Dhoni, Gambhir, Harbhajan in running to match Dravid's feat

Mumbai: Former captain Rahul Dravid is the lone Indian player to have thus far won the ICC Cricketer of the Year award and three of his compatriots are in the running to emulate him this year.

Dravid`s splendid display with the bat fetched him the Cricketer and Test Player of the Year honours in 2004 – the inaugural year of the International Cricket Council`s annual awards.

None from India was able to match the middle order stalwart`s feat between 2005 and 2008.

This year captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, opener Gautam Gambhir and off spinner Harbhajan Singh have been named in the long list of nominees for various awards.

Dhoni, Gambhir and Harbhajan are also in the running to get the Test Player of the Year award along with wristy batsman V V S Laxman, besides 15 others.

Dhoni has also been named in the list of nominees for the ODI Player of the Year award along with compatriots Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag.


Leg spinner Amit Mishra has got the chance to become the Emerging Player of the Year four years after out-of-favour left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan won it.

Australian Simon Taufel is in the running to make it six-in-a-row as the top umpire of the year at the awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, on October 1.

The following are the past award winners:

Cricketer of the Year: Rahul Dravid (Ind) - 2004; Jaques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (Eng) -2005; Ricky Ponting (Aus) - 2006; Ponting - 2007; Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) - 2008.

Test Player of the Year: Dravid - 2004; Kallis - 2005; Ponting - 2006; Mohd Yusuf (Pak) - 2007; Dale Steyn (SA) - 2008.

ODI Player of the Year: Flintoff - 2004; Kevin Pietersen (Eng) - 2005; Michael Hussey (Aus) - 2006; Mathew Hayden (Aus) - 2007; M S Dhoni (Ind) - 2008.

Emerging Player of the Year: Irfan Pathan (Ind) - 2004; Pietersen - 2005; Ian Bell (Eng) - 2006; Shaun Tait (Aus) - 2007; Ajantha Mendis (SL) - 2008.

T20 Player of the Year: Yuvraj Singh - 2008. Woman Cricketer of the Year: Karen Rolton (Aus) - 2006; Jhulan Goswami (Ind) - 2007; Charlotte Edwards (Eng) - 2008.

Umpire of the Year: Simon Taufel (Aus) - 2004 to 2008.

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5:48 AM

Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh, has been nominated for the prestigious ICC Cricketer of the Year award

Dubai: Indian cricketers finally seem to be reaping fruits of their hard work over the past 12 months, which, in turn, translated into some fantastic results for Team India.

Though there have been many catalysts to India’s stupendous recent performances, none has been more significant than captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

And deservedly, Dhoni, along with his team mates Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh, has been nominated for the prestigious ICC Cricketer of the Year award.


The above mentioned trio, along with the evergreen VVS Laxman, also features amongst those, nominated for ICC Test Player of the Year award.

Not surprisingly, Dhoni has been nominated for ICC ODI Player of the Year award as well. He gets company from dashing duo Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag in this segment.

In the 2008-09 season, Dhoni led India to Test victories over Australia (home), England (home) and New Zealand (away), besides registering bilateral ODI series triumphs over Sri Lanka twice (both away), England (home), New Zealand (away) and recently West Indies (away).

During the 9 Tests he played in this period, Dhoni contributed 918 runs to the Indian cause at an average of 54.40, while the in 15 ODIs (excluding the West Indies series) he played, his 592 runs came at an astonishing average of 65.77!

His most potent weapon during his conquests, especially the Tests, was Gautam Gambhir.

The Delhi southpaw, currently ranked second in the ICC Test rankings, amassed a whopping 2612 runs from just 8 Tests last season at a ‘Bradmanisque’ average of 84.60, striking as many as 5 hundreds.

His one-day form was more mortal but staggering nonetheless. He scored 606 runs at an average of around 45 from the 15 one-dayers he played, scoring a solitary 100.

Following Anil Kumble’s retirement, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was faced with the mountainous task of stepping into the former’s shoes. And, as statistics reveal, Harbhajan has lived up to the challenge quite efficiently.

With 39 wickets from 8 Test matches, at an average of 27.05, Harbhajan has played a perfect foil to team India’s pace attack.

Most noticeable aspect of Harbhajan though has been the rapid strides he has taken to improve his batting prowess.

He has scored 3 crucial half-centuries and averages a healthy 32 in the 2008-09 season.

He added 12 wickets to his kitty from the 10 ODIs he played last season.

Laxman, whose contributions to Indian cricket have been restricted just to Tests lately, scored 1531 runs from 9 Tests, at an average of 61.75. His 2 centuries include a double hundred against his bunnies- The Australians.

Yuvraj undoubtedly has been India’s most powerful performer in the shorter versions of the game, setting victories for India single-handedly.

In the 15 one-dayers he played, he scored 643 runs at an average of 59.08 and a mind-boggling strike-rate of 110. He also scored 3 centuries.

During the same period, Sehwag played 14 one-dayers, butchering 782 runs at a strike-rate of 127! He averaged 60, scoring 2 centuries.

Courtesy these efforts, India have moved up the second rank in ODIs and the third rank in Tests.


Dhoni has already been the ODI Player of the Year in 2008 besides being named in the ODI Team of the Year.

Zaheer Khan was nominated for Twenty20 Performer of the Year award while Amit Mishra will be vying for the honour in the Emerging Player of the year category as Indians led the overall nominations for the award.

Mithali Raj and Priyanka Roy were nominated for the Women`s Cricketer of the year award.

The ICC Awards nominations were announced by dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag and former captain Ravi Shastri in the presence of International Cricket Council Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.

The awards will be presented on October 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa during the Champions Trophy.

The nominations were based on performances from August 13, 2008 to August 24, 2009 and were selected by a five-member selection panel, headed by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd,

The panel also included former India Test captain Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand`s Stephen Fleming.

The awards include eight individual prizes and also features the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

There will also be an award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket.

Besides Dhoni, Tillakaratne Dilshan has also been nominated in three different categories, while 18 players make appearance in two distinct categories in the sixth edition of the awards.

The individual player awards will be selected by an academy of 25 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world.

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

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4:09 AM

Social community sites hits India’s top cricketers

They may have trained hard to counter the short-pitched deliveries in their preparatory camp but it’s a cyber bouncer that has left India’s top cricketers a worried lot.

As the star players gear up for a gruelling season ahead, they are faced with a bizarre problem -- cyber impersonation on micro-blogging site ‘Twitter’.

The increasing popularity of the site in India has brought with it a problem which has the potential to create confusion and mislead unsuspecting cricket buffs.

What is worse, the players, who have millions of fans in a cricket-crazy nation, can do little about it.


Most of the celebrated Indian players have accounts on ‘Twitter’ but almost all of them are fake. They have already drawn a huge list of dedicated followers and it keeps growing every passing day.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has four ‘accounts’ on the networking site with one of them having attracted 2291 followers till Sunday.

In the profile page, it shows Dhoni with the Indian cap and the bio says “I am the captain of the national cricket team”.

Dhoni’s agents and family members have made it clear that the Indian captain does not have an account on Twitter, seeking to dissociate themselves from the handiwork of a prankster who operates the page.

“Dhoni does not have an account on Twitter. Many people have called us and we want to clarify this point” his elder brother Narendra Singh Dhoni told reporters.

Some of the tweets from the impersonated Dhoni account, which ranges from the problems in DDCA to Vinod Kambli’s reality show, have already created some controversy.

For example, a tweet on August 26 said “I wanted to give my regards to Vinod Kambli. Had he played to his potential, he had the chance to be as great as Sachin and Lara”.

But apparently, it led to some misunderstanding among his followers. Hence another tweet within hours on the same day said “Please don’t misunderstand comments about Sachin and Kambli. Sachin is the greatest batsman to ever play the game of cricket!!”

The cyber impersonation on Twitter is not restricted to Dhoni. Champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar has as many as seven accounts with one of them, which has his photo, having over 4594 followers.

Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Gautam Gambhir are among the top cricketers who have to deal with this Twitter menace.

With many celebrities worldwide joining the Twitter bandwagon, the social networking site is aware of such problems and has introduced a ‘verified account’ badge to lend genuineness to the account and prevent identity confusion.

“To prevent identity confusion, Twitter is experimenting (beta testing) with a ‘Verified Account’ feature. We’re working to establish authenticity with people who deal with impersonation or identity confusion on a regular basis,” a Twitter communication said.

“With this feature, you can easily see which accounts we know are ‘real’ and authentic. That means we’ve been in contact with the person or entity the account is representing and verified that it is approved (This does not mean we have verified who, exactly, is writing the tweets).”

“This also does not mean that accounts without the ‘Verified Account’ badge are fake. The vast majority of accounts on the system are not impersonators, and we don’t have the ability to check 100 per cent of them. For now, we’ve only verified a handful of accounts to help with cases of mistaken identity or impersonation” it said.

Twitter has strict guidelines to prevent impersonation but it will find it difficult to keep track of such practices unless specific complaints are made.

The site’s Impersonation Policy says: “Pretending to be another person or business as entertainment or in order to deceive is impersonation.”

“Non-parody impersonation is a violation of the Terms of Service, specifically article 4 which states: You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users.”

The standard for defining parody is, “would a reasonable person be aware that it’s a joke.” An account may be guilty of impersonation if it confuses or misleads others – accounts with the clear intent to confuse or mislead will be permanently suspended.

Parody impersonation accounts are allowed to exist. The profile information on a parody account must make it obvious that the profile is fake, or it is subject to removal from Twitter.

Fortunately, it is still early days for web impersonation in India and therefore the damage has been limited among ‘tweeple’, a term said to have been coined by Bollywood director Karan Johar to describe people on Twitter.

But many avid Dhoni fans are gradually realising that they have been fooled by a prankster. “All these days I was thinking I was following my hero Dhoni. But now I know its not him. I am disappointed,” said Chetna Rai, a Dhoni fan in Ghaziabad.

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5:59 AM

Harbhajan Singh breaks Traffic rule in his new Hummer

Chandigarh: Tweaker Harbhajan Singh got on the wrong side of the law on Tuesday for driving around town in his latest possession, Hummer, as he was fined by the police for using the vehicle without a valid number plate.

He is said to have been fined Rs 3000 for the offence, and HS Doon, the ACP of traffic in Chandigarh, told Zeenews that it was a step that would also promote better traffic sense among the common people as it sends out a message that no one is above the law.

After skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh became the latest Indian cricketer to buy the Hummer and the feisty off-spinner says the American SUV is the dream car he has always wanted to possess.


Harbhajan imported the car from England, which costs about Rs 70 lakh in India. After paying the duty, the cost of the vehicle has come to Rs one crore.

While Dhoni`s Hummer is of silver colour, Harbhajan has opted for a "Black Beauty".

Having bought his dream car, Harbhajan is also looking forward to shifting to a new home.

The house is under construction in the New Baradari area of the city. The plot was given by the state government for his outstanding performance in the 2001 home series against Australia.

However, he has no plans to sell off the ancestral home where he was brought up.

"It has memories of my late father Sardev Singh," he said.

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5:39 AM

Harbajan singh

Harbhajan Singh
Born: 3 July 1980, Jullundur
Major Teams: Punjab, India.
Known As: Harbhajan Singh
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break

Profile:
Harbhajan's elevation to the Indian cap in 1998 was a major surprise to the world because the 18-year-old was relatively unknown outside Punjab. An attacking spinner in the classical mould, he has not yet established himself in the side. The fact that he has not fully enjoyed the confidence of the selectors is one reason for this but his action being deemed suspect by the ICC has also stalled his progress. A stint with former England off spinner Fred Titmus seemed to have done him some good. The one quality that Harbhajan Singh is well known for is that he is a fighter to the core. For a purveyor of slow off spinners, his attitude is aggressive. He is back among the probables for the series against Australia - the opponents against whom he made his Test debut three years before - it is to be hoped that his best results could lie ahead since he has youth on his side.

Harbhajan Singh's road to glory has not been an easy one. The 20-year-old off-spinner from Jullunder has been plagued by allegations of a jerk in his bowling action and insinuations of him having attitude problems. After almost losing his job with employers Indian Airlines and being saddened immensely by the death of his father, Harbhajan was reborn as a cricketer. Training doubly hard, the fiery youngster readied himself for the touring Australians. In the absence of ace legspinner Anil Kumble, India were desperately on the look out for a strike bowler. Bowling with a high arm action, extracting good bounce and considerable turn on good Test match wickets, Harbhajan Singh destroyed the Aussies by scalping 32 wickets in the three Test series. Harbhajan's performance had outdone the previous best wicket tally for an Indian in a Test series against Australia, beating legendary left arm spinner Bishen Singh Bedi's haul of 31 wickets in 1977-78 in Australia. What makes the feat especially commendable is the fact that Harbhajan notched up his wickets in three Tests as against Bedi's five. The most special moment in the series for Harbhajan was undoubtedly the hat-trick he snared in the first innings of the second Test at Kolkata when he dismissed Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne off successive deliveries. In the three Tests, Harbhajan returned figures of 4/132, 13/196 and 15/217, thereby leading India to a famous 2-1 victory.

In the course of the series, Harbhajan was constantly aggressive, giving back in good measure any on field chatter he got from the Aussies. With the bat too Harbhajan struck some lusty blows, earning kudos from teammates, scribes and selectors alike. The arrival of Harbhajan at the international stage as a force to reckon with has been a whiff of fresh air for Indian cricket. India were struggling in the bowling department and Harbhajan has answered the call handsomely.

Test Debut: India v Australia at Bangalore, 3rd Test, 1997/98
ODI Debut: India v New Zealand at Sharjah, Coca-Cola Cup, 1997/98

Delhi ODI: Harbhajan's bhangra rocks
New Delhi, March 28, 2006
After the humiliating Mumbai Test defeat, there was a vociferous clamour to get the Indian team rid of its two 'burdens' - Sehwag and Harbhajan.

After the Feroze Shah Kotla encounter, those demands will gain voice in the first case, but will die down in the second... at least for the time being.

Turbanator produced one of his finest ever bowling performance in recent past to steal the first of the seven ODI series from England's grasp on Tuesday. His exceptional utilization of the low bounce and 'square' turn offered by the pitch had the batsman twitching and prodding at his deliveries.

With just 204 runs needed to win after a yet another forgettable show by the Indian batsman, the tourists stumbled and stuttered and finally fell short of the target by 39 runs.

Harbhajan back with his black patka, posted not only his best ever figures of 5/31 in the limited version of the game, but also top scored for India with an enterprising 37 in the latter stages of a disappointing batting performance, which proved fatal for the tourists.

Having won the toss and put India to bat, Flintoff must have considered himself blessed with recurring windfalls, when Indian batsman played rash strokes one after the other to signal their demise. At the end of the first half, the skipper walked back pleased as a punch, with the hosts just about managing to surmount 200.

However, Fate has a knack of dishing out personal favours to the underdog, which catches the opponent off-gaurd.

At 117/3, England were cruising towards victory with the deadly combination of Kevin Peitersen and Andrew Flintoff at the helm and no speed-breaker in sight - India's fate looked as good sealed.

However, the fall of 3 crucial wickets for just 3 more runs on board got the hosts that vital 'foot in the door'. From then on, Bhajji showed his true colours with the second five-wicket haul of his career, as India successfully defended their meagre total.

At the match presentation, Bhajji rightfully looked relieved and satisfied. "It feels great to be back in the wickets...it's been a while and it really is special."

With a special win in their kitty, India will further look to turn the screws on England. The second of the seven match series will be played in Faridabad on Friday.

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11:02 AM