Kings XI Punjab’s star batsman Yuvraj Singh and franchise owner Preity Zinta have reacted strongly to media reports that the batsman had been deliberately underperforming after losing the captaincy to Kumar Sangakkara.
 Yuvraj has had a lean trot in the tournament so far, scoring just 101 runs in seven games at 14.42. His performance has mirrored his team’s woeful showing, with just one win from seven games and a semi-final slot looking extremely unlikely. That has led to speculation that the poor form was due to an alleged rift between him and Sangakkara. An upset Yuvraj vented his feelings on his Twitter page.
“I am disgusted and horrified that a news reporter can stoop down to such a level. I, in all my career, haven’t seen such a disgusting piece of news,” Yuvraj wrote. “Media has no right to fabricate stories, they just want eyeballs.”
His views were shared by his team’s co-owner. “There is no truth to the speculative reportage that is being carried in various segments of the media and these get accentuated when the tide is not in our favour,” Zinta said. “We are focused on the game today (against Royal Challengers Bangalore) and by reporting such stories we are distracting the players hence we request the media not to resort to such speculative reporting.”
Yuvraj stressed that his batting form was linked to his return from injury and nothing else. “To come out of injury is not easy and I’ve had three in a row and I hope to bounce back soon,” he wrote. “I always try to give my best no matter what the circumstance and right now am struggling with my form. It happens to every player.”
There was also speculation that he wanted to transfer to another franchise and that Punjab had complained to the BCCI about the developments but the board denied receiving any such complaint. “There is no truth in such claims that a complaint was made to BCCI regarding Yuvraj,” BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla told PTI. “Yuvraj is a great player but is currently out of form, which can happen to any cricketer. People should not read too much into the issue.”
written by Swapnil
Afghanistan have named their 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 which starts at the end of April, with Shabir Noori and Sayed Nasrat’s inclusion at the expense of Aftab Alam, the only changes from the 14-strong squad that won the qualifying tournament in February.
Afghanistan enter their first global tournament in Group C, alongside South Africa and India but are buoyed by a recent a run of success that saw them win the qualifier and chase down 494 to beat Canada in the Intercontinental Cup.
Afghanistan squad Nawroz Mangal (captain), Mohammad Nabi, Karim Sadiq, Mirwais Ashraf, Rais Ahmadzai, Dawlat Ahmadzai, Mohammad Shahzad, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shinwari, Noor Ali, Asghar Stanikzai, Shahpoor Zadran, Shabir Noori, Sayed Nasrat, Shafiq Shafaq.
written by Swapnil
Mohammad Ashraful, who was dropped from all squads for the recent home series against England, has been recalled to Bangladesh’s 15-member squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies in April-May. There are no new faces in the squad, but two players who made their international debuts against England, batsman Jahurul Islam and left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, have also been included.
 Ashraful, who was dropped to sort out his poor batting form, received the backing of the selectors based on his potential as a big hitter in the game’s shortest format. “Ashraful is a potential match-winner and his ability to improvise in limited-overs cricket makes him an important part of the team in this tournament,” said Rafiqul Alam, the chairman of selectors. “We know that he is trying as hard as anybody to fulfill his enormous promise and we expect him to fire.”
Jahurul, who made his Test debut in Mirpur earlier this month, was the leading run-scorer in the first-class National Cricket League with 965 runs at 68.92 for Rajshahi Division. “He (Jahurul) is capable of playing the big shots and by sheer weight of his consistent performance over the years at first-class, academy and club level he has earned his spot,” Alam said. “He can also be our back-up wicketkeeper and his fielding is also good.”
Another notable inclusion was that of fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, who had opted out midway through the ODIs against England and the subsequent Tests following a disagreement over his fitness. However, he later joined his Kolkata Knight Riders team-mates at the ongoing IPL and the selectors are happy with the way he is shaping up.
“From the information we have received on Mortaza, he is fit and has been in full rhythm at the training of his Indian Premier League club Kolkata Knight Riders,” Alam said. “He will definitely bolster our pace attack and his late-order power batting could come in handy too.”
Bangladesh have been placed in Group A with Pakistan and Australia. They begin their campaign against Pakistan, in St Lucia on May 1.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (vice-capt/wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Syed Rasel, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Jahurul Islam (wk)
written by Swapnil
\\ tags: World Twenty20
Karnataka fast bowler Vinay Kumar is the only new face in India’s 15-man squad for the World Twenty20, while legspinner Piyush Chawla returns to the national side after nearly two years. With both Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra declared fit, the rest of the squad pick themselves, Rohit Sharma retaining his place under massive pressure from Virat Kolhi through ODI runs, and Manish Pandey through a bumper Ranji season and impressive showing in the IPL. Vinay has edged out Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth, both part of India’s last Twenty20 squad.
Parallels could be drawn with India’s selection of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, who were still recovering from injuries, for last year’s World Twenty20. Then, as the selectors said later, India had taken the risk and paid for it: Sehwag didn’t manage a single game, and Zaheer was not at his best. This time, though, Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of national selection committee, confirmed all players had sent in their fitness certificates, and that there were no fitness worries in the squad.
The selectors resisted the temptation of looking outside the 30 probables they had earlier announced, after Robin Uthappa’s fireworks in the IPL, and Irfan Pathan’s return to fitness. Instead they went for the tried and tested names there: Rohit in the middle order, and Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja as allrounders. As expected, Jadeja’s controversial omission from the IPL didn’t hamper his future with the national side.
While the selectors didn’t get carried away by a few good performances in the first third of the IPL, Vinay’s impressive bowling in the event so far, in addition to yet another big domestic season, was enough for the nod. Vinay, the fourth seamer in the squad, picked 46 Ranji wickets, and as a timely nudge, is currently joint-second on the IPL wicket-takers’ list, bagging eight for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The same formula didn’t work for his state-mate Pandey, though. He was the leading run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, and has been valuable for Bangalore in the IPL so far. The selection committee, however, went for the batsman more experienced at the international level, in Rohit.
The choice of back-up spinner, which has been this selection committee’s weakest suit, continues to baffle. Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra, who have been taking turns in travelling as the back-up spinner without actually getting a decent run in the team, were both overlooked in favour of Chawla. All three spinners have been in reasonable form in the IPL, with Mishra leading the way. Chawla last played for India during the 2008 Asia Cup in Pakistan.
“I had a really good Ranji Trophy season after a good county stint at Sussex. So I was confident about my cricket but about this Twenty20 selection it was 50-50,” Chawla told Cricinfo. “So this call is a big surprise. I knew I would come back in the Indian team but I was not very, very confident about making it to the Twenty20 squad.”
That MS Dhoni is returning from an injury must have prompted the selectors to pick a reserve wicketkeeper, although they don’t lose much by way of a batsman because Dinesh Karthik has proved to be a good batsman in the Twenty20 format.
The World Twenty20 starts on April 30, five days after the end of the IPL; India are grouped with South Africa and Afghanistan.
Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma
written by Swapnil
\\ tags: ICC World Twenty20 2010
The financial might of the IPL was on display again on Sunday when Pune and Kochi became the league’s two new franchises, being sold for a value in excess of the original eight franchises combined.
The Sahara group, the biggest patron of sports in the country, became owners of the Pune franchise after offering a staggering US$370m. The other new franchisee is a consortium of five companies called Rendezvous Sports World, which bid US$333.33m for Kochi. There were three other qualified bidders, including Adani Enterprises and VC digital solutions Pvt Ltd (Videocon), who were in the fray to become part of the IPL, which will be heartening for any existing franchise owners looking to offload their stake.
“It only shows there is no recession for the IPL and it is on the upswing,” Lalit Modi, the league’s commissioner, said after announcing the new franchises in Chennai.
Sahara, who have been sponsoring Indian cricket for the past 15 years, had bid for the same amount for three cities, but ultimately chose Pune over Ahmedabad and Nagpur. “When we considered the cities, in terms of infrastructure and logistics, Pune came first,” Abhijit Sarkar, the head of Sahara’s corporate communications, said. “Ït is also close to Mumbai – the commercial capital of India – and Aamby Valley (an upmarket township owned by the Sahara group).”
Ajay Shirke, president of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and a prominent businessmen from Pune, said he was obviously happy about Pune being rated as the most popular venue at the auction with three out of the five bidders preferring Pune as their home base over the rest of the 11 cities.
“MCA has always maintained that we will support all bids that are made for Pune,” Shirke, who was present at the auction venue in Chennai, told Cricinfo. “That only increases Pune’s association with cricket manifold.
“What they [the bidders] would have kept in mind was the market of Mumbai and Pune are nearby. Then there are private cities like Lavasa and Aamby Valley, which are about 20 kilometres from the ground.”
According to Shirke, the Sahara franchise would have its home ground situated on the outskirts of Pune city, in Gahunje, which is on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The ground construction is already underway with Shapoorji Pallonji being the main contractors.
He was confident that the ground would be ready in time for the IPL’s fourth season when Sahara would unveil its team. “The construction work has already started and it should be ready by March 2011,” Shirke said.
While Sahara have a long history of sports sponsorship and are a high-profile corporate group, little is known about the winners of the Kochi franchise. It is a consortium with five partners – the Rendezvous group, Parini developers, Anand Shah Estate, Anchor Earth Private Limited and Film Waves. Minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor was involved in bringing together the group, but has no stake in the franchise.
In fact, Tharoor clarified to Cricinfo that he had no stake in the Kochi franchise and that his role was limited to encouraging the consortium that bagged the team. “My role consisted only of encouraging and blessing the venture, and steering it to Kerala,” he told Cricinfo.
“Tharoor was involved in facilitating and trying to get a team for the state,” Modi confirmed. “He is an ardent fan of cricket and he has been trying to get people from Kochi to bid for it. I think his involvement ends there.”
Modi said the tournament’s organsiers would provide the Kochi franchise a home ground till the Kerala Cricket Association completes construction of its new stadium. “Kerala Cricket Association is in the process of building the infrastructure and as when the stadium is ready teams will play there,” he said. “But till the structures are ready, the IPL will provide them with an alternate venue.”
Speaking to reporters, Shailendra Gaikwad of Rendezvous World Sport said, “We have closely been following every development within the IPL, right from the inaugural year. Today, I am very happy for our consortium of Rendezvous World Sport and the people of Kochi as we finally have a team to call our own in this amazing city-based sports franchise”
While the huge money offered by the new franchisees shows the health of the IPL, Modi said there were no plans in the near future to further increase the number of teams involved. “We also have no plans to expand further immediately. In fact I don’t foresee an expansion in many, many years to come but then you never know.”
The IPL will now feature 10 teams and – if the current format is retained – a total of 94 games, from the existing 60. After the first season in 2008, the league has already expanded its reach to other centres such as Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Dharamsala.
The franchise auction process was to have been completed on March 7 but was postponed by two weeks after the bidders and the BCCI objected to stiff financial clauses.
written by Swapnil
\\ tags: IPL
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