Ravi Shastri promises to get Suresh Raina back into Indian Test unit

Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri, who at present is the national Team Director said that he would try to get Suresh Raina back into the Test side. Since notching up a hundred on his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2010, Raina has struggled to make his mark in the longer format of the game.

Raina once again gave ample display of his talent by smashing a strokeful century in Chennai Super Kings' victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the Champions League T20 last Saturday.

"The more I see him play, he is brilliant to watch. It will be my endeavour really to do something that will get him back into the Indian Test match team. He is a class act. When he is performing well, he is a treat to watch," Shastri said at a media interaction at the Press Club.

Shastri continued by saying, "Even at times when I see him bat at the nets, when the ball hits the bat, just that sound or sense of timing you know it is something different. Let's hope, fingers crossed."

The Uttar Pradesh player last played a Test match in 2012 in a home series against New Zealand. He has featured in 17 Tests in comparison to 196 ODIs and 44 T20I games he has played for the country.

When asked about players like Kuldeep Yadav coming into the side without much domestic experience, Shastri said that when a young cricketer has burgeoning potential, he should be given a chance to show his mettle.

"When there is talent, when you have something different like with Kuldeep, something special and if the selectors believe that yes, this could be the guy, if nurtured properly, given the right guidance one year or two years down the line will be a match-winner not just in India, but in overseas conditions as well. I am prepared to take that gamble."

The former India captain backed the under-fire Indian coach Duncan Fletcher and said he has a lot of knowledge.

"Absolutely, he is brilliant. He is a seasoned campaigner. He has over 100 Test matches as a coach for various teams. The good thing is that Fletcher and me go a long way back. We know each other. I captained the Under 25 team against Zimbabwe in 1984 when he was the captain of Zimbabwe. He has got a fabulous track record. It is how we use the knowledge that he has in the best possible way and communicate with the players," he concluded.

West Indies - T20 greats, but still a whole lot to do in Tests

West Indies versus India. If we go back in time to the 1980s, this was the biggest cricket series of all for an Indian cricketer. And for fans,there was nothing better than watching the worlds best fast bowlers in action. A hundred against the West Indies fast bowling quartet was considered a kind of coming of age innings for any batsman. That we regard Sunil Gavaskar as one of the best ever is because he was able to master the West Indians at their peak in the 1970s and 1980s.
Australia might well have had a more robust system and cricketing structure in place but they lacked the flair the West Indians, under Clive Lloyd,brought to cricket. And with cricket continuing to struggle with the problem of half-empty grounds around the world, the sport needs to get back the flair Lloyd and party brought to it.

In the course of researching West Indies cricket and in discussions with experts like Sir Hilary Beckles, the best known scholar of the game in the Caribbean, it was evident that one of the fundamental issues was the lack of money in the game. Players from the recent past were often left to do clerical jobs, like acting as the liaison officer for a visiting India A team. For current players and young talent,cricket did not seem a worthwhile career choice. Even the Allen Stanford experiment in 2008, which offered West Indian stars fast and easy money was short-lived and controversial.

All this began to change in 2008, and funnily, with something that happened in faraway India the advent of the Indian Premier League(IPL). The IPL soon created a superstar out of a certain Kieron Pollard. Not having played a single Test match for the West Indies,Pollard was a million dollar man. He was in high demand with the IPL franchises and earned money unheard of in the ailing economies of the Caribbean. Pollard wasn't alone. If Pollard started the Caribbean invasion of the IPL, it was Gayle who took over the competition in seasons 4 and 5. Winning matches single-handedly for the Bangalore franchise, Gayle was soon the toast of the IPL. Coming from Jamaica,a country plagued with serious socio-economic issues, Gayle brought hope to aspiring West Indian cricketers. On the heels of Gayle and Pollard followed Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine who won a $700,000 contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders and became Player of the IPL in Seasons 5, 6, 7. Seemingly from nowhere, West Indies had again become a force to reckon with in the shorter version of the game.

It is important to mention here that the IPL isn't the only cash cow the West Indians are milking. They are also playing the Big Bash in Australia and a host of other T20 tournaments around the world. Such leagues have nurtured a new band of million dollar professionals who have become world stars without making a mark in the Test match arena. Samuels, Pollard, Narine, Bravo, even Gayle are all underachievers in Test cricket, but they are stars in the T20 format.
While the West Indies are now a real force in T20 cricket, Test cricket in the Caribbean continues to languish. Not only does T20 cricket give you more visibility, more eyeballs and, in turn, more money it also attracts thousands to the grounds in the Caribbean. So, while Test cricket fights for survival, T20 cricket is rapidly gaining momentum.

The truth is world cricket today stands polarised. While Test cricket continues to be the prestige format in England and Australia,the traditional power centres of the game, T20 is the format of choice in the Caribbean.

And like with all things cricket at the moment, India has had a major role to play in this transformation. Sample this statistic: at the start of play on Day 1 of the Test match India played against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in November 2011, there were less than a thousand people in the stands. The very same Eden Gardens had witnessed riots when the West Indies played India on 1January 1967, was packed to capacity when Sunil Gavaskar was snapped up by Malcolm Marshall in the first ball of a Test match in 1983 andhad 50,000-plus people present when Sachin Tendulkar scored a match-saving century in 2002. Now, they flock to watch Gayle turn out for the Royal Challengers from Bangalore, Pollard, when he leads the charge for the Mumbai Indians, and adore Sunil Narine for winning the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders. There is in fact much anger in Kolkata that Narine has been called for suspect action.

Injury-hit Pietersen out of final NZ Test, IPL

England batsman Kevin Pietersen will miss the last Test against New Zealand and the Indian Premier League due to a knee injury which may sideline him for up to eight weeks, officials said Wednesday. 

"The injury is likely to require ongoing assessments and a likely 6-8 week period of rest and rehabilitation," the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement, two days before the start of the series-deciding game. 

The ECB said the 32-year-old suffered pain in his right knee while fielding earlier this month in preparation for a warm-up game in New Zealand, before the Test series began. 

"This has failed to resolve satisfactorily," it said. 

Recent scans confirmed bone bruising and possible cartilage damage to the kneecap, and Pietersen would return to Britain "for further investigations and specialist review". 

He had been withdrawn from all cricket including the Indian Premier League, it said. 

New Zealand will eye a rare series win and England will try to cement their position as the number-two Test nation in the third and final Test starting Friday in Auckland, following rain-affected draws in the first two games. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54808/injury-hit-pietersen-out-of-final-nz-test-ipl

Rajasthan Royals fined for foreign exchange breaches

Owners of Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals have been slapped with a fine of one billion rupees ($18.8 million) for alleged foreign exchange violations, media reports said on Monday. 

The enforcement directorate of the ministry of finance has given the owners, who include Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra, 45 days to pay the fine or file an appeal. 

"The foreign investment in the franchise was made in flagrant contravention of Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act," NDTV news channel quoted an order from the directorate as saying. 

This is the first major fine imposed on an IPL team by the government, which has been investigating financial and foreign exchange irregularities in the Twenty20 league. 

John Wright named head coach of MI

Former Indian coach, John Wright has been appointed as the head coach of Mumbai based franchise, Mumbai Indians ahead of the upcoming 6th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Wright had a successful spell as the coach of the Indian national team having been at the helm for a period between 2000 and 2005. He later on became the coach of his home nation, New Zealand from Decemebr 2010 to July 2012.

"During his time in India, John was instrumental in India's rise up in the international table including finishing finalist in the 2003 World Cup. In the relatively brief period he had been in charge of the Black Caps, the Kiwis improved upon its performance reaching the semi-finals of the last World Cup," a release from Mumbai Indians said.

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54245/john-wright-named-head-coach-of-mi

Kumble to be chief mentor of MI

Former India captain and mentor of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Anil Kumble, was on Monday appointed chief mentor of Mumbai Indians.

Kumble made it clear in a statement that his company, Tenvic Sports will be working closely with the Mumbai Indians. Commenting on his appointment, Kumble said, "In my discussion with Reliance [ Get Quote ] Group Management, I find that they have a great and compelling vision for sports in this country, which aligns with my venture Tenvic Sports' aspirations in making 'sports' as the main catalyst of youth development.

"Mumbai Indians is a very competitive team in the IPL with high-profile players and committed owners. It's my honour to join the Mumbai Indians as chief mentor and to align our joint interest in making sports as an important agenda in youth development. I look forward to the new assignment," he said, in a statement.

Mumbai Indians' owner Nita Ambani said, "In Anil Kumble we have a new Chief Mentor who has extensive cricketing knowledge not only as a player of international stature but also as an able administrator. He is one of India's leading sporting icons and we have great pleasure in having him on board."

Gavaskar, Imran blame IPL for India's downfall

Two legends from across the border, Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan have blamed the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) for the pathetic showing and downfall of the Indian cricket team. The former Indian opener went on to question the loyalties of a few Indian players for whom he suggested playing for the country only came a poor second to their loyalty towards the lucrative IPL franchises.

"If you look at the events that took place immediately after the 2011 World Cup, you will know the guys who actually took their places for granted, those who did not make themselves available and preferred to play in the IPL and then go for surgeries," Gavaskar said.

"I think those are the guys who instead of looking at India were looking at contributing for their IPL franchises. If at all you need to take a rest, you need to take a rest from club matches," he added.

Hyderabad Sun Risers team new logo released

The Indian Premier League's Hyderabad Sun Risers new team which was bought by Sun TV Network. Now they released their new logo. This team retain 20 players form previews team Hyderabad Deccan Chargers. 

Pakistani players ignored for IPL 6

Even a as his the limited overs Pakistan team to embark on a tour of India, The sources revealed that their country's players can not take part in Indian Premier League (IPL) 6th edition.

IPL Governing Council released a list of players of the auction which held on the 3rd of February. Same list was circulated to between all the franchises and did not have contain the name of any Pakistani cricketers.

The franchises impression that Pakistan players will be part of the national team, given the current auction were visiting India. Some franchises some of the Pakistani players who had impressed in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka were really curious.

IPL auction held on Feb 3rd and 1st game will played on April 3

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will open their campaign at home against last year's semifinalist Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural match of the Pepsi Indian Premier League VI at the historic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata on April 3.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Premiere League (IPL), Raman Sundar tweeted that the auctions for the latest edition of the IPL would be held on Feb 3rd in Mumbai.

The 2013 season's lung opener could not have got any better as two of the strongest teams in the tournament will set the tone for the high-octane Twenty20 tournament that will go on for eight weeks.

One of the many highlights of the sixth edition of the tournament will be the debut of Sunrisers Hyderabad, who joined the IPL fraternity in October this year.

They will begin their IPL innings with a home game against Pune Warriors India on April 5.

The tournament will be played in the same format as the 2012 edition. Each of the nine participating teams will play the other eight twice -- home and away. The top four teams, at the end of the round-robin stage on May 19 will qualify for the Playoffs.

The Qualifier 1 and Eliminator games will be played at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai -- the home ground of the IPL 2012 runners-up - on May 21 and May 22 respectively.

The Qualifier 2 encounter and the Final, will be played at the Eden Gardens -- the home ground of the 2012 edition winners -- on May 24 and 26 respectively.

As many as eleven venues have been confirmed to host the matches. The nine home venues apart, matches will be played at two arenas that will be making their ODI debuts in January. The last two 'home' games of the Kings XI Punjab will be played at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala, which has hosted seven IPL matches since 2010.

The Jharkhand State Cricket Association International Stadium Complex at Ranchi, will host the last two 'home' games of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Hyderabad IPL team named as Sun Risers

The Indian Premier League's Hyderabad team, which was bought by Sun TV Network, was named Sun Risers. The previous team Deccan Chargers was terminated by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) October and in the auction, Sun TV bought the team.

Later, the regional television network bought the Hyderabad Franchise for an amount of Rs. 85.05 crores per year for a five year deal. Sun TV, owned by the Chennai-based Maran group, put in the highest bid of 85.05 crore a year for the rights to the franchise in the lucrative Twenty20 league that was founded in 2008. Sun TV beat PVP Ventures, who offered Rs. 69.03 crore to buy the franchise. The franchise was initially bought by Deccan Chronicles for Rs 562 Crore in 2008.

The owners of the new franchise based in Hyderabad later to retain over 20 players who were originally a part of the Deccan Chargers team, including, among others, Kumar Sangakkara, Dale Steyn, Cameron White and JP Duminy.