Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar’s willow fetched the highest bid of Rs 42 lakh at a glittering sports auction here that saw personal items donated by 25 top sports persons from the country and overseas go under the hammer.

The champion batsman had scored an unbeaten 163 against New Zealand at Christchurch last year, his fourth highest one day score, with this bat.

Tied at second spot was the rifle used by India’s only individual Olympic gold medallist, shooter Abhinav Bindra, when creating history at the Beijing Games two years ago and the bat of Rahul Dravid, with which he had scored a century in each innings in the Kolkata Test of 2005 against Pakistan. Both were successfully bid for Rs 20 lakh.

The bat signed by all team members of the 1983 World Cup winning team and donated by former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar’s willow went under the hammer for Rs 17.5 lakh.

Anil Kumble’s jersey which he wore when he equalled Jim Laker’s ten-wicket in a Test innings record against Pakistan in New Delhi in 1999, and his Test cap that he wore between 2004 and 2006 went for Rs 11.5 lakh.

Among the other items auctioned off were Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer’s shoes, a bat donated by 1983 World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev with the autographs of all the team members and sports gear donated by Indian top racquet sports exponents – Shuttler Saina Nehwal and tennis player Sania Mirza.

Doners Dravid, Kumble, tennis ace Leander Paes, national football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, 1974 hockey World Cup winning skipper Ajit Pal Singh, former hockey captain Viren Rasquinha and Bindra were present at the auction last night.

Leander’s 12th Grand Slam winning racquet at Wimbledon this year in mixed doubles was the second piece to be auctioned and received a bid of Rs 7 lakhs.

Also gracing the function were world champion wrestler and Delhi Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sushil Kumar and hockey great Dhanraj Pillay.

The auction was held by Non Government Organisation ‘The Foundation’ founded by actor and ex-rugby international player Rahul Bose in association with Raheja Universal and the proceeds were donated to Bose’s NGO.

The donors and items that went under the hammer were:

Pankaj Advani: Medal – World Billiards Champion, 2007; CueInternational debut, 2002

Viswanathan Anand: Medal- World Chess (Match) Champion, 2008.

Mahesh Bhupathi: Racquet  Mixed Doubles Champion, Australian Open, 2009.

Bhaichung Bhutia: Jersey – Signed by Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Baichung Bhutia and others worn at the International Charity Match for Haiti earthquake, 2010.

Abhinav Bindra: Rifle – World Champion, 2006; World record, Olympic Record.

Rahul Dravid: Bat – Century in each Test innings, v Pakistan: Kolkata, 2005.

Anil Kumble: Test Jersey – 10 wickets in an innings, v Pakistan: New Delhi, 1999; Test cap  2004 to 2006.

Sania Mirza: Racquet  Wimbledon, 2010.

Saina Nehwal: Racquet  Singapore Open Super Series, Indonesian Open Super Series, Indian Open Grand Prix, all 2010; Gold Medal  Indian Open, 2010.

Sachin Tendulkar: Bat – 163 v New Zealand: Christchurch, 2009 – Fourth highest one day score.

Virender Sehwag: Batting gloves  125 v New Zealand, 2009-Fastest one day hundred by an Indian.

Kapil Dev: Bat – Signed by 1983 world cup winning squad.

Sunil Gavaskar: Bat – Signed by 1983 world cup winning squad.

Leander Paes: Racquet – Mixed Doubles Champion, Wimbledon 2010.

Viren Rasquinha: Hockey stick – Bronze medal, Asian Games, Busan, 2002; India blazer, Asian Games, Busan, 2002.

Geet Sethi: World  Professional Billiards trophy, 1992; Cue -World Billiards Championship, 2007, World Snooker Championship, 2008.

Prakash Padukone: Silver Medal – Japan Open, 1981.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi: Debut India blazer v England, 1961; Retiring India blazer v West Indies, 1975

Ajitpal Singh: Hockey stick  (Exchanged with) Pakistan captain, Islahuddin, World Cup Final, 1975.

Vijay Amritraj: Tennis racquet, Tennis balls.

Roger Federer (courtesy Globosport): Tennis shoes Winner, Cincinnati Open 2010.

Diego Forlan: (Courtesy Mahuaa TV): Football, 2010.

Ricky Ponting (Courtesy Dhiraj Malhotra): Gold Medal, World Cup, 2007.

Maria Sharapova (Courtesy Akshay Kulkarni): Racquet, 2010

Shane Warne: (Courtesy Rahul Bose): Retiring Cricket Victoria shirt, 2008.

Boosted by international recognition DY Patil Sports Academy is marching on. 

On Monday Rahul Dravid inaugurated their website www. dypsa.in and expressed a wish to play at least one international tie at the DY Patil Stadium before quitting the game.

“This place can be a training ground not only in cricket but for all disciplines and be a breeding ground for future sports people. I have no doubt that in future this will be the hub,” said Dravid.

The website highlights the facilities at the complex and its brief period of glory during the inaugural IPL when it hosted five games including the final. A British architecture journal in May rated it among the world’s top six cricket stadia.

The sports academy’s president, Vijay Patil, said sports federations, especially of swimming, tennis, squash and badminton, could utilise the facilities in the complex to conduct national level meets.

There are five tennis courts, two badminton courts and an Olympic-size swimming pool other than three glass-back squash courts, according to sports secretary and co-ordinator of the academy, Avinash Salvi.

The one-team domination in Test cricket has ended with Australia’s decline, feels veteran Indian batsman Rahul Dravid, who foresees the number one spot changing hands every few months between India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

“I don’t think you’ll see one team dominating like Australia did, at least not in the immediate future,” Dravid said.

“There are three or four teams that are evenly matched and you could see the number one spot change hands a few times in the next couple of years,” the 36-year-old, who makes a comeback to the Indian One-day side after two years, added.

Asked whether India would also face the transitional crisis that the Australians are battling once the likes of Sachin Tendulkar retire, Dravid said it would boil down to how well the Indian pace bowling attack shapes up.

“We’ve got a great blend of experienced cricketers, and promising talent coming through. We’ve done really well over the past couple of years and if we can keep a core group of fast bowlers fit enough to support the spinners then we have as good a chance as anyone,” he told ‘The Guardian’.

“When Australia dominated, it was the bowling of (Glenn) McGrath and (Shane) Warne that was the key and I believe that England won Ashes series because they had the more balanced bowling attack. We certainly have that balance, and so do Sri Lanka and South Africa. I think the bowling strength will determine which team gets to top,” he added.

On his assessment of the Ashes that England won 2-1, Dravid said the series never looked one-sided and could have gone either way.

“I always expected it to be close, and it was. But England won the moments that mattered, and over the course of the five Tests, I’d say that they just about edged it,” he said.

The BCCI has decided to start an invitational ‘Inter-Corporate National Cricket Tournament’ with a prize money of Rs one crore to encourage business houses and public and private sector undertakings to employ cricketers in their organisations.

Noting that the employment avenues for cricketers have “declined” over the past few years, BCCI treasurer M P Pandove said “the step by the Board will re-generate employment for players in various firms.”

“To ensure that the corporate houses employ the cricketers, eligibility criteria for participation contains that only the regular employees of the business institutions take part in it,” he said.

For the current year, the tournament has been scheduled to be played from September one to eight at Bangalore, Mohali and Vizag. The matches will be a day-night affair and 50-overs a side.

The only exception is made for the under-19 event, where the corporates can field maximum two such players who are on the scholarship and not on regular payroll, Pandove said.

For the first year, as many as 12 teams have been invited by the BCCI to take part in the tournament, he said.

“The board may increase the number in the next coming years,” he said.

Pandove said Mohali has been alotted four matches, including the second semi-final to be played on September six.

Prominent players, who will participate in the tournament, include–M S Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, R P Singh, Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer.

Pandove, who is also Honorary Secretary of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), expressed his dissatisfaction over the fitness level of Punjab players playing at various levels.

He added that the PCA had recently conducted a camp to improve the fitness levels of the players.

Sourav Ganguly is known as the Bengal Tiger. But it was Rahul Dravid who listened attentively as environmentalists and wildlife conservationists discussed ways of preserving the environment and saving the tiger.

“The tiger is a wonderful symbol of our ecosystem. We need to protect it,” the Indian cricketer said.

Dravid had flown in to the capital on Tuesday to attend a conference on ecosystems, climate change and national development at the Teen Murti Bhavan. The former India captain listened attentively sitting in the back row.

“As a child I was always in love with forests and wildlife. I came to listen and learn from different experts on climate change and environment protection,” he said.

Environmentalist Bittu Sahgal, who had invited Rahul to the conference, said, “If we want to look into climate change as a serious issue, we would need credible youth icons like Rahul to highlight it,” he said.

He has been out of the Indian One-day team for a while. But after some fine knocks in the last Indian Premier League in South Africa, Rahul Dravid is back in the ODI scheme of things after the selectors named him among the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy, beginning September 22 in South Africa.

Now, sources here say that the batting maestro is also likely to be in the Indian ODI team which will travel to Sri Lanka for a tri-series in the beginning of September.

When TOI spoke to a selector, he hedged, saying, “it’s too early to say anything on the issue. Right now, we don’t even know when the squad will be picked. Generally, it happens 10 days before the team leaves. And, the board is yet to inform us whether the squad for both Lanka and CT will be picked in one go or not,” he said.

Almost two years ago, when Dravid was dropped from the One-day team, the selectors had said that they were looking for a young team and needed time to groom them and that it was a unanimous decision. But now, it is learnt that the decision to drop Dravid was not a unanimous one and that two out of the five selectors wanted him to continue as a One-day player.

Unfortunately for Dravid, that didn’t happen. Despite scoring a decent 223 runs in the seven-match series in England at an average of 37.16, he was shown the door after failing in the home series against Australia. Now, he is back in favour for his prolific batting and his sound technique against pace bowling, especially short-pitched deliveries.

Former players and experts are more than happy that Dravid may again play for India in ODIs. “It’ll be great to have Dravid back in the side. He is a selfless cricketer who promoted the youngsters well during his tenure as a captain. Most important, the young cricketers will have someone again to look up to in the dressing room,” former skipper Bishan Singh Bedi said from London.

With Virender Sehwag’s fitness still in doubt, Dravid can be more than useful for the team as one of the senior pros who is adept at tackling tough situations. Besides, his record speaks for itself – he is the only batsman in the Indian team after Sachin Tendulkar to have more than 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs.

Another former Indian captain, GR Viswanath said, “I will be very happy for Dravid if he makes a comeback into the One-day side. The selectors must be convinced that they need someone at the top of the order with experience. For that, Dravid is the right choice.”

But former opener Chetan Chauhan has a different take on Dravid’s comeback. “It was a mistake on the part of the selectors to drop him from the team two year ago and now the selectors are moving backwards by picking Dravid. If the current Indian team lacks the ability to face short balls, then there is a coach who should sort out these things.”

“The selectors need to have long-term goals and start thinking about building a strong squad for the upcoming World Cup in 2011 in the sub-continent. I am sure Sehwag will be fit very soon and the rest of the squad will again fire after two month’s break from the game. I also think Dravid will be under tremendous pressure to perform if he stages an ODI comeback at this point of his career,” Chauhan felt.

Rahul Dravid finds himself back in the reckoning for one-day internationals after being named in India’s 30-member probables’ list for the Champions Trophy.

The selection committee, which met at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Monday to pick the probables for the top-eight nations’ tournament, in South Africa, from September 24 to October 5, however, ignored Irfan Pathan and Robin Uthappa.

A veteran of 333 ODIs, Dravid has been out of India’s ODI squad since playing his last one-dayer against Australia in Nagpur in 2007.

Batting ace Sachin Tendulkar, who opted out of the just-concluded West Indies tour, is also in the list as are the injured duo of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.

Hard-hitting Delhi batsman Virat Kohli, Bengal stumper Wriddhiman Saha, Tamil Nadu’s R Ashiwin and Murali Vijay also find a place among the probables.

UP pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, lanky Rajasthan medium pacer Pankaj Singh and the Mumbai duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Dhawal Kulkarni are also among the shortlisted players.

Probables: M S Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wridhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid on Wednesday equalled Mark Waugh’s world record of 181 Test catches when he caught Martin Guptill (14) at third slip off Zaheer Khan’s bowling on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

Dravid reached the landmark in 132 Test matches four more than former Australian opener Waugh, who retired from international cricket in 2002.

Guptill’s was the first wicket to fall in New Zealand first innings.

Dravid had a chance to erase Waugh’s record but he grassed a catch offered by Daniel Vettori.

The New Zealand skipper was on 77 when he tried to put a Harbhajan Singh delivery over the slip cordon.

The ball took a leading edge and flew to Dravid at slip, who was a bit slow to react and the chance was wasted. Vettori went on to complete his century and along with Jesse Ryder, put on a record 186 runs for the seventh wicket that helped New Zealand to a respectable 279.

Middle-order mainstays Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, along with four other members of India’s Test squad, left for New Zealand from here early on Monday for the three-match Test series starting March 18.

The duo, along with Amit Mishra, L Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni and M Vijay, would be reaching Auckland on Tuesday morning.The players are reaching well ahead of the commencement of the series to acclimatize with the conditions by turning out for domestic teams of New Zealand in the state championship.

The inclusion of these players into New Zealand’s domestic teams has been approved by New Zealand Cricket, the New Zealand Players Association and the six Major Associations. Dravid will play for Canterbury Wizards against the Central Stags at Mainpower Oval, Rangiora, from March 6 to 9, while leg spinner Mishra will turn out for the Stags in the same game.

Laxman would appear for Otago Volts against Wellington Firebirds at University Oval, Dunedin, in the same round while right-arm medium pacer Balaji would play for the Firebirds in that game.

In the following round, from March 13 to 16, the tie between the Stags and Firebirds at McLean Park, Napier would feature opening batsman Vijay and right-arm medium pacer Kulkarni. It is yet to be decided which sides they would be representing in this match.

The first Test will be held at Seddon Park, Hamilton from March 18-22 while the second and third Tests are scheduled at Mclean Park, Napier (March 26-30) and Basin Reserve, Wellington (April 3-7).

Skipper S Badrinath’s double century and Rahul Dravid’s hundred helped South Zone amass 442 runs for the loss of six wickets on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy match against North Zone at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, in Rajkot on Thursday.

Badrinath scored an exact 200 while Rahul Dravid got 138 as the duo put on 312 runs for the third wicket after a shaky start where they lost both their openers cheaply.

South Zone captain Badrinath won the toss and decided to bat first but openers Robin Uthappa (1) and Abhinav Mukund failed to give the team a good start on an easy batting track.

Mukund was the first to go with the total reading 13 and Uthappa followed him on the same score.

Badrinath was then joined by Dravid and the duo not only avoided further hiccups but also made run scoring look easy.

Dravid took 127 balls to complete his hundred while Badrinath needed 143 balls to cross the three-digit mark.

The partnership was finally broken when Dravid was bowled by leg-spinner Amit Mishra while trying to play square of the wicket and missed the line completely.

Dinesh Karthik, who had struck back-to-back centuries in the pre-quarter final against Central Zone, did not last long and was taken in front of wicket by the same bowler.

Karthik made only four. However, Badrinath did not hesitate to give the spinners the charge and on a couple of occasions lifted the medium-pacers over the top.

He took 257 balls for his double century that included 24 fours and four sixes.

He got out soon after completing his double hundred and gave a simple regulation catch to wicketkeeper Uday Kaul off Manpreet Gony.

Arjun Yadav was batting on 43 (91b, 8X4) and M Surersh (0) were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day.

For North Zone, medium-pacers Manpreet and VS Malik took two wickets each giving away 71 and 98 runs, respectively, while Mishra too bagged two wickets conceding 149 runs.