Sehwag, Harbhajan axed from India's Champions Trophy probales list

April 6, 2013

Sehwag_Harbhajan_axedNew Delhi, Apr 6: Senior cricketers Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh were omitted while Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder Parveez Rasool was today named in India's 30-member probables list for the ICC Champions Trophy to be held in England in June this year.

Apart from the struggling Sehwag and Harbhajan, paceman Zaheer Khan, batsman Cheteswar Pujara and spinner Pragyan Ojha were also left out from the list of probables announced by BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

The left handed Gautam Gambhir, who had been dropped from the Test team, finds himself in the list which has a number of youngsters like Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Jalaj Saxena, Punjab pacer Siddharth Kaul, Maharashtra middle order batsman Kedar Jadhav and MP pacer Ishwar Yadav.

Both Sehwag and Harbhajan's axing did not come as a surprise since both have been out of form for quite a long time.

While Sehwag, who is also currently sitting injured on the Delhi Daredevils bench, was dropped from the squad for the third and fourth Test against Australia because of a prolonged form slump, Harbhajan managed to retain his Test place but failed to earn a spot in the playing eleven.

Gambhir, who was ignored for the entire Test series against Australia, kept himself in

reckoning by making it to 30-men list which will be pruned down to 15 a month before the tournament.

Shikhar Dhawan's century on his debut Test in Mohali has put him in the reckoning to return to the ODI squad as apart from Gambhir, he and Murali Vijay are the other two openers in the list.

There are three wicket-keepers in the list with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha and Dinesh Karthik getting the preference.

Fit-again Umesh Yadav and troubled pacer Praveen Kumar, who was banned by the BCCI for a short period earlier this year period for misconduct during a Corporate Trophy match, have also been included among the probables.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra has also been included while left-arm spinner Ojha has been left out of the list as he is seen more as a Test bowler.

Among the notable domestic performers who have got a call for the camp are Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder Rasool, who took seven Australian wickets for the Board President's XI, Indian Under-19 World Cup winning team captain Unmukt Chand.

Madhya Pradesh fast bowler Ishwar Pandey and all-rounder Jalaj Saxena, Punjab pacer Sidharth Kaul and Maharashtra middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav have also been included in the list of probables because of their good showing in the domestic circuit.

Probables List for Champions Trophy: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Jalaj Saxena, Parveez Rasool, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok, Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Irfan Pathan, R Vinay Kumar, Preveen Kumar, Ishwar Pandey, Sidharth Kaul.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Defending champions India are overwhelming favourites to win a record fifth U19 World Cup title on Sunday but a tough fight is expected from first-timers Bangladesh in an all-Asian final.

If the India squad for the 2018 edition had the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, who have expectedly gone on to play for the senior team, the exploits of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, spinner Ravi Bishnoi and pacer Kartik Tyagi in the current edition have made them overnight stars.

Irrespective of what happens in the final, India have reinforced the fact that they are undisputed leaders at the under-19 level and the cricketing structure the BCCI has developed is working better than any other board in the world.

India, who walloped arch-rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets in the semifinal Tuesday, will be playing their seventh final since 2000 when they lifted the trophy for the first time.

Having said that, success at the U-19 level doesn’t guarantee success at the highest level as not all players have the ability to go on and play for India. Some also lose their way like Unmukt Chand did after leading India to the title in 2012.

His career promised so much back then but now it has come to a stage where he is struggling to make the eleven in Uttarakhand’s Ranji Trophy team, having shifted base from Delhi last year.

Only the exceptionally talented like Shaw and Gill get to realise their dream as the competition is only getting tougher in the ever-improving Indian cricket.

India probably is the only side which fields a fresh squad in every U-19 World Cup edition and since there is no dearth of talent and a proper structure is in place, the talent keeps coming up.

“The fact that we allow a cricketer to play the U-19 World Cup only once is a big reason behind the team’s success. While most teams have cricketers who have played in the previous edition,” India U-19 fielding coach Abhay Sharma said from Potchefstroom.

“It just goes to show that the system under the visionary leadership of Rahul Dravid (NCA head) is flourishing. Credit to BCCI as well that other teams want to follow our structure.”

Heading to the mega event, India colts played about 30-odd games in different part of the world. To get used to the South African conditions, they played a quadrangular series before they played their World Cup opener against Sri Lanka.

In the final, India run into Bangladesh, a team which too has reaped the benefits of meticulous planning since their quarterfinal loss at the 2018 edition.

Though the Priyam Garg-led Indian side got the better of them in the tri-series in England and Asia Cup last year, Bangladesh has always come up with a fight and fielding coach Sharma expects it would be no different Sunday.

They are a very good side. There is a lot of mutual respect. I can tell you that,” he said.

Considering it is their maiden final, it is a bigger game for Bangladesh. If they win, it will be sweet revenge against the sub-continental giants, who have found a way to tame Bangladesh at the senior level in close finals including the 2018 Nidahas Trophy and 2016 World T20.

“We don’t want to take unwanted pressure. India is a very good side. We have to play our ‘A’ game and do well in all three departments. Our fans are very passionate about their cricket. I would want to tell them, keep supporting us,” said Bangladesh skipper Akbar Ali after their semifinal win over New Zealand.

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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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Agencies
January 9,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9: BWF World Championships defending champion PV Sindhu on Thursday cruised to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters after winning a second-round match.

The 24-year-old had the upper hand in the clash and thrashed Japan's Aya Ohori in straight games 21-10, 21-15 that lasted for 34-minute. The world number six will now play in her quarterfinal match on January 10.

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal defeated South Korea's An Se Young 25-23, 21-12 in 38 minutes. The first game saw back and forth action between both shuttlers. In the end, Nehwal kept her cool to win the match.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old had outclassed Belgium's Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.

Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing their matches to Japan's Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei respectively. 

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