A confident India will warm-up against cricket minnows the Netherlands at Trelawny stadium here tomorrow, seeking to acclimatise to the Caribbean conditions before launching their quest of regaining the World Cup after nearly a quarter of a century. The Rahul Dravid-led team, which is regar

A two-member team of International Cricket Council (ICC) today received tapes of alleged conversation between West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels and bookie Mukesh Kochar ahead of the January 21 ODI. "We have handed over the tapes and transcripts to N.S. Virk -- regional security

Team India will be guarded by elite National Security Guard commandos in West Indies during the World Cup Cricket because security arrangements in the Carribean Islands were considered not up to the mark. The government took a decision in this regard after West Indian officials conveyed t

The BCCI President Sharad Pawar, who could not meet the World Cup-bound Indian team here yesterday to convey his best wishes in person, is planning to visit the West Indies in the first week of April to watch a couple of Super 8 Series games. "He could not make it to Mumbai and meet t

Pakistan pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were today ruled out of the World Cup in Caribbean due to injuries. The team's media manager, Pervez Mir told reporters that both the fast bowlers had not been able to recover from injuries despite getting treatment in London. "They

Dismissing uncertainty over the fitness of some players', skipper Rahul Dravid said that all 15 going to the West Indies for the World Cup were fit. 'I am happy with the pacers and I don't think we are taking any unfit player to the World Cup,' said Dravid at press conference here, hours b

Ending the suspense over his fitness, left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan today got the green signal to play in the ICC cricket World Cup beginning in the West Indies next month. "There are no alteration in the 15-member World Cup squad. Pathan will go to West Indies for the Workd Cup,&quo

Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid has said that his team is capable of handling all challenges at World Cup. Sending out an ominous signal to World Cup rivals, he said that his team was not only motivated but "fully equipped" to do well in Caribbean conditions. Dravid said

The TV umpire can indicate a batsman is not out if the replays show there was no contact between bat and ball when an appeal for caught behind is referred to him - under the rules and regulations adopted for the upcoming cricket World Cup. Among other interesting regulations for the March 1

India would have to improve its fielding to bring back the World Cup which it won 24 years ago, says talented middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh. "We are improving our fielding. That is one area we have to improve upon. And, we are working hard in that area," Yuvraj told reporters

Bowlers of rival teams in the coming World Cup have to put in extra effort to bowl dot balls against ICC's number two batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who today said he would strive hard to take at least one run every ball he faced in the quadrennial showpiece. "I will try to play well a

Indian paceman Irfan Pathan on Thursday brushed aside concerns over his form and fitness, saying he was confident of delivering at next month's World Cup in the Caribbean. "Whatever has happened in the last eight months has made me stronger. I am happy to have gone through this phas

Bowlers of rival teams in the coming world cup have to put in extra effort to bowl dot balls against ICC's number two batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who said he would strive hard to take at least one run every ball he faced in the quadrennial showpiece. "I will try to play well and my

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly's return to international cricket was today celebrated with the launch of journalist Debashish Dutta's new book charting Dada's career. The book contains scores of pictures throughout Sourav Ganguly's career. In fact, Debashish Dutta has also added anoth

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has come up with a simple solution to end his team's habit of failing to defend massive totals -- bat second. Australia have been on the wrong end of the four biggest run-chases in one-day cricket history, all in the past 14 months, raising concerns abou

West Indies great Garfield Sobers said on Wednesday he was confident Australia would bounce back from their recent string of losses and make a strong title defence at next month’s World Cup in the Caribbean. The world champions were whitewashed 3-0 in the one-day series against hosts

India wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni has moved up to second position overtaking Australian captain Ricky Ponting in the latest ICC Player Rakings for ODI batsmen. The 25-year-old, who had briefly reigned the rankings charts last year, has just completed a successful four-match

This time around it won't be easy for the beleaguered Australians to defend their World Cup title for more than one reason. First, their successive defeats at the hands of New Zealand that made them lose number one spot in the ICC ranking must have discouraged them. Secondly a sea cha

India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni has moved up to second position overtaking Australian captain Ricky Ponting in the latest ICC Player rakings for ODI batsmen. This is Dhoni`s highest ranking since May 2006. The 25-year-old, who had briefly reigned the rankings chart la

Plagued by a lackluster form and niggling injuries, Irfan Pathan admitted that things were not going his way but was keen to prove his form and fitness before the World Cup. Pathan, who is part of the World Cup squad, has been asked to play for West Zone in the Deodhar Trophy one dayer a

Young middle order batsman Dinesh Karthick said his match-winning half-century that helped India beat the West Indies at Cuttack was crucial in winning him a berth in the World Cup squad. "Definitely my chances increased after I got runs (top-score of 63) in the Cuttack game (on Jan

S Sreesanth says his own expectations after a successful Test series in South Africa may have resulted in a patchy performance in the recent One day games against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Sreesanth said in trying too hard to take wickets, he forgot the basics and thus returned with

Team India's batting fulcrum Yuvraj Singh has said that the players are aware that they need to improve over their fielding standards and are working harder in that department to give themselves a strong chance of winning the World Cup. "Fielding, obviously, is a key area of the game

The long-awaited Players' Contract will be implemented after the Indian team's return from the March 13-April 28 World Cup in the West Indies. This was the agreement reached between the Cricket Board with Indian captain Rahul Dravid after a meeting was held here today, the BCCI said i

Kenya, World Cup semi-finalists in 2003, believe they are ready to return to the world stage after their success in the ICC world cricket league tournament they hosted in January and February. Cricket standards in the country had fallen to the lowest level following three years of interna

Former Indian cricket captain, Sourav Ganguly, today expressed his willingness to bowl in the World Cup. Talking to reporters, Ganguly said: 'Of course I would like to bowl. I have bowled a lot in ODIs and I see no reason why I won't like to bowl.' 'But it depends on captain Rahul Drav

Injured and out-of-form speedster Irfan Pathan will have one more opportunity to prove his fitness and form before the World Cup as he plays for the West Zone against Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy limited overs cricket league tie. Pathan was today chosen to play for the West Zone

Carnival and cricket will combine next month for the ninth World Cup spread over as many Caribbean nations and climaxing with the final in Barbados on April 28. "There`s so many different things in the Caribbean that we can enjoy," former West Indies captain Viv Richard said

The BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, will address the Indian World Cup team here on February 27 before it leaves for the West Indies. The BCCI chief will talk to players after the official media conference at the Board's headquarters in the Wankhede Stadium, Board sources said today. Dep

Ramesh Powar says he did not expect to be picked for World Cup after not getting enough opportunities to prove himself in the lead up matches but rues that he never got a chance to show his all-round ability. Powar, who narrowly missed the flight to the Caribbean for the quadrennial event