seaming allrounder is what Dhoni has been dreaming of for years — he was given only one over to bowl as the sixth bowler, and marked down to bat at No. 8!

Bowlers off the mark

India’s fastest bowler has disappeared from the radar.

Mohammed Shami has picked up 10 wickets but his economy rate is an alarming 7.5. Ishant Sharma averages 59 with an economy rate of 7.86. Bhuvneshwar has a decent economy rate of 5.30 but averages 63.6. It's a baffling conundrum, India's pace bowling.

And where is Umesh Yadav? Why not try him?

Dhoni wishes the bowlers to use their brains — so what's Joe Dawes, the bowling coach, up to? He's been around for two years but has managed to elude examination and scrutiny.

India return to New Zealand and Australia to defend their title in just over a year's time. From the preview we've got over the last few days, it's clear that India must improve significantly in everything in order to do well. 

Chandigarh, January 29
The ICC, on Tuesday, claimed that there was a “unanimous support” for “key principles” of the plan which would cede executive decision-making to India, Australia and England. A day later, at least three boards have made their opposition to the proposal public, ripping apart the ICC's claim.

South Africa, the top-ranked Test side, said “the support is subject to the approval of the respective boards of the member countries after which a final decision will be taken at a follow-up ICC Board meeting on February 8”. It was following South Africa's opposition to the initial proposal that it was included in the new Test Match Fund.

However, this and other concessions to the other seven members do not appear to have led to unanimous support for the new plans. “One of the hallmarks of our new administration has been an absolute adherence to the principles of good corporate governance and we do not intend to deviate from this. Our position will be subject to full consideration by our Board and other stakeholders,” said CSA president Chris Nenzani.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) too has been quite vocal against the overhaul of the parent body and has said that it was yet to make up its mind. “The PCB clearly stated at the meeting that the guiding principles were subject to PCB`s Governing Board’s approval. These matters will be placed before the BOG and thereafter PCB will take its position at the next ICC Board meeting,” the release said.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) too has made its reservations clear in no uncertain terms.

New Zealand Cricket on Wednesday defended the BCCI's role in the revamp plan. NZC's ICC representative Mark Snedden said the proposal, which has been put off for some time for the want of an amicable consensus, would be beneficial to New Zealand. He rejected criticism that it was an attempt by India to take control of the ICC due to the huge revenue contribution it makes to the world body. Snedden said the NZC's revenue is set to increase from $52 million to $70 to 100 million if the plan goes ahead. "There was a lot of speculation in the media last week that we would get some crumbs from the big guys and just end up playing mainly the small guys. That's not going to happen. We've locked in good commitments from Australia, England and India through that 10-year period (to 2023)." "It's going to see our revenues from ICC events increase from the $52 million we got out of the last eight years to, depending on what the results are sold for, somewhere between $70 and $100 million over the next eight years," Snedden said.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is expecting at least 100 per cent increase in its revenue if the proposed system of ICC revenue sharing is voted in. On the FTP issue, the WICB said that it will be "an opportunity, through bilateral agreements, to increase the number of matches and series played annually by the West Indies men`s team against higher ranked opposition and against teams, which are profitable to the WICB. These will include matches and series both in the West Indies and overseas."

Mumbai, January 29
Captain VR Raghunath scored a hat-trick as Uttar Pradesh Wizards came from a two-goal deficit to beat Mumbai Magicians 5-3 in the Hockey India League here today. The drag-flicker scored in the 28th, 41st and 56th minutes from penalty corners to secure the second win for his team.

It was the hosts who took the lead in the 12th minute through Gurjinder Singh’s penalty corner conversion.

Mumbai captain Glenn Turner scored six minutes later to double the lead.

The visitors fought back strongly and after equalising six minutes into the second half, they scored three goals in quick succession through Siddharth Shanker (52nd), Raghunath, and S Uthappa (59th) to take the match away from the hosts. — PTI

Today’s match: Waveriders vs Kalinga Lancers (Live on Star Sports, 8pm)

New Delhi, January 29
Chief National hockey coach Terry Walsh, who is training debutants Kalinga Lancers in the ongoing Hockey India League (HIL), today said the opportunity to be associated with a franchise allows one to look at a wider pool of talent.

"The opportunity to coach an HIL team gives the inside view of what's happening with all the players. As a coach, I will not only be studying Kalinga Lancers but keeping an eye on other franchise players as to how they are performing," Walsh said. "If you look at the (national) coaching staff, it is spread across the franchises and the different set of coaches will be monitoring all the players, which I feel is very good," the 60-year-old said.

Hockey India's High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans is the chief coach of Uttar Pradesh Wizards, M K Kaushik (assistant coach) is in-charge of Mumbai Marines, Baljit Saini (coach, junior team) is the assistant coach of Ranchi Rhinos and Dave Staniforth (goalkeeping coach of both senior and junior men's teams) is performing the role of goalkeeping coach for the Rhinos. — PTI

Paris, January 29
Formula One ace Michael Schumacher remains in intensive care nearly a month after a ski accident that left him plunged into a medically induced coma whose outcome remains unclear.

After his December 29 fall, Schumacher was sedated and cooled to around 35 degrees Celsius to ease the risk of further damage to the brain. There has been no update on his condition since January 17, when his spokesman Sabine Kehm, said he was still "stable".

Independent experts noted that "it's quite rare" for a coma to be induced for more than three weeks. — AFP

BRIEFLY

ISSF certifies Heena’s record feat in World Cup Finals
Chandigarh: The International Shooting Federation (ISSF) has certified Heena Sidhu’s world record feat she achieved last year. The Patiala shooter had created history by becoming the first pistol shooter from India to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup finals in Munich, Germany. She won the gold beating the field comprising a double Olympic champion and a world champion.

Sushil, Vijender to get land for academy in Haryana
Chandigarh: Haryana government today approved a proposal to allot land in Sonepat district to Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar to set up academies for wrestling and boxing in the state. Five acres of land would be alloted to Sushil Kumar Foundation for setting up a world-class Wrestling Academy and three acres to Vijender Kumar for setting up Boxing Academy, a spokesman said. The rate of lease would be Rs 35,000 per acre per year and period of lease would be 33 years at the first instance.

Mahela hits double, rises to 6th spot in Test-run list
Mirpur: Mahela Jayawardene struck his seventh double hundred and Kithuruwan Vithanage reached his maiden century as Sri Lanka toyed with Bangladesh’s toothless attack before declaring their first innings on a mammoth 730 for six in Dhaka on Wednesday. Having conceded a 498-run first innings lead, Bangladesh lost opener Tamim Iqbal (11) to Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath to be 35 for one at stumps on the third day, still needing 463 runs to avoid an innings defeat. On a day of batting milestones, Jayawardene (11236) overtook former Australia captain Allan Border (11174) and West Indies left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11219) to climb up to sixth on the list of highest Test run-getters. Brief scores: Bangladesh 232 and 35 for 1 ; Sri Lanka 730 for 6 dec (Jayawardene 203no, Vithanage 103no)

Viru, Yuvi among 11 Indians in 2 cr base price bracket
New Delhi: Discarded cricketers Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh have kept their base price in the highest bracket of Rs. 2 crore for the upcoming auctions of the seventh edition of Indian Premier League. There are 46 capped Indian players in the list of 208 international players who have enrolled for the auction. The base price for capped players (in INR) are 50 lakh, 1 crore, 1.5 crore and 2 crore respectively.

England continue to suffer, lose T20 by 13 runs
Hobart: England lost the opening Twenty20 international in Hobart on Wednesday after narrowly failing to chase down Australia’s massive 214-run target. The hosts were always in the box seats but some prodigious late hitting by Ravi Bopara got England to within 13 runs of the target at the finish. Brief scores: Australia 213/4 (White 75, Finch 52); England 200/9 (Bopara 65no, Coulter-Nile 4/30)

Man United, Chelsea win, Arsenal held to a draw
London: Manchester United’s record signing Juan Mata enjoyed a winning debut on Tuesday as his new club recorded a 2-0 victory at home to Cardiff City in the Premier League. Leaders Arsenal, meanwhile, spurned an opportunity to move four points clear after drawing 2-2 at Southampton, but Liverpool tightened their grip on fourth place with a superb 4-0 defeat of Everton. — Agencies