Five selectors wanted to sack Dhoni but BCCI chief Srinivasan prevented it: Amarnath

December 12, 2012

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New Delhi, December 12: After dropping a bombshell about interference in selection matters, former national selector Mohinder Amarnath on Wednesday named BCCI president N Srinivasan as the person who overruled the "unanimous" decision to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain after India's eight consecutive overseas Test defeats.

"It was a unanimous decision, all five selectors supported it. The Board President (Srinivasan) did not approve the unanimous decision to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni," Amarnath told a news television.

"Why do you need a selection committee there if one person needs to be at the helm of affairs. We should not be there. Who knows the constitution of BCCI? Is the current selection committee aware of it? I was not aware of the constitution of BCCI" he said.

"We are working on trust there and we are doing our job honestly. It was a unanimous decision of the selection committee to replace Dhoni with somebody after the disastrous series in Australia," he said.

Amarnath, who played 69 Tests and 74 one-dayers for India, said the selection committee had picked 17 players for the tri-series but had not named a captain.

"We selected the team for the triangular series, selected 17 players but we didn't select the captain. The captain was selected by somebody else," Amarnath, one of India's heroes in the 1983 World Cup triumph, said.

Asked about the specific reasons behind Srinivasan's non-approval, Amarnath answered, "When you respect a person, you don't ask questions...but my question here is you have a selection committee those who think what is best for Indian cricket then why are they not given free hand?

"We were trying to look ahead, we wanted a young captain to come in especially in triangular one day series so that we can go ahead and do something better in near future....If we don't look ahead, we won't have a good team in near future."

Amarnath however did not want to drag the Chennai Super Kings angle into the issue.

"The Chennai Super Kings does not come into this. This is between captain and Mr Srinivasan. I have nothing to say on that. I'm not in favour or against anything like that," he added.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he doesn't think Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play for India again, adding to the guessing game over the future of the superstar former captain.

Dhoni, 38, has not appeared for club or country since last year's 50-over World Cup and India's coronavirus lockdown could threaten his chances of getting back into the national team.

The Indian Premier League, the main platform before this year's scheduled T20 World Cup, is likely to be truncated or cancelled because of the pandemic.

Harbhajan, who plays with Dhoni at IPL side Chennai Super Kings, said international retirement was on the cards for Dhoni and that he was increasingly being asked about his teammate.

"It's up to him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again," Harbhajan said in an online forum.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India's blue jersey again. IPL he will play, but for India I think he had decided the (2019) World Cup was his last."

Dhoni, who gave up Test cricket in 2014, started training for the Super Kings in March but has not commented on his international future.

Dhoni led India to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. He hit a six to seal the 2011 World Cup final victory and, along with it, his status as a national hero. He has amassed 10,773 runs from 350 ODIs.

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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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