It is exciting to have CSK back in the competition and I am sure the fans are very happy to have their team back on the field, said Hussey.

Chennai: Making a comeback to the Indian Premier League after a two-year suspension in the wake of spot-fixing saga, Chennai Super Kings are making sure they retain the “core” of the team. After announcing the retention of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja on Thursday, the two-time IPL champions have brought back Michael Hussey to the core; this time as a batting coach.
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The Chennai-based IPL team, on Saturday, confirmed Hussey’s appointment. The former Australian cricketer, who is known as Mr. Cricket, is the third highest run-getter for CSK with 1768 runs, only behind Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni.  

“I am really excited about returning to the Chennai Super Kings in a coaching capacity and working with the players to help them get the best out of themselves and also help to bring success to this great franchise,” said Hussey in a media release issued by CSK.

“I have so many great memories as a player and have made many wonderful friends in Chennai and now I am excited about giving back to the franchise in trying to help the next generation of CSK players,” added Hussey.
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“It is exciting to have CSK back in the competition and I am sure the fans are very happy to have their team back on the field,” concluded the 42-year-old Hussey, who won the Orange Cap for most runs in IPL 2013.

Indian team coach Ravi Shastri handed him his cap, before the ODI against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

It was a proud moment for Washington Sundar who earned his maiden international cap, after he was picked in the eleven to face Sri Lanka in the second ODI being played at the PCA stadium at Mohali, Punjab.
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The honours were done by the Indian team coach Ravi Shastri who handed him his cap, before the start of play on Wednesday.

Washington, aged 18 years and 69 days, has played 12 first class matches for Tamil Nadu and is the seventh youngest cricketer to make his debut for India.  

The list is headed by Sachin Tendulkar who remains the youngest cricketer to play for India at 16 years and 238 days.
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About a week ago, Washington was picked as a replacement for the injured Kedhar Jadhav in ODIs and now finds himself in the playing eleven in place of chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav.
"It has been my fourth day to be precise but I do not feel that I just became part of the team. I knew lot of players before, have played with Mahi bhai (Dhoni) in the IPL. I would definitely have to be ready to bowl 10 overs of off spin and contribute with the bat no matter what position the team is in," he had said earlier.

Washington has been rewarded for his creditable performances in the Indian Premier League playing for Rising Pune Supergiants and in domestic cricket.

He started his career as a batsman before becoming an off-spinner and represented India at the Under-19 World Cup last year.

As for his unique first name, his father M Sundar had told The Hindu, “I am a Hindu and come from a very humble family. Two streets away from my home in Triplicane lived an ex-army man called P.D. Washington. He was extremely fond of cricket and would come to watch us play at the Marina ground.”

Sundar said that he was poor and Washington would buy uniforms for his son, pay his school fee, take him to the ground on his cycle and constantly encourage him.

“I decided to name him Washington in memory of the man who had done so much for me. Had I had a second son, I would have called him Washington Jr,” Sundar said.   

Speculation about Virat Kohli getting married, this week or the next, has had newsrooms across the country in a tizzy. That the Indian captain decided to skip the limited overs series’s against Sri Lanka only fanned the curiosity further.

But even as he takes time out — whether to get married or relax after a hectic playing schedule — Kohli will have to keep his focus alive to the onerous task that awaits him in South Africa, the first of three major teams India face in 2018.

The tour of England comes mid-year and then a trip Down Under before 2018 winds down. India’s record away from the sub-continent remains rather dismal.
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This puts India —currently undefeated in nine consecutive series —under great scrutiny.

On the personal front, Kohli is currently the only batsman in the world to average 50+ in ODIs, T20s and Tests. He is also top-ranked by ICC in the first two formats. Should he finish the year as no.1 across all three, he would have shaken up the pecking order in the pantheon of greats.

But for that he will have to excel on all three tours, particularly England, where he flopped in 2014. Some critics aver he is still vulnerable to late swing. Others argue that Kohli today is a vastly different player from three years ago. How he bats will prove one or the other section wrong.

This daunting journey starts in South Africa where the team flies out to just two days after the T20 series against Sri Lanka. And  after a two-day warm up match, the first Test begins, leaving little time for acclimatization. This explains why Kohli was critical of the domestic itinerary.

But that’s in the past. What the captain will be preoccupied with now is strategizing how the talent at his disposal (rich, going by current form and results) can be deployed to try and beat the South Africans on their own turf.

The presence of six fast bowlers (including Hardik Pandya) in the squad — and just two specialist spinners — gives an idea not just of the tactics Kohli and the team management are likely to pursue, but also how Indian cricket has evolved.

Clearly, the strategy is to fight the pace fire of the South Africans with their own.

This is revolutionary thinking. Even a decade back pace was never India’s strong suit when playing overseas. Spin was the main bet. In the past few years, there has been a preponderance of fast bowlers.

Competition for places — as in the batting — has also seen a rise in quality. India’s pace attack today can boast of high  speed, skill and fine  variety.

Whether this is good enough to quell South African batsmen remains to be seen. But there will be enough of the fast and short stuff from the Indian side too for sure: a great psychological boost that teams in the past lacked.

This does not mean spin bowling is devalued. Since pitches in South Africa are likely to assist pace, India are likely to shore up the batting with six specialists.

This leaves only one place open for either Ashwin or Jadeja and whoever plays will have to be in top form. One must feel for young Kuldeep Yadav, unlucky not to find a place. But with opportunity for spinners likely to be severely limited — and Ashwin and Jadeja amongst the wickets — it made more sense to take an extra fast bowler.

Bumrah, rewarded for hard work and sustained improvement, could well be the X factor with his awkward style and sharp skills. Getting veteran Parthiv Patel as reserve wicket-keeper is canny thinking. He revels against the new ball, and can bat at the top or middle order.

Overall, I believe the selection has been excellent, keeping in mind the quality of the opposition and conditions likely to be encountered. But as experience show, while talent is obviously important, self-belief is even more  so when playing overseas. For the record, India have never won a Test series in either South Africa or Australia. If this barrier can be broken — even in one of the two series — Indian cricket will have scaled great heights. Kohli faces his most exciting — and stiffest — challenge yet.
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New Delhi: The 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just five months away and the major focus is once again on the high-profile auctions. While many players are set to go under the hammer, there’s still a final call to be taken on policies such as players’ retention and right-to-match.

An all-important IPL Governing Council (GC) meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, where important issues will be discussed. With the return of Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after a two-year spot-fixing ban, the BCCI will aim to ensure that all eight franchises are on a level-playing field.

However, it’s not going to be easy for the GC as there is a fierce bickering between teams over the matter. One certain franchise is doing all they can to ensure that RR and CSK are not given the right to retain the players they lost during their suspension period, said a Times of India report.
As the squabble continues, the BCCI will ensure that all teams stay on the same level. As of now, most of the teams are in favour of players' retention policy.

If retention is valed, two-time IPL winners CSK would retain key players such as the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo and few others. This would once again make CSK favourites for the prestigious trophy, and therefore other teams are stern on opposing the retention policy.

Previously in November, a meeting between the team owners and the GC was held to discuss players’ retention, but the two parties couldn’t come to a conclusion. With plenty of confusion buzzing, it is to be seen if there is a new twist in the upcoming auctions.

THE CITY'S UNIVERSITY STADIUM HAD HOSTED THE WEST INDIES FOR AN ODI IN 1988.

​The third T20 International played on Tuesday between India and New Zealand in Kerala’s capital city made for an enthralling contest, as the match went right down to the wire. Eventually, India emerged victorious by six runs in the last over to take the series 2-1. 

Thiruvananthapuram was hosting an international cricket match after a gap of 29 long years.
 
The T20 was played at the new Greenfield stadium, which can be used for playing football matches as well. Two years back, the stadium had hosted the final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championships where India had beaten Afghanistan to win the title. 

However, it was back in 1988 that the city had its first brush with international cricket. The West Indians led by Viv Richards took the field against the Indians marshalled by Ravi Shastri in a one day international (ODI), played at the University stadium. 

India scored 239 in their allotted 45 overs which was overhauled comfortably by the opposition. The West Indians won by 9 wickets, riding on Gordon Greenidge’s 84 studded with five sixes, as well as a century from Phil Simmons.

This was in fact the last ODI of the series, which the West Indies went on to win 6-1.   
Four years earlier though, the city had been declared as the venue for its first ever one-day international.

The match was played between India and Australia on October 1, 1984 at the University stadium. 
India were led by Sunil Gavaskar and Australia by Kim Hughes.
 
In the 37-over match, India were bowled out for 175. The ‘Colonel’, Dilip Vengsarkar top-scored for the hosts with 77 runs. Carl Rackemann and Tom Hogan shared the spoils for the visitors, snaring 7 wickets between them. 

Australia were 29/1 in the eighth over when the skies opened up and the match was subsequently called off. 

Wellington: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to approve plans for its long-awaited World Test Championship at a meeting in New Zealand this week, it was reported Monday.

The sport's governing body has argued for years that a Test championship is needed to boost the five-day format's popularity as crowds and television viewers flock to the big-hitting Twenty20 version of the game.

But squabbling over formats and fears that some nations will be disadvantaged have twice stymied efforts to launch a league structure since 2010.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that plans for a nine-nation Test championship were now well advanced and the ICC was set to give the concept a green light on Friday at a meeting in Auckland.

It said the first edition of the competition would run over a two-year cycle beginning in 2019, culminating in a final between the top two teams at Lord's.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the league competition would give Test series a broader international "context", making them more than stand-alone bilateral contests.

"You're also creating structure in such a way that you no longer have games without meaning. They are all part of a league championship," he told the Herald.

Purists view Test cricket as the pinnacle of the sport but it has struggled, particularly in Asia, as lucrative T20 competitions such as the Indian Premier League have caught the public's imagination.

A recent innovation designed to reverse the trend is the introduction of day-night Test matches, which moves playing sessions to more spectator-friendly hours.

The idea of four-day Test matches has also been floated, although traditionalists oppose the move.
The Herald reported that the ICC will also look at a major shake-up of one-day international fixtures at the Auckland meeting.

It said a 13-nation ODI league was being considered, which would operate on a three-year cycle with results affecting World Cup qualification.
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Under the plans, the number of ODIs in a series would be capped at three, ending the lengthy five-match series that are currently part of the international fixture list.