Sachin highest tax paying sportsperson in country

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has become the highest taxpayer among sportspersons in the country for the last quarter of 2009 while film stars Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan edged past others in Bollywood on individual tax payers category.

Sachin paid Rs 1.5 crore for the quarter till December and stood at 115th position ahead of Indian cricket team captain M S Dhoni among the 500 top taxpayers of the country.

Dhoni and Sehwag had paid Rs 1 crore each for the same period and stood at 199 and 201 positions respectively in the latest list of top 500 taxpayers with the Finance Ministry.

Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan have occupied 25th and 26th positions respectively edging past all others in Bollywood, including Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan by dishing out Rs 4.5 crore each for the December period in the current financial year.

However, the Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan is missing from the top 500 list though his son and daughter-in-law have figured in it.

Businessman Mahesh Gordhandas Garodia is the top taxpayer in the country dishing out Rs 20 crore.

Lawyer-politician Abhisek Singhvi figures in the list by paying Rs 1.5 crore for this period.

Other cricketers who have figured in the list are Saurav Ganguly (Rs 90 lakh) and Harbhjan Singh (Rs 70 lakh).

IPL mastermind Lalit Modi has occupied the 47th position with a deposit of Rs 3 crore. Advertisement

Dhoni Launches official website

Almost all the bollywood celebrities have their official websites so how come our cricketers be left behind. Indian captain Mahinder singh dhoni has launched his official website dhoniworld.com at a function in New Delhi. Virender sehwag, Harbhajan singh and Ishant sharma too launched there respective websites

Dhoniworld.com is a flash based website and it’s still not complete as most of it’s features are not working currently. The site has personal information regarding Indian captain like his favourite movie, stars etc. Interestingly he mentions Amitabh, John, Katrina and Chitragandha singh as his favourite stars, no Deepika there, ouch. A star’s website can’t be complete without some pictures and this one has got too, but since it’s flash you can’t download them. Advertisement

Gavaskar frisked at Eden Gardens

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar was on Thursday frisked by security men along with Sri Lanka's Russel Arnold while entering the Eden Gardens Stadium for the fourth one-dayer here on Thursday.

The duo are contracted with Nimbus as commentators for the series between India and Sri Lanka. According to eyewitnesses, the security personnel near the gate asked Gavaskar to show his identity card while another securitymen checked his carry bag.

"He was allowed in after the check-up. But Arnold was not let in for some reasons as somebody from the commentarty crew came and sorted out the matter.

The Sri Lankan was later allowed inside the ground," said an eyewitness. Union Railway minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident saying, "It is sad that the security procedure was followed even for a legendary cricketer like Gavaskar."

When contacted, Nimbus did not comment over the incident. Advertisement

Docked: sports car fine on Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be fined Rs 100 for delay in the registration of his Hummer H2 sports utility vehicle (SUV).

The Team India skipper is also on a sticky wicket with his Harley-Davidson: he is yet to submit a “road worthiness certificate” by the makers of the bike. That is necessary to have it registered.

“He will be fined Rs 100 for the delay in applying for registration for the SUV. The norm is to apply for registration within seven days of purchase. Dhoni failed to do so. It’s a normal process being followed by one and all,” said A.K. Banka, the district transport officer of Ranchi.

However, according to another official of the transport department, Dhoni had applied for the registration of the Hummer within the stipulated time, but the form submitted was incomplete.

Transport office sources said Dhoni had opted for a number of his choice, a combination of his lucky number 7, and there was a high possibility that he would get it.

The Rs 100 fine for an SUV said to have cost him Rs 1 crore, including the high import duty, may not pinch the skipper’s pocket, but he could face a bigger hole if he continues to drive around in the numberless luxury vehicle. Under the motor vehicles act, the penalty increases to Rs 4,500 after the initial fine, the official said.

On the Harley-Davidson, Banka said the registration number could not be issued till the road-worthiness certificate was furnished.

“First, the maker certifies whether the bike is fit for driving on a particular road. Then we send a motor vehicle inspector to assess the fitness of the vehicle. After that, we issue a fitness certificate, following which the registration is done,” Banka said.

Speedster R.P. Singh had accompanied Dhoni when the captain had driven the Hummer from Lucknow to Ranchi on July 30.

Harbhajan Singh is the only other cricketer to own the SUV, made by US auto giant General Motors.

This is the second time Dhoni faces a penalty in connection with cars or for flouting driving rules. Three years ago, a traffic policeman had fined him for driving a car with tinted window panes, which is banned in Ranchi.

Dhoni was unaware of the curbs, which came into force when he was out of town on India duty. Advertisement

Pakistan fixed Champions Trophy semis? Coach, captain sacked

Clouds of match fixing stormed over Pakistan cricket as captain Younis Khan and coach Intikhab Alam were sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following reports that the semifinal match of the Champions Trophy, which they lost to New Zealand by five wickets, was fixed.

Both the mainstays of the Pakistan cricket team were also said to have fixed the stage one match against Australia, throwing it away in the final overs. The loss incidentally pushed India out of the tournament.

Younis Khan had earlier said the memory of the dropped catch that cost his side a place in the Champions Trophy final would haunt him for the rest of his career. He had dropped a sitter offered by Grant Elliot, who went on to win the match for New Zealand with a 75-run knock. Advertisement

Wrong team won the Ashes: Shane Warne

Australia's domination of England in the one-day series is providing some small consolation for their defeat in the Tests but shows the wrong team won the Ashes, former spin bowler Shane Warne said on Tuesday.

The Australians have rebounded spectacularly from their 2-1 Ashes defeat by winning the first five of their seven one-day matches against the English.

"It's great to see them (Australia) playing well," Warne told reporters on Wednesday.

"They (England) have a pretty poor side and Australia are starting to hit their straps, they were hurting after the Ashes -- it's good to see them bounce back and play well."

Warne said the one-day results added weight to his argument that the Australians were the better side in the Ashes and should not have lost the series.

"You don't mind being beaten in any sport if a side outplays you on the day or over a series, then so be it," he said.

"I suppose the hardest thing for all us Australians was to watch them play and lose to England, who I didn't think was a better side.

"You look at all the numbers, the runs and wickets, we dominated all that sort of stuff, but through a few different things here and there... it probably cost us."

Warne was part of the Australian side that thumped England 5-0 at home in 2006-07, helping regain the Ashes and avenge a 2-1 loss away in 2005.

Warne was among a handful of senior players who retired during or after that series, triggering the present rebuilding of the national side, but predicted the Australians would again regain the Ashes when the series returns to Australia in 2010-11.

"I don't think England were a better side than us, no way, but you have to say 'well played' to England because they won," he said.

"I'm looking forward to them coming out here in 18 months." Advertisement

PCB endorses Sachin's idea of four-innings ODI

Endorsing Sachin Tendulkar's view of splitting one-day international matches into four innings with 25 overs each, the Pakistan Cricket Board has said that the proposal was a sensible one which can revive popularity of the format.

Sultan Rana, chief of PCB's domestic cricket department, who has also worked for Asian Cricket Council as a development officer, backed the proposal to split one-day international matches into four innings.

"If the International Cricket Council allows its members to experiment with this new format we will definitely be keen to try it out because our domestic structure is tailormade for this new concept," Rana said.

A member of the famous Rana cricket family in Pakistan, Sultan feels many countries would soon try to experiment with the four-innings concept in their domestic level events.

"I think it is going to happen soon. Because by splitting one-day games into four innings will basically allow the ICC and other countries to make one-day matches as interesting and popular as Twenty20 matches are now," he said.

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, however, did not buy the idea given by India's master batsman and opined that the ICC should not try to tinker with the existing 50-over format of the one-dayers.

"We will discuss this issue internally and be prepared for it when countries are allowed to try out the new format. One has to change with time and I think cricket also has to undergo slight changes with time," Rana said.

Rana also pointed out that the Indian sub-continent, which also includes Pakistan, is the ideal stage to experiment with different options and new concepts of cricket because of the game's immense popularity among public.

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M/S Dhoni fails in B Com 1st year

Indian cricket skipper Mahindra Singh Dhoni may have won big matches and Cups for India through his luck but when comes to academics, Mahi has no such lucky charm.The Indian skipper's dreams of getting a graduate degree met with a hurdle.

Mahi failed in the 1st year of his B Com examination and his name was put up on the college notice board. Dhoni did not appear for the exams, may be due to Cricket. He got enrolled himself at St Xavier's college, Ranchi, for the B Com course.

Dhoni got admission in the college under sports quota and was exempted from attending classes because of his cricketing commitments. But, he also missed out the examinations which has put his educational career in a hurdle. Advertisement

Harbhajan Singh's list of controversies

The off-spinner was challaned by the Chandigarh Traffic Police for plying his Hummer vehicle without a registration number. He was challaned Rs 3000 for the indiscretion.

October, 2008 - Harbhajan could not control his tongue and in an interview said that former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist was not a ’saint’ and called Matthew Hayden a liar.

April, 2008 - Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth, after a match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians in Mohali. Apart from banning him for 11 or 13 matches he was also fined his match fee for the game.

January, 2008 - Harbhajan Singh was charged with a Level 3 charge of racially abusing Andrew Symonds when he allegedly called Symonds "monkey". He was banned for one test and charged 50 per cent of his match fees.

Symonds was not the lone Australian to have problems with Harbhajan during the tour Down Under. Opener Mathew Hayden also joined the off-spinners’ critics club and called him as an “obnoxious little weed” in a radio interview which led to Cricket Australia (CA) issuing Hayden a warning.

October, 2006 - Harbhajan featured without his turban in an advertisement for a liquor brand that angered many orthodox Sikhs, leading to anti-Harbhajan protests.

March, 2002 - Harbhajan was engaged in an altercation with the police outside the team hotel in Guwahati. A scuffle broke out when Harbhajan remonstrated with police officers after they refused to allow a photographer into the hotel.

In 2000 he was also thrown out of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore for not falling in line with the academy’s objectives and shirking physical workouts.

In 1998 Harbhajan was engaged in a war-of-words with Australian captain Ricky Ponting in his maiden international ODI series after which he was slapped with a fine and a reprimand. Advertisement

College mistakenly 'fails' an absent MS Dhoni

Fans of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni would say that it's just not cricket. The college authorities initially declared that Dhoni, who did not appear for his B Com part-I examination, had 'failed' his exams. The mistake has since been rectified.

The second semester results of B Com part-I results were announced on Tuesday by the Ranchi University. The list, which appeared at the St Xavier's college, had 'fail' before Dhoni's name. The family members and fans of the cricketer were shocked at the news and the issue was brought to the notice of the college administration.

The college administration was prompt to verify the facts and rectify the mistake. "It was a mistake and the list has been revised," Nicholas Tete, principal of St Xavier's College, told reporters. Now Dhoni has been marked 'absent', a source in the college administration said.

Dhoni is a part-I student of St Xavier college of Ranchi. He could not appear in the second semester examination held in May and June. At the time Dhoni was in South Africa for the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 matches.

To become a graduate, Dhoni will have to clear six semesters in five years. According to the college, a student has to clear six semesters in three years. If a student fails to clear a semester, then the student will be given a maximum of five years to clear all semesters. Dhoni has already cleared the first semester and now he has to clear five more semesters in four years.

Dhoni took admission in St Xavier's College last year under sports quota. He was exempted from attending classes. Advertisement

Dhoni nominated in three categories for ICC awards

India's recent superb run in Test and one-day cricket was reflected in the ICC's annual awards nominations as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was listed in three categories for honour.

Dhoni was nominated for ICC Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards.

Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh were the other Indian nominees for the prestigious Cricketer of the Year award.

VVS Laxman joined the trio of Dhoni, Gambhir and Harbhajan to be in the line for the Test Player of the Year award while Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag were also in the fray for the honour of ODI Player of the Year.

Dhoni has already been the ODI Player of the Year in 2008 besides being named in the ODI Team of the Year.

Zaheer Khan was nominated for Twenty20 Performer of the Year award while Amit Mishra will be vying for the honour in the Emerging Player of the year category as Indians led the overall nominations for the award.

Mithali Raj was nominated for the Women's Cricketer of the year award.

The nominations were announced by dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag and former captain Ravi Shastri in the presence of International Cricket Council Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat while the awards will be presented on October 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa during the Champions Trophy.

The nominations were based on performances from August 13, 2008 to August 24, 2009 and were selected by a five-member selection panel, headed by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd,.

The panel also included former India Test captain Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand's Stephen Fleming.

The awards include eight individual prizes and also features the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket.

Besides Dhoni, Tillakaratne Dilshan has also been nominated in three different categories, while 18 players make appearance in two distinct categories in the sixth edition of the awards.

The individual player awards will be selected by an academy of 25 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world.

The academy includes a host of former players and respected members of the media, representatives of the Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees.

The nominations for Women's Cricketer of the Year were decided after a committee of former players, current administrators and journalists created a long-list.

The Spirit of Cricket Award was voted on by all international captains as well as all members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.

The Umpire of the Year Award was voted on by the captains and the match referees based on the umpires' performance statistics.

Lists of nominees (in alphabetical order):

Individual Awards --

Cricketer of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind), Gautam Gambhir (Ind), Saqib Al Hasan (Ban), Mitchell Johnson (Aus), Graham Onions (Eng), Thilan Samaraweera (SL), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Harbhajan Singh (Ind), Graeme Smith (SA), Andrew Strauss (Eng), Daniel Vettori (NZ), AB de Villiers (SA)

Test Player of the Year: Stuart Broad (Eng), Michael Clarke (Aus), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Gautam Gambhir (Ind), Saqib Al Hasan (Ban), Mitchell Johnson (Aus), VVS Laxman (Ind), Jesse Ryder (NZ), Thilan Samaraweera (SL), Ramnaresh Sarwan (WI), Peter Siddle (Aus), Harbhajan Singh (Ind), Graeme Smith (SA), Dale Steyn (SA), Andrew Strauss (Eng), Graeme Swann (Eng), Daniel Vettori (NZ), AB de Villiers (SA).

ODI Player of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Chris Gayle (WI), Umar Gul (Pak), Martin Guptill (NZ), Michael Hussey (Aus), Nuwan Kulasekara (SL), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Muttiah Muralidaran (SL), Yuvraj Singh (Ind), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Thilan Thushara (SL)

Emerging Player: Martin Guptill (NZ), Ben Hilfenhaus (Aus), Philip Hughes (Aus), Amit Mishra (Ind), Graham Onions (Eng), Kemar Roach (WI), Jesse Ryder (NZ), Peter Siddle (Aus),

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Shahid Afridi (Pak), Saeed Ajmal (Pak), Dwayne Bravo (WI), Alex Cusack (Ire), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Chris Gayle (WI), Umar Gul (Pak), David Hussey (Aus), Sanath Jayasuriya (SL), Zaheer Khan (Ind), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Wayne Parnell (SA), Abdur Razzak (Ban), David Warner (Aus).

Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Suzie Bates (NZ), Holly Colvin (Eng), Charlotte Edwards (Eng), Laura Marsh (Eng), Sana Mir (Pak), Shelley Nitschke (Aus), Mithali Raj (Ind), Karen Rolton (Aus), Priyanka Roy (Ind), Lisa Sthalekar (Aus), Claire Taylor (Eng), Sarah Taylor (Eng), Stafanie Taylor (WI), Haidee Tiffin (NZ), Aimee Watkins (NZ)

Umpire of the Year: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Ian Gould, Tony Hill, Daryl Harper, Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel.

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Gavaskar, Richards inspired my game: Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday said he made a conscious effort to blend Sunil Gavaskar's defence with Viv Richards' ruthlessness to evolve a batting style of his own.

Since his 1989 debut against Pakistan, Tendulkar has been lording over the bowlers, who continue to struggle to breach his near-impregnable defence and often find themselves at the receiving end of his aggressive hitting.

Tendulkar revealed he modelled his batting style on Gavaskar and Richards, two players he idolised.

"Sunil Gavaskar, needless to say, and Vivian Richards are the batsmen that really inspired me," said the champion batsman with more than 29,000 international runs under his belt.

"I wanted to be as solid as Sunil Gavaskar and as destructive as Vivian Richards, because that combination was always going to be lethal. I felt truly inspired by these two individuals on the field," Tendulkar told a news channel.

Over the last two decades, Tendulkar's appetite for runs never waned and the Mumbaikar said he never ran out of motivation.

"I don't need anyone to come to me or motivate me or prepare me before a big game," Tendulkar said.

"I've always been motivated and I love this sport. I grew up loving this sport and as each day goes by, I fall in love with this game more and more.

"The desire to go out there and win matches for my nation is growing, and it continues to grow. I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to play for 20 years and I'm still motivated, and I still want to go out there and do better," he said.

Despite his iconic status, Tendulkar remains a team man and he underlined the importance of working as a unit.

"Team work for me is practising together and also trying to get the best out of each other. That can only happen if you go out of your way to help your team-mate. You must be prepared to sacrifice for your team-mate, which will eventually end up giving a positive result for your team," he said. Advertisement

Harbhajan Singh's Hummer under scanner

Cricketers have divided opinions on whether one should play for numbers and records or not. However, there are some digits that one
needs to worry about no matter what. When Harbhajan Singh’s newly-acquired black Hummer drove into the city on Monday, the huge vehicle did not have a registration number on it.

UT traffic police officials said the vehicle would be challaned on Tuesday when they have substantial evidence. SP (traffic) HS Doon said, “Be it an international cricketer or a common man, nobody is above the law. If Harbhajan is moving around in his SUV without a number he will definitely be challaned.”

How the SUV, which is the civilian version of US Army’s Humvee (High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle), reached the city from Jalandhar without a registration number is a question for another day, as it was Bhajji’s non-celebrity cousin, who drove it to Chandigarh. Playing it down, Harbhajan Singh said, “Perhaps rain has washed down the number slip. I have got three photo copies of it inside the car. I have just returned from Mumbai and don’t know much about it.”

But traffic police says paper slips are not valid and it has to be a proper plate even for the temporary number, which is valid for a month’s time till the vehicle gets registered. Advertisement

The World's Top-Earning Cricketers

With its deep-pocketed owners and global appeal, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has shaken up professional cricket, luring top players from five continents with paychecks as big as $111,000 per three-hour match. That's a stunning sum in a sport where domestic leagues have traditionally been an afterthought to the international version of the game.

While cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world (it's played competitively in more than 100 countries), before the IPL launched last year, no domestic league was truly run as a business. But with IPL teams now paying top players as much as $1.55 million for just a five week season, versus $500,000 to $1 million, depending on the country, for an almost year-long slate of national team games, cricket is in the midst of a dramatic shift.

Some of the sport's biggest names are already leaving their national teams to focus on the club game. Included is Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian team captain, who was paid $1.1 million to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders this year. English star Andrew Flintoff is following suit and will retire from Test matches, the traditional five-day version of the international game, next month. This after receiving less than half of his $1.55 million salary from the Chennai Super Kings this year due to a scheduling conflict between his two teams, which was initially going to sideline him for most of the IPL season (turns out an injury during early IPL play caused him to miss both competitions).

The IPL is home to the nine highest-paid cricket players in the world. Tenth ranked Michael Clarke, who left up to $1 million on the table to play club games in his native Australia, is the only member of our list who's not currently on one of the IPL's eight team rosters. Our paycheck figures include club and national team salaries and commercial endorsement income over the last 12 months. For the top stars, endorsements are the most lucrative source of revenue.

Take Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings and tops our list as cricket's first $10 million-a-year man (that's $5,426 for each run scored). His $8 million in endorsements, from the likes of Reebok, General Electric ( GE - news - people ) and Pepsi ( PEP - news - people ), is 45% higher than any other player. Among all Indian athletes and entertainers, Dhoni's 17 corporate sponsors is second to only Bollywood star and co-owner of the Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan.

Cricket's second highest earner is Sachin Tendulkar. The holder of numerous offensive records, Tendulkar, known to fans as Little Master, is considered among the greatest batsman in cricket history. Now in the twilight of his career, he's one of five IPL players who have been bestowed "icon" status, meaning he automatically receives a paycheck 15% larger than his highest paid teammate. Tendulkar's $1.1 million salary from the Mumbai Indians helped push his total earnings to $8 million over the last 12 months.

While runaway player costs have led to strikes and lockouts that have plagued other sports leagues, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi encourages spending on players and punishes teams that don't pay them enough. Last year he fined the Rajasthan Royals $600,000 for spending $300,000 under the league's minimum threshold at an auction where teams selected players. He also raised the salary cap from $5 million per team in 2008 to $7 million this year.

The Kings XI Pubjab's highest-paid player is Yuvraj Singh, who earned just over $1 million from the team and another $4 million from endorsements, primarily from Reebok and Fiat ( FIATY.PK - news - people ), making him the third richest cricketer over the last 12 months. Singh, who's 27 years old, was once awarded a Porsche 911 and $250,000 as a prize for his batting achievements in a tournament.

Expect him to join Dhoni in the driver's seat as cricket's highest-earners for years to come. Advertisement

Muralitharan bowls highest number of Test Maidens

Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan on Thursday surpassed Australia's Shane Warne in creating a new world record by bowling the highest number of maiden overs in Test cricket.

Muralitharan, playing in his 128th Test currently underway against the New Zealand, overtook Warne's record by bowling his 1752nd maiden over at the Galle Stadium. Warne has bowled 1751 maidens in his 145-Test career.

Muralitharan set up the record when he bowled the 79th over of the first innings during the first Test for a maiden. It was the 27th over of Murali and the batsman on the crease against whom the deliveries were bolwed was allrounder Jacob Oram.

Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in both Tests and in ODIs. He took the wicket of Gautam Gambhir in February this year in Colombo, to surpass Wasim Akram's ODI record of 502 wickets.

The 37-year-old Muralitharan became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he overtook the previous record-holder Shane Warne in December 2007. Advertisement

Dhoni, Yuvraj lead ICC ODI Batsmen ranking

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni continued to top the one-day batsmen chart with his deputy Yuvraj Singh occupying the second position in the the latest ICC ODI Player Rankings released on Wednesday.

Apart from Dhoni and Yuvraj, Delhi dasher Virender Sehwag, at the seventh spot, is the other Indian to feature in the top 10 batsmen list.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir are at the 14th and 17th spot respectively in the chart.

However, no Indian features among top 10 ODI bowlers with left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan languishing at the 17th spot in the list which is being headed by Sri Lankan Nuwan Kulasekara, followed by Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan continued to top the ODI all-rounders table, followed by England's Andrew Flintoff in the second spot and Kiwi Jacob Oram at the third position.

India also managed to hold on to their second best ODI team status with 126 rating points.

South Africa tops the table with a point lead over India, while World Champions Australia is lying third with 119 points. Advertisement

Yuvraj Singh's Village Should Be Trendsetter

Ever heard of an Indian village that aspired to have a sanitation system matching up to European standards? Well, there is one now - the village of ace cricketer Yuvraj Singh and his actor father, Yograj Singh, whose enterprising residents have set upon the task to accomplish that objective.

The Punjab government has already approved a Rs 2.78 crore project for laying sewerage and drinking water supply lines in the village. As much as 75 per cent of the total cost will be borne by the government as well as locals with nonresident Indians contributing the rest.

“ We have no dearth of money - there are about 300 NRIs belonging to our village settled in Canada, the United States and other countries. Almost all of them are keen to do something worthwhile for their village,” said Ranjit Pal Singh Bhandal, a former village sarpanch who himself lives in Canada.

Interestingly, Ranjit’s daughter, Gurneesh, who is doing MSc at the London School of Economics, has chosen the role played by NRIs in development of their native villages in Punjab as the topic for a research paper that is part of her academic curriculum. Ranjit’s brother, who also resides in Canada, is also at the forefront of efforts to improve amenities in the village.

Everything in the project’s first phase, including laying sewerage and water supply pipes, has been planned meticulously. “We have paid over Rs 1 lakh for getting detailed maps to scale of the entire village prepared,” said current Sarpanch Gurmeet Singh. “We want scientific and not haphazard development of the village and that is why we have engaged consultants and experts to do the job”, he added, proudly showing the copies of the maps on the development works in the village.

“We’ll undertake the entire responsibility and not involve government departments, which are notorious for shabby execution of such jobs”, said a member of the panchayat. After laying the sewerage and drinking water system, underground cables for power supply, TV network and Internet would also be laid, he added.

“We have decided on the kind of toilets to be constructed, how water would move out from homes to streets and how it would be taken to village ponds where treatment plants would be installed for it to be used in irrigation”, said Gurmeet Singh. “We have planned the sewerage and drinking water supply system keeping in mind the population growth in the village over the next 50 years”, said Parshotam Singh, a village nambardar.

Despite strong political affiliations with different political parties, the village residents are united on the goal of rapid development of the village. “We’re all working together to achieve our objective and avoid any sort of conflict that has political tones”, said Gurmeet.

A model of the development projects stands in one corner in Ranjit’s home. “Residents can get an idea of the various works that would be implemented in the village”, said Ranjit. Advertisement

Selectors have done a Good thing by picking Dravid: Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the selectors have done the right thing by bringing back Rahul Dravid in the One-day
side as the veteran batsman is an asset for the team.

"Selectors have done the right thing by getting back (Ashish) Nehra in the earlier series and now (Rahul) Dravid. That's the way to go," Ganguly said.

Dravid, a former India captain who last played an ODI two years back in October 2007, was included in the 15-member squad along with Sachin Tendulkar, who was rested for the West Indies One-dayers.

"It's a good thing for (Rahul) Dravid. Hopefully, if he can play well, he will be an asset to the Indian side. This is the right way," the 37-year-old said at Eden Gardens where the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had organised a condolence meeting for former Sports minister Subhas Chakraborty who died on August 3.

As many as four changes were made to the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side for the upcoming Tri-series and ICC Champions Trophy next month, with Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja getting the boot following failures in the four-match series in the West Indies, which India won 2-1.

S Badrinath, Murali Vijay and Pragyan Ojha were also shown the door. The ace left-hander said the Indian team never had senior-junior divide.

"There is nothing like junior and seniors. Whoever performs well should play well and moreover, he is just 36. It's all about performances. But I don't think senior-junior is ever an issue and should never be an issue," said Ganguly.

Asked whether he regretted his retirement, he said, "I have decided not to play anymore. I've retired some nine months ago and it's all past now."

On promising Bengal wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, who was named in the 30-strong list of probables for the Champions Trophy, Ganguly said: "It's unfortunate and he has to wait for his turn. (Wicketkeeper-batsman) Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain of the side and (Dinesh) Kaarthick is doing well at the moment."

Asked about Shah Rukh Khan's grilling at the Newark airport in New Jersey, Ganguly said, "It's a very delicate issue but he is fine at the moment so that's more important. I don't know much about the incident so can't comment much." Advertisement

Dravid selection a golden Hand-shake?

Rarely has the event of Indian team selection not been succeeded by controversy. The selection of 15 men for the Champions Trophy appears to be no different.

According to sources, selection of Rahul Dravid in the South Africa bound squad is a compromise between the BCCI and the aging veteran to provide the latter an honourable exit from international cricket.

Sources say that according to the deal brokered between the Indian cricket board and Dravid, he would bid adieu to one day cricket after the Champions Trophy in South Africa next month.

Dravid, who is a regular part of India’s Test set-up, last played an ODI for India way back in the October of 2007 in the home series against Australia where he managed just 51 runs from 5 innings.

Dravid’s re-induction is said to be a consequence of India’s Twenty20 World Cup debacle in June this year where the young turks were seen struggling against the short ball.

Dravid, it is said, was drafted in to bolster Indian batting in the pacer friendly conditions of South Africa.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that reports of ‘a golden handshake’ between an aging senior and BCCI have come to the fore.

Last year, former captain Sourav Ganguly too was reportedly offered a conditional selection into the Indian team for the Test series against Australia provided he hung up his boots after the series.

Though both the parties had vehemently denied the reports, Ganguly had eventually called it a day after the Australia series. Advertisement

Can't Compare me to Sachin: Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag, who is eyeing a September return says there is nothing similar between him and Sachin Tendulkar

One year ago, Virender Sehwag was doing the incredible for India by being the best Indian batsman against Sri Lanka's mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis. Today, he is virtually out of contention for the forthcoming one-day international tour of the Emerald Isles.

But Sehwag is no stranger to fluctuating fortunes. A shoulder operation during the World T20 in England has put him out of action. "I have not held a bat since then but I plan to play the Corporate Trophy (September)," he told MiD DAY. Despite a break for the India cricketers, there has been no shortage of drama off the field.

The cricketers' objection to the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) "whereabouts" clause has been well documented and Sehwag was in touch with his teammates with his views.

"I may have not gone for the Mumbai meeting but I was in touch with my teammates and offered my opinion.
"I will go with whatever the team feels about this issue," he said.

It's amazing how people still ask him his similarity with Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to their batting styles.

The other day, he was asked about it again. And he came up with a gem: "Look, I am honoured by all this talk, but frankly, I don't think we are similar in any way even in my bank balance and my runs in international cricket," he said.

Realistically, Sehwag is looking at September's Champions Trophy in South Africa to take guard in international cricket again. But there's work to be done.

"I will definitely try and concentrate on my fitness. Of course, batting and bowling is important but fielding is critical too. I must be able to throw properly," he said.

Being injured can be depressing for a sportsman but Sehwag is kept in good cheer by his teammates. "Ever since I got operated in England, my teammates call me and ensure I am in good spirits. Not only Mahi (Dhoni) but others too. I am hugely encouraged by these gestures," he said.

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