RP Singh included in India's World Twenty20 squad

Fast bowler RP Singh has been included in India's 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 in England in June. Reserve wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and fast bowler Munaf Patel have been axed from the 16-member squad that played two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand in February.

There were no surprises in the squad which was more or less was finalised after the national selectors held a preliminary meeting in Cape Town on April 24, in the presence of N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary.

RP has been one of the IPL's most successful bowlers, taking 12 wickets in six games for the Deccan Chargers at an average of 11.33 and economy rate of 6.27 runs per over.

The selectors did not pick Mumbai Indians allrounder Abhishek Nayar who has also been impressive during the IPL. Nayar, who bowls medium pace and is a powerful hitter in the middle-order, has scored 102 runs in six innings this season at a strike-rate of 143. He has also taken four wickets and conceded only 5.90 runs per over. Karthik has also been in good form for Delhi Daredevils but couldn't find a spot as the selectors decided a reserve wicketkeeper was not necessary for the two-week tournament in England.

Squad: MS Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan.

IPL is blessing in disguise before T20 WC: Gambhir

The Indian Premier League T20 tournament in South Africa will provide India the perfect platform to prepare for their title defence in the World Twenty20 Championships in England in June, feels charismatic opener Gautam Gambhir.

Gambhir said getting the opportunity to play some quality Twenty20 cricket during the IPL would definitely act in favour of the defending champions ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup.

"It`s a blessing in disguise for us to play IPL in South Africa before the Twenty20 World Cup. We hardly get to play Twenty20 matches. But to get the chance to play 14 to 15 games in IPL against world class players will definitely help us in our preparations for defending the crown," he said.
Gambhir, who has been in dream form in the recent past and was adjudged player of the tournament during India’s historic New Zealand tour, feels any player`s success in the international arena depends on his security in the team.

Meanwhile, Gambhir`s Delhi Daredevils teammate and opening partner Virender Sehwag feels the bouncy South African pitches will not only assist fast bowlers but batsmen too can derive benefits from them.

"Pacers will undoubtedly have an edge in South Africa because of pace and bounce but that`s good for batters too as they can play their shots on such conditions," Sehwag told reporters last night during a send-off event of the Delhi Daredevils team.

The swashbuckling opener, however, rued the opportunity of missing home crowd during the second edition of the IPL in South Africa, which was shifted out of the country this year as it clashes with the general elections.

"We will miss Delhi crowd in South Africa but hopefully, there will be sufficient support for us in South Africa."

Asked about the Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan`s controversial ‘multiple captaincy’ theory, Sehwag, who is also the vice-captain of the Indian team, said "No comments."

Interestingly, his team-mate and leg-spinner Amit Mishra ridiculed the concept and said a team should have one skipper for a series.

"There should be one captain for a whole series and I`m happy that we have captain in Viru (Sehwag)," he said.

Delhi Dare Devils

Delhi (Dare Devils):(Franchise:GM Rao)
Virender Sehwag(Captain)
Gautam Gambhir
Dinesh Kartik
Manoj Tiwari
Daniel Vettori
AB Devilliars
Glen Mcgrath
Farvez Mehroof
TilakRatne Dilshan
Brett Greeves
Amit Mishra
Y .Mahesh
Pardeep Sangwan
Mithun Manhas
Rajat Bhatia
Ashish Nehra
Paul Collingwood
Owais Shah
David Warner
Andrew Mcdonald
Avishkar Madhav Salvi
Tejasvi Yadav
Umesh Yadav
Yogesh Nagar
Dirk Nane

Gambhir 'The Best ' after Gavaskar: Viru

Virender Sehwag has praised his Delhi Daredevils teammate and Team India's opening batsman Gautam Gambhir saying he is India's best ever opening batsman after Sunil Gavaskar.

Talking to the Hindu newspaper after arriving from New Zealand, Sehwag said "Gambhir is the only opener I have known who is at ease in any form of the game. Gavaskar was a great opener in Tests and one-dayers and Gambhir has adapted wonderfully to the T20 format too. He is just too good."

"He was such a delight. His form was awesome. Just see how he kept adapting. I can't think of anyone better than Gambhir in terms of technique, temperament and style. To me, he is the best opener India has had since Gavaskar."

Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, emerged as the leading run getter in the series against New Zealand and was adjudged the Man of the Series.

Sehwag shot down suggestions saying that he was the best opener after Gavaskar, instead he praised Gambhir saying that "See, I was a middle-order batsman who had to take over the opener's role for certain reasons. Gambhir is an opener. He has been excelling in all forms of the game. He is the best, not me," emphasised Sehwag.

Sehwag also felt that he would love to bat in the middle order but the team feels that he will be far more destructive as an opener, talking to the Indian Express newspaper he said, "In fact, till date, as an opener I am just doing a job given to me by the team management. Given a choice, I would happily slide down and play in the middle-order because that's where I belong. But right now, I have a job entrusted to me and I love the responsibility, so no regrets at all."

Sehwag also said he and his opening partner Gautam Gambhir motivated themselves by placing bets on who would score faster. "I believe that a sense of competition always helps achieve your best and so we indulge in these little games. I really teased him when I outscored him in the one-day series and he told me he would get back at me. After the Test series, he's teasing me about how many more runs he scored than me."

Gambhir, though, said he didn't believe in comparisons. "But having come from my favourite player it means a lot to me," he told PTI. "Sehwag is such a big player and that he feels so makes me really happy."

He also called his performance in the series "very satisfying". "I always wanted to do well abroad, I am very happy that I could do that." He rated his epic rearguard effort in the second Test in Napier his best Test innings.

It has been a dream run for Gambhir over the past year-and-a-half but he insisted that a lot more had to be achieved. "You can never be stagnant. You have to keep moving. You have to keep working on your game for your progress and move ahead."

Sehwag reflected on the series, "It showed that we are a compact team now. The batsmen and the bowlers complement each other. More than the batsmen, I would give credit to our bowlers, Zaheer and Harbhajan in particular. They were superb."