BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly explains why they decided to defer the naming of India's new coach. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
While Rohit Sharma's absence because of a hamstring injury has affected the batting order, Shikhar Dhawan's poor run is a major reason for India's poor showing on the ongoing tour of Australia.
Explaining the decision to appoint Anil Kumble despite his lack of experience as an international coach, BCCI president Anurag Thakur said the former spinner's record itself is a testimony to his worthiness for the job.
The tri-series in Australia, India's final ODI engagement before the World Cup, gets underway on January 16, says Chandresh Narayanan, casting a fascinating look at the survivors from earlier World Cups.
Notwithstanding Rising Pune Supergiants' poor run in IPL-9, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman considers the debutante side as a formidable unit and said his team will have to put its best foot forward when they clash with them in their IPL match on Tuesday. "It goes without saying that (RPS Captain M S Dhoni) Dhoni will be looking forward to use Ashwin against Warner and Shikhar. I believe that Pune has got a very formidable batting line up," Laxman said in a pre-match press conference at Hyderabad. "Lot of people talk about Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Faf Duplessis being similar. They are all extrordinary T20 players. We cannot at all be complecent or we cannot at all underestimate the batting strength of Pune. We are very mindful," he added. The former Test batsman, however, exuded confidence that SRH can take on any opposition if it sticks to its plans and executes them well. "But, I believe that if we concentrate on our plans and try to execute our plans, then we can do well against any opposition. It's more about concentrating and playing to our strength, while strategizing for each and every opposition batsman or bowler," he said. Noting that the MS Dhoni-led Pune team would look to bounce back strongly, Laxman said no team can be ruled out as it is still the early part of the long IPL tournament.
Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody said the India opener first needs to be sure of his off-stump in order to convert his starts into big scores in Test cricket.
Star batsman Kevin Pietersen says he has no issues playing under England Test captain Alastair Cook and coach Peter Moores as he prepares for a national recall by resuming county cricket at Surrey.
'It has been a quick evolution.' 'That is because he saw the big names playing in the IPL and he played alongside them; that transformed him as a batsman.' 'I would say now he is perfect.'
Even as the dust settles down on IPL 9, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com presents his Dream XI.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes became the most expensive overseas purchase -- bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping Rs 14.50 crore even as some unheralded Indian domestic players trumped seasoned names to land lucrative deals at the Indian Premier League players' auction.
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