Indian Cricket call the Wall

MUMBAI: Former skipper Rahul Dravid, who has been named among the 30 probables for the Indian team for the ICC Champions trophy, on Friday said he
was happy to be reconsidered for a spot in the One-day side. "I'm happy, it feels nice to be back in the mix," Dravid said. The eight-nation tournament will be played from September 22 to October 5 in South Africa this year. The middle-order batsman, who has scored 10,585 run in 333 matches, last played an ODI against the Australians in Nagpur in October 2007. Talking about the status of other sports which get overshadowed by Cricket, Dravid said the only way to bring them under limelight is to attain more success in that discipline. "A lot of sports do suffer from the magnitude of cricket in India. But there is no point complaining about it. As more and more people get success in other sports, they will get the desired attention," he said. "It has happened with (Abhinav) Bindra at the Olympics and recently with Saina (Nehwal)," Dravid said. The former Indian skipper also congratulated legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar on his 60th birthday. "I wish him well. He has done a lot for the game and for us," he said.

Rahul Dravid called

CHENNAI: The selectors finally took a step that clearly indicated that they were worried with India's batting following the T20 World Cup and the
West Indies series. They have brought Rahul Dravid back into the fray for a spot in the ODI side by including him in the 30-member probables list for the Champions Trophy, and if sources close to the selection committee are to be believed, it's not just for filling up the numbers. The Indian batsmen's frailty against short-pitched bowling was there for everyone to see during the T20 World Cup and the selectors believe some solidity is required in the middle-order. Even though India won the series against the West Indies, the general belief among the decision makers is that it is all due to "one match winning effort (from Yuvraj)." It was clearly indicated that Dravid would surely be considered when the final 15 was selected for the Champions Trophy. The veteran right-hander may not fit into skipper MS Dhoni's scheme of things but given the recent performances of the Indian team, the selectors may well take a stern stance. The fact that the Champions Trophy will be played in South Africa, where the pitches will afford steep bounce, has also gone in Dravid's favour. But will there be a chance to see what kind of form Dravid is in before the final team is selected? "Do we need to do that for a player of Dravid's stature? We know what he is capable of," the source shot back. Another player who found himself out of favour was all-rounder Irfan Pathan. By not picking him in the list of 30 probables, the selectors have indicated that they are looking ahead, at least for now. Champions Trophy probables: MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh. Squad for Emerging Nations Trophy: S Badrinath (Capt), M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli (Vice-Capt), Manoj Tiwary, Ishant Jaggi, Abhishek Nayar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Pankaj Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Sudeep Tyagi.

Tanvir goes to Royal Rajhistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board has given a green signal to all-rounder Sohail Tanvir to play for his Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan
Royals in a charity match against Middlesex at Lord's on July 6. The sports management company which represents Tanvir said in a statement that Tanvir would represent the Rajasthan Royals in the match being played for the British Asian Trust. Tanvir was the best bowler of the IPL in the first season and played a key role in his team's title win. However, he could not play the second edition after the Pakistan foreign ministry advised the PCB not to send its players to India due to security concerns arising out of the tense relations between the two countries after the Mumbai terror attacks last November. The IPL was later moved to South Africa but by that time the IPL franchises had either terminated or suspended the contracts of the Pakistani players due to their unavailability for the second season. Portfolio world, the sports management company also quoted Shilpa Shetty the co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals as saying that she was excited to have Tanvir back in the team. "He was truly missed in the IPL second season," Shetty was quoted in the statement. Tanvir, the left arm pacer, struggled in the recent T20 World Cup in England and was dropped from the playing eleven.

Razzaq and Yousaf Returns to Glory

World Twenty20 champions Pakistan on Monday unveiled the 15-man squad to tour Sri Lanka next week, including in the line-up pardoned rebel
Indian league players Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq. Both Razzaq and Yousuf risked their international careers when they played in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which is not recognised by the International Cricket Council or the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) banned all 23 players who joined the ICL, but in February this year the Sindh high court suspended the bans on all but two ICL players, paving their way to return to Pakistan's squad. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saqlain Mushtaq, who are now retired, did not appeal against the ban. "Yousuf and Razzaq snapped their ties with the ICL so we have cleared them to play for Pakistan and have included in the squad," a PCB release said. Razzaq was the first ICL player to return to international cricket after he replaced injured all-rounder Yasir Arafat and appeared in the World Twenty20, which ended Sunday with Pakistan lifting the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. They beat Sri Lanka at Lord's in London, and will now play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match on the Sri Lanka tour. Yousuf, 34, was declared the best Test batsman in 2007 after scoring a world record 1,788 runs in the previous calendar year. Yousuf and Razzaq joined the ICL after being left out of the team which finished runners-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 held in South Africa two years ago. "I am happy to be named in the squad," Yousuf said. "I have not played a Test since December 2007 (against India at Bangalore) so it will be tough to stage a comeback but I will try to do my best." All-rounder Shahid Afridi, declared man-of-the-match in Pakistan's semi-final and final win in the World Twenty20, will skip the Test leg of the Sri Lanka tour but will be available for the limited over matches. Injury-prone paceman Shoaib Akhtar, who missed the World Twenty20 due to groin problems, was also not considered for selection for the Sri Lanka tour. Also axed from the squad was paceman Sohail Tanvir, part of Pakistan's winning team on Sunday. Rookie 17-year-old paceman Mohammad Aamir, easily the find for Pakistan in their World Twenty20 win, will supplement the attack along with the more experienced Umar Gul and Razzaq. Also returning to the squad is paceman Abdur Rauf, who played four One-day matches last year but was never selected for the Tests. Pakistan starts the current tour on June 29 with a three-day side match in Colombo. The first Test starts at Galle from July 4. The other two Tests will be played in Colombo (12-16 July and 20-24 July) followed by One-day series and the Twenty20 match. Squad: Younus Khan (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamir, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rauf, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam.