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Virender Sehwags outburst against the Delhi District & Cricket Association (DDCA) has not only split the cricket body down the middle, it has also created a huge divide between the players and the administrators .
On Tuesday, several senior Delhi cricketers, including his Team India opening partner Gautam Gambhir, came out in solidarity with Viru, saying that his threat to leave Delhi for Haryana over nepotism in selection procedure was justified.
Yes, DDCA needs to be more transparent. They need to clean up the system and I am with Sehwag on this issue, Gambhir told TOI on Tuesday. Delhi pacers Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma have also reportedly supported Sehwag. They made it clear that they would not hesitate to shift base to other states if things did not improve in Delhi and transparency in the selection process was not brought in.
Several members of the Delhi Ranji team agreed with Sehwags stand against DDCAs selection policies. We are all okay with what he has done. I think everyone agrees with Sehwags point of view, a senior Delhi cricketer who did not wish to be named said.
And are they willing to join Viru if he finally decides to quit If need be, yes, said the cricketer . Sehwag, meanwhile, was not willing to back out despite the sports committees rigid stance that it was willing to give an NOC to Sehwag if he so wished. More (players) will come out (in support), Sehwag told reporters in Bangalore, where he is undergoing a training-cum-rehab programme at the National Cricket Academy.
Meanwhile, DDCA vice-president and chairman of the Delhi selection committee Chetan Chauhan conceded once again on Tuesday that there were certain problems in team selection at all levels, which needed to be addressed. However, he insisted that Sehwag needs to sit with us before talking any decision .
Misunderstanding happens everywhere, but if we can sit and talk and solve the issue, it will be good for Delhi cricket. We want Sehwag to play for Delhi and we will try our best to keep him here. There is no doubt about it, Chauhan said.
Delhi has a lot of influential people who do put some pressure on selectors to choose their wards. There are problems which need to be sorted out, he said. Chauhan also pointed out that all was not wrong with the DDCAs selection policy. We have four cricketers from Delhi who play for India. We have the best cricket structure in the country, he points.

Former captain Sourav Ganguly Sunday hailed the decision of the national selectors to bring Rahul Dravid back to the Indian side and said it only proved that form, and not age, is a factor in the game.

“Taking back Dravid is the right decision. I hope he will play well,” Sourav told mediapersons at the Eden Gardens.

“This proves that in the national team it does not matter whether you are a junior or a senior. What is important is form. Ashish Nehra has been brought back. Dravid is back. So, this goes on to show that age is not a factor,” Sourav said.

Sourav had retired from the game about nine months back amidst speculation that the Board of Control for cricket in India (BCCI) had forced him to hang up his gloves.

In the run-up to Ganguly’s retirement, there was a buzz in cricketing circles about the BCCI being in favour of the old guard – Ganguly, Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and Anil Kumble – making way for the juniors.

But though Ganguly and Kumble have quit, Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar are still going strong.

However, the lefthander, six months senior to Dravid in age, refused to take a question on whether he could also have served the team well had he not retired.

“Look, I don’t want to delve into this thing. I don’t want to think of the past. I have retired nine months back,” he said.

After two years, Rahul Dravid is back in Indias Oneday team. The selectors wanted him back for the Champions Trophy in South Africa, so did the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) mandarins . Even if there was a hint of opposition from the team management , by 1 pm on Sunday it was evident that Dravid would once again take guard for India in ODIs.
If BCCIs backing was one of the reasons, the non-availability of Virender Sehwag for the Sri Lanka tri-series and the Champions Trophy also paved the way for the exskippers comeback. Even if there was a whiff of a chance of Sehwag getting fit for the Champions Trophy, the selectors made it clear that they would go for the same squad for both the Sri Lanka tri-series and the Champions Trophy.
There was a grey area about Sehwags fitness for the Champions Trophy and no one was inclined to take a chance, a well-placed source pointed out, adding that the basic idea was to ensure that the team didnt go to South Africa underprepared.
It was middle-order solidity the selectors were looking for and Dravid fitted the bill perfectly. Even though Rohit Sharmas name came up for some serious consideration (courtesy Dhoni), Srikkanth & Co felt that the Mumbai batsman was woefully out of form.
Our batting looked suspect during the T20 World Cup and the West Indies series. So we thought Dravid was the right man to add some spunk to the lineup, especially on the fast and bouncy tracks of South Africa, the source said, adding there were India A trips coming up to enable Rohit to rediscover form.
But wasnt Dravids recall a retrogade step Its a matter of horses-forcourses when it comes to a tournament like the Champions Trophy and we have done precisely that, a selector said, echoing chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanths words that this is the best team we could have sent .
But one selection that raised a few eyebrows was that of Amit Mishra ahead of Pragyan Ojha. Even though he had made his ODI debut way back in 2003, the leggie is considered more of a Test bowler. However, the selection committee insisted that Mishra was brilliant in the Emerging Players tournament in Australia and that he should get his chance in ODIs. Not that they are too displeased with Ojha, but the five wise men felt that the wrist-spinners experience would come in handy.
With Zaheer (Khan) and (Virender ) Sehwag not there, were short of two genuine matchwinners. Basically, we were looking at more impact players , the selector added. Mishra, along with Harbhajan Singh, will be the two spinners while RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar fill the pacers slot.
Its understood that Munaf Patels name was also discussed, but Praveen got the nod because of his fielder.
Abhishek Nayar is the only allrounder in the squad while wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik will be considered as the third opener in case of a crisis. He did the job successfully in the West Indies and is a multi-utility cricketer, a selector added.

SQUAD:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wicketkepper ), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir , Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh (vice-capt ), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Abhishek Nayar.

Zaheer Khan may be out of action due to shoulder injury for at least five months, but Indian coach Gary Kirsten insisted here on Monday that he is not losing sleep over it. For the upcoming series of matches, the former South African opening batsman is banking on Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar to make up for Zaheers absence.
The kind of performance Zaheer has shown in last couple of years is truly remarkable. His absence is a huge blow but we have pacers in the team who can also do the job and I have high hopes on them, Kirsten told TOI here on Monday.
Echoing Kirstens thoughts, chairman of the selection committee Krish Srikkanth said: Zaheer has been our main bowler in recent times and his record speaks for itself. We are certainly going to miss him. We dont have any other option if a bowler like him is injured. We have to accept this and move on.
Both Kirsten and Srikkanth however agreed that India has enough bench-strength to tackle this crisis. Bowlers like RP, Ishant, Nehra and Praveen are capable bowlers and can face any challenge. The Indian team is going to have a four-day camp from August 27 and we hope to sort out everything before the season starts in September, Kirsten said.
When asked if Ishant can carry the burden of expectations, more so in the absence of Zaheer , Kirsten said: We expected a lot from Ishant and he did produce some extraordinary performances in the last season. He is extremely talented and he is going to get better with every series. I am confident he is going to play a crucial role again.
Kirsten, who was here in the Capital with mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton to monitor the fitness regimen of eight Indian cricketers, went about his job in a professional manner. Both he and Upton kept updating their notebooks with the latest readings of players bip test.
Expectedly, these fitness reports will be tabled next week when the selectors meet to pick the teams for the Sri Lankan tri-series and Champions Trophy. Probably, this is the first time that the entire team will undergo fitness tests before a conditioning camp, that too at the start of the cricket season. Earlier, such fitness tests were conducted at the conditioning camp.
The second round of tests will be conducted on the remaining cricketers in Mumbai on Tuesday . We have to keep a track record of the fitness standards of the team. All the players are in good shape and we hope to start the season with a bang, Kirsten said.
The eight cricketers who attended the fitness test: Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Parveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina.

Who will shoulder Indias pace burden now that spearhead Zaheer Khans surgery has ruled him out for at least five months The onus falls on two Delhi pacers the young Ishant Sharma and the veteran Ashish Nehra to step up and deliver during the long and gruelling season ahead.
Both Nehra and Ishant seemed optimistic about the teams chances when 22yards caught up with them on Friday. Comeback-man Nehra, for one, is upbeat about his prospects and hopes he will stay fit throughout . Ishant admitted Zaheer would be missed but the lanky pacer is keen on seeing India continue their winning momentum in One-dayers .
Zaheer has been quite a sensation for India lately and the team is going to miss him. But since I am the senior-most bowler in the lineup, I am ready to shoulder the responsibility in Zaheers absence. I have been bowling well in recent months and I have the confidence to do well for the country again, Nehra told 22yards on Friday, adding: I only hope to be fit throughout the season and am keeping my fingers crossed.
The left-arm seamer also pointed out, India will be playing only three Tests in the next nine months. We have a lot of One-dayers , and our fast bowling department is good enough to handle pressure situations. I have missed more than two-anda-half years due to injuries but I happy with my form now. I had a decent outing in the West Indies and even this years IPL was good for me.
Ishant, meanwhile, is enjoying a much-needed break at home. But in the late afternoons he is a regular at the Ramjas Sports Complex nets in Patel Nagar . I am working on strengthening exercises these days, he told 22yards, This is the off-season and I am doing all the drills which a fast bowler needs to do to maintain fitness levels.
We are certainly going to miss Zaheer but we have to make the best use of our resources . Zaheer has been of great help to me ever since I started playing for India. I am certainly going to miss him. Injuries are part of the game. But there are seniors in the team who can help me out, he said.
This is a crucial season for us. We want to keep our winning momentum in One-dayers intact . One cant be in top form throughout but it is important to contribute to the teams win, he added. Nehra also felt India had good resources to fall back on in Zaheers absence. Apart from Ishant, Praveen Kumar and RP Singh have also been impressive in recent months. They have a good future ahead of them, he said.

Its ironic that the BCCI, the richest cricket board in the world, has not hired a fitness trainer for the Indian team for more than a year now, since February 2008. Its only now that, keeping in mind the hectic international schedule ahead, the Indian team management has requested the board for a fitness trainer. A reply, though, is still eagerly awaited, sources told 22yards.
Although the team currently has a physio in Nitin Patel and a mental conditioning coach in Paddy Upton , it needs a fitness trainer to oversee personalised fitness routines for the players, particularly the fast bowlers. The management is keen to see that players stay fit and are adequately trained to enable them to go through the grind of a gruelling season ahead, which starts with the Champions Trophy in September and goes on till the Twenty 20 World Cup in the West Indies.
They have to be fit and fresh for the challenges in the coming season. And in order to ensure that, the team definitely needs a trainer to make things better, a team management source told 22yards on Friday.
The team wants to make sure that key bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are fit and raring to go before crucial tournaments. So, it is important to have the right drills in order to stay fit. Even guys like Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra and RP Singh need to keep their fitness levels high, he said.
In other words, the team needs a trainer-cum-strengthening coach. Even the batsmen need to work around someone who can help them to increase stamina levels, he added.
Though the board is yet to respond to the request, sources suggested a hunt for a new trainer was on. The past two Indian team trainers were both from South Africa and a third could be in the offing, it is learnt. Gregory King was the teams trainer till February 2008 and there has been no replacement ever since he quit on personal grounds. King had replaced countrymate Adrian le Roux. These days, the teams fitness drills are taken care of by Upton.
Apart from Nitin Patel and Upton , the coaching staff comprises coach Gary Kirsten, Venkatesh Prasad (bowling coach) and Robin Singh (fielding coach).

The 30-member Indian pre-squad for the Champions Trophy has been announced and there have been a couple of surprises in the same. Rahul Dravid, who has not played a single ODI since October 2007 makes a reappearance while all-rounder Irfan Pathan is conspicuous by his absence.

Dravid had been out of the selection radar ever since the former chief selector, Dilip Vengsarkar had dropped him from the ODI squad in 2007 after he had had a rather low-scoring series against the Aussies.

Also in the squad is the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Suresh Raina, and Munaf Patel, all of whom had been left out of the team to West Indies due to various reasons.

Some of the other players include Abhishek Nayar, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, and Ravindra Jadeja, who were also a part of the team to the West Indies, and some others like R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.

Irfan Pathan’s bad run of form means that he will need to get back his swing that he seemed to have lost after the initial burst which had seen him become only the second Indian to bag a hat-trick in a test match.

S.Sreesanth also loses out due to his troublesome back which has seen him being out of the squad ever since the previous year’s IPL.

30-member squad: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.

MUMBAI -Rahul Dravid stands to make it to the one-day squad after two years as the cricket selectors Monday included him among the 30 probables for September’s Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Dravid, whose last ODI was in October 2007 against Australia in Nagpur, was out of the one-day squad after his form hunch but saved his place in the Test side.

Rahul Dravid

 The selection committee that met in Chennai felt that Dravid’s presence will strengthen the middle-order that is exposed to short-pitched delivery as it was proved in the World Twenty20 and the ODI series in the West Indies.

His selection among the probables for the Champions Trophy comes after he performed well during the Indian Premier League (IPL) also in South Africa, where he scored 271 runs from 13 matches at a strike rate of 115.81 for runners-up Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina, who are convalescing from injuries, were selected alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan, who were rested for the ODI series in the West Indies.

Youngters like Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni and Wriddhiman Saha were also selected amnong the probables.

Probables squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, Subramaniam Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wridhiman Saha, and Pankaj Singh.

India defeated the West Indies by six wickets on the Duckworth/Lewis system with one ball remaining in the third one-day cricket international Friday at Beausejour Stadium. The visitors took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

Earlier, for West Indies, Ramnaresh Sarwan hit 62 off 59 balls Friday to lift the West Indies to 186-7 off 27 overs in the rain-shortened third one-day international at Beausejour Stadium. India will require 195 to win after the target was adjusted on the Duckworth/Lewis system.

The West Indies innings, delayed before the start by just over two hours, was interrupted three times by persistent showers.

Captain Chris Gayle hit six fours in a blistering 27 off 14 balls before he fell first ball on resumption after the first break at 27-1.

Sarwan and Runako Morton (22) added 51 for the second wicket in between two more rain interruptions.

Morton was eventually stumped off Harbhajan Singh at 78-2.

Sarwan dominated the middle order as fellow Guyanese Shiv Chanderpaul (15), Dwayne Bravo (14) and Darren Bravo (21) chipped in.

Denesh Ramdin hit 14 not out off six deliveries to deliver a late charge.

Left-armer Ashish Nehra led India’s bowling with 3-21 off five overs while Harbhajan Singh took 2-35.

Scores:

India 159-4 off 21. 5 overs (Dinesh Karthik 47, M.S. Dhoni 46 not out, Gautam Gambhir 44) def. West Indies 186-7 off 27 overs (Ramnaresh Sarwan 62, Chris Gayle 27, Runako Morton 22, Darren Bravo 21; Ashish Nehra 3-21, Harbhajan Singh 2-35).

NB: Original D/L target of 195 off 27 overs reduced to 159 off 22 overs after rain interruption.