Harbhajan set for Test recall

Spin bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik are set to regain their Test spots after a considerable gap when the national selectors pick the Indian squad for the first two ties of the best-of-three rubber against Pakistan in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Also set to be named in the squad, to be captained by veteran leg spinner Anil Kumble, are stylish middle order batsman V V S Laxman and Test openers Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik.

It remains to be seen whether Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan too get a recall to the longest form of the game.

Sehwag was ignored following his dismal show in the three-Test rubber against South Africa in which he aggregated just 53 runs in six innings.

Harbhajan, who has taken 238 wickets in 57 Tests, last played in a Test eleven in April-May 2006.

The 26-year-old Punjab bowler was not in the team for the tours of Bangladesh and England earlier this year after failing to make it to the playing eleven against South Africa though he was part of the squad.

He has already recaptured his one-day slot and has shown very impressive form in the 50-over format at home in the last two series.

Kartik’s absence from the Test rankings has been even longer. The left arm spinner, who has played only eight Tests since his debut in 1999-2000, last figured in the final 11 against South Africa at Kanpur in 2004-05.

The Railways’ slow bowler’s improved performance in the one-day format since his recall out of the blue against Australia in the previous home series merits a comeback, especially in home conditions.

However, he may not make the playing eleven in the presence of Kumble and Harbhajan.

Test specialist Laxman and former captain Rahul Dravid, no longer figuring in the ODI squad, would lend meat to the packed middle order which has Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly besides wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in it to give it a very experienced and solid look.

Left-handed Yuvraj, who is in prime form in the shortened format of the game, may have to wait for his chances to get into the playing eleven with so many other stalwarts ready to occupy the middle order slots. But his presence would obviously put extra pressure on Laxman and Ganguly to perform.

The dark horse seems to be Sehwag with his great Test record, mainly as an opener, against all comers and especially Pakistan.

The Delhi marauder has not exactly set the Ganges on fire since his recall to the ODI squad in place of Dravid, but the selectors might be tempted to include him because of his potential to destroy attacks.

Sehwag, who averages 50-plus in 47 out of 52 Tests as opener and has scored all his three 200-plus knocks while launching the innings, could get a look-in only if the selectors choose to strengthen the already bulging middle order.

For the opening slot there are three in contention who are expected to be picked in the team, first-choice openers Wasim Jaffer and Karthik and reserve Gautam Gambhir who has been in very good nick in the Twenty20 and 50-over games.

Three others who figured in the squad to England — medium pacers Ishant Sharma, Ranadeb Bose and off- spinner Ramesh Powar — are already out of the selectors’ radar.

Powar is set to give way to Harbhajan while one of the two medium pacers is likely to be replaced by Murali Kartik.

The selectors have the option to give a chance again to Irfan Pathan, who too has done well since his re-induction into the one-day squad, to shore up the pace attack expected to include Zaheer Khan, R P Singh and S Sreesanth.

The Baroda youngster has not figured in Test cricket since he was recalled home midway through the series in South Africa after showing indifferent form.

Pathan was not considered to be good enough to be included in the playing XI in any of the Tests against the Proteas and had last played a Test in the West Indies.

Young guns like Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary and S Badrinath may have to wait for their turns with the plethora of batting riches the team possesses in the middle order.

Afridi apologises to Gambhir

Pakistan’s flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi admitted that it was his mistake that resulted in his unpleasant verbal duel with Gautam Gambhir during the third one-day international in Kanpur on Sunday and even apologised to the Indian batsman.

“It was my mistake and I realised it. I told him, I am sorry, so the matter is closed now. Relations between the two sides remain good,” Afridi was quoted as saying in Pakistan daily Jang on Tuesday.

Both the players had exchanged expletives after a mid-pitch collision during the Kanpur ODI, which India won by 46 runs to go up 2-1 in the series.

The all-rounder felt the strongly reaction came out of anger and frustration.

“The batsmen were dominating and we were not doing well. I was angry and when Gambhir came through I just reacted and did the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. But I regret it now,” Afridi said.

“I play my cricket with lot of intensity and I was upset at my own bowling as well,” he added.

Lee is my mentor: Johnson

Australia’s latest pace sensation Mitchell Johnson says some personal mentoring from the new leader of the attack Brett Lee has helped make the Queensland left-armer an instant success at Test level.

Johnson took 2-49 and 2-47 on debut on a flat Gabba track as Australia thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs in the first Test yesterday.

Johnson had been a star with the ball in last month’s one-day series in India, taking 14 wickets at 18.57.

Stepping up to the biggest challenge of all, Test cricket, has presented few problems either for the 26-year-old tearaway from Townsville.

“I thought I went pretty well. I got to bowl with Brett Lee which is pretty exciting for me,” Johnson said today at the team’s Brisbane hotel before travelling to Hobart for Friday’s second Test.

“I got to do that through the one-day cricket, but now to do that in Test-match cricket, it’s a really good moment for me.

“I felt pretty good out there.

“We spoke about bowling together when we were in India.

“He (Lee) has taken me under his wing. We’ve had days when we have just talked about bowling together and as a group.

“It’s just really exciting for me to be able to bowl with him and Stuart Clark at the moment.”

In his first outing as leader of the Australian pace attack after Glenn McGrath’s retirement, Lee took match figures of 8-112 to earn the man-of-the-match award, while Johnson took a major step in realising the promise first hinted at by the great Dennis Lillee when Johnson was a young hopeful.

“Just being out there with the guys in a Test match was really exciting for me,” Johnson enthused.

“At the end we all got a stump each and lifted our arms around each other so it was a pretty proud moment for us all.

“I knew it was going to be tough but state cricket is very tough here.

“It is very tough but it’s very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to playing more.”

Johnson took the new ball for Australia in both innings as Sri Lanka folded for 211 and 300.

But Stuart Clark (2-46 and 2-75) was given the second new ball with Lee on day five.

“I probably wasn’t swinging the ball as much as Ricky (Ponting) and I would have liked. Stuart was the man for the job at that stage,” Johnson said.

“Stuart gets the ball to move around a little bit. I think he was even swinging the ball yesterday so that’s a good sign.

“I’d love to get the new ball when I can and I’m sure he’s the same. It’s not going to be a bad thing if we share it around.

“At times maybe I was a little bit too short here and a little bit wide. But it was my first game so I’m pretty happy with the way things went but consistency is going to be a big thing.”

AAP

New coach for India before tour to Australia

The Indian board will appoint a new coach before the team’s tour to Australia in December, Sharad Pawar, the board president, has said. Lalchand Rajput, the team manager since the ICC World Twenty20, will remain in the post for the series against Pakistan.

“We need to take a final decision on the coach’s appointment before the Australia tour,” Pawar said after an office-bearers’ meeting in New Delhi. “After discussion with the coach selection committee, we will take a decision as soon as possible.” The board has scheduled a Working Committee meeting on December 16 to discuss the issues put forth in the meeting today.

The coach selection committee, which includes former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S Venkataraghavan, twice postponed meetings to discuss the applications that the board has received regarding the post.

Meanwhile, the Asian Cricket Council is set to meet in New Delhi next month to decide on the scheduling of next year’s Asia Cup so that it does not clash with the India Premier League. “Tentatively it [Asia Cup] will be held in June,” Rajeev Shukla, the BCCI vice-president, said.

Tendulkar to have stake in Mumbai team?

Sachin Tendulkar could have a stake in the ownership of the Mumbai team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to reports in the media.

The Kishore Biyani-owned Future Group, which has expressed an interest in becoming a franchisee of the IPL, is in talks with Tendulkar to bid jointly for the Mumbai side, a report in the Economic Times said.

The Future Group and the Manipal Group, the report said, have already entered into a joint venture with Tendulkar for their new sports initiative – the launch of a variety of products in the health supplement, sports goods, fitness equipment and lifestyle accessories categories.

The products are set to be marketed under names S Drive and Sach, which would be retailed across the multiple Future Group formats like Big Bazaar, Central, Planet Sports and Manipal Cure & Care.

A stake in the Mumbai team would ensure Tendulkar a fixed fee on an annual basis and a variable component depending on the team’s profits. It would also mean that the team could use Tendulkar’s presence to attract other cricketers.

However, both the Future Group and Tendulkar’s management team have brushed aside these suggestions as rumours.

The IPL is scheduled to be held next April and the sale of its television rights in the near future is expected to see stiff competition. The IPL governing council has invited three broadcasters – ESPN-Star, Nimbus Sports and Sony Entertainment Television – to make presentations before awarding the rights on November 17.

Pink balls set for one-day trials

The white ball used in one-day cricket could be replaced by a pink one if tests prove it is more durable. A flourescent ball could be adopted for full county cricket by 2009, and then across the international game.  The red ball lasts much longer, so the pink ball will not be used for Tests and four-day county games.

“It’s about the quality of the ball and the fact the white one doesn’t last 50 overs,” a spokesman for the game’s lawmakers, the MCC, told BBC Sport.  But there is also the visibility factor to consider – white balls can be notoriously difficult for fielders and batsmen to see in certain light conditions.

The tests will be carried out in the nets at Lord’s this winter and also in women’s cricket in Australia. In the summer of 2008, further trials will see the pink ball used in county second XI and university matches.

The MCC’s head of cricket John Stephenson said: “Paint tends to flake off white balls. The challenge is to produce a ball which retains its colour.

“My aim would be to use the pink ball in Twenty20 cricket in 2009 and therafter in one-day international cricket. But this will be dependent on trials and what the England and Wales Cricket Board [ECB] thinks.”

Mike Gatting, the ECB’s managing director of cricket partnerships, said: “We must always push the game forward and make sure we have the right equipment.

“We have tried white and orange balls and perhaps pink ones will last longer. This is a very interesting and a very wise development.”

Traditional red balls used for Test and first-class cricket can last 80 overs before being replaced.  However, in one-day internationals a mandatory ball change is now enforced after 34 overs because the white titanium dioxide dye rubs off the leather.

Kookaburra, the Australian manufacturer charged with making the existing white balls, are also producing the pink ones to be used in the trial.

Biyani wooing Sachin with a bright Future

MUMBAI: In a first in the world of Indian sport, a cricketer may end up being a player and his own boss. The Kishore Biyani-owned Future Group, which has expressed interest in becoming a franchisee of BCCI’s home league initiative — Indian Premier League (IPL) — is currently in talks with Sachin Tendulkar to look at jointly bidding to own the Mumbai team.

Sources at Future Group confirmed to ET that the talks were on, and that the company has been in talks with BCCI and simultaneously with Sachin to own a minority stake.

The rationale is simple: Sachin’s presence and the ownership status mean the valuation of the team would rise instantly and the Future Group can use Sachin to rope in other cricketers.

For Sachin, the deal spells money. The stake in the Mumbai team will ensure the cricketer a fixed fee on an annual basis, plus a variable component depending on the profits the team garners. However, sources pointed out that the structure of the deal was still being worked upon.

But Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani said, “We do not comment on speculation.” Future Group, along with the Manipal Group, has already entered into a joint venture with Sachin for its new sports initiative, which entails the launch of a variety of products in the health supplement, sports goods, fitness equipment and lifestyle accessories categories.

The products will be marketed under the brand names S Drive and Sach, which would be retailed across the multiple Future Group formats like Big Bazaar, Central, Planet Sports, Manipal Cure & Care.

The deal with Future secures Sachin’s position, both as an investment and a retirement plan. Several attempts to contact Sachin were in vain, as he was on his way to Gwalior for the fourth one-dayer against Pakistan.

BCCI has currently put its base price for owning a team at $50 million for 10 years, but insiders say the price could be anywhere between $75 million and $90 million.

Meanwhile, the IPL governing council has invited the three broadcasters — ESPN Star, Nimbus Sports and Sony Entertainment Television — for making presentations for awarding the broadcast and media rights on November 17.

The presentations will include IPL’s promotional strategy, an advertising rate projection and other ancillary and programming support. The meeting will essentially discuss non-financial issues such as a broadcaster’s capabilities. The tender document for the bid will be available from November 21 to December 7. The winner of the media rights will be announced by the BCCI on the December 7.

Once the BCCI decides on the franchisees who will own the eight different teams, it will provide a pool of players — comprising the national players, Ranji Trophy players as well as the 29 international players who have signed up for the league — who will be auctioned as planned.

The Future Group is being looked at as the front runner for the Mumbai team, while Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher is said to be the front runner for the Bangalore team.

As a bowler I know the subtleties of the game: Kumble

BANGALORE : Only the third spinner after Bishen Singh Bedi and S Venkataraghvan to become the captain of Indian team, Anil Kumble says as a bowler he knows the ’subtleties’ of the game well and can use that knowledge while leading the country in Test matches.

In an exclusive interview, Kumble said he is aware of the responsibility associated with the job and captaincy has come at a time in his career when he can ‘relish the challenge’.

Kumble also feels that the new-found aggression in the young Indian team was always there.

Regarded as a fighter on the field, the 37-year-old sees nothing wrong in the younger lot showing their emotions on the ground.

India’s most successful bowler speaks about the new challenge, his expectations from the team and the forthcoming three-match Test series against Pakistan.

Q: Nice Diwali gift for you?

A: I think it has come on a nice auspicious day. It is a nice feeling.

Q: Was it a surprise to you?

A: I don’t think it was a surprise. People were discussing about me as a contender. There were lot of discussions happening. Yeah, I mean it was only after actually Sachin pulled out that the likelihood of they (selectors) looking at me as a captain happened.

Q: Do you feel that Test captaincy coming after 17 long years has happened too late towards the fag end of your career?

A: Better late than never. I think it has come at a time when I think I can relish this challenge. I ensure that I go out there and enjoy my cricket and enjoy being captain of India.

Q: Do you think the selectors have gone for a stop-gap arrangement?

A: No, I haven’t really sat down and spoken to them. I really don’t know what they have in mind. So it’s a bit too early for me to say anything on that.

Q: Do you hope to continue as captain for the forthcoming Australian tour and also the home series against South Africa early next year?

A: I would like to take one step at a time. So I still have not really sat down with the selectors and found out what exactly they have in mind. But I’m sure that will happen very soon.

Q: You are the 30th captain and third spinner after Bishen Singh Bedi and Venkatraghavan in Indian Test cricket? How does it feel?

A: I think it’s a great challenge for a bowler to be captain of India and it is not looked at very positively in India for some strange reasons. I am happy that the selectors and the people have shown a lot of faith in me and I hope to live up to those expectations. As a bowler I understand the subtleties of the game. Hopefully I would be able to use that knowledge when it comes to captaining.

Q: As a captain what are your expectations from the Indian team now?

A: I don’t think expectations would change as a player or as a captain. We have discussions and people who have played the game for long definitely express their views in a team meeting and I don’t see that changing much. But the expectations would be to ensure that we are consistent. We try and build a team that will be consistent over a period of time.

Q: How do you see this new-found aggression in Team India now? Do you feel this Indian team after their T20 success has transformed?

A: I think we’ve always been aggressive. I don’t think Team India has found any new aggression after T20 triumph. It’s just that there has been a lot of presence on the field. I mean it’s just that the younger lot show flare and emotions on the field which is good.

Q: Personally have you set any target now that you have 566 Test wickets, third behind Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (702)?

A: Absolutely none. I just want to go out and enjoy my game and ensure that I contribute to the team’s success, to whatever I was doing before. I would like to continue that if not better whatever I was doing. It’s important for me to ensure that we win every time we go out, that’s the personal target and team goal.

Q: How do you see this Pakistan team touring India now?

A: They have a good side. They have always done well whenever they have played us and we respect that. I think we have the potential and the team to win. I am hopeful and pretty confident that we will be able to do that.

Q: In Inzamam’s absence, post-retirement, do you see India holding an upperhand?

A: I think Inzy is a great player. It is very difficult to replace a player like him within a matter of couple of matches. But having said that Pakistan still have Md Yousuf and Younus Khan while Misbah-ul-Haq looks pretty good and then they have Shoaib Malik. (Shahid) Afridi and Salman Butt can be dangerous. So they still have a pretty good batting order. It will be an evenly-contested series.

Kaneria, Faisal and Sami to join Pakistan team in India

KARACHI: The cricket selectors have decided to send three players to India before the start of the three-Test series. Daily Times has learnt on good authority that leg spinner Danish Kaneria, middle order batsman Faisal Iqbal and fast bowler Mohammad Sami are favourites to join the Pakistan cricket team before the first Test starting in New Delhi from November 22.

The national selection committee, headed by former Test cricketer Salahuddin Ahmad, had already decided to send a wicketkeeper to share the burden with Kamran Akmal. The chief selector had a discussion with members Shafqat Rana and Saleem Jaffer regarding the combination of the Pakistan team for the Test series.

Kaneria, not selected for the one-day series, is all set to play the Test series against India. Kaneria has taken 17 wickets for Habib Bank Limited in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. On the slow turning wickets of India, Kaneria could be a useful weapon for Pakistan.

Sami is also performing very well in the domestic circuit, representing the Karachi Whites team as its skipper. The 26-year-old Sami, who has played 30 Tests and 83 ODIs, is in a devastating form.

He has taken 17 wickets with an average of 20.94 in the first class matches. Sami last played a Test match for Pakistan in January this year against South Africa at Cape Town. He also played against Australia A in the home series representing Pakistan A.

An elbow injury to fast bowler Mohammad Asif has convinced the selectors to include experienced Sami for the crunch Test series against the archrivals.

The selectors are of the view that Faisal can strengthen the middle order batting. Faisal played in the first Test against South Africa in Karachi last month. He batted well in the second innings but after the return of seasoned batsman Mohammad Yousuf he had to sit in the dressing room.

The players who will return to Pakistan after the India one-day series are opener Imran Nazir, fast bowler Rao Iftikhar Anjum and all rounder Fawad Alam.

Question mark over ICL’s Kolkata camp

kolkata : A day before Daryll Cullinan is scheduled to leave South Africa for the much-awaited Kolkata-leg camp of the Indian Cricket League (ICL), a fresh battle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the rebel league has cast a shadow on the camp. The ICL’s east zone contingent, Calcutta Tigers, are slated to assemble at the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (CC&FC) this Friday for a week-long camp, where east zone coach Cullinan, along with five yet-to-be-announced international stalwarts, are scheduled to take the players through the paces.

However, the CC&FC is an affiliated unit of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), apart from being the state body’s founder member. And it is this CAB—and hence BCCI—connection, that has now pushed the camp’s hosts, CC&FC into a spot.

Although no one is coming out in the open with, sources in both the club and in the CAB disclosed that the state association is working under express instructions from the BCCI to force the CC&FC to not to host the ICL’s camp.

A prominent member of the Essel Group-backed ICL body told The Indian Express on the condition of anonymity: “With less than a week to go now for the camp, the picture is getting increasingly difficult for us because the BCCI is probably trying all that it can to stall this camp. And they are probably doing it through the CAB, of which the CC&FC is a member. I just hope the CC&FC doesn’t give in to the pressure and pull out. The ICL will be in a soup then.”

The CC&FC top brass, too, conceded that they have a difficult call to make, with time running out. The club’s cricket-secretary Dipankar Nandi said that the ICL has applied for corporate membership with them, which is a way out for the hosts and the ICL.

“The ICL has approached us for corporate membership, which is generally worked out on a temporary basis. We will discuss this case and finalise it by tomorrow. If a given body obtains our corporate membership, then it is always officially entitled to use the CC&FC ground for any camp or other activities,” Nandi spelt out, adding: “However, we are also affiliated with the CAB. So, let’s see how things work out tomorrow.”

The CAB, expectedly, has made its stand clear—that the CC&FC won’t go unpunished if it hosts the ICL camp. Says CAB joint-secretary Samar Paul: “We have instructions from the BCCI, that we should disallow all ICL-related activities on BCCI and CAB territory.

“The CC&FC is affiliated with the CAB. They can host any camp, but it shouldn’t be any ICL camp. That’s final. However, the CC&FC hasn’t yet announced anything. It’s only after they announce that they are hosting the ICL camp that we will decide a course of action.”