Dhoni pleased to see Yuvraj back among runs

Yuvraj roared back to form with a 60-run knock. His strokeful 43-ball innings set up the 73-run victory over Australia. (AFP Photo)

MIRPUR: Yuvraj Singh's return to form was the biggest positive for the Indian team ahead of knockout stage of the ICC World Twenty20, according to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. 

Yuvraj roared back to form with a 60-run knock. His strokeful 43-ball innings set up the 73-run victory over Australia as India topped Group 2 with fourth consecutive win. 

"Yuvraj getting back into form was really good. We all know what kind of a player Yuvi is. I think this format ideally suits it (getting back into form). He decided to give himself time to play himself in. In the middle overs he wasn't able to rotate but in the end overs we knew the firepower we had," said Dhoni at the post-match presentation ceremony. 

Yuvraj was struggling in the first two matches of the tournament with scores of 1 and 10 against Pakistan and West Indies respectively. 

Dhoni said the decision to rest Shikhar Dhawan, who hasn't been in great touch, helped the left-handed opener look back at his performances. Dhawan was replaced by Ajinkya Rahane in the playing XI. 

"Rahane opens in difficult conditions. We have seen that in IPL, he is one the most consistent batsman. This (replacing Shikhar with Rahane) also gives Shikhar some free time to think about his game. So both players will benefit," he said. 

Australian skipper George Bailey, on the other hand, rued lack of "match sense" shown by his batsmen in this tournament. 

"I don't think we've been fans of the way we've been playing. We have shown lack of game sense on a number of occasions. There was not much turn in the wicket today. We could have batted better," said Bailey. 

Meanwhile off-spinner R Ashwin, who bagged his second consecutive man-of-the-match award, said the score they were defending was little above par. 

"I though 160 was just above par," Ashwin, who took four wickets and gave away just 11 runs, said. 

On his bowling, he said, "You have to cut the width for the right-hander, the line I'm bowling is not too wide outside off. We were stretched quite a bit while batting but we're playing well the way we are."
 

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Give new players more time like I got: Virender Sehwag

On his own form, Sehwag was startlingly honest, saying that selectors had few reasons to bring him back into the team. (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Exactly 10 years ago today, Virender Sehwag joined the club of India's batting greats when he raced to the first triple hundred scored by an Indian in Test cricket. 

Since that day in Multan, Indian cricket has seen a sea change. And as he battles to get back into the Indian team, a wiser Sehwag doesn't mind conceding he has done little to earn a comeback and that Indian cricket should stick with fresh faces. 

"I was given a lot of chances when I was young. I used to fire in one or two instances out of 10 hits. Yet, the team management stuck with me and only then the consistency came in. The same holds for the likes of Shikhar Dhawan. He shouldn't be under pressure after a few failures. Amit Mishra is also a good bowler and now that he has got his chances, he has started performing. Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma have it in them to break my record of scoring triple hundreds. New faces should be given more time," said the 35-year-old, firm in his opinion during the launch of a junior cricket tournament initiated by the Sehwag International School. 

A survivor of the 2004 side, Yuvraj Singh is struggling in the current set-up. Sehwag was quick to rise to his former teammate's defence. "If you look at the numbers, Yuvi was the man-of-the-match only three T20s ago. He deserves a few more chances and we all know when he gets going he can turn a tournament in India's favour," he said. 

On his own form, Sehwag was startlingly honest, saying that selectors had few reasons to bring him back into the team. "I haven't scored runs, how can I expect to be recalled? But every match and every tournament is a platform for me now to make a comeback. Just like when I scored a century for MCC recently in Abu Dhabi, people started talking about me coming back." 

At this stage of his career, experience is what the swashbuckler is banking on and not leading Kings XI Punjab doesn't fluster him. 

"For the amount of top-flight cricket I have played, I don't need to worry about words like confidence and moral boosts. I had told coach Sanjay Bangar that I won't mind if I had to lead the team but if they had someone better to do the job then they should go ahead with him. And then he called up to say they had finalised George Bailey and he told me that I will still be a leader in the team. It doesn't matter to me if I am the captain or not," said Sehwag. 

In his efforts to grab the eyeballs of the selectors, the veteran's batting position has been a talking point since he decided to drop to No. 4 when playing for Delhi
.

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World Twenty20: India will not take Australia lightly

Dhoni and Fletcher would be pleased that India will go into the contest as favourites. (AP Photo)

DHAKA: Was it a change in guard at the top of BCCI which prompted the entire Indian team to turn up for the optional practice session on the eve of their Super 10 clash of the ICC World T20 on Saturday? 

Sunil Gavaskar, the new interim chief of the BCCI, has been a vehement critic of optional practice sessions and Dhoni's boys gave him no reason to complain on his first day in office. 

As promised by skipper Dhoni on Friday, the batsmen who haven't got enough chance to bat in the games, were given an extended net session. 

Apart from the main bowlers, Dhoni himself bowled a mix of medium-pacers and off-spinners at them. His dance after dismissing Yuvraj bowled was not like the one the West Indies team indulged in after beating the Aussies, but it was celebratory nevertheless. 

The game against Australia though is serious business. Probably for the first time in World Cup contests, India will go into the contest as favourites. 

The Aussies have lost two close games and barring a win by Bangladesh over Pakistan earlier in the day, they have no chance of going through. 

However, India are in no mood for philanthropy. They fielded an unchanged side in the Champions Trophy against Pakistan even though they had qualified for the semis and are likely to do the same on Sunday. 

R Ashwin was asked if there was a chance of testing the bench and he said, "I'm not so sure about that because it's pretty much like how we played the Champions Trophy. Take one game at a time. We will do what suits us to win that particular game."

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SC installs Sunil Gavaskar as BCCI working president for IPL.... CSK & RR will play in this IPL

• Srinivasan should resign immediately, he should not stay on the post: Digvijava Singh #IPLScandal
• 5 minutes ago

  I support IPL as it has made cricket more popular. There should be strict action against those involved in match fixing: Digvijaya Singh
• Supreme court appoints BCCI Vice President Shivlal Yadav to take care of all non IPL BCCI affairs #IPLScandal
• Sunil Gavaskar to get out of contractual agreements with BCCI for commentary #IPLSCandal
• BCCI refutes Harish Salve's claim that MS Dhoni gave false statement to the Mudgal panel #IPLSCandal
• SC directs Sunil Gavaskar to sufficiently compensate Sunil Gavaskar during the IPL #IPLScandal
• No BCCI official to be linked with India Cements #IPLScandal
• Sunil Gavaskar not do commentary during IPL 7
• The Supreme Court has permitted Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings to participate in the IPL.
• Supreme court installs Sunil Gavaskar as working president of BCCI only for IPL matches

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IPL shadow over India game in World T20

Indian players Yuvraj Singh (centre), Suresh Raina (left) and Ravichandran Ashwin warm up during team's training session at rhe Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. (AFP Photo)

DHAKA: Has there ever been an occasion when a World Cup match involving India been reduced to a side show? In the wake of the damning interim order of the Supreme Court on N Srinivasan and the spot-fixing controversy, the team's ICC World T20 Super 10 encounter against hosts Bangladesh at the Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium, has been reduced to a footnote. 

The team arrived at the stadium in their spacious greenline luxury bus at around 3 pm and Rohit Sharma, who addressed the media in place of skipper MS Dhoni, would have been surprised to see many non-Indian mediapersons showing interest. 

Before the first question could be asked, the team's media manager Dr RN Baba, issued instructions to the media. 

"No questions on what's happening back home. Questions only on World T20." That irked a senior journalist who retorted: "You need not state the obvious. We all know Rohit is not in a position to answer those questions." 

ICC spokesperson then stepped in and said that Baba was just making a polite request. 

The mood was restive and Rohit must have felt tackling Dale Steyn on a green top at Kingsmead would have been easier. A couple of western journalists though did ask him about how the team could concentrate with so much happening back home. 

The opener handled those googlies well. "It's important for us to focus as we have a big job on our hands. When we came here, we were determined to win the tournament. We have won two out of two games and tomorrow (Friday) is another crucial match. At the moment, our focus is on this game," he said. 

Another googly came in the form of a similar question as Rohit was asked if the players had spoken about these issues and followed news channels. "Not at all," was his reply. 

After the press conference concluded, a large group of scribes surrounded Baba and asked him why Dhoni didn't address the media. He said, "He will be available only when the team loses. When the team wins, the performer of the day will speak." 

Baba also denied that there was a BCCI diktat which prevented players from talking about the IPL controversy. "But they will not speak about it," he stressed. 

The team trained at the academy nets at the eastern side of the ground on Thursday as hosts Bangladesh used the main training facilities. 

It inconvenienced the photographers and TV crew no end as the area is very small. Dhoni, also vice-president of India Cements and skipper of Chennai Super Kings, would have enjoyed that. Everyone wanted a close-up of the man in the spotlight. 

Was he tense? Was the team looking worried? Was he showing signs of nerves while batting? Nothing of that sort. He batted in two nets for close to 15 minutes, but avoided the area where he could be filmed without obstruction. 

Dhoni's big shots though didn't quite come out right and he was even bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar twice. 

A brief chat with head coach Duncan Fletcher and Joe Dawes followed and it was time to pack up. As Yuvraj Singh and he made their way to the exit gate, he mockingly pushed Yuvraj in full view of the media. 

Prior to leaving the ground though, Yuvraj and Shikhar Dhawan discussed the state of Indian politics. "Tu khada ho raha hain, election main?" Yuvraj asked Dhawan. 

"Khada hoga to bol. Tujhe vote dalunga, lekin Kejriwal ko nahin," he yelled as Dhoni struggled to control his laughter
.

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Dhoni lied about Meiyappan's role in CSK, alleges Salve

NEW DELHI: Senior advocate Harish Salve on Thursday accused MS Dhoni, captain of both the Indian cricket team and the Chennai Super Kings IPL team, of lying about the role of Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of N Srinivasan, to the Supreme Court-appointed committee probing allegations of betting and spot-fixing in IPL. 

Appearing for Cricket Association of Bihar, Salve told a bench of Justices A K Patnaik and FMI Kalifulla that Dhoni, who is also a vice-president in India Cements (which owns CSK), had -- along with Srinivasan -- told the Mudgal probe committee that Meiyappan "had nothing to do with the cricketing affairs of CSK and was a mere cricket enthusiast supporting CSK". 

In its report, the probe panel stated, "Though the de-jure ownership (of CSK) vests with India Cements, the committee finds that Meiyappan was in fact acting as a team official if not the de-facto owner of CSK". It added that he had access to sensitive information, including team strategy. The panel had found him guilty of betting but had said further probe was necessary to establish whether there was truth in the spot-fixing allegations against him and others. 

Salve drew from the panel's critical comments relating to Meiyappan to slam Dhoni's conduct. He said, "MS Dhoni is a vice-president of India Cements and captain of CSK. Look at his statement! You are also the captain of Indian cricket team and you are making a wrong statement supporting Srinivasan's stand before the inquiry panel that Meiyappan was a mere cricket enthusiast. 

"Captain of Indian team is found guilty of corrupt conduct. He and Srinivasan were found making false statements before the apex court committee. This shows both Dhoni and Srinivasan indulged in a cover-up operation. That by itself is a corrupt conduct. For this, the CSK franchise should be terminated. But BCCI lets them off the hook with a mere reprimand. That is because Srinivasan comes to BCCI wearing a different hat, that of the board president. 

"This shows the malady runs deep. The conflict of interest runs deep. L Sivaramakrishnan, R Ashwin, M Vijay and Ravindra Jadeja are all employees of India Cements. And here is Meiyappan having access to crucial team information and putting huge bets through punter Vindoo Dara Singh." 

Salve said Srinivasan's seamless transition between India Cements chairperson and BCCI president must be taken to be at the core of the maladies haunting IPL and requested the court to hand over further investigation to an outside agency as BCCI could no longer be trusted with the probe. 

"To unravel the entire facts behind the scandal, the probe needs to be handed over to CBI which must interrogate Meiyappan in custody. Only then will everything come out," he said, adding India Cements was "directly responsible for Meiyappan's conduct as it sought accreditation for him as official of CSK". 

Salve said Srinivasan wears one hat and tells the SC panel that Meiyappan was a mere cricket enthusiast and then replaces the India Cements hat with the BCCI one to let off CSK with a reprimand. This made the court remark that "Srinivasan is a multi-faceted personality, an all-rounder". 

When Salve said the truth had an uncanny habit of popping out, the bench said, "We all believe in 'Satyameva Jayate' (truth alone prevails). Truth may be suppressed for sometime, but ultimately it comes out and prevails."

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Yuvraj needs skipper MS Dhoni's backing

Once a specialist in manning the backward point region, an area allocated to the best fielders in the game, Yuvraj is now banished to the deep, where he has looked forlorn. (AFP Photo)

DHAKA: When Yuvraj Singh was struggling in the Test series during India's tour Down Under in 2007-08, the great Sachin Tendulkar, ever so helpful in the nets, offered him a simple advice. "Bowl more. Once you bowl on these wickets, you will understand how the ball bounces and that will also help your batting." 

The move seemed to work as Yuvraj batted better in the tri-series that India won. When he appeared to be struggling again in 2010-11 prior to the World Cup, MS Dhoni threw the ball to him and the confidence he derived from bowling well rubbed off on his batting too. He eventually turned in a Man of the Tournament performance, thanks to brilliant efforts in both departments. 

There is a school of thought about all-rounders that the success they have in one department seeps into the other. 

After his recovery from cancer, Yuvraj has been dropped twice and recalled twice. The 2014 ICC World T20 is his third comeback in the last 17 months. 

He had already lost his Test spot after performing poorly in three of the four matches against England in the series that India lost 1-2 in the 2012-2013 season. 

England offie James Tredwell then had Yuvraj's number in the ODI series that followed. Yuvraj also had a poor IPL for Pune Warriors and that ensured his ouster from the Champions Trophy squad. 

He returned for the home ODIs against Australia after turning in impressive performances for India A against West Indies. But after a match-winning knock in the T20 tie against Australia in Rajkot, when India chased down 200 last October, Yuvraj's batting has collapsed again. 

Mitchell Johnson brutally exposed the technical flaws in his game as he fell to full swinging deliveries. He could not negotiate the short ones either. 

It didn't help the Punjab southpaw that the team management preferred to send in Raina at No.4 and dropped him to 5 in that series. Dhoni's justification that he was trying out combinations for the World Cup if someone like Yuvraj failed sounded unconvincing. 

That Raina was ahead of Yuvraj in the captain's pecking order was proved when he trusted the former's bowling skills more. 

Dhoni, it seems, doesn't have the Punjab star in his scheme of things anymore. Once a specialist in manning the backward point region, an area allocated to the best fielders in the game, Yuvraj is now banished to the deep, where he has looked forlorn. 

He has put down regulation chances at deep mid-wicket and has appeared numb after dropping them. His bowling too has been sparingly used. India have played four games in the ICC World T20, including two warm-up matches. 

In all, Yuvraj has bowled just one over in the game against Pakistan, where he was hit for 13 runs. Raina has bowled seven. 

Dhoni backed his struggling star after the win against West Indies - where he scratched around for 19 deliveries and scored 10 - by saying all the right things about his match-winning abilities. 

Perhaps it's time for more than words. It's time for his legendary man-management skills to come to the fore. How about an arm around his shoulder? 

The Indian skipper has starred in many a win while batting with Yuvraj. The 2006 ODI leg of the Pakistan tour and the 2011 World Cup final are games that come to mind. 

In this World T20, they have struck a good partnership too, but that has only been in football matches that the team plays before training, where the players are split in two groups. Ironically, Dhoni and Yuvraj have ended up in the same side
.

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World T20: Team India has plenty to smile about

Skipper MS Dhoni addressed the media after the team's seven-wicket win over West Indies on Sunday, he stressed how keeping things in perspective is the key in, both, victory and defeat. (AP Photo)

DHAKA: While Tuesday could turn out to be a distressing day for India skipper MS Dhoni and owners of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings if the Supreme Court pronounces an adverse verdict in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, the performance of the Indian team in the ICC World T20 has given the captain enough reasons to smile.

After a couple of difficult months in South Africa and New Zealand, India have got back to winning ways. Convincing wins over tough opponents like Pakistan and West Indies mean they are on the right track for greater exploits in the tournament.

When a pleased-looking Dhoni addressed the media after the team's seven-wicket win over West Indies on Sunday, he stressed how keeping things in perspective is the key in, both, victory and defeat. "I smile even when we lose," he quipped. "Cricket is a big part of our lives; but it is not the only life we lead."

Before this event began, serious questions were raised over India's ability to stop rampaging batsmen on flat wickets here. The bowling, though, has been a revelation. The spinners, led by Amit Mishra, have proved to be a handful.

Dhoni, who has suffered many a sleepless night mulling over his bowlers' incompetence, should sleep better now. "I am really happy with the way they have performed. There is a bit of help for them, but you need to execute your plans well, especially in this format. You will have a couple of big hitters in the opposition and you have to carefully plan to get them out. I am happy that our spinners, along with part-timers and fast bowlers, have done really well."

Mishra, in particular has been impressive, winning the Man of the Match awards in both the games, and showing the willingness to flight the ball and look for wickets. The Haryana leggie credited the skipper for his show and said Dhoni's tips helped him bowl better.

So what did the skipper tell him?

"He was feeling a bit of nerves against Pakistan," said Dhoni. "I went up to him and told him, 'You are known to turn the ball, flight it and vary pace. Don't just try to bowl the straighter one. Try to bowl back of a length so that the batsmen can't hit.' I told him his biggest strength is deceiving batsmen in the air.

"Before the Pakistan game, I knew he was not bowling at his 100%. I knew that the man of the match award will ease him and his performance will get better. He bowled well against Gayle and used the odd variations. There will be days when, like others, he too may get hit, but it's important that he backs his strength."

India enjoyed a well-deserved day off on Monday but they do have a few issues to think about before the clash against hosts Bangladesh.

'Bit of pressure on Yuvraj'

The form of their biggest match-winner in T20 cricket, Yuvraj Singh, is a matter of concern. Dhoni agreed that Yuvraj wasn't in great form but talked about the 'X' factor Yuvraj brings to the table.

"He is one of the best players of T20, but he is not in good touch right now. It becomes tough when you are dropped from ODIs and you have to make a comeback in T20s. There's a bit of pressure on him."

Right now, though, the only ones that should feel the pressure are India's opponents
.

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World Twenty20: Dhoni backs Yuvraj to come good in remaining matches

Dhoni was confident that Yuvraj has the ability to get back in form and win matches for his team. (TOI Photo)

MIRPUR: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni expressed confidence that out-of-form Yuvraj Singh will come good in the remaining matches of the World Twenty20 but admitted that he is "under pressure and not in great touch". 

"Yuvraj is one of the best players of T20 but yes you can say that he is not in great touch at the moment. It becomes tough when you are dropped from ODIs and then you make a comeback in the T20 squad. So there's bit of pressure on him," Dhoni told reporters. 

"It's easy to say that it is a short format but when an individual comes into the squad, there is bound to be pressure on him," he added. 

Yuvraj scored a painstaking 10 off only 19 balls during Sunday's seven-wicket win against West Indies but Dhoni was confident that Yuvraj has the ability to get back in form and win matches for his team. 

"It takes one or two matches. Probably, he will get back into flow as we know how good a match-winner he is. He can turn a game on his own. Today the plan was to have a higher net run-rate but at the same time give Yuvraj a chance to settle his nerves. If he is in flow, Yuvi is a good asset to have," Dhoni added. 

About Amit Mishra's splendid form with back-to-back man of the match awards, Dhoni said that his only advice to the Haryana leggie was to back his strengths. 

Asked what was his tips to Mishra, Dhoni smiled and said, "I told him, Just Play!". 

On a serious note, he further added: "People bowl or bat according to their strengths. He was feeling a bit of nerves against Pakistan and I went up to him and told him that you are known to turn the ball, flight it and vary the pace. 

"I told him just don't try to bowl the straighter one. Try to bowl back of length so that batsman can't hit. I told him, biggest strength to flight and deceive batsman. 

"During Pakistan game, I knew he was not bowling his hundred percent. I knew with that man-of-the-match performance, he will get better in coming matches. He bowled well against Gayle and used the odd variations. Their will be days when like other bowlers he may also get hit but it's important that he backs his strength," Dhoni said. 

Similarly, the India skipper was also pleased that Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a splendid opening spell in which he had 16 dot balls. 

"His (Bhuvneshwar) job was to use the new ball well and not give too many loose deliveries. Today there was a bit of help and he was bowling in the right areas. And so that's how, he will contribute," Dhoni said. 

"Whenever there is a bit of help, he should bowl in right areas. Especially, in this game, he bowled brilliantly as he was able to swing the ball and length was also very crucial." 

Dhoni said that while Shami is one permanent choice for bowling at the 'death', he is also trying out options to see who among Jadeja, Ashwin and Mishra fit the bill. 

"Bhuvi is a fantastic new ball bowler. I am not saying that he is a bad bowler at the death. Trying Jadeja at the death is an option I am trying to check as we will have a lot of big hitters coming in the next few matches," he said. 

"We have Shami, to whom we look upon as a death over specialist. I am trying to get one more bowler, it may be Jadeja, Ashwin or whoever, as a death over specialist." 

While Dhoni opened with Ashwin in the previous game, it was a calculated ploy to start with Bhuvneshwar yesterday as he wanted to try a different option against Gayle. 

"You (guys) expected me to open with Ashwin which means Ashwin was a normal choice. If you don't bowl Ashwin, that means that's a surprise! I think with new ball, Bhuvi is someone who has troubled Chris Gayle to some extent. I think even today he bowled really well. 

"It was more of changing the plan when needed. I wanted to bowl Ashwin later depending on how many wickets they lose in Powerplay. I thought of using faster bowler for three to four overs, so that when Gayle starts hitting, I have Ashwin to push him for big shots against a bowler he has more chance of getting out." 

The 32-year-old turned a bit philosophical when someone remarked that now he can "afford to smile" at his bowler's performance. 

"I still smile when I lose. I know cricket is a big part of our lives but it is not the only life we lead. Of course, you are disappointed when you lose a game but there will be times when you won't win," Dhoni said. 

"As far as bowling concerned, I am really happy how they have performed. Yes, there is a bit of help for them but at the same time you need to execute your plans well. Especially in this format, you have got couple of big hitters in the opposition and you have to carefully plan them out. 

"I was really happy that our spinners along with part timers and the fast bowlers have done really well. Still there's long way to go in the tournament. Still there are two matches left in the league." 

Asked about the performance of the Indians fielders, who dropped a few high catches, Dhoni said: "It is not a problem with Indian team only. There has been some catches that has been dropped by other teams also. I don't know whether it's a surrounding, but fielders in deep are finding it difficult to judge the ball. 

"I don't know any other reasons but we need to overcome the problem because if we drop a big hitter, we might end up giving a lot of runs which will be difficult to chase. It's definitely a problem to some extent but we don't know whether it's a technical fault or not.
"

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Won't change ODI rules till World Cup: Richardson

David Richardson feels it's time people change their perceptions about what is a good strike rate and what is a good economy rate in ODIs. (TOI Photo)

DHAKA: As someone who kept wickets to some of the finest bowlers in the world, ICC CEO David Richardson is naturally sympathetic to the tribe in ODIs what with only four fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle at all times. 

However, as someone who has to ensure that the game remains entertaining in the wake of the T20, he's had to endorse the ICC Cricket Committee's views - they feel the only way ODIs can be enjoyable in the middle-overs, a period where batsmen focus mostly on singles and twos and consolidate, is by allowing one fielder less on the fence. 

"We wanted to create a more attacking 50-over game, one that could compete on the entertainment scales with T20 cricket," says Richardson. "I think it's led to a more attacking game from a bowling and fielding perspective. On flat wickets, bowlers will find it tough. But essentially, the best bowlers are still top of the bowling rankings," he justifies. 

Richardson feels it's time people change their perceptions about what is a good strike rate and what is a good economy rate in ODIs. "In the old days, if you scored a run a ball everyone said you had a tremendous strike-rate. 

Now it's about 120 or 130. The same is true for the bowlers. Fanie de Villiers got upset if he went for more than three. Now, bowlers only get upset when they go for more than six," he states. 

While bowlers, especially from the Indian sub-continent, are crying themselves hoarse about the need to change the rules again in order to be competitive, Richardson ruled it out. "We're not going to consider any changes prior to the World Cup. After the World Cup the rules will be reviewed." 

These are changing times indeed for the ICC. There has been a significant shift in the balance of power towards India. There is also the issue of corruption. A major member (India) is opposed to DRS. How does a CEO run the sport when he doesn't know how relevant he will be when N Srinivasan takes over as chairman in June? 

"It's too early to say. He will come in as chairman only in June. As CEO, I'll have regular meetings with him. What I like about his position is that for the first time, the BCCI will be part of the governance structure. Their approach earlier was not to partake in developing strategy." 

As someone who played under a captain who was later proved corrupt, Richardson is aware that the game's popularity could be at stake as people could doubt a dropped catch, a wrong decision or a run out and get cynical. "Corruption is one of our major challenges. The ICC Anti-Corruption unit has changed considerably over the last few years. 

Initially, it focused on education and prevention and it has become much more pro-active on the investigation side." 

With the IPL, which was in the centre of the spot-fixing controversy last year, to be partially staged in the UAE, there will be questions asked about the credibility of the games played as the region has historically been a hotbed of the betting mafia. Will the ICC help BCCI during the IPL's UAE sojourn? 

"Our office is in Dubai, so we have certain facilities which we will make available to the BCCI if they need them." 

When the BCCI announced that 20 games of the IPL would be staged in UAE, the ICC sent out a media release quoting Richardson that the ICC was pleased. Does it indicate that the league now has ICC's blessings and there could soon be a window for it? "Not necessarily," says Richardson. "As our office is in the UAE, it is only natural that we feel some responsibility for the development of cricket in the region. That release was simply to acknowledge that. Also, rightly or wrongly, the UAE gets accused of having integrity issues. We wanted to assure everybody that we are keeping a very close eye on the tournament." 

With Srinivasan now coming on the board of the ICC, the BCCI could resist the DRS even more. Richardson though is not sticking to a timeframe about when they will be able to convince India to accept it. 

"Your guess is as good as mine. We need to ensure that they're at least privy to the latest information, so that they understand the quality of the technology that is available. Anil Kumble chairs the ICC cricket committee. He's a member of a working group set up to specifically review DRS and how technology will be used in the future," he informed. 

But can the Indian great convince the BCCI? "First of all, we must convince Mr. Kumble," was Richardson's response
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South Africa demanded Rs 180 crore to host IPL 7

In comparison, BCCI will need to spend a total of around Rs 60 crore on staging the event in UAE, and if needed, Bangladesh.

NEW DELHI: BCCI would have loved to host the IPL in South Africa but the plan was shelved because of the cost factor. 

According to sources, Cricket South Africa (CSA) was demanding close to Rs 180 crore to host the T20 event, though it could not be ascertained if the demand was for hosting the entire event or just a part. 

The steep demand put off not only the board but also IPL team owners who did not want to spend that kind of money. Thus, South Africa lost out as a possible host as the teams did not want to go there even for a part of the event. 

In comparison, BCCI will need to spend a total of around Rs 60 crore on staging the event in UAE, and if needed, Bangladesh. Of course, the board will save some more money if the government allows IPL matches in India from the first week of May itself. 

"These venues work out to be cheaper. The intention is to play as many matches as possible in India. The calculations have been done but we will get correct figures only after home ministry's direction," a top BCCI official told TOI. 

Franchises hope that a large population of expats in UAE will help boost revenue from gate receipts which would compensate them partly
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