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Monday, August 29, 2011

Tendulkar fabric-ated in Leicestershire


Sachin Tendulkar may have missed out on his 100th international century at The Oval this week, but it’ll doubtless cheer him up to to learn that he has been immortalised in fabric in a shopping centre in Leicester.

A giant mosaic of Tendulkar, measuring 9m x 6m in size, was laid out on the floor at Highcross Leicester shopping centre by the reowned local artist Laura Hadland, who last year made a portrait of her mother that was made entirely of ... toast.

Gurvinder Rupra, marketing manager at Highcross, said: “Immortalising Sachin Tendulkar out of fabrics seemed the perfect way to capture the spirit of Leicester as it gears up to welcome him and his teammates to the city.”

The artwork - which was created on the lower mall outside Debenhams - used more than 100 yards of fabric and saris, and took 9.5 hours to create. It will be in place to welcome the arrival of the Indian cricket team for their warm-up Twenty20 match at Grace Road on August 29.


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Olympians demand joint Bharat Ratna for Dhyanchand with Sachin

NEW DELHI: Former Olympians Leslie Claudius and Gurbax Singh feel the legendary Dhyanchand did not get his due in India and demanded a joint Bharat Ratna for the Hockey wizard, along with champion cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, on his 106th birth anniversary.

"It is true that Dhyanchand did not get his dues in the country but that's how Hockey administration is in India. It is regretful," Leslie Claudius, who is a three-time Olympic gold medalist (London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956) said.

He was also the member of silver medal winning Indian team at Rome Olympic in 1960. He was in the national team when Dhyanchand was coach in 1959.

"Dadda (Dhyanchand) deserved a lot more then the Padma award. People are demanding Bharat Ratna for Sachin. I am not against it but if Sachin gets before Dhyanchand, it will be a tragedy," said Gurbax singh, who is also Olympic gold medalist (Tokyo 1964). He also won Bronze four years later.

"Joint Bharat Ratna can be conferred on Dhyanchand and Sachin. There is no doubt that Dhyanchand is all time best player India had ever produced. For Hockey Dhyanchand is what Pele is for Soccer and Bradman is for Cricket. They are synonyms of game they played," he said.

A legendary centre forward Dhyanchand won three Olympic gold medals (1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, 1936 Berlin) and was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1956.

Gurbux made his debut in national camp in Patiala in 1959 when Dhyanchand was the chief coach and he regrets that there are no videos available of Dhyanchand era so that young generation can see how the magician of Hockey used to play.

"I remember Dhyanchand, Balbir Singh senior, KD Singh Babu and Kishan Lal were the selectors in 1959. That was for the first time I witnessed the magic of Dadda. No player could get control over ball from him even in that age. I regret that we don't have videos of his playing days," recalled Gurbux.

"Generations do get inspired from icon players. Modern day Hockey players have only heard about Dhyanchand's dribbling and technique. After our generation, which has seen him playing, who will tell them about him," he rues.

Gurbux was the captain and Dhyanchand was the chief coach when India won Leons tournament in France in 1963.

"I got a chance to know him closely during that period. He was a legend but did not have any starry airs. He liked fishing a lot and used to cook fish for us. I remember when we went to Berlin with him he told us that we had defeated Germans here in Olympic 1936 and I don't want to go back as a looser now. You have to win it for me," he said.

"He was a disciplinarian as a coach and never compromised on fitness. There was no place in his team for any injured player while today we see unfit players are there in Cricket and Hockey teams," he said.

Caludius said that though Dhyanchand was very senior to him but he shared friendly vibes with him.

"He was my best friend. We used to meet at almost every tournament. I had played a friendly match with him in 1953. He was my coach in 1959 and I have great memories of him. He used to call me Gorrayya (sparrow) because I was very thin," said the veteran.
"Dhyanchand should have got the highest civil award years back. Our system is to be blamed for this. I got Padamshri in 1971, 11 years after Rome Olympic which was my last," he said.
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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sachin faces stiff competition for ICC's top honour

New Delhi: India's Sachin Tendulkar is in contention for the ICC Cricketer of the Year award. The veteran batsman however, faces stiff competition from the English duo of Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott. Hashim Amla of South Africa is the other player nominated for the awards which are scheduled to take place in London on September 12.

The four batsmen were nominated after a voting done by an independent 25-person academy and the eventual winner will recieve the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year.

Tendulkar recieved the honour in the previous edition of the awards which makes his achivement stand out. Cook and Trott however have their own share of glory as both have also been nominated for the Test Cricketer of the Year award.

Amla on the other hand, is in contention for the ODI Cricketer of the Year award.
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Saturday, August 27, 2011

Photos: Sachin Tendulkar's Rare Pictures

































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ICC Test team: Sachin lone Indian in playing eleven

Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian cricketer to make the cut in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Test Team of 2011 announced on Friday while the presence of five English players reaffirms the side's rise to the top of the rankings.

Indian seamer Zaheer Khan has been named the 12th man of the side chosen by a specially-appointed selection panel chaired by West Indian batting legend Clive Lloyd.

The 12-man line-up was chosen along with the short-lists for the ICC Awards 2011 which are due to be held in London Sep 12.

Tendulkar makes the line-up for the third year in a row - having appeared in the Team of 2009 and 2010 - while South Africans Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, along with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, and England duo of Graeme Swann and James Anderson all appear for the second year in a row.

Jonathan Trott, Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad are the other English cricketers who find a place in the playing eleven.

South African speedster Dale Steyn has earned a place in the Team for the fourth successive year. He was also featured in the Team of 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Former Sri Lanka skipper Sangakkara is named as captain of the team.

"The selection of this year's Test team was a difficult one with so many worthy candidates available to fill just 12 places. The team has a formidable line-up that bats well down the order and has bowlers with the ability and form to dismiss any opposition twice on any surface," said the Chairman of the selection panel Clive Lloyd.

"While selecting the squad, the selectors didn't rely only on statistics only but took into account all other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation etc. But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out.

"In the panel's expert opinion, it has selected the best team based on performances over the past 12 months."

Lloyd was joined on the panel by former South Africa spin bowler Paul Adams, former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas, former New Zealand bowler-turned-commentator Danny Morrison and former England batsman Mike Gatting.

The ICC Test team of the year (in batting order):

Alastair Cook (Eng)
Hashim Amla (SA)
Jonathan Trott (Eng)
Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)
Kumar Sangakkara (SL - wicketkeeper/captain)
AB de Villiers (SA)
Jacques Kallis (SA)
Stuart Broad (Eng)
Graeme Swann (Eng)
Dale Steyn (SA)
James Anderson (Eng)
Zaheer Khan (Ind) (12th man)

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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Photos: Sachin Tendulkar's photos during 4th test against england















































































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