MaaTujheSalaam.net Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan have been recalled into Indian cricket team for Sri Lanka test series. Temperamental paceman S Sreesanth, whose on-field antics have often landed him in trouble, was on Tuesday surprisingly included in India’s 15-member squad for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka starting on November 16 in Ahmedabad. Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan expectedly returned to the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury, which had kept him out of the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the ensuing Champions Trophy in September. The team to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni also includes Tamil Nadu players opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman S Badrinath, while pacers Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel were ignored. Team Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Pragyan Ojha, S Sreesanth and S Badrinath.

Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra and women’s boxing world champion MC Mary Kom received the Sahara Indian Sports Award 2008-09 on Monday. Team India led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the team of the year award and former badminton star Prakash Padukone won the legend honour.

During the era of 90′s, some cricket team captain practiced to substitute an extra batsman in the place of a bowler. But it was an exception for the specific case, probably taking reference to the circumstances. But now a day that particular practice has become a tendency for cricketers.

Soon after the retirement of an all rounder like Kapil Dev the impact and strength of bowlers went on losing ground in a slow but sure manner. In the later stage India was crammed with some talented players like S Badrinath, MS Dhobi, AB Dinda, R Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, G Gambhir, RA Jadeja, KD Karthik, Z Khan, V Kohli, VVS Laxman, A Mishra, AM Nayar, PP Ojha, IK Pathan, YK Pathan, WP Saha, SR Tendulakar, S Sreesanth, Yuvraj Singh, RP Singh, SK Raina, A Nehra, I Sharma, MM Patel, P Kumar, RG Sharma, V Sehwag, M Vijay and S Tyagi.

But only few of them stood on the feet’s of bucketful performances like, Sachin, Ganguly, Yuvraj and Sehwag. Our team captain Mahendra sing Dhoni has too decided to follow the strategy of 8 batsman and 3 bowlers. Do u really think that it is a logical step for conquest?

The first ODI played on last Sunday at jaipur, India v/s South Africa was too built on the same attempt of Dhoni’s strategy. India was entered with just 3 bowlers and 8 batsmen. This is only was the reason where India was not seen in good shape as it seemed to be.

Do our captain Dhoni has set such a strategy to win the match or to escape from the controversies. In fact I would say that it is surely a clever decision for team man who lacks the talented bowlers. In the ODI’s also the famous Harbhajan Singh was not available. He was a casual leave on account of his sister’s marriage and Gambhir due to the one and only reason Injury and injury.

If The Indian cricket team continues to follow the same strategy then it would not be too far to accept the fact that now Indian bowlers have become an endangered species and found less in numbers. No doubt we have Mishra and Ojha too. But a country like India, representing on national level cannot rely of new bees. A cricket is a game of bat and ball, a game without ball or so called bowlers will be worthy. It cannot be won by some mere players. It requires a team effort which is only possible when bowlers and batsman will attain a equilibrium in sense of quality and strength.

In fact back-to-back bad performances by the Indian team in the last two events of the ICC has exposed the strength of their team and now instead of highlighting their weaknesses the Indian media is trying to raise a tempest in a tea cup,

The disheartening exit of team India from the very first round of World Cup 2007 had been a major setback for not only the players, selectors and coach, but also for the millions of fans of Indian cricket team. The low morals were reflected in the ensuing games which the team played and it seemed especially sad to see a team perform badly in spite of boasting of world class players like Sachin Tendulkar. However, team India is known to bounce back into the game at the most unexpected moments and the world witnessed a similar revival of the team in the ICC World Twenty20 championship. The Indian team claimed its position as the world champions by defeating Pakistan in the final nerve wrecking match played between the titans.

Indian cricket is now once again in the limelight. As a team, India truly lives up to the true spirit of the game through its unpredictable performance on field. You win some and you lose some –that’s Indian cricket for you. Now would it not get unbearably boring to watch a match where you already expected a team to win and it actually wins? With India, you never know where you stand. In one game the team might play remarkably well with the fielders performing brilliantly, while in the very next game a famed batsman may get out for a duck. The sheer unpredictability, I feel, adds to the charm of watching the cricketers in action. Every ball could turn the game and every swing of the bat could tilt the match the other way.

Indian cricket has managed to evolve over the ages and now has a marked place of its own in world cricket. Some of the Indian players hold high rank among international players and have created and broken many world records. The latest format to be played out in cricket is the Twenty20 form of the game and it has seen the emergence of new cricketing heroes in the Indian cricket scene. The series saw some power packed performances from the younger generation of players while the seniors took a backseat in a very long while. It was encouraging to see team India show a definite streak of aggressiveness which had earlier been seriously lacking form the earlier games, except perhaps under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly.

Perhaps for this very reason it is crucial to keep reinventing the game and giving younger players a chance to make a mark on the field. It not only adds to the spirit of the game but is also a welcome change from the age old style of playing cricket. Limited twenty overs in a game format have added the much needed spark and excitement that makes cricket interesting even for the disinterested Indian. The online websites dedicated to the game of cricket have made keeping in touch with the game even easier. Now live scores, cricket records, player wallpaper and match updates are just a click away. So next time you can simply click to connect with cricket.

Cricket is the game of passion and enthusiasm; almost every country participates in cricket; be it as a team or as a viewer every country has developed taste for cricket. In fact, it the charm of cricket which made it so popular all over the world; as a result popularity of cricket is increasing by leaps and bounces and tournaments like world cup and T-20 are getting incredible response. India is one of the most admired participant team in world cricket; Indian cricket has its own flavor in world cricket since legendry players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Sunil Gavaskar are there to make it more wonderful.

Indian Cricket is the great combination of national and regional cricket teams. Each state in India has its own regional cricket team and all these teams participate in many tournaments like Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. The best players from these regional cricket teams move forward and get opportunity to prove themselves at international level. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the biggest cricket authority for India; it bear the responsibility of selection of national team and also undertake all other decisions regarding sponsorship and role determination of every player in national cricket team. Apart from BCCI, each state has its own cricket board that conducts and control state level teams and also prepares good players for future responsibilities. No doubt, that these state level cricket authorities play a vital role in deciding future of national team; in fact our team has now get many young and energetic players like Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Pathan with the effort of these state level authorities only.

Indian cricket team got approval as test team in 1932 that was a subject of great honor for every Indian; in the same year, the team played its first test cricket match against England at Lords and really proved their potential as a good test team. After that day Indian players never looked behind and went the on track of making and breaking records. In order to that, India won the cricket world cup in 1983 and T-20 world cup few months back this year. India got its first test victory against England at Madras in 1952; afterward the same year, the team won first Test series, which was against Pakistan. That was really an indescribable experience for entire nation and after their starting victories the team improved their game throughout the decade.

In 1971 the arrival of one day international cricket shaped a new dimension in the cricket world; initially India was not very much strong in ODIs, that caused consecutive loss of matches therefore, they did not manage to qualify for the second round in the first two cricket world cups. However, every Indian cricket fan knows that there is nothing that can stop the team from getting what it deserves; perhaps, it is their heartily wishes and support that made Indian team the world cup winner in 1983 and gave all Indians a reason to celebrate cricket.

India is known as a country that finds unity in diversity. It is an accumulation of varied beliefs and culture where people following different religions and faith come together in the spirit of unity. One such binding religion and faith in India is the game of cricket. Indian cricket has evolved far beyond the gentlemen’s game to create a place for itself in the hearts of millions of fans. However, in India it is a different ball game altogether. The cricketers have achieved the status of idols, which can be praised when performing well or rebuked after a dismal performance. Much of our waking life is guided by the schedule of a live cricket match. If there is match between India and a popular opponent then chances are that the roads will be empty and the schools and offices will have an unusually low attendance.

Indian cricket has also set many precedents and among a few of them, you also have schools scheduling their exams based on the schedule of a match. If a match is being played on Indian grounds, then chances are that the stadium will be jam-packed. All those fans who are unlucky enough to be far removed from their television sets during a game of Indian cricket, have discovered various other ways to observe the match proceedings. The radio had been one of the most favored mediums of following up the commentary of an ongoing match. The arrival and omnipotent presence of the internet has turned the tables. Now no matter where you are, you can never be too far away from a cricket game.

Many cricket portals on the internet are a database of information on Indian cricket and the game as a whole. Live updates on the progress of every match are provided on these sites and a user can even request for regular updates on their mobile phones in the unfortunate event that they need to be away from their computers and televisions at a particular point of time. So now, you can be in touch with the game even while you are working at your desk and this is a highly popular method of tracking the game among the cricket fans across the globe.
Indian Cricket

has also become an important marketing tool for many corporate and they fully exploit the popularity of the Indian cricketers among their fans to promote their goods and services. The fans also like to keep track of their favorite players’ performance over the years and here again the cricket portals play a crucial role. Therefore, whether you need the latest statistics on your cricket icon or want to download wallpapers of your favorite cricket star, you simply need to surf the internet and discover a cricket related site that fulfills all your needs of regular updates on Indian and world cricket. Active participation in the discussion forums on these sites also show the deep involvement of the cricket fans and provide the best platform to get across your views to the world.

Sachin Tendulkar to join Indian Air Force as Group Captain on Friday
New Delhi, Sep 2 : The Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to honour master blaster Sachin Tendulkar with the rank of Honorary Group Captain on Friday.

Read more on New Kerala

Would it be a right choice?

England or South Africa, the finalization of the venue of much discussed and delayed event of Indian Premier League (IPL) is still in doldrums. The security threat was not at all ignorable when the world witnessed the traumatic situation faced by Sri Lankans in Lahore, Pakistan. Cricket is really the soft target for the terrorists in the Sub Continent.

The Chief of IPL Mr. Modi although wise enough to export the event to save his reputation and of course the future of this multi billion dollar event, but his dreams seem to be almost shattering. Shifting of IPL to England or South Africa was a unilateral decision taken by the BCCI the Cricket Board of India and this decision was taken without seeking any sort of consent or guarantee from the Cricket Boards of the expected venues. Obviously, it was a matter of shock for ECB and Cricket South Africa. Such kind of event requires long term planning and taking into account all the aspects of management which include boarding, lodging, TV rights, availability of stadiums and above all the existence of fool proof security plan. Mr. Modi is now in a twisted and cramped situation and is reaching the point of no return.

Just recently the news floated around the world that Terrorists inside India had a very dangerous plan to kidnap their premier cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly. The news was enough to run the chill through the spines of many Cricket lovers in and outside India. In these circumstances, it can clearly be said that BCCI has dragged England and South Africa into a very dangerous situation. IPL is a very costly event and many International Players would be participating in that tournament. No matter Indian Government is giving the excuse of ongoing Elections which is causing the Government to declare their inability to handle the security requirements of the tournament, but inside story would not be very good. Why this event needs extra security? Surely the news of kidnapping plot is the key instrument which has forced the Government to indirectly halt the event or unofficially cancel it to be held on Indian soil.

Though the above mentioned facts are increasing difficulties for India, but the shifting of event most likely to England or South Africa could make the matters more difficult for the nations to be hosting IPL now. Recently, Mr. Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of Great Britain clearly mentioned that security threats are always alive in the United Kingdom and Al Qaeda is planning to initiate a very dangerous action this time. The UK Government may have taken all necessary measures but the question is, those forces that made the staging of IPL impossible inside India, can’t they hit this event even more badly inside UK? This is a million dollar question, all because, if any thing unexpected happens inside UK then it will badly hurt the future of sporting events inside UK too.

The Governments of the countries likely to host the IPL should not take this matter as a birthday party. After 26/11 in Mumbai and Lahore attacks on Sri Lankan team, cricket has become extremely dangerous event for the people of the Sub Continent. Handling a Test Series or a one day series with any country has different sort of security requirements. However the event of IPL’s size need a detailed and most efficient security plan and requires huge sum of money to be spent to execute those plans. Although IPL management has shown their willingness to overcome all budgetary constraints regarding the security, but still it is not at all necessary that South Africa or UK may welcome IPL’s event on their soil.

Things may turn more worst because IPL’s management has decided not to include Pakistani players in this edition which will flare up the Pakistani community inside UK and South Africa. The issue is very serious and must be taken into account. Every body knows that Indo Pak tensions are on a high wave these days, excluding Pakistani players from IPL is also making this event a target for disturbance and disruption.

Eventually, Indian Government should not allow IPL to be exported outside the territory of India. It is better to cancel the event this year to avoid all sorts of complications and embarrassments. The matter is now highly politicized inside India and is being used as an instrument to defame each other during election campaign. The best solution left now is to forcefully cancel the event which is a much better option now.