Heena Sharma Blog

Young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was Wednesday brought in as cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan in India's World Cup squad. Pant, whose omission from the original squad became a topic of heated debates given his stupendous form in the past one year, will reach here Wednesday. His arrival will be a day before India's game against New Zealand and he won't be considered a replacement till the time the team management takes a final call on Dhawan's availability for the rest of the tournament. "Rishabh Pant is being flown in from India as cover at the request of the team management," a senior BCCI official currently in England told PTI. The 21-year-old is one of the most exciting players to have emerged in Indian cricket. He impressed with Test hundreds during the tours of England and Australia earlier and was in fine form during the IPL last month. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have been involved in some bitter banter in the past, but the Indian skipper showed his true sportsmanship spirit when he gestured towards a section of the Indian fans to stop booing the Australian captain and cheer for him instead. As India and Australia locked horns at The Oval in London today, Indian batsmen, including Kohli, were smashing the Australian bowlers for runs. In between the overs, Smith was sent to the boundary line. It was at that time that some Indian fans started booing at him and chanted "cheater, cheater". Kohli, who was batting at that time, took notice of it and was clearly not happy with the fans' gestures. Showing his classy side, the Indian captain turned towards the stand and gestured at the fans to cheer for Smith and not boo at him. The Indian skipper's act was appreciated by Smith, who came up to him, shook his hand and patted him on the back during the drinks break. Kohli's heartfelt gesture

Michael Hussey feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not have "too many weaknesses" but even if he has, the Chennai Super Kings batting coach wouldn't share them with in-form Australia ahead of their World Cup clash on Sunday. Having crushed Afghanistan and put up an inspirational performance against a rampaging West Indies, Australia are expected to be more than a handful for India when the two teams square off at the Oval. Hussey has played alongside Dhoni at CSK and as coach, watched him from close quarters in the franchise. So, will Hussey share his insights on Dhoni with the Australian coaching team? "No chance. There aren't too many weaknesses there anyway," the former Australia batsman let out a chuckle as he spoke to PTI in an exclusive interview. However, Hussey is confident that Australia will have their plans in place for the former India captain. "All the teams do very thorough analysis on all the players so I am sure that t

England captain Eoin Morgan has admitted that he is still unsure about the final 15 who will be selected in the squad for the upcoming World Cup beginning May 30. After the final match of the five-ODI series against Pakistan which England won by 54 runs, Morgan said the continuous improvement in performance by the players has made the selection meeting extremely difficult. "I don't know the 15," ESPNcricinfo quoted Morgan as saying on Sunday after the match. "Every one of these guys should be proud of what we've achieved so far. The continuous improvement of performances makes the selection meeting extremely difficult. "But every single member of the 17-man squad here will play some role, due to the nature of injuries and illness and call-ups," he added. Meanwhile, Chris Woakes, who bagged the Man of the Match award for his five-wicket haul in Leeds, admitted he would be anxiously waiting for the confirmation. Read More Article Sour

With less than a fortnight remaining before the 12th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway in England and Wales, the squads for all the 10 participating teams have been announced and the race to predict the winner is gathering steam. Most online betting websites expect host England to win the tournament. Ladbrokes, for instance, pegs the odds of an England win at 15/8, followed by India (at 3/1) and then defending champions Australia (at 9/2). Simply put, 15/8 is the fraction the bookie is willing to multiply your stake by. Mathematically, 15/8 implies 15 divided by 8, or the fraction 1.875. So if you bet on England with the odds currently placed at 15/8, the amount you bet will be multiplied by 15 and then divided by 8. The winnings, on this case, will be the result of the above-mentioned fraction plus the amount you originally bet. Bid money Rs 50,000. Odds: 15/8. If you win, the total amount you get will be: (Rs 50,000 x 15)/8 + Rs 50,000 = Rs 1,43,750 R

A World Cup squad is unlikely to please everyone but it was a far easier task for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors when they met skipper Virat Kohli in Mumbai on Monday. When you consider the form and ability of the players at their disposal, few matters remained unsettled. Most spots in the final 15 had already been claimed by a team that will arrive into the World Cup as a serious contender. There was unlikely to be a repeat of 2003 when a batsman of VVS Laxman's calibre lost out to Dinesh Mongia. This time around, the conversation around the Indian side was preoccupied with the number four position – a problem area for the team even as impressive victories have been earned home and abroad. The middle-order has let India down in a few crunch situations recently. In a major tournament, little can be left to chance. So, the BCCI selection committee sought reliability. In Dinesh Karthik, who was part of the World Cup squad in 2007, India has an ex