KP in premier list of 514 slots
New Delhi: Controversial England batsman Kevin Pietersen will be one of the first players to go under the hammer along with senior India discards Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh when the two-day auction of the cash-rich IPl commences in Bangalore on February 12. The biggest draw of IPl VII auction — New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson has been slotted at No 83 in the 10th set which has the second array of international all-rounders. From the initial list of 651, the IPl governing council has pruned it down to 514 with 219 capped players featuring in it. Among the 219 capped players (who have played some form of international cricket), 169 are Indians while 50 are overseas players. This will also be the first time in IPl’s history that 292 uncapped players which has 255 Indian first-class cricketers will be auctioned. The cricketers have been divided into 53 sets with each lists ranging from eight to 10 players. The first list that consists of some of the biggest stars of Indian and international cricket named as Marquee 1 or M1.
England announce Wt20 squad
london: England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday announced the squads for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh and the preceding limited overs series in the West Indies. Uncapped duo Moeen Ali and Stephen Parry were included in a 15-man group for both events, while fellow newcomer Harry Gurney will head to the West Indies. Squads: For the West Indies tour: Stuart Broad (capt), Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler (wkt), Jade Dernbach, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Michael lumb, Stephen Parry, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Tredwell, luke Wright. For World Twenty20: Broad (capt), Morgan, Ali, Bresnan, Bopara, Buttler, Dernbach, Hales, Jordan, lumb, Parry, Root, Stokes, Tredwell, Wright.
gambhir says it’ll be tough
Chandigarh: With Indian team suffering one of its worst ODI series defeat in New Zealand recently, out-of-favour batsman Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said it is important to start a tour well as it becomes difficult to get the momentum back once the chips are down. “One thing is certain when we travel overseas whether it is South Africa or New Zealand, it is important to start the tour well as it gets you the momentum. Once you miss that, it is difficult to get the momentum back,” Gambhir, who is part of Rest of India squad that will take on Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka in the Irani Cup match in Bangalore from February 9, said here on the sidelines of an event.
Haryana Ranji cricketer dies
New Delhi: In a tragic accident, 25-year-old first-class cricketer Sandeep Singh lost his life after a tractor run over him in his hometown Mundal on Thursday. Sandeep was in the reserves list of the Haryana team this season having already played 15 first-class, 11 list A and 16 T20 matches for the senior state team. He last played for Haryana in 2012 against Baroda in a home match at lahli. “He was trying to help youngsters prepare a pitch for a football tournament in his village. As they were trying to level the field, the tractor somehow slipped and ran over Sandeep,” BCCI treasurer and Haryana Cricket Association supremo Aniruddh Chaudhary was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.