Mandy hits an extraa cover drive

?Rahul Dravid fields there when he is not keeping. So does Mathew Hayden, my favourite cricketer,? declares Mandira Bedi.

The noodle straps are gone. Her favourite position appears to be extra-cover these days, but Mandira Bedi insists it’s first slip. “Rahul Dravid fields there when he is not keeping. So does Mathew Hayden, my favourite cricketer,” she declares after a session of tennis ball cricket at Sarojini Nagar to promote the Champions Trophy on Max.

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And once Mandira begins chatting, it isn’t tough to catch her off-guard. First slip? “Yuvraj Singh is the fittest player in the Indian team,” she declares and then hastens to add, “actually it is Mohammed Kaif, and Rahul Dravid hasn’t had any fitness problems either.” Considering that ‘good friend’ Yuvi and Mandira were spotted at a number of parties together before Kim came into his life, it is in the fitness of things that she gives him a certificate.

Gossip apart, Bedi appears to be in sync with the latest happenings in cricket. “I don’t understand why we react so emotionally to the game? Rather than bemoaning Zaheer Khan’s axing, we should look at the number of times he tried returning to peak fitness. There are a number of young cricketers waiting to get in. That’s why I support Dinesh Karthik’s inclusion,” she says.

Does Mandira also support Hayden’s contention that Indian cricketers play for themselves rather than the team? “That appears to be the case. Even in Amsterdam the Aussies appeared to be bonding more off the field. Our team appears to have lost steam after Pakistan,” she drives to the point.

And her tip to the bookies for the Champions Trophy? “India will reach the final but Australia will clinch the trophy.”

Trust Mandira to go that extra yard in candour.