Wednesday, April 06, 2011
PCB fails to name squad for West Indies tour
LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee on Tuesday failed to select team for West Indies tour, Geo News reported.The meeting of PCB selection committee, under the chair of Chief Selector Mohsin Hassan Khan, was held in Gaddafi Stadium here. The meeting was attended among others by selector Muhammad Ilyas, Azhar Khan, Farrukh Zaman, Asif Baloch and captain Shahid Khan Afridi.The 15-member squad for WI tour was finalized in the meeting but owing to unknown reasons the decision to name the squad was deferred till tomorrow (Wednesday). Although Itikhab Alam and Waqar Younis would retain as manager and coach respectively.
Coach Kirsten bids goodbye to India
MUMBAI: India's outgoing coach Gary Kirsten on Tuesday admitted he found it very hard to say goodbye to the World Cup-winning team and the country's "special" cricketers."It has been one of the hardest goodbyes I have had to say," the former South African batsman told reporters at his farewell press conference in Mumbai after a successful three-year stint with the team."It has been an amazing achievement to be a part of this special group of cricketers."Kirsten, 43, played in 101 Tests and 185 one-day internationals before helping India become a formidable force as the number one Test side and number two behind Australia in one-day cricket.Kirsten had announced his decision to quit as coach before the World Cup, which India won on Saturday with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final.He said he had no plans to take up a coaching job in near future."I am going home to spend some time with my family. But I have to consider my future at some time. I have been fortunate to have been offered some jobs but I want to spend time with my family right now," said Kirsten."Indian cricket is going to be in a healthy state for a long time. It is going to be tough for the new coach in terms of the standards that have been set. But I don't see why the team should not continue doing well."The foundation has been set. The new coach should bring in fresh ideas. I certainly wouldn't want the new guy to try and emulate what has been done in the past three years. Consistency for this team is now going to be important."They are the number one Test team in the world and won the World Cup, so there is nothing much to improve," said Kirsten"We have been working really hard on fielding and I was quite amazed at the way we fielded in the last three games of the World Cup."India knocked out three-time defending champions Australia in the quarter-finals, beat arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final before defeating Sri Lanka in the title clash."It was an interesting World Cup," he said. "We never had it easy. In the last three games of the knock-out stage, there were no big individual contributions."It was a team effort. I was excited about the way we played," he said.Kirsten described his experience as Indian coach as "tremendous I have been honoured by the way Indians have embraced me," he said. "It's been incredible to see how much the Indian people love this game. To see the support the boys get from the Indian fans is fantastic. "It's a beautiful country. I have made lots of friends here, so I will keep coming back." Kirsten lavished praise on skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "I have never seen a player give as much effort to every game," the coach said. "Dhoni leads by example. He is the 100 percent man. I've never seen him lose (his) temper. "He loves taking responsibility and when the team loses, no one feels it more than him. He is a great leader. He is the captain for next few years, no doubt."
Afridi wants Miandad as batting coach
LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team one-day international captain Shahid Khan Afridi said that senior players including Kamran Akmal should be given rest on the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe.He said that he wants to acquire services of Javed Miandad as batting coach.Talking with media in Lahore, Afridi said that he has no intention of returning to Test cricket but he would make efforts to give chances to young players on foreign tours.He said that his team needs a batting coach for which negotiations with Miandad are under way.The skipper further said that a squad consists of seniors and juniors should be announced for the tour of the West Indies but along side new openers and wicketkeeper should also be tried. He said this is not easy to fill the vacuum created by Shoaib Akhtar’s retirement.Replying to another question, Afridi said that not availing power play in the semi-final against India was a part of the plan.
Sangakkara quits as Sri Lanka captain
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara said on Tuesday he was resigning from the job three days after his team lost to India in the World Cup final.Sangakkara said he told the national selectors that he would quit as one-day and Twenty20 captain with immediate effect, but offered to continue as Test captain on an interim basis if required."After careful consideration I have concluded that it is in the best long-term interests of the team that I step down now as national captain so that a new leader can be properly groomed for the 2015 World Cup," Sangakkara, 33, wrote to Sri Lanka Cricket."This was a decision I made prior to the World Cup. I will be 37 by the next World Cup and I cannot therefore be sure of my place in the team."It is better that Sri Lanka is led now by a player who will be at the peak of their career during that tournament.Sangakkara, a fluent left-hand batsman and wicket-keeper, said he had no plans yet to retire as a player."I met with the selectors on Monday and I explained my reasons for my decision and I assured them of my fullest support in helping our new captain settle into the leadership," he wrote. "In this regard, I have offered to continue as the Test captain for the forthcoming series with England, and possibly Australia, if the selectors believe this would help the new captain and aid the transition. I have no plans of retirement from international cricket at this stage and, subject to form and fitness, I would like to be considered for selection in all three formats of the game for the foreseeable future."Sangakkara has scored 8,244 runs in 94 Tests at an average of 57.25 with 24 centuries. He also has 9,164 runs in 291 one-dayers with 11 hundreds. Sangakkara said he had enjoyed his two-year stint as captain since taking over from Mahela Jayawardene in March, 2009 "It has been a true honour and a great privilege to serve my country as captain during the past two years," he said."Although bitterly disappointed that we could not win the final, I am very proud of the performances of the team.I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team-mates and the coaching staff for their hard work and support.There was no immediate comment from Sri Lanka Cricket or the national selectors on Sangakkara's decision.
Cup dream born of disaster, says Tendulkar
NEW DELHI: India's victorious, record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar said on Tuesday he started dreaming of the World Cup after a humiliating first-round exit in the last edition in the Caribbean."That (winning the World Cup) was my dream after we lost in 2007. I took up that challenge," Tendulkar told the Mumbai-based Mid Day newspaper.
"When we got to know that the next (World Cup) is in India and the final would be held in Mumbai, that is when I felt that this is the place where we have to lift the trophy.Tendulkar's dream came true on Saturday when India posted a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai in his sixth and probably the last World Cup appearance"I firmly believe that one should never ever give up in life and that is something which happened in my case," said Tendulkar, who turns 38 later this month."It is never too late. Even after 21 years (of international cricket), you can still go out and win the World Cup.Tendulkar, the world's leading scorer in both Test (14,692 runs) and one-day internationals (18,111), said he was indebted to his friends and relatives for backing him after he felt shattered by the 2007 defeat."It was really tough. My family and friends really supported me at that stage. It was probably the toughest phase of my career and I was really demoralised," he said. India suffered a surprise defeat against Bangladesh in their opening match of the 2007 World Cup, the loss eventually leading to their first-round ouster. "Talking about the World Cup in India at that time was something which motivated me. The final in Mumbai, that was greater motivation because here is where I grew up playing cricket," said Tendulkar.
"I wanted to do something really, really special here in India and Mumbai."
"When we got to know that the next (World Cup) is in India and the final would be held in Mumbai, that is when I felt that this is the place where we have to lift the trophy.Tendulkar's dream came true on Saturday when India posted a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai in his sixth and probably the last World Cup appearance"I firmly believe that one should never ever give up in life and that is something which happened in my case," said Tendulkar, who turns 38 later this month."It is never too late. Even after 21 years (of international cricket), you can still go out and win the World Cup.Tendulkar, the world's leading scorer in both Test (14,692 runs) and one-day internationals (18,111), said he was indebted to his friends and relatives for backing him after he felt shattered by the 2007 defeat."It was really tough. My family and friends really supported me at that stage. It was probably the toughest phase of my career and I was really demoralised," he said. India suffered a surprise defeat against Bangladesh in their opening match of the 2007 World Cup, the loss eventually leading to their first-round ouster. "Talking about the World Cup in India at that time was something which motivated me. The final in Mumbai, that was greater motivation because here is where I grew up playing cricket," said Tendulkar.
"I wanted to do something really, really special here in India and Mumbai."
