World Of T20 Cricket

John Gloster, the former India physio, has suggested that the Indian players skip the IPL ahead of the major ICC tournaments and tours to avoid mental fatigue. Gloster said the players must be feeling the strain of playing away from home for lengthy periods, which puts additional pressure on their family life.

All the Indian players who participated in the five-week IPL in South Africa also played in the ICC World Twenty20 in England shortly afterwards. However, the defending champions couldn’t get further than the Super Eights and their coach Gary Kirsten had said fatigue levels and minor injuries from the IPL led to their exit.

“Although the IPL has helped bring an revolution in world cricket, it’s still wiser to avoid it if it’s close to any important series because it involves too much of travelling and stress,” Gloster told the Times of India. “The cricketers who played in the IPL in South Africa may be mentally tired and were not ready for the huge pressure of the ICC World T20. A hectic schedule may rock the family lives of players. Perhaps no other country has as strong family bonds as the Indians.”

The BCCI has said in the past that the players have the option of opting out of tours to rest and recuperate but Gloster felt the BCCI should play a more active role in monitoring injuries closely.

“I feel the BCCI should have a medical board because questions of fitness and injury sometimes create confusion, especially if it comes from the team management,” Gloster said.

MS Dhoni, the captain, set an example when he skipped the Test leg of the tour of Sri Lanka after being on the road for several months without a break. His decision raised eyebrows but Gloster felt the public should understand the situation from the player’s point of view.

“Dhoni is a class cricketer. But sometimes the burden of expectations weigh the players down,” he said. “And when they fail to perform, they are criticised from all quarters.”

While working with the Indian team, Gloster observed that the players often missed their families and that home sickness is a factor that cannot be ignored.

“I spent much time in India and have an Indian wife. So I know what are the emotional needs of Indians, who have been away from their homes for months,” he said. “For a player like Sachin Tendulkar, it’s difficult to keep away from the family for longer periods. Sachin loves his family and I believe he is not happy spending much time away from home.”
Source: Cricinfo.com

written by Swapnil \\ tags: India, IPL

The Southern Premier League (SPL), the proposed Twenty20 tournament involving teams from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, may not take off in 2011 as planned with officials failing to find a “natural window” for the event. The three participating boards will hold discussions in a few months to decide how the tournament can be salvaged.
Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), told Cricinfo a “preliminary understanding” of the ICC’s post-2012 Future Tours Programme (FTP) – discussed at the ICC’s annual meeting in London last week – has made officials from the three boards realise there would be no room to hold the SPL every October, as originally planned. The FTP will, however, be tweaked further before being finalised.

“There are serious challenges to holding the SPL,” Majola said. “The main concern is our inability to find a natural window for the event, like the IPL has every April-May. There is already the Champions Twenty20 League every October and there are other bilateral commitments falling in that period. Quite simply, we are not sure whether we will have the time to hold such an event or whether we will get top international players for the tournament. At this point, it looks tough for the SPL.”

Majola said that officials from the three boards might meet in August to evaluate various options in this regard. “If we find that holding the tournament is viable and makes financial sense, we will continue to work on it,” he said.

Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket (NZC), said though he wouldn’t want to completely shelve plans for the SPL, something had to give amid the Champions League, IPL and bilateral commitments. “I don’t want to put a full stop on it and say it won’t happen but if you want to have an IPL, Champions League, SPL and bilateral tours, something has to give,” Vaughan told the Herald on Sunday. “In its current state, the FTP looks very attractive to us, so it would be of considerable financial sacrifice to us to try to carve out an SPL. The FTP is not locked in yet, so it is difficult to make a definitive statement.”

The SPL, involving franchises from the three concerned countries, was proposed last year and was expected to give particpating teams the option of recruiting foreign players, like the IPL. The original plan had the league in two legs – one in Africa, the other to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand – and was to be shoehorned into a calendar along with other similar Twenty20 leagues such as the IPL, England’s P20 and the Champions Twenty20 League.
The current FTP lapses into 2012 and there have been some, like Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations chief executive Tim May, who have said the ICC and its members should rework the FTP to reduce international fixtures and create windows for domestic events such as IPL, which involves international players.

Source: Cricinfo.com

written by Swapnil \\ tags: SPL

Pakistan captain Younis Khan has asked his team-mates to push for better IPL contracts following their success in the World Twenty20. “These players are now world champions and highly marketable. There is a higher value to their performances,” Younis said.

While many in the team turned out for their respective franchises in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008, political tensions between India and Pakistan prevented them from playing in the second season. Younis, who played for Rajasthan Royals, noted, however, that top players like Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul and Misbah-ul-Haq were now worth more than the $100,000 contracts they had signed last year.

“Now the scenario is different. These players should talk to their agents in India and ask them to go for a hike in price from the IPL franchises. I am happy if any of our players can be better packages in the IPL for next season,” Younis said.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had said that after Pakistan’s World Cup win he perceived no problems in the players returning to play in the IPL next year, provided both national governments were okay with it.

Eleven Pakistani players, including Shahid Afridi and Gul, the stars of Pakistan’s World Twenty20 campaign, were recruited by the Kolkata, Rajasthan, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore franchises before the inaugural IPL. However, the franchises opted to retain the contracts of only four of them – Akmal and Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals), Misbah (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Gul (Kolkata Knight Riders) – after it became clear that they would not be able to play in the second season of the league.

Younis though, turned his back on the league after announcing his retirement from the Twenty20 format soon after Pakistan won the world event.

Source: Cricinfo.com

written by Swapnil \\ tags: IPL

Dwayne Bravo will be spending plenty of time in Australia later this year. Media reports indicate that the West Indies all-rounder is set to be unveiled as the Victoria Bushrangers’ international signing for the Australia domestic Twenty/20 competition. Bravo is likely to be a member of the West Indies squad, when they visit Australia between November 26 and December 20 this year for three Tests.

He is expected to link-up with Victoria in January after the Tests before he is likely to rejoin the West Indies squad ahead of a series of five One-day Internationals against the Baggy Greens in February. Bravo enhanced his reputation with a couple of telling performances in the Twenty/20 World Cup which ended in England last Sunday. He also made an impact playing for the Mumbai Indians during the recent Indian Premier League which was staged in South Africa.

Bravo’s lusty hitting and steady medium-pace will fortify the Bushrangers’ line-up, as they seek to regain the title which they had won for three straight years before New South Wales topped them in the 2008-09 final earlier this year. Bravo won’t be able to qualify for Victoria’s participation in the inaugural Twenty/20 Champions League, which is scheduled to be played in India in October.

Bravo has played 15 Twenty/20 internationals for West Indies, and his performance in the Twenty20 World Cup was recognised, when he was named in the tournament’s all-star side on Monday. West Indies captain Chris Gayle has been reportedly linked with joining the Bushrangers, along with Sri Lanka spin master Muttiah Muralitharan. (CMC)

Source: http://guardian.co.tt

written by Swapnil \\ tags: Bravo

Finally we now know the 2007 runners-up Pakistan became the World Twenty20 Champions in 2009. Tournament was mostly dominated by the bowlers and the Final of twenty20 World Cup played between two teams that has top bowling units in their respective side.

Umar Gul once again proved that he is the most dangerous bowlers when it comes to twenty20. Like 2007, he once again ended up with most number of wickets in ICC World twenty20 2009 with 13 wickets to his name.

While T.Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored the most number of runs in the tournament with 317 runs with an average of 52.83 in seven innings that he has played.

Yuvraj Singh of India hits the most number of sixes (9) in the tournament.

Chris Gayle of West Indies hit the biggest six of the tournament with 105 meters.

Here is the updated list of top 10 players who have scored most number of runs in twenty20 2009 World Cup.

 Here is the updated list of top 8 players who have taken most number of wickets in twenty20 2009 World Cup.

Here is the list of Players who hit Most Number of Sixes in ICC World Twenty20 2009 Tournament

Yuvraj Singh (Ind): 9
Chris Gayle (WI): 8
Kamran Akmal (Pak): 7
D.Bravo (WI): 6
AB Devilliers (SA): 6
K.Coetzer (Scot): 5
D.Hussey (Aus): 5
M.Guptill (NZ): 5
S.Styris (NZ): 5

Source: http://cricketvillage.blogspot.com

written by Swapnil