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.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights the six top performances by Indian spinners in Tests abroad since the 2000s began.
Harbhajan Singh's tweet about 'spin-friendly' pitches in India lead to a controversy with many perceiving the senior spinner was taking a dig at India's spin king Ravinchandran Ashwin. Ashwin was awarded man of the series for taking 27 wickets in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand. The off-spinner has also taken the No.1 spot in Test rankings for bowlers.
BCCI secretary Karunakaran Nair said the two bowlers are nursing injuries and unfit to tour.
India's captain said players faring well on the domestic circuit could be considered for selection.
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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has called for the inclusion of out-of-favour spinner Harbhajan Singh, in the T20 and ODI squads, citing his recent good form in domestic cricket.
Bhajji, Afridi among 8 ambassadors for ICC Champions Trophy
Kings XI skipper George Bailey said his team deserved to beat Mumbai Indians by a bigger margin for the way his bowlers delivered earlier in Sunday's match at the Wankhede stadium.
Having started their campaign in the Champions League Twenty20 with a loss, Mumbai Indians captain Kieron Pollard conceded that pressure would be on his side as they will have to win their next two matches to make it to the tournament proper.
Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan tried to shy away form the limelight and said there is no point creating a controversy over Sachin Tendulkar's revelation on Greg Chappell.
Rediff readers share their experience of eating on the Indian Railways.
The franchise is expected to bid for Australia's pace sensation Mitchell Johnson in the auction on February 12 using the 'joker card', which will give them the first right of refusal.
Hitesh Harisinghani tells us how to give an interesting spin to the regular bottle gourd.
There were no surprises as the preliminary list of 30 Indian probables.
The volley of words against Greg Chappell continues. Now, former India batsman VVS Laxman says that the Australian took "Indian cricket backwards" during his two-year tenure as the national cricket team's coach.
'I am new to Kings XI, so it is going to be how we come together, how the team dynamics work and take it forward.'
Mumbai Indians' death-over specialist Jasprit Bumrah should get the nod in India's ICC Champions Trophy squad, believes Mumbai Indians' bowling coach Shane Bond.
Under pressure after four consecutive defeats, Mumbai Indians came out with a 'positive' display to register their first win.
Bailey hopes find a cool drink in IPL's tight schedule.
Mumbai Indians will be fretting over their team combination as they take on a marauding Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
India skipper Ajinkya Rahane said it was difficult to hold nerves when Zimbabwe looked like pulling away when home skipper Elton Chigumbura was batting solid from one end in the first ODI of the three-match series in Harare.
Former opener Virender Sehwag feels India remain overwhelming favourites to win the World Twenty20 title and showered praise on Virat Kohli, saying that even his kids can't move away from the TV set when the batting star is at the crease. "I had picked India, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies before the start of the tournament. I still feel that way, with India winning the title 99 percent. Okay, they lost to New Zealand in Nagpur but the same thing happened in 2011 (when India lost to South Africa in Nagpur) and we went on to the win the World Cup," Sehwag told 'NDTV'. India's next match is against Bangladesh on March 23 and Sehwag sees the hosts winning it comfortably. Talking about India's win against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, the former opener richly praised the team's batting mainstay Kohli. "The way Kohli is batting at the moment is amazing. It is difficult to take your eyes off the TV when he is batting. Even my kids want to see him bat," said Sehwag after being reminded of his witty one-liners while commentating on the Indo-Pak clash.
Hoping to carry his great run of form to the Asia Cup and World T20, India opener Shikhar Dhawan has said keeping things simple and "doing the basics right" has worked in his favour.
Pleased with his world record feat of eight catches in a Test match, Ajinkya Rahane credited former India captain Rahul Dravid for guiding him on slip catching and overall fielding.
Being the third highest wicket-taker in history of Test cricket is no mean achievement but former India captain Anil Kumble wishes he had the skills of his two greatest contemporaries -- Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.
One of the most intimidating batsmen in his heydays, former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist says he himself feared only Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.
The maestro wants a repeat of the teamwork from the current pace battery.
Considering that the tournament Down Under will be played on faster wickets, it's obvious that spinners are unlikely to play a significant role. In these circumstances, having one spinner in the playing eleven is the most one can expect, says Bikash Mohapatra.
His brilliant 73-run knock in the warm-up game against South Africa might have fallen just short of ensuring a win for India, but opener Shikhar Dhawan said the crucial time he had spent at the crease has made him more "wiser" ahead of their ICC World Twenty20 campaign. Chasing a steep 197 for win, Dhawan smashed 73 off 53 balls before retiring but the knock was not enough to take India home as the hosts fell short by four runs at the Wankhede Stadium last night. "As (an) individual, it was a good learning for me as I batted till the 15th-16th over, so with my calculation for the next coming games, I will be more better. It was a good learning for me and I got more wiser," Dhawan told reporters at the post-match conference on Saturday night. Asked why despite having some of the best finishers of the game, India failed to cross the hurdle, the 30-year-old left-hander said, "Certainly, these are normal things. It does not happen that the best finishers will always guarantee you to complete the task. Everyone gave their best and that's what matters. "We were chasing such a big total, and wickets fell early on, after that there was a good partnership and came so close. It was only a matter of two runs. We learnt a lot from this game. What we have learnt, will be implemented in the future."
'We have a quality group of players and we need to be smart about how we use them against opposition. I thought we played a very good game given the fact that what they had to offer. But definitely (Harbhajan was) not dropped in the way that you want me to say it. Just that it was a tactical decision'
India skipper Virat Kohli said that the opener has it in him to replicate the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag at the top.
Not all cricketer-actress romances culminate in heartbreak. Some have stayed reassuringly rock-solid.
Mumbai Indians' star bowler Mitchell McClenaghan said his side is fully prepared for the IPL play-off match.
An inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will look to break the home jinx when they take on Mumbai Indians in their sixth match of the IPL cricket tournament at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Thursday.
Practitioners of the same art do have fellow feelings and no wonder pioneer of 'doosra' Saqlain Mushtaq feels sad about the manner in which the senior India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been sidelined by the team management. While he terms Ravichandran Ashwin as a "world class bowler", he feels that Harbhajan not getting a single start during the last seven T20 internationals is "not doing the bowler's confidence any good". "I am afraid that Indian cricket board and team management's treatment to Harbhajan has not been great. He was a world class bowler and is still a world class bowler. The emergence of Ashwin doesn't mean that you drop Harbhajan or put him under tremendous pressure," Saqlain told PTI during an interaction. The 39-year-old Saqlain, who has 208 Test and 288 ODI wickets, said dropping a top grade performer according to convenience is not the best example to set. "Look from the time he got dropped (in 2011), he has made three comebacks which meant that when you needed him, you picked him and when the need
Praising Ravichandran Ashwin for becoming the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings, former spinner Venkatapathi Raju says his wicket-taking ability is amazing and he does not have to do anything different to remain a match-winner. "He (Ashwin) has got fantastic variations and he adopts himself in three formats of the game which is difficult. I think, in between he tried something which did not click and he came back to his own bowling.
And having watched the last 13 home Tests, I hope Virat and his team really has the potential to win anywhere - in or outside India, writes former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
Former India batsman V V S Laxman, who always reserved his best for the mighty Australia, feels that Suresh Raina 'needs a lot of clarity' as to how he would find a solution against short-pitched bowling.
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