Can anyone out there solve the mystery of the missing cricketers on matchbox labels, asks Gulu Ezekiel.
Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Vijay Manjrekar and Eknath Solkar are among the 17 cricketers from Maharashtra who have the 'Kar' suffix in their surnames and have played Test cricket for India.
'Local legend has it the West Indians were plied with copious amounts of Ireland's favourite Guinness whisky the night before the match in 1969, though no one is willing to go on record about it!' says Gulu Ezekiel.
There is a more authentic Indian cricket connection to Afghanistan and that is through the family roots of Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi.
Harbhajan Singh's ban of five One-day Internationals imposed by the BCCI after slapping S. Sreesanth in an IPL match makes him the fourth Indian cricketer in recent years to be punished by his own board, apart from those involved in the match fixing saga of a few years back.
Going by the recent track record, Australia and South Africa have pulled out of tours in the sub-continent due to terror threats.
The apparently resounding success of the Indian Premier League, barely past the halfway mark of its first season, has seen the already loose rules and regulations being twisted and turned to suit the franchise owners, who are calling the shots.
Alfred Absolem, who represented Hyderabad Heroes in the second ICL season, had claimed 7 for 15, much before Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir's remarkable figures of 6 for 14 in the IPL.
Harbhajan Singh, after being purchased by the Mumbai Indians for a whooping $850,000 (app. Rs. 3.4 crore) to play in the Indian Premier league said he planned to by a Hummer, the tank-like vehicle that is a rage. After being banned from the IPL, one wonders whether he will buy that dream car.
When Match Referee and former India wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer hands down his judgment on Monday on the Harbhajan Singh/S Sreesanth IPL fracas which unfolded in Mohali on Friday, he can go back 33 years to draw on personal experience.
India's hopes of making it to the Davis Cup elite World Group of 16 for the first time since 1998 received a setback when they were drawn to face world No 14 Romania away from home. The draw for the eight play-off matches, from September 19 to 21, was made at the ITF headquarters in London on Wednesday morning.
The team will play three ODIs as part of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. The Israel Cricket Association will field an 'Israel Invitation XI' consisting of prominent international players of Jewish extract from around the world.
Left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan, currently out of the Indian team due to an injury, has been chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 'Five Cricketers of the Year' in their 2008 edition, to be released on Wednesday. He has been honoured in the 145th edition of the world's longest running sporting yearbook for his outstanding bowling on India's tour to England last year in which he took 18 wickets in three Tests.
Two hundred and fifty-eight players have represented India in Test cricket. Here's a look at the famous first eleven of 1932.
India have played 405 Tests since June 25, 1932, winning 90. On India's 75th anniversary in Test cricket, Gulu Ezekiel looks back on ten of the best matches.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances