India vs New Zealand 1st T20: Yuvraj Singh set to return to international cricket

September 8, 2012

yuvarajVisakhapatnam: After winning his battle against a rare germ cell cancer, India`s World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh would be the cynosure of all eyes when he starts his journey back to international cricket with the first Twenty20 match against New Zealand on Saturday.

Yuvraj was diagnosed with the ailment between his lungs within months of winning the Man of the Tournament award in the 2011 World Cup.His career looked in jeopardy when the diagnosis was first revealed but the flamboyant all-rounder fought back after undergoing three cycles of chemotherapy.

The 30-year-old left-hander has been training hard at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and would be looking to make a statement when he returns to the cricket field in tomorrow`s match.

It is something that has never happened on the cricket field and Yuvraj will go on to inspire generations when he wears the Indian colours again after more than nine months. Behind all the limelight he hogged after he returned home, Yuvraj put in hours sweating out at the NCA to regain the fitness and agility, for which he was known for. Whether he would make a stupendous comeback on his return tomorrow or not but the fact that he beat cancer will now be a part of cricketing folklore.

"I had played three practice games at NCA. I will get some serious match practice in the two matches against New Zealand scheduled September 8 and 11," he said. "Then, I would be playing two more practice matches. So, you see, I will be having seven games before the World Cup. I will be having enough match practice," he added.

His last International appearance was the Kolkata Test against the West Indies in November last year, while it was more than a year ago when he last played a T20 (against South Africa on January 9, 2011). The two T20Is against New Zealand will start India`s countdown for the fourth edition the World Twenty20 that will get underway in Sri Lanka on September 18.

As it`s a jam-packed Twenty20 calendar ahead -- World T20 followed by the Champions League in South Africa -- India would be keen for a winning start against the Kiwis.

The hosts could not have started their home season on a better note having routed the visitors 2-0 in the just-concluded two-Test series. The T20 series against New Zealand will also mark the return of Harbhajan Singh, the star off-spinner who went out of favour after being blanked 0-4 in the disastrous England tour in July-August last year.

Both Yuvraj and Harbhajan were part of India`s successful campaigns in the ODI and Twenty20 World Cup (in 2007 and 2011). Form-wise, Virat Kohli has been the man of all formats for India in recent past, with many match-winning knocks under his belt. The youngster will once again form the core of Indian batting, while Suresh Raina, known for his exploits in the shorter formats, will look to give the finishing. In the middle-order Rohit Sharma will have to prove his worth soon enough or the struggling batsman might end up losing his spot to the talented Manoj Tiwary, who has been waiting in the wings.

The opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are also yet to fire. Sehwag is yet to convert his starts and is long due for a big score, while Gambhir too has struggled in the Test series. But he can draw confidence from the fact that he had a fine outing in India`s 4-1 and 1-0 victory in ODI and T20 series in Sri Lanka.

The very mention of Dr YSR Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, perched on the foothills of Simhachalam forests on the outskirts of the city, makes one remember the great knock of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dhoni had announced his arrival with a magnificent 148 against Pakistan back in 2005 and the Indian skipper would look forward to the belter where India have never lost from four ODIs.


Doug Bracewell and Tim Southee are the Kiwis pace spearhead while 20-year-old Adam Milne will look to impress with his searing pace for the first time in sub-continental conditions. Sun has been shining bright after last few days of bad weather and the Visakhapatnam T20 is set to enthral the cricket-starved crowd of this coastal port city of Andhra Pradesh.

The second and final T20I is slated in Chennai on September 11.

Teams (from):

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Laxmipathy Balaji, Ashok Dinda, Piyush Chawla and Manoj Tiwary.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (c), Brendon McCullum (wk), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, James Franklin, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Doug Bracewell, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Nathan McCullum, Ronnie Hira, Kyle Mills and BJ Watling.

Match Starts: 7 pm IST.


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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: Thrilled after getting to know about Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic's engagement, skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday called it a "pleasant surprise".

Extending his best wishes to the newly-engaged couple, Kohli posted a comment on Pandya's Instagram post which read, "Congratulations H. What a pleasant surprise. Wish you guys great times ahead. God bless".

On the first day of the New Year 2020, Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share the photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On the work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from the Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show Bigg Boss 8.

In 2019, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that Pandya had had lower-back surgery in London.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

Sydney, Feb 7: "I received a message from Brett Lee," said former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Friday when asked as to who recruited him to take part in the Bushfire relief fundraiser match.

Tendulkar will be coaching the Ponting XI in the upcoming Bushfire Bash on Sunday, February 9 at the Junction Oval.

"I received a message from Brett Lee. Brett said that Kevin (Roberts, Cricket Australia's chief executive) would like to be in touch with you. It was a no-brainer. From the moment I was asked, I said, 'yes I'm more than happy to come here," cricket.com.au quoted Tendulkar as saying.

Bushfire Bash was originally slated to be played at Sydney on Saturday but weather forecast prompted Cricket Australia to reschedule the game to ensure the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for the final of Big Bash League.

The match will be played to raise funds and all match profits will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

"This is an alarming situation, it's catastrophic - that's an understatement. You see the number of lives it has affected, not only humans but also wildlife which sometimes people don't talk about. That is equally important. I'm so happy I'm here in whatever way to support the cause, to raise money," Tendulkar said.

Ponting XI: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (c), Elyse Villani, Brian Lara, Phoebe Litchfield, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Wasim Akram, Dan Christian, Luke Hodge. Coach: Sachin Tendulkar

Gilchrist XI: Adam Gilchrist (c & wk), Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Yuvraj Singh, Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Courtney Walsh, Nick Riewoldt, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed (one more to be announced). Coach: Tim Paine

The Bushfire Bash exhibition match will be a 10-overs-per-side contest, with a five-over Powerplay, no bowling restrictions, and batters unable to get out from the first ball they face.

Bowlers will not have over limits, fielders can sub on and off as it suits, while captains will have the ability to sub batters in and out during an innings.

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Agencies
July 21,2020

New Delhi, Jul 21: With the T20 World Cup's postponement clearing the decks for a full-fledged IPL, the glitzy event's Governing Council will meet in a week or 10 days' time to plan its next course of action, eyeing UAE as the host this year.

An IPL between September and early November has been made possible by the ICC's decision on Monday to postpone the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled for October-November, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The IPL GC will meet within a week or 10 days and all decisions (including final schedule) will be taken there. As of now, the plan is to have a full fledged IPL comprising 60 games and most likely in the UAE," Patel told PTI.

Asked about the main challenges in conducting the event in current scenario, Patel added: "Just the operational side of it. Whether you do it here or outside, it doesn't matter (with no crowds)."

The franchisees had already been working on their plans for the IPL even before the ICC announcement.

With majority of the Indian players not having access to grounds amid the pandemic, teams will need at least three to four weeks to get them match ready.

Foreign players will fly in directly to the UAE from their respective countries.

"Our players will need at least three to four weeks of training, if not more. We will finalise all our plans once the BCCI announces the dates. It looks like the IPL will be in the UAE and we are ready for that," a team owner told PTI.

Since India tour Australia for a four-Test series right after the IPL, training of the Test players is also an important issue.

Test specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari, who are not part of the IPL, are likely to train for the eagerly-awaited series in a bio-secure environment at the newly-renovated Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad during the time of the IPL.

A few fringe players are expected to join them at Motera along with the Indian team's support staff, which is free during the IPL.

Work from home has become the norm amid the pandemic, therefore, there is a possibility that IPL commentary will happen from the comfort of the living room, a safer and cost effective-option considering the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, who is 71, are involved.

The viewership is expected to be a record one with people craving for live cricket, something KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia has said.

However, it remains to be seen how much the broadcasters and teams are able to attract from the sponsors in the current financial climate.

More moot points and questions ahead of the IPL GC meeting:

1) More double headers expected (original schedule had only five double headers).

2) BCCI will need to provide a Standard Operating Procedure to IPL teams even though they will have their own SOPs in place.

3) Will the BCCI compensate teams for not being able to generate gate money this year?

4) Will there be virtual commentary from Star Sports? It was seen in the recent 3TC event in South Africa with the likes of Aakash Chopra, Deep Dasgupta and Irfan Pathan commentating from home.

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