Virat Kohli next big thing in Indian cricket: Yuvraj Singh

Indian cricketer, Yuvraj Singh, who recently returned from the United States after receiving treatment for a lung tumour, praised the young Indian vice-captain Virat Kohli, referring to him as the next big thing in the cricketing world.

“Actually I have learnt a lot from him,” he said. “His work ethic is brilliant, his focus is immense. Since the time he has joined the Indian team, I saw his work ethic and wished and wondered why I didn't have that work ethic when I was his age.”

Kohli recently burst into the spotlight after scoring a valiant unbeaten 133 against Sri Lanka at Hobart during the latter stages of the Commonwealth Bank series. Despite India’s dismal performances throughout the tournament, and their subsequent inability to make it to the series finals, Kohli’s powerful knock was successful in vindicating the Men in Blue to a certain extent, after a series of below par performances Down Under.

Impressed by the fiery youngster, the selectors named the 23-year-old vice-captain, despite the presence of several senior players on the squad. However, Kohli managed to justify their decision during the Asia Cup which followed.

Registering scores such as 108 against Sri Lanka, and 66 against Bangladesh, the right-hander peaked during a highly-charged match against Pakistan, scoring a vital match-winning 183 on March 18, leading his side to a highly satisfying victory, despite the fact that they, once again, failed to make it to the finals.

Praised by everyone, from veterans such as Rahul Dravid to teammates like as Rohit Sharma, Kohli also seems to have earned the admiration of Yuvraj, who had earlier tweeted his congratulations to Kohli following his performance against Pakistan.

“… he is a very special player in the making. I hope he goes up the ladder stronger and stronger. I am very happy for his success,” the 30-year-old said in a recent interview.

Yuvraj himself recently returned to India after recovering from a tumour which was located between his lungs, and required him to undergo extensive chemotherapy at the Cancer Research Institute in Boston, USA. Having played his last match for the Men in Blue in November last year, the all-rounder recently expressed the intent to maintain his health and return to the national side as soon as possible.

Read More

India must fight fire with fire, advises Wasim Akram

Former Pakistani captain and legendary pacer, Wasim Akram, has advised Team India to be confident of their skills which are equivalent to those of Australia and turn up hard against the opponents in the 2nd Test of the ongoing 4-match series. Akram claims that the Men in Blue have the potential to pay back the Aussies with the same coin, provided they stick to their game instead of feeling gloomy after the first defeat. He further said that the Indian squad has experienced and talented players who can fight for their life if need be, provided they are up for it. The ex-speedster is not ready to admit that India’s pace attack is weaker than that of Australia, arguing that the Blue bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav are capable enough to give a tough time to the Oz batters.

In his column for Espnstar, the pace king wrote, “India have the experience and the talent to counter Australia and I am not willing to write Dhoni and his team off going into the Sydney Test. The Sydney wicket will definitely seam and swing in the first two days. India must be prepared for this and believe their pace attack is equally promising. India must fight fire by fire and they have the arsenal.” Akram has urged the Indian skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to perk up his captaincy techniques and lead the side by example, averring that the captain possesses immense intelligence, but he needs to work on his batting skills. The legend went on to write, “While Dhoni must sharpen his captaincy skills, I would like to see a proactive skipper who leads by example.” The best left-arm pacer of all times, who was present in the commentary box during the first Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground, has expressed deep disappointment on the poor batting performances by Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, provoking the duo not to repeat it in the second match that is scheduled to start from January 3 at Sydney Cricket Ground. Wasim ruled the world of cricket with his matchless bowling action for at least 18 years, grabbing 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets. He equally contributed with the bat too.

Read More

Yuvraj back in Grade A; Virat, Ishant get promotions

The BCCI on Saturday added 13 more cricketers to its contracted list, raising the number to 37 in three grades. The major gainers were Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli, who moved up from Grade B to Grade A. The new list of contracted players was finalised by the board's working committee that met here on Saturday. There was no change in the minimum contracted amount in the three grades.

Yuvraj, who on Friday was named in the Indian squad for the first Test against the West Indies after recovering from an injury, returned to the top tier. He had been demoted to Grade B last season. There was some consolation for Harbhajan Singh, currently out of favour with the selectors, as he has been retained in Grade A where the contracted amount is a minimum of Rs 1 crore.

Ishant Sharma was rewarded for his decent show on the England tour, while Kohli also got the nod for his impressive performance in the ODI series in England and at home, though he flopped in the Test series in the West Indies. Suresh Raina, who was dropped from the Test squad, has also retained his place in the top tier.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan also retained their places in Grade A, which now has 12 players instead of nine. The biggest loser was Ashish Nehra who had a Grade B (Rs 50 lakh) contract last season now finds himself without any contract.

The List:

Grade A (Rs 1 crore): Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli.

Grade B (Rs 50 lakh): Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja.

Grade C (Rs 25 lakh): S Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, C Pujara, A Mithun, Vinay Kumar, A Rahane, Munaf Patel, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, W Saha, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, P Chawla, D Karthik, J Unadkat, U Yadav, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron, A Mukund.

Read More

DELHI DAREDEVILS CAPTAIN VIRENDER SEHWAG ADMITS HIS TEAM IS UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE

The dejected Delhi Daredevils’ captain, Virender Sehwag, has admitted that an embarrassing three-wicket defeat to the Royal Challengers Bangalore last night has put his team under immense pressure.

Extremely disappointed over the team’s performance, Sehwag felt that the total of 160 was a par score, which should have been defended by the Daredevils. Put in to bat first, Sehwag and company put up a reasonable total of 160 on the board against the Bangalore XI. However, the Royal Challengers, with the help of a classy 82-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, overwhelmed the target comprehensively with three balls to spare.

Considering giving too many runs in the initial overs as the key cause of his team’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Bangalore outfit, Sehwag said that the players were not able to capitalise on the situation after picking up quick wickets of Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villiers in the middle of the innings.

"We went for too many runs in the first six overs. One hundred and sixty was a par score on this wicket and if we had bowled well at the end, it would have been possible. It was a good match but I am on the losing side and I am not happy," Sehwag said.

Sehwag further explained that the defeat has put the Daredevils into a do or die situation and the team has to win their next games to stay alive in the competition. Rejecting the idea that the Delhi team lacks firepower in the bowling department, the aggressive opening batsman put it in simple words that the side has the capability to roar back into the competition.

"We are playing well and gelling well as a team. It is a matter of putting on a couple of wins. We have to bat, field and bowl well. A couple of dropped catches and bad fielding can undo the good work," the blistering Indian opener added.

With four defeats in the six Indian Premier League matches, the Daredevils have now slipped down to the bottom of the IPL standings.

Delhi Daredevils are scheduled to play the Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday April 28, 2011. Sehwag has realised that it will be tough for him to face his International team-mate, Gautam Gambhir as an opponent on the field

Read More