Manohar hits out at Modi

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, June 5 — Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar hit out at suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) boss Lalit Modi on Saturday, saying he was trying to ‘malign the image’ of the Board and interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin by alleging that Amin was part of the failed bid for the Pune IPL team. Manohar alleged that Modi himself had asked the bidders to get Amin to be part of the consortium.

After reports emerged on Friday of NCP chief Sharad Pawarar’s possible links with the IPL, Modi had defended Pawar and claimed that Amin was part of the consortium led by City Corporation’s Aniruddha Deshpande, who bid for the team. Deshpande is Pawar’s close aide.

Manohar said, “The truth is that it was Mr Modi himself who sent a message to the Pune franchisees through Mr Ajay Shirke, President, MCA (Maharashtra Cricket Association), asking them to contact Mr Amin and ask him to be a part of the consortium.” Modi, who has already charged Manohar and BCCI secretary N Srinivasan with bias in the ongoing inquiry into his running of the IPL, had further alleged on Friday that Manohar had neither informed him nor the IPL Governing Council about Amin’s letter seeking permission to be part of the consortium.

Making Amin’s March 17 letter public, Manohar said Amin had informed the BCCI that he would make an investment of up to 10 per cent if he joined the consortium. Amin had also stated that if City Corp won the bid, he would seek formal sanction from the Board to invest, Manohar pointed out.

“First and foremost, Mr Amin’s letter was not for asking permission to bid

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Sports brief

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Cricket trials for Bharti Vij Academy today Trials to select trainees for the Bharti Vij’s Saint Soldier Cricket Academy in the variuos age groups will be conducted on May 27 at Saint Soldier International School, Sector 28, Chandigarh at 8.30 a.m. Bharti Vij who is the highest wicket taker for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy till now is the chief coach at the academy. He is qualified Board of Control for Cricket in India level-2 coach. Also, Vij was coach of BCCI Zonal Cricket Academy (North Zone) for two years. He has also worked with Punjab Cricket Association as senior cricket coach for four years. Interested players should report at the venue of the trials ahead of the schedule time.

Teams announced for cricket tourneyPanchkula: The Cricket Federation of Haryana have announced Haryana U-17 team and Cricket Federation Rest of India team for the upcoming Second Chaudhary Ranbir All India U-17 Cricket Tournament to be held in Panchkula and Chandigarh from June 1 to 4.

The teams are : Haryana U-17 team : Ajay Duhan (Captain), Sumit Kumar (V/C), Ankit Chaudhary, Ajay Kashyap, Gaurav Tondon (W/Keeper), Ashish Kumar , Sahil Preet Singh, Ankush Dhaliwal, Amit Chaudhary, Naveen Baloda, Gaurav Garg, Gaurav Kumar, Jatin Arora, Avinash Kumar, Kamaljeet Singh, Ashok Saini, Om Prakash (Coach); CFI Rest of India : Animesh Goyal (Captain), Amit Dhiman (v/c), Chankya Batta (W/K), Yash Kumar, Paramjit Singh, Mohit Rana, Deepak Saroha, Mukesh Saroha, Jaswinder Singh, Vinayak, Kawanjit Singh, Himanshu Sharma, Sachin Kumar, Vishal Kumar, Raj Pal (Coach).

Chinappa finish first on Day TwoCOIMBATORE: Trishul Chinappa returned with a par 72 in the Category A & B on the second day of the Toyota Etios Junior Tour being played at the par 72 Coimbatore Golf Club on Wednesday. Chandigarh’s Tarundeep Chadha was lying sixth after he returned with a par 83. Meanwhile, Trishul returned with an even par 72 to enjoy a 10-stroke lead over Sumeir Malhotra of BPGC in category A (16-18 years).In Category B (14-16 yrs), Shiv Srinivasan from TNGF, Chennai who had started the day at tenth position pole vaulted to the top position after returning with a card of 5 over par 79. Similarly, in Category C (14-12 yrs), Piyush Sangwan of DLF CG who started the day on second position grabbed the top position from arch rival Viraj Madappa of Tollyganj GC, Kolkata, who was the overnight leader. In Category D (10-12 yrs), Kshitij Seghal from RCGC, Kolkata returned with a card 17 over par 89 to finish at the top in his category. Nitika Arjun of Bangalore GC, Bangalore, returned with a card of 13 over par 85 to make her self comfortable in the leader’s position in Category A&B girls’ section. In Category C girls’ section, Ridhima Dilawari Army GC, Delhi returned with a card of 16 over par 88 to end the day as leader. Sehar Atwal of Delhi GC lies second with a card of 20 over par 92

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Sheesh Mahal cricket from May 31 to June 5

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The 57th edition of the All India Sheesh Mahal Cricket Tournament will be organised at Lucknow from May 31 to June 5. This is India’s oldest summer tournament and was founded by late Askari Hasan who was a great sports lover. It was adopted by Sahara in 2006. For the first time, the tournament will be played in T20 format with white ball and players donning coloured clothing. Earlier the tournament was played in 40-40 format.

This year, the tournament will also be providing a good platform to some of the young players to showcase their talent and impress the talent spotters for the Sahara Pune Warriors team of the IPL.

Eight teams featuring some national and international level players are expected to be seen in action during the tournament. The teams have been divided into two pools— teams of Indian Oil, ONGC, Maharashtra Cricket Association and ITC are placed in pool A, pool B includes the teams of Air India, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, India Post and Sahara India. The name of defending champions Rizvi Builders team is missing from the teams’ list.

The ‘Sahara City Homes Sheesh Mahal Cricket Tournament’ will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis. The matches will be played at KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium and the Chowk Stadium, with two matches on each ground on May 31, June 1 and June 2. The first match of the day will commence at 6.30 am and the second match will start at 10.00 am on both grounds. The semi-finals will be played June 4 while the final will be played on June 5.

Addressing mediapersons, Abhijeet Sarkar, head of corporate communications, Sahara India Pariwar, informed, “Sahara has plans to develop the event as one of the major cricket tournaments of the sub-continent in the coming years. This will help the game develop at ground level and will provide the international exposure to the local players from different parts of the nation.”

The tournament carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakhs. The winners will become richer by Rs 11 lakhs while the runners-up will be getting Rs 5.5 lakhs. The prestigious and now, also the richest prize-money tournament, has seen many cricket legends playing for the Cup.

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Kerala Government terms IPL a gambling business, distances itself from Kochi franchise

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thiruvanthapuram, May 14 (ANI): The Kerala Government had distanced itself from the Kochi cricket team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), contending it is more of a gambling business than a game.

M Vijayakumar, Sports Minister of Kerala said: “IPL is not just about cricket, rather it is a gambling business and this is a matter of serious concern. We do not agree with this kind of business and neither do the sports fans and lovers of the game of cricket, who share the same opinion.”

Earlier, former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor met Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan to seek his government”s support for the Kochi IPL franchise.

This delegation tried to impress the Kerala Government to back their venture.
Reportedly, Achutanandan had asked the Kochi IPL cricket team”s co-owner, Vivek Venugopal, and Chief Executive Officer P T Keshav to submit their request in writing and told them that he would discuss this with the Kerala”s Sports Minister.

Vijaykumar, however, denounced cricket”s richest and most lucrative tournament, saying it was more of a gambling venture.

On Wednesday, the consortium held talks with the Kerala Cricket Association on holding home matches in the state itself during the next season of IPL.

Tharoor was forced to resign from his ministerial post over his alleged involvement in the IPL controversy. He had participated in the discussions as a ”mentor”.

Opposition parties have accused Tharoor of misusing his ministerial position to influence the 333 million dollar bid for the Kochi team. (ANI)

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Maharashtra Premier League appoints KyaZoonga.com as its official ticketing partner

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai,May 10 (ANI-Business Wire India): Tickets to the Maharashtra Premier League can now be booked on KyaZoonga.com, India”s first and largest entertainment and sports ticketing company.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and Sakal, the promoters of the league have appointed KyaZoonga as their exclusive ticketing services partner.

The partnership will enable T20 fans to simply log on to www.kyazoonga.com and book tickets for MPL cricket matches that will be played at the D.Y. Patil stadium and cheer their favorite team live!
Retail outlets and venue box-office sales will also go live shortly.

Announcing the partnership and commencement of ticket sales, Ajay Shirke, President, MCA said, “The Maharashtra Premier League Twenty20 Tournament was extremely well received in the state last year and our idea was to scale up the event considerably.”

“Through our association with KyaZoonga, we are looking to reach out to a large section of cricket fans that would like to book tickets to their favorite games from the comfort of their homes,” he added.

“KyaZoonga pioneered cricket ticketing in the country and has successfully ticketed all forms of the game. Our choice of ticketing partner was obvious once we decided to expand the scale of the MPL,” he said.

“We believe, KyaZoonga”s deep and wide experience in end-to-end ticketing will prove very useful in making this tournament a grand success. Tickets are very reasonably priced so that fans can attend as many games as they wish,” he added.

Neetu Bhatia, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, KyaZoonga.com, said:”We are very excited to be associated with MCA and Sakal for the Maharashtra Premier league Twenty20 Tournament. After the huge success of the MPL last year, a much bigger event has been planned this time, and it promises to be an absolute extravaganza.”

“India is a nation of cricket lovers, and we are happy to be a part of an event that promises to bring much delight to everyone who watches it. The partnership further underscores KyaZoonga”s commitment to making exciting events easily accessible to consumers,” she added.

“On a personal note, as a former Maharashtra player and captain, cricket in the state is extremely close to my heart. We are extremely excited to be bringing our innovative technologies and services to the game in the state,” she said

To book your tickets and participate in exciting contests, log on to www.kyazoonga.com. (ANI)

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Great Khali to oversee wrestling stadium coming up in HP

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Shimla, May 8 (ANI): The US based Daleep Singh Rana a.k.a The Great Khali, who originally hails from Himachal Pradesh is going to establish a wrestling stadium in his home-state.

Khali told mediapersons at Paonta Sahib that he would like the wrestling stadium to be situated in his home district of Sirmour.

He said that that Himachal Cricket Association president and M P Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur parliamentary constituency had discussed the setting up a wrestling stadium in Himachal so that the state’s wrestlers could learn WWE wrestling techniques.

Khali expressed his consent for the same, he said that Thakur had promised that land would be provided for this venture.

On the subject of returning to India permanently, Khali maintained that he was at the peak of physical fitness and wants to continue wrestling for the next 6-7 years.

Khali is a well known face in the US having worked for Hollywood movies, he will make his Hindi movie debut with “Khushi” slated for release on May 14, mynews.com reports.

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BCCI appoints 3-member team to oversee IPL functioning

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Apr 26 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday appointed a three-member committee to oversee the functioning of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The members of the committee are former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.

BCCI President Shashank Manohar on Monday said the Board was unhappy with former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi”s explanation and would probe the missing IPL-3 bidding files.

“BCCI looked into charges against Modi. We are not happy with Modi”s explanation,” said Manohar.

Manohar, however, said that Modi would be given a chance if his reply was satisfactory.

“If Modi”s reply is satisfactory, we may reconsider him,” said Manohar.

“Modi will have to reply to the show cause, we will wait till his reply,” he added.

The BCCI President further said the documents related to IPL team Rajasthan Royals are missing.

“In the available document of Rajasthan Royals, there is no mention of Raj Kundra or Shilpa Shetty,” he added.

After the two -hour long IPL Governing Council meeting that took place at the BCCI headquarters here to find out the irregularities with regard to the bidding and the role of Lalit Modi in the entire episode, it was announced that BCCI Vice President and IPL Governing Council member Chirayu Amin would be the new interim IPL Commissioner.

Amin is the currently the President of the Baroda Cricket Association. He is also the BCCI Vice-President and IPL Governing Council member.

The BCCI has reportedly said that it will go public with all charges filed against Modi. (ANI)

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Chirayu Amin appointed interim IPL Commissioner

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Apr 26 (ANI): The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council that met at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters this morning to discuss the alleged irregularities with regard to contract and team biddings, and the role of Lalit Modi in the entire episode, on Monday announced that Chirayu Amin would be interim IPL Commissioner.

Amin is the currently the President of the Baroda Cricket Association. He is also the BCCI Vice-President and IPL Governing Council member.

The BCCI has reportedly said that it will go public with all charges filed against Modi.

The BCCI had on Sunday suspended Modi from the post of IPL Commissioner and BCCI Vice-President.

In the show cause notice, BCCI President Shashank Manohar alleged that Modi”s misdemeanors have brought a bad name to cricket administration in the country and to the game itself.

The show cause notice gives Modi 15 days to reply, but suspends him from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the Working Committee and any other BCCI affairs.

Following his suspension, Modi said he would reveal all about the IPL controversy, adding that the Governing Council and the BCCI were aware of all IPL dealings.

Despite his suspension, there are reports that the IPL franchisees have stood by Modi and asked the BCCI that he should be given a chance to explain his stance.

Modi had earlier indicated he would attend and chair the crucial IPL Governing Council meeting called to decide his fate.

“I will attend and chair the meeting of the Governing Council as chairman and commissioner. I have issued the agenda to the Governing Council,” Modi tweeted. (ANI)

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Vinay fashions PNB victory in Sanwal cricket

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

An 88 run knock by Vinay Tiwari paved the way for an eight wicket victory for Punjab National Bank (PNB) against SIDBI team in their semi-final match of the 19th RC Sanwal Memorial Inter Bank Cricket Tournament played at LDA Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday. Vinay’s 88 came off 49 balls which featured eleven boundaries and a six. On behalf of SIDBI, T Balaji (68 runs off 58 balls; 5×4, 2×6) was the main run-getter.

Brief Scores:

SIDBI: 150 for five in 20 overs ( T Balaji 68, V Ramesh 36; Sachin 1 for 24, Yogesh 1 for 19); PNB: 154 for two in 17.1 overs ( Vinay Tiwari 88, Yogesh Mishra 33; Yogesh 1 for 29, Dinesh 1 for 23). Man-of-the-Match: Vinay Tiwari.

Arshad, Rajesh shineAn unbeaten 73 run knock by SM Arshad went a long away as his team— Indian Eleven Club registered a nine wicket victory against Awadh Tiger’s Academy in their league match of the 2nd Eram Cup Cricket Tournament at Northern Railway Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday. The star performer on behalf of Awadh Tigers was Rajesh who scored 83 runs for the team. While, Arshad’s unbeaten 73 resulted off 47 balls which included 11 boundaries and a six, Rajesh’s 83 resulted off 59 deliveries which included 12 fours and 2 sixes.

Brief Scores:

Awadh Tiger’s Academy: 143 for one in 20 overs ( Rajesh 83, Bunty Singh 41; Ashfaq 1 for 39); Indian Eleven Club: 144 for one in 9.4 overs ( SM Arshad 73 not out, Rahul Yadav 25, Naman Tripathi 18; Saurabh Singh 1 for 35).

Vishwajeet’s tonVishwajeet Singh blasted an unbeaten century as his team— Cricket Association Lucknow (CAL) defeated Muzaffarnagar XI by seven wickets in their league match of the Vaibhav Memorial Inter District Cricket Tournament played at Victoria Park, Meerut on Thursday. Vishwajeet scored 108 runs off 70 balls which featured six boundaries and two huge sixes.

Brief Scores:

Muzaffarnagar: 156 all out in 35 overs ( Atul Singh 71, Lokendra 27; Vipin Singh 3 for 23, Akshdeep Nath 2 for 16);

CAL XI: 159 for three in 20.5 overs ( Vishwajeet Singh 108 not out, Raman Pal Singh 24; Shubham 1 for 29, Vicky 1 for 40).

Chess tourneyThe ‘Lucknow district chess selection tourney’ for under-9 and under-19 age group will be organised from 9.00 am on April 25 at International Chess Research and Development Academy, Indira Nagar, Lucknow, by the Lucknow District Chess Sports Association.

Hony. secretary UP Chess Sports Association, AK Raizada, informs that the selected players will be participating in the state chess championship to be held at Varanasi from May 9.

Those interested may contact organiser Arun Singh (mobile no. 9839171721) for details.

FelicitationThe Uttar Pradesh government will be giving away prize money to those UP players who brought laurels to the state at the national level in the junior, senior and sub-junior sections. The felicitation function will be held at 4.00 pm on Friday, March 23 at KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium, Lucknow. As per a press statement from Deputy Director Sports (UP) AK Banoda, the players as well as their respective sports association secretaries should report at the ‘Babu’ Stadium at 12.00 noon on March 23.

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Widened IPL probe takes tax officials to Sahara offices

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS) Amid search operations at the Sahara group offices in Lucknow Thursday, tax officials probing the financial dealings of the Kolkata franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) claimed ‘incriminating evidence’ of irregularities.

Sleuths of the tax administration also questioned once again IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi over alleged irregularities in awarding the broadcasting rights and media rights for the cricketing extravaganza, officials said.

The search at premises of the Sahara group, the franchise for Pune that has its main office in Lucknow, came a day after similar operations across eight cities, covering the IPL, most of its franchises and three event-management and broadcast firms.

Led by industrialist Subroto Roy, the Sahara group — also the official sponsor of the Indian cricket team – had won the franchise for Pune at the latest auction for $370 million.

‘While we purchased the franchisee for the Pune team for Rs.1,702 crore, our operations will actually begin only with IPL Season-IV in 2011,’ Sahara group spokesperson Abhijit Sarkar told reporters in the Uttar Pradesh capital.

‘It is wrong to describe the operation as a raid — this is a survey.’

In Kolkata, the probe by the sleuths of the Directorate of Income Tax Investigation was on the legality of money transfers from tax havens like Mauritius to buy the franchise and the players through auctions.

‘We’ve found incriminating evidence,’ Indian Revenue Service Deputy Director Akhilendu Jadhav said in Kolkata, after the search operations at the offices of the Bengal Cricket Association and Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders.

‘We needed to have a look at certain transactions and we have found whatever we were looking for,’ Jadhav told reporters in the West Bengal capital in the early hours of Friday.

In Mumbai, meanwhile, Modi was questioned for the second time in two days over various issues, including the process involved in awarding the television broadcasting rights and the media contracts to parties.

The 45-minute enquiry was done a day after a team of 50 officials swooped on the offices of Multi Screen Media, World Sports Group and Pat Magnarella Management in Bandra, Khar and Malad suburbs of northwest Mumbai.

Earlier called Sony Entertainment TV, Multi Screen Media has the telecast rights for the IPL T20 cricketing extravaganza for 10 years from 2008 while World Sports Group acquired the global media rights for 10 years for over $1.5 billion.

Pat Magnarella Management is a full-service management, branding and marketing services company, which in the past specialised in the music business and later made a foray into sports as well, officials said.

At the broader level, the probes follow the selective leak by Modi of the names of the Kochi franchise’s owners, resulting in the resignation of Shashi Tharoor as minister of state for external affairs as his friend was given sweat equity in it.

The 10 franchises under scrutiny are Kochi’s Rendezvous Sports, Pune’s Sahara group, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.

Thursday also saw the president of the country’s apex cricket board categorically stating that the meeting of the IPL’s governing council will go ahead April 26 as scheduled in spite of questions raised by Modi.

‘Under the board constitution, the secretary is the convenor of all meetings. Even today I don’t convene a meeting, being the board president,’ Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar said at the headquarters of the board here.

The meeting was convened by BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan in the wake of charges of financial irregularities by IPL and its franchises and a breach of confidentiality by Modi’s selective leaks.

The IPL commissioner then had questioned the legality of the scheduled meeting Wednesday and said only he had the powers to convene it. His camp said there was conflict of interest as Srinivasan-led India Cements owned the Chennai franchise.

(With inputs from our bureaus at Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Chennai)

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T20 Cricket League kicks off in Kashmir

April 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Apr 19 (ANI): In an attempt to popularise cricket in Jammu and Kashmir, a T20 Jammu Kashmir Premier League has kicked off in Srinagar.

The league has been organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

Around 128 clubs from all across the state, including from far-flung areas of both Jammu and the Kashmir Valley are participating in the event. Out of these teams eight top performing teams will get a chance to play the semi finals and finals, which will be held in Srinagar.

New and Renewable Energy Minister and President of JKCA Farooq Abdullah said: “With this tournament the officials of JKCA will get a chance to evaluate the budding players. We are trying to expand JKCA for improving the game in the state.”

“This is a very nice step taken by the president of JKCA to improve the game in the region. The tournament will provide a boost to all players,” said Abid Nabi, a cricketer.

The winner of the T20 Premier League will bag a prize money of Rupees five hundred thousand, whereas the runner up team gets Rupees three hundred thousand and the team securing third position gets Rupees one hundred thousand. (ANI)

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T20 Cricket League kicks off in Kashmir

April 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Apr 19 (ANI): In an attempt to popularise cricket in Jammu and Kashmir, a T20 Jammu Kashmir Premier League has kicked off in Srinagar.

The league has been organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

Around 128 clubs from all across the state, including from far-flung areas of both Jammu and the Kashmir Valley are participating in the event. Out of these teams eight top performing teams will get a chance to play the semi finals and finals, which will be held in Srinagar.

New and Renewable Energy Minister and President of JKCA Farooq Abdullah said: “With this tournament the officials of JKCA will get a chance to evaluate the budding players. We are trying to expand JKCA for improving the game in the state.”

“This is a very nice step taken by the president of JKCA to improve the game in the region. The tournament will provide a boost to all players,” said Abid Nabi, a cricketer.

The winner of the T20 Premier League will bag a prize money of Rupees five hundred thousand, whereas the runner up team gets Rupees three hundred thousand and the team securing third position gets Rupees one hundred thousand. (ANI)

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Dharamshala cricket stadium all set to host two IPL matches

April 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 1 (ANI): Preparations for the two Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches to be held at the Dharamshala cricket stadium on April 16 and 18 have been completed.

According to President Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, Anurag Thakur, this is for the first time that international level cricket tournaments are being held in newly constructed Dharmshala cricket stadium that has been constructed with 50 crore rupees cost this year.

Thakur said the cricket stadium set up at height of 4000 ft above mean sea level has been constructed in accordance with international standards and is highest international cricket ground to host IPL matches.

The Dharamshala cricket stadium has a magnificent view in backdrop of mighty Dhauladhar snow peaks which register average temperature of around 25 degree to 30 degrees Celsius during the peak hours in summer while morning and evening temperature is registered around 20 degree Celsius when the entire India experiences the spell of intense heat waves, he stated.

He told that the pleasant weather will add to the glory and popularity of the game and will be
added attraction for cricket lovers who are coming from plain areas to witness the match.

Dharamshala cricket stadium has 20,000 spectators’ seating capacity and state of the art facilities, separate practice session, most modern rehabilitation centre, club lounge, restaurant, bar, banquet hall with 500 capacity and modern media centre with all the facilities.

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will be the chief guest during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match to played between Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab on April 18 in Dharamshala.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will be the chief guest on the opening day of the matches between Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers on April 16 and His Holiness Dalai Lama will be the chief guest on April 18 during the match between Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab, he informed.

Thakur informed that the capacity has been created to entertain and accommodate around 700 guests in the stadium.

Sales of ticket have been started and almost half of the tickets have already been sold, he informed.
(ANI)

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Gujarat cricket will be professionalised, says Modi

September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Sep.15 (ANI): Ending the Congress party’s domination of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) by taking over the presidency of the outfit, state Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that it would be his endeavour to professionalise the activities of the GCA.

Speaking to reporters after being elected unanimously to the post, Modi said that there was so much taking place outside and beyond the world of cricket, that he would use every opportunity and technical know-how to make cricket in Gujarat more market savvy and a better sporting entity.

Thanking all those who had elected him unopposed, he said that in the coming months and years he would do his best to improve the state of cricket in the state.

Modi replaced Narhari Amin as GCA president.

The GCA, affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), governs the game of cricket in Gujarat.

It is involved in the conduct of the game from the grass root level to the International level. (ANI)

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Tripura felicitates Sourav Ganguly

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Agartala, Sep.14 (ANI): Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly was felicitated by the Tripura Cricket Association here on Sunday.

This was Ganguly’s third visit to state after 15 years.

Ganguly after visiting the MBB Cricket Stadium said that there has been rapid infrastructure development of cricket in the state and with it in the coming days the state can go for conducting national and international matches.

The former Indian captain also met budding cricketers and coaches and gave them useful tips, which were welcomed.

During his visit, Ganguly accepted an offer of being the technical adviser for development of cricket in Tripura.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar also felicitated Ganguly, who will leave the state on Monday. By Pinaki Das(ANI)

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Dropped Hughes sought Tendulkar’s wise counsel over lunch

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep.13 (ANI): Out of favour Australian opening batsman Phillip Hughes had lunch and a long one-hour chat with Sachin Tendulkar when he was in India. He also spent some time in Nagpur with his coach Neil D’ Costa, who is contracted to the Vidarbha Cricket Association academy.

“The first thing Phillip said when he arrived was ‘I can’t change the past, but I can prepare for the future’,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted D’Costa, as saying from Nagpur.

“He got dropped and it was upsetting, but Phillip knows that in the Australian cricket team there are no apprenticeships. At that moment in time the selectors thought it was best he was not in the team and so be it. Phillip has already moved on from that,” he added.

“He was extremely mature about his work over here,” D’Costa said.

Hughes’s next assignment will be the shortest form of the game, the Champions League in South Africa. (ANI)

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Dropped Hughes sought Tendulkar’s wise counsel over lunch

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep.13 (ANI): Out of favour Australian opening batsman Phillip Hughes had lunch and a long one-hour chat with Sachin Tendulkar when he was in India. He also spent some time in Nagpur with his coach Neil D’ Costa, who is contracted to the Vidarbha Cricket Association academy.

“The first thing Phillip said when he arrived was ‘I can’t change the past, but I can prepare for the future’,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted D’Costa, as saying from Nagpur.

“He got dropped and it was upsetting, but Phillip knows that in the Australian cricket team there are no apprenticeships. At that moment in time the selectors thought it was best he was not in the team and so be it. Phillip has already moved on from that,” he added.

“He was extremely mature about his work over here,” D’Costa said.

Hughes’s next assignment will be the shortest form of the game, the Champions League in South Africa. (ANI)

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Cricket fever in Kashmir

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Sep 3 (ANI): Cricket fever has gripped the youth in Kashmir Valley as scores of them have turned out for the Ranji trophy selection camp in Srinagar.

The Ranji trophy trials were held at Sheri-Kashmir Cricket stadium on Wednesday. On the inaugural day itself, around 200 players got their names registered for the trials.

“Earlier around 50-70 boys used to turn up but for the first time around 200 boys have come here for net practice. For Ranji trophy alone there around 50–60 boys have turned up not only here but also in Jammu. The selection process is going on for Ranji and other games as well.” said Saleem Khan, General Secretary JK Cricket Association.

Youth from various parts of Kashmir valley, even from the border areas like Kupwara showed up for trials. Those participating are really happy to have got opportunity to showcase their talent.

“More and more talent is coming forward for cricket. Besides, parents are also backing their children now and encouraging them to join cricket. This is good for cricket and new talents are also getting opportunity,” said Omer Alam, a youth participating in Ranji trials.

The trials will continue for 11 days. The intended players can directly participate and need not have any club affiliation.

The players who perform will be short-listed.

Ranji trophy trails are being organized by the Jammu Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) with the help of the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI)(ANI).

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American Premier League wants Hadlee to be a board member

April 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, Apr.24 (ANI): New Zealand cricket legend Sir Richard Hadlee has been approached to be an executive board member of an American Premier League (APL) cricket tournament, but is waiting on formal approval before accepting.

According to a New Zealand Press Association report, players from the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and some big names from the sport’s past have been invited to take part in an as-yet unauthorised Twenty20 tournament in New York in October.

Jay Mir, president and CEO of American Sports And Entertainment Group, said the tournament, to be called the American Premier League, had signed up players from the major cricket nations with the majority coming from the ICL.

Mir said Hadlee had signed up as an executive board member.

Hadlee, however, said he was waiting to see whether the APL tournament receives official blessing before making a final decision.

Mir said former England spin bowler John Emburey, a coach in the ICL, had agreed to be coach of a “Premium World” team in the competition with ex-West Indies captain Richie Richardson coaching a Caribbean XI.

The “Premium World” team would be made up of players from England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, said Mir, declining to name any of those contracted.

But the sport’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), which had not recognised the ICL, warned its members against taking part in an event which had not yet received endorsement from the USA Cricket Association. (ANI)

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Cricket: Malaysia offers Pakistan two alternative playing venues

April 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Apr.17 (ANI): Malaysia has offered two of its ICC-recognised venues to Pakistan so that it can fulfil its international commitments and hold matches that were cancelled in the aftermath of the terror attack on Sri Lanka team.

According to The Nation, Malaysia is ready to become the alternative venue for Pakistan’s cricket matches so that all their international matches that were cancelled due to safety reasons can be played here, Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) honorary secretary C Sivanandan said.

Since Malaysia already has two world class cricket venues, certified by the International Cricket Council to host Test matches and One-Day Internationals, MCA has made the offer to Pakistan, he said.

“The Bayu Emas Oval in Klang and the Kinrara Oval in Puchong have already staged world class international matches and we already have the facilities, expertise and the people to assist Pakistan in hosting matches,” Sivanandan was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

However, MCA has not yet received any feedback on the offer from the Pakistan board, he said.

After the March 3 terror attack on the visiting Sri Lanka team in Lahore, foreign countries and teams are reluctant to travel to Pakistan.

Pakistan’s hopes of jointly staging the World Cup with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have dimmed after gunmen attacked the visiting Lankan team bus in Lahore on March 3, killing seven people and injuring six players ahead of the third day of the second Test. (ANI)

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