Will still go for Yuvraj Singh if there is an auction today: Gautam Gambhir

April 9, 2014

Yuvraj_Singh_Gautam_GambhirNew Delhi, Apr 9: Senior opener Gautam Gambhir says "had there been an IPL auction today, he would have still gone" for Yuvraj Singh and called him India`s "greatest match-winner" in limited overs cricket.

"I don`t think any cricketer has criticised Yuvraj. It is the media which has attacked him and we need to be careful about what we say. He has been our greatest match-winners in limited overs cricket," Gambhir said during a promotional event here.

Yuvraj has been castigated by fans for his 21-ball 11 that was one of the primary reasons for India`s World T20 defeat against Sri Lanka, last Sunday.

"At the IPL auctions, we were really close to getting him before RCB won the bid. Let me put it this way. Had there been auction today, the Kolkata Knight Riders would have bid for him in the same aggressive manner. Yuvraj according to me is our greatest match-winner till date," Gambhir, who was the top-scorer in 2007 World T20 said during an event organised by `Advanced Hair Studio`.

Asked if the team is becoming overtly dependent on Virat Kohli as it was with Sachin Tendulkar in the early 90`s and Gambhir`s answer was an emphatic no.

"That`s never the case. Cricket is a team game and 11 players are out there in the field. The game is won by 11 players and lost by 11 players. It`s not an individual sport," he said with a lot of conviction.

But if one man scores 77 out of a total of 130, doesn`t it reflect the over-dependence, Gambhir counter-questioned: "How many deliveries do you get in T20 cricket ? 120 balls and not 300 deliveries! It is natural that your Nos 1, 2 and 3 will score more than your Nos 4, 5 and 6."

Virender Sehwag has shown some form in the zonal phase of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 and Gambhir was asked as to why he KKR would have gone for Yuvraj and not Sehwag.

"Well, it was a part of the strategy and the decision is taken by at least 5-6 people. We wanted Yuvi more and that`s why we bid for him."

Has anything changed for him that Sehwag is back to opening the batting, he replied, "I don`t think anything has changed for me as I was always opening the batting. I have never had any plans of batting in the middle-order. I started my career as an opener and would like to end as an opener."

Gambhir had a good zonal leg of Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, scoring 162 in five matches with 75 as the highest score. He attributed it to batting on greenish tracks at the Roshanara ground during Ranji Trophy.

"Obviously, it was a big advantage playing on tougher wickets and it really helped my batting. When it came to flatter wickets, I was really able to go berserk having prepared myself on the tougher tracks," the 32-year-old said.

Talking about IPL, Gambhir was all praise for South African speedster Morne Morkel, terming him the "toughest bowler" he has faced in his international career.

"Morne is the toughest fast bowler that I have faced. I have also played Dale Steyn, Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar but Morne is the best I have faced. If he can bowl according to his potential, along with Sunil Narine, we do have a good chance," he said.

Since his international debut happened after India stopped playing at Sharjah, Gambhir is excited at the prospect of playing in UAE for the first time.

"It`s an exciting opportunity as I have never played in UAE before. Also we would be playing Mumbai Indians in the opening match which is a good thing than playing against them in Mumbai infront of packed crowd.

"It will be a match (IPL opener) where there will be no home advantage or away disadvantage. MI are defending champions and it will be great to get them off first up," he said.

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News Network
July 6,2020

Karachi, Jul 6: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that questions will be raised if Indian Premier League is slotted in the window allotted to ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, which in all likelihood will be cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ICC is yet to decide the fate of the T20 World Cup in Australia which is scheduled to take place from October 18 to November 15.

"There are rumors that the World Cup was clashing with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Australia-India series, therefore, it (T20 World Cup) won't take place," Inzamam said in his YouTube channel on Sunday.

"The Indian board is strong and has control in the International Cricket Council (ICC). If Australia says that we cannot hold the World Cup because of the Covid-19 pandemic, then their stance will be easily accepted, but if any such kind event happens during the same time, then questions will be raised," he said.

The 50-year-old former batsman, who has scored 8,830 runs in 120 Tests and 11,739 runs in 378 ODIs for Pakistan, further said, "People will think, if a country could host 12 to 14 teams (16 teams), then why the ICC could not look after the teams, after all Australia is such an advanced country.

"Another thing is the ICC should not be allowed to give priority to private leagues (IPL) on international cricket. This will lead to young players forcing on private leagues other than international matches."

The former coach, however, agreed that it is not easy to host 16 nations during the T20 World Cup.

"Australia can say that it was difficult for it to manage 18 teams (16) for the mega event as it is not easy. Likewise, the Pakistan team was in England in a hotel and all the facilities were being provided there, therefore, it has not been easy to manage 18 teams (16)," he said.

The fate of Asia Cup which PCB will be hosting in a neutral country for security reason is also an issue as no one knows the fate of the tournament originally scheduled in September.

Inzamam said: "I have also heard that objections are also raised on the dates of the Asia Cup as it is clashing with some other event.

"The ICC, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and all cricket boards should sit together and give a strong message that any such kind of impression (giving priority to private leagues instead of international cricket), won't take place," he said.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: The finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 will be played on November 20, the sources within the BCCI confirmed on Sunday.

The IPL's governing council met earlier today, and it has also been decided that the evening matches will start at 7:30 pm, half an hour earlier than usual.

Jay Shah, the secretary of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and Arun Dhumal, treasurer of BCCI did not attend the IPL's governing council meeting.

"The tournament will run for 51 days, usually the IPL should go on for 49 days as per the constitution, however in the meeting it has been decided that we will go to Supreme Court for conducting the IPL in 51 days," sources within the BCCI said.

"As the tournament is running for 51 days, we will get the chance to play fewer doubleheaders, there would be just 10 double headers, evening matches will start at 7:30 and the afternoon matches will start at 3:30. 

The matches will be played across three venues at Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah as travelling here by road is easier and bio-secure environment can be maintained," he added.

The IPL's governing council also confirmed that Women's IPL will also go on and four teams would be participating in it.

"When it comes to women's IPL, there would be four teams and the matches would be played at the time of playoffs for men's IPL," the source said.

The source within the BCCI also said that the governing council would be meeting again to discuss the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all the franchises that need to be followed in the IPL.

The governing council meeting discussed the quarantine measures along with the standard operating procedures (SOP), bio bubble training facilities, stay and travel of the players.

Issues related to the broadcaster, shifting, and scheduling of the tournament, and DXB app to be downloaded for players and other officials were also discussed as well.

A few days earlier, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) had also confirmed receiving the official Letter of Intent from the BCCI to host the 2020 edition of the IPL.

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

Chappell also said captains should agree on one way of working up the ball which will encourage swing bowling, even as the ICC is considering the use of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of sweat and saliva in post-COVID-19 scenario.

"The new lbw law should simply say: 'Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion, would go on to hit the stumps is out regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted'," he wrote in a column for ESPNcricinfo.

"Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps, it's out."

The 76-year-old said the change in lbw law would attract expected criticism from the batsmen but it would make the game more fair.

"There will be screams of horror - particularly from pampered batsmen - but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game. Most important is fairness.

"If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury not dismissal.

"It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wristspinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump," said Chappell.

He cited Sachin Tendulkar's example on how he negotiated Shane Warne's round the wicket tactic during the 1997-98 Test series in India.

"Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive and successful approach to Shane Warne coming round the wicket in Chennai in 1997-98 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

"The current law encourages "pad play" to balls pitching outside leg while this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field," he said.

Chappell said his proposed change to the lbw law would also cut down "frivolous" DRS challenges.

"This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times.

"It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first-innings totals would be virtually non-existent."

On the substitute of shining the ball without sweat and saliva, Chappell said international captains should find out a way of working up the ball.

"With ball-tampering always a hot topic, in the past I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list (i.e. the use of natural substances) detailing the things bowlers feel will help them to swing the ball.

"From this list, the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

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