India woes leave Dhoni feeling the heat

NEW DELHI: Less than a year after being hailed as India's greatest cricket captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni finds his head on the block after another woeful Test series abroad.

The 30-year-old could do no wrong when he led India to World Cup glory at home in April last year, his second big success as skipper after winning the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007.

He now presides over a disintegrating Test team that has lost seven consecutive Tests on foreign soil, four of them by an innings and the rest by margins of 196, 319 and 122 runs.

After 67 Tests and 3,509 runs, some say Dhoni barely merits a place in the team any more.

"The need is to find a new captain from beneath the wreckage. Dhoni is no longer the answer in Test cricket," former Australian skipper Ian Chappell wrote in a newspaper on Tuesday.

"He has failed dismally to rally the troops in two disastrous overseas campaigns and his own form, not just with the gloves but also with the bat, no longer warrants a guaranteed place in the Test side."

Dhoni made 220 runs in four Tests in England last year at an average of 31.40 and has managed just 102 runs in three matches in Australia at 20.40.

India, ranked the world's top Test side until they were blanked 4-0 in England, will slip to fourth place if they lose the fourth and final Test against Australia in Adelaide next week in another series whitewash.

Current form suggests they will lose, and lose heavily.

Dhoni won't be playing, having been banned by the International Cricket Council for one match for slow over-rates during the third Test in Perth, his second offence in the last 12 months.

Ex-captains Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly have gone on record to say they feel Dhoni needs a quick turnaround to secure his place as Test skipper, while stressing his position at the helm in one-day cricket is not in doubt.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar supports Dhoni's retention as Test captain -- but only because there is no suitable replacement.

"The team won't miss him as a batsman," Gavaskar said, reacting to Dhoni's ban from the Adelaide Test. "But as a leader he will be missed despite the fact that his record is not good.

"At the moment, I can't think of anyone who is good enough to take over from Dhoni," Gavaskar said.

Dhoni enjoyed a dream run as captain before the current crisis came along.

He was named skipper in 2007 when senior players such as then-captain Rahul Dravid, Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar declined to play in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Dhoni marshalled his inexperienced side to beat great rivals Pakistan in the final in Johannesburg, sparking a Twenty20 revolution in India that led to the creation of the lucrative Indian Premier League a year later.

He was unbeaten in his first 11 Tests as captain, winning eight with three draws. He has now led India in 37 Tests with a creditable record of 17 wins, 10 losses and as many draws.

Unfortunately for him, and India, seven of the 10 defeats have come in succession in England and Australia as the once-mighty batting line-up faltered repeatedly.

Dhoni, true to character, said after defeat in Perth: "I need to blame myself as I am the leader of this side. Of course, I am the main culprit."

His leadership -- and his batting skills -- will again be put on the line when he leads the World Cup champions in a one-day tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka from February 5.

He knows more defeats over the next 12 months, and a poor run with the bat, could not only cost him the captaincy, but also his Test career.

He is already the most over-worked player in the country, leading India in all three formats of the game and captaining the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and Champions League.

Dhoni, who will be 34 by the time the next World Cup is played in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, has said he will rethink his future in the game by the end of next year.

SLC keen to hold IPL games to raise funds

COLOMBO: Cash-starved Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has approached the BCCI, showing their interest to hold some Indian Premier League matches in the island country to raise some additional revenue.

SLC's revenue got a beating when the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) was postponed last year after the BCCI refused to release Indian cricketers for the tournament.

SLC also has been hit hard because of the construction of new stadiums in Pallekele and Hambantota and the renovation of the Premadasa Stadium for last year's World Cup.

"I feel it (a T20 league) is a needed thing. But I don't think it is the right time with India having the IPL," the newly-appointed SLC president Upali Dharmadasa told Espncricinfo.

"With most of our players going and playing there and the countries being so close, I would request the Indian board, and we have already started talking, why not play a couple of (IPL) matches in Sri Lanka?"

Pointing out that logistical issue won't be a problem in hosting IPL matches in Sri Lanka, Dharmadasa said, "Make it a venture.

"On the whole, they (the BCCI) will help Sri Lanka as a tourist attraction and see that Sri Lanka Cricket comes up."

India were supposed to play a full tour -- three Tests, five ODIs and a T20 game -- in Sri Lanka, but severe shortage of funds have forced the SLC to rejig the proposed series.

India's tour of Sri Lanka later this year will now comprise three ODIs and as many T20 games and no Test matches.

"I am talking to the TV rights owners, Ten Sports. I am hopeful of raising almost $ 12.5 million," Dharmadasa said.

He said that he was trying to arrange a fourth ODI. "From a revenue point of view, I would love India to tour Sri Lanka three times a year.

"Unfortunately, it is not possible. But whenever possible (we would like them to tour)," Dharmadasa said.

The SLPL, scheduled to be held in July last year, had been postponed to August this year because of numerous problems.

Dravid named new Rajasthan Royals captain

JAIPUR: Veteran Indian batsman Rahul Dravid was on Saturday named captain of the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals, filling up a post left vacant by retired Australian spin legend Shane Warne earlier this year.

The 38-year-old Dravid was bought by the Royals for $500,000 in the players' auction this year after playing three seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Dravid, who is being bestowed with the 'Polly Umrigar Award for India's best cricketer of 2010-11' by the BCCI, has had a great year in which he has scored 1,258 runs in 15 Tests, including six centuries.

"I am honoured to lead the Rajasthan Royals. I hope to live up to the confidence shown in me by the franchise and give our fans an exciting season of cricket. I look forward to the valuable inputs from my team mates who are already leading their national sides and clubs," Dravid said after the announcement.

"My aim will be to get the best out of a very talented squad and invoke the same team spirit that won the franchise the first IPL and has been a hallmark of the Rajasthan Royals ever since. I am confident that by doing so we will have a great chance of doing well in the tournament," he added.

Dravid was congratulated by outgoing captain Shane Warne on his appointment.

"I would like to congratulate Rahul Dravid on his appointment as the captain of the Royals. He is not only one of the world's best batsmen, but a leader par excellence.

"The Royals Squad is a bunch of extremely energetic and talented players who know their roles perfectly well and I am sure they will thrive under Dravid's inspiring leadership. I will be keenly following the Royals and Dravid and would like to wish them the best," he said.

Rajasthan Royals co-owner, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, hoped that Dravid's appointment would give a fillip to the side which lifted the IPL trophy in its inaugural season in 2008.

"...gotta make another huge announcement, The New Captain fr Rajasthan Royals..Proud 2 have RAHUL DRAVID head the Team this season. Yipee," Shetty had tweeted.

"So its Official now! The "WALL" it is;)Congratulations Rahul, am sure u will make us all very proud at RR..Go Royals," she added.

The fifth edition of the Twenty20 league will be played from April 4 to May 27 next year.

Rajasthan were without a captain after Warne announced his retirement from the IPL in May this year.

The 42-year-old Warne, who coached and captained Royals since the first edition in 2008, is currently playing in the Australian Big Bash Twenty20 Tournament for the Melbourne team.

Dravid was reasonably successful in his debut season for the Royals this year, scoring 343 runs at an average of 31 in 12 matches.

Will seek Warne's advice, says new Rajasthan Royals skipper Dravid

JAIPUR: The captain's armband wasn't quite right. In fact, it was upside down! Rahul Dravid, though, didn't seem to have noticed. Named captain of the Rajasthan Royals for IPL 5 at a formal announcement on Saturday, Dravid was his usual intense self.

"It's a great responsibility. Shane Warne has left behind a great team and I'm looking forward to carrying on from there. It was an excellent experience playing under Warnie and I'll be seeking his advice if required. He is just a phone call away."

Australian legend Warne is yet to decide whether he wants to have any role with Rajasthan Royals, though he did send a congratulatory message to Dravid.

"I would like to congratulate him on his appointment as the captain of the Royals. He is not only one of the world's best batsmen, but a leader par excellence. The Royals squad is a bunch of extremely energetic and talented players who know their role perfectly well. I'm sure they will thrive under Dravid's inspiring leadership."

With Warne no longer there, the Royals will also need a coach, since the leg-spinner was doing double duty as coach and captain. "We haven't really decided on that," CEO Raghu Iyer said.

Warne's assistants in the setup will have a greater role to play. The Royals management also expect Dravid to play a bigger role as a mentor to the younger players. Iyer told TOI the franchise would be interested in buying Kochi Tuskers Kerala players if they are put up for auction.

Dravid had been picked up by Rajasthan Royals during last year's auctions for a relatively low amount. He had been fairly successful in IPL 4. Being the senior-most and the most experienced player in the squad, Dravid was an obvious choice in a squad which has national-side skippers like Ross Taylor and Johan Botha.

Dravid has been in exceptional form in the past few months, even making an ODI comeback against England before retiring from the format. He was one of the brighter spots in an otherwise dismal show in England. With another overseas tour beckoning India, Dravid hopes to make amends in Australia. "We are going to Australia with some cricket behind us."

Parthiv gets notice to pay service tax for IPL earnings

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat cricketers Parthiv Patel and Siddharth Trivedi have been issued showcause notices by the service central excise department asking them to pay service tax on their earnings from the last three seasons of the Indian Premier League

Patel has been asked to pay Rs 42.84 lakh and Trivedi Rs 6.59 lakh as tax calculated on the money they received from their respective IPL franchises. Officials said the players were asked to furnish details on income from sponsorships and earnings from match fees.

"Since the break-up of income streams was not forthcoming, the tax demand was raised," said an official.

The notices say that the players offered 'business support services' to their franchises. While Patel was picked by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 1.3 crore per season, Trivedi played for Rajasthan Royals for Rs 20 lakh per season.

Sources said Trivedi also received Rs 12 lakh as performance bonus for 2008-09, but that was included to calculate tax liability.

Earlier, the department had sent such notices to four players of Kings XI Punjab, including Yuvraj Singh. Patel's chartered accountant Hemal Desai said the 'business support service' category under which tax demand had been raised did not fit cricketing events.

Mumbai Indians buy Karthik from Kings XI Punjab, give Sathish

CHENNAI: Former India 'keeper and Tamil Nadu mainstay Dinesh Karthik has joined the Mumbai Indians from Kings XI Punjab in the first significant transfer before IPL 5. 

He was bought by Mumbai for an undisclosed sum but according to sources, "it was easily the highest sum paid to buy a domestic player from another team in the history of the IPL". MI swapped former TN all-rounder Rajagopal Sathish with Karthik. 

"It's a big opportunity for me and I'm looking forward to have a great time with the Mumbai Indians in the forthcoming season," Karthik told TOI on Thursday. 

Though Karthik didn't want to go into the financial details of the deal, it was learnt that the right-hander was offered somewhere between Rs 11-13 crore. 

"MI are a very good side and I'll be fortunate if I can add value to the team," Karthik added.

Indian advertisers keep faith with struggling cricketers

MUMBAI: The Indian Test side's continued freefall in Australia has infuriated the media and angered fans back home but advertisers and broadcasters are refusing to give up on cricket, given a lack of alternatives and the fickleness of local supporters.

Since the euphoria of a 2011 World Cup victory on home soil in April, nothing has gone right for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team, who lost the number one Test ranking to England after a 4-0 series whitewash on a tour there a few months later.

A similar humiliation looms in Australia, where they have been thoroughly outplayed in the first three matches of a four-Test series but media planners insist cricket remains a hot property.

"Overall, there won't be much of a difference. Cricket as a property is still hot and advertisers will look to get on board," Sanjay Chakraborty of ZenithOptimedia said.

The humiliation in Australia, however, would give more bargaining power to advertisers buying slots for the one-day international tri-series that followed the Tests from February 5, he added.

ESPN-STAR Sports India are broadcasting the series and the company's senior director of corporate development, Rathindra Basu, believes the side only needed one good tournament to win back fans who may have turned their back on cricket.

"All it takes is one big win or one big hundred and you will find that all the negativity will disappear," Basu said.

Cricket drew more than a quarter of the country's total advertising revenue of $2.41 billion last year and it is likely to remain the same this year with big-ticket events like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka lined up.

"Cricket gets Indians together like nothing else. Also, events like the IPL are a mix of entertainment and cricket and they appeal to the youth and female audiences, which is a boon for advertisers," said Rohit Gupta, president of Multi Screen Media, who own telecast rights for the lucrative Twenty20 event.

In India's uni-sport culture, cricket dominates sports advertising revenue and Dhoni is one of the prime beneficiaries, having signed a two-year deal with a talent management company for two trillion rupees ($39.70 million) in 2010.

The previous highest by an Indian cricketer was Sachin Tendulkar's three-year deal with another firm for $35.8 million.

None of them stood to lose in terms of brand value, said television commercial maker Prahlad Kakkar.

"People like Dhoni and Sachin are sought after because they are icons. As of now, I don't see anything affecting their brand value," Kakkar said.

Hero MotoCorp, which has batsman Virender Sehwag and bowler Ishant Sharma as brand ambassadors, is another major sponsor staying loyal to cricket.

"Our commitment to the promotion of the game does not change on the basis of the fluctuating fortunes of the national team," Hero MotoCorp senior vice-president (marketing & sales) Anil Dua said.

"Our commitment is for the long-term promotion of cricket and cricketers in the country," Dua added.