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All eyes on Harbhajan Singh as cricketers gather for training camp at Eden Gardens

June 6, 2015

Kolkata, Jun 6: All eyes would be on off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who is making a comeback after two years, as the Indian Test cricketers will assemble at the Eden Gardens for a training camp ahead of their short tour to Bangladesh.

Harbhajan-Singh-001The most successful Indian offspinner, who last played a Test versus Australia in Hyderabad in 2013, has been recalled for the one-off Test in Bangladesh from June 10-14 replacing left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.

The Indian Test cricketers led by Virat Kohli flew in batches today as the Test team also would assemble after the series in Australia earlier in January.

With Harbhajan back in fold and India already having the regular offie in Ravichandran Ashwin, it would be interesting to see whether Kohli go for a two off-spinner line-up for the Test at Fatullah in the outskirts of Dhaka.

No seniors were rested for the Test as Kohli, who has been made Test skipper after the retirement of MS Dhoni from the longer format, will be seen at the helm with team director Ravi Shastri who has been retained for the upcoming tour.

Middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who was playing for Yorkshire in the County Championship in England, will also return for the series and look to capitalise on the conditions in Bangladesh.

Local lad Wriddhiman Saha is also set to take over regular duties behind the stumps after Dhoni's retirement, while there was also a call-up for Karn Sharma.

The fitness camp and training was originally scheduled in the morning but because of the high heat it has been postponed to 3.30pm, said a CAB official.

"The cricketers will now have a gym and pool session at the team hotel in the morning," he added.

The team will have another camp at the Eden Gardens on Sunday followed by a pre-departure news conference before the team departure at 7.45 am on Monday.

The city is also scheduled to host the three iconic former cricketers, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, the newly inducted members of the cricket advisory committee which is slated to meet for the first time tomorrow at BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya's residence.

The committee is expected to play a role in finalising the next India coach and also set road map for the team.

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News Network
March 25,2020

New Delhi, Mar 25: Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen appealed to Indian citizens to stay home during the 21-day lockdown, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contain coronavirus.

"Namaste India! I have heard that your situation is like ours, PM Modi has announced a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days. I request you to follow this instruction. We will fight coronavirus together and come out to this situation. Please stay at your home and stay safe, " he tweeted in Hindi.
At the end of the message, Pietersen gave credit to his "Hindi teacher" Shreevats Goswami, who is an Indian domestic cricketer.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the nationwide total lockdown will be in place for three weeks to combat the coronavirus menace.

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News Network
January 14,2020

Sydney, Jan 14: Retired South African big-hitter AB de Villiers on Tuesday said efforts are on to ensure his comeback in the national team for the T20 World Cup in Australia, a plan in which his IPL form will play a crucial role.

Speaking to Cricket Australia's official website 'cricket.com.au', the 35-year-old swashbuckler said he would love to be back two years after calling it quits internationally. He is currently in Australia to play in the Big Bash League.

"I would love to. I've been talking to 'Bouch' (new South Africa coach Mark Boucher), (new director of cricket) Graeme Smith and (captain) Faf (du Plessis) back home, we're all keen to make it happen," he said.

"It's a long way away still, and plenty can happen – there's the IPL coming up, I've still got to be in form at that time. So I'm thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping that everything will work out," he added.

De Villiers, nonetheless, is keeping a check on his expectations.

"It's not a guarantee, once again. I don't want to disappoint myself or other people, so for now I'm just going to try and keep a low profile, try and play the best possible cricket that I can and then see what happens towards the end of the year," he said.

"There are a lot of players (involved with CSA) who I used to play with. Guys who understand the game, leaders of the team for many years" he said of the present dispensation.

"So it's much easier to communicate than what it used to be in the past. They understand what players go through – especially players that have played for 15 years internationally.

"It doesn't mean that everything is going to be sunshine and roses, but it's definitely a lot easier and it feels comfortable, the language that's being used and just the feel that everyone has at the moment in South Africa about the cricket," he added.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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