I can play as per situation demands: Yusuf Pathan

Dashing Baroda batsman Yusuf Pathan doesn't believe with the popular perception about him being a pinch-hitter; he believes he can change his game according as per the situation demands.
"I had started as a pinch-hitter, but now I have a different role to play. I try to play according to team's needs, be it domestic or international cricket," Pathan said.
"I have scored a century against New Zealand and played some big knocks in the recent past. It is not correct to say that I am a batsman who deals in sixes and fours only," he added.
He is confident that he will make it to the final squad for the World Cup, to be held in sub-continent from February 19 next year.
"Obviously, it is a dream to be a part of World Cup team and I am no exception. I have worked hard to get a place in the team. I am working on both areas of the game for that," he said.
India's [ 30-member World Cup probables list will be selected on Saturday.
Yusuf blasted his way to an unbeaten 123 off only 96 deliveries in a recent ODI against New Zealand in Bangalore apart from providing crucial dismissals with the ball.
Yusuf attributes his recent success to his parents, brother Irfan, coach Gary Kirsten.
"Gary has advised me to bide my time at the crease and he has worked hard on my bowling as well. I got support from seniors also," said Pathan.
He also believes that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team will be the strongest contender to win the World cup.
"It is happening in India and we have the home advantage. The Indian team is playing really good cricket recently and is capable of winning the trophy," he added.

IPL seeks 80 bullet-proof vehicles

The Indian Premier League is looking for 80 bullet-proof cars and buses to transport players in a bid to secure government clearance for their Twenty20 tournament, local media reported on Friday.
The tournament, scheduled to take place from April 10 to May 24, has yet to be given the home ministry's approval after security concerns escalated in the wake of the attack on the Sri Lankan team in neighbouring Pakistan.
The Indian Express reported that the IPL has said they need 64 bullet-proof cars and 16 buses and wanted them within 15 days, while the Times of India reported the IPL's South African security consultants had approached an Indian company.
"This is a recommendation that has been given to us. We're looking into it and we're hoping we will manage it," the Indian Express quoted an unnamed league official as saying.
When contacted by Reuters, an IPL official said they had no comment to make on the reports.
A number of foreign players feature in the lucrative league and are looking for extra safety assurances but the Indian company approached felt there is not enough time to prepare such a large order.
"The IPL management approached us last week for this order," Sanchit Sobti, a director of Laggar Industries, told the Express.
"We have not accepted it yet as they're giving us too little time to execute this project.
"It takes at least two months to armour a vehicle, and they want us to bullet-proof 64 cars and 16 buses in a fortnight," he said. "We need some five months to execute that kind of order.
"A hurried, shoddy job is neither our sort of work, nor is it desirable since it is a sensitive issue and would hit our credibility in case of a security lapse."
The IPL organisers are also trying to hire bullet-proof vehicles, but they are mainly used by politicians, who have their own security concerns in the thick of campaigning for the general election, which starts on April 16.
Six Sri Lankan players were injured and seven Pakistanis killed when gunmen ambushed the team bus in Lahore earlier this month.

Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja

Full name Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja

Born February 1, 1971, Jamnagar, Gujarat

Current age 40 years 

Major teams India, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm medium

Relation Uncle - KS Chatrapalsinhji

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	15	24	2	576	96	26.18	1463	39.37	0	4	62	3	5	0
ODIs	196	179	36	5359	119	37.47	7677	69.80	6	30	366	85	59	0
First-class	109	170	24	8046	264	55.10			20	40			73	0
List A	291	271	52	8304	119	37.91			11	48			91	1

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ODIs	196	52	1248	1094	20	3/3	3/3	54.70	5.25	62.4	0	0	0
First-class	109		4703	2140	54	4/37		39.62	2.73	87.0		0	0
List A	291		2680	2258	49	3/3	3/3	46.08	5.05	54.6	0	0	0

 

2011 Highest partnerships by runs

Partners	Runs	Wkt		Opposition	Ground	Match Date
G Gambhir, V Kohli	209*	3rd		v England	Delhi	17 Oct 2011
V Sehwag, V Kohli	203	3rd		v Bangladesh	Dhaka	19 Feb 2011
G Gambhir, V Sehwag	176	1st		v West Indies	Indore	8 Dec 2011
R Dravid, V Kohli	170	3rd		v England	Cardiff	16 Sep 2011
SK Raina, MS Dhoni	169	5th		v England	Lord's	11 Sep 2011
V Kohli, RG Sharma	163	4th		v West Indies	Visakhapatnam	2 Dec 2011
V Sehwag, SR Tendulkar	142	1st		v South Africa	Nagpur	12 Mar 2011
V Sehwag, SK Raina	140	2nd		v West Indies	Indore	8 Dec 2011
SR Tendulkar, G Gambhir	134	2nd		v England	Bangalore	27 Feb 2011
V Kohli, SK Raina	131	4th		v England	Mumbai	23 Oct 2011
SR Tendulkar, G Gambhir	125	2nd		v South Africa	Nagpur	12 Mar 2011
V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh	122	3rd		v West Indies	Chennai	20 Mar 2011
PA Patel, V Kohli	120	2nd		v West Indies	Port of Spain	8 Jun 2011
MK Tiwary, V Kohli	117*	4th		v West Indies	Chennai	11 Dec 2011
MS Dhoni, RA Jadeja	112	6th		v England	The Oval	9 Sep 2011
AM Rahane, G Gambhir	111	2nd		v England	Mohali	20 Oct 2011
V Kohli, RG Sharma	110	4th		v West Indies	Kingston	16 Jun 2011
G Gambhir, MS Dhoni	109	4th		v Sri Lanka	Mumbai	2 Apr 2011
PA Patel, V Kohli	103	3rd		v England	Chester-le-Street	3 Sep 2011
YK Pathan, Z Khan	100	9th		v South Africa	Centurion	23 Jan 2011

Dravid says onus on players to keep the game clean

Rahul Dravid has called on cricketers to give up "a little bit of freedom of movement and privacy" if it helps keep the game free of corruption. Speaking at the Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra, Dravid said players should treat the inconveniences of dope tests, the possible scrutiny of finances, or even lie-detector tests as necessary measures to keep the sport clean.

"Cricket's financial success means it will face threats from outside the game and keep facing them. The last two decades have proved this over and over again," Dravid said. "The internet and modern technology may just end up being a step ahead of every anti-corruption regulation in place in the game.

"As players, the one way we can stay ahead for the game is if we are willing to be monitored and regulated closely. Even if it means giving up a little bit of freedom of movement and privacy. If it means undergoing dope tests, let us never say no.

"If it means undergoing lie-detector tests, let us understand the technology, what purpose it serves and accept it. Lie-detectors are by no means perfect but they could actually help the innocent clear their names. Similarly, we should not object to having our finances scrutinised, if that is what is required."

The radical idea of lie-detector tests was first mooted by the MCC to strengthen anti-corruption measures. The proposal was backed by former Australia captain Steve Waugh, who took a lie-detector test himself, and England captain Andrew Strauss also said he would be willing to undergo such an examination. The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), however, was opposed to the idea and its chief executive Tim May said lie-detector tests were "far from foolproof".

Dravid, the first foreign player to deliver the Bradman oration, said that players needed to sacrifice a bit of personal comfort for the good of the game. His comments came at the end of a year during which three Pakistan players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - were found guilty of spot-fixing during the tour of England in 2010. They were sentenced to jail terms after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

"When the first anti-corruption measures were put into place, we did moan a little bit about being accredited and depositing our cell phones with the manager. But now we must treat it like we do airport security because we know it is for our own good and our own security," Dravid said. "Players should be ready to give up a little personal space and personal comfort for this game, which has given us so much. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."

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Harbhajan Singh recovers stolen documents

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has recovered a part of his valuables which were stolen from his car on the Punjab-Delhi highway. Haryana Police on Tuesday found his bag, lying in an abandoned area, which contained his passport and other documents, including credit cards. However, cash to the tune of Rs 9500 is still missing.

Harbhajan registered the theft at the local police station, after his parked car was broken into outside a coffee shop.

"It took us only three minutes to go to Cafe Coffee Day and bring coffee back to our car. But when we reached, we were shocked to find that our car glass had been cut and our important belongings were not to be found," Harbhajan told The Indian Express.

He was recently ruled out of Punjab's Ranji Trophy campaign after a long-standing shin injury in his left leg resurfaced. Harbhajan, who was leading Punjab, was using the Ranji matches to try and make a comeback to the Indian team. He had returned home early during the tour of England because of an abdomen injury and was then left out of the home series against England and West Indies. Harbhajan was also not selected in the Test squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Kumble quits as NCA chief

Anil Kumble, the former India captain, has resigned as chairman of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) over what he says was a lack of "alignment" between his vision for the NCA and the rest of the committee's.

An official statement from the BCCI for the reasons for Kumble's decision is awaited. He is tipped to be replaced, at least on an interim basis, by MP Pandove, the chairman of the BCCI's specialised academies committee and a member of the IPL governing council.

"I had a three-year vision, a holistic approach for the NCA that was not in alignment with that of the rest of the committee," Kumble told ESPNcricinfo. "It didn't make sense to me to just be a figurehead in this kind of a situation. So I thought it was better that somebody else take over." In his role as chairman, Kumble told PTI, he had made 10 presentations to the committee about his vision for the NCA.

        The NCA committee, as listed on website, is made up of 14 members including Kumble. The other committee members are BCCI president N Srinivasan, joint secretaries Sanjay Jagdale and Anurag Thakur, treasurer Ajay Shirke, chief-administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty, vice-chairman Ranjib Biswal, NCA Board members Anirudh Chaudhry, TC Mathew, Rakesh Parikh, Bikash Baruah and Gyanendra Pandey, director, NCA cricket operations Sandeep Patil and administration manager AK Jha.

Kumble is president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and chief mentor of the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team. The post of NCA chairman, an honorary post, was Kumble's first official BCCI position since being elected KSCA president last year. He denied that his decision to quit a day after an NCA meeting in Chennai was due to arguments in Monday's BCCI working committee meeting over apparent conflict of interest issues concerning him. Board rules require that any resignation must be tabled before a working committee.

Two months ago, controversy arose over Kumble's co-ownership of a talent management firm called Tenvic that has on its books several young players including R Vinay Kumar and S Aravind, both of whom have been part of recent India squads and also play for the Royal Challengers. Tenvic - named after Kumble's ten-wicket haul against Pakistan in 1999 - looks after the commercial interests of the players but Kumble has consistently denied any conflict of interest between his administrative and mentoring roles.

He said at the time that "less than 2%" of Tenvic's business was related to "mentoring cricketers", and that too without any commercial benefit