Very Hard to improve fielding - Dhoni

BANGALORE: India's sloppy fielding nearly cost them defeat against England but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted it would be difficult to lift standards in his ageing side.

India racked up a huge score of 338 in their clash on Sunday in Bangalore, helped by a century from Sachin Tendulkar, but the match ended in a dramatic tie after England skipper Andrew strauss hit 158.

The host nation's powerful batting line-up has fired in both World Cup matches so far but there are growing concerns about their bowling and fielding after conceding 283 in their win against Bangladesh and 338 against England.

Dhoni said it would be tough to boost fielding standards due to the make-up of the squad after a cumbersome fielding performance. "I don't think we can improve the fielding very much because we have got quite a few slow fielders in the side," he said. "But as far as the bowling department is concerned I think we have got a talented group so hopefully in the coming games we can improve a lot."

Tendulkar is the oldest player in the squad, at 37, with Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan both 32 but a number of other players are also nearing 30.

Giving his reaction to the sensational tie, Dhoni said: "I am not disappointed, not excited. I have got mixed feelings. There were times when we could have lost, and times when we could have won the match."

"It was a thrilling match because both the teams were facing defeat or victory at some point. All credit to England for the way they batted," he added.

Asked about his frequent discussions with Sehwag during the England innings, Dhoni said he consulted senior players for the good of the team.

"There are quite a few decisions you have to make. We have some experienced guys and we are always trying to make the best decisions for the team," he said.

"I always let the fast bowlers set the field when they are bowling. It's only when they don't work I set my own."

Asked about the inclusion of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, Dhoni said he was not sure whether three seamers would have given the right balance.

He said paceman Ashish Nehra needed to be 100 percent fit to be considered for selection.

Dhoni Get Offers if india Win World Cup

The St Xavier's College in Ranchi has welcomed the Jharkhand government's plan to award an honorary degree to Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Jharkhand human resource development (HRD) minister Baidyanath Ram last week announced the plan to give the honorary degree to Dhoni as a giftElectric Scooter in India

if India win the cricket world cup starting Feb 19.
"We welcome the government's announcement to award an honorary degree to Dhoni. We will do the needful if we get a proposal from the government," Father Nicolas Tete, principal of the college, said.

College students are also excited over the announcement.

"We will be happy if Dhoni is gifted an honorary degree as an award for winning the world cup after 28 years," said Rajesh Sen, a final year graduation student. Hyundai Dealers in India

Dhoni is not a graduate. He took admission to a graduation course in 2008 in St Xavier's College but could not find time to complete it.

Pepsico Book Dhoni

the company paved the way for a dramatic play-off with India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who is heading rival Pepsico India’s brand endorsement projects.

Coke, it is understood, is paying Tendulkar Rs 20 crore for a three-year deal. That’s more than what Dhoni is getting from Pepsico and is quite a turnaround for the little master who had earlier seen the number of endorsements dipping over the last few years. “This is set to see a correction now with Tendulkar playing almost at his best,” says Santosh Desai, Future Brands CEO.

The brand Sachin versus Dhoni battle also took a new turn when reports came in that the former had turned down an offer to endorse a leading liquor brand which would have been the highest-paid deal for an Indian sportsman. And these happened just days after Dhoni signed a Rs 26 crore endorsement contract with Vijay Mallya’s UB Group, making him the highest paid sportsperson for a single endorsement deal in the country.

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Brand experts, however, say the so-called brand battle between the two are just sideshows in a year when big ticket sporting properties such as the ICC World Cup 2011 and the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League are going to jack up the endorsement fees for both.

Indranil Blah, vice president, Kwan Entertainment which is into sports management, says, “While the number of brands that Tendulkar and Dhoni endorse is not expected to increase sharply as compared to last year, their rates may go up by 40-50 per cent.” According to industry estimates, both Tendulkar and Dhoni get paid as much as Rs 5 crore per endorsement, which is set to rise to over Rs 7 crore this year.

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Tendulkar is endorsing 15 brands at present. He is the face of Castrol products in the country and promotes brands such as Castrol Power1, Activ and GTX. He also endorses appliances major Toshiba, ITC’s Sunfeast, Boost, Canon, Royal Bank of Scotland, Reynolds, Jaypee Cements, Aviva Life Insurance, Adidas, luxury Swiss watch Audemars Piguet and Pune-based Amit Housing Enterprises among others.

Industry sources estimate the size of sports endorsement market to be valued at around Rs 200 crore, which can grow by 20 per cent due to the cricket packed season. Dhoni, for instance, renegotiated his existing deal with Maxx Mobiles for seven years for Rs 29 crore which was initially valued at Rs 10 crore.

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Dhoni’s associations are managed by Rhiti Sports Management (RSM). Arun Pandey, president RSM, said, “Dhoni at present endorses 24 brands. There is a lot of interest from companies to have in on board.” Dhoni is also the brand ambassador for Fashion Bazaar, Sonata, Amrapali Housing amongst others.

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Dhoni to own world famous gun

James Bond and Beijing Olympic Games gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra, India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to will own a world famous Walther rifle. A top importer of shooting equipment for leading Indian marksmen, indianshooting.com, received an invoice from Dhoni on October 21 for a
top-end rifle priced at 2,400 euros (Rs 14.8 lakh approximately).

“This is the best rifle Walther has. And I have received confirmation from the company that the amount has been received from the Indian skipper,” said Shimon Sharif, the website’s director and an international marksman who represented India in the 2003 World Cup in Seoul along with Bindra.

“A week after the Commonwealth Games, I got a mail from Dhoni wanting to buy a Walther rifle. At first we didn’t realise it was him as we get many mails from people wanting to purchase rifles and pistols. Our company is Walther’s representatives in India,” said Sharif.

“Later, when I saw the mail (again) around 2 am, I realised it was our very own India skipper, Mahi. I was overjoyed. I replied to him personally and, to my surprise, I got an answer in five minutes. He seemed very serious about buying the rifle.

“Dhoni had shown interest in the Carbontec air rifle, the one used by Bindra at the Beijing Olympic Games. The rifle is expected to reach India in a week’s time. He also told me that he has recently shifted to his new house,” said the Delhi-based Sharif, adding that Dhoni said he was a life-member of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), shooting’s apex body in India.

“Usually, I assemble and adjust the rifles for all our clients and shooters and would be happy to do it for Mahi as well. Every rifle has to be adjusted as per the shooter’s specifications. Till now, people at Walther don’t know about their latest high-profile client in India,” said Sharif, adding,

“It’s good to see top cricketers being attracted to shooting.”