The bustling form of several Indian pace bowlers in the ongoing IPL looks to be the only major discussion point on Saturday in the corridors of the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, when India's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy is announced. This summer's tournament will be held in England where seam and swing bowling will find favour and that India's selectors have several names to ponder over can only be a good sign.
From India's last ODI squad, the men to drop out are most likely going to be Ashok Dinda and Shami Ahmed for two new pace-bowling faces. India have not played 50-over cricket since January, which leaves the selectors to pick the 15-man squad largely on reputation and IPL form. Thus, the persons of interest would be Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan. With Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar certainties having performed creditably in India's last two ODI series and currently enjoying good form in the IPL, two of the four are likely to be picked.
The favorites look to be Umesh and Vinay. Umesh - who has not played an ODI since July 2012 - made a return to competitive cricket at the end of the domestic season and in the IPL has bowled hard and fast to take 13 wickets from ten games so far. The most athletic and quickest of India's crop of pace bowlers, Umesh would be a major asset in England. Vinay currently is the leading
11:59 AM, May 03, 2013
New Delhi: Normal service was restored for Delhi Daredevils who followed up an excellent run-chase two nights ago with another sloppy batting performance that formed the basis of their seventh defeat in eight matches. Given first use of a sluggish Feroz Shah Kotla surface on Tuesday evening, the hosts made 120 for 7 which Kings XI Punjab chased down for the loss of five wickets to pocket their fourth win...
11:06 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Mohali: What threatened to be a mismatch between the defending IPL champions and a struggling Kings XI Punjab turned out to a gripping encounter at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday. After yesterday's upset win for Pune Warriors over heavyweights Chennai Super Kings, Punjab pulled the ground from underneath Kolkata Knight Riders' feet to record a thrilling four-run victory. The fans in Mohali were treated to a see-saw match....
07:41 PM, Apr 16, 2013
Pune: Kings XI Punjab put up a remarkable allround performance to crush Pune Warriors India by eight wickets in their first match of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League. This is Pune's second consecutive defeat after they lost their opening match by 22 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday. Pune won the toss and opted to bat on a pitch offering substantial assistance to the seam bowlers. Praveen...
06:57 PM, Apr 07, 2013
After scoring 176/2 in their 20 overs, Bengal restricted UP to 162/9 to emerge winner by 14 runs. ...
05:35 PM, Mar 27, 2013
Suspended for unruly behaviour during the Corporate Trophy, Praveen Kumar is remorseful and has vowed not to repeat the incident in future. ...
05:00 PM, Mar 18, 2013
Praveen Kumar was suspended by the BCCI after using abusive language and making intimidating advances during the Corporate Trophy in February. ...
10:50 AM, Mar 09, 2013
On-field brawl puts the Indian pacer in hot water during the match between ONGC and Income Tax. ...
04:38 PM, Feb 07, 2013
The rookie UP pacer picked up 5 for 59 as Delhi were dismissed for 235 on day one of their opening encounter. ...
05:16 PM, Nov 02, 2012
The India pacer is upset after being ignored for the recently concluded home series against New Zealand. ...
03:05 PM, Sep 14, 2012
Adam Gilchrist led from the front, helping KXIP chase 121 and leaving Chennai dependent on other results to make the play-offs. ...
07:21 PM, May 17, 2012
Tiruparankunram: In a marked departure from the usual practice of putting up posters for politicians and actors, some youngsters have put up a giant flex board near Tiruparankunram praising Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar for holding the assembly polls in a fair manner. The youths of Avaniapuram, who claimed to be members of the 'Praveen Kumar's fans association', said they also performed "milk abhishekam' to the Board, which...
11:56 AM, May 16, 2011
Chennai: With the model code of conduct coming into force for the April 13 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, the Election Commission on Wednesday ordered stoppage of distribution of free colour TV sets, the ruling DMK's flagship scheme. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar also warned of "severe action" against officials found violating the code. "District Collectors and the Heads of Departments have been asked to stop forthwith distribution of free colour...
01:32 PM, Mar 02, 2011
The world No. 58, Vladislav Tkachiev was sleeping during his game. ...
04:57 PM, Sep 04, 2009
Roseau, Dominica: Shivnarine Chanderpaul followed Brian Lara in becoming the second West Indies batsman to pass 10,000 Test runs on Thursday and team-mate Darren Bravo said he is the example to follow for the new generation of cricketers in the Caribbean. Bravo, who shared in a 110-run partnership with the 37-year-old Chanderpaul, has long viewed his relative Lara as a role-model and that is visible at times in his batting...
11:38 AM, May 16, 2008
Chennai: Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga was adjudged Man-of-the-Series for his all-round performance for Mumbai Indians, who on Sunday night won the Champions League T20 tournament after defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 31 runs in the final. Malinga, who also won the Golden Wicket award for taking the most number of wickets, 10, said: "I am happy that our team won. I am in the Mumbai Indians team as...
01:48 AM, Mar 08, 2008
St. John's: Former captains Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, vice-captain Brendon Nash, all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard, and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn do not figure in the list of retainer contracts the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has offered for next year. It is reliably learnt that Nikita Miller, left-handed batsman Devon Smith and all-rounder Dave Bernard Jr have also been overlooked for retainers which usually range in value from...
08:57 PM, Mar 06, 2008
New Delhi: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has supported his former teammate Shoaib Akhtar's claims that Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was scared of his pace, by sensationally claiming that he has seen Sachin's feet trembling while facing the fast bowler. Akhtar has written in his autobiography 'Controversially Yours' that Tendulkar was scared of his bowling, a comment that has caused furore across the border, forcing publishers to cancel all...
05:03 PM, Mar 05, 2008
In an event organised in the memory of Indian cricket legend Dilip Sardesai, Kapil Dev addressed a variety of issues related to the sport. ...
01:29 PM, Mar 05, 2008
Colombo: Former Australian batsman Geoff Marsh began his two-year stint as Sri Lanka's new coach on Thursday, hoping to lead the side beyond his contract and into the next World Cup in 2015. Marsh, who turns 53 in December, said he was ready to accept the challenge of preparing the Sri Lankan team for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, even though his contract was only for two...
08:29 AM, Mar 05, 2008
