All set for an exciting Champions League T20

October 13, 2012

t20

After their not so memorable outing in the just-concluded ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka, it will be a test of character for the Indian players in the Champions League Twenty20 which enters the business end on Saturday.

There are four Indian Premier League teams in the fray in the cash-rich tournament, including defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) and this season’s IPL winner Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

The other two IPL sides are former champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Daredvils (DD).

It would be interesting to watch the earnestness of the Indian cricketers, eager to erase the scars of their Super Eight elimination in the ICC World Twenty20.

While KKR and DD have been placed in Group A, the other two are in Group B, raising hopes of an all India clash in the semifinals, as the top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage.

However, in no sense it would be an easy task for the Indian outfits as they will be up against some of the best T20 outfits of the world.


Classy line-ups

And with Titans and Highveld Lions, both from South Africa, enjoying home advantage, the task for the Indian units will be even more cut out.

Apart from the two African teams, the championship also has Australia’s Perth Scorchers, which boasts of players like Shaun Marsh and Herschelle Gibbs.

The other Aussie side in fray is Sydney Sixers. With the presence of Shane Watson, along with young pace sensation Mitchell Starc and skipper Brad Haddin in the line-up, the Sixers definitely look a side to be watched out for.

The tournament will also witness Auckland Aces and Yorkshire, both of whom made it to the main draw after topping their respective pools in the just concluded qualifiers.

The Indian challenge will start with a battle between KKR and DD. While the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR would be out there to prove that its victory in the IPL V was no fluke, DD, under Mahela Jayawardene, would like to stamp its authority on the tournament in which it has so far remained an underachiever.


Champion material

Daredevils boasts of some big names like David Warner and Kevin Pietersen in its ranks, and with Virender Sehwag being declared fit, the Delhi side definitely has what it takes to be the champion.

The tournament will also be an opportunity for Sri Lanka's Jayawardene to redeem himself after the loss in the ICC World T20 final. The 35-year-old was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the side after Sehwag opted out to concentrate on his batting.

KKR, on the other hand, possesses a healthy mix of Indian and foreign players. Jacques Kallis and Brendon McCullum have been phenomenal for a team that has done well under Gambhir.

The other Indian franchisees to look out for in the championship are the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK and Harbhajan Sigh-led MI. Both the teams have tasted success in this championship, with CSK winning the 2010 edition and MI lifting the trophy a year later.

The teams:

Group A: Auckland Aces, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Perth Scorchers and Titans.

Group B: Chennai Super Kings, Highveld Lions, Mumbai Indians, Sydney Sixers and Yorkshire.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Hamilton, Jan 28: No one sits on the seat that Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his own in the team bus, revealed India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the talismanic former skipper is missed by the side.

In a video shot inside the team bus while it was on its way to Hamilton for the third T20 International against New Zealand, Chahal is seen talking to several members of the squad including Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Towards the end of the video, he moved to the rear of the bus and pointed to an empty seat which, he said, was the former captain's preferred spot before he went on a sabbatical last year.

"Yeh woh seat hai jahan ek legend baithate the. Mahi bhai. Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baithata. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (This is the seat that used to be occupied a legend. MS Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot)," Chahal said in the video posted on 'bcci.tv'.

The-38-year-old Dhoni has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand on July 9. Earlier this month, Dhoni was dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on his future.

However, on the same day, Dhoni returned to training, batting fluently in the Jharkhand team nets.

Head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that the celebrated wicketkeeper-batsman might retire from ODIs soon but will be in contention for a T20 World Cup berth provided he does well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The Indian team lead the five-match T20 series against New Zealand 2-0.

Virat Kohli's men will take on the hosts in the third T20 here on Wednesday.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

Chennai, Jan 26: Former India cricketer Kapil Dev on Saturday said that it will be a big loss for the Indian side when MS Dhoni decides to hang up his boots.

"I think he has served the country so well and nobody has done it like him. Everyone has to retire sooner or later. He is not playing matches currently. So I don't know when he will come out one day and say -- I have had enough. I think it will be our loss because he is such a fabulous cricketer," Dev told reporters here.

In the recently released BCCI contracts list, Dhoni did not find a place for himself. The former World Cup winning captain Dev said that it is unfortunate that Dhoni was not included in the contract list.

"I feel sorry that they have not included him. 

Tendulkar, Gavaskar had to witness the same. It's not my job and I am not there to give the contract to anyone. It is the job of the cricket board. So, I don't know. You can ask this question to the cricket board. They will be able to answer this question," Dev said.

The 38-year-old Dhoni is currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the tournament. 

Especially in the games against England and New Zealand (semi-final), he had to bear the brunt of netizens, who deemed him as the reason for the Men in Blue's loss.

BCCI released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 2: Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has said that he was ashamed on seeing the training regime of Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Iqbal said that the incident happened two-three years back as he thought to himself that why he cannot do the same even when he is the same age as Kohli.

"I must say this, it is not because I am talking to an Indian commentator, India is our neighbour so whatever things they do, it affects Bangladesh as well. We follow what is happening in India, when India changed its approach towards fitness, it impacted Bangladesh the most," Iqbal told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I have no shame in admitting this, when I saw Virat Kohli running around two-three years ago, I was ashamed of myself, I thought this is a guy who is probably my age, but he is training so much and I have not doing even half of it. We have a great example in our team as well, Mushfiqur Rahim manages himself well regarding fitness," he added.

During his initial days of international cricket, Kohli was fond of chicken which he has admitted several times during media interaction.

But in 2013, the 31-year-old batsman intentionally shifted his focus to fitness, diet, and training.

Now he has become punctual about his diet which has given him a different character on and off the field.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have also kept on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar managed to call time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings.

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