IPL2018 : Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals want Ricky Ponting as coach

Ricky Ponting had successfully coached Mumbai Indians (MI) for two editions until 2015. He may return to IPL once again, Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is rumoured to make his comeback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 season as coach. After leading the Mumbai Indians to glory during the 2015 edition, the Aussie legend is now being linked with franchisees Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals. The three-time World Cup-winner was instrumental in not only shaping the 2015-16 Mumbai Indians squad but also for unearthing and nurturing talents like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya who are now regulars in the Indian cricket team. He also played an important part in supporting and marshalling players like Jos Buttler and Krunal Pandya to get the best out of them. "Ponting is most likely to be signed up by the Daredevils as their next coach. However, apart from the Daredevils, he's also being wooed by the Rajasthan Royals (who'll return to the IPL after a two-year ban due to the spot-fixing scandal)," a source close to the developments told TOI on Thursday. Ricky Ponting, popularly known in his team as Punter, made his debut in 1995, he took over as the Australian ODI captain in 2002 and has been a part of three successful World Cup campaigns which also included a 34 match winning streak, which proves his success as captain. Ponting The right-handed batsmen also became the first ever player to score twin centuries in his 100th Test when he smashed the South African attack with fantastic knocks of 149 and 104 not out. He was also named the Man of the Match and he ended up being the Man of the Series as well. In 2008, Ponting also holds the record of being the third Australian to reach 10000 Test runs.

Adam Gilchrist reveals the sharpest bowling spell he has ever kept to

Adam Gilchrist ranks Shaun Tait spell against Kiwis at WACA as the fastest spell he has kept to

Legendary Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, who is most commonly considered as the best wicket-keeper in cricket history, has singled out an exhilarating spell from Shaun Tait as the fastest he has ever witnessed from behind the stumps. The match between Australia and New Zealand took place back in 2007 when Twenty-20 cricket was just beginning to find its feet in International Cricket. The match also marked the T20I debut of the speedster renowned to clock 160 kmph (100 miles) at ease. Shaun Tait had undergone surgery on his troublesome right elbow only months prior before that match, which had ruled him out of the inaugural World T20 earlier that year. "Shaun Tait bowling at the WACA down-breeze. Evening.T20. Knowing he's only got four overs max to bowl. That was probably the fastest spell of bowling that I've kept to," as media reports suggest. "Keeping to Tait that day reminded me of the joy of keeping. Standing so far back and just the fun. Wondering what's coming, where it's going. Diving around and having a laugh while you're doing it," Gilchrist added. Shaun Tait, who was outraged by the suggestion, described the talk over his bowling action "a disgrace" and decided to undergo International Cricket Council (ICC) test. While he returned to Australia's Test team in January that summer, he sidelined himself for rest of the season shortly after, citing emotional and physical exhaustion.

DAVID MILLER SMASHES FASTEST EVER T20I HUNDRED

South Africa middle-order batsman David Miller smashed the record for the fastest century in Twenty20 International cricket as South Africa thumped Bangladesh by 83 runs yesterday for a clean sweep of the two-match series. Miller hammered the fastest century in T20 internationals - he reached 100 off 35 balls to smash the record by 10 balls - to propel South Africa to 224-4 batting first. Five of those sixes came in one over off Bangladesh seamer Mohammad Saifuddin as Miller beat the previous quickest mark to a century of 45 balls by compatriot Richard Levi against New Zealand in 2012. He had only scored 18 runs off 14 balls, then came an assault which yielded 82 runs off 21 balls to get to his century. “Once I hit one or two I decided to keep going,” he said. He just missed out on becoming only the third batsman to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket. The only players to hit six sixes in an over in an international are South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs and India's Yuvraj Singh. “It’s a really special feeling,” Miller told SuperSport. “I tried to watch the ball and back myself. I was scratchy to be honest in the beginning and towards the back end it turned out to be sweet.” Miller was only the fourth South African to hit a century in 100 T20 internationals. South Africa whitewashed the Test, ODI and T20I series against Bangladesh.

Virat Kohli surpasses Lionel Messi in brand value

Virat Kohli Ranked Above Lionel Messi In Forbes’ Top 10 Valuable Brands Among Athletes

Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli, has been ranked above the Argentinean and Barcelona football legend Lionel Messi as one of the most valuable brands among sports athletes by Forbes. The calculations revealed Kohli’s brand value at $14.5 million, a million dollars more than Messi, and $22.7m short of Federer. Kohli, however, is neither the first Indian nor the first cricketer in the top 10 of the Forbes list. His predecessor MS Dhoni was the fifth-most valuable sports brand among athletes in 2014, with his brand value calculated at $20m, a million lower than it had been in 2013. At the top of the list though is tennis maestro Roger Federer ($37.2m), whose brand value has gone up by 3.3%, thanks to a late career renaissance that has seen him win two grand slams in 2017. At number two is another famous name in LeBron James, whose value has gone down by 1.8% to $33.4m, probably down to his Cleveland Cavaliers losing to Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The IPL, however, failed to make it to the 10 biggest brands among sport and sport-entertainment events. Led by Super Bowl, the list has the two Olympics and the football World Cup featuring at No. 2 and 3.

Top ten most valuable athletes:

1. Roger Federer $37.2m

2. LeBron James $33.4m

3. Usain Bolt $27m

4. Cristiano Ronaldo $21.5m

5. Phil Mickelson $19.6m

6. Tiger Woods $16.6m

7. Virat Kohli $14.5m

8. Rory McIlroy $13.6m

9. Lionel Messi $13.5m

10. Stephen Curry $13.4m

How Steve Smith became captain at bar with Brad Haddin and Mark Taylor

Steve Smith met with two greats of Australian cricket at a bar in Adelaide, A short time later, Smith was Test captain.

Australian skipper Steve Smith in his biography ‘The Journey’ has revealed how a candid discussion with Brad Haddin and Cricket Australia (CA) board member Mark Taylor at a pub led to him becoming Australia’s captain, replacing Michael Clarke. Smith started captaining the side from 2014 after Michael Clarke got injured. The Aussie skipper has revealed that the captaincy came to him in the most unexpected manner, in a bar. It was when Mark Taylor, member of Cricket Australia, Brad Haddin and Smith went out for a drink after the Adelaide Oval Test, and the suggestion was made by Brad Haddin. Smith became Australia’s youngest Test captain since Kim Hughes, in 2014, when he led the side for three games after Michael Clarke’s back injury. Formally, his promotion came after Cricket Australia’s board ratified the recommendation from chairman of selectors Rod Marsh that Smith be given the responsibility ahead of vice-captain Brad Haddin.

Here is how the discussion may have started,

“‘Don’t you want to do it then?’ he (Taylor) said to Brad with a smile, perhaps thinking he was joking,” Smith wrote as per cricket.com.au. “‘Are you serious?’ said Mark, and then he turned to me and said: ‘are you ready?’.

“I had absolutely no doubts that I was and said so, and with that Mark said, ‘I’ll go and make some calls then’.”

Steve Smith added, “I got a call from Rod Marsh the next morning, saying ‘we’ve endorsed you as captain, we’re still waiting on all the board to approve it and stuff but dare say it’ll go through. So congratulations you’re going to be the 45th Test captain’. That was quite amazing to hear those kind of things. Growing up as kid you just want to play cricket for Australia and have that dream, but to captain the side was quite amazing.”

The next week, Smith received his captain's blazer from Mark Taylor and led Australia to victory over India at the Gabba, while also making hundreds in his first three Tests in charge. Smith revisits several key moments in his Test career in the book, both good and bad, while he details four big goals on his cricket bucket list. Smith also expresses his desire to win both the Ashes and one-day World Cup in 2019, with England hosting both major events.

MS Dhoni close to Chennai Super Kings return

MS Dhoni Can Return to Chennai Super Kings if IPL GC's Proposal is Approved

MS Dhoni close to Chennai Super Kings return

Set to make a comeback next season, tainted teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals might be allowed to retain players who played for Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions in the last two years, going by a proposal floated by the IPL Governing Council. This could mean that the much-anticipated return of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the Chennai Super Kings can be on the cards. "We are going to propose minimum three retentions - one Indian and two foreigners. The players who played for Pune and Gujarat in last two years can be retained by Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. We will place it in front of owners during a workshop next month," an IPL GC official told PTI after the meeting. When IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla was contacted, he said that total retentions including Right To Match (RTM) could be anything between three to five, depending upon what majority of the franchises agree. It has also been reported that the franchises had requested the board to increase the salary purse to Rs. 75 Crore. “Most of the franchises want the salary purse to Rs 75 crore. I guess it would be done,” the official confirmed. The proposal if accepted will mean that Dhoni, who played for Pune Supergiant in the last two editions, could be automatically retained by CSK. Ditto for Suresh Raina or Ravindra Jadeja, who played for Gujarat Lions in the last two seasons.

BCCI announce squad for first two test matches against Sri Lanka; Murali Vijay makes a comeback

Axar Patel, Abhinav Mukund out, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja in

After thrashing Sri Lanka on their home turf and clean sweeping them in all three formats, Team india ready to welcome the Islanders for a three-match Test, ODI and T20I series. There were reports of Indian captain Virat Kohli likely to be rested but selectors named have named him in the squad. Middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane will be his deputy. The Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja been recalled in the 16-member national squad for the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, beginning November 16 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Ashwin and Jadeja have been named in the Test squad after being overlooked, as per the BCCI’s rotation policy, for three consecutive limited overs series against Sri Lanka, Australia and now New Zealand. Murali Vijay has been recalled to India's squad for the first two Test matches against Sri Lanka, having recovered from the wrist injury that sent him home from Sri Lanka two months ago. He is the only change to India's previous Test squad, with his Tamil Nadu captain and opening partner Abhinav Mukund making way. Rohit Sharma, India's limited-overs vice captain, retains his place in the Test squad despite not being part of the playing eleven for any of the Tests during the Sri Lanka tour. The other Sharma, Ishant, played his last Test during the 2016 Border-Gavaskar series. His performance remained disappointing as the veteran pacer picked up only 3 wickets playing three Tests in the series. Apart from Ishant, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been picked along with Hardik Pandya. Below is the squad for the first two Tests. The national selection committee also announced the 13-member Board XI Presidential team who will play two-day practice match against Sri Lanka team. Naman Ojha has been handed the responsibility of leading the side as well as wicket keeping. The opening Test will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, followed by the second Test from November 24-28 at the VCA stadium in Nagpur. The final Test will be played at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi from December 2-6 followed by three ODIs and three T20Is.

India squad for the first two Test matches against Sri Lanka:

Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav.

Board President's XI

Naman Ojha (captain and wk), Jiwanjot Singh, Sanju Samson, B Sandeep, Tanmay Aggarwal, Abhishek Gupta, Rohan Prem, Aakash Bhandhari, Jagat Saxena, CV Milind, Avesh Khan, Sandeep warrier , Ravi Kiran.