Sehwag, Dhoni are India's game changers

Destructive off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has named dashing teammate Virender Sehwag and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the two main game changers in the Indian squad due to their capacity to dominate the opposition bowlers and hitting the ball with power."There are a number of players in our team who have the talent to change the game. Virender Sehwag is one of them. Every time he is batting we know that he will take over all the bowlers. He has changed the game for us during difficult situations," Harbhajan has been quoted as saying by a media release."Another game changer for us is MS Dhoni who has got his own technique.

He has a set of power to hit the ball all around the field. These are the two guys who are the big game changers in our team," said the off-spinner for Pepsi's "Change the Game" campaign ahead of the upcoming World Cup.Harbhajan also mentioned Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as his motivation for developing his "Doosra" that had helped him snare many a victim in his career."When I was a kid and used to practice in Chandigarh, I used to see Saqlain Mustaq who bowled a lot of Doosras. I eagerly observed him and came up with my own ideas and thoughts to perfect the ball.



"I practiced hard along with my colleague, Arun Verma, a wicketkeeper, to apply my own technique and accepting to it. It took a lot of hard-work, commitment and time to develop this wicket taking ball. I mastered bowling the Doosra after over two years of practice and continue to do so," said the slow bowler who has two Test tons under his belt. The fighting cricketer also recalled his successes with this kind of delivery in which the off break bowler turns the ball the other way, especially his unforgettable hat-trick against Australia in the second Test in March 2001 at the Eden Gardens which India won after following on.

"I remember a lot of games where 'Doosra' has changed the game for not just me but for India. I remember a game in Kolkata where we were playing against Australia and they were hammering all our bowlers. I suddenly bowled one 'Doosra' to Ricky Ponting and got him out LBW."I went on to take my first hat trick (Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne) for India in that match. That was surely a game changer at that particular time," said the 30-year-old bowler, who is seven short of grabbing 400 wickets in Test cricket.

Dhoni signs Rs 260 million deal

MS Dhoni, the India captain, has signed a three-year agreement worth Rs 260 million (about US$ 5.7 million) to promote McDowell's soda, which is owned by the UB Group headed by Vijay Mallya. "We got a very good offer, so we went for the agreement," Arun Pandey, the owner of Rhiti Sports Management, told. The deal is reportedly the largest ever signed by an Indian sportsperson.

In July, Dhoni signed a three-year endorsement agreement worth approximately Rs 2.1 billion ($ 42 million) with a joint venture between Rhiti and advertising agency Mindscapes. The venture is responsible for the gamut of Dhoni's endorsements, from brand associations to digital rights, as well as his presence on social networking sites. Mindscapes was already managing Dhoni's endorsements prior to the deal, but not the rest of his properties.

The contract with McDowell's is one step towards fulfilling that obligation to Dhoni, Pandey said. They are also working on a couple of other deals, and a formal announcement is likely in January. Prior to signing with McDowell's, Dhoni was a brand ambassador for Seagram's Royal Stag Mega Cricket Signs until July, along with fellow India team-mates Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, and Harbhajan Singh. Seagram's is a competitor of the UB Group.

The India captain currently endorses over twenty brands, including PepsiCo, Reebok, Aircel, and Godrej. Last year Forbes magazine named Dhoni the world's highest paid cricketer, ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, with earnings of $10 million, $8 million of which came from endorsements.