<\/p>\n
For once the hype around London Olympics seems to take taken away the limelight away from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys. Discreet is not a term you would generally associate with an Indian cricket team\u2019s departure for an international tour, says a report in The Indian Express, <\/strong>adding that but for once, not many seemed to take notice of the country\u2019s most-vaunted sports team as they boarded the flight from Chennai. The spotlight had already shifted. Their arrival in Sri Lanka has been overshadowed by the upcoming London Olympics.<\/p>\n \u201cCall it a case of really bizarre scheduling or the BCCI\u2019s not-too-subtle benevolence towards their neighbouring counterparts, a trip to Colombo has become a routine affair for Dhoni & Co. And so often have the two teams met each other in recent years that an Indo-Lankan contest has lost relevance for many \u2014 except of course on that unforgettable night at the Wankhede Stadium on April 2, 2011,\u201d says the Indian Express <\/strong>report, adding that a clearer case of overkill has rarely existed. \u201cSince January 2008, India and Sri Lanka have done battle on a staggering 52 occasions across all three formats. Of the lot, six Tests, 17 ODIs and one T20 have been played in the Emerald Isle itself. There\u2019s plenty of reason for the players too to feel fed up. Kumar Sangakkara had once quipped last year about wanting to walk into a hotel foyer and not seeing the Indian team for a change. A look at the amount of matches that the likes of Dhoni and Suresh Raina have racked up against their neighbours can explain the former Sri Lankan captain\u2019s reservations,\u201d says the report.<\/p>\n Meanwhile a report in The Hindu <\/strong>says that split by years but united by cricket, a coach and a star player stressed that \u2018remaining focused\u2019 will help the Indian team do well in the coming under-19 World Cup in Australia. B. Arun and Yuvraj Singh believe that the squad led by Unmukt Chand will shine bright. Arun, who guides the junior crop, and Yuvraj spoke about what it takes to excel at the junior level.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did rappelling (at Nagarhole sanctuary), which is basically climbing down a cliff and the process is simple provided you stay calm. It is similar to what happens in close matches, a cool mind wins in hot matches. We also did a game called a trust-walk in which we split the players into three groups and except the group leader, the rest were blind-folded,\u201d says B. Arun<\/strong>, adding, \u201cThe players found their own code-language. The camp got the team closer and helped a few players, who were withdrawn, to open up a lot more.\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile a report in The Times Of India <\/strong>says that <\/strong>Alastair Cook hit his 20th test century to steer England to 267-3 at stumps Thursday on the opening day of the first test against South Africa at The Oval. Cook hit a measured 114 not out from 283 balls, with a six and 11 fours, to put England in charge. Jonathan Trott made 71 from 162 balls with nine fours. Morne Morkel, who trapped England captain Andrew Strauss lbw for 0 on the fourth ball of the day, was the best bowler on a lifeless wicket, taking 2-44 on a frustrating day for South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For once the hype around London Olympics seems to take taken away the limelight away from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys. Discreet is not a term you would generally associate with an Indian cricket team\u2019s departure for an international tour, says a report in The Indian Express, adding that but for once, not many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[5882,705,280,622,520],"class_list":["post-8562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-from-the-newspapers","tag-b-arun","tag-bcci","tag-london-olympics","tag-mahendra-singh-dhoni","tag-yuvraj-singh"],"yoast_head":"\n