The fit-again duo of Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami was on Monday recalled to the 15-member India squad for next month’s ICC Champions Trophy, as the cricket selectors also reposed their faith on talismanic wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s abilities.

BCCI’s chairman of selectors M.S.K. Prasad had no hesitations in calling the former India skipper “the best stumper” in the world despite his erratic run with the willow in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

“We all believe that he is still the best wicket-keeper in the world. He is invaluable to the team in terms of inputs,” Prasad told reporters after BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary announced the Virat Kohli-led squad here.

“He is the best person to guide Virat. In the past 10-plus years that I have seen when he has played for India, he has never had a bad day as far as gloves are concerned. The phenomenal performance he puts in behind the wicket, nobody looks at that,” he added.

Besides Rohit and Shami, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also made his way back after a brief injury lay-off.

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While Rohit sustained a thigh injury during the One Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand in October last year Shami’s last appearance in ODIs was in the 2015 World Cup semi-finals. 

Ashwin, who suffered a sports hernia, was also advised six-to-eight weeks of rehabilitation after a gruelling Test series against Australia.

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With no surprises in the team, Prasad said it was easy to pick the squad as it has shaped up well in the last four months.

“May be, one place here and there. But this is the best side.”

On including Ashwin without testing him in a match situation, Prasad said the Chennai tweaker’s injury was not serious and he merely required some rest.

“The injury was not serious. The (IPL) franchise was magnanimous enough to listen to our request to rest him. Rest is what Ashwin required as the last game that India played, he was there. That shows he is fit and not like others who are getting rehabilitated after surgery,” Prasad said.

The chief selector also responded in the negative when asked if skipper Kohli or all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja needed some rest from the IPL, considering their respective teams are out of the race to the IPL play-offs.

While Virat’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are at the bottom of the standings, Jadeja’s Gujarat Lions are two spots above RCB at sixth.

“Virat didn’t play the last Test (against Australia) and also the first few matches in IPL. The more he plays, it is better for him. We have also given Jadeja a break. (But) considering how fit he is, it wasn’t a problem,” he said.

While an in-form Gautam Gambhir failed to grab the attention of the selectors, the other senior members — Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik — were, however, kept as standby players alongside the young trio of Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.

“As of now, we have picked Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma as openers and Ajinkya Rahane is the back-up opener,” Prasad replied when asked about Gambhir.

The stand-by players will be issued visas and will practise at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, Prasad said.

Explaining the reason behind Pant and Kuldeep’s omission, Prasad said: “We are completely impressed with Rishabh Pant. But he missed out because of squad combination. We will groom him for the future.”

“We definitely considered Kuldeep. He would have been a surprise package but whether we would have played with two spinners is a question. Since Yuvraj (Singh) and Kedar (Jadhav) can bowl spin, he narrowly missed out,” Prasad added.

Prasad further said that the panel not only banked on the performances in the IPL but also the past year while selecting the squad.

“We respect IPL but in the longer format, we have to also consider the English conditions that we are playing in. Not just IPL but one needs to take into account the performance of last one year also in such a big tournament,” Prasad said.

The eight-team tournament will be played in June, with defending champions India pooled with South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Group B. 

India will start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4.

Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (WK), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane.

Stand-bys: Rishabh Pant, Suresh Raina, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Dinesh Karthik.

IANS

Actress Disha Patani says she is not looking for being the best in the industry and doesn’t aim to be a superstar.

Asked if she fears failure, Disha told us over the phone from Mumbai: “I think the most amazing thing about me joining the Bollywood industry…I never aim to be a superstar, I never believe to be like the best. That’s not what I am looking for.”

“I love to work, I love the camera and I like to act. I want to do different kind of things in acting and doing a film doesn’t only include acting, it includes dancing and many other things.”

Disha, who made her acting debut in 2015 with the film “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story”, added that she likes the whole aura about shooting on a set, and never thinks about failure and success.

“I understand that you cannot always be on the top or be the best. It’s not in my mind right now. Maybe, I think it is too early. I am just a film old,” she said.

The 24-year-old says she is only thinking about doing good films and “parts that people would remember”.

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She is gearing up for the release of her forthcoming film “Kung Fu Yoga”, which will also star legendary actor Jackie Chan. In the film, which is slated to release on January 28 next year, Disha will be seen playing an archaeologist.

The Sino-Indian project is part of the three-film agreement signed between China and India during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to India.

The film also stars actors Amyra Dastur and Sonu Sood. Directed by Stanley Tong, the action comedy film was shot in India, Dubai and Beijing.

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–IANS

Bollywood actors Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Patani – who starred together in “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story”, and superstar Salman Khan’s “Sultan” were amongst the top searches on Google in 2016.

Google India on Wednesday issued a statement of the 2016 recap of trending stories — biggest moments, major events and user interests based on the searches made by Indians on Google in 2016, and the names of the personalities who dominated Google.

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Among the Bollywood leads, Sushant and Disha emerged on the top trending charts of male and female stars.

Among the female actors, Urvashi Rautela, Pooja Hegde and Mandana Karimi were also part of the searches.

After Sushant, Kabir Bedi was the Top Trending Bollywood Actor (Male), followed by Harshvardhan Kapoor, Pulkit Samrat and Salman Khan.

In terms of movies, Salman’s blockbuster film “Sultan” peaked among the top trending titles, followed closely by Rajinikanth’s blockbuster film “Kabali”. Shahid Kapoor starrer “Udta Punjab”, Akshay Kumar’s “Airlift” and Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma starrer “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” also made it to the list.

IANS

The craze for Neeraj Pandey’s “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story“, a biopic on India’s best known cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is much more than any film based on any sportsman in the past, and this might help to break the biopic jinx at the box office, says a trade analyst. “Dhoni enjoys a massive following amongst cricket lovers and coupled with the fact that the title talks of ‘Untold Story’, it has added to the hype and curiosity of this well-publisised film,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh said. “The craze for ‘M.S. Dhoni – The Untold Story’ is tremendous, much more than any film based on any sportsman in the past,” he added.

Adarsh also considers track record of the director, who has made successful films like “Special 26” and “Baby”. “With Neeraj Pandey on the director’s seat, the expectations are humongous. All these factors put together should ensure a flying start for the film at the ticket windows.”
“Of course, it eventually boils down to content. But I am sure the makers would do justice to the story that will be narrated on screen.”

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Atul Mohan, editor of the trade magazine Complete Cinema, adds that stakes as well as expectations are “too high”.
“Dhoni is a huge brand, he has a huge fan following. As a perk, he is a craze amongst girls. He is a craze not only in India but overseas as well. Everybody wants to see the rise of Dhoni.”  Significantly, Mohan points out the importance of this being an authorised biopic.
 “With the legend himself involved, it has to be an interesting watch. Neeraj Pandey is a great story-teller of our times. The marketing strategy is rightly pitched for this one. “The only concern is budget, but if sources are to be believed then all involved have covered their cost and only theatrical business is to be taken care of. But at the end of the day, the final report card of the film is assessed depending on the theatrical performance.”

IANS

BCCI and Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association felicitated former India captains Ajit Wadekar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kris Srikkanth, Ravi Shastri, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the historic occasion of India’s 500th Test at Kanpur.