Sachin Tendulkar becomes an MP

Earlier this week Sachin Tendulkar was nominated in India's upper house of Rajya Sabha for seat as Member of Parliament. President Pratibha Patil validated his admission and approved Sachin's nomination for a seat in India's upper house of parliament. This makes Sachin Tendulkar to be the first active sportsman in the parliament house. The 39-year-old Tendulkar became the first cricketer to score 100 international centuries in March.

 

Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first sports person to be an MP in the Rajya Sabha

Tendulkar met the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and was offered a seat in the upper house's nominated category. He accepted the offer and his name went from the prime minister's office to the home ministry, and then the office of the President, who formally approved the candidature. 

Tendulkar will fill one of 12 seats in the Rajya Sabha that are reserved for those persons "having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service."  Previous nominated MPs, who serve a six-year term, include the musician Ravi Shankar, the singer Lata Mangeshkar and the artist MF Husain.

 

Sachin Tendulkar accepted to be a Member of Parliament

Lots of people supported this move but it was met with a few criticisms.. the biggest from fellow retired cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar who felt Sachin can't fit into this role as he doesn't have enough experience in this. Anyway, I treat it as a honor for him and he might learn a few things which could be good. He could also contribute what he knows. Lets see how it goes :)

Andrew Symonds retires from all forms of cricket

Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds announced his retirement from professional cricket including this year's IPL.

 

Australian former all-rounder Andrew Symonds announces retirement from cricket

“Cricket has given me enormous opportunities in my life and I will always be grateful for this.  Recently I have had several new and exciting opportunities come my way, and I have decided it’s time to commit to and develop the next stage of my life," Symonds said in his statement.
“During my time in cricket I have enjoyed the support of many and made numerous friends. I hope to continue to enjoy these friendships through the next stage of my life.”

It has brought to an end a troubled career for this big hitting Australian maverick. He played a key role in the Australia's World Cup victories in 2003 and 2007. 
Andrew Symonds also appeared in the Indian version of Big Brother called Bigg Boss in the season 5 as a celebrity guest.

 

Andrew Symonds, who played for Mumbai Indians IPL team, retires from professional cricket

About his association with Mumbai Indians IPL team and not being able to play this year's IPL - Symonds said
“It is with regret that I will not be able to fulfill my final year of the IPL with the Mumbai Indians.  Mumbai Indians and the IPL have both been very supportive of me, but the impending arrival of my first child is a priority. I appreciate their understanding in my making this decision and I wish the team every success this year.”

Andrew Symonds played 26 Tests, scoring 1462 runs at 41 with two hundreds and 198 one-day matches, making 5088 runs at 40 runs average with six centuries.

IPL Auction Results - Winners and Losers

The fifth season of IPL is about to begin in a couple of months. Last Saturday 4th February 2012, the players' auction for the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League was conducted for the Kochi Tuskers Kerala players and some new players trying to break into the IPL "big purse" league.

As expected Ravindra Jadeja was the big fish that everyone were eying to datch and atlast the Chennai Super Kings caught him for a whopping USD 2 million (Rs 9.71 crore).

 

Ravindra Jadeja joins Chennai Super Kings for the IPL 2012 season for a whopping 2 million dollars

The 23-year-old Jadeja from Saurashtra had the base price of $100,000, but went to Chennai after the tie-breaker clause was invoked when both CSK and Deccan Chargers bid the maximum ($2 million). Chennai won the tie-breaker and got Jadeja.

The second prized catch for the day was Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lankan captain, who went for a huge sum of USD 1.4 million (Rs 6.80 crore) to the Delhi Daredevils team. Jayawardene said afterwards that he was eying the finisher's role for the Daredevils team.

 

IPL Auctions - Mahela Jayawardene was bought by Delhi Daredevils for 1.4 million US Dollars

The third big gainers in the IPL auctions was the new Indian medium pacer Vinay Kumar from Karnataka.
He comes back to his home team Royal Challengers Bangalore after RCB bought him for USD 1 million (Rs 4.86 crore).

 

Vinay Kumar joins the 1 million dollar club as RCB bought him for that sum for the IPL Fifth season

The top three big losers in the IPL Auctions were:

VVS Laxman with base price of USD 400,000
Graeme Swann with base price USD 400,000
James Anderson with base price USD 300,000

All the English players were snubbed by the IPL team bosses as the English players snubbed IPL in the earlier seasons.

Yuvraj has cancer? Get Well Soon, Yuvi!!!

Indian cricketer and World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh was earlier diagnosed to have  a "non-malignant tumour" in his left lung. But, recent news is that he has a rare cancer diagnosis – "mediastinal seminoma", a germ-cell tumor located between his lungs.  People are mistaking that Yuvraj has lung cancer... which is not true...
The 30-year-old Yuvraj is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the United States.

 

Yuvraj Singh is undergoing chemotherapy in US

Yuvraj Singh, who is scheduled to undergo a chemotherapy session on Wednesday, is under the care of Dr Lawrence H Einhorn, an oncologist with Indiana University's Cancer Centre who is credited with revolutionizing the treatment for germ cell cancers. Dr Einhorn's most famous patient so far has been another leading sportsman, Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Incidentally, Yuvraj has tweeted about reading Armstrong's book titled It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.

 

Yuvraj Singh - India's World Cup Hero - is diagnosed to have a rare form of cancer caused by a germ-cell tumor

Quite a lot of messages and wishes poured in from all quarters of the world for Yuvraj Singh to get well soon.. It is said that Yuvraj would recuperate soon and would be ready for competitive cricket by May. Lets hope that its true!.

 

GET WELL SOON YUVI!!! WE WILL BE WITH YOU AND PRAY FOR YOU... 

Will See You Soon Playing for India!!!

Lets give Yuvraj and his family some privacy during this testing time! Waiting to hear the news of his successful therapy soon.. 

Dhoni and team watch Agneepath movie???

Just read the news in the ndtv site that some of the Indian cricket team in Australia went to watch a show of Agneepath...
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, pacer Umesh Yadav and spinner Rahul Sharma were spotted going to watch Agneepath in Sydney, Australia.

After the drubbing that the Aussies gave us down under, I guess the players were too much pressurized that they decide to take more breaks :) 
Am not against them watching or having some fun.. but time and again, this series they've been found lacking match practice and having more fun than usual.. Anyways, hope they come up with a better show in the shorter version of the game...

 

Captain Dhoni with Umesh Yadav and Rahul Sharma to watch Agneepath movie in Sydney

 

Dhoni is ready with popcorn to watch Agneepath movie while Rahul Sharma and Umesh Yadav carry the drinks inside the theatre.. hope they had a good movie show

Pics courtesy: ndtv site

I hope our team plays well in the one day triangular series atleast... and salvage some pride!!!

Wedding bells for Zaheer Khan-Isha Sharvani?

Zaheer Khan and Isha Sharvani, the bollywood actress are supposedly getting married in March 2012 as per the reports going around. So, are these reports of Zaheer and Isha Sharvani's wedding a rumour or fact?? Only time will tell...

 

Zaheer Khan and Isha Sharvani wedding on cards - Rumour or fact??

 

Zaheer Khan's girlfriend Isha Sharvani (or should I say fiancee?) 

 

Stylish Indian pacer Zaheer Khan going to wed Isha Sharvani in March

 

Bollywood star Isha Sharvani reportedly marrying Zaheer this year

 

Isha Sharvani and Zaheer Khan - hottest couple in the current cricket circle

The Indian star pace bowler had first met Isha Sharvani in 2005 after her Bollywood debut in Subhash Ghai's flop movie Kisna. After dating for a couple of years, Zaheer and Isha split. But Zaheer got back together with Isha Sharvani in 2010 and its been going strong as per the reports.

 

Zaheer Khan and girlfriend Isha Sharvani together (for life?)

According to reports, Zaheer and Isha's marriage is likely to happen in March. But the final decision will be taken once Zaheer Khan returns from the current Australian tour. There are also reports that if they don't marry in March, then they might tie the knot in October.
Despite repeated attempts, Isha and Zaheer remained unavailable for comment.

Wishes for this lovely couple... I would definitely like them to settle down.... :)

Chris Gayle retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore

So with the first window of transfers for IPL 2012 season closing on 20th January, 2012, the big question in everyone's mind was where will Chris Gayle go? Will he be retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore or will he go into the open auctions?

 

Chris Gayle retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2012 and the next season too

No prize for guessing where he goes.... with an impact player like Chris Gayle in hand, no IPL team would let him loose even if they've to shell out a huge sum of money. And, as expected Royal Challengers Bangalore retain Chris Gayle for an undisclosed amount. This amount though would be disclosed before the IPL Auctions begin this year and the amount would be deducted for the Bangalore IPL Team from the 2 million cap for each team.

"We are delighted to make Chris Gayle a permanent member of our IPL squad. We are confident that with players like him in our side, we will take the extra step this season, and win our maiden IPL title," Sidhartha Mallya, Director of Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, said in a press release. 

"To me, Bangalore has been a home away from home. I wanted to continue playing for them, and it turned out that they were keen to retain my services," Chris Gayle said.  

Pragyan Ojha is the other person to be transferred for this season of IPL. The India left-arm spinner Ojha has been transferred from Deccan Chargers to Mumbai Indians for an undisclosed fee for the fifth season of the IPL.

 

Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha transferred to Mumbai Indians for IPL 2012

In other IPL news, Sourav Ganguly and Allan Donald have been added to the Pune Warriors coaching staff ahead of the IPL 2012 season. South African fast bowler Donald will be the team's bowling coach and left-handed Ganguly will play a dual role as player and mentor. The Pune team would be without the services of a head coach as Geoff Marsh took the coaching role for Sri Lanka. You can recall that Pravin Amre was their batting coach for their first season in IPL which turned out to be a disasterous one. 

Now, the action shifts to the IPL Auctions to be conducted on February 4th 2012...  With a lot of good players in the auction list, it'll be interesting to see who the big buys will be in this IPL auction for the 2012 season....

Ishant Sharma's turn to show the finger in Australia

Its Ishant Sharma's turn now to show the middle finger to hecklers after Virat Kohli showed the finger to the Sydney crowd and got fined.

This incident happened last Monday when Ishant Sharma had just finished a go-karting session in Belmont. The whole Indian team minus some seniors had gone for a go-karting session before heading over to Perth for the third test match.

 

Ishant Sharma showing his middle finger to a heckler in Perth, Australia after a go-karting session

Pic courtesy: Sharon Smith/WA News

"Why don't you go learn how to bat and bowl before you go go-karting. It will be 3-0 mate," an Australian heckler said. Ishant Sharma reacted to the taunts by showing a finger gesture to the heckler which was captured by a photographer from the West Australian newspaper.

Indian team management claimed that the paceman Ishant Sharma was simply waving to the fans :) hehe...

India will not take any action against Sharma despite the lanky quick producing an identical response to batsman Virat Kohli who was fined half his match fee for giving the finger signal to the SCG crowd during the second Test.

But these incidents did not go well with the Indian team management and led to the banning of using twitter or any social networking site by the Indian team as such comments from the cricketers might further cause trouble.

As far as I feel about these incidents, the team should take a chill pill and not worry about these incidents... there would be more such hecklers waiting now that they've got some of the junior Indian cricketers irked...
Lets hope that the team copes up with these incidents and comes up with a better performance in the Perth test. It'll be something that every Indian fan would be looking forward to.  

IPL Transfers begin for 2012 season

Indian Premier League popularly known as the IPL League has started making buzz for its IPL 2012 season transfers.

Five IPL transfers have been made till now.

Kevin Pietersen - Delhi Daredevils from Deccan Chargers
Dinesh Karthik - Mumbai Indians from Kings XI Punjab
Andrew McDonald - Royal Challengers Bangalore from Delhi Daredevils
Harmeet Singh - Kings XI Punjab from Deccan Chargers
R Sathish - Kings XI Punjab from Mumbai Indians

The auction for players from the terminated franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala will be conducted on February 4th. The first window for trading between IPL franchises will close on January 20, 2012. There will be another short window for trading after the February 4 auction.

1) Big fish England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been transferred to Delhi Daredevils from Deccan Chargers for the 2012 season of the IPL. Sehwag will have Pietersen as his teammate for this season. What a deadly combo to watch out for - Sehwag and Pietersen

 

England batsman Kevin Pietersen transferred from Deccan Chargers to Delhi Daredevils for the IPL 2012 season

2) Another big transfer - in terms of money - was the Tamil Nadu wiketkeeping batsman Dinesh Karthik who will move from Kings XI Punjab to the Mumbai Indians. This was the first transfer to happen this year and it is believed that Mumbai Indians bought the transfer of Dinesh Karthik for a whopping $2.35 million approx. Rs 12.4 crores.

Mumbai Indians badly needed a wicketkeeper after the debacle in the last season where they struggled without a proper keeper and Ambati Rayudu, the makeshift keeper, fared poorly.

 

Dinesh Karthik has been transferred to Mumbai Indians from Kings XI Punjab for the IPL 2012 season

3) Australian Allrounder Andrew McDonald has been transferred to Royal Challengers Bangalore from Delhi Daredevils in a bid to boost up the allrounders in the Royal Challengers team.

 

Australian allrounder Andrew McDonald goes to Royal Challengers Bangalore from Delhi Daredevils for the 2012 season of IPL

Lets see who gets where in the IPL Transfers and Auctions for the 2012 season.... gonna be an interesting one..

Virat Kohli fined over finger gesture in Australia

This news is a bit odd to report.. nevertheless, here is it..

Indian batsman Virat Kohli was fined 50% of his match fee after he was seen gesturing to the crowd with his middle finger on the second day of the second test match between India and Australia in Sydney.

Kohli was charged with a level two offence by the match referee Ranjan Madugalle of Sri Lanka on the third morning of the SCG Test. Kohli went to the hearing along with manager Shivlal Yadav and pleaded guilty.

 

Virat Kohli showing the middle finger to the Australian crowd in Sydney

Pic courtesy: Getty Images

The incident happened when Virat Kohli was fielding at the boundary for much of the day and some of the spectators poked fun at him and his family. Kohli also tweeted that he had been sorely provoked before responding with the finger gesture.

 Kohli also said he had heard abuse worse than he ever had in his life. Virat posted on his twitter account, "i agree cricketers dont have to retaliate. what when the crowd says the worst things about your mother and sister. the worst ive heard"

Kohli found support in England's Kevin Pietersen, who replied to his tweet saying "ha ha ha ha ha!!! Welcome to Australia buddy!!" 

Kohli tweeted back saying that he "never heard crap like that. EVER".

Virat Kohli, after losing half of his match fee, began the third day on a more positive note tweeting, "New day new beginning! :)" 

So then, after Clarke hit a triple ton and Ponting & Hussey with hundreds of their own, Australia are sitting pretty in this test match...  What are the odds that India blame this one on the pitch :) 

Same old story.... looking forward for some brand new beginnings.. not sure when though :(

Sehwag and Pattinson clash in Boxing Day Test

The Boxing day test match between India and Australia which started yesterday the 26th of Dec 2011 in Melbourne has already had its share of news and controversies in just two days.

After a couple of controversial decisions against Australia for Mike Hussey and Ed Cowan (though I feel this is out) and one more that India didn't get (that of Zaheer Khan's lbw appeal of Brad Haddin), today was another day for fresh controversy brewing.

 

Virender Sehwag and Pattinson clash in the Boxing Day Test match

Indian opener Virender Sehwag was involved in an altercation with Australian pacers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle during the visitors` first innings today. The incident happened in the fourth ball of seventh over bowled by the latest Aussie sensation James Pattinson. 

Virender Sehwag was on 16 when this happened. He played the ball down to fine leg and ran for a single during which Pattinson stood at the middle on his follow through with his elbow stretched , though unintentionally, which Sehwag evaded. 

Sehwag had a few harsh words for Pattinson after he completed the run and he was also seen pointing his bat towards Pattinson. Pattinson was not to be held back as he retorted agressively too. Peter Siddle who was fielding nearby too joined the banter to support Pattinson. 
Finally, umpire Marais Erasmus calmed the proceedings speaking to Sehwag and things were back to normal. 

After a few overs, Sehwag while taking a second run clashed with Peter Siddle who was on his follow through after the delivery. Sehwag apologized immediately but Siddle didn't even look or respond to that :)
 
Sad to see that Sachin Tendulkar missed out on his 100th century though.. just a matter of time... 
Things are heating up in the Boxing day test match.. lets see what happens in the remaining days.

Virender Sehwag's ODI double century in pictures...

Virender Sehwag Breaks Sachin's Record of 200 Runs. This has been the headlines all over the web and newpapers earlier this month....

 

Virender Sehwag scores a world record 219 runs in an ODI against West Indies in Indore on Dec 8th 2011

Virender Sehwag created history scoring a double century in the fourth one day international cricket match against West Indies in Indore on December 8, 2011.

Sehwag hit 219 runs in  149 balls and the carnage was laced with 25 fours and 7 sixes.  Sehwag's 219 is currently the highest total by an individual in the One Day International Cricket.  He got past Tendulkar's record with a four through point off Andre Russel.

Sehwag became only the second batsman in history to score a double century in a one-day international following Sachin Tendulkar, who made 200 against South Africa in Gwailor last year.  Tendulkar's 200 off 147 balls (25x4, 3x6) came against South Africa at Gwalior in February 2010. He is the first cricketer to score a double century in ODIs.

More pictures of Virender Sehwag breaking Sachin's record on his way to set the highest score in an ODI match

 

Sehwag shared a wonderful partnership with Gautam Gambhir during his double ton

 

Sehwag smashed six sixers in his double century

 

Virender Sehwag smashes his way to a double century to break Sachin Tendulkar's highest ODI run of 200

 

Virender Sehwag exults after reaching the magic figure of 200 against West Indies

 

Sehwag acknowledges the crowd appreciating him after reaching 200 runs to become the second cricketer after Sachin to reach the landmark

 

Gambhir and Sehwag during Sehwag's amazing double century

 

Sehwag smashing one out of the park during his outstanding double century in the ODI against West Indies in Indore

 

Sehwag acknowledging after reaching his century which became double very quickly....

 

Virender Sehwag thanking almighty after his amazing double ton 

(pics courtesy - various cricketing sites)

"I was playing my shots throughout the innings,” Sehwag said. “I thought [about] it [the double-century] when I was batting in the batting Powerplay and thought if I just bat this Powerplay, maybe I'll cross that 200-mark. When Sammy dropped the catch [Sehwag was on 170 at the time], I thought God was with me and was telling me you just bat till the 45th or 46th over and get your 200.”

I was glad to catch this match live in TV...  Hope to see many such innings from Sachin, Sehwag and many other talented cricketers for that matter.. good for cricket ain't it?

Wishing Sehwag for his amazing double century and breaking Sachin's record!

R Ashwin to receive Dilip Sardesai Award from BCCI

Rewarding Ravichandran Ashwin for his stupendous show in the just-concluded Test series against the West Indies, the BCCI decided to bestow the Dilip Sardesai award on the off-spinner.

The 25-year-old, who was the Man-of-the-series in the three-Test series with 22 wickets, will be presented the trophy at the BCCI Annual Awards Ceremony in Chennai on December 10.

 

Ravichandran Ashwin - Man of the series in the recent India vs West Indies test series

"R Ashwin will receive the Dilip Sardesai Award for being India's best cricketer in the 2011-12 Test series against the West Indies," a BCCI release said.

The award comprises a trophy and a cheque for 5 lakh rupees.

Well done Ashwin!

Yuvraj Singh - I am absolutely fine, will be back soon....

Flamboyant Indian batting allrounder and World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh is currently recuperating from a "non-malignant tumour" in his left lung.

 

Get well soon Yuvi!!!

The 29-year-old Indian left-handed batsman withdrew from the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies after revealing that he is being treated for a tumour in his left lung.  His mother Shabnam Singh made the revelation in a formal statement on Saturday.

 

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh with his mother Shabnam Singh who revealed that Yuvi was recuperating from a non-malignant tumour" in his left lung

According to a statement released by his mother, Shabnam Singh, Yuvi had been troubled by bouts of coughing and vomitting during the 2011 World Cup but had ignored the problem during the tournament, "assuming it was due to stress."

When the problem persisted after the World Cup, Yuvraj sought medical advice and tests revealed "a golf-ball sized" growth on his left lung, the statement said. Initial reports had suggested that Yuvraj "had what in medical terms is called an abnormal tumor called lymphoma. The danger was, we were told, that it could be malignant."

Yuvraj tweeted that he would be returning sooner rather than later.

 

"Overwhelmed with ur love n support. I am absolutely fine, just need to get match fitness and training will be back soon,"  Yuvi tweeted.

Yuvraj's mother also said that his entire focus now is to re-gain his full fitness. He is already preparing himself to play the one-day series in Australia. He doesn't want to rush things, he wants to be hundred percent fit before resuming his cricket for India.

We are all glad that this was not a serious issue... Lets wish Yuvraj Singh a speedy recovery 

Here are some more pictures of this handsome cricketer Yuvraj Singh...

 

Yuvraj Singh raises his bat to acknowledge the crowd of his accomplishment in his trademark smug style

 

Ever cheerful and always playful Yuvraj Singh is seen playing here with his ICC award

 

Yuvraj Singh endorses Reebok and is here seen with F1 racer Lewis Hamilton who also supports Reebok

 

Yuvraj Singh modeling - make for a perfect Yuvi wallpaper picture

 

Yuvraj Singh models for Reebok shoes

 

Yuvraj Singh also endorses Revital

 

Handsome Yuvi modeling for a ramp walk

 

 Yuvraj Singh's trademark shot for six

 

Yuvraj Singh acknowledges his landmark in his style

Wishing Yuvraj Singh a speedy recovery! And am sure he'll come back to play more winning knocks for India..... 

Greatest All Time Test Eleven - Best in Tests :)

Four Indian cricketers, including batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, were named in the Greatest All Time Test XI chosen in an online poll.

 

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag - Two current cricketers in the World's best Test eleven team

The other two Indian cricketers were the stylish opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar and explosive opener for company -  Virender Sehwag. They beat competition from the likes of Geoffrey Boycott, Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton, Hanif Mohammad and Herbert Sutcliffe.

 

Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev - the other two legendary Indian cricket players who are selected in the Test best XI by public in an online poll

Four Australians, two West Indians and one Pakistani also made it to Peoples' Dream XI as more than a quarter of million people voted on ICC's official website as part of the build-up to the England-India Test match at Lord's to celebrate the 2000th cricket Test. 

Tendulkar occupied the number four batting spot, one slot down Australian legend Don Bradman and one above West Indian Brian Lara, who was chosen at number five. The trio beat the likes of Greg Chappell, Wally Hammond, George Headley, Javed Miandad, Graeme Pollock, Ricky Ponting and Vivian Richards.

Kapil was chosen as the lone all-rounder ahead of the likes of Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Gary Sobers and Frank Worrell.

Australian Adam Gilchrist won the poll for wicket-keeper by beating the likes of Mark Boucher, Jeff Dujon and Rod Marsh while Shane Warne got the nod of online voters ahead of the likes of India's Bishan Singh Bedi and Anil Kumble and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan.

Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose and Glenn McGrath were named in the three fast bowlers' slots. The likes of Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh missed out.  


ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said the enthusiasm shown by the fans by taking part in the online poll in huge numbers showed Test cricket's popularity.

"The huge interest generated during the past month was amazing as media and supporters worldwide speculated and then selected the fan's Greatest Test team of all time. It supports our view of the everlasting popularity of Test match cricket," he said.

"It would have been quite special to see this team take the field of play given the array of batting and bowling talent contained within the playing eleven.

"Selecting from such greats is no easy job, and not surprisingly, the selection mainly reflects modern players seen by present day supporters. There are many greats from the past who would have easily merited selection in this team, but it is nevertheless interesting to see the fans view on their greatest eleven of all time," he said. 

Greatest All Time XI:  

Openers: Virender Sehwag and  Sunil Gavaskar

Middle order batsmen: Donald Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara

Wicket keeper: Adam Gilchrist (wk)

All rounder: Kapil Dev 

Spinner: Shane Warne

Fast Bowlers:  Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath 


Some of the honorable misses were the great Sir Gary Sobers, Muttiah Muralitharan, Viv Richards, Dennis Lillee and Malcolm Marshall.  A bit harsh but am happy to see the 4 great Indian players in the team :)