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We can't be great fielding side but can be a safe one: MS Dhoni

Agencies
March 27, 2019

New Delhi, Mar 27: His side's core team is the oldest in the IPL and Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows fully well that they cannot be a great fielding outfit but can make it up in batting and bowling.

"We are well covered in other areas. We will never be a great fielding side, but we can be a safe fielding side. We might bleed a few runs here and there, but as long as we use our experience, we'll make it up with our batting and bowling," Dhoni said after CSK beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets here Tuesday.

"You don't want the XI to push too hard and get injured. We haven't done well at the death, so plenty of areas to work on. But still it is a good victory," he added.

Dhoni himself is 37-year-old, Shane Watson is 35 while Dwayne Bravo is 34. The other core members include 39-year-old Imran Tahir, 38-year-old Harbhajan Singh, 34-year-old Faf du Plessis, 33-year-olds Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav, and soon-to-be 32 Suresh Raina.

Dhoni praised his bowlers for restricting Delhi Capitals to a low score.

"The wicket turned more than expected in the first innings. In the second innings there was enough dew to make it slightly easier to bat on. I thought the bowlers did very well to restrict Delhi to 147," he said.

"Losing Ngidi at the start of the tournament was a big blow, because he was our quickest bowler."

Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer said, "For new batsman, the pitch was really tough. I usually don't have trouble starting against spinners but today it was turning and holding up. Our best batter Rishabh Pant also found it tough. The wicket was slow and that's why I decided to bat first.

"We were 10-15 runs short. I wouldn't blame the batting. We could have restricted them in the powerplay. There are a lot of games remaining and this is just the beginning," he said.

"Still a lot of positive to take from this match. We took it till the last over, so that is a plus point for the moment."

Man of the match, Shane Watson said the Kotla pitch was better than the track at home in Chennai where CSK beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first match.

"It was a little better to bat on than in Chennai, so it was good to get a few off the middle. I had a few calf injuries, and I tried to keep myself up and running through the Big Bash," said Watson who hit 44 off 26 balls.

"Really enjoyed playing the PSL, and coming here with a bit of cricket under my belt really helps. Really good to connect with the Chennai guys again."

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Melbourne, Jan 23: Sania Mirza's return to her first Grand Slam after a two-year break was cut short on Thursday when the former world number one was forced to retire midway through her first round match in women's doubles at the Australian Open due to a calf injury.

India's Mirza, who won six Grand Slam doubles titles, took a break from the game after the China Open in October 2017 and gave birth to her son a year later.

The 33-year-old made a winning return to the WTA Tour at this month's Hobart International with Ukrainian Nadiia Kichenok, picking up her 42nd WTA doubles title and the first since winning the women's doubles in Brisbane in 2017.

Mirza said she strained her calf muscle in her right leg during the Hobart final.

"It just got worse in the match. It was bit of a bad strain, but I had a few days off," she told reporters. "So I obviously had to try to do whatever I could to try to get on the court.

"It felt okay when I went on the court, but it was tough to move right. I just felt like I'm gonna tear it or something pretty bad."

Mirza won her first Grand Slam in mixed doubles at the Australian Open in 2009 and also bagged the women's doubles in 2016.

Mirza always believed there was tennis left in her which inspired her comeback, she told Reuters on Sunday.

She had already pulled out of the Australian Open mixed doubles, where she was to partner compatriot Rohan Bopanna.

Mirza and Kichenok were trailing the Chinese pair of Xinyun Han and Lin Zhu 6-2 1-0 on Thursday when the Indian had to call it quits due to the injury.

"As a tennis player you want to compete, it is the Grand Slam. If it's any other tournament, you would probably take a call and be like 'I don't want to risk it'," she said.

Mirza, who is married to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, said she would take two weeks to recover and was hoping to play at next month's Dubai championships.

"When you play a professional sport, injuries are really part of it. And it's something that you have to accept," she said. "Sometimes the timing is really not ideal, it's tough that it happened in a Grand Slam, or just before a Grand Slam."

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