'People were wondering we would plays this tournament, we had issues with the board, Mark Nicholas called us players with no brain. But all of us came together.'
Minnows Afghanistan scripted history as they defeated 2012 champions West Indies by six runs in their final group league encounter of the ICC World Twenty20 in Nagpur to sign off on a memorable note.
Dhoni is leaving 'captaincy' but not for once relinquishing 'leadership' role.
Chopra also said that he was pleasantly surprised with the way Dhoni has turned things around.
Robbed off home advantage for the entire 2018 season, Chennai Super Kings will have to work hard in their adopted home venue in Pune to be a force to reckon with in the ongoing Indian Premier League, says the team's head coach Stephen Fleming.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy has called for mediation to settle a contractual dispute that threatens to wreck the team's chances of winning next month's World Twenty20.
In an extraordinary turn of events, the West Indies cricket team today pulled out of the remaining part of its India tour in the wake of an acrimonious ongoing pay dispute with their Board, prompting a livid BCCI to rope in Sri Lanka for a five-match ODI series.
Twenty-four players, including 14 Indians (of which three are uncapped) and ten overseas, were retained as the retention window for the 2014 Pepsi IPL season closed at 1700 hours on Friday.
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.
Chennai Super Kings take on table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League match, in Pune, on Sunday.
Gujarat Lions will have to fight off the fiery pacers of the Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League Qualifier 2, in New Delhi, on Friday.
The BCCI has set a salary cap of Rs 90 crore for 10 IPL franchises, including the two new entrants, for the next season and allowed a maximum of four retentions for the eight established teams.
For the fans of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the end of the ban period from Indian Premier League is a big step forward as they look forward to seeing the 'Men in Yellow' back at their den, M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
A win for either side will help it consolidate its position at the top and also seal a spot in Qualifier 1.
Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin defended the decision to play only two spinners in the game against Chennai Super Kings, on a spin-friendly track, in Chennai, on Saturday.
Chennai Super Kings comprises some of the oldest players in the Indian Premier League, and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows fully well that they cannot be a great fielding outfit but can make it up in batting and bowling.
Chennai Super Kings bowling consultant Eric Simons on his team's resurgence this IPL season.
Thirty-four-year debutant Zulfiqar Babar took three key wickets then struck a six off the final ball of the match to give Pakistan a two wicket victory over West Indies in the first Twenty20 international on Saturday.
West Indies created history by becoming the first nation to win the ICC World T20 twice with a dramatic four-wicket victory against England riding on Carlos Brathwaite's magical finish at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Sunday.
A recurring back injury will certainly keep Chris Gayle out of the upcoming home Test series against England, but the destructive West Indies batsman insists that he is not retiring from any format of the game.
Rival openers Evin Lewis of the West Indies and India's Lokesh Rahul have made huge gains in the latest ICC Players Rankings for T20I Batsmen after slamming fine centuries in the recent two-match series in Lauderhill, USA, played on 27 and 28 August. The first match, in which a T20I record aggregate of 489 runs were scored, saw Lewis slam a 49-ball 100 in the West Indies' total of 245 for six that has helped him move up 288 slots to reach 51st rank.
There are many who see a potential drop in interest by brands this year given that election news tends to cut into sports viewership.
High on confidence after their emphatic victory over England, the West Indies will once again look for an explosive knock from Chris Gayle to inch closer to a semi-final berth when they take on defending champions Sri Lanka in a World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 1 match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
While T20 is primarily a batsmen-dominated format, the bowlers have evolved over the years and left a mark with their clever innovations.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted at number seven against , promoting the likes of Sam Curran, Jadhav and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of himself but the ploy backfired badly
'18 threats' that international cricket faces right now
All eyes were on Virat Kohli during the team's two-and-half-hour training session on the eve of the second One-Day International between India and the West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, on Friday.
India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of ICC's ODI Team of the Year, but none of the Indian players found berth in governing body's Test Team of the Year, led by Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews.
Dhoni's CSK will take on Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener on Saturday. Fleming, a former New Zealand captain, stressed that his team's experience of winning big matches will come in handy during the next 53 days.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's all-powerful Working Committee will meet in Hyderabad on Tuesday to decide on whether to impose a freeze on future West Indies tour and claim damages in the wake of the unprecedented move by the Caribbean team to pull out of the remainder of India tour because of the pay dispute with the Board.
It will be a battle of tactics as a formidable Chennai Super Kings, led by the wily Mahendra Singh Dhoni, square off against a confident Royal Challengers Bangalore under an aggressive Virat Kohli in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League, in Ranchi on Friday.
Defending champions the West Indies trounced Pakistan by 84 runs on Tuesday to set up a semi-final meeting with Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20. Led by a late charge from Dwayne Bravo (46) and skipper Darren Sammy (42 not out) the West Indies put up an impressive 166 for six after electing to bat and then shot out Pakistan for a meagre 85 in 17.5 overs.
With Yuvraj Singh's injury-forced ouster disturbing their settled line-up, India have been left with a selection dilemma to handle as they gear up to take on the flamboyant and unpredictable West Indies in what promises to be a battle of nerves in the World Twenty20 semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. Yuvraj, who has not got big runs but was involved in crucial stands with top performer Virat Kohli during the group stage matches, has been ruled out owing to an ankle injury that he sustained in the must-win game against Australia. Manish Pandey, not in the original 15, has been penciled in to replace the all-rounder in the squad although Ajinkya Rahane is also present as a viable alternative. But it remains to be seen whether skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chooses between the two or decides to go with rookie all-rounder Pawan Negi.
Kings XI Punjab released explosive South Africa batsman David Miller after eight IPL seasons along with Englishman Sam Curran and Australian pacer Andrew Tye.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming for revival when they clash against out-of-sorts Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League match.
The West Indies will need the likes of Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran to fire to make a good start and win at least three group matches to qualify for the semi-finals.
Chennai Super Kings pace spearhead Ashish Nehra said dismissing Rohit Sharma, when the Mumbai Indians' skipper was poised for a late assault, proved crucial in his side's six-wicket triumph over the home side in Friday night's IPL match in Mumbai.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Left disappointed after their Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20 was washed off without a single ball being bowled against Lahore Lions, Chennai Super Kings would be looking to shut out Perth Scorchers on Saturday to book their last-four spot.
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