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Lancashire are close to concluding a deal to secure the return of Junaid Khan, the highly-rated Pakistan left-arm seamer, as their overseas player for this season’s Friends Life T20.

Myles Hodgson03-Apr-2012Lancashire are close to concluding a deal to secure the return of Junaid Khan, the highly-rated Pakistan left-arm seamer, as their overseas player for this season’s Friends Life T20.Recruited last season on the recommendation of Wasim Akram, Junaid made a big impact on the Flt20 and helped Lancashire reach finals day for the first time in four years, only to miss the climax to the competition after being selected for Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe.His absence was felt, particularly his ability as a death bowler, with Lancashire losing the semi-final at Edgbaston to Leicestershire in a one-over eliminator. Despite the interest of other counties, Lancashire are confident of securing Junaid’s return later this summer.”We’ve got some paperwork with Junaid at this moment in time, so hopefully we’ll get that back soon and square that bit of business off,” Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s Cricket Director, explained. “That’s important for us really because if you look at the depth of our squad, we feel we’ve got the quality to compete in all three competitions, but we need a little bit of a buffer for our bowlers.”Glen Chapple, Saj Mahmood and Kyle Hogg bowled a lot of overs last season and if we get Junaid on board, he showed what he can do last season in the T20 competition and proved to be an outstanding performer bowling at the death. That’s something we’re a little bit short of, so we’re looking forward to having him in the bag and then we can see where we are from there.”Junaid’s time at Lancashire last season proved beneficial for both parties. Signed on a meagre contract due to the financial restrictions imposed by the ongoing legal battle with Derwent Holdings and the redevelopment of Old Trafford, Junaid impressed enough to break into Pakistan’s Test side. Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof was also signed on a similar deal earlier in the summer and impressed sufficiently to play in the Test series in England and has since reclaimed his place in their one-day international squad.While financial restrictions have eased enough for Lancashire to re-sign South African batsman Ashwell Prince to help with the defence of their LV County Championship title, Watkinson conceded they may have to look for further bargains if they are to strengthen the squad further.”In an ideal world the squad could stand somebody else given the amount of cricket we’re going to play and how intense the season is but whether that happens or not, we’re not really sure,” he said. “We have proved last season that there are players out there who are willing to play for the opportunity and to further their own careers, so we’ll weigh that option up.”Prince will miss Lancashire’s three-day match against Cambridge University, which starts on Friday, but is expected in time to feature in their opening championship match of the season against Sussex at Aigburth next week.It will be his third spell with Lancashire, having averaged 52.60 from five first class matches in 2009 while he also returned for an interim period the following year, and his familiarity with an already close-knit squad – in addition to the chance to impress South Africa’s selectors ahead of their tour of England in the second half of the summer – was a key factor in securing his arrival.”You can’t pick and choose who’s available and obviously Ashwell has played for us before and we loved having him,” explained Lancashire captain Chapple, who shares an admiration for Prince as a cricketer with a mutual support of Liverpool Football Club.”He worked hard; he was a dedicated cricketer and has obviously got proven international class. He supports Liverpool as well so there’s a bit more support in the dressing room and we’re looking forward to having him back. He was good for us when he played for us before and we’re sure he will be again.”Chapple may miss the Cambridge University match after contracting a cold during Lancashire’s recent trip to Abu Dhabi for the champions’
opener against MCC but remains in good spirits ahead of Lancashire’s title defence.Asked what would be different this summer as champions at the annual media day, where the traditional opening question was always to enquire whether Lancashire could finally win the title, Chapple responded by saying: “We’re answering different questions!”

Kings XI Punjab kept themselves in contention for a place in the playoffs with a comfortable victory set up by their seamers in Dharamsala

The Report by Siddhartha Talya17-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Praveen Kumar dismissed Chennai Super Kings’ openers during an economical spell•AFP

Kings XI Punjab kept themselves in contention for a place in the playoffs with a comfortable victory set up by their seamers in Dharamsala. In conditions conducive to swing and movement, Praveen Kumar and Parvinder Awana stymied Chennai Super Kings, who finished their league campaign on a disappointing note. Super Kings are still hanging by a thread in this IPL though, and are at the mercy of other results.Kings XI’s decision to go in with a four-pronged pace attack paid off and despite a Super Kings fightback led by Dwayne Bravo, a target of 121 proved easy to scale down. Adam Gilchrist, returning to lead his side after a lay-off of nearly a month due to a hamstring injury, smashed an unbeaten half-century to see his team home in front of a full house at the picturesque HPCA Stadium.Gilchrist, after winning the toss, had no doubts about putting Super Kings in and Praveen went about justifying that decision. Several IPL venues around the country have supported movement off the pitch but here there was genuine swing on offer. The Super Kings openers were confident when the ball was pitched up but indecisive when the length was just held back a touch. Praveen sensed that early and beat M Vijay, before having him caught behind when he tried to play an expansive shot.Michael Hussey faced a tough time against Ryan Harris, pushing and prodding at away-going deliveries before nicking one to the keeper off Praveen. Suresh Raina was dropped on 2 at slip by Piyush Chawla and he went on to strike two sixes off Azhar Mahmood – one launched over long-off, the other top-edged over fine leg. But Raina chased a wide one that same over, and was snapped up by Gilchrist. Super Kings were in trouble when a nippy Parvinder Awana, who also got excellent carry, dismissed MS Dhoni to make it 46 for 4, but Bravo fought back.Bravo waited for an opening, provided by the spin of Piyush Chawla, dispatching a long hop over midwicket and creaming him through point. He then went after David Hussey, smashing his offspinners for consecutive sixes towards cow corner. Though Awana continued to be miserly, going for just 12 in his four-over spell and picking up two wickets, Mahmood faced an assault at the death. Albie Morkel hammered him for a six and a four, and Bravo was able to put together stands of 32 and 34 with Ravindra Jadeja and Morkel. His 48 gave Super Kings something to defend but Kings XI were the happier bunch at the halfway mark.Gilchrist ensured the advantage remained with Kings XI. Though Ben Hilfenhaus and Morkel found some assistance under overcast skies, it wasn’t as much as the first innings. Kings XI approached the chase positively and an early burst prevented Super Kings from applying any serious pressure. Mandeep Singh, albeit a little fortuitously, slashed Hilfenhaus for a couple of boundaries in the first over and Gilchrist drove Morkel powerfully twice in the second. When R Ashwin was brought on in the sixth, he was pulled and swept by Gilchrist for two fours.Mandeep fell after a half-century stand, and Nitin Saini and David Hussey lost their wickets playing avoidable shots but Kings XI were always on track while Gilchrist stayed. He was determined to see his team through, was cautious when the need arose and ruthless when an opportunity came. He slashed Bravo over point, and then tore into Yo Mahesh, whose generous dose of short balls and length deliveries were promptly dispatched. He was thrashed for two sixes over square leg and two more fours in an over that fetched 22, and the result from there on was a foregone conclusion.

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has said the absence of formal pre-tour preparation would not be an excuse if his side should under perform in the USA and the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2012Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has said the absence of formal pre-tour preparation would not be an excuse if his side should under perform in the USA and the Caribbean. New Zealand left for their tour, which begins with two Twenty20s against West Indies in Florida, on Sunday.New Zealand have not played since hosting South Africa in February and March and had no camp prior to departure. They will not have any warm-up games before the limited-overs matches either. Taylor said that wasn’t ideal. “You’ve got to weigh up travelling to rest. There are a few players that have come from England – Guppy [Martin Guptill] and Kane Williamson,” he told . “I guess the IPL players played not so long ago, and there’s other players [who have] been in Australia. It’s not ideal preparation, but it is what it is, and we’ll have no excuses once we get over there.”Taylor said West Indies might be better prepared for the series, having played against England and Australia recently, and expected them to be a tough unit. “They’re coming in from playing cricket, so I guess they will be better prepared than us. It’s still no excuse for us. We’re a professional team and we need to start off as well as possible.”[The West Indies] have got some youngsters who have probably had a lot more experience over the last couple of years. Two years ago, they were a very inexperienced side but [today] they’re a very competitive side on their home track.”The tour of West Indies is John Wright’s last as New Zealand coach and Taylor was keen to end his tenure with success. “We don’t want to make it a swan song. Obviously it’s going to be a little bit emotional for John, but we want to get out there and win. Obviously win for ourselves, but win for John as well. He’s been a good servant for New Zealand cricket.”While he would prefer a New Zealander to succeed Wright as coach, Taylor hoped the best applicant would be chosen. “It would be nice [if the coach was from New Zealand], but it’s not the be all and end all,” he said. “We have Australian assistant bowling, fielding and batting coaches, so I guess if there’s a New Zealand connection in there somewhere, it would be nice. But at the end of the day, we just want the best applicant for the job.”

After playing catch-up for two days, New Zealand finally showed more control over a sustained period to entertain thoughts of saving the game, after West Indies held the initiative with a 171-run first-innings lead

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran28-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNarsingh Deonarine scored 79 to help West Indies to 522•DigicelCricket.com/Brooks LaTouche Photography

After playing catch-up for two days, New Zealand finally showed more control over a sustained period to entertain thoughts of saving the game, after West Indies held the initiative with a 171-run first-innings lead. Half-centuries by Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum helped redress the balance as New Zealand comfortably erased the deficit and ended the day 28 ahead with seven wickets in hand, including that of Ross Taylor.West Indies began the day trying to muster as much as they could with their four remaining wickets to try and bat New Zealand out of the game. Narsingh Deonarine and Darren Sammy helped themselves to half-centuries on a fourth-day pitch which didn’t hold too many demons. West Indies batted out the entire first session, went past 500 and secured a 150-plus first-innings lead for the first time since the Multan Test of 2006.With five sessions left in the Test, West Indies had enough time to extend their domination and push for a win. However, their seamers weren’t able to sneak in the early breakthroughs and New Zealand’s opening pair batted positively. They seemed to adopt a wait-and-watch approach to prevent the West Indies bowlers from gaining an early advantage, considering the scoreboard pressure.New Zealand had the entire lunch break to regroup before they came out to bat, having bowled out the hosts at the stroke of lunch. Martin Guptill began with a sweetly-timed punch off the back foot which beat the bowler to get the innings going. The seamers at times bowled too full and on the pads to Guptill, who easily flicked them away to the leg side. There was a silly mid-on in place for the checked drive and Guptill nearly chipped it to that fielder.Kemar Roach ran in hard to work up pace and beat the bat on occasion, but couldn’t sustain the pressure long enough. Daniel Flynn was strong on the front foot, punching a half volley down the ground and opening the face of the bat to steer it past the slips. Sammy brought on Sunil Narine after eight overs, when New Zealand had added a brisk 34.Narine had a shout in his opening over when the ball struck Guptill’s pads as he tried to flick it. It turned out to be a wasted review by West Indies as replays showed the ball possibly missing the leg stump. Narine had better luck against Daniel Flynn in his following over, trapping him on the back foot plumb in front of the stumps. Flynn’s departure slackened the run-rate, as Sammy, in particular, kept things tight with a stump-to-stump line. The pair of Guptill and Brendon McCullum was also watchful against Narine, who got a few to shoot off the rough outside the off stump.West Indies had an opportunity to get rid of the well-set Guptill after tea, but they had only Roach to blame. Roach’s no-ball problem has persisted through his career, and his foot fault no doubt must have been annoying for the team and fans. Guptill tamely chipped the ball to midwicket on 42, but the umpires wisely decided to take another look at the legality of the delivery. Roach had indeed overstepped and Guptill had a life. He rubbed it in by chipping the same bowler over midwicket and went on to raise his fifty. He had another close shave when a Narine delivery sprung up off the rough, lobbed off his glove and landed in front of gully.McCullum showed more responsibility than he did in the first innings, where he threw his wicket away after making a start. His off-side play was more decisive. He tore into the part-time off spin of Marlon Samuels, slamming him for three fours in an over wide of backward point. The pair negated Narine by playing the ball late. McCullum was happy to get on the backfoot and shuffle across to play the off breaks.The two had put on a crucial 123 before Guptill’s luck ran out. Narine’s round-the-wicket angle worked as he got one to turn and bounce, catching Guptill’s glove on the way to Assad Fudadin, who took a sharp catch in front of his face at forward short leg. Roach’s no-ball had cost West Indies 25 runs, as Guptill walked back for 67, his second fifty for the match.McCullum continued to look positive, putting away deliveries square of the wicket on the off side. Ironically, it was the square cut that led to his dismissal. Roach bowled it short and McCullum went for the cut but ended up dragging it onto his stumps. He was 16 away from a century, and the frustration was palpable, considering the timing of his dismissal. Ross Taylor, who had warmed up with a couple of boundaries off Narine through the off side, had the nightwatchman Neil Wagner for company.New Zealand may have emerged the better side on the context of the fourth day alone, but the pressure will be on them to consolidate this position going into the final day. Much will depend on Taylor to play a role similar to Guptill’s as the innings anchor. West Indies have the opportunity to prove that they have the maturity to close out a Test match.

Andy Flower, has suggested that the player’s desire to appear in a whole season of the IPL proved to be the catalyst that destabilised his relationship

George Dobell21-Aug-2012Andy Flower, the England team director, has defended England’s handling of Kevin Pietersen and suggested that the player’s desire to appear in a whole season of the IPL proved to be the catalyst that destabilised his relationship with his team-mates and the ECB.Flower, speaking for the first time since Pietersen was omitted from the final Test against South Africa, admitted that batsman may never play for England again, but insisted that the team could retain their No.1 Test ranking even without the man many consider to be their best player. Flower also joined those calling for a window in the international schedule for the IPL, though he conceded there was little realistic hope of that at present.”I think it’s fair to say that Kevin’s issues over being available for the entire IPL have changed his attitude,” Flower said. “I think that was the catalyst for a lot of the stuff.”The IPL and the international fixtures in England are an area of conflict. And it will continue to be an area of conflict in the future. It would be better if there was a very clear window prior to our international season starting. But it doesn’t look like that is an issue that is going to be sorted out in the future so it may well recur.”Flower did accept responsibility for some failures of man management within the England set up, but insisted that Pietersen was guilty of far more serious errors of judgement.”You are questioning whether he has been managed properly,” Flower said. “I suppose it’s fair to ask that question. I think that’s what we’ve been doing over the years. There are certain behaviours that are unacceptable and I think we’ve seen some of that just recently. So to move forward we must get over those hurdles.”If you are asking if we take some responsibility for it I’m quite happy to take responsibility for a number of issues if that is the case. I don’t think text messages from an England player to South African players with some of the content I’ve heard that is in them is my responsibility.”I think one issue that I could have handled better is when I heard that some of the players were occasionally looking at that Twitter account that had been set up by some England supporter, or Nottingham supporter. I could have nipped that in the bud earlier.Andy Flower has said there is a long way to go before Kevin Pietersen can return for England•Getty Images

“But let’s just be perfectly clear on the severity of the situation. There is one thing a few players having a giggle at a Twitter account, there is another on some of the issues that we have seen rear their heads over the last two weeks. It is not just about the text messages, there are other issues to be resolved.”Flower confirmed that the ECB had approached officials with the South Africa touring team with a view to being shown the text messages Pietersen sent to their players that are alleged to have contained derogatory comments about England captain Andrew Strauss, but insisted the issue extended deeper than a mere spat between two senior players.”The issue is not specifically between the captain and Pietersen,” Flower said. “There are a number of unresolved issues and it would be inaccurate to judge it as just an issue between those two.”At this juncture there’s no meeting in the diary. We’ve just finished this Test match. I understand some people would like this resolved overnight, but I don’t think it is something that can be resolved overnight if we want to go about it properly. There are a number of outstanding issues to be resolved. An example of that would be finding out exactly what these text messages contained if we do really want to move forward either way.”I think face to face and man to man, where you can look people in the eye, is always the best way to resolve most issues. I think these things should remain private. I don’t think they should be played out in the media so leaking information, using PR agencies etc to resolve this issue is not the correct way to go about it.”I’m not sure of exactly the best way to investigate it, to be honest. We’ve tried to focus on playing cricket leading up to this Test match which is how this Test series should have been. It’s really sad for everyone involved the focus wasn’t on playing cricket here.”Flower was quite clear that Pietersen’s current apology – either the YouTube video or the letter sent through his management company – was inadequate and did not constitute a resolution to the situation. He also hinted that it was hard to see the issue being resolved before central contracts are offered to players, which is likely to happen before the team departs for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in mid-September. That suggests Pietersen may well not be considered for England’s tour of India. He confirmed that Pietersen would not be offered a central contract until the issues were resolved.”He sent an apology via his agent to the ECB,” Flower said. “If you are going to move on from situations such as this you need to know exactly what situation you are moving on from. So I think we need to get to the bottom of some of this speculation and rumours before we move on.”Regardless of central contracts, I wouldn’t like to put a time frame on it because that might unrealistic. To resolve certain issues of trust and mutual respect, it might take longer than that. I would rather not speculate [on whether Pietersen may have played his last game for England]. But he was speculating on it during the Test series, so there is a chance I suppose.England’s one-day side has shown it can flourish in the absence of Pietersen with Ian Bell slotting into the openers’ role, while Alex Hales made 99 in the Twenty20 against West Indies. Flower believes that, if the situation is not resolved, the Test team can move back to the top of the rankings without Pietersen.”Without a doubt,” he said. “English cricket has a great history and it has a great future. It is bigger than any one player. You will always move on from anyone, whether it be a captain, a coach or a player. I think the most important thing is that we do the right thing for England cricket. That’s how we will make our decision.”We try to make decisions that are in the best interests of the England cricket team or English cricket. That is what I’ve tried to do since I joined this team and that’s what I will continue to do.”

Tony Palladino celebrated the first seven wicket haul of his career to lead a Derbyshire fightback against Kent that turned the Division Two match at Derby on its head

04-Aug-2012
ScorecardTony Palladino celebrated the first seven wicket haul of his career to lead a Derbyshire fightback against Kent that turned the Division Two match at Derby on its head.Palladino, the 29-year-old seamer who last week scored a hundred as nightwatchman against Australia A, ripped through Kent to claim 7 for 53 as the visitors were bowled out for 161 despite skipper Rob Key’s disciplined 81 from 156 balls which left Derbysire, the Division Two, leaders chasing 295 for victory.An opening stand of 83 between Wayne Madsen and Matt Lineker put them on course and then Usman Khawaja and Wes Durston blunted the Kent attack to leave the Division Two leaders only 127 runs short of victory on 168 for 2 when rain forced an early close.Kent had gone into the third day holding the best hand with a lead of 226 and seven wickets intact but Palladino’s inspired burst coupled with reckless batting saw them collapse to 161 all out before lunch.Only Key showed the necessary application as Palladino and Tim Groenewald swept away the remaining seven wickets for 52 in 19 overs. Groenewald started the slide by having Michael Powell caught at short midwicket to end a stand of 66 and the rest of the innings imploded as Palladino took 5 for 23 in 12.5 overs.Key must have been dismayed to see several of his team-mates fall to loose shots while he worked the ball into the gaps and he looked set to carry his bat when Palladino had him caught behind.An acrobatic catch by David Wainwright at midwicket gave the former Essex man his seventh victim and match figures of 9 for 118, the best of his career, and his inspired spell had put Derbyshire right back into a game that looked to have slipped away from them.Derbyshire had batted poorly in the first innings but this time they played with greater discipline and patience to chip away at their target. The opening pair were together for 26 overs before Madsen gloved a ball from Matt Coles and Lineker was lbw for 45 off 97 balls playing forward to James Tredwell’s offspin.At 95 for 2, the game was back in the balance but Khawaja and Durston played with composure and selectivity to share an unbeaten stand of 73 while Kent’s frustration threatened to boil over with Charlie Shreck showing petulance when an appeal for a catch behind was turned down.

The Bombay High Court has adjourned its hearing on the petition filed by Deccan Chargers against their termination from the IPL to September 24, and asked the BCCI not to float any new tender for a new franchise in Hyderabad

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Sep-2012The Bombay High Court has adjourned its hearing on the petition filed by Deccan Chargers against their termination from the IPL to September 24, and asked the BCCI not to float any new tender for a new franchise in Hyderabad. The franchise’s owners, Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited (DCHL), had on Saturday, challenged the BCCI decision to expel them, saying there was no breach committed as alleged by the Indian board.On Monday, the BCCI counsel submitted an exhaustive affidavit that DCHL’s team of lawyers sought some time to read. Justice SJ Kathawalla granted them a week’s time, ordering status quo on the matter.”The BCCI filed a counter-affidavit today,” a board official told ESPNcricinfo. “Deccan Chargers wanted some time to go through [the papers]. The affidavit discloses that that we were never going to float a new tender for a franchise in Hyderabad in any case.” Justice Kathawala is understood to have made it clear to the court that he was not “staying the termination”.Even though the board was not surprised by DCHL’s decision to take legal recourse, the BCCI is believed to be disappointed at not being able to move on its plan to get a new franchise on board. “We have the new tender ready with a shortlist of new cities, but can’t do much at the moment,” the official said.

The Sun TV network has won the Hyderabad franchise of the IPL, bidding 85.05 crores per year (around US$15.9m) for a ten-year deal

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2012The Sun TV network has won the Hyderabad franchise of the IPL, bidding Rs 85.05 crores per year (around $15.9m) for a five-year deal. The decision was announced after a meeting of the IPL’s governing council in Mumbai on Thursday, and a week after Deccan Chargers, the original Hyderabad franchise, was terminated after failing to meet the deadline for raising its bank guarantee.The other bidder for the franchise was PVP Ventures, who offered Rs 69.03 crores per year (around $12.9m). This was the second time PVP tried to buy the franchise, having failed last month as well with a bid of Rs 900 crores ($164m) for ten years.In all, four firms had bought the tender document. Besides Sun TV Network and PVP Ventures, Jaypee Group and Videocon had bought the document but didn’t submit the bid.The IPL Governing Council has also taken a decision on future of the cricketers on the Chargers’ roster which included high-profile names like Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and South Africa’s Dale Steyn. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the BCCI has offered Sun TV time till the end of the month to sign contracts with those Chargers’ players they would like to retain. The players who do not reach an agreement with the franchise will become free agents, going into the pool for next year’s auction along with other capped players.Sun TV Networks Limited, which is headquartered in Chennai, is one of India’s biggest television networks with 32 TV channels and 45 FM radio stations primarily catering to an audience in the four southern languages of India. Their network includes channels covering news, entertainment, film, documentary and music.The winning bid from Sun TV (about $79.5m for five years) is higher than the $107m for ten years the previous owners of the Hyderabad franchise, Deccan Chargers Holdings Limited (DCHL), paid back in 2008, when the league was being established. “This Franchise fee represents a premium of over a 100 % above the amount paid by DCHL for the Hyderabad Franchise in 2008,” the BCCI said in a release announcing the sale of the new franchise.Sun TV’s bid price, which totals $80m or Rs 425.2 crores for five years is however, considerably less than what emerged during the last round of bidding for new franchises two years ago. In 2010, the Sahara group offered to buy the Pune franchise at $370m for ten years. In dollar terms, Sahara’s deal over five years adds up to $185m.In an attempt to draw more bidders, the base price for the franchise had been lowered to about $56m (about Rs 300 crore) for five years, compared to the base price of $225m for ten years in 2010, when the Pune and Kochi franchises were bought.Chargers were initially terminated from the IPL last month after the BCCI claimed claiming defaults of payments to players, foreign boards and its possible “deleterious” effects on the league. A legal battle followed, with the BCCI winning last week, and then inviting bids for a new franchise. The board had previously agreed to help DHCL sell off the franchise, but had attracted only one bid which was rejected.

Rahul Dravid believes MS Dhoni remains the right man to lead India despite the eight straight Test defeats as captain in England and Australia last year, but, in the near future, the selectors will need to consider reducing his captaincy workload

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2012Rahul Dravid believes MS Dhoni remains the right man to lead India despite his seven straight Test defeats as captain in England and Australia last year, but, in the near future, the selectors will need to consider reducing his captaincy workload in one format to get the best out of him as wicketkeeper and batsman.Speaking to Harsha Bhogle and Sanjay Manjrekar on , ESPNcricinfo’s fortnightly audio podcast which will feature on the website on Wednesday, Dravid said it was important that Dhoni started planning towards rectifying India’s recent overseas record at their next major away assignment, against South Africa late next year. Dhoni, Dravid said, would have to play an active role in getting the selectors to pick the type of players he wants and also open himself up to more ideas and suggestions than he has shown to do so far.”From his own personal point of view, you also want to see the best of Dhoni as a player. He has a lot to contribute as a batsman and wicketkeeper and we want to see the best of that,” Dravid, Dhoni’s predecessor as captain, said. “I don’t think we want to lose that and if that means at some stage, maybe the time’s not right now but in the near future, we have to relieve him of the responsibility from one format to get the best out of him as a player then I think the selectors have to take that call.” Across all three formats, Dhoni has captained India in 203 of his 318 matches.”He has got to have an eye on some of the challenges he faces in his career, to be seen as a good overseas captain as well. That will be a function of the team he gets, but he’s got to try and have an influence on the kind of team he gets, the kind of personnel he wants and that’s a process that he’s got to start now,” Dravid said. “It’s a process of communication and negotiation with selectors, coaches, working on some of the skill-sets of some of the bowlers and young batsmen coming through on what is required in a year’s time.”So while he has a micro view of what needs to be done in these [home] series [against England and Australia], he needs to discuss with the selectors about the kind of players he wants in South Africa and entrust them with the job of actually finding those players in domestic cricket.”The upcoming home Tests are an opportunity, Dravid said, for Dhoni to show he has learned the lessons from the overseas disappointments of last year. While acknowledging that many captains would not have survived in the role after losing seven overseas Tests – Dhoni had missed the final Test in Australia with an over-rate ban – in a row, Dravid said Dhoni’s successful record prior to last year’s poor results justified giving him another opportunity. “Dhoni has every right to survive it, because he’s Dhoni. He has had a disappointing last year but he has won India a World Cup, we’ve been the No. 1 Test side under Dhoni. If you put pressure on him so early in the piece, or if you try to change someone like Dhoni now, I don’t think you’ll get to see what he’s learned from the last year.”According to Dravid, captaining in India and overseas are two vastly different challenges, largely due to the conditions and the quality of the team’s bowling attack. “When [India are] fielding, you can obviously see the difference because on the field is where you’ve got to manage that bowling attack,” he said. “And when you don’t have the necessary skills with the bowling attack, you can start looking a bit defensive, a bit flustered, bit rattled and start looking around for answers. But otherwise he’s been pretty similar and that’s been one of his strengths – his ability to stay balanced even through the highs and lows of Indian cricket, to be able to manage and stay in a cocoon, and not get too affected by what’s happening around him.”While Dhoni’s calm demeanour and ability to isolate himself from pressure in times of difficulty was an asset, Dravid said “there are a lot of good suggestions outside of the cocoon and there’s a lot you can learn and pick up outside of this cocoon as well, which maybe he sometimes misses out on.”Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have been stand-in captains in Tests and ODIs respectively in the absence of Dhoni, but their own concerns with injury and form in recent times, Dravid said, may have affected their long-term captaincy prospects. Virat Kohli was a good candidate for a successor in Dravid’s eyes, provided he was able to extend the success he has had for another year. “In the next 12 months, if he has the kind of 12 months he has had and establishes himself in all three formats of the game, people are going to seriously have to look at him.”

India quick Ishant Sharma and Pakistan keeper Kamran Akmal have been fined for their altercation in the closing overs of the Pakistan innings in Bangalore on Tuesday

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2012India quick Ishant Sharma and Pakistan keeper Kamran Akmal have been fined for their altercation in the closing overs of the Pakistan innings in Bangalore on Tuesday. The players had been involved in a heated argument in the 18th over of the chase, which Pakistan eventually completed successfully to win the first Twenty20 by five wickets.Both players were reported to the match referee, Roshan Mahanama, by the umpires – S Ravi, C Shamsuddin, TV umpire VA Kulkarni and fourth umpire K Srinath – and charged with ‘conduct contrary to the spirit to the game’. They both pleaded guilty, and Kamran was fined 5% of his match fee. Ishant, though, appealed against the penalty levied; after reviewing video footage and reiterating his view that Ishant had initiated the incident, Mahanama fined Ishant 15% of his fee.Mahanama said with this series being so high profile, it became all the more important for the players to set the right example: “This is clearly a high profile and high-intensity series, and the players on both sides have been reminded of their responsibility. Both players recognised their duty to set the right type of example through their on-field behaviour and they have accepted that they fell short of the level of conduct required.”The game was played in the true spirit till this incident was initiated by Ishant, who is an experienced cricketer.”The incident occurred soon after Ishant had the well-set Shoaib Malik caught of a ball that was deemed too high to be legal. Earlier the same over, Ishant had claimed Pakistan’s other set batsman, Mohammad Hafeez. With the pressure building and a tight finish in view, Ishant beat Kamran and, after exchanging words in his follow-through, the two ended up standing inches apart from each other, yelling. Suresh Raina – followed by his India team-mates – came between the two, as did the umpires, but the talk continued for a while. When Ishant caught Kamran off Ashok Dinda in the next over, he was quite vocal in his celebration.This series is a marquee one, as it revives bilateral ties between the neighbours. The previous one-on-one series between the teams was five years earlier, in late 2007, with bilateral ties hitting a roadblock following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.