Sports India

Guess what! Our next Man in Blue could be chosen out of a reality cricket show. And the man who will get to decide who that will be is an Australian - Stephen Rogers Waugh.

In exclusive information available only to TIMES NOW, the BCCI will be discussing a proposal to roll out an official cricket reality show when their head honchos get together today for the marketing committee meeting.

The proposal which is listed on the agenda of the marketing committee could see a foreigner like Steve Waugh to sit in judgement to identify and pick our next Sachin Tendulkar.

If the proposal is passed, the show would most likely be aired in November.

The suggestion came from a US-based software company who has signed Waugh for the purpose.

Only a completely match-fit Sachin Tendulkar will be included in the Indian cricket team for the tour of Sri Lanka, said BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah today.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between BCCI and ICC officials here, Shah said: “I think John Gloster (team’s physio) looks satisfied with his (Tendulkar’s) fitness level. The selection in the squad will be decided on the 19th (of July). With his fitness level, if he is fit, then hundred percent I feel Sachin will be in the squad.”

The tri-series in Sri Lanka from August 14 to 29 involves India, South Africa and hosts Sri Lanka.

Shah also said that preparations were on for the forthcoming Champions Trophy.

“We’re getting ready for the Champions Trophy, with small details being worked out. We are having regular meetings of the organising committee and we’re moving forward,” Shah said.

As far as security arrangements for the tourney were concerned, Shah said appropriate measures would be taken to ensure an incident-free event.

“I don’t think anything will happen as you’ve seen Australia has also supported us wholeheartedly and so has every fraternity in cricket has given full support to any cricket tournament going on. I don’t think any special security arrangements are being made. It is a state government policy and also our security plan, which will ensure everything takes place normally,” added Shah.

It is expected that skipper Rahul Dravid will fly to Mumbai for a meeting with the five-member selection committee next week.

Coach Greg Chappell is presently on vacation following the tour of the West Indies.

India’s Yuvraj Singh (110 points) and Australian captain Ricky Ponting (163) are heading the Maruti Suzuki one-day and Test cricket ratings respectively.

In the one-day ratings, the hard-hitting Mahendra Singh Dhoni (101) is a close third, behind West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan (104), while Indian captain Rahul Dravid (145), Man of the Series in four-match Test series in the Caribbean, is placed second.

Vice-captain Virender Sehwag is fifth in the Test rankings, according to a release from ESPN-STAR Sports, which show these ratings.

These are one of the several cricket ratings floating around, though the official one is that of the International Cricket Council.

Among the bowlers, Australian seamer Nathan Bracken (174) leads the one-day charts, followed by Indian left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan (169). Another Indian Ajit Agarkar is at the ninth position with 136 points.

In the Test rankings, Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble (183) is second to Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Murlitharan (195). The other Indian in the top bracket is off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (89), placed at No. 10.

In the team rankings, Australia are the undisputed leaders in both Tests (129 points) and one-dayers (88 points).

Pakistan (98), after victories over Sri Lanka and England, are the second best team in Tests, followed by India (94), who recently won their first series in the Caribbean (1-0) after 35 years.

They are followed by Sri Lanka (88), New Zealand (77), England (71), South Africa (65) and the West Indies (14). Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are yet to open their accounts.

In the ODIs, New Zealand (75) are second while India, despite the 1-4 defeat by the West Indies recently, are at No. 3 with 65.

South Africa (60), Sri Lanka (58), West Indies (49), Pakistan (46), England (32), Bangladesh (15), Zimbabwe (10) and Kenya (3) complete the list.

Sania Mirza will join four top 25 players and a host of other stars in the field for USD 175,000 Cincinnati WTA Open tennis championship beginning Monday.

The Tier III event is also expected to see seven-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in action after a long injury lay-off.

Sania, who slipped to 41st in the latest rankings after the Wimbledon Grand Slam, would face tough competition from the likes of defending champion Patty Schynder, runner-up Akiko Morigami, Russian Daniela Hantuchova, Jelena Jankovic, 2004 French Open champ Anastasia Myskina and upcoming youngster Tatiana Golovin.

Tournament Director Bruce Flory said “Of the final 16 at the Wimbledon last week, four are coming here. Last year there were three top 25 players in the draw and it looks like this year there will be four in the top 25, as well as Serena Williams.”

“The field for this event has gotten consistently stronger… And we`re very excited about this field. It looks like it could be the best year yet.”

Also, Shikha Uberoi and her sister Neha will be vying for a place in the main draw by fighting it out in the qualifying rounds.

While India desperately awaits another Sania Mirza to come up, tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi does a bit of reality check and feels the current crop of players in the women circuit lack what it takes to emulate the Hyderabadi sensation’s success at the international level.

“To be brutally honest, there is no one who can make it to the next level,” the 10-time grandslam winner said on the sidelines of the launch of Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academies’ centre here.

“Be that Isha Lakhani or Bhambari sisters – Ankita and Sanaa – I don’t forsee them making it big at the international level,” Bhupathi added.

The tennis ace, while acknowledging the game’s increasing popularity in the country, said the kids lacked proper coaching facilities and were learning tennis the wrong way.

Bhupathi said the sixth centre of the MBTA will help provide kids the right infrastructure and proper coaching to groom them in future tennis stars.

“It (opening an academy) was always at the back of my mind. The game is growing rapidly in the country but due to the lack of proper coaching, the kids are learning it the wrong way,” Bhupathi said.

“You can say it’s my way of giving back to the country and the game,” he added.

Former Davis Cupper and Asian games gold medallist Gaurav Natekar, who is one of the directors at MBTA also underlined the importance of harnessing young talent across the country.

MBTA was launched with an aim to professionalise tennis coaching and provide world class training to players in India.

As many as 385 kids were being trained at five MBTA centers – two at Mumbai and one each at Kochi, Nagpur and Udaipur.

Indian women’s tennis is a one woman show and the country is far from producing another genuine world beater, says multiple Grand Slam champion Mahesh Bhupathi.

It might not be entirely unknown that Sania Mirza has been a success despite the system and not out of it, but when the forthright Bhupathi speaks, the message has a ring to it.

“To be honest, there is nobody else. The names we talk about, they don’t have what it takes to reach that level,” Bhupathi said when asked if his sports management firm Globosport had plans to support players other than Sania and the Uberoi sisters.

The three-time men’s doubles Grand Slam winner, here for the launch of Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy’s new centre at Palms Town and Country Club in Gurgaon, also did some plainspeaking on the status of men’s Davis Cup team which barely avoided relegation to Group 2 with a win over Pakistan this year.

“It bothers me a lot but it is not my job to bridge the gap. That is for the (All India Tennis) Association to do,” he said.

So, what are the aims of MBTA?

“We offer a structure, which nobody does in India now. There are lot of coaches who have come up but are not teaching the right methods,” Bhupathi said.

“We are trying to build champions. We have programmes from the beginners’ level through the intermediate to the advanced.”

“The aim is not to be no. 1 in the age group, but to build the potential to reach the top level.”

Palms Club is the latest centre of MBTA which also has presence in Bangalore, Mumbai, Cochin, Nagpur and Udaipur.

Besides, potential kids in the age group of 12-15 are handpicked for fully sponsored coaching programme at the MBTA Elite Academy in Bangalore.

The Elite Academy, where Italian Mose Navara and former Davis Cupper Prahlad Srinath are the head coaches, is run by Foundation for Indian Sporting Talent, a trust that is funded by entrepreneurs.

Nandan Nilekani of Infosys had donated about a crore of rupees to FIST.

The MBTA has Gaurav Natekar, another former Davis Cupper and Asian Games gold medallist, as its director. On his career, Bhupathi said it has not been an entirely disappointing season despite struggling to have a permanent partner since parting midway with Wesley Moodie of South Africa.

“It has been fun, playing with different partners. The challenge has been to gel with different partners,” he said.

“It has not been that disappointing, I won a Grand Slam (the Australian Open mixed doubles) at the start of the year,” said the 32-year old.

Bhupathi is said to play with Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in the coming weeks, although his partner for the US Open is yet to be decided.

Former World No 1 Martina Hingis will be the star attraction of the second edition of the Sunfeast Open Tournament beginning here Sep 18.

Doubles specialist and Globosport managing director Mahesh Bhupathi announced her participation at this edition of Sunfeast Open and said, ‘We are extremely delighted to have Martina compete in India.’

‘Winning this year’s Australian Open with her was a fantastic experience. She epitomises a perfect modern tennis player with the capability to play on all courts,’ he said.

‘Her resilience is evident from the way she fought a career-shortening injury and stormed back into the top 20 within the last six months,’ he said.

Martina in a written statement confirmed her participation and said, ‘I have heard a lot about the Indian tradition and the excitement the WTA is creating in the country. I am very excited to come here and play before such a passionate crowd.’

‘Can’t wait for September!!’ she added in her statement.

Hingis became the youngest Wimbledon Champion at the age of 15 years and nine months. Recuperating form a foot injury she returned to the professional circuit six months back and moved quickly to World No 13 spot.

Known for her sharp ground strokes, skill at the net, outstanding shot selection and an uncanny sense of anticipation, Martina has won 40 singles and 36 doubles titles by the age of 22 years.

Asked if Martina would also play the doubles, Bhupathi said, ‘As of now she is committed to play the singles. Lets see what happens next.’

He also confirmed the participation of Sania Mirza and the Oberoi sisters in the tournament.

Asked who is Bhupathi’s favourite mixed doubles partner, he said, ‘It’s a very difficult question. The kind of game I play suits all my partners. But I will say Martina is the most impressive of them all.’

On whether Anastasia Myskina would come to defend her title, he said, ‘ It’s too early to say. The list of the other players and their confirmation will be available only six weeks before the tournament.’

World No 13 Martina Hingis will be the top draw in the second edition of the $ 175,000 WTA Sunfeast Open tennis event to be held later this year.

Mahesh Bhupathi, Managing Director of event owners Globosport, said Hingis “epitomises the perfect modern day tennis player, capable of playing on all surfaces and on all conditions.”

“The Swiss player shows admirable resilience in fighting back a career threatening injury and storming into the top 20 within six months,” he said.

India’s own tennis star Sania Mirza had already confirmed her participation in the September 18-24 event.

“She will be seen in the singles, but whether she will also play the doubles, depends on her performance at the US open that precedes our tournament,” Bhupathi said.

Bhupathi said the full entry list would be known six weeks before start of the tournament.

Hingis, who created the sensation when she became the youngest Wimbledon champion at age of 15 years and nine months, has made a strong comeback after recuperating from a foot injury

Mahesh Bhupathi enjoys being on court with the kids. And the ten-time Grand Slam doubles champion gave them a memorable time at one of his new centres at the Palms Club, Gurgaon, on Friday.

“It’s fun. Ideally I should be doing this after retirement. But I thought it was important to offer a good structure and make sure the kids start learning the right things,” said Mahesh.

Saying that it was the sixth of the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academies (MBTA), after the ones in Kochi, Nagpur, Udaipur and two in Mumbai, Mahesh said that the response was good. He assured the parents that the kids were in a scientific programme with a proper structure for development.

“We have a structure by which the kids start at around six years and the talented are taken forward to the elite academy. Mose Navarra and Prahlad Srinath handle the elite programme,” he said.

Mahesh said that he was focusing on kids in the 13-15 age-category as the leading juniors in the boys’ section were already signed by the AITA and the girls were not good enough in his assessment to make the next level.

He will play with Leander Paes, and is likely to partner Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles."I hope to continue playing at least till the 2008 Olympics,” said Mahesh.

Putting proved crucial at the Barclay’s Scottish Open on Saturday as two of the three Indian contenders missed the cut solely on that account.

Jyoti Randhawa, placed as high as ninth after the first round, plummeted to tied 109th to miss the cut with a second round of six-over 77 while Jeev Milkha Singh was forced to take the weekend off after he fell short by one shot.

For the Chandigarh golfer, the bogey on the 15th was the crucial difference as he finished one-over for the second round to end 70th.

The lone Indian making it to the weekend was young Shiv Kapur, who will now use it to tune up for the British Open next week. He knocked in a card of 69 and made the cut on the line at tied 61st place with a total of one-under 141.

Beginning on the first hole, Kapur had birdies on the first, ninth, 12th and 13th while dropping shots on the fifth and 11th.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke displayed the talent that makes him one of the most gifted golfers to produce a marvellous second round of six under and move into a three stroke lead.

Sweden’s Johan Edfors, Ireland’s Damien McGrane and South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel lead the chasing pack on eight under par, with Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Scotland’s David Drysdale on seven under.

Atwal makes the cut

After weeks of disappointment, Arjun Atwal finally managed to make the cut in a USPGA event as he carded a four-under 67 to improve to the tied 39th position, while Daniel Chopra (69) slipped one spot to be tied second at the halfway mark of the four million dollar John Deere Classic here.

Meanwhile, Daniel Chopra had an eventful round in which he fired five birdies and three bogeys to drop to the tied second spot with a two-day total of nine-under 133, a shot behind leader Joe Ogilivie of America.

Wie hospitalised

In another interesting development, 16-year-old sensation Michelle Wie had to be treated for heat exhaustion at a local hospital following her withdrawal after playing nine holes. The local teen had to be taken in an ambulance.

“Michelle Wie became ill today during the beginning of her second round of the John Deere Classic. She suffered a number of different symptoms, including stomach pains, nausea, dizziness, and breathing problems which worsened as the round continued. After the ninth hole, Michelle regrettably withdrew from the tournament,'’ Wie’s agent, Ross Berlin, said in a statement.