Malinga is Sl's new T20 skipper
Colombo: Paceman lasith Malinga, who led Sri lanka to World Twenty20 title in Bangladesh, has been rewarded with the captaincy in the shortest format as struggling batsman Dinesh Chandimal got the axe on Wednesday. Chandimal orginally was the captain of the side but Malinga had led the team in the final three games, including the summit clash, as stand-in-skipper in their successful campaign. Chandimal, who at 23 became Sri lanka's youngest captain in any format last year, has seen a dip in his batting form during the World T20. left-hand batsman lahiru Thirimanna has been appointed as Malinga's deputy and will also be vice-captain in the Test and ODI team under skipper Angelo Mathews. The World T20 win became Sri lanka's first major international title since they won the World Cup in 1996 under Arjuna Ranatunga. The SlC sources added that the current contract dispute with the national squad would soon be over as the players had agreed to a new payment formula for annual contracts.
SlC not to act against duo
Colombo: Sri lanka Cricket (SlC) on Wednesday dropped plans to take disciplinary action against senior players Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. "We have sorted out the matter by talking to the two players," SlC Chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa said. The SlC was responding to public pressure as the decision to put the two seniors on the mat drew wide scale protests from fans. The governing body last week referred the matter to a disciplinary committee.
IPl 7 is wide open, says Ganguly
Kolkata: Former India captain Saurav Ganguly feels the seventh Indian Premier league is wide open with the perennial underdogs doing well and the consistent teams faltering for the first time since the T20 tournament began in 2008. "This is the first IPl where all teams are on equal footing, there are no clear favourites," Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of CAB's Vision 2020 batting camp that concluded at JU second campus ground in Saltlake on Wednesday. The former Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India senior player was referring to Kings XI Punjab's astonishing performance as they lead the table with three wins from as many matches.
bowling coach Akram faces axe
Karachi: Pakistan bowling coach Mohammad Akram is facing the axe with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) looking to build up a new support staff for the 2015 World Cup. Reliable sources in the board have said that there are strong indications that Akram will be removed and told to work at the national cricket academy. "The indications are there and the reason the board has not decided on Akram as yet is because the former Chairman, Zaka Ashraf had given him a two year contract," one source said.