I have no aspirations to be India coach now: Dravid
mumbai: Former captain Rahul Dravid on Wednesday emphatically ruled out the notion that he was interested in taking up the India coaching job after Duncan Fletcher’s departure."No, absolutely not. I am only looking at India A and Under-19 appointment (as coach). I am not thinking about that (national coach’s post)," Dravid told reporters here when asked about his coaching aspirations. Dravid, here as an invited guest at the convocation of the International Institute of Sports Management along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, emphasised that team director Ravi Shastri and the other support staff in Bangladesh were doing a great job. "Ravi and his team are doing a fantastic job with India. I have no aspirations to go up to that level at the moment," he insisted. "It’s an important stage for any player — being part of India A, U-19 squads. I am very happy I have been given that job. There will be 2-3 series and I will share my experiences as player with them," he said. He said his role as mentor of IPl team Rajasthan Royals over the last couple of years would stand him in good stead in his new assignment. "Definitely. Having spent a couple of years as role of mentor after having spent many years as a player, I have been able to see things from the management and coaching side. The more you do it, the better you become. I am looking forward to it," said Dravid.
BCCI should help Nepal the way it backed sl: coach
New Delhi: Nepal head coach Pubudu Dassanayake wants the BCCI to support the neigbouring Himalayan nation the way it supported Sri lanka when it was striving to become a force in international cricket. Dassanayake, who played 11 Tests and 16 ODIs for Sri lanka between 1993-1994, has sought more support from the powerful BCCI at a time when he is supervising Nepal’s first official camp in India. “I would want to put this matter into perspective. I vividly remember, how the Indian board helped Sri lanka in the early 80s. We got to play in the Duleep Trophy regularly and that really helped Sri lankan cricket. Now we are a strong cricketing nation. I hope the BCCI does the same for India’s another neighbour Nepal,” Dassanayake told PTI from Dharamsala where his team is undergoing a 15-day camp ahead of the World T20 qualifier next month.
Former Test cricketer Hemant Kanitkar no more
london: Former Maharashtra stumper Hemant Kanitkar, who had a 15-year first class career but played in only two Tests as a batsman in the home series against Clive lloyd’s West Indies in 1974-75, passed away in Pune at his residence on Tuesday night. The Amravati (Maharashtra)-born wicket-keeper batsman was 72 and is survived by his wife and two sons —Hrishikesh, also a former India cricketer — and Aditya, according to Maharashtra Cricket Association sources.
Kanitkar, a stocky hard-hitting wicket keeper batsman, whose first class career commenced in 1963, but coincided with those of other wicket keeper batsmen like Farokh Engineer, Budhi Kunderan and Inderjit Sinh to deny him an early shot at an India berth, batted at no. 3 in the opening Test of the series against lloyd’s West Indians at Bangalore and made 65. Subsequent scores of 18, 8 and 20 in his next three innings that included the second Test at Delhi, where too Engineer kept wickets, confined him to the list of forgotten men of Indian cricket as far as the national selectors were concerned.
Hero new title sponsor of Caribbean Premier league
Kingston: World’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp ltd was on Wednesday named as the new title sponsor of the Caribbean Premier league (CPl) for a period of one year. With this sponsorship, the much-awaited third season of CPl
will be known as the ‘Hero Caribbean Premier league’.Synonymous with some of the marquee sports partnerships in India as well as globally, New Delhi headquartered Hero MotoCorp has for long had a steadfast commitment towards promoting various disciplines of sports including cricket, golf, football and hockey.et their event up and running.” he said.
Clarke determined to complete 2-0 sweep over wi
kingston (jamaica): Australia hasn’t lost a cricket test in the West Indies in 12 years. Captain Michael Clarke says they won’t let that record fall in the second test starting here on Thursday. He’s determined for Australia to complete a 2-0 series sweep. The visitors, despite thumping the West Indies by nine wickets inside of three days in Dominica to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy, are aware they have room for improvement. Clarke was critical of his side’s top-order batting in the first test last week, as they needed a maiden century from 35-year-old debutant Adam Voges to lift them from the peril of 126-6 in the first innings to a total of 318, and a match-winning first-innings lead of 170. The West Indies is also eager to get more from its leading batsmen, with first test totals of 148 and 216 well below par, and coach Phil Simmons demanding more from team.