Sweating it out in practice sessions, seeking tips from seniors, finetuning technique -- Mohammad Kaif has tried everything and is now banking on divine intervention for a comeback into the Indian cricket team. "Allah ne chaha to wapas aunga (God willing I will comeback)," Kaif t

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is set for a challenge of leading a virtually inexperienced team in the World Twenty20 Championships as India has played just one international match in the shortest version of the game. Dhoni on his debut as a captain, however, can draw inspiration from the one-off ma

Juggling captaincy, wicket-keeping and batting is no kid's play but Rahul Dravid has immense faith in Mahendra Singh Dhoni and feels the swashbuckler with flowing tresses can lead India to World Twenty20 triumph in South Africa later this month. Dravid said he had advised Dhoni to keep

Virender Sehwag has decided to rein in his natural agressive instincts a bit so as not to throw away good starts as in the past when he re-enters the international cricket arena through the Twenty20 World Cup starting in South Africa in two days' time. "I have been doing yoga training

Wicketkeepers are ideal to double up as captains in the shortest version of cricket as they can take split-second decisions with ease, said Indian team's manager Lalchand Rajput as he justified Mahendra Singh Dhoni's promotion as skipper for the forthcoming Twenty20 World Cup. Brushing asi

Former Pakistan great Javed Miandad has held country's cricket Board responsible for the increasing incidents of indiscipline by players, specially Shoaib Akhtar, who was today recalled from South Africa after he hit Asif with a bat during net practice. "I hold the Board responsible f

Pakistan cricket today plunged into a fresh controversy with fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar being recalled home from the World Twenty20 Championships in South Africa for hitting fellow paceman Mohammad Asif with a bat. The Pakistan Cricket Board took a serious note of the incident which occurred

While Australia remains his favourite to win the inaugural Twenty 20 World Cup, former speedster Dennis Lillee has predicted major upsets at the event starting next week in South Africa. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a press meet, the fast bowling guru termed the latest version

The Australia A cricket team would continue with their tour as per the schedule despite the twin blast that rocked the city of Rawalpindi today, Board officials said. Shafqat Naghmi, chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said the Australians had not expressed any concerns and were

Pacer Irfan Pathan today said his emphasis on improving batting would not adversely affect his bowling. "I consider batting as my plus point and shall continue to strive to become a good all-rounder," he said on the sidelines of a function here. Pathan also refuted a suggestion tha

Pakistan cricket coach Geoff Lawson believes that the battle in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup was open and no team was favourite to win the trophy in South Africa next month. Lawson also said any team, which wished to win the tournament would have to excel in all departments of the game

India presented themselves with a nice gift on the eve of 60th anniversary of Independence, as their first series win in England in 21 years pushed them to third place in the ICC Test Championship table. The 1-0 success against England in the three-Test series earned Rahul Dravid's men fiv

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar could find himself in more trouble after throwing a trantrum at the Pakistan Cricket Board headquarters in Lahore last evening. Akhtar was earlier fined a total of 300,000 rupees and docked points from his new central contract for indiscipline. The paceman had l

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been appointed India's Twenty-20 capatin, has a surprise gift coming his way if he powers the team to success in the coming World Championship in South Africa next month. "I congratulate Dhoni on his elevation as captain of India Twenty-20 team. A s

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was today appointed captain of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming Twenty-20 World Cup in South Africa as the selectors recalled Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh for the inaugural edition of the new version of the game. With regular captain Rahul

Seeking to bury the jelly-bean incident as a thing of past, England spinner Monty Panesar said cricket should be played in the right spirit. Panesar said the jellygate in the second Test at Trent Bridge was "unintentional" and should not affect the game's spirit in future. "

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff today returned to the England squad for the first four one-dayers of the seven-match cricket series against India starting August 21. However, his return to action would be subject to regaining full fitness from the right ankle surgery, which forced him ou

Alcohol abuse by some of the South African cricketers was a cause of their poor performance during the recent ICC World Cup in the West Indies, observes Adrian le Roux, the former fitness trainer of the team. "In my opinion, the use of alcohol within the national team is a problem. Th

Nothing less than a major Test series win or one-day title and a place among the top three in ICC rankings during new coach Geoff Lawson's two-year contract would be acceptable to the Pakistan Cricket Board. PCB Chairman Naseem Ashraf said Lawson would be given certain targets to meet duri

The Indian squads for the seven-match ODI series against England and for the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa will be chosen here on August 7, the Cricket Board announced today. The selectors also have to name the captain for the inaugural Twenty-20 championships as Rahul Dravid, alongwi

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming may abruptly end his international career to join the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), according to a media report here. Fleming has been approached by the ICL officials and the lucrative offer might prompt the Kiwi skipper to quit international cricke

With Australia and South Africa raising concerns over touring Pakistan in the wake of an escalation in violence, cricket board Chairman Nasim Ashraf said the situation had not reached such levels where international teams cannot play. Pakistan after playing in the Twenty20 World Cup hosts

Pakistan has expressed its inability to play a Twenty20 match against India to raise funds for their former coach Bob Woolmer's cricket academy in South Africa because of a packed international schedule. Widow of Bob Woolmer, Gill had written to the cricket Board's of Pakistan and Indian t

Hosts South Africa announced a provisional 30-member squad for the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup in September. Graeme Smith has been named as captain while Jacques Kallis was chosen as vice-captain of the side. The list which include veterans Shaun Pollock and Mark Boucher will be pr

Scheduled to visit Pakistan for a Test and ODI series later this year, South Africa has expressed its concern over the brewing political scenario in the country. A six-member security delegation of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) is visiting the country to assess the secur

After creating ripples at the junior level, gifted Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is banking on his experience in Australia's Centre of Excellence (CoE) to justify his selection among the Twenty20 World Cup probables. Pujara, billed as a future Team India stuff, has a mature head on

The trophies won by the Indian cricketers in the Future Cup one-day series against South Africa in Ireland have been recovered and would be delivered at the BCCI office in Mumbai today. Indian Cricket Board Secretary Niranjan Shah said the luggage containing the team's winners' trophy, Sac

Sachin Tendulkar says his opting out of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships does not signal a possible imminent retirement from other forms of the game as well, at least for the time being. Ever since India's disastrous World Cup campaign in the Caribbean earlier this year, there ha

After insisting that the Australian security delegation's visit was a routine affair, the Pakistan Cricket Board now admits that it would be hard to convince the touring teams for playing here in the wake of Red Mosque operation in Islamabad. "It would not be wrong to say we are a bit

After smashing a superb 171 against England Lions, Sachin Tendulkar has said he was relieved at spending some time in the middle to go in the upcoming cricket Test series with a confident frame of mind. Tendulkar, who is leading the Indians in the three-day warm up match, had not pla