Would have staged dharna if Dhoni had quit playing: Gavaskar

New Delhi, Jan 5, 2016, (PTI)

Sunil Gavaskar is glad that M S Dhoni has only quit limited overs captaincy and not retired as he feels the poster boy of Jharkhand still has a lot to offer to the Indian team.

"If he had quit as a player, then I would have the been the first one outside his house, having a dharna asking him to make a comeback. As a player, he is still a destroyer. He change fortunes of the game in a single over. India needs him as a player very very badly. I am happy that he has decided to stay on as a player," Gavaskar told NDTV.
Dhoni not being captain anymore will help both his batting and wicketkeeping, said Gavaskar.

"Yes (it will). Virat would definitely use him at number four or five because having him further down the order doesn't make any sense. Yes, he is a finisher but he can play a big innings at four or five and still end up as a finisher.

"The wicketkeeping will be a lot easier because he will not be thinking about the bowling changes and field placements, which can sometimes distract you," felt Gavaskar.
The former India captain also sees Dhoni and heir apparent Virat Kohli complementing each other on the field.

"It will certainly help India because MSD's calm and composure will certainly help Virat. Often in Test cricket there is time to rectify your mistakes but in limited overs cricket, things happen fast and there is not much time so sometimes you might taken an impulsive decision which is where MSD will come in very very handy."
Gavaskar was not surprised by Dhoni's decision to step aside as it was only a matter of time.
"I don't think it really is a surprise but it has come a little bit early. I had thought that he would want to captain till the Champions Trophy where India are the defending champions. May be after that he would hand over the reins to Virat Kohli. But considering the tremendous success the Test team has had under Kohli, I am not too surprised that MSD has decided to hand over the reins to Kohli.

"The decision was bound to come sooner or later. It has come sooner that we all anticipated. Virat has shown over the last couple of years, as captain of RCB, that he is ready to take the responsibility. When we hand over captaincy, we always concerned how it will affect that individual's speciality. In Virat's case, we have seen that it doesn't affect him at all," said Gavaskar.

Asked to comment on Dhoni's habit of surprising the world, Gavaskar said: "Even in Australia it came as a surprise. One thought that he would complete the series and quit after that and stay on as a player. But he quit Test altogether. Here at least he is available as a player. So Virat will have the benefits of MSD's vast experience as a successful ODI and T20 captain.

"Again MSD's thinking has purely been for the future of Indian cricket and it is in the hands of Kohli. So he has gracefully made way for that. Therefore we need to complement MSD for that as well."

Will Dhoni continue till the 2019 World Cup?

"Clearly, it depends on his desire and form. As of now, there doesn't seem to be too many options (after Dhoni) available but cricket is a funny game. When you think there isn't anybody after Dhoni, somebody comes out of nowhere to take his place.

"In the meanwhile, lets just enjoy MSD as he plays out his final few years in India colours. Cricketers like MSD come once in a century. He brought a lot of flair and unpredictability in Indian cricket. Team has become positive and attacking under Dhoni. It will be his biggest legacy," added Gavaskar.

Younis's debut Aussie Test ton keeps Pakistan alive

Sydney, Jan 5, 2017 (AFP)

Younis Khan claimed his 34th Test century and first in Australia to keep Pakistan's first innings barely alive in the final Test in Sydney today.

The 39-year-old Pakistan great became the first batsman to score Test hundreds in 11 countries as he turned around an indifferent series with his first century since October.

He fought back from a dreadful mix-up which led to the run-out of the team's leading scorer of the series, Azhar Ali, to spearhead the Pakistan fightback on a rain-affected day three.

Younis went to stumps on 136 off 279 balls with the tourists still trailing Australia by 267 runs and 68 from avoiding the follow-on. Pakistan were 271 for eight with Yasir Shah five not out.

Younis showed Australia his undoubted quality with 15 fours and a six off Nathan Lyon, with his century coming off 208 balls.

In 206 Test innings, Younis has only been dismissed once in the 90s with 91 against New Zealand in Auckland in 2001.

While Younis held court, skipper Misbah-ul-Haq continued his hapless series when he holed out to deep mid-wicket off Lyon.

Tellingly, his 18 was his highest score of a series in which he has totalled just 38 runs at a paltry average of 7.60.

Azhar was run out for 71 in a poor piece of running with Younis, when he could not beat home Mitchell Starc's throw from mid-on to the striker's end.

Younis drove Lyon to a diving fielder at short midwicket and hesitated, leading to some indecision with Azhar before Starc swooped in to throw back to the 'keeper.

In the process Azhar passed Mohsin Khan (390) as Pakistan's highest scorer in a series in Australia, but he achieved it in three Tests, compared to Mohsin's five Tests in 1983.
In five innings, Azhar has scored 395 runs in this series at 98.75.

Azhar and Younis put on 146 runs for the third wicket, restoring the Pakistan innings after they were six for two.

Asad Shafiq was out when Younis was on 99 after he played well forward to left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe and got an inside edge for Steve Smith to take a fine outstretched right-hand catch for four.

It was Smith's eighth catch in what has been a brilliant fielding series for the Australia skipper.

Sarfraz Ahmed was caught in the gully off Starc for 18 late in the day and Mohammad Amir played a rash shot to be caught in the deep off Lyon for four.

Lyon grabbed a third wicket when he bowled Wahab Riaz for eight in the day's penultimate over.

Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was forced to leave the field with a stomach illness shortly after play got underway in mid-afternoon following rain, with Peter Handscomb deputising for him as he sought treatment.

Cricket Australia said Wade was suffering from diarrhoea and nausea. He fell ill in the morning and returned to the team hotel to rest, but was expected to recover in time for Friday's play.
First-innings centurion Matt Renshaw left the field after being struck on the helmet at short leg and was assessed for concussion.

Australia have already won the series after victories in the Brisbane and Melbourne Tests, while Pakistan are battling to avoid their 12th straight Test defeat in Australia.

Leander rules out retirement, says his comments were misread

Chennai, Jan 5, 2016 (PTI)

The iconic Leander Paes has ruled out immediate retirement from the competitive tennis, saying his comments were misconstrued and he actually aims to capture another Chennai Open trophy next year and motivate his new partner to win his maiden Grand Slam title.

Paes and Brazilian Andre Sa began the 2017 season with a defeat against Indian team of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan in the opening round on Wednesday night.

"I hope to be back and I hope to be holding this trophy again," Paes replied when asked if he has played his last Chennai Open, where he is the most successful player till date.

Paes has six Chennai Open trophies in his overflowing cupboard, five with Mahesh Bhupathi (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2011) and the sixth and the last with the Serbian Janko Tipsarevic (2012).

"I will keep playing hard and keep playing strong. I think there was a bit of misunderstanding the other day when Somdev pronounced retirement. Someone asked me a question and I said, it could be today, tomorrow or six months or somewhere down the track and all of a sudden it became like if Leander is retiring," Paes, winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, said.

"Things were put of context but that’s fine. I still love my tennis, I am really passionate about it."

It is not an ideal start to his partnership with 111th teammate but Paes said he has belief in the abilities of the Brazilian, who is yet to win a Grand Slam.

39-year-old Sa’s best performance has been a singles quarterfinal finish at the Wimbledon in 2002 and the Wimbledon doubles semifinals in 2007 with fellow Brazilian Marcelo Melo.
"I want to motivate this guy to win a Grand Slam, that’s what I want to do," Paes said.

"For me, it’s about going back to the drawing board. It’s one thing to put a team together but my forte is to get this team to win. We believe in each other, results will come.

"When you keep working hard, luck favours the hard- working. Luck favours the brave. It’s not rocket science to win. You put in the hard work, it will come. And I have good belief in this man, I am going to stick with him," Paes said emphasizing that this partnership will be there throughout the season.

While Paes has already crossed 40s, Sa is 39. Asked if age will affect them when they are out there competing with younger and fitter players, both Paes and Sa rebuffed the suggestion.
Sa said,“It’s not tricky. We had long careers, we are pretty good athletes and we are in good shape. It won’t give us any trouble. I am pretty fit and he was moving at the net, like he moved in 90s. He is the same. I don’t think age is going to be a factor."
The Brazilian also spoke on how this partnership came about.

"We know each other for long. I had just split with my partner and he was also looking for a new partner. It came naturally. He gave me a call and I thought it was a good idea."
Paes also downplayed the defeat in their first match as a team.

"Some seasons you jump out of the gate and end up winning the first week of the year and continue well from there. Some seasons you start well but don’t do well after that and this season we have not started well but it’s just one match. "

Sa, who arrived in Chennai only a day before the match, refused the suggestions that his late arrival did not give him enough time to acclimatise to the conditions.

"I don’t think so. I won’t make excuses. Like he said, it’s just one match. I got here in afternoon. We had enough hits on the centre court and outside courts, it’s just that we were outplayed today. That’s the way it is and we need to move on from here."

Virat to be named limited overs captain to usher in new era

Mumbai, Jan 5, 2017 (PTI)

India's limited overs cricket will usher in a new era with the national selectors expected to name Virat Kohli as the captain when they pick the squad for three ODIs and three T20 Internationals against England here tomorrow.
Test skipper Kohli is expected to be anointed captain of the limited overs teams also, after Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to step down from the job in a surprise decision last night.

While there should not be any doubt regarding Kohli taking over as skipper of the limited overs team, the selectors have the onerous task of choosing the two squads having a right balance as there has been a spate of injuries to top players recently.

Two key Mumbai batsmen -- Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane -- have been ruled out with injuries, which may give a chance to out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan, if he's declared fit, to open the innings with K L Rahul, unless the selectors spring a total surprise and bring in a newcomer.

Karnataka's Rahul missed the ODI series against New Zealand due to an injury while Delhi batsman Dhawan too got injured in the preceding Test rubber against the Kiwis.

The left-handed Dhawan last played in an ODI in Australia in January last. After flopping in the first two matches, he struck a purple patch in the remaining three games of that series to make a century and two half centuries.

Karun Nair, who scored a brilliant triple hundred in the fifth and final Test against England in Chennai, is expected to be chosen in place of Rahane whom he also replaced in the Test team.

A question mark, however, remains regarding key spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who cited an injury after the conclusion of the 4-0 Test drubbing of England and has not played in Ranji Trophy for his state team Tamil Nadu. He also missed the ODI series against New Zealand as he was rested to keep fresh for the subsequent Test rubber against England.

Second off-spinner Jayant Yadav was out ruled out of the last Test of the series against England due to an injury and it would be interesting to see whether the two slow bowling all-rounders will be chosen by the selectors without proving match fitness.

Although Dhoni has stepped down as captain of the limited overs team, he has made himself available to play under a new captain, which should be Kohli, and this has been conveyed to the selectors who, thus, will choose him over other claimants.

Perfect timing by Dhoni as Virat is ready: Chairman MSK Prasad

New Delhi, Jan 5, 2017 (PTI)

The chairman of national selection committee MSK Prasad today hailed Mahendra Singh Dhoni's sense of "perfect timing" to quit as captain of limited overs formats and hinted at the mantle going to Virat Kohli.

He also gave enough hints that Dhoni will be in team against England for the ODI series beginning January 15 and that he has a couple of years of cricket left in him.

"Had Mahi taken the decision one year or even six months earlier, I would have been a bit worried. But I salute him for his sense of perfect timing. He knew that Virat is now a proven customer who has done exceptionally well as a leader in Test.

"So it is a correct decision by Dhoni. It showed that he had the best interest of Indian cricket in his mind," Prasad told PTI.

Himself a former India stumper, he is of the opinion that purely as a cricketer, Dhoni still has a fair amount of cricket left in him.

"I still feel he has a couple of years of cricket left in him and as a wicketkeeper-batsman, he can still make an invaluable contribution to the team's cause," he Prasad.

Prasad, who has always shown clarity in his thought process, feels that as a captain there was nothing more to achieve for Dhoni.

"What else was left for him to achieve as a captain? He has achieved everything under the sun in his tenure as India captain. He has won World T20, 50-over World Cup, Champions Trophy -- all three global trophies. Apart from that he has won IPL, Champions League T20. He has nothing to prove to anybody. He has been a great leader," said Prasad.

Asked what made Dhoni the captain that he was, Prasad said: "I believe his match reading was brilliant. That's why he was quick on his feet and could assess any situation with a lot of clarity. For a captain, foresight is an important aspect and he had that in abundance."

Prasad feels that Dhoni's presence will be a guiding light for Kohli, who will now have to shoulder the burden of captaincy across three formats along with his batting.

"Dhoni's presence will help Kohli as he now captains across three formats. Had he quit, Virat would have missed out on his immense experience."

Prasad said that while Dhoni and Virat are chalk and cheese as personalities, both have always had the same intensity when it came to the urge of winning matches for India.

"Dhoni never gave away anything in terms of body language while Kohli has always been aggressive. What I have loved about Dhoni is that he will never give away anything as to what is going on in his mind. That's his personality. He can keep things submerged in him. But deep down, both Dhoni and Kohli's urge to win matches for India is equal. There is no letdown in intensity," said Prasad.

However, the chairman of selectors begged to differ that with no burdens of captaincy now, Dhoni would once again get his mojo back as a finisher and the helicopter shots could be in use more often.

"I don't think it would be fair on anybody's part to equate his batting with captaincy. I don't think these two were co-related. Yes, it was purely an issue of form and nothing else," said Prasad.

Cricket world sings paeans to 'one of greatest captains' Dhoni

New Delhi, Jan 5, 2017 (PTI)

From Michael Clarke to Rohit Sharma, the global cricket fraternity today woke up singing paeans to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hours after India's most successful skipper sprang a surprise by stepping down from limited overs captaincy.
The 35-year-old Dhoni, under whom India had won two World Cups and a Champions Trophy title, stunned the fraternity yesterday night by relinquishing the captaincy, barely 11 days before the ODI series against England.

Australia's former captain Clarke wrote on his twitter handle, "I think @msdhoni will go down as one of India's most successful captains. He is a great man and still has a lot to offer to Indian cricket.

"It is now time for @imVkohli to captain all three forms in my opinion. He is a superstar and is ready for the challenge."

Former England skipper Michel Vaughan described Dhoni as one of the greatest captains to have ever led a cricket team.

"Even one of the greatest captains of all time decides enough is enough ... Well done @msdhoni on an incredible leadership term," Vaughan said.

Pakistan's dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi praised Dhoni for shaping the Indian cricket team.

"Huge credit to #MSDhoni for shaping Indian team. Great captain and leader, big inspiration for cricketers around the world."

Back home, the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, who blossomed under Dhoni's leadership, waxed eloquence on their first India captain.

"Thank you @msdhoni bhai for being a leader that I have learnt a lot from. Thank you my first international captain!" Rahane tweeted.

In a series of tweets, he added, "It's about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it.

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts."

Dhoni's decision has now paved the way for Test captain Virat Kohli to take over the mantle of the limited overs team as well.

Sharma said on the social networking site, "A true leader @msdhoni he influenced so many cricketing careers including mine when he asked me to open in the ICC Champions Trophy. Will miss you at the helm."

Limited overs specialist Suresh Raina said, "India's most successful captain @msdhoni who translated his vision into reality. Inspired many to dream more, do more and become more. Salute! 

Teenager Prithvi takes Mumbai to their 46th Ranji Trophy final

Rajkot, Jan 5, 2017 (PTI)

Seventeen-year-old Prithvi Shaw showed maturity beyond years, anchoring a fabulous fourth innings chase with a debut hundred, as Mumbai beat Tamil Nadu by six wickets to enter the Ranji Trophy final for the 46th time.

Mumbai will meet Gujarat in the final scheduled to be played at Indore from January 10-14.
Straightaway drafted from the India U-19 team, young Shaw scored 120 as Mumbai chased down 251 in only 62.1 overs. At 17 years and 57 days, Prithvi is the second youngest from Mumbai, after Sachin Tendulkar, to hit a Ranji century on debut.

His temperament was top notch as he faced 175 balls, hitting 13 boundaries, and a six off Baba Aparajith over long-on.

When he was finally out, the 41-time champions needed only 10 runs to win the semi-final against Abhinav Mukund's team.

Fittingly, Prithvi was adjudged 'Man of the Match'.
"I am thankful to my coach (Chandrakant Pandit) and senior players for guiding me. Coach said that I should watch how seniors like Aditya Tare, Abhishek Nayar prepare for matches and I tried doing that," said the baby-faced Prithvi, who once held the world record in school cricket, scoring 546.

In fact, Prithvi's seniors like Praful Waghela (36), Shreyas Iyer (40) and Suryakumar Yadav (34) all rallied around him, as the title favourites reached the target with minimum fuss.

He added 90 runs for the opening stand with Waghela followed by 91 with Iyer and 57 with Suryakumar.

Strong on the off-side, Prithvi started with a backfoot cover drive off Aswin Crist.
After being cautious for 35 balls, Prithvi opened up in the 11th over with a couple of cover driven boundaries off Crist.

When left-arm spinner Aushik Srinivas came into the attack, he was swept from outside the off-stump for two boundaries.

When Mukund brought on Aparajith, the schoolboy jumped out to hit him for a six over long-on.

A mistimed pull-shot off Vijay Shankar brought him the half century.
There was whip past the mid-wicket, glance and steers, which showed the range as well as his ability to choose hittable deliveries.

A sweep off Srinivas took him to 97 and he had a charmed life on 99 when Vijay Shankar overstepped with the opener offering a catch to third man.

He completed his debut hundred off 155 balls and the entire Mumbai team gave him a standing ovation.

Having swept Srinivas well, he was finally out when he tried one shot too many off the left-arm spinner, and was caught by T Natarajan at mid-wicket boundary. But he had done his job by then.

Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 305 and 356/6
Mumbai 406 and (target) 251/4 in 62.1 (Prithvi Shaw 120, Shreyas Iyer 40). Mumbai won by 6 wickets.

Final: Mumbai vs Gujarat at Indore.