Conceding that the T20 call up against India came as a 'pleasant surprise', Australian all-rounder Shane Watson on Monday said his familiarity with Indian cricket through IPL helped him in reviving his faltering international career. After being dropped from the ODI side post last year's series against England, Watson had nearly given up hope on his international career, concentrating more on domestic T20 cricket like the Big Bash League. The 34-year-old batting all-rounder believes his performance for Sydney Thunder turned the tide in his favour. "Yes, it came as a pleasant surprise to me. In the end it just came down to doing well for Sydney Thunder in BBL and whatever happened from there from the Aussie side of things, because after being dropped from the One-day side I knew my international days are nearly over, so nice to get that surprise and get the call from Rod Marsh on Sunday," he added.
The West Indies batting ace, who made headlines after attempting to flirt with Network Ten reporter Mel McLaughlin during a live interview, was savaged by commentators for refusing to take what appeared to be an easy single for his Melbourne Renegades team against Sydney Thunder late Monday.
Veteran Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has said he was not surprised by Chris Gayle's behaviour, adding that the controversial remarks made by the Jamaican during an interview with a female presenter were 'fairly expected'. Gayle was fined $10,000 by his Big Bash League side Melbourne Renegades for his on-air mid-match comments to Channel 10 journalist Mel McLaughlin during a BBL match. "I have played against Chris for a long time, since I started really, and that behaviour is fairly expected," Watson was quoted as saying by 'Daily Telegraph'. "People who know Chris Gayle will know those are the sort of things he can do at times, and at an inappropriate time, obviously it gets him into a fair bit of trouble," he added.
Dashing opener David Warner may lead the Australian team in place of an injured Steven Smith during the upcoming limited-overs series against India starting January 12.
Inexperience cost England, feels Morgan
Former Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke has withdrawn from a lucrative domestic Twenty20 contract as he reassesses whether he will ever play the sport again.
Pace bowler Billy , who stands 2.04 metres tall and has been in fine form in the Big Bash League (BBL) for the Adelaide Strikers, is likely to make his debut if Australia opt to play three pacemen at the Gabba.
Dealers attributed the rupee's fall to fresh demand for USD.
Global brokerage firm CLSA is positive on India's growth stroy.
A calf injury to explosive batsman Lynn opened an unlikely door for 34-year-old White, who played the last of his 88 ODIs in 2015 and has since been critical of a pro-youth policy he felt did not reward the performance of senior players.
After launching their campaign on a winning note, IPL finalists Kings XI Punjab will look to dish out another dominating performance when they face the formidable Barbados Tridents in a Group B match of the Oppo Champions League twenty20 in Mohali on Saturday.
Shane Watson also named in T20 squad to be captained by Aaron Finch
It remains to be seen if he gets a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BCCI, which has maintained a tough stance in not allowing Indian cricketers to participate in T20 leagues such as BBL, CPL and BPL.
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was reportedly approached by the Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Thunder to feature in this year's edition of the Twenty20 tournament, but eventually the deal could not be reached.
West Indies swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle has issued a stinging rebuke against former cricketers.
UBS said RIL's $10 billion petchem capex by 2016 will drive 12 per cent volume CAGR.
Phillip Hughes' demise will haunt the cricket world for years and to get over the tragedy the New South Wales cricket association did something unique by destroying the ball that fatally struck the young Australian during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG last year.
We are much better placed than in 2013 with our overall fundamentals much stronger - higher foreign exchange reserves, a more favourable growth-inflation mix and an institutional framework for targeting inflation, says B Prasanna.
Govt unlikely to cut excise duties to compensate for higher global prices, say analysts.
West Indies are two-time World T20 champions but the flamboyant Chris Gayle feels "it will be difficult" for the Caribbean islands to regain their glory days in Test cricket in the near future. One of the most dashing batsmen of his time, Gayle has two triple hundreds in the longest format with 7214 runs in 103 games. His RCB jersey no, 333, is his highest Test score. West Indies have lost their last two Test series against India (at home) and Pakistan (away).
Britain's 'remain' option gaining traction, with the implied probability of such an outcome at 78 per cent.
Analysts forecast the fuel at $85 a barrel in 2015 and $90 a barrel in 2016; politics, demand-supply to pressure crude.
However, if anyone has unfinished business over a decade of IPL, it is India captain Virat Kohli. He made his intent amply clear earlier this week.
The controversial West Indies star opener Chris Gayle has found his support through a hashtag campaign.
Mumbai Indians head coach Ricky Ponting believes his team must start with a fresh mindset and ignore the tag of 'reigning champions' ahead of the first game of the Indian Premier League 2016. Mumbai play the IPL 9 opener against state-rivals Rising Pune Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on April 9. "It doesn't really matter what happened last year now, it's about us putting together a competitive team and making sure were ready to go for the first game," Ponting told cricket.com.au from the Mumbai Indians training camp. "We thought they were ready to go for the first game last year but it took a little while for us to click into gear." Last year Mumbai only managed one win from the first six games before dramatically turning around their fortunes to clinch the title. But this time around Ponting is keen for the team to get off to a better start, and well aware that aim will be made all the more difficult given other teams will be analysing his squad more closely as defending champions.
Phillip Hughes' tragic death came back to haunt Australia after star all-rounder Shane Watson was hit on the helmet by a vicious bouncer from pacer James Pattinson during their training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Wicket-less in the first three Twenty20 Internationals of his career, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa is happy to get the monkey off his back after snapping three wickets against Bangladesh in the ICC World Twenty20 match in Bengaluru on Monday.
Indian basket at 6-month low of $49.11 a bbl
England batsman Sam Billings says working with Rahul Dravid during his six-week stint for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League last year helped him improve his footwork against spin bowling.
Lack of clarity on the overhaul of the subsidy-sharing mechanism by upstream companies.
Higher crude oil prices also translate into better corporate earnings for India's top companies
'T20 isn't the killer. The T20 format is good for the game.' 'The majority of international cricketers still value Test cricket.'
Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey warned teams against underestimating India after their 0-2 loss in the Tests series.