Brett Lee announces retirement from ODI & T20 format

One of the world’s fastest bowlers who made India his second home, Australia’s Brett Lee today announced his retirement from international cricket ending an injury-ravaged career that spanned 13 years.

The 35-year-old affable pacer, who retired from Test cricket in 2010, had been most recently laid low by a calf injury.

Lee, a part-time bass guitarist who enjoys a huge fan-base in India, said he could not carry on anymore given the suffering his body has endured.

“It has been a dream career, I guess, 13 years at the top. I couldn’t ask for much more,” Lee told ‘Channel Nine’.

Lee said he had initially planned to retire after the upcoming World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka.

“Thirteen years, Friday the 13th, it’s appropriate for me to go. I woke up this morning after not much sleep and it’s the right time to go. It just came to me this morning and I just felt it’s the right time to leave the game.

“It’s been in the back of my mind for a few months.” Lee said he was happy to have played “in a fantastic era, playing with the likes of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, Steve and Mark Waugh, heroes of mine growing up”.

“It’s now stage two of my life coming up so I’m pretty happy and pretty excited. My holiday will be at home, I’m sick of being away.” The paceman retired from Test cricket in February 2010 after taking 310 wickets in 76 matches.

He continued playing for Australia in one-day matches and in the Twenty20 arena. International retirement notwithstanding, Lee will continue playing in the Australian Big Bash and Indian Premier league.

Rated among the most fearsome fast bowlers in modern era, the ever-smiling six-footer took 380 wickets in 221 one-day internationals and 28 wickets from 25 Twenty20 appearances for Australia.

Sachin Tendulkar out of Sri Lanka series

Opener Virender Sehwag and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan today returned to a 15-member Indian cricket squad after recovering from injuries even as senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar decided to skip the limited overs tour of Sri Lanka starting July 21.

Sehwag, Zaheer, along with young pacer Umesh Yadav, had sat out of the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March due to fitness issues. While Sehwag was nursing back spasms and a shoulder injury, Zaheer and Umesh too had niggles.

Tendulkar, who has played only two ODI series since 2011 World Cup and is now a Rajya Sabha MP, made himself unavailable for selection for the Lanka tour which will have five ODIs and a Twenty20 International.

Young Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane has replaced Tendulkar in the side. The other change from the Asia Cup side is the inclusion of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha in place of out-of-form all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

The committee, which picked the squad in a meeting here, also decided to include Umesh at the expense of Praveen Kumar.

"We have the best available team. Sachin is not available. I think it is a very good side which has very strong batting line-up and good bowlers and we are confident that it will do well in Sri Lanka," chairman of selection committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth told reporters after announcing the squad.

There was no place for feisty off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who endured indifferent form during the IPL and has now signed up with English county side Essex, as the selectors continued to ignore him while Rahul Sahrma was retained in the side. The team will thus have three spinners on low-bouncing and spinning tracks in Sri Lanka.

The team will also have seven specialist batsmen, four seamers and a wicketkeeper in captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The team has endured poor results since the second half of last year, having been whitewashed in the Test series in England and Australia before failing to make the finals of the Asia Cup.

"It is a long season ahead and I think we will come back to winning ways. Sachin wants to extend his career. He must be aiming at England and Australia (series later this year). He is spacing it out very well," said Srikkanth.

"I don't really want to dwell on whys, they are difficult. We should look at what has been selected," he said.

The rest of the squad remains the same with the selectors retaining Virat Kohli as vice-captain, a position that the Delhi youngster took from opener Gautam Gambhir during the Asia Cup.

"Virat Kohli has been appointed vice-captain, the idea is continuity. Virat got brilliant hundreds after becoming vice captain which shows that he likes responsibility," explained Srikkanth.

Aggressive but inconsistent all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was ignored after failing to make an impact in the IPL, along with his brother Irfan.

In Sri Lanka, India will play a five-match ODI series between July 21 and August 4 followed by a one-off Twenty20 International on August 7.

A little over a month separates the Sri Lanka tour and the Twenty20 World Cup, which will be played in the same country.

Indian squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Suresh Raina, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma.

I Am fit for England tour: Yuvraj

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh in Kolkata on Wednesday said that he is all geared up for the ensuing tour of England with the national squad since he has recovered from the chest infection. Yuvi, who was the Man-of-the-Series in the ICC World Cup tournament, was ruled out for the full tour of the West Indies due to a lung infection he developed soon after the mega event. He also rubbished certain reports as rumours that he refused to play under the leadership of co-player Suresh Raina during the Caribbean tour.

Sachin sells car, keeps number plate

Sachin Tendulkar loves numbers. The man who has over 32,000 runs in international cricket, was happy to sell his red Ferrari Modena 360 to a friend in Surat, but not to give up the attached number plate MH 01 AD 9999. Assistant Regional Transport Officer, A.S. Khairulla has revealed that the ace cricketer has retained his “lucky” number plate.
The little master, as widely reported, is an ardent follower of the teachings of Satya Sai Baba. The Baba believed that 9 is the perfect number as no matter how many times you multiply it, it will add up to nine. Called the Brahman number (the Eternal Absolute), 9 is considered all-powerful. Our source said, “It’s no surprise how nine and its multiples are lucky for Sachin since he follows the Baba’s teachings so closely.”
Speaking exclusively to DC, the RT Officer said, “Sachin Tendulkar made a special request and paid the government-notified fee of Rs 50,000 for the VIP number plate and retained his old car number plate.” “Sachin Tendulkar sent his representative with a letter and a demand draft (Kotak Mahindra Bank) of Rs 50,000 for the transfer of his car,” the officer added. The letter says: “This is to inform you that I have sold my Ferrari car to Jayesh Kumar Batukrai Desai, and am requesting you to retain the same number plate for my new car. I am ready to pay Rs 50,000 as RTO fees.”
Sachin Tendulkar had to buy his new car within 30 days. “His fee for the VIP number plate will be valid for 30 days. His new super car, a red Nissan GT-R has not yet been brought to this office for registration,” the official added further. “The buyer of his Ferrari had to submit a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) for Sachin’s request to retain the old number plate. We gave a new number (MH 02 AV 4722) to the new owner.” Jayesh Desai will get his Ferrari registered with the RTO at Surat and will get a new number.

Gambhir fit for England tour, Sehwag on his way

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has attained full fitness while his more illustrious teammate Virender Sehwag may just make it in time for selection for the England tour beginning on July 15. The touring party will be announced on July 2 by the BCCI.
"Gambhir is undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and is fully fit for the upcoming England tour. He is back to his normal training schedule and is working hard on his fitness. He was in Delhi for three days early this month but during that time he was practicing light," said his coach Sanjay Bhardwaj on Friday.

Sri Lanka opener Tharanga banned 3 months

Sri Lanka opening batsman Upul Tharanga was suspended for three months by the International Cricket Council on Friday for using a banned substance during the World Cup.
After the semifinal win against New Zealand on March 29 at Colombo, Tharanga tested positive for metabolites of two glucocorticosteroids — Prednisone and Prednisolone.
He was banned from May 9 to Aug. 8, and will miss Sri Lanka's entire ongoing tour of Britain and Ireland.
He pleaded guilty on Friday before an independent anti-doping tribunal, comprising of chairman Tim Kerr, Anik Sax and Peter Sever.
"The tribunal accepted that Tharanga had ingested the substances when drinking a herbal remedy given to him to ease discomfort caused by a long-standing shoulder injury," the ICC said in a statement.
"It also found that Tharanga had no intention to enhance his sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance-enhancing substance, but that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules."
Tharanga apologized to fans and followers "for inadvertently committing an offence."
"I hope my fellow sportsmen will learn from my experience and be more vigilant when taking medical treatment, so that their careers do not suffer in the way that mine has," he said.
The tribunal also disqualified the rankings points he earned from the World Cup. He scored two centuries during the run to the final.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said it realizes Tharanga didn't cheat deliberately, "but the ICC maintains its zero-tolerance approach towards doping for the benefit of all its stakeholders."
Tharanga has 21 days to appeal after receiving the written decision.

Indian captain Dhoni’s Rs 645 Tax cheque bounces

 Indian captain MS Dhoni may be one of the richest sportspersons in the country but it seems he does not have even Rs 645 in his bank account.

Dhoni, who is one of the highest tax payers of Jharkhand, found himself in trouble after his cheque of Rs 645 in favour of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) as holding tax was returned by the bank.

The money was to be paid for Dhoni`s house number 141 at Kunwar Singh Colony under Doranda circle of the RMC on Airport Road. The tax has to be deposited annually to the civic body as holding tax of the property.
"Dhoni had issued a cheque (number 550703) of the State Bank of India, Doranda branch, from his savings account  <愔ţ>            <愔ţ>  01190108959  01190108959          01190108959 amounting to Rs 645 on March 15," RN Jha, the tax collector of Wad 52, told a newspaper when inquired about the incident. The cheque, which was deposited by the RMC on March 16, was duly signed by Dhoni. It was, however, rejected by the SBI, Doranda branch, citing ‘insufficient funds’.

Under Section 35 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, an FIR can be lodged against a depositor if his/her cheque bounces but the state government is not keen on taking legal action against the Indian captain as, they believe, it is nothing more than a human error. The tax officials said that it is for the first time Dhoni’s cheque has bounced.