The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Twenty20 World Cup team on Monday.

The selection committee, headed by Chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth, named Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain of the 15-man squad.

The other players included in the squad are Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and Irfan Pathan.

A preliminary meeting was held in Cape Town on April 24.

The selection committee said they had considered the players’ performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League as well before naming the squad.

However, despite his astounding performance in the IPL so far, Mumbai Indians’ Abhishek Nayar could not make it to the final list.

Other players who were expected to be included were L. Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ajit Agarkar, Robin Uthappa, Joginder Sharma, S. Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla.

The T20 World Cup will start in London on June 5.

Tags: BCCI, Gautam Gambir, Harbhajan Singh, ICC T20 World Cup, Indian Team, IPL 2009, Ishanth Sharma, Krish Srikanth, L Balaji, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Pragyan Ojha, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, Suresh Raina, T20, T20 Championship, T20 International, T20 World Cup News, Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh

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Sachin Tendulkar has praised the leadership skills of MS Dhoni, who has overseen a successful six months for India after taking over as captain in all three formats.

“I’m extremely happy and delighted at the way he (Dhoni) has conducted himself,” Tendulkar said. “He is a balanced guy, is always on his toes all the time. Before he was made the captain, standing in the slips I interacted with him, and [he] picked [up a] lot of things which clearly indicated that he has a sharp brain, his approach was pretty clear and not complicated.”

India are fresh from their first Test series win in New Zealand in 41 years, and have also defeated Australia and England at home in the past eight months. India has an impressive record under Dhoni’s leadership, winning five out of seven Tests and losing none. Dhoni also led India to their longest winning-streak in one-dayers during comprehensive series wins over England and Sri Lanka, and most notably, led them to victory in the World Twenty20 in 2007. He’s captained his team in 51 ODIs, winning 31 of them.

Dhoni’s record with the bat as captain is significantly better than his overall stats. In the seven Tests he’s led India; he averages 60 as compared to his overall average of 37.73. His figures have been boosted by seven half-centuries, four of which came against Australia at home. He scored fifties in each innings against New Zealand in the rain-affected final Test in Wellington, where India fell just two wickets shy of wrapping up the series 2-0. The trend is similar in ODIs as well. He was India’s second-highest run-getter in 2008 and averages 57.81 in 51 matches as captain, as opposed to 49.26 overall.

Another experienced player who was impressed with Dhoni’s captaincy was VVS Laxman. “Dhoni is one of the best captains I have played under,” he said. “He is so calm and composed. He exudes a lot of confidence. It’s a great feeling to play under him.”

One of Dhoni’s biggest accomplishments as a leader has been forging a strong team spirit, and former captain Tendulkar said he relished playing the role of a senior member. “To players like Harbhajan Singh or Yuvraj Singh, I’m like their elder brother. I share information not just with them but also with other members of the side. It’s a terrific atmosphere in the dressing room and it’s not just one-way traffic,” he said. “We learn from each other and if someone has some issues, there is the coach. Generally it’s a great atmosphere and I enjoy being part of this side.”

When asked about his decision to not be part of the national Twenty20 side, Tendulkar said he did not want to upset a winning combination. India had won the inaugural World Twenty in South Africa two years ago, but Tendulkar had not been part of that team because of fitness problems. “It’s a team sport so, even if there is one weak link, it affects the whole team. I didn’t want it to happen. The team went to South Africa and did well. They settled quite nicely. I don’t want to disturb the combination now when they are going terrific.”

Tags: Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, India, Laxman, M.S.Dhoni, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin, Sachin Tendulkar, South Africa, T20 Championship, T20 International, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj

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Roelof van der Merwe and captain Johan Botha took South Africa to a series-clinching 17-run win in the second Twenty20 International against Australia at Centurion Park on Sunday.

Van der Merwe hit 48 off 30 balls as South Africa struggled to 156 for five after being sent in. Then Botha produced a miserly spell of off-spin bowling, taking two for 16 in four overs, as Australia were restricted to 139 for eight.

Van der Merwe, selected mainly as a slow left-arm bowler, was surprisingly sent in at number five and initially he struggled to find his timing.

But he chanced his arm and slammed four sixes and two fours, with two sixes and both fours coming in one over from Nathan Bracken, usually one of the world’s most economical bowlers in limited overs cricket.

The Australian bowlers varied their pace and lengths skillfully and the South African batsmen were unable to maintain a consistently quick scoring rate.

Australia made a good start, with Michael Clarke and David Warner putting on 37 for the first wicket.

But Warner was bowled by Albie Morkel and one run later Australian captain Ricky Ponting was caught behind off left-arm pace bowler Yusuf Abdulla, a second new player in the South African line-up.

Clarke and David Hussey put on 25 for the third wicket before the game changed dramatically when Clarke was bowled by Botha and Callum Ferguson was run out first ball.

Botha’s teasing spin prevented the Australians from recovering their momentum and wickets fell as the batsmen went for big shots.

David Hussey followed up his 88 not out in the first match with 27 and threatened to swing the game Australia’s way when he hit Van der Merwe for six and four off successive balls in the 15th over, only to be caught at mid-off off the next delivery.

South Africa made four changes from the side that won the first match in Johannesburg by four wickets on Friday. “The new players have shown they can play at international level and have given the selectors a nice headache,” said Botha about the challenge of selecting a side for the World Twenty20 in England in June.

“Our bowling was pretty good,” said Ponting. “But you need batting partnerships and that’s where we fell short.”

Tags: Australia, Centurion Park, Johan Botha, Merwe, Michael Clarke, Natham Bracken, Ricky Ponting, South Africa, South Africa Vs Australia, T20 International

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