CHAK DE! JHULAN: AS THE MEN IN BLUE ARE DROPPED FROM THE FINAL LIST, JHULAN IS THE LONE INDIAN NOMINATED FOR ICC ANNUAL AWARD

The hype around them notwithstanding, none of the 'Men in Blue' could make it to the shortlist for ICC annual awards, which has the lone Indian representation in Jhulan Goswami, nominated for the 'Women's Cricketer of the Year' category.

The long list for the ICC awards included Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble in the 'Test Player of the Year' category, while Yuvraj Singh made it to the ODI list. But when the 56-member ICC Academy pruned the list, the Team India trio fell by the wayside.

Jhulan's new ball partner Rumeli Dhar, who was also named in the initial list, also failed to make the cut in the shortlist. Jhulan will have to stave off challenge from Lisa Sthalekar (Aus) and Claire Taylor (Eng) to win the coveted title.

Meanwhile, Australian captain Ricky Ponting may bag his second Sir Garifield Sobers Trophy as the Cricketer of the Year, which would be presented at a gala function in Johannesburg on September 10.

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF CRICKET

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF CRICKET: SHOAIB MALIK WANTS TO BECOME AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN

In a bid to change the image of Pakistani cricketers and become "media savvy" himself, captain Shoaib Malik has started taking English classes from a specially appointed tutor.

"Shoaib is very serious about his image and that of the country. He realises the importance of a modern day cricket captain being media savvy and having the confidence and proficiency in an international language," a source close to the 25-year-old Malik said.

Malik's endeavour has found support from the Cricket Board, which has asked other players to follow suit. The PCB, in fact, is contemplating starting classes in English for young players attending the National Cricket Academy and training camps.

Poor command over English has been a cause of embarrassment for the Pakistani players and has often put them into unwanted controversies generated by an international media unable to interpret them properly after a press conference or prize distribution ceremony.

During the World Cup in the West Indies, the Pakistani team created a stir when its media manager Pervez Mir said that captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and other players would not address press conferences in English.

Mir said he would act as a translator for the benefit of international media.

The International Cricket Council had to step in and remind the team management of the necessity to speak in English at prize distribution ceremonies for an international television audience.

FORGET ABOUT SUNITA WILLIAMS, CRICKET IS GOING INTO SPACE, NOW, TO THE MOON, TO BE PRECISE

In April 2006, Subhash Chandra's Zee TV secured the rights for international cricket matches on neutral venues for $219.15 million. Leaving aside the monetary angle, the objective of the International Cricket Council (ICC) was to stage matches outside the ICC member nations and to take cricket to unexplored territories.

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