All the BCCI board members and office bearers have been asked to sign an undertaking stating they are not in any conflict of interest

Amol Karhadkar24-Jul-20153:01

BCCI seeks to address conflicts of interest issue

The BCCI has, for the first time, acknowledged and sought to address the issue of conflict of interest. In a letter written to its members, the board’s new secretary, Anurag Thakur, has said conflict of interest has “caused enough consternation in our organisation”. Thakur has asked representatives of every state association, and members of various committees and sub-committees of the BCCI to sign a declaration stating they have no conflicts of interest.ESPNcricinfo is in possession of a copy of the letter, which acknowledges conflict-of-interest issues have led to situations “which we need to collectively address and avoid for the future to come”.One of the stock responses to any allegation of conflict of interest has been insistence that they have never actually misused their role as a board official for personal gain. This letter, though, clearly defines conflict of interest as the possibility of a bias and not necessarily the exercising of that bias.”Conflict of interest is not about beliefs or biases,” the letter tells the board’s members. “It is about a person’s roles and responsibilities, and the tendency or apprehension of bias that assumes to exist when duties, decisions or actions conflict. Deciding that someone has a conflict of interest is a description of a situation, not a judgement about the person or their actual beliefs.”

Undertaking is to reaffirm transparency – Dalmiya

BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said the directive to its members to sign a ‘no conflict of interest’ undertaking was aimed at bringing transparency and ensuring that the financial dealings of the board are made without any direct or indirect personal interest.
A statement he issued said, “The purpose of declaration of interest is to reaffirm the principle of transparency and that the members address every issue of financial dealings of the Board without any personal or financial interest directly or indirectly which may be seen to be vested interest or an obstacle to just and bona fide acts in the interest of the game.
“I personally feel that the concept of appropriate declarations not merely by the officials of the BCCI but also of the state associations must be revived in larger interests of transparency, evenhandedness and impartiality. This would ensure that the reputation and integrity of the Board are secured.”
PTI

With a Supreme Court-appointed Lodha committee looking into institutional reforms for the BCCI, this declaration comes at a time when the board needs to “protect the reputation and institutional integrity so as to earn broad trust, faith and confidence in all our activities”.The undertaking that board officials have to sign is stern and comprehensive. For example it asks everyone to declare the absence of “any personal or family allegiance, bias, inclination, obligation or any interest of whatsoever nature, directly or indirectly which may in any way affect or provide any financial or any other benefit to me, my family or close relations or which may tend to interfere with or affect my objectivity, independence, impartiality and neutrality in any decision making process, acts and conduct relating to or arising out of discharge of my office of President/Hony. Secretary of …”The Supreme Court had taken notice of the conflict of interest issue during the IPL spot-fixing case when it asked how N Srinivasan’s company could own an IPL team when he was the BCCI president.Srinivasan is the managing director of India Cements, which owned Chennai Super Kings. His son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was found to be a bona fide official of the team, a face of it, and he indulged in illegal betting. However, investigations carried out by a BCCI committee cleared Gurunath of any wrongdoing. Then the Supreme Court had to intervene, and it eventually resulted in the suspension of the owners of Super Kings for two years.A former selector had also accused Srinivasan of blocking the selection committee’s decision to remove MS Dhoni as ODI captain in 2012. Dhoni is captain of Super Kings, and also a vice-president of India Cements.Srinivasan’s defence, though, has always been that the company owned the IPL team and not he personally. This undertaking, however, eliminates the possibility of such situations. Anyone who signs it will admit that, “I am not in any manner or mode associated or connected with any Institution, body Corporate, Association of persons, Partnership or otherwise in any form or manner which derives any financial, commercial or any other benefits or gain from the Board of Control for Cricket in India directly or indirectly, other than the official grants received by the Association I represent.”The officials have been asked to declare conflicts of interest well in advance. “In the event of any act, function of the Association or any decision making process or related to any Tournament or otherwise, any conflict of interest do arise, I shall forthwith disclose the same and refrain myself from being associated with the same in any manner whatsoever or by whatever name described.”Officials have also been asked to sign they or their associated don’t stand to gain from any service contracts handed out by the board.

If Hashim Amla had his way, all ODI cricket would be played in the same way as the recently completed series between South Africa and New Zealand. Because of the conditions

Firdose Moonda26-Aug-20155:55

‘We played pressure moments well’ – AB de Villiers

Tahir moves to No. 2 on ICC rankings

Imran Tahir has become the second-ranked ODI bowler in the ICC rankings, while South Africa, by virtue of having registered a 2-1 series win over New Zealand, have climbed up to third position.
Tahir, who was in fifth position when the series began, jumped up three places following his five wickets in the series. While moving up the rankings, Tahir also pushed his team-mate, Dale Steyn, down to fifth position.
South Africa and New Zealand, who started the series on 109 and 110 points respectively to be the fourth and third-ranked sides, have now swapped places.

If Hashim Amla had his way, all ODI cricket would be played in the same way as the recently completed series between South Africa and New Zealand. Not because both teams could use the contest for experimentation, not because there there was very little at stake but because of conditions.”The wickets had a lot in it for the bowlers, which is very good. I think this is how ODI cricket should be played – there is something in it for the bowlers and guys have to bat semi-decently to get some runs,” Amla said at the post-series presentation, where he was named Man of the Series.Pre-season pitches in South Africa had their first taste of international cricket and did not prove as pacy as they usually are. Instead, they were slow and sticky, sometimes had some extra bounce and demanded batsmen show patience if they wanted reward. Amla is a master at that and ended as South Africa’s highest run-scorer, two behind Tom Latham who led the charts.He also scored South Africa’s only century and ended a lean patch that stretched seven innings and was beginning to bother even him. “It was a bit disappointing not getting runs too often before that,” Amla said. “Sometimes when you don’t get runs, the hunger increases and you look forward to scoring more runs.” Even if those runs come in challenging conditions.AB de Villiers, who top-scored with 64 in the decider, also found it heavy going. “It wasn’t easy at all; it was hard work upfront. I didn’t expect it to be difficult until the 30th over,” de Villiers said. “Fortunately, David Miller and I managed to get some momentum.”New Zealand did not find anything similar as they tried to suss out what was required to score off a sticky surface. “It was different conditions again and they adapted much better than we did,” Kane Williamson said. “We weren’t able to get on the front foot and get ahead of it.”South Africa were in the driver’s seat in Durban but overall neither side could conclusively say it steered proceedings through the contest with the advantage swinging throughout. Both were able to test their depth and both discovered what could work in future. For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada’s control stood out, for New Zealand, Latham’s and Ish Sodhi’s “Overall this tour has been of great benefit to the team as a whole and a bunch of individuals,” Williamson said. And to the organisers because it showed that cricket can be played in winter.

Pakistan captain Misbah ul Haq has expressed his disappointment with the selectors over not having another spinner in the squad to cover for the injured Yasir Shah in the opening Test in Abu Dhabi

Umar Farooq in Abu Dhabi13-Oct-2015Pakistan captain Misbah ul Haq has expressed his disappointment with the selectors over not having another spinner in the squad to cover for the injured Yasir Shah in the opening Test in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan prefer to play two fast bowlers and at least two specialist spinners but were forced to bring in Imran Khan as part of a three-man seam attack after a back spasm ruled out Yasir.Pakistan initially named a 15-man squad, with another spinner – either Zafar Gohar or Mohammad Asghar – expected to come in as a 16th player but instead Shoaib Malik was selected having not played a Test in five years. Less than 24 hours before the first Test, Yasir collapsed during a training session and he was unable to prove his fitness on Tuesday morning. It was a major setback for Pakistan, with their plans centred on Yasir.The flaw in their selection was immediately apparent, with no spinner sitting on the bench as a cover. Misbah made his feelings clear before the start of the match, saying: “I think it’s a mismanagement and we’re really disappointed by this.”The team’s management had attempted to bring back Gohar but the uncapped left-arm spinner had already returned to Pakistan after playing in two warm-up matches against England and had to apply for another visa.The PCB made every effort to fly Gohar overnight to Abu Dhabi from Lahore and make him available for selection but time was against them. He did not make it and Pakistan had to play three seamers against their will, leading to Misbah voicing his disapproval publically.It was, however, with the consent of Misbah that team management preferred Malik to either Gohar or Asghar. Both were to be judged while playing for Pakistan A against England in Sharjah last week, with Gohar emerging as the standout performer with figures of 2 for 47 and 3 for 72.It is understood that Misbah was not happy with the selections in the first place, with four seamers and two spinners included, but he did not resist and the squad was ultimately named with his consent. With Mohammad Hafeez currently banned from bowling, Zulfiqar Babar will therefore carry the spin burden, although Malik – who has 21 Test wickets at 61.47 – is also likely to contribute.

New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott has said he will assess when the right time to retire is at the end of next year’s World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2015New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott has said he will assess when the right time to retire is at the end of next year’s World T20. Elliott will close 37 during the course of the tournament that runs from March 11 to April 3 in India.”I’ve enjoyed it so much in this environment, it really has been rewarding playing with the guys and the way that the culture has changed has been awesome. As long as I’m enjoying it and performing I’ll play as long as I can,” Elliott said in Wellington at an event, according to Stuff.co.nz. “You spend quite a bit of time away from home, and there are work opportunities, so I’ll just assess it at the end of the World T20. I really want to aim towards that and it’d be great to play in two World Cups within a year.”The first of those World Cups Elliott was referring to was the 50-over showpiece in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, where he grabbed the spotlight by lifting Dale Steyn for six off the penultimate ball of a thrilling semi-final in Auckland. That shot sent New Zealand into their first World Cup final and raised the interest in the game to arguably the highest it has ever been in the country.Six months on from that electric night, the attention around cricket and himself is yet to die down, Elliott said. “I’ve never really played cricket for the attention; but it’s great to get positive attention rather than negative… People [still] come up and say ‘thanks a lot’. Everyone remembers where they were during that semi-final,” he said. “We have amazing memories as a team.”To see the kids now, how the World Cup has inspired them, and see the impact you can make as a player, is pretty special. Everyone who played in that World Cup, wherever you go, you can see kids and feel like you’ve had a part to play in their career, or their choice of sport.”New Zealand’s next international assignment is a three-Test series in Australia, starting on November 5.

South Africa’s Dean Elgar has voiced his displeasure with what he believed was a “result wicket” in Mohali

Sidharth Monga in Mohali05-Nov-20150:45

‘We knew India would prepare wickets like this’ – Elgar

After India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar had repeatedly defended the track in Mohali, Dean Elgar, the opening batsman who nearly doubled his career wicket tally with a four-wicket haul, was asked what he thought of the pitch.”Honestly?” he asked, and looked hesitantly at the South Africa media manager, without drawing any reaction from her whatsoever. Then he went on regardless: “I don’t think it’s a very good cricket wicket. It is my personal opinion. It is a result wicket, which is expected when you come here. But kudos to India, they are obviously going to prepare wickets like these against us, I’m sure. And we know coming here, it was going to be very different from what we are used to. So it’s not a very good cricket wicket, but it is a result wicket, which can go either way.”It was a dry pitch, something Sunil Gavaskar said at the pitch report he had “never seen before”. The middle part of the pitch was flat and low, and the good length scuffed up, offering slow but generous turn. It negated the South Africa fast bowlers, and brought it down to spin and reverse swing. India, not quite equal to the task, squandered the advantage of batting first and were bowled out on 201.”It is a very challenging wicket,” Bangar said. “I am not saying it is a good wicket or a bad wicket, but it is a very challenging wicket wherein run-making is not easy so I would say it looks 201 on the board, but it is actually worth far more than 201.”Bangar was asked that while the home advantage exists, what he thought of the pitch offering so much turn so early in the game. “When an Indian team goes overseas, you cannot say that the extent of seam movement, or the extent of movement in the air, there should be a fixed criteria,” Bangar said. “‘Okay if it swings this much or if it seams this much then only they are the ideal conditions. The extent of spin, seam or swing is something that cannot be fixed or measured. It is a challenge for all the batsmen. Equally taking wickets or scoring runs on such tracks is an art. Players will have to apply all their skills.”I don’t think it started to spin from the first over. In the first half it really played well. Most of the wickets, if you see, they were not really [because of spin]. The ball didn’t really turn that much. I think it is a mental skill and a mental challenge for the batsmen to score runs on such wickets.”Elgar disagreed with the notion that green tracks outside Asia posed a similar challenge. “Well I’m sure it has its flip side as well,” Elgar said. “I would think that generally when cricket is played on a green wicket, it lasts longer than it does on a spinning wicket. But yeah, I’m not really talking too much about this wicket. Mentioned what I wanted to mention and that’s it.”When asked to compare it with the tracks in Sri Lanka and what he tried to do on this pitch, Elgar said all he had to do in Mohali was land it in “half-decent” areas. “It [the pitch] is a lot different,” Elgar said. “It is like a day-four wicket now, the way I see it. So I batted on day one in Sri Lanka most days. So it is a lot different.”With regards to my bowling, I think a lot of times when the batters face me, they don’t want to go after me, and they become a little tentative. Fortunately the wicket had broken up quite a bit and there was quite a bit of rough. I just tried to land in a half-decent area. It worked out for me. I’m thankful that the batters were a little tentative against me, which is quite nice and worked in my favour and hopefully I can carry on.”The pitch has been a matter of much speculation leading up to the Test, not least because of India’s recent demands for tracks that turn from ball one. The Indian camp remained tight-lipped about how the pitch was likely to behave, or even whether they were satisfied with what Daljit Singh, the Mohali curator, had rolled out for them. There was a long conversation between the team leadership – Virat Kohli and the assistant coaches – and Daljit three days before the Test after which brushes made of intertwined coir rope were used to dust parts of the surface. A groundsman said this was being done to bring some sheen to the surface. It must also be kept in mind this surface has not been relaid for 23 years.Daljit is perhaps the only curator in the country who takes the reporters next to the pitch and explains to them the nature of the track and how it is expected to behave. This time, though, for some reason, he had that customary chat at the edge of the square, which meant nobody was allowed to see the pitch in the lead-up to the Test. Daljit was also uncharacteristically cagey about predicting the behaviour of the pitch.

A round-up of all the Group A Ranji Trophy matches from round eight on November 24, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Ashok Dinda’s best figures in Ranji Trophy helped Bengal climb to the top of the points table•PTI

Forty wickets fell in a little over a day and a half as Bengal beat Odisha by 133 runs in Kalyani to throw their hat into the qualifying race for the knockouts. Ashok Dinda ran riot by picking up 7 for 22 on a surface that was termed a “paddy field” by Rashmi Parida, the Odisha coach, as the visitors were bundled out for 37.Bengal, who made 142 in the first innings thanks largely to Abhimanyu Easwaran’s 88, were shot out for 135 in the second innings, with Basant Mohanty taking five wickets. Chasing 170, Odisha faced the danger of finishing with their lowest-ever score in the tournament’s history at 22 for 9. But such an ignominy was avoided thanks to the 15-run alliance between Jayanta Behera and Dhiraj Singh for the last wicket, which incidentally was the highest partnership for Odisha. Their previous lowest was 35 against Bihar in 1958-59.The win helped Bengal move to 25 points, which meant five teams were in with a chance of securing three quarter-final berths from the group.
ScorecardDefending champions Karnataka held the aces in their marquee clash in Hubli as Delhi were buried under an avalanche of runs. Karnataka, who resumed on 358 for 3, were bowled out for 542 a little after tea, with Manish Pandey (81) and R Vinay Kumar, the captain, (50) continuing the good work done by Robin Uthappa and Mayank Agarwal on the opening day.All the middle order batters – Karun Nair (39), CM Gautam (37) and Shreyas Gopal (29) – were guilty of frittering away starts as Delhi looked set to dismiss Karnataka inside 450. But Vinay’s defiance helped the hosts drive forward, even as the new ball pair of Navdeep Saini and Pradeep Sangwan impressed again by picking up three wickets apiece. S Aravind then broke a 47-run opening stand by sending back Unmukt Chand, but Gautam Gambhir (33) and Dhruv Shorey (4) ensured they would be no further casualties. As things stand, it looks like there is only one team with a realistic chance of pressing for full points from this fixture.
ScorecardAs many as eight batsmen got into double figures, with the highest being Ashok Menaria, who made 47, as Rajasthan finished with 279 to open up a 167-run lead over Haryana in their quest to avoid being the bottom scrappers of the group. The 71-run stand for the fifth wicket between Menaria and Siddharth Dobal (43) was the highest of the innings. That the lead was restricted to below 200 was largely due to the efforts of Mohit Sharma, who finished with 5 for 56, after Haryana were bowled out for 112 on the opening day.Their openers began well in the second dig to end the day at 62 without loss, thereby bringing the deficit down to 105 when stumps were drawn in Lahli.
ScorecardArun Karthik brought up his third century of the season as Assam overcame a top-order meltdown at the MCA Stadium in Pune. They were tottering at 18 for 3 after being sent in to bat on a green top, with Anupam Sanklecha and Samad Fallah doing the early damage. Karthik found able assistance from Gokul Sharma, the captain, who was unbeaten on 59. Their fifth-wicket stand of 130 went a long way in restoring parity for Assam, who are in the mix for a quarter-final berth after securing three wins in the tournament so far.

Hardus Viljoen, the Lions pacer, has been called in as cover for the injured Kyle Abbott ahead of the New Year’s Test in Cape Town

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2015South Africa’s depleted pace attack has been supplied with further reinforcements after Hardus Viljoen was called up as cover for Kyle Abbott ahead of the Cape Town Test. Abbott suffered tightness in his left hamstring during South Africa’s heavy defeat to England in Durban.Dale Steyn is already a major doubt after suffering a shoulder injury while bowling in England’s second innings, which increased the workload for South Africa’s three-man pace attack. Abbott bowled 45.4 overs at Kingsmead, picking up two wickets, as South Africa lost by 241 runs.There is just a two-day gap before the start of the New Year’s Test, giving Abbott and Morne Morkel precious little recovery time. South Africa are also without Vernon Philander, after he tore ankle ligaments on the tour of India.”With a short turnaround between the first and second Tests, we’ve included Hardus in the squad as a precautionary measure to cover all our bases,” convener of selectors Linda Zondi said.South Africa’s captain, Hashim Amla, said that Steyn would undergo a fitness test on Friday, suggesting “there may be a necessary change there”. Kagiso Rabada is Steyn’s most likely replacement, although Chris Morris has also joined the squad along with Quinton de Kock.”The fact that he didn’t bowl in the second innings and with it being only a two-day turnaround… I hope he does play. But let’s leave it for Friday,” Amla said of Steyn.Uncapped Viljoen, who has 295 wickets from 73 first-class matches, has been in fine form for Lions, picking up 20 wickets in the first two rounds of matches in South Africa’s first-class competition. He was the second-leading wicket-taker last season but considered moving to New Zealand amid frustration about his lack of international recognition.

Dan Lawrence struck struck 174 off 150 balls, the second-highest score ever recorded in Under-19 World Cup history to lead England to a 299-run victory over Fiji in Chittagong

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong27-Jan-2016When he was dismissed in the final over, England opener Dan Lawrence did not know that his 174 was the second-highest in 11 years of Under-19 World Cups and only six runs short of the highest ever in Youth ODIs. He was simply delighted that it helped the England Under-19s thump Fiji Under-19s by 299 runs.”I couldn’t tell you what [the record] was,” Lawrence told ESPNcricinfo. “I am not sure if I have beaten it. I don’t know. If I woke up this morning and someone offered me that score, I would have said yes.”Lawrence and Jack Burnham put together the biggest partnership for any wicket in Youth ODIs. Their 303 broke a record that had stood for over a decade – New Zealand’s BJ Watling and Brad Wilson had put on 273 runs in February 2004 against Scotland.Lawrence said he and Burnham, who scored 148, mostly talked about tackling the first hour when conditions were tacky at the MA Aziz Stadium. England had lost Max Holden in the third over after opting to bat first, but from then on they dominated a Fiji team that was playing its first game at the world stage.”We talked a lot about getting through the first hour. It was a little bit tacky in the morning, and tougher to bat,” Lawrence said. “Once the ball gets older, a batter should be able to score big runs. We were talking about taking it as it comes, and get greedy and get a hundred to start off the tournament. Luckily we did.”Lawrence felt the Fiji bowlers were always behind the game without consistent breakthroughs, and it became easier for himself and Burnham to accelerate after the 30th over considering they had nine wickets in hand. England finished with 371 for 3 in 50 overs.”It was tough for Fiji because we got a good platform. We were one wicket down after 30 overs and as a batter you are always happy when that happens. You’ve got so many wickets in your hand that you can chance your arm. Luckily today we chanced our arm and it came off,” Lawrence said. “It was good. They weren’t bad at all. They just had a tough time of it because we had so many wickets in hand.”Lawrence, who became the third-youngest batsman to make a Championship century last year at 17 years and 290 days, said his experience with Essex has been invaluable and he can pass it on to those who don’t have access to such intimate knowledge of the game.”I think it has been a massive help to play in Essex, just working with people who have played a lot more cricket than I have. I took as much knowledge as I possibly can out of all the bigger guns in cricket. Then you come here and try to feed off the knowledge that I have learned from them to some of the other players who hasn’t had that type of experiences,” he said.England play West Indies next in the group stages at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Friday.

James Faulkner predicts more feats of run scoring and further sobering times for bowlers in the second ODI between Australia and India at the Gabba, even though playing conditions have actually eased in favour of the fielding sides since last year’s World

Daniel Brettig14-Jan-20161:49

Being aggressive and taking wickets is objective – Faulkner

James Faulkner predicts more feats of run scoring and further sobering times for bowlers in the second ODI between Australia and India at the Gabba, even though playing conditions have actually eased in favour of the fielding sides since last year’s World Cup.Batting Powerplays were abolished three months after Australia’s players lifted the trophy at the MCG last March, but a preponderance of flat pitches, spring-loaded bats and powerful hitters mean that scoring has been only subtly affected by the change.Faulkner pointed out that the Gabba shared the WACA’s tendencies for fast scoring in ODIs, and expected something similar to the series opener when Australia reeled in India’s 309 with something in reserve, on a surface affording less assistance to the bowlers than the hosts had expected.”Everyone was quite surprised by the way the wicket played in Perth, it was very flat and we saw a lot of runs scored. I think any time you see 300 scored and chased it’s definitely a flat wicket,” he said in Brisbane. “I’m expecting the same sort of scenario here as well, I haven’t seen a one-day wicket that hasn’t been flat here for a fair while, so it should have good pace, carry and be a good contest again.”In general it’s a tough gig bowling in Perth and here. Runs can be scored so fast due to the pace on the ball, change-ups don’t grip as much as other grounds like the MCG and Canberra that we’ll see later in the series. Everyone got hit the other day so I don’t think you can single out one or two bowlers.”Commenting on the removal of the Powerplay, Faulkner said the ability of the fielding side to post five boundary riders was a relief. He also felt it meant that batsmen were less likely to contrive their innings by playing within themselves before the chance to hit into unmanned expanses of the outfield caused them to switch to and overtly aggressive posture.”I did notice a change,” he said. “The big change was the overs leading into the old Powerplay where batters tended to milk it around and stay in and then use that as a launching pad. That was a dangerous time for any team batting, if you lost a wicket before that five-over period it could really halt your momentum.”Likewise if you didn’t lose a wicket you could really set up a big total. I like the new rules, it goes back to five in the last 10 and it’s still a massive challenge for the bowlers, but it’s a bit more normal instead of players milking it around before.”While admitting he was trying to “avoid” taking in too much of the Big Bash League while on Australian duty, Faulkner indicated that Australia’s players felt no more pressure to be entertainers than they usually are under their coach Darren Lehmann’s desire for attractive cricket.”Every time you go onto the ground you try to entertain, I don’t think you specifically go out there and think ‘I want to put on a show’, it’s more worrying about what you can do to contribute to the team,” Faulkner said. “The revolution in T20 cricket and how successful the Big Bash has been this season with the crowd numbers that have attended and also on TV, it’s only going to get bigger.”It’s an exciting time for cricket in general, you’re seeing a lot more high scores in the one-day format as well. That’s entertaining enough.”

Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been added to Sri Lanka’s squad as cover for Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was ruled out of the first T20 against India with a hand injury

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2016Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been added to Sri Lanka’s squad as cover for Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was ruled out of the first T20 against India with a hand injury. Dilshan did not travel with the team to India on Saturday. He will instead spend a few days recovering from injury at home, before joining the side mid-series. He is expected to be available for the second match, in Ranchi, on February 12.This injury is an aggravation of an old complaint for Dilshan, who sustained it while attempting a catch during the semi-final of the recently-concluded Super T20 Provincial Tournament. He did not play in the final, but the injury is not thought to be serious. He is scheduled to resume training in the nets on Monday.Dickwella earned his call-up via a good run in the Super T20 tournament, where he struck 189 runs in six innings, with a strike rate of 173. He has played four Tests and one ODI for Sri Lanka, but is uncapped in the shortest format. He will remain in the squad even after Dilshan rejoins it.Dilshan is the third high-profile player to be struck by injury ahead of the series. Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews had already been ruled out of all three T20s. The first match is set to be played in Pune, on Tuesday.