Duncan Fletcher gets one year extension as India coach

Duncan Fletcher‘s contract as India‘s cricket coach was today extended by one more year despite a below-par track record, setting to rest the intense speculation on his future.

The decision to renew the 64-year-old Fletcher’s two-year contract, which was due to end at the end of this month, was taken by the BCCI’s Working Committee which met in Mumbai on Tuesday

“The Board has decided to extend his contract. But we have to discuss the terms. I can’t tell you the deliberations of the Board. All I can tell you is what is the decision. We have decided to extend it,” BCCI president N Srinivasan told reporters after the meeting.

Speculation was rife about Fletcher’s future after India lost 10 Test matches including a home series against England recently apart from ‘whitewashes’ in England and Australia.

A senior BCCI official told PTI that continuing with Fletcher made sense, keeping in mind the Test series in South Africa.

“Since he has been with the team for two years, we don’t want to take a knee-jerk reaction considering the next big Test series is in South Africa. It will be risky and unfair on a new coach to give him charge in South Africa and expect good results from him,” the official said.

Under Fletcher, India had lost 10 out of the 22 Test matches before the ongoing match in Mohali having won only eight. The only away Test win was against West Indies nearly two years back just when Fletcher had taken charge.

In the 44 ODI matches played by India post their World Cup triumph, the ‘Men in Blue‘ have won 25 matches losing 16. Two were tied and one match did not yield any result.

In T20s, India won nine of the 17 matches losing the other eight. India did not qualify for the Asia Cup final and also couldn’t make it to the last four in the ICC World T20.

Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar questioned Fletcher’s extension but said he should get the backing since he has now been re-appointed.

“I wonder whether an Indian coach would have survived after 10 Test defeats,” Gavaskar quipped.

Incidentally, Fletcher was roped in on recommendations of highly successful former India coach Gary Kirsten. The Indian players have had high regards for him as a person with a great technical acumen but as far as strategy is concerned, he has been more of a backroom character.

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• Reward for Failure? Fletcher’s contract could be extended despite string of poor results (dailymail.co.uk)

Defying all odds, Yuvraj Singh returns

If he takes the field on Saturday for the first Twenty20 against New Zealand, Yuvraj Singh will be the cynosure of all eyes. Saturday could be the first time the 30-year-old features in an international match since November 2011 after winning his battle against a rare germ cell cancer. His last international match was a Test against West Indies un Kolkata.

In late 2011, it was reported that Yuvraj had a non-malignant tumour in the lungs. The sad news startled everyone in the cricket fraternity. It was revealed that during the 2011 World Cup, in which Yuvraj was adjudged Player of the Tournament, he had bouts of coughing and vomiting, but he ignored those symptoms by taking pain-killers to keep himself going.

But his illness turned out to be malignant, and he received widespread support and warm wishes from all quarters. Skipper MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar expressed their grief at the news and hailed him as a fighter who would make a resounding comeback. Yuvraj went through chemotherapy treatment in the US while fans in India prayed for his speedy recovery. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh visited him in the US to lift his spirits. His treatment went off well. Yuvraj returned home to a rousing welcome, and after three to four months of recuperation period, he started training at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Yuvraj kept his fans in the loop about his recovery on Twitter and expressed a strong desire to play the ICC World Twenty20 in September 2012. The selectors showed faith and selected him for the Twenty20 series against New Zealand as well as for the World Twenty20. His inclusion in the Indian squad evoked enormous mirth and elation.

While Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj’s staunchest supporter, showed concern and said that his inclusion worries him, Sanjay Manjrekar termed it as an emotional decision on part of the selectors. Yuvraj’s team-mates Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli welcomed the decision whole-heartedly and stated that Yuvraj’s presence in the team will boost India’s fortunes.

But while Yuvraj’s indomitable spirit is undeniable and the whole of India looks forward to his return, silent prayers will be read for his risk-free comeback less than six months after recovering from a potentially life-threatening disease.

Source : CRICKET NEXT