‘Champion’ Yuvraj has set an example: Tendulkar

As Yuvraj Singh prepares to start his second innings in international cricket after his successful battle with cancer, Sachin Tendulkar says the “champion” has set a great example for not just fellow sportspersons but all those suffering from the disease.

“He’s undergone those tough treatments and those tough sessions and he’s back in the Indian cricket team. So he’s set a great example not only for the sportsman to follow but for a common man suffering from cancer. I think he’s set a great example,” Tendulkar said.

Calling him a champion, Tendulkar remembered Yuraj’s heroics in the 2011 World Cup.

“To me he’s a champion — once a champion will always be a champion. I was really happy that he got the Man of the Series, Man of the tournament in the World Cup and then yes, he had health problems”, Tendulkar told CNN—IBN.

“And then again, as I said he’s a champion and he proved it and he’s addressed those issues with the help of the doctors and every possible thing which a cancer patient should do he’s done,” he said.

The veteran batsman was impressed with the India colts’ triumph in the Under—19 World Cup recently, and picked captain Unmukt Chand for special praise.

“Yeah, I mean to be honest, I haven’t seen much of him (Unmukt). But whatever I have seen I’ve really liked. I got to spend some time with the U—19 team before they left for the World Cup. It was a fantastic experience to share my thoughts with the team and also to watch them play fabulous cricket.

“They really played well. They played well as a team. In fact, when the Hyderabad Test was on while getting ready in my room I used to switch on the television to watch the game and that would continue till we reached the dressing room. We saw the finals but brilliant, they really batted well,” he said.

U-19 World Cup winning captain Unmukt Chand detained by St. Stephen's College for poor attendance

NEW DELHI: India's Under-19 World Cup winning captain Unmukt Chand has been detained by St. Stephen's College for poor attendance. Chand is now fighting a legal battle with the prestigious college, having been denied to appear for his first year BA examinations.

The college demands a minimum of 33.33 percent of annual attendance for students undersports quota. College principal said no relaxation can be made for the 19-year-old, who is impressive in academics as well, scoring 74 per cent marks in 12th standard exams.

Valson Thampu, the principal of St Stephen's College said, "He could've gone to the teachers and spoken to them and asked what did you teach and then have taken his exams on them. If students do that, then I will stand up for them."

Unmukt played a crucial knock of 111 not out in the tense final against Australia last Sunday to lead India Under-19 team to World Cup glory.

Dhoni, Kohli nominated for ICC Awards

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his deputy Virat Kohli are in the running for the 'ODI Cricketer of the Year' trophy, while veteran Sachin Tendulkar has been nominated for the 'People's Choice Award' in the short-list announced on Thursday for the ninth LG ICC Annual Awards here.

No Indian features in the 'Test Cricketer of the Year' and 'Cricketer of the Year' short-list, which is a reflection of the slump that the team went through last year when it was whitewashed by England and Australia during away series. 

"The votes have now been casted by the independent 32-person academy and these four men are the ones in the running to receive the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year at a glittering ceremony in Colombo on September 15," the ICC said in a statement.

In addition, all four cricketers are also short-listed for the 'Test Cricketer of the Year'.

Sangakkara is also in contention for the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award along with Dhoni, Kohli, as well as team-mate Lasith Malinga. The Lankan is also nominated in the People's Choice category along with Tendulkar, South Africans Jacques Kallis and Vernon Philander and English pacer James Anderson.

The Twenty20 International (T20I) Performance of the year sees Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan short-listed alongside West Indies' Chris Gayle, South Africa's Richard Levi and Dilshan's compatriot, Ajantha Mendis.

Meanwhile, in the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year short-list, ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year, Stafanie Taylor, has been nominated alongside fellow West Indian Anisa Mohammed, as well as England pair of Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway.

Both Taylors also feature in the short-list for ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year and are joined on that list by Australia pair Alyssa Healy and Lisa Sthalekar.

This year's ICC Awards includes 11 individual prizes, including the People's Choice Award and features the new ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year and ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year awards.

The long-lists of nominations were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Lloyd.

The panel also includes former international players Sri Lanka's Marvan Atapattu, Clare Connor of England, Carl Hooper of West Indies and Tom Moody of Australia.

"The short-lists were created after the individual player awards were voted for by an academy of 32 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world," the ICC said.

The academy includes a host of former players, respected members of the media as well as representatives of the Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees.

The David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year award was voted on by the 10 current Test captains and the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and is partly based on the umpires' performance statistics.

There are six nominees this year including five-time winner Simon Taufel, three-time winner Aleem Dar, along with New Zealand's Billy Bowden, Sri Lanka's Kumar Dharmasena, England's Richard Kettleborough and Australia's Rodney Tucker.

The ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year nominees short-list features New Zealand's Doug Bracewell, Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal, West Indies Sunil Narine and Australia's James Pattinson.

"Based on the period between 4 August 2011 and 6 August 2012, the LG ICC Awards 2012 take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game," the iCC said.

Short-lists of nominees:

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla (SA), Michael Clarke (Aus), Vernon Philander (SA), Kumar Sangakkara (SL).

ICC Test Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla (SA), Michael Clarke (Aus), Vernon Philander (SA), Kumar Sangakkara (SL).

ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year: MS Dhoni (Ind), Virat Kohli (Ind), Lasith Malinga (SL), Kumar Sangakkara (SL).

ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year: Lydia Greenway (Eng), Anisa Mohammed (WI), Sarah Taylor (Eng), Stafanie Taylor (WI).

ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Doug Bracewell (NZ), Dinesh Chandimal (SL), Sunil Narine (WI), James Pattinson (Aus).

ICC Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year: Kevin O'Brien (Ire), George Dockrell (Ire), Ed Joyce (Ire), Paul Stirling (Ire), Dawlat Zadran (Afg)

ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) 104no (57b, 12x4, 5x6) v Australia, Pallekele, 6 August 2011; Chris Gayle (WI) 85no (52b, 7x4, 5x6) v New Zealand, Lauderhill, 30 June 2012; Richard Levi (SA) 117no (51b, 5x4. 13x6) v New Zealand, Auckland, 22 February 2012; Ajantha Mendis (SL) 4-1-16-6 v Australia, Pallekele, 8 August 2011

ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year: Alyssa Healy (Aus), Lisa Sthalekar (Aus), Sarah Taylor (Eng), Stafanie Taylor (WI).

David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Kettleborough, Simon Taufel, Rodney Tucker.

ICC Spirit of Cricket: Mohammad Hafeez (Pak), Jacques Kallis (SA), Daniel Vettori (NZ), AB de Villiers (SA).

LG People's Choice Award: James Anderson (Eng), Jacques Kallis (SA), Vernon Philander (SA), Kumar Sangakkara (SL) Sachin Tendulkar (Ind).

Star-studded US T20 League announced

Cricket in the USA is set for a major shakeup with the confirmation of a domestic Twenty20 tournament along the lines of the IPL and its Australian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan versions, tentatively scheduled for June 2013 and likely to be played in New York and San Francisco.

Cricket Holdings America LLC (CHA), a joint venture between New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), is aiming to dramatically tap into North America, one of the most developed and lucrative sports markets in the world, with the formation of the US Twenty20 League. 

he league is a joint venture between CHA, NZC, USACA, Top Bloom Corporation Limited (Top Bloom), Podar Holdings International Pte Ltd and Insite Organisation (Insite) and backed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with the support of current players through the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA).

The league has six teams and will kick off in June 2013 with a total of 19 matches to be played until mid-July. A number of high-profile current and former cricketers - Brett Lee, Shane Watson, David Warner, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi, Kumar Sangakkara - to name the few, have shown keen interest to participate in the league. Additionally, cricketers from New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa and Australia are expected to be a part of this sporting extravaganza. "I would love nothing more than to play in front of a packed house in New York. My bags are packed," said Lee.

Talking to Cricketnext, Rajiv Podar, one of the directors of CHA, said that cricket is an immensely popular game in US and that the US T20 League would further crank up interest. "The United States was the second highest broadcast revenue earner in the world next to India during the 2011 World Cup 2011. There's an enormous amount of passion for cricket in the US and a lot of people understand the game,” he said. “Though their interest is largely restricted to limited-overs cricket. It'll take some time for them to develop a liking for Test cricket. The US T20 League aims to provide them an opportunity to watch their favourite stars playing in front of them. It'll boost the future prospects of the sport in the country and a lot of youngsters will be drawn to cricket.”

According to Podar, the US T20 League would be different from other leagues which have mushroomed. “Firstly, our league will take place during mid-June to mid-July which is usually an off-season for all countries barring England so availability of players will not be an issue,” he said. “Secondly, all the other leagues take place in Test-playing nations. Our league is the first which is placed in a non-Test playing nation. Besides, the US is the biggest market for professional sports and this league will open up a new market for cricket. Cricket will truly become a global sport, more marketable, which will generate commendable revenue. A new set of audience will be drawn into the game. That makes it a unique concept.

“For 2013, we have six teams participating in the league. In 2014 the number of franchises will grow to eight and to ten by 2016. A lot of renowned companies and noted individuals around the world have contacted us for the ownership of franchises and we'll shortly make an official announcement. As per venues, New York and San Francisco are two most venues which are short-listed, and we'll zero in on a couple of more places. The idea is to spread the cricket from the east coast to west coast. The auction is most likely to take place in October."

Regarding the participation of local talent, Podar said: "One of our objectives is to give a platform to young, talented cricketers of US. They'll be part of the teams but will only be selected in the playing XI when they'll convince the team management and senior team members about their cricketing credentials. We understand that cricket is a very competitive sport and spectators like to see tough cricket on the field so we'll not compromise on the quality of cricket being exhibited in the league.”

Podar is in talks with the BCCI regarding the participation of Indian players but declined to name the players. "There's a procedure to be followed to sign the Indian players on the dotted lines,” he said, adding that he is also negotiating the terms with some sports channels about the live broadcast of matches in India. "We're in the negotiating state. The matches of US T20 League will surely be broadcasted in India. We'll announce our official broadcaster after finalising the terms."

The ICC and other boards have for years been eyeing the USA, and it appears CHA and its partners may be on the verge of doing so.

Hafeez replaces Tsotsobe as the number-one ODI bowler

Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has replaced South Africa paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe as the number-one ranked bowler in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, which were released on Monday after a one-off ODI between Australia and Afghanistan.

Hafeez and Tsotsobe swapped places on the bowlers' table after the first match in the England-South Africa ODI series at Cardiff on 24 August, which was abandoned due to rain.

Tsotsobe ended with figures of 2.3-0-18-0 in the rain-affected game, and he now trails Hafeez by just two ratings points in the bowlers' table. Hafeez and Tsotobe will, however, get a fair opportunity to either retain or reclaim the number-one spot in the coming weeks.

Hafeez will be playing in a three-match ODI series against Australia that starts on 28 August in Sharjah, UAE, while Tsotsobe resumes duties in the series against England, also from 28 August.

ID Rat. Name
1 727 Mohammad Hafeez
2 725 L.L. Tsotsobe
3 696 Saeed Ajmal
4 691 S.T. Finn
5 686 M. Morkel
6 681 R. Ashwin
7 668 G.P. Swann
8 655 Shakib Al Hasan
9 647 K.D. Mills
10 637 Abdur Razzak

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