Virat in for Gambhir | Virat Kohli replaces injured Gautam Gambhir for the Compaq Cup

Virat Kohli is named the replacement for the injured Gautam Gambhir who unfortunately injured his groin to return back to India, rendering him unavailable for the Compaq Cup tri nation series.

Gautam Gambhir strained his groin during the recently concluded Corporate Cup organized by BCCI. Virat Kohli is named in the touring 15 and most likely to open the batting order. Virat also recently recovered from his shoulder injury and participated in the Corporate Cup to be deemed fit to be chosen for the Compaq Cup.

India would want Gambhir to recover much before 26th September 2009 when they play their first match of the champions Trophy against Pakistan.

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Team India reaches Sri Lanka for the Compaq Cup, Tri nation ODI Series, Indian Team Practise Photos

Team India reached Sri Lanka at the Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday afternoon to participate in the Compaq Cup the tri nation series in Sri Lanka. The 15 member team lead by MS Dhoni is keen to get the trophy home and climb up the ladder in the ODI rankings. The team got delayed as the stipulated carrier Jet Airways pilots went on a nation wide strike and thus Air India had to fly a special flight picking up few of the players from Bangalore who played for Air India team in the recently concluded BCCI Corporate trophy.

The team immediately jumps into practice session for some much required practice.

Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, coach Garl Kirsten lead the team for practise sessions

Captain Cool MSD - trying his hand on the bat, they have a net session as they land in Sri Lanka

Dhoni looks relaxed and confident

M S Dhoni is greeted at the Sri Lanka airport

Gambhir is the only reckoned opener in the squad, as his partner Sehwag is ruled out with injury for this Compaq Cup

Ishant had a poor form off late. He is concerned about his performance. He is lucky to be around

RP Singh tugging his luggage, waiting to swing the ball

Yuvraj Singh all set to roar at the Compaq cup

Sachin Tendulkar at the Chennai Airport

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Can India be Number 1 in ICC ODI Rankings? Gary Kirsten confident India can do it

Gary Kirsten the high profile Indian coach being lauded for his excellent performance under whose belt India has managed to win five consecutive bilateral ODI series is very confident and charged up by the fact that India should manage to bag the number one position in ODI Cricket.

Gary Kirsten is eager to get the number 1 coach tag on his CV and he is very in doing that feat.

"We have set our goals," Kirsten said, as teh team gets ready to depart for Sri Lanka . "One of them is to be the best cricket team in the world. We are headed that way and we are very excited. We know we have to perform well as we continue the quest to be the best. We won the last two series in Sri Lanka and we are confident. But we think ahead and don't harp on the results of the past.

"We have got a good batting line-up which is quite flexible in the middle. We would like to mix it up during the series. We have got a very good run in one-day cricket. We have got good depth in the side and the younger players have proved themselves."

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MS Dhoni is worlds richest Cricket Player, USD $ 10 Million

According to the latest report by Forbes, a leading business magazine the most elite of cricketers is led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s most successful captain and youth icon. MS Dhoni with his flamboyant style and hefty blows to the cricket balls bowled over hearts of million of cricketing fans all over the world. Dhoni has put behind Sachin Tendulkar an icon for any cricket player. The other top richest players are again Indian (due to hefty paychecks by the worlds richest cricket board BCCI, and also their skills which handed them with lucrative offers from the IPL and theirs sponsors and brands which they market)

Here is the list of the richest Cricket Players of 2009 according to Forbes

1. Dhoni (India) - USD 10 Million
2. Sachin Tendulkar(India) - USD 8 Million
3. Yuvraj Singh (India) - USD 5.5 Million
4. Rahul Dravid (India) - USD 5 Million
5. Andrew Flintoff (England) - USD 4 Million
6. Sourav Ganguly (India) - USD 3.5 Million
6. Ricky Ponting (Australia) - USD 3.5 Million
7. Brett Lee (Australia) - USD 3 Million
7. Kevin Pietersen (England) - USD 3 Million
9. Michael Clarke (Australia) - USD 2.5 Million

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