Broad out of Nagpur Test; Finn doubtful

Nagpur: England fast bowler Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the 4th and final Test between India and England due to a bruised heel. Broad, who is England’s T20 skipper, has also become doubtful for the subsequent T20 matches between the two nations. Board first had a scan on his injury during England`s second tour match in Mumbai last month, but he went on to play in the first two Tests before being dropped. If Board fails to recover in time, England would also have to name a new captain for the slam-bang format. Eoin Morgan is most likely to replace him. The two T20 matches are scheduled to take place in Pune and Mumbai on December 20 and 22, respectively. According to the sources from the English camp, fast bowler Steve Finn, who replaced Broad in the Kolkata Test, is also a doubtful starter for the Nagpur Test. First Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 13:26

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London: Former India captain Rahul Dravid was scathing in his criticism after India`s abject surrender in the Kolkata Test, questioning the "skill, ability and talent" of the players who are representing the country. "People talk about attitude and say (the players) don`t care because there is too much money in the Indian Premier League. That`s one side of things but the main thing is their lack of skill and ability, which is more worrying for me. It raises questions as to the talent and quality of players coming through," Dravid told `BBC Test Match Special`. "One of the challenges India face is that our domestic cricket is not of the quality to allow players to seamlessly move into international cricket." There is a lot of anger among the cricket-crazy Indian fans and the veteran of 164 Tests and 13,288 runs feels that it is absolutely justified. "A lot of people are upset not just by losing but the manner of the defeats. India won three tosses and had the wicket in their favour in Mumbai and the best of the batting conditions here in Kolkata but they just haven`t been able to capitalise or put up a fight," said Dravid, who had retired from international cricket last March. Dravid along with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag formed the core of a solid Indian Test team that reached the pinnacle of success winning in Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand. "England have put a mirror up to the Indian cricket team and shown them the challenges that they face. Successful teams have a group of players who come through together and peak at the same time." The `Wall` feels that `A` tours are becoming increasingly more important. "I think having `A` tours and the academy system is becoming more and more important and I think England have been pretty good with that in the way that the academy travels every winter to different parts of the world. I think that is something India can learn from England," Dravid said. "It is about recognising that the Indian team is in a bit of transition and working out how to bring through young players who have the skill, technique, temperament and desire to play Test cricket." Dravid also admitted that Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha didn`t deliver as per expectations. "India have been outbowled in the spin department and that`s a worrying sign because spin has been our strength." Although he is thoroughly disappointed with the Indian team`s effort in the field and their general fitness standards, he was blunt in stating that it can`t be used as an excuse. "India have been poor in the field and their physical fitness is disappointing me. That`s not an excuse. You can`t demand runs, but you can at least demand accountability in terms of intensity and effort." There is always a possibility that the Indian team would come back stronger and level the series in the final Test in Nagpur but the 40-year-old feels that there is a need for long-term planning. "Irrespective of what happens in Nagpur, the lessons need to be learned from the series if India wants to be a consistently successful team and challenge again for the number one ranking," he concluded

London: Former India captain Rahul Dravid was scathing in his criticism after India`s abject surrender in the Kolkata Test, questioning the "skill, ability and talent" of the players who are representing the country.

"People talk about attitude and say (the players) don`t care because there is too much money in the Indian Premier League. That`s one side of things but the main thing is their lack of skill and ability, which is more worrying for me. It raises questions as to the talent and quality of players coming through," Dravid told `BBC Test Match Special`.

"One of the challenges India face is that our domestic cricket is not of the quality to allow players to seamlessly move into international cricket."

There is a lot of anger among the cricket-crazy Indian fans and the veteran of 164 Tests and 13,288 runs feels that it is absolutely justified.


"A lot of people are upset not just by losing but the manner of the defeats. India won three tosses and had the wicket in their favour in Mumbai and the best of the batting conditions here in Kolkata but they just haven`t been able to capitalise or put up a fight," said Dravid, who had retired from international cricket last March.

Dravid along with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag formed the core of a solid Indian Test team that reached the pinnacle of success winning in Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand.

"England have put a mirror up to the Indian cricket team and shown them the challenges that they face. Successful teams have a group of players who come through together and peak at the same time."

The `Wall` feels that `A` tours are becoming increasingly more important.

"I think having `A` tours and the academy system is becoming more and more important and I think England have been pretty good with that in the way that the academy travels every winter to different parts of the world. I think that is something India can learn from England," Dravid said.

"It is about recognising that the Indian team is in a bit of transition and working out how to bring through young players who have the skill, technique, temperament and desire to play Test cricket."

Dravid also admitted that Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha didn`t deliver as per expectations.

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Time has come for Sachin Tendulkar to retire: Amarnath, Vengsarkar

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New Delhi: Former India cricketer and member of selection committee Mohinder Amarnath has said that Sachin Tendulkar should quit international cricket as he no longer can play the way he used to in the past.

"Sachin is a great cricketer. He has been playing for many years. Now he cannot play the way he was playing earlier. The time comes for everybody," he was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar echoed Amarnath’s view saying Tendulkar cannot dominate the bowlers with the same ruthlessness when he was young.

"Sachin is a fantastic cricketer. He has contributed a lot for Indian cricket. However, he is now 39 years old. He will continue scoring runs, but not with the same speed. He will not dominate as he used to in the past," he was quoted as saying.

Tendulkar is under severe criticism for his failure to score runs in the past one year leading to suggestions that he should take retirement from international cricket.

Amarnath also raised questions over MS Dhoni;s performance saying he hasn’t done anything in recent memory that justifies his continuation as the Test skipper.

"Dhoni doesn't find a place in the team. What has he done for the team in the last one year? The selection committee does not have guts to remove Dhoni," he said.

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Ponting to retire from Test cricket after Perth Test

Perth: Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting today announced that he will retire from Test cricket after playing in the third Test against South Africa which begins here from Friday.

"A few hours ago I let the team know that this upcoming Test will be my last," Ponting said at a hastily-called press conference here.

"It's a decision I thought long and hard about, put in long consideration about the decision, at the end of the day it was about my results and my output in this series so far," Ponting said.

"It hasn't been to the level required for batsmen and players in the Australian team. My level of performance hasn't been good enough."

Following a poor start to the Test series with low scores in Brisbane and Adelaide, Ponting said he was troubled by the "tentative" manner of his dismissals.

In the second Test in Adelaide, he was bowled twice in the same match for only the second time in a career that began in 1995.

Ponting has managed just 20 runs from three innings in two Tests so far against South Africa.

He has scored 13,366 Test runs at an average of 52.21 and scored an Australian record of 41 centuries.

Ponting will retire at his 168th Test match, which would be the same as that of former captain Steve Waugh's record Australian appearance.

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Yadav, rest squad unchanged for 3rd Test

Mumbai: Unfazed by the humiliating defeat in the second Test against England at Mumbai, national selectors on Tuesday persisted with the same squad giving under-fire star players another chance to prove their worth in the third match starting December 5 in Kolkata.



 The selectors refrained from making major changes to the team barring the inclusion of paceman Ashok Dinda for an injured Umesh Yadav. Dinda had been called as a cover for Ishant Sharma in the first Test and Yadav in the second Test though he did not get to play.

The selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil was to announce the team for the remaining two Test matches but did so only for the Kolkata match in a clear perform-or-perish message for some of the under-performing players.

"The teams for the fourth Test and the T20 Intl series, will be picked later," BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

India lost the Mumbai Test by 10 wickets inside four days and there was intense speculation a leg-spinner would be drafted into the squad to bring more variety in the spin department.

But the selectors reposed faith on the spin trio of R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh despite their failure to exploit the pitch in Mumbai which was tailormade to suit India's demands.

Harbhajan retained his place in the squad despite picking up two wickets in the Mumbai Test where he bowled just 23 overs unlike Ashwin and Ojha who sent down nearly 45 overs each.

Also retained was senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who has been going through a prolonged form slump, his last 10 innings yielding just 153 runs at an average of 15.3, the lowest by an Indian top-order batsman in the corresponding period.

In the current series he has scored merely 13, 8 and 8 and has looked clearly out of sorts.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, who has also been out of form, did well in the second innings of the Mumbai match to hang on to his spot in the side.

The third Test will be played at Eden Gardens, which has been the venue of some of India's historic triumph, while Nagpur will stage the fourth and final Test from December 13 to 17.

The two Twenty20 Internationals after the Test series will be played in Pune and Mumbai on December 20 and 22 respectively.

The Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Zaheer Khan.

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