NEW DELHI: Dashing opener Virender Sehwag on Thursday backed his axed and out-of-form teammate Harbhajan Singh, saying it is “just a matter of time” before the off-spinner gets back in form to regain his place in the Indian team.

Sehwag said Harbhajan, who has been dropped from the team for the first two ODIs against England starting on Friday, will have to sweat it out in the domestic circuit to get his mojo back.

“He (Harbhajan) is a champion bowler and I have no doubt he will stage a comeback. He is playing in the Challenger series in Nagpur. He has to work hard in domestic cricket,” Sehwag said.

“I remember when I was dropped from the team in 2007. I played domestic cricket and worked my way back into the team. That is the only way to do it. It is just a matter of time and Harbhajan will be back,” he said.

Still recuperating from a shoulder injury that flared up during the Test series in England, Sehwag is eyeing next month’s West Indies’ tour of India for making a comeback into the national team.

Sehwag played the last two Tests in England – at Birmingham and the Oval – before seeking permission for rest and rehabilitation because of the shoulder injury as well as a hearing problem.

“Well, I am doing fine. I have come to the NCA and the rehabilitation is going on well,”.

Asked about his comeback into the Indian team, Sehwag said, “I don’t want to put a time frame. I am working hard to stage a comeback into the team. I am targeting the West Indies series.”

The injury also forced Sehwag, who has had two operations on his shoulder and is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, to miss the entire ODI series in England.

The West Indies is scheduled to play three Tests in India starting November 6 at Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla stadium followed by a five-match ODI series, the dates of which are yet to be announced.

During his off-time from the game, Sehwag fulfilled his father’s long-cherished dream by launching his integrated sports academy in Shilani Kesho village in Haryana’s Jhajjar district last Sunday.

The cricketer was accompanied by his mother Krishna and wife Aarti for the inauguration of the international standard cricket academy.

“It was my father’s dream and I have now fulfilled it. My father always wanted me to open an academy for children so that they could benefit from it. It was an idea I had for the last five years or so,” Sehwag said.

“I am grateful to all that the school has come up in Jhajjar. I am grateful to Haryana chief minister for giving me the land. Right now my target is to provide good facilities and environment.”

Sehwag’s Krishna Drishti Educational Society was given over 23 acres in Jhajjar’s Shilani Kesho village in October 2008 on a 33-year lease by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government for a sports complex at Rs. 3 lakh per acre to promote the interest of the residents of the city in the game of cricket.

Sehwag also said that he has big plans for the trainees and intends to invite his India teammates to the academy in future.

“That is my plan (invite teammates). Whenever India is playing in Delhi, I will try and take some of my teammates to my academy. They can have a chat with the boys. It will be a big motivation and inspiration for them,” Sehwag said.

“In the future, the academy team can also go for some overseas tours for exposure. But these are plans, right now my focus is to give the best facilities and environment,” the swashbuckling batsman said.

He, however, refused to react to ICC’s U-turn from its earlier decision of making the controverial Decision Review System mandatory.

“It is a decision taken by the ICC. I don’t want to comment,” Sehwag said.

The ICC, in its executive board meeting, had decided that DRS was no longer mandatory and it will revert to its previous pre-June position to allow the participating nations to decide bilaterally whether they wished to use the system or not.

HYDERABAD: India will aim to bury the ghosts of their humiliating English summer when they take on a confident England side in the first of what is being touted as a revenge five-match ODI series starting on Friday.

It’s redemption time for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men as they will be itching to settle scores having failed to secure a single victory in international matches in England, having lost four Tests, three ODIs and one Twenty20 international during their recent tour.

His opposite number Alastair Cook will certainly hope that his side can carry on from where they left in the last series although they would be missing the services of the formidable new ball duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

This will be the first series where the new ICC rule of using separate new balls from both ends will be implemented along with changed Powerplay rules.

On paper and based on current form, England are certainly favourites but in home conditions, Indians have always been formidable opponents.

The series also gives Dhoni as well as the national selectors a chance to have a clear idea about the fringe players as they get an ideal opportunity to test the bench strength in the absence of senior players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan to name a few.

While Mumbai youngster Ajinkya Rahane – the lone bright spot during India’s disastrous ODI campaign – can consolidate his position in the team, rookie leggie Rahul Sharma, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary, Karnataka seamer Sreenath Aravind will be hoping to get a chance at some point in the series to prove their mettle.

The series will also be an acid test for skipper Dhoni who would be under immense pressure to do well. It doubles up when one looks at the bowling line-up which is severely short on experience with Praveen Kumar the most experienced – having played the most 56 ODIs.

If one goes by the performance of the players during recent matches and also net sessions, Karnataka seamer Sreenath Aravind and Jharkhand speedster Varun Aaron don’t look like making the cut.

For the time being, Aaron looks like having been pipped by Vidarbha pacer Umesh Yadav who bowled with a lot of control and at a brisk pace during the recent Irani Trophy.

On the other hand, Sreenath Aravind was consistently hammered by all and sundry during the recent Champions League Twenty20 and can prove to be easy meat for top English players like Kevin Pietersen and skipper Cook.

While Praveen, Umesh and Ashwin look to have booked the three bowling slots, it will be tussle between R Vinay Kumar and Rahul Sharma for the fourth bowler’s slot in the playing XI.

While Vinay with his variations can prove to be an ideal bowler at the death, Rahul can prove to be a restrictive option during middle overs.

The Rajiv Gandhi stadium strip promises to be a good one for the batsmen. In fact, during the last ODI which India lost by only three runs chasing a target of 351 saw Tendulkar hit a magnificent 175.

India’s top six is more or less settled with Gautam Gambhir back at the top and is likely to be partnered by Parthiv Patel. Ajinkya Rahane who now bats at number three for Mumbai may get a chance to bat at his preferred slot while Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and skipper himself complete the top-six.

Ravindra Jadeja, after his impressive show in England, will be the bowling all-rounder at No 7.

The England side is also a batting heavy unit with the likes of Cook, Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell capable of playing big innings not to forget the devastating effect that Pietersen can have on bowlers.

Ravi Bopara and young Jonathan Bairstow are also in good nick which gives the batting unit a formidable look.

The bowling however will be largely dependant on pacers Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn and off-spinner Graeme Swann.

It will be interesting to see whether Andy Flower and Cook decide to unleash the new tearaway quick bowler Stuart Meaker. In all there are ingredients for a good contest throughout the series.

Teams (from):

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, S Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

England: Alastair Cook (capt), Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Jonathan Bairstow, Graeme Swann, Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Stuart Meaker, Chris Woakes, Scott Borthwick, Jose Buttler, Alex Hales.

Match to begin at 2.30 pm (IST).

MELBOURNE: Players live in fear after reporting approaches by bookies, especially in tournaments such as the IPL, claims International Cricketers’ Association chief Tim May.

Match-fixing is back in spotlight due to the ongoing criminal trial against Pakistani cricketers – Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif – in London for allegedly conspiring to send down deliberate no balls during a Test match for cash.

The bookie at the centre of it all, Mazhar Majeed, has dropped names of other international players as well, including Australians. But the Aussies have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the ICC.

May said players need to be sure that their names would be protected when they report approaches to the ICC.

“Players need a point of trust to report approaches/suspicions,” May has written in a report released on Wednesday.

“Some international players are expressing that they don’t have this point of trust, especially in tournaments such as the Indian Premier League.

“Players will be more inclined to report approaches etc if there is greater anonymity around the reporting process … some players won’t report breaches they observe for either fear of their safety or simply because they just don’t want to get involved,” the ‘Sydney Morning Herald quoted May as saying.

HYDERABAD: He was the man with the Midas touch. Everything that India skipper MS Dhoni did, guaranteed success.

The wicketkeeper-batsman has had an exceptionally good run as skipper – whether it was for India or the Chennai Super Kings – and it reached a high with the World Cup triumph in April this year. He followed it up by helping the Super Kings retain their IPL title.

But all that seems to be in the distant past as Dhoni’s men were humiliated during the recent England tour, losing both the Test and ODI series. To make matters worse for Dhoni, the Super Kings fizzled out in the Champions League Twenty20. But the unexpected loss may have done a world of good to Dhoni.

The never-ending cricket circus has taken a toll on the players and Dhoni has been no exception. “…That’s the only blessing in disguise, a few days off, not that we have earned it, but a bit of rest will help us,” was how Dhoni reacted after Super Kings loss to NSW earlier this month.

The ‘bit of rest’ seems to have created a new desire in the captain to recover his form. On Wednesday, Dhoni led from the front as the Indian team had its first practice session at the RJIC Stadium ahead of the first ODI against England on Friday.

After a bit of stretching and a game of football, Dhoni donned his gloves and had an extended session of catching practice. While the others went back to the cool of the dressing room, Dhoni worked hard at his keeping (which has been a let-down in the recent past).

His Super Kings teammate Suresh Raina was the first to enter the nets while his colleagues were still busy playing football. The southpaw practiced horizontal bat shots. Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane too had extended hit in the nets.

But it was Dhoni who was the keener of the lot as he had an extended batting session. Dhoni’s body language exuded purpose and determination.

In between whacking the ball, Dhoni had a few quick chats with coach Duncan Fletcher, who has a fair knowledge of the English players.

On the other hand, the England team, who had scored a massive 253-run win over a hapless Hyderabad XI on Tuesday night, had a day off. Later in the evening, Dhoni and England skipper Alastair Cook unveiled the gold-plated silver trophy for the five-match series.

NEW DELHI: While announcing that the use of the Decision Review System (DRS) would no longer be mandatory, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said, “Although DRS improves correct umpiring decisions by around 5% and corrects any blatant errors, there are some who are not convinced by its reliability. We will continue to work with interested parties to improve the system while permitting the participating teams to decide whether they wish to use it or not.”

In June, it seemed the influential BCCI, a long-time critic of the system, and ICC had finally reached an agreement over the issue. With the BCCI not convinced over ball-tracking technology, the Hawk Eye aid was kept out of the ambit of ‘mandatory’ tech aids but Hot Spot, which helps in detecting edges via heat signatures, was included.

In England, though, Hot Spot failed on more than one occasion, with Rahul Dravid falling victim three times. Another controversy erupted when ex-England captain Mike Atherton insinuated that VVS Laxman had coated his bat with vaseline to hoodwink the system. Skipper MS Dhoni had also said that the technology wasn’t foolproof.

Srinivasan subsequently reiterated that the BCCI remained unconvinced about Hot Spot. “We were under the impression that Hot Spot was very good, but it is not accurate. We do not wish to use the UDRS in its present form, even in its minimum standard,” Srinivasan had said.

“This decision is a recognition that Hot Spot was not as reliable as we’d have liked it to be,” Lorgat told reporters following a two-day executive board meeting in Dubai.

“The evidence that came out of the series (in England) was not comforting. There were a number of occasions where Hot Spot did not detect a traceable mark. This was a board decision that came through a considered debate and eventually there was unanimity that we need to revert and let those who are comfortable using it, use it, and those who are not, have the option to decide not to use it.”