Indian news round-up

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) national selection committee chairman Chandu Borde said on Monday that the forthcoming home series against Australia would be a challenging one. Briefing reporters in Mumbai after selecting the 25 Indian probables, the former Indian captain said that the BCCI was looking out for quality spinners to tackle the Australians.

Borde said he had discussed with skipper Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright regarding the nature of the pitches that are to be utilised for the games and the different team combinations they could field. "We want to try out as many players as possible," said the former Indian captain.

Elaborating, Borde said "Delhi's left arm medium pacer Asish Nehra will be considered for the longer version of the game like four or five day matches while Javagal Srinath can be used in both versions of the game provided he agrees to play both Tests and one-dayers."

Former Indian batsman Dilip Sardesai said in Mumbai on Monday that the Indian selectors should persist with VVS Laxman as an opener and felt that Laxman should the first chose opener for the forthcoming Australian tour of India.

Speaking at a function organised by the Mumbai Press Club, Sardesai said "If you want Laxman to perform, our selectors and the captain should have faith in him. He should be assured that he is playing in all the matches. This boosts his confidence which automatically helps him in performing better. Unfortunately in India we do a lot of experiments. If a batsman does not score in one match he is dropped. He should be given some chances so that he can prove himself," said Sardesai.

When his turn came to speak, another former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said "There is no challenge if we win the Test match on a turning track. We talk of preparing such wickets whenever a strong team comes to India. This is insecurity. Instead of worrying about what type of pitches we prepare, we should see to it that we field a perfectly balanced team, which could be converted into a winning combination."

The Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI) has done away with the existing five-member selection committee which comprises of members from each of the five zones and has replaced it with a three-member national body consisting of former women cricketers.

The WCAI in a press release said that it's Annual General Meeting in New Delhi on Sunday nominated a national committee headed by Sreerupa Bose. Shanta Rangaswamy and Diana Eduljee are the other members of the committee, which will have a two-year term.

The press release added that there existed problems in selection when the panel had five selectors from each Zone as the regional selector gave preference to the players from that particular zone. The WCAI said that from now on both the national selection committee and junior selection committee will be nominated by the General House. Shubhangi Kulkarni will head the junior selection committee with Sandhya Aggarwal and Preeti Manohar as other members.

The latest in the spate of changes in venues due to the earthquake in Gujarat is the India-Australia series tour opener which was scheduled to be held in Baroda. The match involving Australia and India A in all probability will now to be played at Hyderabad from February 17 to 19.

The secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI), JY Lele told Press Trust of India (PTI) in Mumbai that due to the circumstances prevailing in the state, it was impossible to conduct the match. Lele however added "I will have to get the approval from the BCCI president AC Muthiah."

Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai city teams entered the semifinals of the on going Pepsi Youth Cricket Series Under-16 Inter-city tournament in Chennai on Sunday. While Bangalore scored a three wicket win over Hyderabad and Delhi defeated Chennai by the same margin, Mumbai defeated Kolkata by 41 runs.

Results: Hyderabad 171 in 37 overs lost to Bangalore 173 for 7 in 35 overs. Chennai 160 in 37.5 overs lost to Delhi 164 for 7 in 38.4 overs. Mumbai 234 for 5 in 40 overs beat Kolkata 193 for 9 in 40 overs.