Sharapova, Venus to star in Hong Kong

HONG KONG: Russia’s Maria Sharapova and American Venus Williams will head the bill of top ten female players at January’s annual Hong Kong invitational, organizers said on Wednesday.

Former US Open champion Sharapova, ranked five in the world, and current Wimbledon champion Williams will star at the renamed JB Group Classic here between January 2-5.

They will be joined by world number four Ana Ivanovic, from Serbia, and world number seven, Anna Chakvetadze, from Russia.

“We are very excited about our line-up of stars – there will be some fantastic names here,” said Ian Wade, President of the Hong Kong Tennis Patrons’ Association.

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and China’s number two player Peng Shuai are also included, with two more players to complete the line-up in the next few weeks, Wade added.

Last year’s final was won by now-retired Belgian Kim Clijsters, who beat Sharapova in the final.

Don’t take Tendulkar lightly: Kaneria

NEW DELHI: Sachin Tendulkar might not evoke terror in the hearts of touring sides like his days of yore, but Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has warned his team not to take him lightly as the genius might just have a few points to prove in the forthcoming series.

“He may be getting on in years but he remains a master batsman and as far as I know, he would really be gritting his teeth to prove a point or two to us and to his critics,” said Kaneria.

Tendulkar faces heat ahead of series because of growing disenchantment of selectors, fans and media alike with Indian seniors, and with the youngsters proving their worth by winning the Twenty20 World Cup. The axing of Rahul Dravid will also put additional pressure on the seniors.

Kaneria, left out of Pakistan’s one-day squad but spearhead of their Test attack, also likes what he has seen of young guns such as Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa.

“Gambhir and Uthappa are two exciting young Indian batsmen. They look extremely positive and aggressive and are good understudy of Yuvraj Singh who now appears to have come of age,” stated Kaneria.

Kaneria also suspects that India would have slow pitches prepared to draw the teeth out of Pakistan’s fangled pace attack.

“That has been their strength and for sometime now, they are opting for two-spinner theory. If it was Harbhajan-Murali Kartik against Australia; it was Ramesh Powar-Piyush Chawla duo who worked well for them in England.”

Malik picks Yuvraj as the danger man

NEW DELHI: In what promises to be another high-profile series, Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik brings to the media interaction a laidback calm — there is no bluster and seldom does he say anything that does not come out in measured tones.

If that is any indication of the kind of cricket his side intends to play, then India need be wary. The more expressive coach Geoff Lawson made it plain that the T20 final loss — which Malik termed as ‘history’ — still rankles the Pak team. “We have got a few scores to settle,” the Aussie asserted.

Pakistan are in the Capital for the fourth bilateral series between the two nations in as many years. They kick off with a warm-up game against the Delhi Ranji squad on Friday and then play five ODIs and three Tests through November. “It is always exciting to play against India. We love playing here and always look forward to coming to India,” said Malik. “There is no tension in coming to India. We speak urdu and so do you.”

Asked to pick out the most dangerous Indian batsman, Malik had no hesitation in naming Yuvraj Singh: “He is in good form at the moment and is definitely the danger man.” That the loss of Inzamam-ul-Haq has left a void in their middle order as of now was apparent in Malik’s admission that the former captains’s place “is yet to be filled up”. He once again asserted that Rahul Dravid “is a very good player and it is good for us that he is not playing”.

You have to keep knocking the door: Kaarthick

NEW DELHI: With even a senior batsman like Rahul Dravid being punished by selectors for loss of form, a comparatively rookie Dinesh Kaarthick seems to have taken his omission from the Indian team for the first two cricket one-dayers against Pakistan in his stride.

But Kaarthick is determined to stage a comeback in the team sooner than later; his mantra being ‘keep knocking at the door’.

The 22-year-old Tamil Nadu cricketer struggled in his last 10 one-dayers, averaging 19.33 with a highest score of 44 not out, which cost him his place in the side. But he answered the selectors with a match-winning unbeaten 116 in the Challenger Trophy final just a day after the team was announced.

“You have to knock and knock on the door. Being picked or dropped is part and parcel of the game,” Kaarthick said.

Kaarthick, who had replaced Dravid for the final ODI against Australia in Mumbai but ended up with a duck, was not insecure about his position in the team.

“I don’t think about these things because it is the selectors’ job. My job is to play and I know I still have room for improvement. There are many areas I have to work on and I am working on them,” he said when asked if he was expecting a recall for the last three ODIs against Pakistan.

Dravid should stick to number 3 slot, says Chopra

GURGAON: Former off-spinner Nikhil Chopra feels Rahul Dravid, who was unceremoniously dropped recently, should stick to number three slot to cement his place in the Indian cricket team.

“He has to play at number three, if he wants to hold permanent place in the team,” Chopra said on Thursday on the sidelines of a golf programme at Unitech Karmal Lakelands Golf Course.

He said Dravid playing at one-down would also strengthen the team’s batting line-up.

“It would strengthen Indian batting order upto number five and six,” he added.

Chopra also said there should be some hidden reason behind former captain’s exclusion from the team for the upcoming first two one-dayers against Pakistan.

“I don’t think an experienced player like Rahul can be sacked only on the basis of his (non) performance in a couple of matches. There must be some reason which is beyond obvious,” he said.

Dravid was dropped from the team following a string of poor scored in last few ODIs.

Chopra, however, said the team was bolstered by the return of Virender Sehwag.

“I think the team is doing very well. It has become stronger after come back of (Virender) Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir while Pakistan’s batting is struggling at this time.”

Chopra also walked on ramp with Kapil Dev, the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Indian Cricket League but dismissed suggestion of joining the rebel League.

“Just because Paji (Kapil) plays golf and so do I, we came here together,” he said.

Pakistan want no acrimony in India series

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Pakistan cricket coach Geoff Lawson said on Thursday he hoped the series against rivals India starting next week would be played without the acrimony that marred the home team’s recent one-dayers against Australia.

Pakistan’s team landed in Delhi on Thursday for the fourth bilateral series between the rival countries in the last four years amid tight security.

Skipper Shoaib Malik and Lawson said they were ready for the usual tension and wanted to avenge the Twenty20 World Cup loss.

“I think it is bigger than the Ashes,” Lawson told a news conference, referring to the renowned Test series between England and Australia. “It is a national rivalry and a little more than a cricket game.

“We tied a Twenty20 (league) game and lost in the final,” he said. “We’ve got a few scores to settle.”

The clash follows India’s 4-2 defeat by Australia in their one-day series last month which was marred by verbal clashes between rival players on and off the pitch and racial taunts from the stands aimed at Andrew Symonds.

INCIDENT-FREE CONTEST

Lawson hoped it would be as incident-free as the home series against South Africa which ended on Monday with the visitors clinching the test and one-day series.

“We just played a series against South Africa — very hard, tough, non-compromising cricket,” he said. “But there was not one bad word said between the teams.

“The series was played in a very fine spirit, as cricket should be. I hope this series is played in exactly the same style.

“We’ve got a captain who likes his players to behave properly on the field,” he said. “I’m pretty sure MS Dhoni likes his players to do the same.”

Malik said the teams were evenly matched despite Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif being sidelined with an elbow injury.

Pakistan play a warm-up one-day game on Friday against the Delhi Ranji team. The five-match one-day series starts on Monday and will be followed by three tests.

The teams have toured each other’s country annually since 2004 when India went on a full tour of Pakistan after a 14-year break due to political tensions between the two neighbours.