Kedar Jadhav joins RCB

Batsman Kedar Jadhav has joined Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 2016 Indian Premier League.

“Royal Challengers Bangalore has acquired the services of Delhi Daredevils’ batsman Kedar Jhadav for Indian Premier League 2016,” said a BCCI statement.

“The first trading window for the IPL 2016, which was open from Tuesday, 15 December 2015, to Thursday, 31 December 2015, saw the first trade of the season,” it added.

Jadhav, who made his India debut on the tour of Zimbabwe in July, has played four ODIs and couple of T20 Internationals.

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, said: “RCB, who boast of a star-studded batting line-up with the likes of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers, have added more fire-power to their batting by acquiring Kedar Jhadav. All eyes will now be on the auction, where more outstanding cricketers will be up for grabs.”

Royal Challengers Bangalore team owner Vijay Mallya added: “RCB are very pleased to have acquired Kedar Jadhav who, we believe, has the potential to change the course of a T20 game with his finishing talent with the bat. Kedar will add tremendous value to our middle-order and will complement our existing line-up.”

The IPL will be played from April 9 to May 29.

Saina and Sania scale peaks, Advani dominates, Captain Kohli emerges

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The year turned out to be a most fruitful and satisfying one for star Indian sportspersons like Pankaj Advani, Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal and Virat Kohli. FILE PHOTOS

The second and concluding part of The Hindu’s review of Indian sport in 2015

CRICKET: The year will be remembered more for the emergence of Virat Kohli as a Test captain than the team’s series triumphs in Sri Lanka and at home against South Africa. The defeats in the ODIs in Bangladesh and the Twenty20 match in Zimbabwe were pushed to the background once Kohli’s side bounced back from the setbacks in the shorter formats to outplay the South Africans in the spin-dominated Test series.

The retirement of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, the return of Shashank Manohar and the exit of N. Srinivasan from the BCCI, and the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years from the Indian Premier League were the other off-the-field events that became part of an action-filled year.

TENNIS: Sania Mirza and Leander Paes had Martina Hingis for company in making tennis history this year. The Sania and Martina pair joined hands in March and ended the year with 10 titles, including two majors, while Paes and Martina won three of the four Grand Slam crowns. At 42, Paes continues to prove that age is just a number. Rohan Bopanna, along with Florin Mergea, added two titles and reached the World Tour Finals.

From the younger lot, Sumit Nagal won the junior Wimbledon doubles title and joined Sania and Paes in holding the winner’s trophy at the prestigious event.

GOLF: Anirban Lahiri was the biggest newsmaker among the Indian golfers this year. Two European Tour titles, besides five top-10 finishes, an appearance in each of the four majors, a place in the President’s Cup squad, and the securing of the PGA card for the next season made 2015 a truly path-breaking year for Lahiri. Though disappointing in his maiden appearance in the year-ending Hero World Challenge in Nassau, Bahamas, Lahiri did enough through the year to be consistent and reach 33 in world rankings.

Meanwhile, Chiragh Kumar received his share of accolades by beating the field in the Panasonic Open in New Delhi for a maiden Asian Tour title.

BADMINTON: Saina Nehwal finally managed to scale the peak and hold the World No. 1 spot on the way to winning the Indian Open title. She reached the title-clashes of the All England championship and the World Championship but on both occasions lost to Carolina Marin. On the brighter side, she did manage to beat the Spaniard in the World Super Series Finals but that was her only victory in the four-player league.

She was hampered by ankle and groin injuries and that impacted her consistency. P.V. Sindhu, too, had to deal with inconsistency though she defended the Macau Open titles with ease. Like in the past few seasons, Sindhu did win a few remarkable matches but undid the good work by falling to unheralded rivals. K. Srikanth, too, struggled for consistency after winning the Swiss Open and India Open. Making the final of the Indonesian Open was highly encouraging for the youngster.

Looking at individual results, H.S. Prannoy recorded a memorable victory over the legendary Lin Dan in the French Open and P. Kashyap upstaged World No. 1 Chen Long in the Indonesia Open.

CUE SPORTS: Pankaj Advani continued to bring cheer by winning the 15th World title. He won the IBSF billiards crown in September and added the IBSF World snooker championship in November. He is also the only cueist to triumph in the short (6-Red) and the long formats of snooker in the same calendar year.

FOOTBALL: Ending the year 166th in the world rankings, the Indian team didn’t gain much. Notwithstanding the hype surrounding the Indian Super League, the year saw India lose first five of its FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, including a 1-2 defeat to tiny nation Guam.

The 1-0 victory in Bengaluru over Guam in the return-leg did not help in redeeming the country’s bruised pride.

Ashwin is ICC's No. 1 Test bowler, first Indian since Bedi’s feat in 1973

The Hindu

R. Ashwin. Photo: K. Murali Kumar

In a double whammy, the Tamil Nadu captain also ended 2015 as top-ranked Test all-rounder.

Star India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has ended 2015 as the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings issued on Thursday on the back of his strong showing against South Africa in the recent home series.

Ashwin, who took 62 wickets in nine Tests this year including 31 scalps in the four matches against South Africa, became the first India bowler since Bishen Bedi in 1973 to achieve the milestone of finishing the year on top.

In fact, Bedi, an ICC Hall of Famer, is the only India bowler to ever top the Test bowling table, while Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble peaked at number-two during their careers.

Ashwin achieved the number-one spot for first time in his career after injury prevented South African Dale Steyn from bowling more than 3.5 overs in England’s second innings in the Durban Test.

Steyn had started the Durban Test leading Ashwin by four points and now trails the India off-spinner by the same margin. Even though the fast bowler bagged four wickets in the first innings, these were not enough for him to end the year as the number-one ranked bowler for the sixth time since 2009.

Ashwin’s successful season was reflected in his ranking after he started the year in 15th position and slowly but surely moved to the top of the chart.

In a double whammy, the 29-year-old also ended the year as top-ranked Test all-rounder.

“Finishing the year as the number-one ranked Test bowler is like an icing on the cake that I have managed to build over the past last 12 months. I always wanted to get there one day. There can’t be a better way to finish the 2015,” Ashwin said, reacting to the news.

“Replicating what Mr. Bedi did is something I am very proud of. The former India captain was a master at his craft and I am very humbled to follow in his footsteps.

“I would like to thank my Test captain Virat Kohli, who has been a big influence, and, of course, the team management, my team-mates and the BCCI for their continued support,” said Ashwin.

Another Indian, Ravindra Jadeja, who also had an impressive outing against the South Africans, ended the year at sixth. Ashwin and Jadeja are the only two Indians in the top 10 rankings of the Test bowlers.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane ended at 11th among Test batsmen and he is the only Indian in the top 20.

Next bout on Feb 13, Vijender hits the gym on holiday

New Delhi, Dec 31, 2015, (PTI):

When most people are looking for a place to party on new year's eve, star Indian boxer Vijender Singh is running around trying to gain access to a decent gym as he gears up for his next professional contest scheduled on February 13 in Liverpool.
On a short break in India, Vijender, who has won all his three pro bouts so far via knockouts, would be flying back to the UK on January 4.

"The next fight is on February 13, the opponent is not known yet but I continue to train regularly. Right now I am looking for a gym to do the routine for today. It's New Year's eve so gyms seem to be closed because I guess people want to party. But I will request somebody to let me in for some time," Vijender told PTI after being turned away by a five-star facility near his home in Gurgaon.

"I can't afford to take it easy. I have to be on my toes because my body cannot do without workout. So let people party, I would be in gym working out," he said.
The 30-year-old's nascent pro career has been nothing short of sensational with all his wins coming in under three rounds.

His first two bouts were meant to be four-round affairs, while the third one was to be a six-round contest. His next bout could be an eight-round fight but India's first Olympic and World Championships medallist prefers to keep things short and sensational.

"Isn't it thrilling? It's like blink and you miss it, it's fun to fight like that. It saves me effort, the longer the bout, more the effort. Who would want to drag things? I give so much in my training that it's good that the actual contest doesn't last long," he said.

The former world No.1 in the amateur circuit has so far faced rivals who have been more aggressive with words than their punches.

While one (Sonny Whiting) threatened to batter him, another (Samet Hyuseinov) promised to send him back to India broken and beaten. Eventually all of them needed to be rescued by the referee when faced with Vijender's onslaught in the ring.

Asked if it is, at times, disappointing to face opponents who talk big but deliver little, Vijender said, "It's actually great for me that these guys speak so much before the bout and then I thrash them inside the ring. I am always looking to finish things off early, so I am glad I face opponents who talk a lot but eventually come a cropper in the actual fight."

Apart from the big wins, another confidence-booster for Vijender has been the feedback that he has got from fellow boxers in the UK.

"The feedback there has been very honest. I get criticised by fellow boxers when they feel that I have gone wrong somewhere. And it has helped me adapt well," he said.

Ashwin ends 2015 as number one Test bowler and all-rounder

Dubai, Dec 31,, 2015, (PTI):

Star India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has ended 2015 as the number one Test bowler in the ICC rankings issued today on the back of his strong showing against South Africa in the recent home series.
Ashwin, who took 62 wickets in nine Tests this year including 31 scalps in the four matches against South Africa, became the first India bowler since Bishen Bedi in 1973 to achieve the milestone of finishing the year on top.

In fact, Bedi, an ICC Hall of Famer, is the only India bowler to ever top the Test bowling table, while Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble peaked at number-two during their careers.

Ashwin achieved the number-one spot for first time in his career after injury prevented South African Dale Steyn from bowling more than 3.5 overs in England's second innings in the Durban Test.

Steyn had started the Durban Test leading Ashwin by four points and now trails the India off-spinner by the same margin. Even though the fast bowler bagged four wickets in the first innings, these were not enough for him to end the year as the number-one ranked bowler for the sixth time since 2009.

Ashwin's successful season was reflected in his ranking after he started the year in 15th position and slowly but surely moved to the top of the chart.

In a double whammy, the 29-year-old Indian also ended the year as top-ranked Test all-rounder.

"Finishing the year as the number-one ranked Test bowler is like an icing on the cake that I have managed to build over the past last 12 months. I always wanted to get there one day. There can't be a better way to finish the 2015," Ashwin said, reacting to the news.

"Replicating what Mr Bedi did is something I am very proud of. The former India captain was a master at his craft and I am very humbled to follow in his footsteps.

"I would like to thank my Test captain Virat Kohli, who has been a big influence, and, of course, the team management, my team-mates and the BCCI for their continued support," said Ashwin.

Another Indian Ravindra Jadeja, who also had  an impressive outing against the South Africans, ended the year at sixth. Ashwin and Jadeja are the only two Indians in the top 10 rankings of the Test bowlers.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane ended at 11th among Test batsmen and he is the only Indian in the top 20. 

For the second time in three years, Ashwin has finished as the number-one ranked Test all-rounder. Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan had started 2015 as the top all-rounder.
Among Test batsmen, Australia captain Steve Smith finished 2015 as the number-one ranked player.

Smith, who last week won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award, had entered the Melbourne Test in fourth position.

However, after scoring 134 not out and 70 not out, the 26-year-old has leapfrogged Kane Williamson of New Zealand, England’s Joe Root and AB de Villiers of South Africa into the top spot.

Williamson, Root, de Villiers, Smith and David Warner had a chance to finish the year as the number-one ranked Test batsman after they were separated by 26 points in the lead up to the final Tests of the year.

While Williamson was busy in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Root scored 24 and 73, de Villiers made 49 and 37 and Warner chipped in with 23 and 17.

Smith, who was also named in the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year, is the third Australia batsman in the last decade after Ricky Ponting (2005 and 2006) and Michael Clarke (2012) to finish the year as the number-one ranked batsman. Other batsmen since 2005 to finish the year as the top batsman are Kumar Sangakkara (2007, 2010 and 2011), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008), Gautam Gambhir (2009) and de Villiers (2013 and 2014).

Smith also finished 2015 as the leading run-scorer with 1,474 runs. This performance is clearly reflected in his ranking; he started the year in fifth position, achieved the number-one position for the first time after the Kingston Test against the West Indies in June, before finishing the year on top of the tree after hovering inside the top five in the last quarter of the year.

There was good news for Adam Voges, Dean Elgar, Usman Khawaja, Jonny Bairstow and James Taylor who have ended the year in their career-best rankings.

Voges scored 106 in his only innings at the MCG and has jumped up four places to 11th, Elgar has gained 12 places and is now in 28th position after scoring 118 not out and 40 in Durban, Khawaja has vaulted 11 places to 39th after scores of 144 and 56, Bairstow's 41 and 79 have lifted him 13 places to 43rd and Taylor has stormed up 46 places to 61st after contributions of 70 and 42.

Kohli named BCCI Cricketer of the Year

New Delhi, Dec 31, 2015, (PTI)

Continuing his meteoric rise, Indian Test captain Virat Kohli was today named 'Cricketer of the Year', while Mithali Raj was picked for the top women's award in the BCCI annual honours to be given away on January 5 in Mumbai.
The 27-year-old batsman, who took over as captain in the middle of the tour of Australia after Mahendra Singh Dhoni's sudden retirement, delivered some good results under his leadership.

Under Kohli, the Indian team ended a 22-year wait for a series win on Sri Lankan soil before battering world No.1 South Africa to give them their first overseas loss in nine years.

The right-hander has done well with the bat too, scoring 640 runs in 15 Test innings that he played at an average of 42.67. In his 20 ODI outings this year, Kohli managed 623 runs at an average of 36.65.

Mithali, on the other hand, became the first Indian woman and second overall to complete 5,000 runs in ODI format this year. Mithali will be presented with the M A Chidambaram Trophy for the best women's cricketer.

In other awards, former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani will be presented the Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.

Karnataka State Cricket Association has been chosen the state association of the year for achieving the treble of winning the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy in the season.

Karnataka all-rounder Robin Uthappa has been picked for the Madhavrao Scindia Award for being the highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy. Uthappa scored 912 runs in 11 matches, averaging 50.66.

The top wicket-taker's award is being shared this year by Karnataka's R Vinay Kumar and Mumbai's Shardul Thakur, both of whom scalped 48 in the previous season.

Daredevils release Yuvraj Singh, Sunrisers remove Ishant

New Delhi, Dec 31, 2015, (PTI)

Delhi Daredevils today predictably released veteran left-hander Yuvraj Singh from their squad while India's pace spearhead Ishant Sharma was off-loaded by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first trading window for the upcoming 9th season of Indian Premier League (IPL).

Despite getting back to the Indian team for the T20 leg of the Australian tour, Yuvraj, who was bought for a whopping Rs 16 crore by the GMR-owned franchise, turned out to be the biggest flop with only 248 runs from 14 matches at an average of less than 20 (19.07).

"Yuvraj Singh is a great player and the reason of releasing him is to rationalise our budget. He is in good form now and has got back to the Indian team. But there were budgetary constraints which led to the decision. I have personally spoken to Yuvraj. There are no hard feelings," Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua told PTI today.

In fact among existing six teams in IPL, Delhi Daredevils will be going into the February auction with a purse of Rs 36.85 to spend on salary of players.

"We have also released Angelo Mathews. So we are saving around Rs 23 crores (as mathews was bought for Rs 7 crore)," said Dua.

Some of the other prominent players to be released are Kings XI Punjab's last year's captain and former Aussie skipper George Bailey. Another former captain to bite the dust was West Indies' Darren Sammy, who was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha, Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood were released by Mumbai Indians.

In all, Daredevils have released 10 players while KXIP and Sunrisers released eight including Virender Sehwag, who has already called it quits.

RCB have released the maximum of 14 players while Mumbai Indians and KKR released 10 players each.