‘Only SRT knows if it’s his last Test’
New Delhi: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Friday said that he can’t predict whether Sachin Tendulkar has played his last Test on Indian soil in the ongoing fourth and final match against Australia here.
“You never know. From 2006-07, there has been this talk of Tendulkar’s retirement going on. But he has been playing the same way,” Gavaskar said. “Only he (Tendulkar) would know this,” he said when asked if Tendulkar has played his last Test on Indian soil at the Feroze Shah Kotla here, considering that the team would mainly play outside the country in the next 12 months. Gavaskar said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would not be unhappy for losing the toss in all the four matches of the Test series against Australia. “At hindsight, Dhoni would not be complaining. He lost the toss in all the three earlier Tests in the series and today also he lost the toss. But India won all the three matches and so he would not be complaining,” Gavaskar told NDTV.
Dada wants India to do well abroad
Hyderabad: Having re-established their hegemony in the familiar environs of home with three successive Test wins against Australia, India should strive to once again become a force to reckon with in the alien conditions abroad, feels former captain Sourav Ganguly. Observing that teams like England and South Africa perform well both at home and abroad, Ganguly hoped India would also become strong enough in all conditions. “England does well home and away. England won here when they came to India. South Africa does well. Sri lanka does well. So, we will have to wait and see. It is too early to say. We want India to do well (at) home and away. That’s very important for us. “That’s what we have done in the last 10 and 11 years. Hopefully, we will become a team which is once again doing well home and overseas. As I said, it is a young team which needed a little bit of time. But that’s what we want our team to be,” Ganguly said.
‘looking forward to clean sweep’
Mumbai: Former captain Anil Kumble is impressed by the Indian team’s performance against the visiting Australians in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy and is looking forward to a clean sweep in the four-Test series. “It will be a great thing. To beat Australia, forget Australia, let alone any Test series to win 4-0 is something very special. So India has an opportunity to achieve that. And it is great to see everyone doing really well at the moment. I am looking forward to a 4-0 victory,” Kumble said here.
lehmann to replace ArthurIJ
Melbourne: Australia’s coach Mickey Aurthur faces a tough task to save his job following the debacle in the Test tour of India, with former player Darren lehmann emerging as a candidate to replace him, according to reports. Besides being a decent batsman during his 27-Test career from 1998 to 2004 with an average of nearly 45, lehmann has won the Indian Premier league in 2009 as coach of Deccan Chargers. He is now the coach of Queensland. lehmann, though, has been weighing his options as he doesn’t know whether he would be prepared for so much time overseas, a report in Daily Telegraph said.
Clarke could be paid more to lead
New Delhi: Set to leave for home after leading Australia to a Test debacle in India, Michael Clarke could come back here next month to captain IPl side Pune Warriors, according to reports. Clarke, who is flying home tonight to get treatment on his back injury after being ruled out of the final Test against India here, is considering taking part in the IPl starting April 3. A report in the ‘Australian’ said that Clarke has been under pressure to captain Pune Warriors franchise with the owners keen for him to take over the job after Yuvraj Singh expressed reluctance to lead the side. The report talked about suggestions that Clarke could be paid more money to encourage him take up the captain’s job.
Telefunken beat Parampara
Ghaziabad: Superb bowling by Man of the Match Nitin Yadav (4/26) and good batting by Ankit Dabas (85) and Vikas Singh Hathwala (40) helped Telefunken Club beat Parampara by 7 wickets to enter quarterfinals of the 3rd All India MK Group cricket tournament at Mohan Meakin ground here. Brief Scores: Parampara 163 all out in 40 Overs (Abhishek Batra 52, Samodh Kumar 27, Nitin Yadav 4/26, Yogesh Nagar 2/41) lost to Telefunken Club 164/3 in 21 overs (Ankit Dabas 85, Vikas Singh Hathwala 40, Rahul Dagar 2/35) by seven wickets. PNS/ Agencies