The speculation over captaincy was triggered after Shaun Pollock addressed the media. Shaun Pollock said the physio would take a decision on whether Sachin Tendulkar plays or not. Tendulkar’s absence was a big disappointment to Mumbai fans, and things look bad for them still.

Pollock also said the presence of all rounders was the strength of the Mumbai Indians, but added the presence of a number of left handers in the Chennai Super Kings team makes it a difficult proposition to bowl to them.

Hayden said he has had serious run-ins with Harbhajan and such a contest on the field would be electrifying for the whole world.

Matthew Hayden also said the IPL Twenty20 format brings back memories of Kerry Packer’s breakaway league which threatened to split cricketing fraternity, but said cricket as a game would benefit immensely from IPL.

But what happens as the Australians are to pack their bags from IPL in the first week of May for their training camp against West Indies?

Hayden does not seem perturbed. He says the big hitting Albie Morkel from South Africa can replace him in the Chennai squad.

Hayden is also all praise for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying the Ranchi-lad has a fine cricketing brain.
Matthew Hayden also said big scores would be the order of the day in IPL.

Dhoni seems to be comfortable in his own skin with the Chennai team – especially if you see the Tamil ads he features in for Sonata Watches. Despite initial apprehensions, having foreign players in city teams have not seemed to matter much at all – except that they are much mroe consistent tan our local players and take away the shine.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, captain of the Mumbai Indians IPL team, is excited to be part of Twenty20 as it gives him an opportunity to take on colleagues Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and M S Dhoni, as well as team up with his India mates Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa.

Sachin Tendulkar said the IPL is going to be a challenge and after team owner and Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani spoke to him he was convinced to take it up.

Sachin Tendulkar also denied reports hinting that his side – Mumbai Indians – was one of the weakest teams, saying it had a nice blend of youth and experience.

Sachin Tendulkar said spinner Harbhajan Singh would be an asset to the team, revealing the hopes that he has pinned on the Turbanator.

A key aspect of Mumbai Indians is its option to have two of the most explosive opening bats on its side – Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya – and Sachin Tendulkar himself is delighted at such a prospect.
Sachin Tendulkar, a former India skipper who has taken ten thousand runs in both Tests and One Days, also fancies the prospect of facing Shane Warne. Shane Warne is the skipper and coach of Jaipur team.

Sachin Tendulkar also said the IPL opens a window of opportunity for young players like Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ajinkya Rahane and Ankeet Chavan to take on some of the game’s best players like
Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, Shaun Pollock, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Sachin Tendulkar would also celebrate his birthday in the middle of the IPL – he turns 35 on April 24.

But the only worry that is nagging him is his injury. Sachin admitted that he is not fully fit, though a final assessment on his ability to play will be taken later. It really would be a disappointment for all the Mumbai Indians fans if Sachin could not play – pray it doesn’t happen!

Matthew Hayden had referred to Harbhajan Singh as an ‘obnoxious little weed’ in a radio interview and Harbhajan Singh had called Matthew Hayden a liar – denied quickly by Harbhajan Singh, and provoking a protest from Cricket Australia.

Matthew Hayden said the choice of words while calling Harbhajan Singh an obnoxious little weed went wrong, adding that it added fuel to fire in the already charged-up Commonwealth Series.

Matthew Hayden said he would probably try and meet up with Harbhajan Singh to resolve their differences. Australia would also tour India in October, but goes to the Wet Indies in May.

Matthew Hayden, one of the biggest hitters in world cricket now, has been bagged by the Chennai IPL team which will be captained by Indian ODI captain M S  Dhoni, while Harbhajan Singh will play for Reliance’s Mumbai Indians IPL team.

Our take? The general antagonism towards Harbhajan Singh by many in the Australian team has worked in India’s favour. So a patch up really is a good idea? Maybe India should just elt it all simmer for as long as possible. Bhajji seems cool about it, anyway!

Harbhajan Singh said he did not attend the fitness test because of a family function.
After the Australian series, Indian team’s former physio John Gloster had reported to the BCCI that Harbhajan Singh needed two weeks rest.

Yuvraj Singh of Mohali IPL failed o undergo the fitness test yesterday but survived the test at the National Cricket Academy on Monday morning. Yuvaj Singh is also in the Indian Test squad for the South Africa tour.

A Kolkata-based newspaper quoted an unnamed senior Indian player to this effect, hinting at a strong possibility that the Australian players would get a hostile reception.

The unnamed senior player, commenting on the availability of Australian players for IPL, said it will be better if they did not turn up.

About 12 Australians, including Shane Warne, Glen McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden have signed up for various IPL teams. The tournament starts on April 18 and the final is on June 1.

In Australia, Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh was on the receiving end of taunts from the crowd. Mathew Hayden described Harbhajan Singh as an obnoxious little weed and Andrew Symonds alleged Harbhajan called him a monkey.

Harbhajan Singh plays for Mumbai in the IPL, and the Hyderabad vs Mumbai matches, with Andrew Symonds on the Hyderabad side would be keenly watched. Same is the case when Mumbai IPL takes on Chennai, which has Mathew Hayden in its ranks.

Kolkata team’s Ricky Ponting’s encounters with Harbhajan will also be a match to watch. Though the newspaper did not identify the senior player who made the remark, there is intense speculation that it would be Sourav Ganguly, as he hails from Kolkata. Sourav Ganguly is also the icon player of Kolkata team, owned byShah Rukh Khan.

Our take: Will Sourav  Ganguly say something like that? More importantly, is the relationship between the Indian and the Australian teams that bad? We wish for the sake of the sport that it is not so. Rivalry is fine, enmity is not.

Harbhajan Singh was embroiled in a series of rows during India’s just-concluded tour of Australia, including an allegation by Andrew Symonds about a racist taunt. He was found not guilty much to the anger of Aussie media.
Later Mathew Hayden called Harbhajan Singh an ‘obnoxious little weed’ and the Aussie crowd in the stadiums continuously targeted him. Mathew Hayden escaped punishment with a reprimand, but Harbhajan Singh had poetic justice as he was instrumental in the fall of both Andrew Symonds and Mathew Hayden in the Commonwealth Bank tri-series final which India won 2-0.

Harbhajan Singh later said Mathew Hayden’s comment only inspired him to perform better.

Mathew Hayden has been bagged by the Chennai IPL team promoted by India Cements and Andrew Symonds would play for Hyderabad IPL team, promoted by Deccan Chronicle.

We can’t help grinning at the fireworks that would have erupted had Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh landed up in the same IPL team though!

The actress, who along with beau Ness Wadia, promotes the team, told a news agency that it would have been nice if the spinner was in the local team Mohali.

That sure makes business sense. Preity Zinta also says she is honing her cricketing skills and boosting her knowledge of IPL formats and modalities. The actress was present during the auction of players in a Mumbai hotel. Preity Zinta also had some words of wisdom when she said teams that did not have to afford icon players made the most of the auction. Sure, otherwise Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai would have bid for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s current ODI captain.

For starters, Harbhajan Singh was bagged by the Mumbai team.