Rahul Sharma claims he will miss Harbhajan Singh in his maiden Test

The young Indian spinner, Rahul Sharma, is excited to have been picked for team India’s first Test match against West Indies, but claims that he will miss his state fellow and legendary bowler, Harbhajan Singh, who has not been mandated.
Sharma is of the view that every Punjab-born cricketer considers Bhajji as his hero in lieu of his heroics in both International and domestic cricket.
Talking to the media today, the emerging spinner said, “I am really excited to be in the Test squad, but will definitely miss Bhajji. Every cricketer in Punjab idolises Harbhajan and I am no different.”
Harbhajan, who pulled out of the Blue Shirts’ last English tour due to abdominal injury, has been out of the scene since the last couple of months. He was vehemently overlooked by the national selectors for the recently-concluded home series against England despite the fact that the spin master excellently led the Mumbai Indians to claim their maiden Champions League T20 title.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to launch Sharma at the International stage to fill Bhajji's boots.
Sharma had been outstanding in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Representing Pune Warriors, he personated impressive bowling. Moreover, the youngster has spent a lot of time in the National Cricket Academy (NCA), learning professional skills under the supervision of legends like Anil Kumble.
Paying a hearty tribute to the former legend, Shamra told, “Few years in NCA helped me get a taste of top class cricket and tips from Anilbhai (Kumble) were something I gained there. Anilbhai is a role model for every young spinner in the country. He taught me a lot of things for which I will remain obliged to him forever.”
Sharma hopes to capitalise on the opportunity and come up to the expectations of the selectors by delivering his utmost in his maiden Test, scheduled to start from November 6, 2011.
The 24-year-old has 10 First-Class, 13 List A and 28 T20 matches to his name.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni – A cricketer in the 2011 TIME 100 list

A person really needs to be something special, achieved something of real note, or, inspired an entire population, to be mentioned among Time Magazine’s Top 100 most influential people.

India’s World Cup winning captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has all of these traits, and then some.

Coming from a modest family, without little political affiliations that make the difference when it comes to being successful in the sub-continent, Dhoni defied the odds and made his way to the very pinnacle of international cricket.

Born on July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, not many could have known that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would one day go on to lead his nation to glory in the sport India follows religiously.

Making his debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2004 the wicket keeper batsman could not have had a worse debut. Run out on a duck, Dhoni left almost everyone, apart from those who knew his abilities, skeptical and critical of the batsman.

The player would go on to prove himself later on and become a stern fan favourite due to his unique, if somewhat flamboyant, choice of hairstyle and his superb displays with the bat. Dhoni became a regular for the side.

His personality and character seemed to impress, as Dhoni was appointed India’s One Day International (ODI) captain after Rahul Dravid resigned on September 8^th, 2007. It was the beginning of a new era for cricket in the nation as the side was slowly maturing into a major force on the world stage.

Dhoni proved his ability to adapt to changing situations in the blink of an eye and led India to the inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007 in South Africa. The dark horses of the tournament, few had given the transitional India side a chance, yet they went on to win the tournament beating bitter rivals Pakistan in the final.

The name Mahendra Singh Dhoni became an instant household name after that, as critics became admirers and his fan following multiplied.

There was more to follow in 2008 when he replaced the absent Anil Kumble, as India’s captain for the Test Series against South Africa. A year later and Dhoni had taken India to the number one ranking in Test matches for the first time in the nation’s history.

In the span of 5 years Dhoni had gone from being a nobody, with a questionable hair cut, to being the side’s ODI and Test captain leading them to a T20 World Cup trophy and the number one spot in Test rankings.

What was scary was that there was more to come from the inspirational leader. The inventor of the unorthodox ‘Helicopter shot’ would etch his name in history as the person, who won the World Cup for his nation after 28 years. Not only that, but Dhoni did so in front of his nation on home soil.

While his cricketing abilities are without a doubt among the best in the world, how often have you heard of a player winning the World Cup with a six, it was his personality and character that defined him.

Humble, modest, and, quick to give credit where credit is due, Mahendra Singh Dhoni the person, was just as popularly admired for who he was as much as how he played.

MS Dhoni gave his nation hope and made the dreams of its 1.21 billion people come true, and it is only fitting that TIME acknowledged the player for his contribution to the game and the world

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