List, Nov 26

Rather than speculating on Dhoni, wait till IPL: Ravi Shastri

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Kolkata, November 26

After completing a series whitewash against Bangladesh, India coach Shastri threw light on what made him believe that this team could be world-beaters, the future of MS Dhoni, and, most importantly, the joy of seeing a former cricketer take over as BCCI president in Sourav Ganguly. The 2019 World Cup exit was a bitter pill to swallow and Shastri says it has been amazing how the boys decided to not let that dishearten them and have only grown in strength since losing in the semifinals on July 9.

“The way they have bounced back after those 15 minutes in Manchester. That was a bitter pill to swallow and hurt one and all. But then, the ferocity and intensity they have shown after that in the last three months is unbelievable. This is remarkable and that is why I say if you look back 5-6 years, this will have to be one of the most consistent Indian teams ever across all the formats,” he said.

Dhoni and World T20

The past can’t be changed but the road ahead has the World T20 in 2020 and winning that should bolster the invincibility tag that has been given to this team under Virat Kohli. But then, a question on everyone’s mind is whether MS Dhoni will figure in the World T20.

“It all depends on when he starts playing and how he is playing during the IPL. What are the other people doing with the wicketkeeping gloves or what is the form of those players as opposed to Dhoni’s form,” Shastri said. “The IPL becomes a massive tournament because that could be the last tournament after which your 15 is decided. There might be one player who might be there and thereabouts in case of an injury or whatever. But the team I would say would be known after the IPL.”

Cricketer at top

After India beat Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens, the loudest cheers were for Shastri and Ganguly when they shook hands on Day 3 afternoon. “I was one of the first to congratulate him when he became the president because I was delighted that BCCI was back in place to put Indian cricket where it belongs both on and off the field,” Shastri said. “Sourav having been a fabulous player and captain and been around as an administrator, him becoming the president adds a lot of value.”

Shastri feels that Ganguly and the Cricket Association of Bengal did a brilliant job in the first ever Day/Night Test in Kolkata. However, he added that the pink ball to be used in D/N Tests will take some time to be perfected. “The crowd responded magnificently and it was a fabulous occasion. But when you talk of the cricket, it has its positives and negatives. How the pink ball can retain its shine, its texture will be the test in the future,” the coach said. “The match has now given you the pluses and minuses. It will take some time for the manufactures to get the right kind of ball so that players can see that ball in the night more clearly and how it gets affected once there is dew. In the twilight session, the ball moved a lot, and in the last session, it just came on to the bat and it started losing its colour. How that can be changed and how the pink ball can maintain everything like the red ball will be the challenge,” Shastri concluded. — IANS

NZC apologises to Archer for racial abuse, security increased

Mount Maunganui, November 26

New Zealand Cricket chief David White visited England’s Jofra Archer in his hotel to apologise for the racial abuse the fast bowler said he was subjected to in the first Test. The England and New Zealand cricket boards both launched investigations yesterday after Archer reported racial abuse from a spectator to ground stewards at Bay Oval. White said he had offered assurances to Archer that there would be extra security to ensure there was no repeat when the second Test is played in Hamilton, from Friday. “I just had a good chat to him,” the NZC chief executive said in Hamilton. “I said that we were very sorry that he had to experience that in our country and we’re very disappointed, but he was very thankful I had made the effort to come see him,” he added.

White said if the alleged perpetrator is identified, he would be referred to the police and New Zealand Cricket would push for the person to be banned for life from attending cricket matches. “Our team is working closely with the team at Bay Oval, just going through the security footage and trying to get as much information as we can and hopefully we’ll find the individual over the next day or so,” White added.

Williamson to offer an apology

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who lives close to the Bay Oval ground, said he would also seek out Archer to offer an apology. “It’s a horrific thing,” Williamson said. “In a country, and a setting where it is very much multicultural, it’s something we need to put to bed quickly and hope nothing like that ever happens again,” he added.

England team director Ashley Giles said the 24-year-old Archer had been affected by the incident but thought his teammates would offer him plenty of support. “The tweet that went out was obviously emotional. It hurts,” Giles said. — Reuters

India clinch 3 bronze in Asian Archery, in 3 more finals

Bangkok, November 26

Led by Atanu Das, Indian archers bagged three bronze medals and ensured at least three silver at the ongoing Asian Championship. The Indian archers are competing in the tournament as neutral athletes under the World Archery flag due to the suspension of the national federation (AAI).

Das first clinched the bronze in the men’s recurve individual event in the morning. He beat Jin Hayek Oh of South Korea 6-5 in the shoot-off in the bronze-medal contest. Das, who had also won the bronze in the recurve mixed team competition with Deepika Kumari, later completed a hat-trick of bronze medals by finishing on the podium in the men’s recurve team event as well. Das teamed up with Tarundeep Rai and Jayanta Talukdar to beat China 6-2 in the bronze-medal tie.

Later, the Indian women’s recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Ankita Bhakat defeated Japan 5-1 to clinch another bronze medal for the country. The trio had earlier lost to heavyweights South Korea 6-2 in the semifinals.

The Indian archers also stormed into the finals of three compound events scheduled to be held tomorrow. Top seeds Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Mohan Bharadwaj prevailed over Iran 229-221 to set up a gold-medal clash against South Korea in the compound men’s team event.

Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Muskan Kirar and Priya Gurjar beat Iran 227-221 to storm into the compound women’s team final, where they will be up against South Korea. The compound mixed pair of Verma and Jyothi are already in the final, where they will clash against Chinese Taipei. — PTI

Kohli closes in on top-ranked Smith, Agarwal breaks into top-10 for first time

Dubai, Nov 26

India captain Virat Kohli rode on his commanding century in the Day/Night Test to close in on top-ranked Steve Smith, while opener Mayank Agarwal made his maiden entry into the top-10 in the ICC Test rankings. Kohli (928 points) reduced the gap from 25 to three points with Smith (931) to retain the second spot. Agarwal jumped one place to 10th with 700 points. He is the fourth Indian batsman in the top-10 list. Cheteshwar Pujara (791) and Ajinkya Rahane (759) remained at fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Team spirit missing in Duleep Trophy, hope Ganguly revamps it: Tendulkar

Kolkata, November 26

Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar feels BCCI president Sourav Ganguly should initiate a revamp of the Duleep Trophy as players competing in the event seem more focussed on individual performances than their teams.

The batting maestro feels that team bonding is missing from the four-day tournament, which can be reinvented by bringing in four Ranji Trophy semifinalists along with two teams of promising U-19 and U-23 players.

“I want him (Ganguly) to consider looking at the Duleep Trophy… I feel Duleep Trophy is one tournament where one is getting to hear that players are possibly more focused on their own performances and what the next tournament is and they play accordingly,” Tendulkar said. “For instance if there’s an IPL auction, or an upcoming T20 tournament or One-dayers, players end up playing in that mode and not for their team or looking at the need of the hour,” he said.

The Duleep trophy was a five-team zonal tournament but now features India Blue, India Green and India Red in a round-robin format. As Ganguly gears up for BCCI’s first Annual General Meeting on Sunday, Tendulkar wants him to focus on the Duleep Trophy as well. “This is one change I would like to see because cricket has always been a team sport. It is all about team spirit, bonding and playing together as a team. Not as individuals,” he said. — PTI

Vinesh, Sakshi to feature in senior National Wrestling Championships

Jalandhar, November 26

Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik will be the star attractions among the women in this year’s National Wrestling Championships, to be held here from November 29 to December 1. Over 500 wrestlers will be vying for the top honours in the men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle events during the championship.

The field in the women’s competition includes Vinesh (55kg), Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik (62kg), Divya Kakran (68kg), Seema Bisla (50kg), Sarita More (57kg) and Navjot Kaur (65kg). While Kakran is expected to get a tough fight from Pinki in the 68kg category, Navjot Kaur will have to get past Gargi Yadav in her weight class to reach the podium.

In the men’s section, freestylers Gaurav Baliyan (74kg), Sumit Malik (125kg), Satyawart Kadian (97kg) and Rahul Mann (70 kg) will be among the stars to watch out, along with Greco-Roman wrestler Sajan (77kg).