Dhoni has to trust Sehwag's abilities: Akram

September 27, 2012

Doni


Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram has thrown his weight behind off-colour Virender Sehwag, saying skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni must trust the India opener's abilities.

"Sehwag's position in the batting line-up is a no brainer. Dhoni has to trust Sehwag's abilities," Akram said on the eve of India's World Twenty20 match against Australia.


The former speedster referred to Mike Hussey's "interesting" statement that a player like Sehwag is "never out of form".

"Hussey knows what he is saying and he is not far from the truth. If Sehwag is fit, he must open the batting for India. No questions asked.

"India will be playing their first Super 8 match against Australia at the Premadasa Stadium. Given the nature of the wicket Sehwag is an automatic choice.

"The deck is perfect for his style of batting, but that does not mean Sehwag can throw caution to the wind. The longer he stays at the crease, India will profit," Akram wrote in espnstar.com.

Concerns over Zaheer Khan's bowling are "legitimate" according to Akram, but he left it on the struggling seamer to decide on which format to play in and which to skip.

"There have been legitimate concerns over Zaheer. He is bowling well with the new ball but struggling to contain the runs with the old ball. But no one can negate Zaheer's experience. He still remains an asset to India.

"We are nobody to decide on his future. He is the best man to choose which format of cricket he must continue to play. My advice to him is that he should sprint more in the last two overs.

"He is only 33 and just needs to get his rhythm back with lot of work in the nets," he said.

Akram also did not endorse the idea of using Irfan Pathan as a pinch-hitter.


"India can't afford to experiment at this stage. While I see Irfan Pathan's role in the team as an all-rounder, using him as a pinch-hitter or an opener is not a great idea because India's top order has quite a few batsmen who can smack the ball from the very start.

Akram is expecting India to go in with at least two spinners against Australia.

"Harbhajan Singh's impressive return has given the Indians a selection headache. Piyush Chawla is a tempting choice for the sheer variety he brings to the table with his googly and flippers.

"And there is the in-form offie (R) Ashwin. Therefore, if Dhoni opts for two specialist spinners, I will not be surprised."

As far as the Super Eights groupings are concerned, Akram said, "Group 2 is surely the group of death. Australia are a top notch side though I believe that their middle-order needs to improve. They always rise to the occasion and that makes them a dangerous side.

"India and Pakistan have showed their might in this format and have really performed well in the league stages. South Africa falter in big games but their excellent fielding can galvanize their performance any time. South Africans have good experience of the conditions.

"Several of them play the IPL. It's really tough to pick which two teams will make the last four from group 2. But one thing is for sure, the champion team will almost certainly come from this pool."




Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 20,2020

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

At today’s meeting of the IBC Board (the commercial subsidiary of the ICC), windows for the next three ICC men’s events were also agreed to bring clarity to the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover from the disruption caused by COVID-19.

The windows for the Men’s events are:

1. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October – November 2021 with the final on 14 November 2021

2. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022

3. ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in India October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023

The IBC Board agreed to continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation and assess all the information available in order to make a considered decision on future hosts to ensure the sport is able to stage safe and successful global events in 2021 and 2022.

The IBC Board will also continue to evaluate the situation in relation to being able to stage the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand in February next year. In the meantime, planning for this event continues as scheduled.

The Board will also continue to evaluate the situation in relation to being able to stage the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021.

ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport.

“The decision to postpone the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world.

“Our Members now have the clarity they need around event windows to enable them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket. Moving the Men’s Cricket World Cup to a later window is a critical element of this and gives us a better chance of maintaining the integrity of the qualification process. This additional time will be used to reschedule games that might be lost because of the pandemic ensuring qualification can be decided on the field of play.

“Throughout this process we have worked closely with our key stakeholders including governments, Members, broadcasters, partners and medical experts to enable us to reach a collective decision for the good of the game and our fans. I would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment to a safe return to cricket.”

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.