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India hungry for revenge against England

October 28, 2012
Mahendra_Singh_DhoniNew Delhi, October 28: England jet into Mumbai on Monday under new captain Alastair Cook, striving to win their first Test series in India in 27 years against a home team desperate to make amends for last year's 4-0 drubbing.

The four-Test series, starting in Ahmedabad on November 15, will be further spiced up by Kevin Pietersen's return to the England fold after his exile and hints that Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar is on the brink of retirement.

The series gives the home side an opportunity to make amends for the humiliating 4-0 whitewash in England last year that saw them dethroned as the number one Test side -- and their replacement by England.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team then suffered another 4-0 defeat in Australia, capping a miserable six-month period that took the shine off India's 50-over World Cup triumph in 2011.


But with the series against England followed by four Tests against Australia in February-March, India, ranked fifth in the world, will look to take advantage of familiar conditions to haul themselves back up the rankings.

Dhoni has urged groundsmen to prepare wickets that suit spin bowling and selectors refused to pick a spinner for England's three-day opener in Mumbai from Tuesday, denying the tourists early exposure to the turning ball.

"When we go to England, we get wickets that help the seamers and in Australia you get tracks with bounce," said Dhoni. "In the subcontinent, spin is what matters and we should stick to that."

England, who last won a Test series in India under David Gower in 1985 and lost their number one status to South Africa in August, will receive a boost from the return of the dangerous Pietersen.

Pietersen, who has hit more than 7,000 Test runs at a shade under 50, smashed a brilliant 144 in England's last Test on Indian soil in 2008 and knows the conditions well as a player for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

And the 32-year-old will be keen to impress after he was dropped in August for sending text messages to touring South Africa players that contained criticism of then skipper Andrew Strauss.

Numerous meetings with England team bosses and players eventually saw him added at the last minute to the Indian tour party and Cook said Pietersen was "contrite" over his actions and would be welcomed back into the squad.

India, who began their busy home season by winning both Tests against lowly New Zealand in August and September before being ousted in the second round of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, are facing a future without Tendulkar.

The plans of the 39-year-old superstar are in the spotlight after the admitted earlier this month that the clock was ticking on his run-filled 23-year career.

"I don't think I have plenty of cricket left in me," said Tendulkar, the highest run-scorer in Test and one-day cricket history -- and the only batsman to notch 100 international centuries.

Tendulkar, who has scored a record 51 Test centuries, has now gone 25 innings without a hundred in the five-day format since making 146 against South Africa in Cape Town in January 2011.

He was bowled in all three innings against New Zealand with a top score of just 27, raising fears that age may finally be catching up with him.

England have the rare luxury of two three-day games and one four-day match to acclimatise to Indian conditions before the series starts in Ahmedabad.

Further Tests are scheduled for Mumbai, Kolkata and Nagpur.

The tourists, who also play two Twenty20 matches following the Tests, will go home for Christmas before returning in the New Year for a five-match one-day series.

Schedule of England's double-leg cricket tour of India starting on Monday:

Test and Twenty20 series:

October 29 : Arrival in Mumbai

October 30-November 1: Three-day Tour match, Mumbai

November 3-5: Three-day Tour match, Mumbai

November 8-11: Four-day Tour match, Ahmedabad

November 15-19: First Test, Ahmedabad

November 23-27: Second Test, Mumbai

December 5-9: Third Test, Kolkata

December 13-17: Fourth Test, Nagpur

December 20: First T20, Pune

December 22: Second T20, Mumbai.

December 23: Return to England.

One-day series:

January 3: Arrival in New Delhi

January 6: Tour match, New Delhi

January 8: Tour match, New Delhi

January 11: First ODI, Rajkot

January 15: Second ODI, Kochi

January 19: Third ODI, Ranchi

January 23: Fourth ODI, Mohali


January 27: Fifth ODI, Dharamshala.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
April 22,2020

Dhaka, Apr 22: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has decided to auction the bat he used during the 2019 ODI World Cup to help raise money for the fight against deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Shakib, who is currently serving a two-year ban from all forms of cricket -- one of which is suspended -- for not reporting corrupt approaches, is the second Bangladeshi cricketer after wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim to auction a personal cricketing gear to raise money for the cause.

"I had said before that I want to put up a bat for auction. I have decided to auction the bat I used in the 2019 World Cup. It's a favourite bat of mine," Shakib said during a Facebook live session.

The 33-year-old all-rounder had a hugely successful World Cup in England last year, scoring 606 runs in eight matches at an average of 86.57, which included two centuries and five fifties.

Besides, he also picked up 11 wickets in the tournament and became the only cricketer to score 600 plus runs and scalp 10 wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.

"I had a good World cup with the bat and ball. There were some good performances especially with the bat. I had used a single bat throughout the World Cup and even used tapes on it to get through games," Shakib said.

"It's not that this bat has only been used at the World Cup. I have scored over 1500 runs with this bat and had used it prior to the tournament and after it as well.

"Although I like the bat a lot but I have decided to put it up for auction with the thought that maybe it can leave some contribution to forming a fund during the ongoing coronavirus crisis."

The money raised from the auction will go to the Shakib Al Hasan foundation.

"This is a very special bat to me, but my people are even more special to me," Shakib said.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Jan 23: Quinton de Kock has been named as the new captain of the South Africa One-Day International side, taking over from Faf du Plessis, who is dropped altogether from the three-match series against England next month.

Du Plessis led South Africa in their disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign and has hinted at international retirement from all formats following the Twenty20 global finals in Australia later this year.

"We all know the quality of the player that Quinton de Kock has grown to become," CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Over the years we have watched him grow in confidence and become one of the top ODI wicket-keeper batsmen in the world. He has a unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street smart."

De Kock leads a 15-man squad with five uncapped players in seamers Lutho Sipamla and Sisanda Magala, left-arm orthodox spinner all-rounder Bjorn Fortuin, opening batsman Janneman Malan and wicketkeeper-batsman Kyle Verreynne.

Magala, leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, seamer Lungi Ngidi and hard-hitting opening batsman Jon Jon Smuts must pass fitness tests before they can join the squad.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will be rested for the series, while allrounders Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius have also not been able to force their way in.

"The road towards the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts now and we want players doing well in our domestic structures to see the rewards of the hard work that they have put in," CSA Independent Selector Linda Zondi added.

The first ODI will be staged in Cape Town on Feb.4th, with the second in Durban three days later and the final match of the series to be held in Johannesburg on Feb.9th.

Squad: Quinton de Kock (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne.

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