Sehwag out of World Twenty20 once more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Easily the most destructive batsman in every format of the game, Virender Sehwag will be missing the Twenty20 World Cup for the second year running. According to the reports the explosive Indian opener has suffered a shoulder injury, which has ruled him out of the ICC World Twenty20 beginning in the West Indies on April 30.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), preoccupied of late with the crisis in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has announced that Sehwag has been advised rest for three to four weeks and has been replaced by Tamil Nadu batsman Murali Vijay in the 15-man squad with Gautam Gambhir being made the vice-captain.

There was no mention, however, in the BCCI statement about the details of the latest injury sustained by Sehwag having played all 14 IPL-3 league matches for Delhi Daredevils.

Sehwag wasn’t at his best in the IPL-3 having scored only 356 runs at an average of 25. His last appearance in the IPL was on April 18 as his team failed to make it to the semifinals. Since he was deemed fit when included in the World Twenty20 squad the injury must have occurred during the course of the IPL-3.

Sehwag was unable to play for India in the ICC World Twenty20 last year because he had sustained a shoulder injury during the IPL-2 in South Africa, shortly before the World Twenty20 was due to begin.

He had accompanied the national the squad to England but was not able to play a game. His absence was not felt in the first round where India, the defending champions, thrashed their rivals convincingly but he was missed in the second round where India lost all three matches to get themselves were eliminated.

Murali Vijay, who has been in spectacular form in the IPL-3, has been chosen as Sehwag’s replacement for the upcoming event but the hugely talented youngster, who has also been India's back-up opener for Tests as well as ODIs in the recent past, could find it very hard to smash the bowlers at the international level.

There’s a feeling that Robin Uthappa, who played for India in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, would have been a better choice than Vijay. But then Uthappa has been playing in the middle-order for the Royal Challengers Bangalore that might have prompted the selectors to go for a specialist opener in Vijay.

It doesn’t really matter if Vijay plays or Uthappa was included in his place because India would always be missing Sehwag because he possesses the ability to win the match on his own.

With Sachin Tendulkar unwilling to represent the country in the Twenty20 games India could well be short of experience once more and they might face the prospects of returning empty handed once more from the Caribbean.

Although the slow and low pitches in the West Indies are understood to be to the liking of the Indians but they might never be able forget the nightmare of the 2007 World Cup when they had failed to qualify for the second round.

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Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat ruled out due to injury

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Yes, Umar Gul, an experienced fast bowler, has been ruled out of the of the ICC World Twenty20 due to start in the West Indies later this month due to an injury like all-rounder Yasir Arafat.

The clarification is very much needed here because of the ongoing chaos and mess the Pakistan cricket is in at the moment. Quite a few celebrated performers didn’t make the squad because of ineligibility.

Umar and Yasir were very much eligible for selection and both of them featured in the Pakistan squad for what has also been acclaimed as the Twenty20 World Cup.

Umar had sustained a shoulder injury during a practice session at Lahore’s National Cricket Academy while Yasir was struggling to get out of his calf injury. Neither them could not clear the fitness test conducted at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on April 18.

Their absence has been described as a big blow to defending champions Pakistan, who have replaced the injured duo of fast bowlers Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan.

"In mutual agreement with captain and coach, we have decided that we will not take a chance with half-fit players,” chief selector Mohsin Khan was quoted as saying.

"We recommended the names of fast bowlers Mohammad Sami and uncapped Mohammad Irfan as replacements for the injured players. We have picked Sami from the list of five reserves we had kept for the World Cup," he added.

"Umar Gul would be missed in the Twenty20 World Cup and this is disappointing that he is not the part of the team," Mohsin remarked.

Umar was hopeful of recovering in time but coach Waqar Younis and chief selector Mohsin Khan insisted that no player will be part of the squad unless fully fit.

The lion-hearted had come up in sterling performance in the last two editions of T20 World Cup and was the leading wicket-takers for Pakistan on both occasions. In fact he has taken the highest number of wickets in Twenty20 Internationals, having scalped no less than 43 batsmen in 26 matches.

He also recorded the best Twenty20 bowling figures when he took five wickets for six runs against New Zealand in the second World Twenty20, which Pakistan won in England last year.

The Pakistan skipper, Shahid Afridi, also expressed his disappointment at Umar’s absence but hoped that the team will cope with the situation.

“Umar is our best bowler, but we have to cope with it and now Sami has to replace him and perform,” he observed.

Sami, who clocked 90 miles an hour, has played 34 Tests and 83 One-day matches for Pakistan but he has yet to play a Twenty20 International. Irfan is a lanky left-arm quickie, who has not represented the country as the international level yet.

Pakistan have been placed in Group A of the ICC Twenty20 and they will play their first match against Bangladesh on May 1 in St Lucia before taking on Australia the next day at the same venue. The tournament starts on April 30 and ends on May 16

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Minister resigns following IPL controversy

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, has been reported to have resigned from the Union cabinet on April 18, after days of relentless controversy over his alleged involvement in the bidding for an IPL team.

According to the reports from the Indian capital, New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has forwarded Tharoor's resignation letter to the President with the recommendation that it be accepted.

"It’s a voluntary resignation. I don't want to embarrass the party. I want parliament proceedings to go on, hence I have decided to resign," Tharoor is believed to have written in his letter.

Tharoor's association with the Kochi IPL and the bidding process for the team had come under fire leading to the issue becoming a major controversy and claiming the seat of the minister.

The 54-year-old Tharoor, a writer and a former Under Secretary General at the United Nations, tendered his resignation after the Congress core group, comprising the top leaders of the party, sought it.

He also had an audience with the Prime Minister during which is he is understood to have explained his position. He had met Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony separately in a bid to convince them about his innocence.

Tharoor was accused of helping his friend, businesswoman Sunanda Pushkar, in acquiring a stake in the Kochi IPL team. Pushkar, who has a sweat equity valued at Rs 70 crore in the IPL Kochi franchise, announced earlier in the day that she had resigned from Rendezvous Sports World, which is one of the stakeholders in IPL Kochi.

"Given the deeply unpleasant publicity surrounding my involvement, I can no longer find the enthusiasm required to associate myself with any IPL activity in the future. I therefore voluntarily offer to return to Rendezous the sweat equity they offered me. I do not wish to ask for compensation for my services rendered to them," Pushkar said in a statement.

Pushkar also denied having acted as a proxy for Tharoor and said that the Rendezvous Group had given her equity as payment for her marketing expertise and her help in putting the bid together.
Tharoor, a first time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, got into controversy after IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi revealed that Pushkar had equity stakes in Rendezvous Sports World (RSW), which heads the consortium that owns the Kochi team.

The controversy over the ownership of the Kochi franchise became public after IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi revealed the composition of its stake holders on his Twitter account.

The role of the high-profile Modi behind the deals in the IPL has also been questioned but he appears to be having total support of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at present.

The BCCI high-command seems to be right behind Modi at the moment but there’s pressure mounting for transparency and accountability. The IPL Commissioner has been calling the shots all along and it remains to be seen if he will survive the ongoing Kochi controversy.

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Tendulkar to miss out in World T20 even in purple patch

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan's captain for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 to be held in the Caribbean, Shahid Afridi, has reckoned that Sachin Tendulkar's absence from the Indian team for the tournament will be a blessing in disguise for the other sides.

Tendulkar had voluntarily ruled himself out of international Twenty20 matches in 2007, before the inaugural World Twenty20, in order to preserve himself for the longer formats. But there have also been indications that the grand master distanced himself from the shortest version of the game at the international level to let Mahendra Singh Dhoni lead the side without the pressures of having ‘veterans’ under his command.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between and there’s every likelihood that a combination of factors influenced his decision.

His success with the bat in the ongoing IPL-3 leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind about him being more than suitable for every format of the game. He has been leading Mumbai Indians by example and in the manner in which he has scored runs of late makes everyone feel that he’s the man in form.

He was not a part of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in 2007 in South Africa which India won under Dhoni. Neither was he a member of the side that was humiliated in the second edition of the tournament in England last year.

In other words Tendulkar has not been in the scheme of things as far as India’s T20 plans are concerned. The Indian selectors and their team management, for reasons best known to them, have not made much effort in persuading him to play T20 Internationals either.

The Indian think-tank appears convinced that they won’t be needing Tendulkar for T20 and in such circumstances the iconic batsman, having all conceivable batting records under this belt, could not be expected to plead to anyone. He has chosen the right course letting his bat make the statement all the time.

Tendulkar has been in the middle of yet another purple patch and there were suggestions that he might be reconsidering his decision but, like a wise man, he has ruled out such a possibility.

"The way he has blossomed in the last few years, he is only getting better and better as a batsman. If he is not playing for India in the Twenty20 World Cup, it is certainly a big advantage for other teams.If Tendulkar had played in this World Cup, I am sure he would made big impact for India," the Pakistan captain felt.

“Age has not had any effect on Tendulkar's powers. With every match he seems to be growing as a batsman and getting better. He is playing like a teenager. There is no sign of age affecting his game at all," Shahid added.

"The biggest thing that he still enjoys playing the sport and he is hunger for runs has not died at all," he said. I think even in Twenty20 cricket you need to bat properly and at times even playing out 20 overs is a big challenge for a team. You need to play orthodox cricket," he pointed out.

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Shoaib Malik weds Sania Mirza finally

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan’s former cricket captain Shoaib Malik finally tied the knot with Indian tennis star Sania Mirza married on April 12 in the latter’s hometown of Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Both of them are now expected to be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid reports that they would continue to represent their countries in their respective sports.

The marriage between two of the leading sports personalities has been covered widely by the media and even the reputed British newspapers like The Guardian, The Independent and the Evening Standard have reported the event in-depth.

There were huge controversies before the marriage and yet another one has rocked them right away.

It has been reported that Shoaib has paid Indian Rupees 6,100,000 as mehr which is the gift given by the groom to his bride at the time of marriage, a prerequisite for a Muslim marriage. The gift can be given in the form of cash or gold or other form of wealth and is aimed at giving a financial security to the wife in the case of divorce or death of the man.

According to the reports it’s not the huge sum of money that has been questioned but it’s actually the massive difference between the one he paid to his earlier wife has caused some concerns.

The fact has been brought to light that Shoaib had paid a meagre Rs 500 mehr to Ayesha Siddiqui, whom he divorced recently, while Sania Mirza got a grand price.

Shaoib was reported to have married Ayesha in 2002 over a telephonic nikah but later claimed that she was not the girl he fell in love with as the photographs sent to him online were that of another girl.

The prolific Pakistan all-rounder, however, finally confessed having married Ayesha and divorced her just a few days before his marriage. He is believed to have agreed to pay Indian Rupees 15,000 rupees as maintenance to Ayesha for a span of three months, which broke down to 5,000 rupees per month.

His marriage plans with Sania had been jeopardized when Ayesha, another Indian woman, had lodged a complaint, claiming that Shoaib married her in June 2002 and accused him of subjecting her to cruelty and harassment by denying that the wedding took place and by trying to marry another woman.

Ayesha’s family, however, withdrew the police complaint after some elders brokered a divorce between the pair and cleared the way for the wedding with Sania.

The much talked about marriage between Shoaib and Sania has taken place finally and their future life will be watched with interest as well.

It remains to be seen in particular how Sania would be able to extend her career as a tennis star. She has been acclaimed as the queen of Indian tennis for quite sometime. Will she manage to regain her fitness and continue representing India in future is a question in everyone’s mind?

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Waheed Baloch shines in Dreamworld golf tourney

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
Waheed Baloch of the Karachi Golf Club (KGC) fired spectacular rounds of 63 and 65 and with total 128 to win the Pros event of the Sindh Golf Association (SGA) Promotional Golf Tournament staged at the Dreamworld Resort & Golf Club near the Northern Bypass in Karachi.

The vastly experienced Waheed produced brilliant accuracy and putting at the greens and fairways of Dreamworld Golf Club. Waheed's KGC colleague, Javed Inayat clinched the runner-up spot 10 strokes behind with rounds of 71 and 67 to end with an aggregate of 138. Amjad Yousuf was third with total of 140 among the pack of 38 golfers.

In fact, the golfers of the KGC dominated all the three events, Pros, Senior Pros and Caddies, spread over three days.

Following the top trio of Waheed Baloch, Javed Inayat and Amjad Yousuf were Ahmed Saeed, Afsar Ali and Noor Bakhsh, also from KGC. Mohammad Arif and Misal Khan of DHA ended seventh and eighth respectively.

Khair Mohammad and Abdul Rasheed, both of them from KGC, finished joint first in the senior pros with 80 points each while Qamar Ahmed of DHA and Abdul Sattar of KGC shared the third position with 81 points each.

Mohammad Shahzad of KGC won the caddies event with 64 points while Mohsin Ali and Amjad Khan, also from KGC, finished second and third respectively.

The three-day tournament, the first one to be held under the auspices of the SGA at the Dreamworld Golf Club, proved to be a success story. The participating Pros, Senior Pros and Caddies appreciated the hospitality provided by the hosts who even didn’t charge any tournament fee.

The hosts recognized the role of the Executive Committee SGA in promoting the sport with special mention being made of their President, Aslam R Khan, and Secretary, Ahmed Abdul Bari.

Speaking at the prize distribution ceremony, chief guest Ashraf Khan Ghori highlighted the efforts of SGA in promoting the game of golf in Sindh. He highlighted the fact that Sindh has recently won the National Amateur Championship after a span of 40 years. He praised the management of Dreamworld Golf Course for holding a successful tournament.

The participants also enjoyed the experience of driving to the Dreamworld Resort & Golf Club, located on the outskirts of Karachi in the vicinity of the Northern Bypass.

It’s interesting to note that while the Dreamworld Cue Sports Championships have already completed a decade, golf has just got off to a flying start and there’s every possibility of the event becoming a regular feature in the SGA calendar.

The Dreamworld Cue Sports Championships have been attracting good crowds since inception and it remains one of the showpiece tournaments being held at the resort. With the golf facilities of the highest class on offer it has become quite an attraction for the members as well as the non-members of the club. We can expect to witness quite a few golf tournaments in future at this picturesque venue.

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Tendulkar stands tall once more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

In yet another classic exhibition of controlling the game single handedly, skipper Sachin Tendulkar came out trumps while leading Mumbai Indians to an emphatic 37-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in their return match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 11.

Mumbai Indians became the first team to confirm a place in the semifinals of the IPL-3 with three league matches still in hand. While the other seven contestants would be battling it out grimly in the coming days for the remaining three positions Mumbai would be looking forward to topping the points table without the pressure of qualification.

Tendulkar extended his brilliant form in the season with another magnificent knock that saved Mumbai’s blushes initially. The chips were down for his side when they lost three early wickets and Shane Warne applied pressure for making greater inroads.

Australia’s frontline all-rounder of late, Shane Watson, put Mumbai in disarray by scalping that man Sanath Jayasuriya in his first over and followed up by removing the local duo of Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary.

It was Tendulkar who stood firm in the typical style of his and steered the team out of trouble by building two big partnerships, one with South Africa JP Duminy and the one with the West Indian Kieron Pollard.

Left-handed Duminy proved a perfect foil for Tendulkar in the rebuilding phase as they were engaged in risk free game concentrating more on well judged singles to rotate the strike when the field was spread after the Powerplay.

Tendulkar was well set to take on the champion leg-spinner Warne clobbering him for three fours in one over. The much awaited battle between the two greats, as usual, excited the crowd and it was the Indian Grand Master who dominated the wily Australian with a touch of class.

Warne, acclaimed as the greatest spin bowler of all time, was not afraid to flight the ball and Tendulkar was up to the task in heaving him inside-out through extra cover. Warne made the adjustment by dropping one short but Tendulkar was alert enough to make room to cut him through point for yet another boundary.

That has been the beauty of Tendulkar's game all along over the past couple of decades. He would rely on cricketing strokes even in the death overs instead of hitting wildly or attempting to slog. Once again he picked out his spots in the field and runs came thick and fast when he cut loose. He finished it off by smashing two successive sixes off Siddharth Trivedi in the final over yielding no less than 20 runs.

Rajasthan Royals were always expected to be up against it while chasing a target of 175 against a bowling attack having Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh. The only man who could have turned the tables was Yusuf Pathan who had blasted the quickest century of the competition against them earlier but this time he was undone by the medium pace of Pollard and that was the end of the story.

"We needed a solid performance, and I thought 170-plus was a competitive total on this track. The target was to stay there till the end, because we had lost lot of wickets early on. So that added some responsibility on me and JP. I knew it was a matter of a couple of big overs, and they had to come at some stage,” Tendulkar said after the game.

"Full marks to the way our fast bowlers bowled up front. Zaheer, especially; his first spell was terrific. The fielding was very sharp and overall good. There were some very important run-outs and catches; when all these things gel together, it's obviously a special performance,” he added.

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Dravid’s night at Bangalore

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Royal Challengers Bangalore, inspired by brilliant half centuries from Rahul Dravid and Robin Uthappa, recorded an impressive seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in yet another crucial match of the Indian Premier League 2010 also known as IPL-3 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 10.

The big crowd was entertained to some fabulous cricket and the outstanding performance of the local heroes was an icing on the cake for the thousands of fans who couldn’t have expected more weekend fun.

Bangalore were also indebted to their bowlers for having limited their opponents to 160 in 20 overs that allowed their champion batsmen to go about the chase in an unhurriedly manner. The victory lifted them to the second place in the points while Kolkata were left struggling among the last three.

Anil Kumble’s gamble of fielding first after winning the toss paid off and the master craftsman had the reasons to feel delighted with the outcome. His change bowlers stuck to their job and the established batsmen delivered at the right time to finish off things in a convincing manner.

Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn were guilty of spraying the ball in conditions where they would have been better off pitching it up. Swing and movement was on offer for them but they made a mess and conceded far too many runs in the initial overs.

Left-handers, Sourav Ganguly and Chris Gayle, both of them known for taking the attack to the bowlers, enjoyed the width provided to them with as many as 61 runs coming in the Powerplay that was the highest achieved by Kolkata in the tournament.

Jacques Kallis was also punished for bowling short but Vinay Kumar pulled it back for Bangalore and his spell led a turnaround. He was not afraid to pitch the ball up to the batsmen while using the short ball sparingly, a tactic that was more likely to work in the prevailing conditions.

The fall of three wickets for two runs in the space of nine balls derailed Kolkata but Brendon McCullum revived them by clubbing Sridharan Sriram for 18 in an over.

It was the turn of captain Kumble to rise to the occasion and he bowled superbly to emerge as the most economical bowler of the day. Kolkata lost the plot in the final overs and their eventual total was unlikely to be adequate as it turned out.

If Kumble had led by example in the field, the responsibility of guiding the team with the bat was taken by Dravid. Isn’t it quite extraordinary that both these stalwarts continue to deliver for so long?

Dravid, despite appearing in top form, didn’t have a big score in tournament yet with the likes of Kallis, Uthappa and Virat Kohli doing the bulk of the scoring for Bangalore.

He got the opportunity this time round and dominated the bowling in the usual style of his. He kept the scoreboard ticking over with a brilliant half century and the stage was set for Uthappa to explode and seal the victory in the company of Ross Taylor.

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