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Fletcher's wings clipped, Shastri appointed Team Director

August 19, 2014

Fletchers wingsNew Delhi, Aug 19: Cracking the whip following India's shambolic Test series against England, The BCCI today virtually sidelined coach Duncan Fletcher by appointing former captain Ravi Shastri as the Team Director while giving a "break" to bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding coach Trevor Penny for the upcoming one-day series.

Under pressure to act after India's disastrous performance in the Test series, the BCCI also appointed former players Sanjay Bangar and Bharat Arun as assistant coaches and R Sridhar as the fielding coach as it revamped the team management.

While Fletcher will continue as the head coach of the team, the shake-up is a clear indication that his wings will be clipped with Shastri taking over as the Director for the one-day series beginning from August 25.

This is not the first time that Shastri has been appointed as a part of 'Damage Control' exercise. In 2007 after the World Cup debacle in the West Indies, the former India all-rounder was appointed as a 'Cricket Manager' for the tour of Bangladesh after Greg Chappell was sacked.

"In culmination of the discussions among all the office-bearers of the BCCI over the last couple of weeks, the BCCI has decided to avail the services of former India captain, Mr. Ravi Shastri, to oversee and guide the Indian cricket team for the forthcoming one-day international matches against England," a press release issued by the BCCI said.

"Mr. Duncan Fletcher will continue as Head Coach while Ravi Shastri will be the overall in-charge of Cricket affairs of the Indian Team."

The support staff will have a more Indian look with Kings XI Punjab chief coach Sanjay Bangar, India U-19 coach Bharath Arun and colts fielding coach M V Sridhar being roped in place of Dawes and Penney.

"In their continuing efforts to re-energise the support to the team, the BCCI has given a break to the bowling coach Mr Joe Dawes and the fielding coach, Trevor Penney, for the one-day series and appointed Sanjay Bangar, former Indian all-rounder, and former India fast bowler Bharath Arun as the Asst. coaches of the team.

India's humiliating 1-3 defeat in the Test series had prompted many former cricketers to call for Fletcher's immediate ouster, saying that he had not contributed anything.

The former cricketers had also questioned the leadership abilities of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has a poor track record in overseas conditions. The BCCI, however, has not disturbed Dhoni for the time being.

Under Fletcher, India have now lost 13 Tests outside the sub-continent with seven in England, four in Australia, one each in New Zealand and South Africa.

41-year-old Bangar had played 12 Tests and 15 ODIs in early 2000, with his gritty half-century at Headingley opening in overcast conditions in a memorable victory still remembered.

Bangar, considered to be one of the brightest young coaches, had guided an unhrealded Kings XI Punjab team to the final of the IPL and has been widely acclaimed as a shrewd tactician with brilliant knowledge about the domestic set-up and its cricketers.

Karn Sharma, a member of current India ODI team had made his debut under Bangar's captaincy at the Railways and has attributed a lot of his success to him.

Having only retired from active cricket a year earlier, Bangar is believed to have the best ringside view and is also seen as a future coach of the Indian cricket team by many.

Bharath Arun had opened the bowling with legendary Kapil Dev in 2 Tests and 4 ODIs in the mid 80's without much success.

Arun, who will probably be the bowling coach, has been heading the NCA's bowling unit for a close to seven years now and is best known for guiding the Unmukt Chand-led India U-19 team to World Cup victory in Australia back in 2012.

His record while coaching the senior teams has not been great as under his tutelege, the Bengal team relegated from Ranji Trophy's Elite to Plate Group back in 2007-08 domestic season.

Fielding coach R Sridhar, a former Ranji Trophy player for Hyderabad, has been India U-19's fielding coach and the junior players swear by his work ethic. He has also been a fielding coach with the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.

"R Sridhar will join the support team as the fielding coach for the one-day series." 52-year-old Shastri, has played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India scoring 3830 and 3108 runs respectively. He also has 151 Test and 129 ODI wickets.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Apr 13: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says if IPL is not played this year, it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical.

He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of T20 league being played are remote due to the COVID-19.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he (Dhoni) be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half year," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

The 38-year-old Gambhir picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"Obviously his (Rahul's) keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim.

"Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision.

"As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir.

However, his former teammate and test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL.

"Not only this IPL, he (Dhoni) will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

However, Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, said that the new selection committee, chaired by former spinner Sunil Joshi, will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him.

"Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I'm sure he must have communicated that with (captain) Virat Kohli, (coach) Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England," said Laxman.

"The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned. But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK," said Laxman, who amassed 8,781 Test runs.

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