Jadeja set to make Test cut, Harbhajan remains doubtful

KOLKATA: Ravindra Jadeja's rich vein of form with bat and ball since his return to the ODI could well earn him a berth in the squad for the first Test against the West Indies, to be played in Delhi from November 6.


The Saurashtra left-arm-spinner, who is also a handy lower-order batsman, has impressed the team management as well as the selectors with his work ethic in his 'second coming' and is set to grab one of the three berths 'reserved' for spinners in the 15-member squad to be picked on Friday.


Jadeja, who topped the bowling chart in the five-match ODI series against England, picking up 11 wickets, will have to compete with Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for a place in the final XI. Tamil Nadu off-spinner Ashwin is also tipped to be picked ahead of senior pro Harbhajan Singh.


Unless skipper MS Dhoni prevails upon the Krishnamachari Srikkanth-led selection committee that also includes Mohinder Amarnath, Surendra Bhave, Nardendra Hirwani and Raja Venkat, Harbhajan's dream of playing his 100th Test match at the Eden Gardens may not be fulfilled.


Dhoni is known to have his way at selection meetings, but despite his sparkling form in the shorter form of the game - that was largely instrumental in India sweeping aside England 5-0 - his dismal form with the bat and shoddy wicketkeeping in England has not been lost on the selectors.


According to TOI's sources, at least three of the selectors feel that Team India need separate captains in the two principal formats of international cricket with Dhoni retaining the 'armband' in only the limited-overs variety. However, in absence of a consensus on such a major issue and also in light of the 'whitewash' of England in the 'revenge' series, Dhoni is likely to continue as captain for now, and a change at the top will only be effected after the Australia tour.



Young Virat Kohli is set to return to the Test fold at the expense of Suresh Raina, who selectors feel is best cut out for the slam-bang variety.

Dhoni seeks goddess Durga's blessings after ODI-series win

RANCHI: India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Thursday sought blessings of goddess Durga after completing a 5-0 whitewash against England in the one-day international (ODI) series.

Dhoni offered prayers at a temple in Deori on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur national highway under tight security arrangements. Dhoni, along with his wife Sakshi, arrived on Wednesday to celebrate Diwali with his parents and other family members.

T20I: Indians regroup for last blast against England

KOLKATA: After a short Diwali break, it's back to business for Team India. MS Dhoni's men will have their only nets session ahead of Saturday's one-off Twenty20 International against England on Friday morning at the Eden Gardens while the visitors will have a knock in the afternoon.

With the hosts already upbeat after thrashing England 5-0 in the just-concluded 'revenge' series, they will be further bolstered by the inclusion of T20 specialists Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa.

England, on the other hand, spent two leisurely days in the city as they sought to recover from the ODI mauling. With ODI skipper Alastair having returned home along with Jonathan Trott, off-spinner Graeme Swann will be leading the side. It's their batsmen who let the team down in the ODIs, with the visitors losing all their wickets for 47 runs just two days ago. Saturday night's match will be played on the same pitch, so it remains to be seen if the England players have learnt a lesson.

The English batters had no answer to the Indian spinners under lights on Tuesday. While skipper Alastair Cook said "the ball suddenly started to spin a lot more," after the match, Dhoni called it an "ugly-looking pitch".

KP, teammates enjoy Ganges cruise

England batsman Kevin Pietersen on Thursday enjoyed a cruise on the river Ganges with two of his teammates and tweeted about their memorable experience. "On a boat trip on the river Ganges ... we are so lucky doing the things we do," tweeted Pietersen, who also posted a picture showing him standing on the deck of the boat.

Vaughan wants most English wickets to be slow turning pitches found on subcontinent

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has called for cricket pitches in his country to be slow turners similar to those found on the Indian subcontinent to prepare players better to play spin.

"A flat wicket without a huge amount of pace and spin should come into play a lot more. It would enable players to play more often on these kind of pitches you play on overseas," the BBC quoted Vaughan, as saying.

Vaughan's views come as England coach Andy Flower says his middle-order batsman are fighting for their one-day places ahead of the series against Pakistan.

England play a Twenty20 game against India in Kolkata on Saturday before flying home for a 10-week break ahead of the Pakistan series in the United Arab Emirates.

The tour consists of three Tests, four one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches during January and February.

Flower told BBC Sport: "I'm sure there will be one or two changes going into the tour against Pakistan. We will get home and reflect - then make reasoned judgments."

Schumacher keen to meet Tendulkar at Indian Grand Prix

Legendary Formula One driver Michael Schumacher is looking forward to his second meeting with India's cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, a die-hard fan of motorsports.

Schumacher, who will be driving for Mercedes Benz in India's inaugural Formula One race here over the weekend, said he has good memories of his last meeting with Tendulkar. The two met in 2002, when Schumacher gifted Tendulkar the keys of a Ferrari for equalling Australian great Don Bradman's 29 Test centuries.

The 42-year-old German is keen on meeting Tendulkar at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) here Sunday. Tendulkar is expected to wave the chequered flag at the race.

'I have good memories of meeting him. It was a long time ago since we met. It would be great to run into him again,' Schumacher said.

Tendulkar, who will be cheering for Sahara Force India, said he too is keen to meet Schumacher.

'I am excited about Indian Grand Prix F1 race. I will support the Force India team. I have friends like Michael Schumacher but I will support Force India because that is the Indian team and country comes first,' Tendulkar said.

John Inverarity to be National Selector for Australia

Cricket Australia today announced that former Test player John Inverarity will be the full-time National Selector.

Inverarity, who had coaching roles at Warwickshire and Kent after a 23-year career as a first-class cricketer and long-term successful Sheffield Shield captain, will take up the role in time to oversee selection of the Australian team for the first Vodafone Test versus New Zealand in December, replacing current part-time National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch, who stood down after declaring himself unavailable for a full-time role.

The appointment is the second major Australian Team Performance Review panel recommendation which CA has implemented.

CA Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said the appointment of Pat Howard to the newly-created, ATPR-recommended-position of General Manager Team Performance, had allowed Howard and he to move quickly to finalise the new full-time National Selector role. Recruitment of part-time selectors continues with an eye to establishing a panel of complementary skills.

The recruitment of the new Head Coach role, which along with the new National Selector, will also report to Howard, has also been accelerated now that Howard has been appointed.

Sutherland said he was delighted a person of Inverarity's distinguished cricketing and non-cricketing, leadership and mentoring credentials was able to take the new full-time selector role.

"This is a role that requires deep high performance cricket experience and knowledge, outstanding leadership and communication skills, personal integrity and an insight into what is needed to encourage the best performance outcomes from young athletes," Sutherland said.

"John Inverarity has been an outstanding contributor to cricket as a captain, player, coach, selector and mentor in Australia and in England, and his insights into the game, its players and their development is without parallel.

"His achievements outside cricket as an exceptional educator of young people was a significant value-add when Pat Howard and I sat down to finalise this critical appointment.

"The recent Australian Team Performance Review also emphasised the importance of having an appropriate culture within Australian high performance cricket and John's leadership and strong commitment to and record on values was an important factor," he said.

John Inverarity said he was very much looking forward to his involvement in Australian cricket as a selector.

"I have had a great passion for cricket for many years and have found my involvement in the game as a player, a coach, a mentor and an observer hugely rewarding," he said.

"In both cricket and education I have been driven to build positive and high quality cultures. I have a keen interest in working with people of diverse talents and backgrounds and assisting both individuals and the group as a whole to perform to their potential.

"I was involved in team selection for much of my playing career and during my time coaching county cricket. As captain of Western Australia, I had the privilege of working closely with Lawrie Sawle who did an outstanding job as chairman of selectors during much of the 80s and 90s," he said.

The new Head Coach now being recruited with the assistance of Melbourne sports management company, Crank Consulting, will replace Cooley as an acting selector once appointed.

The recent Australian Team Performance Review recommendations approved by CA's Board included a revamp of high performance management, with the creation of the new GM Team Performance role with a singular accountability for Australian cricket high performance, and with a new full-time national selector and a new role of head coach of Australian cricket reporting to the GMTP.

CA's Board also approved that Australian captains of the Test/ODI team and of the T20 team be selection panel members for their respective formats, and that head coach be a selector.

ICC T20I rankings will give a lot of context to cricket's shortest format: Yuvraj Singh

Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh today said that the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s Twenty20 International (T20I) team and player rankings, which were launched in a ceremony in Dubai, will give a lot of context to the shortest format of the game.


"A rankings system motivates you to raise the bar. If you are in the top 20, your next aim is to break into the top 10, then the top five, and eventually, the top spot," Singh said.


Reigning World Twenty20 champion England was unveiled as the number-one ranked T20I team.


England, which is also the top ranked Test side, has a rating of 127 points and leads second-placed Sri Lanka by just one rating point.


Only six ratings points separate the next four sides with New Zealand occupying third position on 117, followed by South Africa, India and Australia.


Pakistan is in seventh position, 14 ratings points behind Australia, with West Indies, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe to follow.


Teams that have played eight or more T20Is since August 2009 have been included on the table.


Bangladesh, along with Associate Members Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland, which have T20I status, will all join the table as soon as they have played sufficient matches to qualify for a ranking.


Since August 2009, England has played 20 T20Is, winning 12, losing six and with two ending in no-results. Its victories include four against Pakistan, two each against South Africa and Australia, and one each against Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand and India.


In contrast, Pakistan has played the highest number of matches (24) during the same period, but at the same time it has lost more than 50 per cent of its matches which explains its current seventh position.


Eoin Morgan of England, Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis and Australia's Shane Watson were announced the top-ranked batsman, bowler and all-rounder, respectively.