India to host 2011 World Cup final, 29 games

Mumbai will house the 2011 World Cup secretariat and India will host 29 of the 49 matches after the event's Central Organizing Committee today reallocated the games following the ICC decision to drop Pakistan as a co-host of the tournament.

Accordingly, the opening match of the 10th edition of the quadrennial tournament would be held as scheduled in Bangladesh on February 19, 2011, while the final would be held in India.

The opening ceremony of cricket's showpiece event would also be held in Bangladesh on February 18.

"The Central Organizing Committee, which continues to have Sharad Pawar heading it, has reallocated the matches by which India would host 29 games across eight venues, Sri Lanka 12 games across three and Bangladesh eight at two venues," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said here.

"Bangladesh would play host to two quarter finals while one quarter final each would be held by India and Sri Lanka who will also split the two semi finals equally. The final would be held in India (in March, 2011)," Lorgat said.

The reallocation of matches was necessitated by the ICC's decision to take away co-hosting rights from Pakistan due to security concerns in the wake of the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore on March 3.

Pakistan was slated to host 14 ties, including a semifinal, while Lahore was named the home of the secretariat.

"The Central Organizing Committee was also reorganized and will continue to be headed by Sharad Pawar with representatives from the three World Cup hosting countries and a representative of the ICC," Lorgat said.

The World Cup Organizing Committee also relocated the Secretariat from Lahore to the BCCI's headquarters in Mumbai, besides appointing BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty as the Event Managing Director.

"Prof Shetty will be the Event Managing Director while I S Bindra, the special adviser to the ICC, would be a key person in the management of the World Cup. The secretariat will be in Mumbai in the offices of the BCCI", the ICC CEO said.

First Time Five Indians in Wisden's Dream Test XI

Wisden, the highly respected cricket publication, today named Virender Sehwag as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2008 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni captain of its first ever Dream Test XI which has five Indians in the ranks.

India's rich vein of form found ample reflection in Wisden's first ever Dream XI which include Sehwag, Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.

India has the largest representation in the Test squad, followed by Australia (Ricky Ponting and Mitchell Johnson) and South Africa (Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn) who have two each.

Flamboyant batsman Kevin Pietersen is the lone English player in the XI, while the West Indies is represented by run-machine Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Smith is Dhoni's deputy in the side.

The three selectors who picked the squad were former India captain Ravi Shastri, retired West Indian pacer Ian Bishop and former New Zealand stumper Ian Smith.

"The criteria for selection are simple: the best eleven to play a Test match, no matter the opposition, guided by performances in 2008, and taking into consideration the amount of Test cricket they played in the year, the quality of their opponents, and that indefinable blend of class and form," Wisden said.

It turned out to be a double delight for Sehwag who became the sixth player to be adjudged the Leading Cricketer in the World, an award instituted in 2004.

The five previous winners have been Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff, Muttiah Muralitharan and Jacques Kallis.

"Virender Sehwag had to beat off the strongest of challenges by Graeme Smith to become the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2008. Sehwag did so by taking the task of opening Test innings to a new level," Wisden observed.

"He sought, and often achieved, mental domination from the first ball by scoring faster than any other opening batsman has ever done on a regular basis in Test cricket," it said.

Team:

• Virender Sehwag
• Graeme Smith
• Ricky Ponting
• Sachin Tendulkar
• Kevin Pietersen
• Shivnarine Chanderpaul
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni(W,C)
• Harbhajan Singh
• Zaheer Khan
• Dale Steyn
• Mitchell Johnson