THE 'SEHWAG-CHAPPELL WAR'

Star opener Virender Sehwag said "Greg Chappell betrayed the trust of players"

"but Gary Kirsten, as Indian cricket coach, is the best I have ever seen",he added.
"Kirsten doesn't force things on you", Sehwag said.
Comparing the two coaches, Sehwag indicated that Chappell had tried to change his batting style. "He had his view on my front-foot play, my footwork."
"The problem with him (Chappell) was that whatever you shared with him, it was quickly disclosed to media and selectors. He talked and that hurt the trust," Sehwag said.
India's former coach Greg Chappell was annoyed after Sehwag's comments against him.He has now decided to cut all ties with Indian cricket.
"I am not interested in India. Not interested in Indian cricket", he said over telephone from Australia when approached for his reaction to recent comments made by Virender Sehwag.
India's star opener Virender Sehwag had said that Chappell betrayed the turst of the Indian players. Sehwag also made allegation that chappell had shared players information to the media and selection.
"You can check with Kiran More (what information I was sharing with him)", Chappell added.Kiran More was a chief selector during that period when chappell was a coach of indian team. It is also logical on Chappell's part to give feedback about players' performance and attitude to the chairman of selectors.
Chappell wants to cut off all ties with India. "I am now not going to be associated with the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) also", he told in the end.

SEHAWAG IS LEADING THE RACE OF INDIAN CRICKETER OF THE YEAR

Swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag is the front-runner for Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year 2008 award following his consistent performance last year.
Sehwag has 59 points against his name.The other four in the running are Gautam Gambhir, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma.
Sehwag had a phenomenal last year in Test cricket. He scored a triple hundred against South Africa and a double hundred against Sri Lanka.
He also performed excellently in one day cricket. He gave some blazing starts at the top of the order in one-day cricket.
He showed his splendid form against the Australians in the Test series, Sehwag also in the one-day series against England.
During the first India-England Test in Chennai, he scored a blistering 83 on the fourth evening, which tilted the match in India's favour.it was one of his outstanding powerpack performances.
Another solid opener Gambhir,also showed his calibre in both one day and test series against England. He scored a century in the second Test against England in Mohali.he is at the second position with 52 points.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had the most successful year-2008 as an Indian captain. Under his captaincy,india had four wins in five Tests.He played some crucial innings in both forms of cricket,so he is at third position with 48 points.
Harbhajan and Ishant have are also in the race for the award.
All Indian cricketers who have played international cricket will be invited to vote for their choice of the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year from among the top five.

I CAN NEVER BE EVEN HALF OF THE MASTER-BLASTER SACHIN

Virender Sehwag once said that the only difference between him and Sachin Tendulkar was in their bank balances, but now he says that as a batsman he can never be "half of what the master-blaster is".
Very early in his career, Sehwag, whose height and body structure nearly makes him a Tendulkar lookalike when they are on the wicket.At that time he had said "the only difference between us is in our bank balance."
In fact, Sehwag arguably the most daring batsman in world cricket.He said to PTI in an interview "I would be honoured if he is viewed as my guru and I as his shishya (disciple)."
from an interview:
PTI: First, a couple of things which are of immediate concern. How soon can India become the number one Test team of the world and your view on ICC's recent list of all-time great cricketers?
Virender Sehwag: If Australia lose to South Africa in an away series next month and we do well in New Zealand, it might cost the present world champions their top spot. However, I foresee India to be a consistent world's best team by 2010.
A lot of work sure still needs to be done. As for ICC's list, all of us (Team India members) are disappointed at how low they have placed Sachin Tendulkar.
PTI: We all know Tendulkar is special to you, an icon you have been compared with throughout your career and about whom you once famously said 'the only difference between us is in our bank balance'.
Virender Sehwag: That quote was said in jest. Please don't take that seriously. A Virender Sehwag can never even be half of what the batting maestro is. I am nowhere near him. I grew up watching and idolizing him, his style, his shots I always tried to copy

NO PRACTICE GAMES IN NEW ZEALAND

It was the norm to play a couple of warm-up games before getting into a Test series out of asia. But that has changed, it seems.India will not be playing even one practice game ahead of their three-Test series in New Zealand in March.The decision that has shocked most observers.
India's last series in New Zealand six years ago ended in disaster. They lost the one-day series 2-5 and were beaten easily in both the Test matches.
"One should have at least one practice game. Two practice games would be ideal but minimum one game is a must because the players get used to the wicket conditions and the climatic conditions," said former Indian coach Lalchand Rajput.
Rajput speaks from experience. He was coach when India toured Australia in 2007-2008 and played just one practice game before the first Test in Melbourne. That game was washed out and India went on to lose the Test.
Former players told that the BCCI hasn't learnt from that experience.
"I am surprised because if I am playing today, I would be wondering what is the logic behind not having a practice game. Why won't you have a practice game? Especially when you are going to New Zealand and especially because of the target you have set yourself," said former India player Sanjay Manjrekar.
That may be the expert view, but some players aren't worried too much.
"Personally, I don't like practice games. I would instead concentrate on my batting in the nets or rest because I know if I score a hundred in the practice game, I may not succeed in the big game. So it's better to score that hundred in the Test rather than in a practice match," said Virender Sehwag.
New Zealand cricket has promised to hold a camp for the Test players but can that make up for a warm-up? We will have to wait and see.

SACHIN AT THE 11TH POSITION IN THE ICC ODI RANKINGS

Master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar moved up to 11th while star opener Virender Sehwag is also into the top-20 in the latest ICC ODI Rankings.But Yuvraj Singh dropped one spot to seventh. India are still on the third position in the team chart behind Australia and South Africa.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has gained one place to be sixth in the list but his teammate Michael Hussey dropped one place to fourth with Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

INDIAN TEAM FOR SRI LANKA TOUR WAS ANNOUNCED

An injured Harbhajan Singh was left out of the Indian team while Saurashtra all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Uttar Pradesh seamer Praveen Kumar were included in the 15-member squad on Sunday for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka starting later this month.
Jadeja's inclusion is the reward for the consistant performance in the domestic cricket,taking 42 wickets and scoring over 740 runs in the current first class season. The 20-year-old all-rounder, who bats in the lower middle order and bowls left-arm spin for Saurashtra.
off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has not been included for the tour because of a hamstring injury.
Delhi batsman Virat Kohli, who was part of the Indian squad for the ODI series against England, was also dropped from the team.
Jadeja's Saurashtra teammate Cheteshwar Pujara, was not given a chance as the selectors kept faith largely in the players who won the series against England 5-0 after winning the previous series in Sri Lanka.
BCCI joint secretary Sanjay Jagdale on Sunday announced the 15-member squad.The team has seven specialist batsmen: captain M S Dhoni, vice captain Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.
The five ODIs and a Twenty20 match in Sri Lanka would also be benefitted by the all-round ability of Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan.
In Harbhajan's absence, Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha will lead the spin department.Mahendra Singh Dhoni, though, will have plenty of effective spin options: Yusuf Pathan, Jadeja, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh
The five-member pace attack looks quite strong with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma joined by Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar.


Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.),

Virender Sehwag (Vice-Capt.),

Sachin Tendulkar,

Gautam Gambhir,

Yuvraj Singh,

Suresh Raina,

Rohit Sharma,

Praveen Kumar,

Ishant Sharma,

Zaheer Khan,

Pragyan Ojha,

Irfan Pathan,

Munaf Patel

Yusuf Pathan,

Ravindra Jadeja

,

GANGULY WAS GIVEN A GRAND FAREWELL

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Sunday gave a colourful farewell to former India captain and local hero Sourav Ganguly. at Eden Gardens.
Ganguly was presented a bat made of one kg gold priced at Rs 2.5 million.
Speaking on the occasion, CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya traced Ganguly's development from a flamboyant talent to a cricketer who led the country. Dalmiya recalled that Ganguly was one of the rare cricketers who made his debut for the senior Bengal side in the final of the Ranji Trophy which his team won.
"History will remember him as a leader who rescued India from a period of crisis," Dalmiya said, referring to Ganguly's captaincy of the national team in 2000. "His career transformed Indian and Bengal cricket and inspired generations to believe they can overcome all challenges which come their way," he said.
Former West Bengal chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray said: "He retired too early. He is a great man, a great soul, and a lovable gentleman."
West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty described Ganguly as a pole star, and said he would request Calcutta University to give him an honorary D Litt "which no other sportsman has got so far".
An emotional Ganguly spoke of his first game at the Eden when he was only 13 years old. "It was an under-15 match between Bengal and Orissa. In fact, I don't remember losing any Test match at the Eden."
Ganguly also thanked Dalmiya for being a "huge support" when he started his career. A 12-minute audio-visual presentation touched on various milestones in Ganguly's career, including his debut in England, India's place in the World Cup final in 2003 under his captaincy, the memorable image of him taking off his shirt at the Lords after winning the Natwest Trophy in 2002.
The session revealed several secrets only known to the dressing room so far. Moderator Arun Lal remembered how the "courageous" Ganguly shrank at the sight of a thief in his hotel room, while others, including Pranab Roy, Saba Karim and Sambaran Banerjee, also narrated the lighter side of dressing room talks and incidents they have shared with him.