Ind vs Eng: Kohli, Ojha replace Yuvraj, Harbhajan At Edgbaston

Indian batsman Virat Kohli and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha will replace Yuvraj Singh and offie Harbhajan Singh in the third Test in Edgbaston. Both players will join the Indian team at the earliest.

A BCCI release said on Wednesday while Yuvraj Singh's injury may take around four weeks to recover, Harbhajan Singh is likely to recover in three weeks' time.

Yuvraj has fractured his left index finger and Harbhajan Singh has a Grade I abdominal muscle strain.

Harbhajan, who had sustained injury during his team's 319-run defeat in Nottingham, had bowled only 13.4 overs at Trent Bridge and his absence during England's second innings increased the workload of India's seam attack. He has also been in poor form, taking 1 for 69 in the second Test after conceding 1 for 218 in the first at Lord's. Yuvraj, who played at Trent Bridge because of the elbow injury to Gautam Gambhir, got hit on his left hand in the final innings by a short ball from Tim Bresnan.

India are also waiting to see what sort of fitness and form Virender Sehwag is in. Sehwag missed the first two Tests, because he was recovering from shoulder surgery and is expected to join the team this week and play the tour game in Northamptonshire. It is not yet clear whether Zaheer Khan, who pulled out during the Lord's Test with a hamstring injury after bowling only 13.3 overs and missed Trent Bridge, will be fit to play at Edgbaston.

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Ind vs Eng: Team India Confident Of Bouncing Back

Despite trailing 0-2 and their world number one Test ranking at stake, India are quite confident of turning the tables on a rampant England in the remaining two Tests of the four-match Test series.

Even as the injuries and batting failures have hit India hard, Dhoni's men are not overlooking a few positives from the two defeats at Lord's and Trent Bridge.

"Bhai sahib, yahan match to jeetna hai (we have to win matches)," Praveen Kumar, who has so far taken 13 wickets from two Tests at an average of 26.53, said.

Indians are not ready to get caught in the swirl of negatives floating around them and are working on strengthening their belief in themselves, which alone could help them turn the tide in their favour.

They are keen to draw confidence from the fact that Sachin Tendulkar was not well at Lord's, Gautam Gambhir was laid low by an elbow injury, while Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman did little wrong in the last two Tests. Even Suresh Raina showed a glimpse of his ability.

There is not a single pacer one can find fault with, even though off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has failed miserably and "Bhajji bashing" started almost immediately.

Harbhajan, who is now ruled out of the Test series due to an abdominal strain, was being viewed as an unimaginative bowler and as somebody who wouldn't mind being injured at this stage of his career.

The off-spinner bowled just 13.4 overs in the second Test and has been woefully out of form in the series. The tweaker grabbed one for 69 in the second Test after his one for 218 in the first at Lord's. But the fact that even Graeme Swann equally struggled on seamers' strip, has conveniently been brushed under the carpet.


"We are very good at running down our own men. You break this team now and you would pay the price in Australia later this year. No spinner, other than (Shane) Warne, (Muttiah) Muralitharan and (Anil) Kumble, has taken more wickets than Harbhajan in the history of the game," said a former Indian captain, who is now a cricket commentator.

"And are Bhajji's critics implying that Warne, Murali and Kumble never had an ordinary series? Kumble averaged nearly 60 in his final three Test series. Warne is averaging nearly 50 in 14 Tests against India. And do you want to know what is Murali's average in India -- over 45 in 11 Tests!" he added.

As far as Dhoni is concerned, he has also been a subject of similar attack. There is nothing that critics can find right with his batting, keeping or captaincy.

But the Indian team knows that it is not only him who has failed with the bat in the series but also England captain Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.

Dhoni's collection behind the stumps is faulted, even when the wickets have been uneven at times. There is a lack of respect for a man who has helped India reach the top of the Test ladder and stay there for 19 months.

Most of the members of the Indian cricket team have seen the highs and the lows in their careers and are experienced enough not to get bothered by all the criticism surrounding them at the moment.

Teams can and do lose a match and a series. But it must not be a trigger to stamp out the good cricketers. Players, who serve long can have an aberration once in a while but it shouldn't be a signal to take them off the roster.

An act in haste could be one of repent later. And No.1 Test side in the world is all desperate to prove their critics wrong when they take on England in the last two Tests at Edgbaston and The Oval.

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Lokpal Bill Introduced In Lok Sabha, Hazare Burns Copies In Protest

The much-debated Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid objections from the BJP and its NDA partners over exclusion of the Prime Minister from the purview of the proposed legislation.

As government introduced the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, Anna Hazare and his team members burnt copies of the "anti-poor, anti-Dalit" law with the Gandhian asserting that he would go ahead with his fast beginning August 16 till a strong law is brought in.

Hazare and his supporters burnt copies of the Bill introduced in Parliament on Thursday afternoon in Maharashtra's Ralegaon Siddhi while his supporters Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi led the protest in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi area in Ghaziabad.

Amidst sloganeering against government, Hazare said it was the last chance to eradicate corruption from the country and that the protest should be organised all over to ensure that a strong Lokpal Bill is brought in.

"This is a bad and weak Bill which is introduced in Parliament. We need a new and strong Bill. I trusted them when they said they will bring a strong law and ended my fast in April. They cheated me.

"But at the protest starting from August 16, I am not going to withdraw from my fast on some assurances. What we need is a strong bill," he said.

He claimed the government would have fallen if he had continued his fast then for another three days. The government does not fear fast or protests but they fear the voice of people, he said, adding that people should acquire this power to overthrow governments.

However, he said, his protest is not to change the government but system.

Alleging that it was an insult to Parliament and people, Kejriwal described the bill as "anti-poor and anti- Dalit" which does not help the poor in fighting corruption.

BJP for PM under Lokpal

Just before introduction of the bill, Speaker Meira Kumar gave permission to Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj to express her views as a special case under Rule 72.

Swaraj said when the Prime Minister does not enjoy immunity from prosecution under the criminal law and Prevention of Corruption Act, why is he being kept out of the ambit of the Lokpal.

She maintained that as per the Constitution, everybody was equal and there is no immunity from IPC, CrPC or the Prevention of Corruption Act.

"It is for the first time that under Clause 2 of the Lokpal Bill, all Union ministers are included except the Prime Minister. I don't understand why. How can anybody occupying any position be a holy cow. Why is the Prime Minister being kept out of its purview?" Swaraj posed.

She stated that then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had put the debate to rest during NDA rule by saying that if he is not under its purview it will have no meaning. She was referring to the Lokpal Bill proposed by the NDA government which was ultimately not introduced in Parliament.

"As chairperson of the then Standing Committee on Home, Pranab Mukherjee had accepted that the Prime Minister should be within the purview of the Lokpal. The Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) has himself said he wants to be within its ambit. Why is the Cabinet not paying heed to his views?" she asked.

Lokpal Bill draft
The Union Cabinet last month approved a Lokpal Bill draft for introduction in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The draft excludes the prime minister from the purview of the Lokpal.

V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State for PMO, said though the prime minister wanted to come under the purview of the Lokpal, the Cabinet decided to keep the post out. The prime minister would, however, come under Lokpal's purview after demitting office. (Read: Cabinet approves Lokpal draft)

Also out of the ambit are the higher judiciary and the conduct of MPs inside Parliament.

As per the draft, the Lokpal committee will be headed by a chairman and have eight members. The chairman will be from the judiciary and so will be 50 per cent of the members.

Team Anna rejects draft
The Anna Hazare-led civil society team rejected the government's Lokpal Bill draft and demanded that the prime minister be brought under its purview. Hazare has vowed to launch a hunger strike from August 16 in protest. (Read: Referendum backs PM under Lokpal, claims Team Anna)

Hazare's team claims a referendum held among people in Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency last month showed an overwhelming (85 per cent) support for bringing the prime minister under Lokpal.

Hazare has called the government's version of the Lokpal draft a "joke". (In pics: People's support to Hazare's campaign)

Opposition pressure on govt
Opposition parties have demanded that the Lokpal Bill be given enough teeth to make it effective on the ground. BJP spokesperson Jagat Prakash Nadda has termed the Cabinet-approved Lokpal Bill draft as a "ploy to hoodwink" the people.

TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu too demanded that the pime mnister be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill.

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