Yuvraj wants to resurrect Test career

Yuvraj Singh scored a half-century in his last Test

Yuvraj Singh, the India batsman, has said this is the right time to focus on his Test career as he is finally injury-free after a three-month break following the broken finger he sustained in England. He has played just two competitive games since he was hit on the left index finger by Tim Bresnan during the Nottingham Test, and returns to the India squad for the home Test series against West Indies. Yuvraj, who has not enjoyed the same success in the longer format as he has in ODIs, said he wanted to rejuvenate his Test career.

"It's the right time to focus on my Test career," he told PTI. "I want to be remembered as a good batsman in the longer format of the game. I have always tried to give my best shot whenever on the field but unfortunately injury issues were there. In the upcoming series against West Indies and Australia, I want to score big and make a mark in the Test format. I want to restructure my Test career and I'll raise the bar this time."

The 35 Tests Yuvraj has featured in have been played over eight years. For a large part of his career, he was kept out of the Test side by a strong middle order that included Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Once Ganguly retired, he was given an extended run in the side but couldn't cement his place. He fell ill before the second Test in Sri Lanka in 2010, and a century from Suresh Raina on debut in that game meant Yuvraj was once again relegated to the sidelines. His Man-of-the-Series performance in the 2011 World Cup put him back in contention for a Test place, but an injury kept him out of the tour to the West Indies and his series in England was cut short by the finger injury.

Yuvraj said his Test career had been blighted by the number of injuries he has had but he still had time to change things. "My best years are yet to come. After a long injury layoff, I am fully fit and raring to go. My career has been marred by a lot of injury issues but I think it's on the right path now. After coming back from England, I trained hard. My body has taken a beating in the past year but there are no more injuries now."

The first Test between India and West Indies starts on November 6 in Delhi, and Yuvraj could be in a contest with Virat Kohli for a place in India's middle order.

Harbhajan dropped for first two ODIs

Offspinner Harbhajan Singh has been left out of India's squad for the first two ODIs against England on October 14 and 17. Karnataka medium-pacer S Aravind and Punjab legspinner Rahul Sharma have received their maiden international call-ups.

Squad: MS Dhoni (capt and wk), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, S Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

Sehwag and Ishant ruled out of ODIs

Ajinkya Rahane replaces Virender
Sehwag in the limited-overs squad 

Virender Sehwag and Ishant Sharma have been ruled out of the limited-overs leg of India's tour of England. Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane and Jharkhand fast bowler Varun Aaron will replace them. Sehwag had not fully recovered from the shoulder surgery he underwent after the IPL, and is also suffering from a ear problem, while Ishant sustained a ligament injury to his left ankle during the Edgbaston Test.

Rahane, a top-order batsman, has been a prolific run-getter on India's domestic circuit and had a successful tour of Australia with India Emerging Players just recently, with two centuries in three first-class games. He averages 67.72 in first-class cricket and 38.61 in List A games. Aaron was also part of that tour to Australia and has been known to regularly clock over 140kmph. In his most recent first-class appearance, he took 4 for 40 and 2 for 49 against the Australian Institute of Sport.

Sehwag joined the India Test squad prior to the third Test at Edgbaston and has hardly made any impact in the series. He got a king pair and was dismissed for 8 and 33 in the final Test at The Oval, where he appeared to experience some discomfort in his right shoulder on the field before being attended to by the physio. A BCCI source told ESPNcricinfo Sehwag's shoulder had not completely healed and that he'll return to India at the conclusion of the Test.

Sehwag has also been experiencing hearing problems in his left ear after being exposed to a loud sound on July 24, according to the note sent by the National Cricket Academy physiotherapist Nitin Patel to the tour physio Ashish Kaushik when Sehwag joined the squad for the tour game in Northampton. "Mr. Sehwag suffered from labyrinthithis of the left ear on 24 July 2011," a BCCI release stated. "Although his condition has improved, he continues to experience headaches. An ENT specialist, who was consulted on the same, has said that he will take two more weeks to recover completely."

Ishant Sharma has had a busy Test series after taking over as India's spearhead in the absence of Zaheer Khan following the first day at Lord's. A board release said he responded well to treatment on his ligament "but will need to undergo a course of intensive rehabilitation and training to prevent recurrence of the pain in his left ankle."

India play one Twenty20 international and five ODIs against England after the Tests. The first ODI is scheduled for September 3.

Zaheer ruled out of series

Zaheer Khan, the India fast bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the series against England. He will return to India and will be replaced by left-arm seamer RP Singh. Zaheer picked up a hamstring injury during the first Test at Lord's, but the BCCI has now said he not only has a recurring hamstring problem but also a right ankle impingement that will require surgery, followed by a 14-16 week period of rehabilitation. He had been withdrawn from the squad for India's recent Test series in the West Indies due to a right ankle injury.

Zaheer's problems in this series began on the very first day of the series, when he pulled up midway through his 14th over in the first innings at Lord's. The team management indicated Zaheer could be ready to bowl in the second innings, but he was unable to do so and was ruled out of the second Test at Trent Bridge. There were expectations he would return for the Edgbaston Test but he only got through three overs in the Indians' warm-up match in Northampton, and has now been pulled out of the squad.

Since the first Test, Zaheer had been through light training sessions, and there had been indications from the India camp that he would take part at some stage in the series, which only grew stronger when he was named in the side for the tour game against Northamptonshire. However, he left the field after bowling just three overs.

India had also named Zaheer in the squad for the limited-over matches in England, but he will miss those as well, with RP Singh taking his place. RP Singh has not played for India since 2009, with his last Test coming during India's home series against South Africa in 2008. He was part of India's squad when they last toured England for a full series in 2007. India won the three-Test series 1-0, and RP Singh was the third-highest wicket-taker with 12 wickets at an average of 28.91, behind Anil Kumble and Zaheer.

He followed up the tour of England with 13 wickets on India's tour of Australia in 2007-08, but then went wicketless in India's two home Tests against South Africa. His form in ODIs also took a dip; he took three wickets in ten bowling innings from August 2008 to when he was dropped in September 2009, and went for more than six runs an over in eight of those innings. His recent figures in domestic cricket don't make great reading either. In the last two Ranji Trophy seasons he has averaged 31.55, and has been behind several other seamers in the wicket-taking charts. One format in which he has excelled though has been the Twenty20 format; he is the leading wicket-taker in IPLs.

India have now lost three players from their original squad; Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh were withdrawn after sustaining a stomach and finger injury respectively during the Trent Bridge Test. Zaheer's injury though has been the biggest setback for the visitors. Even as he was hobbling off at Lord's, predictions for the series started to swing dramatically in England's favour. His absence from the next two Tests leaves India with an inexperienced bowling attack, with the 22-year-old Ishant Sharma the most-capped of all the bowlers left in the Test squad.

Dravid announces limited overs retirement

Rahul Dravid has announced his retirement from international limited-overs cricket following the England series. In his announcement, which came hours after he was handed a shock recall to the one-day side for that tour, he said he wanted to retire from the shorter forms and concentrate on Test cricket.

Dravid, 38, is the seventh highest run-getter in ODIs, with 10,765 runs in 339 matches, averaging just under 40. He hasn't been a regular in the Indian one-day side since late 2007 - a couple of months after he reached his career-high ICC ranking of No. 5 - though he made a brief comeback during the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa. He admitted he hadn't expected a recall for the upcoming England series.

"Since I had not been picked for one-day cricket for the last two years, I was obviously a little surprised," he said after India's tour match against Northamptonshire. "To be honest, because I had not been picked, I had not informed the selectors or the board of my desire to solely focus on Test cricket.

"At the end of this one-day series, I would like to announce my retirement from one-day and Twenty20 cricket and concentrate only on Test cricket. I am committed, as always to give my best to India in this one-day series and obviously the Test series that follows.

"In the short term I am committed because now I have been picked for the series, but in the long term I think it is best for me and Indian cricket that I focus on Test cricket."

Dravid recently became the second highest run-getter in Tests, and has had a resurgence in form over the past couple of months, scoring three centuries in five Tests to end a relatively lean run in the last few years.

When he started his international career in 1996, he was seen as a batsman more suited to the longer form but he soon adapted to the challenges of one-day cricket. Among the highlights of his ODI career was the 1999 World Cup, where he was the top scorer and put on the then largest partnership in a one-dayer, 318 with Sourav Ganguly. Six months later he bettered that with a 331-run stand with Sachin Tendulkar that is still the biggest in the format.

As in his Test career, he routinely fitted into roles the team needed him to, notably in the 2003 World Cup, where in order to accommodate an extra batsman in the side, he took over the wicketkeeping duties. One of the lows of his career was the 2007 World Cup, when under his leadership, India crashed out in the first round.

Vaseline cannot affect Hot Spot

The company behind Hot Spot, BBG Sports, has said the application of Vaseline to the edge of a bat has no discernible effect on the technology. A batsman would have to apply a whole centimetre of Vaseline to the edge of a bat for it to have any effect, the company told ESPNcricinfo.

 

 

A controversy over the system erupted when Michael Vaughan, the former England captain and now commentator, sent out a tweet that suggested India batsman VVS Laxman may have applied Vaseline to the edge of his bat, which helped him escape a caught-behind appeal on the second day of the Trent Bridge Test. England were convinced Laxman had nicked a James Anderson delivery, and though Snicko showed there was a noise as ball passed bat, Hot Spot did not show any deflection. Stuart Broad admitted to checking Laxman's bat and said he found nothing. Broad also said the England players were not convinced Hot Spot picked up faint edges

 

 

BBG Sports decided to undertake tests to see whether the cameras used for Hot Spot could be tricked by the use of artificial substances on the edge of the bat. They have now released a statement saying: "We have done testing over the past two days in our office and can conclude that putting Vaseline on the side of a cricket bat has no discernible effect on our Hot Spot system. Maybe if you were able to apply 10 millimetres [one centimetre] of Vaseline on the side of the bat it would make a difference but we believe that this would be near impossible to achieve."

 

 

Warren Brennan, the owner of Hot Spot, had previously said the device's accuracy was around 90-95% and could be impacted by factors like bright sunshine and the speed of the bat in the shot. He had also suggested at the time that there was a chance a substance like Vaseline could restrict the friction of the ball hitting the bat and therefore reduce the effectiveness of Hot Spot, but after conducting tests BBG have found that it would take too much Vaseline to have that effect.

 

 

The company will also conduct tests to see if stickers on the edge of a bat can possibly dull the heat created by a nick and thereby reduce its presence on the Hot Spot cameras. The technology providers however said their observations during the Trent Bridge Test were that Hot Spot did register contact with the bats that had stickers on them.

 

 

Hot Spot has been made a mandatory piece of technology for the DRS system following the ICC's meetings in Hong Kong last month, where it was also decided to make Hawk-Eye optional. The infra-red cameras have been especially effective at deciding bat-pad catches and whether a batsman has been hit pad first in an lbw appeal, although in the England-India series the DRS is not being used for any leg-before decisions.

 

 

There have been a number of occasions when Hot Spot has proved inconclusive in caught-behind decisions. During the last Ashes, Kevin Pietersen survived in Melbourne, which incensed Ricky Ponting, while in Sydney Ian Bell survived an appeal which Snicko - which isn't used with the DRS - later suggested was out.

Hot Spot to undergo testing





England were sure they had VSS

The company behind Hot Spot will undertake tests to see whether the cameras can be tricked by the use of artificial substances on the edge of the bat. There is a belief among players that Vaseline can reduce the chances of a thin nick showing up, although it has only ever been rumoured that such tactics are used.

Concerns about the effectiveness of Hot Spot came to the fore when VVS Laxman survived a caught-behind appeal on the second day at Trent Bridge. England were convinced there was an edge but Laxman was equally convinced he hadn't hit it. The third umpire said there was a noise but it wasn't clear from where. Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, sparked controversy by tweeting the suggestion of Vaseline and Stuart Broad was later asked and admitted checking the edge of Laxman's bat but finding nothing.

Warren Brennan, the owner of Hot Spot, has previously said the device's accuracy is around 90-95% and can be impacted by such things as bright sunshine and the speed of the bat in the shot. He now says that it is possible that a substance like Vaseline could reduce the technology's effectiveness and tests will be conducted to try to find conclusive results.

Tendulkar hits the middle,
as shown on Hot Spot

"I would imagine that Vaseline would restrict the friction of the ball hitting the bat so if you reduce the friction you are going to reduce the Hot Spot," Brennan told ESPNcricinfo. "That is pure and simple physics. From what I can remember, quite often the outside of the bat has a layer of some sort of coating.

"Now if you put extra layers on the bat that might do the same thing. As long as it is a harder type of surface then you will get the Hot Spot. But if it is a soft, absorbant type of material then that will probably reduce the friction. It might take us a week or even longer to test all possibilities."

The other theory is that bat stickers on the edge of a blade can also help reduce the chances of a Hot Spot showing up - by showing one, long heat signature down the side of the bat - but Brennan said it is likely to work the opposite way and actually increase the visibility of individual marks.

"What I noticed last week when I was at Lord's was these stickers down the side of certain players' bats," he said. "When I looked at it through the cameras it actually looked like a Hot Spot, four or five little white spots. That was quite unusual so it must have be some sort of logo or the sticker. Through the infra-red I could see those spots.

"I just don't know why a manufacturer would put it on the side of the bat that would make it look like a Hot Spot. I had this conversation with the ICC less than a month ago and told them that we are noticing some of these stickers tend to reflect heat a bit like a mirror. The ICC said if that is the case they might have to look changing the regulations so that the side of the bat does not have any advertising, no stickers and no logos. But that is still a work in progress."

There have been a number of occasions when Hot Spot has proved inconclusive in caught-behind decisions. During the Ashes Kevin Pietersen survived at Melbourne, which incensed Ricky Ponting, while at Sydney Ian Bell survived an appeal which Snicko - which isn't used with the DRS - later suggested was out.

Hot Spot has been made a mandatory piece of technology for the DRS system following the ICC's meetings in Hong Kong last month, where it was also decided to make Hawk-Eye optional. The infra-red cameras have shown themselves to be especially effective at proving bat-pad catches and whether a batsman has been hit pad first in an lbw appeal, although in this series DRS is not being used for any leg-before decisions.

Anderson leads dominant England to big win

England 474 for 8 dec (Pietersen 202*, Trott 71, Praveen 5-106) and 269 for 6 dec (Prior 103*, Broad 74*, Ishant 4-59) beat India 286 (Dravid 103*, Broad 4-37, Tremlett 3-80) and 261 (Raina 78, Laxman 56, Anderson 5-65, Broad 3-57) by 196 runs 

England's bowlers fought through dogged batting, the absence of DRS for lbws and some sloppy catching to avoid a repeat of Lord's 2007 - when India saved the Test - and completed a comprehensive win 28.3 overs before the scheduled close of a gruelling final-day scrap.

India's four big hopes survived 93, 113, 56 and 68 deliveries, which meant England had to work for wickets and also that they never let those batsmen feel they were in. James Anderson took out Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, although it could be argued that he struck the knockout blows after Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett had softened the batsmen up.

Although there were two dropped catches and two controversial not-out lbw decisions, it all went down in a manner suggesting England had scripted it thus. They wouldn't have budgeted for the strongest resistance to come from Suresh Raina, who proved he belonged with a fighting 78, but by the final session Anderson was in red-hot form. He completed his 11th five-for by breaking through that final piece of Indian fight with a beautiful inswinger from round the stumps. Initially Anderson had fed off the immense pressure created by Tremlett and Broad, and Graeme Swann contributed by accounting for one of the best players of spin today, Gautam Gambhir.

It was just as well that England finished India off and avoided what would have become a major controversy had India hung on with one wicket in hand. The dreaded scenario of disagreement between Hawk-Eye and the umpire occurred twice in potentially crucial circumstances. Broad had comprehensive cases for lbw against Tendulkar and Raina, and would have successfully challenged the original not-out decisions had DRS been available for lbws. Those two decisions cost England a potentially decisive 15.4 overs.

Smart stats England have improved on their excellent record at Lord's in recent Tests. In 23 Tests between 1984 and 1999, they won four and lost 11 out of 23 Tests. In 24 Tests since 2000, they have won 13 and lost just three. India suffered their 11th defeat in 16 Tests at Lord's. The 11 defeats is the most at a particular venue for India. James Anderson dismissed Sachin Tendulkar for the sixth time in five Tests. In 223 balls, Anderson has conceded 114 runs and picked up Tendulkar six times. Anderson's five-wicket haul is his 11th in Tests and 3rd at Lord's. His previous five-wicket haul at Lord's also came against India in 2007. Stuart Broad's match figures of 7 for 94 are his best in Tests surpassing his previous best of 6 for 87 against South Africa in Durban in 2009. Rahul Dravid, in the course of his 36, surpassed Brian Lara to become the highest run-getter in the fourth innings in Tests. Tendulkar's strike-rate of 17.64 is fourth on the list of lowest strike-rates for a score between 10 and 49 in Tests since 2000. Kevin Pietersen's seventh match award puts him joint-third on the list of England players with the most match awards in Tests. Compiled by Madhusudan Ramakrishnan

Broad would have wondered what more he needed to do to get a wicket. He had two catches dropped off him in the first innings, and in today's morning session, after Anderson had drawn Dravid into a rare loose shot outside off, he regularly beat Laxman's bat in a five-over spell, often proving to be too good to take the edge.

While Andrew Strauss's catching at slip and his defensive in-and-out fields in the first session could be argued against, his bowling changes worked like a charm. About 20 minutes before lunch he brought on Anderson, who began with a long hop that Laxman pulled straight to short midwicket.

Laxman's dismissal brought together India's walking wounded, Gambhir and Tendulkar. They hung in bravely, Gambhir for 56 balls with a painful elbow and Tendulkar for 68 with a viral infection. Whatever the debate around DRS be, the umpires had a great match, and it was evident in Gambhir's lbw, in the over after Laxman's dismissal. The Swann arm ball had hit the pad a microsecond before it hit the bat. Asad Rauf sent Gambhir on his way.

From the injured man the burden transferred to the ill man, Tendulkar, who began positively but went into a shell after lunch. That Raina looked more comfortable than Tendulkar during their 17.4-over partnership told a story. While Tendulkar was solid in defence, he let the bowlers bowl to a perfect rhythm, and the odd one was bound to be too good.

After surviving that Broad shout, Tendulkar played 40 balls for one run. Once again Anderson came back and struck immediately. He had Tendulkar dropped by Strauss, but produced an inswinger similar to Broad's two balls later, and Tendulkar was plumb. This was the sixth time in the match that an Englishman had taken a wicket in the first over of a new spell.

In the lead-up to tea, with England easing the pressure as they built up to the new ball, Raina and MS Dhoni gave India hope. Raina showed character in how he avoided bouncers and reached a half-century that will only do him good. With the new ball, though, England were back on course. The ball started jagging around again, and a shaken-up Dhoni finally edged an outswinger from Tremlett.

A cold, ruthless demolition of the tail followed. Harbhajan Singh refused to back away, but England worked him over with precise short deliveries. Praveen Kumar didn't stand much of a chance. Raina got a gem from Anderson, coming in from round the stumps, then leaving him, and taking the edge. Broad deservedly ended the match with a plumb lbw; the last four had fallen for 18 runs.

Scenes of elation followed for the home side and the biggest Monday crowd at Lord's. England will feel relief too at having finished off the job, and not only because they righted what happened in 2007. Had India drawn this, they would have had positives to look at; now they have injured bodies and a series deficit.

Team's job will be stop Sachin from scoring 100th ton: Strauss

London: England captain Andrew Strauss today admitted that his team would be doing everything to stop Sachin Tendulkar from scoring his 100th international century in the Lord's Test, starting on Thursday.

"I'm sure Sachin would like to get it here and it's our job not to let him do so. If it's a distraction for him, it's great for us," said Strauss.

The skipper also said that he considered Tendulkar a key to India's plans. "He's been an outstanding ambassador for the game. The statistics speak for itself. You don't have to rush out with platitudes and superlatives. It's all there - the longevity, the consistency. He is one of the greatest ever and as ambassador of the game there is no one better," said Strauss.

Insisting that his team would adopt a cautious approach against Team India, Strauss said, "They are world's No. 1 team. You don't become number one unless you do well away from home. That's the greatest improvement they have shown over the last 2-3 years. They are now far more consistent away from home."

"We understand it would not be easy. They are going to be a very strong opposition. But we are prepared for the challenge and ready to overcome it."

The 34-year-old left-handed batsman termed his side as a far better unit than the one which lost to India in 2007. "We've improved since 2007. A few players have done very well. (Jonathan) Trott is there, (James) Anderson has become better and (Graeme) Swann has had a dramatic impact," said Strauss.

"We've done better than possibly any other side in the world as we have won seven of the last eight series we played. But we are not finished yet. We could become number one. But for us the ultimate goal is to be acknowledged by everyone as number one. And that's our long-term goal," he added.

India's bowling attack will be spearheaded by Zaheer Khan and Strauss said his side wouldn't make a determined effort to dismantle him.

"With Zaheer or anyone else, it's pretty simple - watch the bad ball and hit it. He's very good but there is no reason to complicate things," said the captain.

Meanwhile, England have Stuart Broad in their ranks, who could be termed as "enforcer" and whose steep bounce is expected to pose a threat to the Indians.

"Broad has a very good bouncer, which can make life very difficult for the batsmen. But he is not the enforcer all the time. There would be spells when he would go short but majority-wise, he is no different to others," Strauss said.

Disappointed that a watered-down version of Decision Review System (DRS) would be used in the series, Strauss explained, "All I can say is that DRS worked very well for us in the last 12-18 months. We've got more decisions right and we are now used to it."

"We can't use it in this series, it's a half-way kind of a situation and not an ideal one. But that's the situation we're now faced with. We can't be overtly concerned with it for it would be unhelpful."

Sachin loses top spot to Kallis in Tests

Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar on Friday lost the coveted number one spot in the ICC Test rankings to South Africa's Jacques Kallis but Rahul Dravid, adjudged man-of -the-match for scoring a century in the first Test against West Indies, returned to the top-20 after jumping nine places.

Sachin Tendulkar lost the coveted number one spot in the ICC Test rankings to South Africa's Jacques Kallis. © AFP

According to an ICC media release, left-hander Suresh Raina, too, moved up 26 places to be placed 61st after his after his useful knock of 82 in the first innings against West Indies at Kingston.
Tendulkar lost the top after the iconic batsman decided to skip the series against West Indies. He is currently placed second.
As a player loses one per cent of his rating points for every Test he misses, Tendulkar will lose more points as he will not figure in the remaining two Tests.
However, the Mumbaikar will still enter next month's Test series against England as the number two batsman.
Dravid, who notched up a patient 112 on a difficult Sabina Park pitch, earned 45 rating points for his effort and is placed at the 20th spot.
This is Dravid's best position since November 2010 when he slipped out of the top 20 following the Nagpur Test against New Zealand.
The veteran batsman's seven-hour vigil at the crease set the platform for India's 63-run victory, and a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Dravid had won the ICC Cricketer and ICC Test Player of the Year awards in 2004.

PTI

Sachin Tendulkar sells his Ferrari

Surat: The 360 Modena Ferrari, which once occupied the pride of place in batting icon Sachin Tendulkar's fleet of premium cars, is now a prized possession of a Surat businessman.

Ferrari's Formula One driver Schumacher had presented the car on behalf of FIAT to Tendulkar when the two met in 2002 at Silverstone, England. © AFP

Jayesh Desai, Chairman of Raj Hans group, said he purchased the car a fortnight ago.
"I have bought the 360 Modena Ferrari car directly from Sachin Tendulkar with all legal documents," Desai told PTI, but declined to reveal the price.
"It was my dream to drive a Ferrari and now my dream has come true," Desai, who has a passion for driving luxury cars, said.
The Ferrari, which was presented to Tendulkar by racing legend Michael Schumacher, will be the first racing car in his fleet of luxury vehicles, Desai said, adding that his latest acquisition was a prized possession as it was owned by the batting great.
"Kindly ask me only about the car and nothing about Sachin," he said when asked if he and Tendulkar were friends or had known each other.
The Ferrari had got mired in a controversy in 2003 after it was reported that Tendulkar had requested for a customs duty waiver despite getting it as a gift and not winning it as a prize in a tournament.
In August 2003, the finance ministry had exempted Tendulkar from paying around Rs 1.13 crore (approximately $245,000) towards import duty for the vehicle, valued at Rs 75 lakh (approximately $162,600).
The car was gifted to him by FIAT, which manufactures the premium Ferrari cars and endorsed by Tendulkar, after the Indian batting legend equalled Don Bradman's tally of 29 Test centuries.
Ferrari's Formula One driver Schumacher presented the car on behalf of the company to Tendulkar when the two met in 2002 at Silverstone, England.
Tendulkar has taken a break from cricket after playing in IPL and is away on a vacation in England with family.

PTI

Indian cricketers criticise Harper for bad decisions

Kingston (Jamaica): Umpire Daryl Harper came in for some scathing criticism from the Indian cricket team, which blasted the Australian for his poor decisions during the first cricket Test against the West Indies.

Suresh Raina was given out caught in the leg-trap off Devendra Bishoo and television replays suggested no edge from either bat or gloves of the batsman. © AFP

Such was the exasperation that a senior member of the side said that whole team wishes that Harper does not officiate in the third Test.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did little to hide his disgust at the standard of umpiring in the Test, which they won by 63 runs to take a 1-0 lead.
"If correct decisions were made, the game would have ended much earlier and we would have been in the hotel by now," Dhoni said at the post match press conference.
The Australian would stand for one last time when India take on West Indies in the third Test at Dominica from July 6.
"We don't want him -- you can quote it as the reaction of the entire Indian team," said a very senior member of the side.
Though Dhoni did not name anyone of the two umpires officiating in the match --- Ian Gould (England) and Harper -- several Indian players openly termed the latter as the centre of their ire.
"It's Daryl Harper six not out," said another senior cricketer as soon as he saw a bunch of Indian pressmen approaching him.
Indians were upset that Harper made at least three critical errors against India and three in favour of West Indies during the match.
"Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh and Dhoni himself for done in; (Darren) Bravo twice and once (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul benefitted," chimed in another Indian cricketer, bristling with aggression.
Raina was given out caught in the leg-trap off Devendra Bishoo and television replays suggested no edge from either bat or gloves of the batsman.
Harbhajan Singh was ruled out leg before wicket when the ball clearly was seen going way above the height of the stumps.
Dhoni was cleanly caught at point region off Bishoo but the bowler had cut the return crease in his bowling run-up and the delivery should have been called a no-ball.
All three decisions in question were given by Harper in India's second innings.
Then, when West Indies batted for the last time, there were confident appeals against Bravo and Chanderpaul which were not upheld.
The controversial Australian umpire is regarded worldwide as the worst umpire in the ICC list of elite umpires.
After being on the panel for nine years, between 2002 and 2011, the ICC too has come round to the general perception and declared that Harper will stand down after the termination of his contract in July 2011.
Harper also needled the Indians by banning Praveen Kumar from bowling for treading on to the 'danger area' of the pitch in his follow-through in the first innings.
Indians are not contesting the decision in private but feel Harper could have cautioned the debutant in a friendly way before taking the strong step.
Indian cricketers have little doubt umpire Harper has been clearly biased against them over the years.
"Remember, it was Harper who gave Sachin Tendulkar out lbw in a Test when the batsmen had ducked and was hit on his shoulder," remarked a cricketer.
During a Test of the 1999-2000 tour to Australia, a short delivery from Glenn McGrath had Tendulkar looking to duck under it but it hit him on the shoulders.
Umpire Harper promptly gave Tendulkar out though he was to say later 'the one (decision) that I would like the world to forget is the Sachin one.'
The shocking decision was the reason the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced neutral umpires for both ends in Test matches.
Justified as the Indians are, it only underlines the reason why they should give their sanction to Umpires Decision Review System (UDRS).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been steadfastly refusing the usage of UDRS technology even though worldwide it's acceptance is a norm.
The UDRS technology, because of BCCI's insistence, is not being used either in the present series or the one in England which follows next month.

PTI

Dhoni hails contribution of lower order batsmen

Kingston: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni saluted his lower order batsmen for bailing out the side from tough situations and shaping team's 63-run win over the West Indies in the first cricket Test.

Coming in at 10th down, Amit Mishra made a vital 28 in India's second innings to give India a 300-plus lead. © AFP

Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina had shared a 146-run seventh-wicket stand in the first innings after India had slipped to 85 for six and, then in the second innings, Amit Mishra combined with Rahul Dravid to put on 56 runs for the ninth wicket to help stretch the lead beyond 300 runs.
"Our lower half batsmen for the past year and a half have been contributing well. We were 85 for 6 in the first innings before Harbhajan, along with Suresh Raina, bailed us out. In the second innings, Mishra made a telling contribution," Dhoni said at the post match press conference.
"But for that stand (Raina and Harbhajan), we could have been all out for 150. We were able to get more runs and thus gather a handy lead. Then in the second innings, we could stretch the lead to 300 plus," he added.
Dhoni also offered a wholesome appreciation to the veteran batsman Dravid, who scored 112 in the second innings, and paceman Praveen Kumar, who took six wickets on debut.
"Dravid has been an exceptional batsman. That he played over 250 deliveries showed he was very patient. He made the bowlers pitch in his areas and was brilliant.
"Praveen is a very skillful bowler and can swing it either way. He doesn't have the pace but he can swing the ball and confuse the batsmen if they needed to play or leave a delivery. He showed great character after having been stopped from bowling in the first innings.
"When you are switching from 10-over format to 20-25 overs in an innings, you have to be careful. Importantly, he backed his strength and picked up wickets in the second innings as well."
Praveen Kumar picked up three for 42 in the second innings, to go with his three for 38 from the first, for the match figures of six for 80.
West Indies were all out for 262 in the second innings which was way short of 326-run target but Dhoni felt his side gave away too many deliveries to cut.
"In the first innings, both sides bowled tight and there were not many deliveries to cut. In the second innings, both the sides were lenient. It was slightly different wicket.Unless you bowled really bad, it was difficult to score."
India offered Test caps to two young batsmen -- opener Abhinav Mukund and Virat Kohli -- in the Test and Dhoni urged them to quickly adapt to the environment of Test cricket.

The short ball talk has been on for some time. In international cricket, you have to consistently face it. You need to adapt, you may not be the best player of fast bowling but if you can negotiate it, even if you don't look elegant, it's fair enough.
"It's important you are enjoying your cricket for when you do it, it helps you perform better."
Dhoni found merit in young Mukund and said it was imperative the team had a pool of openers.
"It's important to have a pool of openers. It's important they are given exposure in India A sides for you come to play against teams which has players who one day would represent their respective national sides."
Dhoni also made an encouraging remark on the home team by commenting their top order was as good as his own side.
"I will not make the mistake by saying that this opposition is not good enough. Every batsman can score runs. Their first seven batters have the talent which equally matches the one of current Indian team," he said.

PTI

WSG boss says IPL needs broader appeal

Cricket's glitzy Indian Premier League will shrug off a domestic ratings plunge this year but needs a revamp to appeal to international audiences, its marketing partne

Cricket's glitzy Indian Premier League will shrug off a domestic ratings plunge this year but needs a revamp to appeal to international audiences, its marketing partner said. © AFP

r said Friday.
World Sport Group chief executive Andrew Georgiou said a 20-25 percent drop in TV ratings this year was always possible after the event was expanded to 10 teams in its third year.
"I think the drop-off was inevitable. There was a lot of hype in the first couple of years but even 3.5 rating points (percentage of nightly audience) in India is still a very, very strong position," he told AFP.
"And that drop-off was a result of the extra number of teams. The overall cumulative audience I think was still very good."
But he said the event was missing the mark with audiences outside of South Asia, which are used to a more cerebral brand of cricket rather than the IPL's cheerleaders and confetti.
"I think internationally it's challenging. At the moment the IPL is a product which is made for an Indian and South Asian audience and they need to address that," he said.
Georgiou preferred not to comment on an ongoing legal dispute between World Sport Group and Indian cricket authorities concerning its 10-year contract for the IPL's media rights, secured for one billion dollars in 2008.
AFP

I am more mature, wiser now: Yuvraj

New Delhi: Flamboyant batsman Yuvraj Singh reckons that the rough patch in his career has made him "more matured and wiser" cricketer and he is now looking to cement his place in the Test squad.

Since making his Test debut in 2003, Yuvraj Singh has played just 34 Tests and scored just 1639 runs. © AFP

The left-hander was dropped from both the One-day and Test sides last year following poor form but made a strong comeback in the World Cup, in which he emerged as player of the tournament.
"Yeah it's been a very long time and I won't deny the fact that I have changed for good. Now I am much more mature on and off the field," Yuvraj told PTI-Bhasha in an interview.
"I have gone through lots of ups and down and have emerged stronger and wiser with experience. I am much more calm and controlled in every aspect of my life," he said.
Given his immense talent, Yurvaj has been an underperformer in Test Cricket. He made his Test debut in 2003 against New Zealand but has not been able to cement his place in the side.
The Punjab player wants to carry forward the good work in the One-day format to Test cricket, which he says is now his top priority.
"I am really working hard and I am sure given a chance I would like to put that record straight. I want to restructure my Test career and that is now my main aim.
"Looking back at the last 10 years of my career, I won't deny the fact that I feel little sad about my Test numbers.
There could various reasons for that and I am not going into that. But what lies ahead is interesting and challenging," said the star cricketer, who is one of the most feared batsman in ODI and T20 but has a meagre 1639 runs against his name from 34 Tests.

PTI

BCCI firm on its decision on SLPL

Colombo: The BCCI has turned down Sri Lanka sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage's request to revise its ban on Indian players participating in the inaugural Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL).

The BCCI has turned down Sri Lanka sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage's request to revise its ban on Indian players participating in the inaugural Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL). © AFP

In an attempt to convince the BCCI, Aluthgamage took part in a telephone conference with its officials on Thursday.
"We made an attempt to convince them, but the BCCI told us that it cannot reverse its stand," Aluthgamage was quoted as saying in the media.
The tele-conference was initiated after Aluthgamage had asked SLC officials to speak to BCCI bosses and convince them about Indian players' participation in the league.
Aluthgamage, initially, wanted SLC chairman DS de Silva and secretary Nishantha Ranatunga to travel to India and sort out the issue at the earliest with BCCI officials.
The BCCI had initially indicated that Indian players could participate, but changed its mind amid media reports that the tournament was being organised by a Singapore-based company with alleged links to Lalit Modi, the sacked former chairman of the Indian Premier League.
Aluthgamage, however, had already clarified that Modi has nothing to do with the SLPL.
"I can say with 100 per cent assertion there is no role of Lalit Modi in SLPL. I am unaware about his trip to this country, if he had made one two months ago," he had said.
The BCCI had refused No Objection Certificates to 12 Indian players - Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Manish Pandey and Paul Valthaty - saying that SLPL is not a tournament to be organised by SLC but by a private party based in Singapore on its behalf.
The tournament is scheduled to be held from July 19-August 4.

PTI

Of Dravid, Sammy and dropped catches

Kingston (Jamaica): Darren Sammy spent a sleepless night after dropping a catch which ultimately cost West Indies the first Test against India and the miss could haunt him for quite a while if the visitors go on to win the series.

Dravid, who went on to make 112 helping India won the first Test, was on six on the second evening at Sabina Park when Sammy dropped a simple catch that came his way. © AFP

Sammy is finding it difficult to live down the dropped chance off Dravid in the first Test which could turn out to be the final straw in the West Indian skipper's torturous reign at the top.
Catches win matches is an old axiom but occasionally catches dropped have even a bigger say on a series and individual careers.
Young Indian medium-pacer Sanjeev Sharma once found an edge off Graham Gooch's bat on 36 during the Lord's Test of 1990 but to his horror saw wicketkeeper Kiran More fluff it.
The England opener went on to make 333; the hosts won the Test and the series and Sharma was never picked again.
West Indian skipper Carl Hooper could not believe his luck when during the 2002 Guyana Test against India, he edged one off Javagal Srinath to wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta but the chance was put down.
Hooper, then on naught, made it count for 233 runs. In final analysis, West Indies went on to win the five-Test series 2-1.
Among the most painful of memories for an Indian cricket fan was the Eden Gardens match of the 1999-2000 Asian Test championships.
Sachin Tendulkar was controversially adjudged run-out at the non-striker's end by the third umpire which overshadowed the magnificent recovery Pakistan had made in the match.
The visitors were 26 for 6 yet won the game thanks to opener Saeed Anwar's 188 not out in the second knock. Mohammed Azharuddin played his part by dropping the left-hander at second slip early in his innings. It altered the game completely in Pakistan's favour.
Not that the Indians always have had to endure the sob story. Little master Sachin Tendulkar twice brought Pakistan's World Cup campaigns to a grinding halt and on both occasions the opposition was more than generous.
During the Centurion game of the 2003 World Cup, Tendulkar was on 32 when Wasim Akram had him drive one uppishly into the hands of mid-off fielder Abdul Razzaq.
Razzaq grassed it and later said it haunted him for many years.
More recently in Mohali, during the 2011 World Cup semifinals, Tendulkar was let off four times by Pakistan besides a decision which was overturned in favour of the Indian through the Decision Review System.
"You don't drop Tendulkar four times and win a match," former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan was to comment later on.
India's dashing opener Virender Sehwag was put down three times by Pakistan during his triple century at Multan in the 2004 series. The influence of Pakistan cricket team on India began waning from that series onwards.
On a grey, cloudy first day of the Leeds Test of the 2002 England series, Dravid was in his 40s when let off by the umpire who didn't hear the feathered nick the batsman made to the wicketkeeper. Dravid went on to make 148 and India managed to level the series 1-1.
The other occasion was a rather poignant one -- the infamous Sydney Test of the 2008 series when Dravid, battling hard for his 38 runs from two and a half hours of vigil, brought India to the doorstep of a draw.
Suddenly off-spinner Andrew Symonds sent down one which spun and beat his bat to nestle in the gloves of wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.
The entire Aussie team went up in appeal and umpire Steve Bucknor upheld it.
The Test caused much bad blood between Indian and Australian cricket boards and nearly fractured the cricketing community.
The most famous dropped catch of all time of course was the let-off by Herschelle Gibbs during the 1999 World Cup which made reprieved batsman Steve Waugh utter, "Son, you've just dropped the world cup."
As an aside, the biggest batting record of all time was built on the altar of a dropped chance.
Durham wicketkeeper Chris Scot was offered a chance by Warwickshire's Brian Lara when the batsman was on 18.
Scot let it go and Lara went on to make 501 runs, the biggest first class innings ever in the history of the game.

PTI

Team India can dominate for 5-10 years: Fletcher

Antigua: Impressed with the young side that has dominated West Indies in the ongoing ODI series, India's new coach Duncan Fletcher declared that given the talent, his wards can dominate world cricket for the next 5-10 years.

Fletcher was most impressed with how the team extricated themselves out of tight situations. © AFP

"It is due to the amount of talent India have. Indian cricket is in a very, very healthy state presently," stated Fletcher. India beat the hosts by three wickets on Saturday to claim an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
"I know five years in international cricket is a long time but unless some international teams suddenly come up, I don't see (India losing its grip)," added the Zimbabwean.
Much of Fletcher's profuse praise, and that of skipper Suresh Raina, was reserved for India's man of the moment Rohit Sharma, who played an unbeaten knock of 86 to haul India out of the woods.
"It was a great innings. It speaks of the tremendous quality India has that a batsman like him is out of the Test side. He has shown that he can finish off an innings. Not many batsmen can do it," remarked Fletcher.
"He can probably play for most international Test sides. He is not getting his opportunity because the present side is so very good. I look forward to working with him. I can't tell the areas on which I would work with him since it's a confidentiality between a player and me.
"I like to have one-to-one interaction with young cricketers. At the moment I am observing and trying to gain their respect," Fletcher added.
Rohit seems to reserve his very best under Raina's captaincy as he had also hit two hundreds in the latter's first stint at the helm in Zimbabwe last year.
"He is more disciplined now. He knows when to defend or attack. It has helped him that he has spent some quality time with Sachin for Mumbai Indians. He is now a very composed batsman," said Raina in appreciation.
Fletcher felt the most pleasing aspect of India's performance has been how they have been able to extricate themselves out of tight situations.
"It's pleasing how they have worked themselves out of tight situations. In the first one-day game, it was a difficult situation with four wickets down. Again today it was not easy.
"I think it was the spinners who brought us back today. At one stage we were looking at a 270-plus target. It was great captaincy (on part of Raina) to keep them on," he said.
The two Indian spinners - Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh - bowled their 20 overs for 52 runs only and picked up four wickets between them.
"Harbhajan, I think bowled very well. As a batsman he has shown great improvement. I watched his two centuries against New Zealand (last winter). He has really come up as a batsman," Fletcher said.
Harbhajan (41) combined with Rohit to raise 88 runs for the seventh wicket and it turned out to be a critical association.
Raina was lavish in his praise for the manner in which Mishra bowled with guile and variations.
"A good leg-spinner is always very useful. Mishra has great loop and his control on spin is very good. He has bowled very positively."
Now that the series is won, Raina revealed that the benched players could be tried in the remaining two one-day matches of the series.
"There is every chance that we would give opportunity to a few players sitting on the bench in remaining two games," he said.

PTI

Years with Chappell as coach worst of my career: Zaheer

New Delhi: Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan considers the two years with Greg Chappell as national coach the worst of his decade-long career as the controversial Australian made him feel unwanted in the team.

"Gary has given everyone their space. He's understood the Indian culture and how we do things. He's taken that step of coming closer to us rather than dictating. He was our friend, not a coach," Zaheer said. © AFP

Zaheer said he and other senior players were constantly worried about their place in the side and were unable to perform during that tumultuous period between 2005 and 2007.
"It was as if you've been framed. It was like 'we don't want you in the team. It's not about performance, we don't like your attitude, you're stopping the growth of cricket in the Indian team'. I felt it personally because I was dropped straight after the Sri Lanka tour, even though I had not performed badly," Zaheer said.
"I was fortunate enough to go to South Africa to represent the Asia XI (in the Afro-Asia Cup). I got about nine wickets and I was recalled for the next series. In that phase it was always a struggle. When you're fighting within the team, when you have a war to fight in your own camp, it is always difficult to win," he said.
Chappell took over as India coach in May 2005 but his tenure was marred by serious differences between him and senior players, including Sachin Tendulkar. He also had a public spat with the then captain, Sourav Ganguly, who was dropped from the team but later recalled.
At the end of his tenure, following India's first round exit from the 2007 World Cup, Chappell decided not to seek an extension of his contract.
Zaheer said, in contrast, former South African batsman Gary Kirsten's tenure as India coach was "amazing".
"He has given everyone their space. He's understood the Indian culture and how we do things. He's taken that step of coming closer to us rather than dictating. He was our friend, not a coach," Zaheer said.
Kirsten took over in tumultuous circumstances but left the job on a high, guiding the Indian team to a historic World Cup triumph after a hiatus of 28 years besides taking them to the pinnacle of Test rankings.
Zaheer said the only positive of Chappell's tenure was the inclusion of youngsters in the team but felt that sacrificing experienced players was not the only way to give opportunities to youth.
"A youngster coming in is a good sign but not at the cost of a cricketer who is doing his bit."
The 32-year-old Baroda pacer said the county stint with Worcestershire came at the right moment for him when things were not going his way.
He signed up with Worcestershire for the 2006 county season and finished as the highest wicket-taker in Division Two of the County Championship, taking 78 wickets at 29.07.
"Worcester taught me the reason I'm playing this game. Sometimes when you play at the highest level, especially in India, the whole country is so passionate about the game, so whether you do well or do badly it affects you in many ways. So when I went to Worcester, it was just me playing cricket."
"I was just enjoying cricket and not thinking about other pressures, about the pressure of performance. Everything was falling into place. I was taking wickets. Even though I was not in the Indian side, I was actually happy," Zaheer said.
Talking about the historic World Cup triumph, in which he was the joint-highest wicket-taker with Shahid Afridi with 21 wickets, Zaheer said he is now a calm and composed player as compared to the emotionally-driven youngster in the 2003 final against Australia.
In the 2011 World Cup final, he bowled three consecutive maidens at the start of the innings.
"It was only a couple of years into international cricket; the World cup journey itself was something special in 2003. That time my thing was to bowl quick. I wanted to be aggressive.
"It was a World Cup final; there were a lot of emotions. As soon as the national anthem finished, there was this rush of young blood. I wanted to do really well, wanted to just blast the Australians apart," he said.
"This World Cup I was aware of the fact that there will be a lot of emotions, I have to deal with it. I have to maintain my calm and focus on the process. I was telling myself just go there and bowl," he added.
PTI

Munaf Patel is spinning the ball these days: Roberts

Antigua: West Indian fast bowling legend Andy Roberts is baffled as to why young Indian pacers suddenly lose speed after showing early promise and start "spinning the ball", pointing out Munaf Patel as the most recent example.

According to Andy Roberts, some of the bowlers lose their ability to bowl fast because the coaches turn them into line-and-length bowlers. © AFP

"When Munaf Patel came here in 2006, he had some pace," said Roberts wryly, "Now he is spinning the ball!"
Roberts was speaking from his experience of having worked with Irfan Pathan briefly during the 2006 tour by the Indians after the then coach Greg Chappell requested him to look at the left-arm seamer's problems.
"You have to remember this happens only once they make it to international stage. May be they are better off without these coaches.
"These coaches turn you into line-and-length bowler. Not what you naturally are. These boys then lose their ability."
Roberts, who picked up 202 wickets from 47 Tests at an average of 25.61, is hailed as the father of fearsome West Indian fast bowlers of the‘70s and ‘80s. He certainly is not impressed by the fast bowling in world cricket presently.
"Shaun Tait throws his arm. Dale Steyn, whom I like, also occasionally throws his arm. Less said about the West Indian pacemen the better. The likes of Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards are not running in fast enough at the batsmen," he said.
"They saw Curtly Ambrose run in smoothly and ping the ball. But he could do it because he was so very strong. Others must run in hard in their run-ups.
"There are two ways to bowl fast - either you steam in or you have a lot of strength to bowl even if you are relaxed in your run-up," Roberts explained.
Roberts is dismissive of the notion that today's cricketers play a great volume of cricket.
"Too much cricket? They play mostly Twenty20s and one-dayers. It's four or 10 overs a match."
He also sought to correct the notion that reverse swing was almost exclusively the preserve of the Pakistani bowlers in the ‘90s.
"We began the reverse swing. When Pakistanis came in 1977 they were surprised to see us do it. It's no rocket science, you keep the ball polished on one side and it would reverse swing. For it to happen, the other side must have a bit of moisture on it.
Inevitably, Roberts is asked to compare who he thought was better between Sachin Tendulkar and Sunny Gavaskar.
"Sachin is one of the game's greats. No questions about it. However, you judge a batsman on how he handled the best of pacemen and best of spinners of his era.
"In the ‘70s, West Indies had the quick ones. England had a very good spinner in Derek Underwood. And Sunny always did well against them."
Nobody was said to have a more deceptive bouncer than Roberts in the game. Gavaskar has mentioned he had two bouncers - one a slower one with which he set a batsman up and the other a quicker one which a batter could only see as a blur.
"You can't bowl 95 mph all the time and hope a batsman would surrender. They get used to it after a while. You need to vary the pace, the angle, the seam or swing," Roberts said.
"I could bowl everything: seam, swing, pace, slower one, bouncer, cutters, everything."
Asked to pick the favourite batsman and fast bowlers of his era, Roberts said, "Viv Richards to me was the best player of short-pitched bowling ever.
"I liked Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Malcolm Marshall ...Imran was a great bowler but he wasn't an out-and-out fast bowler. Same was the case with Richard Hadlee."
Like most of his era, Roberts can't see the revival of West Indian cricket anytime soon.
"The top brass needs a kick in the back side. Presently our cricket is flat on its back. The board at one time had 18 directors.
"I was once told by a director that I could become a coach if I had a level 2 or 3 coaching certificate. The same man asked me to come to Trinidad and give a lecture on fast bowling in his academy. The knowledge is with me. But I can't be going around asking for work," he said.
PTI