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IPL-7 returns to Indian summer

May 2, 2014

IPL-7__in_indiaMumbai, May 2: As cricket's mega event comes back to country, teams would be hoping for change in fortunes in familiar surroundings

How Kings XI Punjab would have loved to have the entire IPL-7 in the UAE. They have won all their five matches there and are on top of the table. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians would have been so desperate to return to Indian shores. Yet to taste a win after five matches, a lot of questions are being asked about the Rohit Sharma's team management that comprises some of the most successful cricketers that have ever played the game.

Difficult to imagine how a support staff that includes Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Ricky Ponting, John Wright, Jonty Rhodes and Robin Singh could not produce a single win.

On the contrary, Kings XI Punjab, without any high-profile names in their coaching staff, have believed in their abilities and given the freedom to their players to express themselves in the middle. Glenn Maxwell and George Bailey have been their success stories so far.

Though still a long way to go, one would imagine this to be KXIP's bright chance to crown themselves as IPL kings, come June 1 by carrying on the momentum in familiar surroundings of India. But it is still early days.

Teams like Mumbai Indians will only hope that luck changes for the better once they are in India. It is just a coincidence that the No. 1 team in the table with all five wins, KXIP, take on the last-placed MI in their first match in India at the hallowed Wankhede on Saturday.

It is an opportunity for Mumbai Indians to win back the faith of their supporters. Perhaps, the big-hitting Trinidadian Kieron Pollard found his timing right and nearly took Mumbai home with that hurricane knock on Wednesday night in Dubai. With a lot of questions being asked about Mumbai Indians' decision to retain players before, and their selection during, this year's auctions, Pollard needs to produce such knocks on a regular basis.

Conditions in India will not differ much compared to what were on offer in the UAE. As TA Sekar, director of GMR Sports, owners of Delhi Daredevils, said, "There won't be much difference in the conditions. In India, you can prepare pitches to your taste and the home side tends to have the advantage."

But as have been seen in the earlier editions, there will be runs galore, and targets in excess of 200 will be chased down with ease.

It is, perhaps, here that somebody like Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir will be happy to get back his confidence. His team's batting coach WV Raman said, "There is no hard and fast rule that Gambhir returning to form cannot happen in UAE or that it has to happen in India. It is just a case of one good innings."

And, that one good innings did come in KKR's last game when he made 45 against Rajasthan Royals before departing for India after his first four outings showed 0, 0, 0, 1.

KXIP's head coach Sanjay Bangar said that the conditions are the same to all. He said: "Conditions in UAE are pretty similar to India. I think some pitches in India will help the bowlers a bit. It is equal for all the teams. It is just that every team has to cope up with the pitches in their own way."

Chennai Super Kings will play their home match at Ranchi's Jharkhand State Cricket Association's, the home of their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, against KKR in the first match of the India leg on Friday.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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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
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Premier Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention.

Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with CSK shaped his career.

"IPL and CSK is a stage that everyone wants. For me it was more about recognition. MSD did not know who Ashwin is, (Matthew) Hayden and (Muttiah) Muralithan did not know who Ashwin is. The first thing that came to my mind was that 'I will show these people that Ashwin is here'," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"I don't know it was being foolish or arrogance but that was how I was made. Nobody was giving me a chance that Ashwin will play alongside Muralitharan or ahead of Muralitharan. I thought, I will get there ahead of him one day," he added.

Ashwin said Dhoni, who led CSK, had "massive influence" on him and the only way to impress him was by troubling him in the nets.

"I got the eye of Hayden, Jacob Oram, and Stephen Fleming while bowling to them at the nets. They were finding it difficult to face me in the first year (2008) but I had not caught the eye of MSD," he said.

"I never had massive interactions with him. It was going to the nets and getting MSD...he was hitting Muralitharan out of the park and I thought, if I bowl better than him, I met get to play ahead of Murali.

" I got his attention when I got him during a Challenger trophy and celebrated like a crazy kid," he recalled.

After that, Ashwin said during CSK's match against Victoria Bushrangers in the now defunct Champions League, he volunteered to bowl the Super Over and Dhoni gave him the ball without hesitation.

Ashwin did not fare well and ended up conceding 23 runs. The off-spinner said when Dhoni walked past him after the match, he only said that, "you should have bowled the carrom ball."

"MS always maintained that you are exceptionally skilful and you should keep doing what you do."

Ashwin has been very successful against the left-handers as 189 of his 365 wickets are of southpaws. Ashwin credited his engineering background and advice from Duncan Fletcher for the success.

"He made a statement that changed cricket. He said it's all about geometry and left it at that. Understanding angles (engineering background) has given me edge over others," he said.

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