Sehwag raises questions by skipping net session again

September 29, 2012

vs

Colombo, September 29: The Indian team's way of handling senior opener Virender Sehwag and the player's own attitude in this ongoing World Twenty20 is certain to raise questions whether all is well in the Indian camp.

On the eve of the high-voltage match against arch-rivals Pakistan, Sehwag was again seen skipping the entire net session although he did participate in a football game.

While skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli also did not bat during the hour and half net session having played Friday's match, it was inexplicable to watch Sehwag relax and enjoy a chit-chat with other team members when serious questions are being raised about his form and commitment in the shortest format.

During the afternoon training session, the Indians enjoyed their game of soccer for close to 75 minutes - a lengthier session by their standards. Sehwag was goalkeeper of one team and played the entire duration.

Finally, when the net session started, it was again Irfan Pathan who was all padded up and had the first hit in one of the two nets.

The fact that Pathan, who scored 31 off 30 balls against Australia, batted first in the batting session is seen as an indication that he may again open against Pakistan.

Skipper Dhoni has always had a penchant of bowling 'wrong one' to Indian media and it won't be a surprise if Sehwag walks alongside Gautam Gambhir against Pakistan as Irfan Pathan's technique was not good enough for handling a crafty bowler like Umar Gul.

However one expected Sehwag to have a decent hit at the nets when likes of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Gambhir all looked serious during the session.

Sehwag was seen present in a melee chatting in a relaxed manner with Dhoni and Kohli. While Dhoni and Kohli had a reason not to bat, Sehwag, if he is fit (as claimed by team management) had no reason not to bat at all.

World T20's over the years have not been a happy experience for the 'Nawab of Najafgarh'. Even during India's victorious campaign in the 2007 edition, Sehwag missed the final giving Yusuf Pathan a chance to make his international debut.

During 2009 edition in England, there was a huge controversy as to whether the opener had carried an injury into the tournament which led to skipper Dhoni marching in with the entire team to read out a press statement.

In the 2010 edition in West Indies, Sehwag missed the entire tournament with an injury as India went in with Murali Vijay.

The 2012 edition is also turning out to be an unhappy one for him and it only depends on Sehwag to change the current script.

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
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: On the first day of the New Year 2020, Hardik Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share a photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The 26-year-old shared three pictures and a short clip on the social media platform. In one photo, Stankovic can be seen flaunting her ring.

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show 'Bigg Boss 8'.

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
May 18,2020

Karachi, May 18: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan believes it is at least five years too early to compare Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as the Indian skipper has proven himself in "every kind of situation" and the latter has not.

"Virat Kohli is far more experienced than Babar. He has at least five years more experience of top cricket and he is at the peak of his career," said Younis, Pakistan's leading run-getter in Tests.

"Kohli has far more exposure than Babar and he has been in every kind of situation and proven himself. No one gets 70 international centuries like that and this are proof of his class and abilities. He has scored runs in every situation and all opposition."

Younis said said Babar still has a long way to go.

"Babar has been in top cricket for just around five years. He has got a very impressive batting average across all three formats and he is getting better by the day.

"You see him batting and you can see he has got the same qualities that Kohli had at the start of his career."

Besides amassing 70 international hundreds, 31-year-old Kohli averages more than 50 in all three formats. The India skipper has scored more than 20,000 runs while 25-year-old Babar has 6680 runs across formats though the Pakistan limited overs skipper has played significantly lesser number of games.

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
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Chennai Super Kings have rejected the idea of an IPL with only Indian players in the near future, differing with Rajasthan Royals, the franchise which is keen on the option given the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IPL, which is indefinitely postponed, can be held in the September-October window if the scheduled T20 World Cup in Australia doesn't take place.

"CSK is not keen to do an IPL with only Indian players. That way it would be playing another Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (domestic T20 competition). The franchise has not been in touch with the BCCI of late as the situation is worsening," a CSK source said on conditions of anonymity.

"Let's hope we can have the IPL later this year," he added.

CSK are three-time IPL champions, making them the second most successful team in the event's history after Mumbai Indians, who have won the tournament four times.

The BCCI is also very keen to stage the IPL and if it doesn't happen, the world's richest board would be in financial trouble like Cricket Australia.

"The board will take a revenue hit of Rs 4000 crore if it doesn't happen. The board will be in a big problem," BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal said earlier this week.

With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in India, the board and IPL team officials see little point in discussing when the event can be held.

"There has been no discussion with the BCCI ever since it postponed the IPL. There is no point in discussing also as things are unlikely to be okay anytime soon," the CSK source said.

"We expect the BCCI to take the best possible decision when the time comes," he added.

For the IPL to happen with foreign players, travel restrictions, which are currently in place, will have to be eased.

There is an option of conducting the IPL outside India and Sri Lanka Cricket has even offered to host the biggest T20 league in the world.

M S Dhoni was expected to make a much-awaited comeback with the IPL but that too has been postponed indefinitely.

Teammates like Suresh Raina and Piyush Chawla have already spoken about how eager Dhoni was to return.

According to them, Dhoni had the determination of a youngster before the league was suspended due to the lockdown imposed to contain the pandemic.

"Dhoni is his own man but I see him playing the IPL for at least two three years. When it comes to playing for India, only he knows best," the source added.

Last month, Rajasthan Royals executive chairman Ranjit Barthakur had said the franchise was open to a shortened IPL with only Indian players.

"Earlier we could not think of an Indians-only IPL but now there is enough quality to choose from. It is better to have an Indians-only IPL than not have it at all," he had told news agency.

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.