Selectors are wrong, Gill, Rahane must be in team for West Indies: Ganguly

Gill has already expressed his disappointment at not being picked in the squad for the limited overs series in the Caribbean.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday questioned the omission of veteran Ajinkya Rahane and young Shubman Gill from the ODI squad for the tour of West Indies, urging the selection committee to be consistent with their policies.

An inconsistent Kedar Jadhav has been retained while Gill, who has been adjudged man-of-the-series in the five List A games in the West Indies, scoring 218 runs.

Ganguly took to Twitter to take a dig at the selectors stating the main agenda should be picking the best possible team and not making people happy.

"Time has come for Indian selectors to pick same players in all formats of the game for rhythm and confidence.. too few are playing in all formats ..great teams had consistent players ..it's not about making all happy but picking the best for the country and be consistent @bcci," Ganguly tweeted.

"Here are many in the squad who can play all formats ..surprised not to see Shubman Gill. Rahane in the one day squad," he added.

Gill has already expressed his disappointment at not being picked in the squad for the limited overs series in the Caribbean.

The MSK Prasad-led selection committee picked India's squads for the T20I, ODI and Test squads for the tour of West Indies on Sunday.

Barring left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, no other Indian player features in all 3 formats for the West Indies tour.

Business Standard

Australian newspapers lose defamation appeal against Chris Gayle

Gayle also appealed the size of his payout, seeking an increase.

An Australian media group on Tuesday lost an appeal against an AUD 300,000 ($211,000) defamation payout to West Indies cricket star Chris Gayle after claiming he exposed his genitals to a masseuse.

Gayle was accused by former media group Fairfax, which at the time was publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, of exposing his penis and indecently propositioning the woman in a dressing room during the 2015 World Cup in Sydney.

Gayle vigorously denied the allegations, claiming the journalists behind the series of stories published in the newspapers in 2016 were out to "destroy him".

He won the defamation case in October last year after jurors found Fairfax was motivated by malice and had failed to establish a defence of truth.

The publisher appealed the case arguing it did not receive a fair trial and the judge should have discharged the jury after Gayle's barrister attacked the credibility of the massage therapist.

Gayle also appealed the size of his payout, seeking an increase.

A New South Wales court dismissed both appeals.

Gayle caused a stir in Australia in 2016 prior to the Fairfax stories being published when he attempted to flirt with a presenter on live TV, asking her out for a drink and telling her: "Don't blush, baby."

After winning his court case last year, he tried to spark a bidding war for a tell-all interview, promising that "when I break this down to y'all it will be like a movie".

"Biding (sic) starts at $300K for this interview! So much to say & I will" he tweeted to his then 3.75 million followers.

Fairfax newspapers are now owned by commercial broadcaster Nine Entertainment, which purchased the media company last year.

Business Standard

Gayle opts out ot ODI, T20 series against India, Windies name 3 youngsters

Gayle cited personal reasons for the decision.

Business Standard L: Maverick batsman Chris Gayle Monday opted out of the ODI and T20 series against India citing personal reasons as the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) named three fresh faces for the assignment.

"We will be without our stalwart, Chris Gayle for this Indian tour and the next tour against Bangladesh as he has declined selection at this time, however, he has made himself available for the selection for the visit of England to the Caribbean and the World Cup in 2019," WICB chairman of the selection panel Courtney Browne said in a statement.

The West Indies are currently engaged in a two-Test series in India and are trailing after going down in the opening Test inside three days. The West Indies will play five ODIs and three T20 Internationals. The first ODI will be held in Guwahati on October 21.

With an eye on next year's 50-over World Cup and 2020 World T20 in Australia, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has drafted in three youngsters -- opener Chrandrapaul Hemraj, all-rounder Fabian Allen and fast bowler Oshane Thomas -- in the limited overs squads.

Big-hitting Kieran Pollard, middle-order batsman Darren Bravo and all-rounder Andre Russell have also made a comeback into the T20 squad.

"As we continue our Cricket World Cup preparations, the upcoming tour of India provides a great opportunity to expose some of our young talent," Browne said.

"Opener, Chandrapul Hemraj, all-rounder Fabian Allen and fast bowler Oshane Thomas will get their opportunity to showcase their skills, along with Sunil Ambris, who is returning to the fold.

Russell, however, has been ruled out of all 50-over format due to injury and Alzarri Joseph will undergo a fitness test before leaving for India.

"With the 2020 ICC World T20 two years away and the limited amount of T20 Internationals within the next year, the panel believes at this juncture it is time to invest in the young players that have emerged over the last two years from Windies A and B teams, along with 2018 CPL," Browne explained.

"The selection of a young group two years prior to the World T20 gives the coaching staff time to help them with their skills and for the team to develop into a cohesive and competitive unit.

"The team will continue to retain some experienced players who will work alongside the younger group...offer our congratulations to the players making their international debuts and welcome back Darren Bravo and Kieran Pollard to international cricket," he said.... Read More