All Articles under 'Player Profile'
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For a long time till not too long ago - Indian cricket had failed to produce a true fast bowler who could hurry top level batsmen. Indian idea of new ball bowling, for a long time, had been to swing it rather than send it down at very fast speed.
Not any more.. here's Ishant Sharma. India's 255th test cricketer, the Delhi speedster made headlines after bouncing, hitting and beating Ricky Ponting for 8 straight overs in only his 3rd test match at Perth before he finally got Aussie Captain out in the 9th over. Height of almost 6 and half feets, Ishant is yet to celebrate his 20th Birthday (born September 22, 1988) which means that ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Wed, 30 January 2008
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Do you know that MRF Pace academy was founded by Australian Deniss Lillee and T A Sekar? of course you do, but do you know that West Indies were the only country, until recently, who never sent a young fast bowler to this Chennai coaching center for fast bowlers..
Most of seam bowlers coming up in International cricket these days go through some training days in MRF Pace foundation and certain *Uda Walawwe Mahim Bandaralage Chanaka Asanka Welegedara* aka Chanaka Welegedera is unleashed by Srilankan cricket. they say he's in the mould of greatest fast bowler Sri lanka ever produced - Chaminda Vaas - and that Chanaka is lot faster as he's much younger.
A late ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Wed, 23 January 2008
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Who are the tallest cricketers ever to play for India? not sure itsonlycricket can answer that question but Abey Kuruvilla & Ventakesh Prasad come stright to mind. Nilesh Kulkarni was a lean n thin n tall spinner once played for India.
Now, the bowler I'm introducing in following - will match shoulders with most of longest cricketers every played cricket at highest level. he goes by the name of Pankaj Singh!
Forget the over eagerness Pankaj brings to India's national cricket team - he also bowls that nagging length batsmen just have to play.. every second delivery. with good pace. coming down from a height of 6 feet 5 inches, right upto your toe!
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Added on Sat, 12 January 2008
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Fans clap to every four they hit & kids admire them as role models. Money is good & they tour the world for free..
In short - life of a cricketer is a joyride most of us would want.
That said, there's a sad point to being a cricketer too : you retire one day, fairly early in life (around 32-35 year age) and then - life goes empty. no wonder we see them crying on their last day on field!
Post retirement, few former cricketers opt for a job as expert on news channels (critics) and some become TV Commentators while most dissolve out of limelight as fans forget them within a ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Thu, 06 December 2007
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Which left arm fast bowler you admire in International cricket? Chaminda Vaas? Irfan Pathan? or may be Mitchell Johnson of Australia?
Now picture the foot position of these left arm seamers : their bowling action is to put right foot ahead of left & bowl.. not the case with Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir. This Rawalpindi swing bowler (an allrounder arguably) is favorite of former Pakistan fast bowler (who always played against India) and now a National Cricket Academy coach - Aaqib Javed.
Javed believes that wrong-footed action of Tanvir & his ability to bowl deceptively quick deliveries (around 133kmph) can cause trouble for any batsman around the world. Result - only 3 years of first-class ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Sun, 04 November 2007
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Praveen Kumar. an ultra common name in India that every second of we Indians have a friend named Praveen. how different is the Praveen Kumar I've mentioned in my headline?
A lot. to say the least! both with ball and the bat!
This boy from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh was no where near India under-19 team, but 2 years hence - he's into the national cricket team with a bang. His class ~ swing the cricket ball like banana. Close to the stumps - Praveen will bowl 10 unplayable deliveries every time the ball is new and conditions little favorable. around 125-130kmph of bowling speed might not trouble International batters, but Praveen's accuracy will test ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Tue, 30 October 2007
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After the dissappointing end of story called Mohammad Kaif, India needed a number 6 who knew his craft with the bat. all shorts in the book but selecting which ones to play and when.. someone like (Michael) Hussey or Beven who believes in hitting the gaps, staying at the wicket till the very end. A forward defensive shot even Rahul Dravid would be proud of. Big shots are rare, but a master of consuming match pressure.
27 years & 39 days he was, when national selectors buzzed him. Subramaniam Bardrinath, a brilliant fielder & right handed technically correct batsman has 54 first class games experience to show but isn't a test match spinner who can force a mistake ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Wed, 10 October 2007
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Ever seen an empty train running at full speed? even if you haven't, watch this Kerala boy run & bowl. Their is fire, pride, plenty of skill & dreams of desire, but one big thing missing ~ is body strength. It's simple physics that heavy load posses as much momentum, & that is where Sreesanth lacks..
Feb 6th 1983 Kothamangalam born simply isn't muscular enough!!
Other than that -- you'll rarely find a fast bowler so preciously pitching every ball on seam, & always hungry to indulge into a fight with the batsman. Few fast bowlers in International cricket tell themselves they're the best, but Shanthakumaran Sreesanth does it before every ball he bowls. Gopu, his ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Mon, 16 July 2007
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He can smash you out of the park, any time he wants. He can scare you with his pace/heavy-balls if not take edge of your bat. He's a brilliant slip catcher & leadership qualities weren't bad either..
Yet, as you read this ~ Andrew Flintoff is no where the achiever he could have been!
Reason? well, little is to blame the coaches Flintoff has had, little to blame the English selectors. Plenty of blame should be on media in England but mostly, like always - its the man himself. Andrew should've hid himself when photographers around the world were pleading snaps. Fan cheer is fine, but at times you need to concentrate on what you actually are - ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Sat, 07 July 2007
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'He's a genius. he can hit me 5 times out of the park, but I bet I'll beat him in flight off the 6th' said Bisen Singh Bedi. when n where, I can't recall but believe me, Bedi did challenge Sachin Tendulkar once..
The catch is, Bisen Singh Bedi, former Indian left arm spinner was supremely confident of the air he provided each delivery he bowled. Batsman, in those days, could hit him once or twice - but not more than that. Bedi's game plan was to tempt batsman over n over ~ till they lose patience & dance down the track to give their wicket away..
Same formula is used by current Indian off spinner, Ramesh 'fat ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Sun, 17 June 2007
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Do you know since when Ranji Trophy (India's premier first class cricket tournament) is being played? let me save you some googling -- it was first played in 1934 with Mumbai winning it. July was the month, with Maharaja of Patiala donating the winner's trophy.
So since 1934, 73 years that it is, no bowler has picked up more than 57 wickets in one full season. 5 bowlers have got to exactly 57, n our topic - Ranadeb Bose from Bengal team is one of them. They say Ranadeb used to do the containing job (means bowling economically), while SS Paul tried to pick wickets at other end.. 2006 Ranji season came with an absence of Paul, so Ranadeb ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Thu, 14 June 2007
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10th October 2001, a wednesday was the only night when Harbhajan Singh ever bowled a magical off-spinning spell, in South Africa. Turbanator picked up 3 wickets then to win that thriller for India at Centurion. and honestly, I didn't wonder if someone in crowd was idolising him or not.
5 or so years hence, we have Thandi Tshabalala. slowly, carefully but surely pushed up the ladder by South African cricket board. I'll start with how to pronounce this off spinner's name - Thandi with T, but Tshabalala with no T.
Come to what Thandi has developed, and you have natural in-dips to right handed batsman (the art of flight as they call it). Spinning the ball on African ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Thu, 07 June 2007
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Ashes were back to where they belonged, so Fletcher had all the power in English team. Tour of Pakistan followed, where coach unleashed a rookie.. batsman or bowler, Duncan himself wasn't very sure, but that 19 year old kid batted at 9, to make 9.
Flat Lahore pitch made him a stock bowler ~ taken for runs all around the park as Pakistan marched to 636 from 156 overs. Liam Plunkett is the name, and he bowled 28.2 overs in the first innings of his test match debut. Plunkett wasn't needed to bowl the second time..
Today as I write this, there are few outswing fast bowlers in International cricket. and even fewer can reach over 140 kmph ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Tue, 05 June 2007
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A jump of about a feet, stretch of arms = 2 feets at least, and the man himself is over 6 n half. add to it - his attitude of banging the ball into the pitch, to extract any awakward bounce that he can.
Steve Harmison - the England fast bowler, can touch 90 miles per hour of bowling speed, if rhythm is found. if not found - get ready for big test match wides that even best of wicket keepers can't fetch with gloves.
Going back to good bowling form that Harmison is capable of, International batsman struggle to cope up with rising deliveries. Playing drives is out of question, but confident cutters of cricket bowling can ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Tue, 05 June 2007
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Mix Kevin Pietersen (the english batsman) with an Indian singer/actor (in Bihar state &; around), and then add lots of Bengali flavour to it.. I know it's tough to imagine, but try.
Manoj Tiwary is the name we are finding. born & brought up in one of four metros of India - Kolkatta & believes in Kevin Pietersen policy - hit everything towards the mid-wicket boundary. Charge the fast bowlers to force them change length & then pull your sleeve upto your shoulders as you take strike for next ball = that's Manoj Tiwary for you. 21 years & 145 days old as I write this & loves the big stage & stadiums full of crowd. Born on 14th ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Sun, 06 May 2007
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Why famous cricketers turned coach like Greg Chappell, Clive Lloydd and Javed Miadad failed to make a real mark, whereas 'lesser known in his cricket playing days' like John Buchanan, Tom Moody and Duncan Fletcher won praise? There has to be a reason..
One of the reason I could imagine is EGO. I've read and always believed that ego is a virtue of human mentality when they taste success. Its very natural. But when you have to go under a young cricketer's skin to teach him forward defence - big (starry) cricketers start to question their time value. that's when real downfall starts.
And that's exactly where Davenell Fredrick Whatmore (formally known as Dav Watmore) comes in ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Sat, 05 May 2007
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I wrote this article on VRV Singh - Vikram Rajvir Singh when he was first selected for Indian team.
I can't believe it's been 9 months since. Anyways, my first article on this supposedly India's fastest bowler was based on research I had done and what related people had to say about him..
But today, I've watched him on West Indies pitches, on Indian and Abu Dhabi wickets and his development in last 9 months.
What I can promise you is VRV Singh is India's Andrew Flintoff, but of course not in the same league with ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Thu, 30 November 2006
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You watch him walking around in the field - he seem like focused on the game.
You watch him bowling - he seems like little over confident of his Googlies and flighted ones..
You watch him bat and he will pretend to be a lazy batsmen, but with all answers that a bowler can ask..!!
Yes, that's Piyush Chawla for you. After making his debut for Uttar Pradesh at a tender age of 17, Piyush Chawla impressed one and all to win his ticket to Sri Lanka for the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
Although India lost in the finals against Pakistan, while chasing a minor target of 110 against some inspired swing ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Wed, 27 September 2006
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You must have done nearly all the things "perfectly right" all through your life if you make your debut for Indian cricket team at the age of 20 years and 151 days... but that's not the case with Robin Uthappa - the young opener that India unleashed on 12th of April 2006 against struggling England side. Robin wears the Indian colours mainly because of just one knock that he played against India A on 12th October 2005 at Mohali where he smashed 116 runs off just 93 balls. In fact - opening the innings for India B side, Uthappa jumped from 61 to 100 in just 14 balls and made the opositions victory target ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Sun, 09 April 2006
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Do not confuse with Powar or Pawar. The latest all rounder to join Indian cricket team in Pakistan for the ODI series is called Ramesh Rajaram Powar and he certainly is full of "Powar", opps, Power I mean!!
He is an off spinner and a very handy batsman lower down the order. As far as his international cricket is concerned, he has only played two ODI matches, when last time our team were in Pakistan in 2004, and didn't managed to pick up an single wicket, but he has been a very consistent performer in Indian Domestic Cricket. In 7 years ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Thu, 09 February 2006
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Who exactly is VRV Singh?? If that is the question in your mind then you have come to the right place. He is the fastest bowler in Indian ranks till date although he is yet to make his International debut. He is another India under - 19 product like R P Singh and Suresh Raina and has played 7 Ranji matches for Punjab so far..
His coach - Sukhvinder Bawa describes his boy as - "At times, we had to console him because he would be disappointed if he didn't hit any batsmen on the head.....I always just let him be because of the raw speed he generated. Line and length can come itself with the ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Wed, 01 February 2006
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If you want me to define this 20 year old Indian ODI cricketer for you, I'll say - Raina is one of the best fielder I have seen in at least 10 years of cricket following but he's a over-enthusiastic batsman. And if you want to know more about this latest inclusion into the Indian ODI squad for the Pakistan series, read on...
Suresh Kumar Raina is another under-19 player after Yuvraj singh, Mohammad Kaif, Agit Agarkar and R P Singh already cementing their place into the India team. He is a flashy batsmen, very much like ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Tue, 31 January 2006
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I got a chance to watch some cricket on Day 3 of Faisalabad test and Pakistan had just taken the second new ball. The rookie seam bowler, Mohammad Asif, in his debut test match, started sending short pitched balls again and again at Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar. He is not a very tall man - about 6 feets but delivers the ball from the best possible height. His main weapon seems to be cutting the ball at seam rather than swinging it..
He bowls at aound 133-135 km/hr, which is not very threatening. When I noticed him on third days play, he didn't had too many expressions on his face as he kept on bowling short balls...probably thats ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Tue, 24 January 2006
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This boy from Rai Bareilly, Uttar pradesh has surely made a name for himself taking 3 wickets on the first day in Pakistan's first innings of Second test 2006. Right now its lunch time at Faisalabad as I write this, and he has taken another wicket, with 3 more pakistan batsmen remaining. Although he has played 8 one-dayers for India, taking 11 wickets at 22.81 at piece, making your test debut, that too against arch-rivals Pakistan must not have been easy. So let me introduce you to this Lucknow youngster..
Here is his ODI and first class profile, which proves that ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Sun, 22 January 2006
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Pakistani think tank will be spending no less time in working out stratergies for Dhoni, the Indian wicketkeeper batsman than our batting legend Sachin Tendulkar!! And the reason is simple - he announced his arrival against Pakistan only, at Vizag, when he made 148 alone and surely can do it again. So lets have one more look at this man, who is currently dominating the Internet world as well!
Here is a interview with him where he dedicates his POWER to the football training he got, running from one goal post to another, but later switched to Cricket. As a cricket fan, I thank god for making choose cricket. We really needed someone like him. Someone with ... .. Read complete article |
Added on Wed, 11 January 2006
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