Virender Sehwag prefers to play Tests to Twenty20s

Mumbai: The public might be enchanted with the Twenty20 format but swashbuckling Indian opener Virender Sehwag prefers to play Tests and ODIs more than the shortest form of the game that has taken the cricket world by storm.

"Personally I would like to play more Tests and ODIs than T20 games which I know have become extremely popular.”

I would like to play at least eight to 10 Tests in a year," Sehwag said at the media conference here to announce the list of nominees for this year``s LG-ICC annual awards. Sehwag batted for all three formats even as some past cricketers, including spin legend Shane Warne, have written the epitaph of the 50-over game.


The England and Wales Cricket Board already scrapped the one-dayers from its domestic schedule. "The 20-20 game is big and in future may be everything but I would like to play more Tests and ODIs.”

The message I would like to give to the ICC is to introduce a World Championship of Tests. "Every cricketer would like to play Tests against every other country and perform well.”

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4:07 AM

West Indies seen 'next Tendulkar'

Road Town: If former player Keith Arthurton is to be believed, West Indies has unearthed the next Sachin Tendulkar in a seven-year-old hailing from Hannah Estate in Tortola.

Arthurton conducted a three-day coaching clinic this weekend on the islands of Tortola and Virgin Gorda and he had no doubt whatsoever that he has seen the next Tendulkar in Aidan Gorege.

"While he was batting, I heard someone in the crowd shout out that he looked like Sachin Tendulkar and I thought the same thing because of the way he bats, his stance and his attitude," said Arthurton, who represented West Indies in 33 Tests and 105 ODI between 1988 and 1999.


"You don`t really see that in kids who are that young but he has something special in him and the local coaches should work with him so that he can develop his cricket skills," Arthurton said of Aidan, who is originally from Dominica.

Youngest participant of the camp, Aidan looks older than his age and has a stance which is almost a replica of Tendulkar`s, according to a newspaper report.

Talking about the kid`s technique, Arthurton said, "His stance is very good and he moved his feet at the right times and with ease. I certainly would like to work with him in future as I think he has the potential to develop into a very good player," Arthurton said.

Star players Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dinesh Ramdin also turned up in the camp to share their experience with the kids.

A 20-over match at the H Lavity Stoutt Community College marked the end of the camp.

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4:02 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

One day cricket may die by 2011 World Cup

Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas fears the 2011 World Cup might be the last 50-overs event before the ODI format dies a premature death.

The traditionalist in Abbas is alarmed by the overwhelming success of Twenty20 and the way Indian and English cricket boards are promoting the slam-bang format.

If such thing continues, one day cricket would die in two year`s time, warned Abbas.


"If powerful boards like India, Australia and South Africa push for more Twenty20 cricket, I fear it might be the end of one-day internationals in the next two years time," Zaheer said.

Former players like Shane Warne are demanding ICC to do away with the one day format, while the England and Wales Cricket Board has already dropped the 50-overs format from its 2010 domestic calendar.

"I remain a traditionalist at heart and I don`t like what I see. I fear for the future of one-day internationals. The 2011 World Cup might well be the last time we see 50 over matches being played anywhere," he added.

Hailed as the `Asian Bradman` for his stylish batting and appetite for big scores during his playing days, Abbas said the growing popularity of Twenty20 cricket would eventually sound the death knell of traditional cricket.

"The way money is coming into Twenty20 cricket and the way countries like India and England are pushing and promoting it...if these boards want, they have enough clout in the ICC to change the format of the ODIs completely and reduce the number of overs in matches," he said.

Abbas said while Twenty20 cricket was essential for cricket, it must not be given preference over Tests or one-day matches.

"The real test of a player still comes in Tests or 50 over matches. Twenty20 is pure entertainment and you cannot have entertainment and fun all the time," Zaheer said.

Former captain Javed Miandad also felt the same way and said the authorities need to control the amount of Twenty20 matches held every year.

"Look the technical perfections are already suffering and the more we reduce the number of overs the more it is less cricket," Miandad, now a senior official in the Pakistan Cricket Board and the team`s batting consultant, said.

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5:55 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