Playing cricket for communal harmony

May 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Cashing in on the popularity of cricket, the police in Vadodara are organising a cricket tournament in the city with the help of NGOs. The aim is to bridge the gap between religious communities as well as that between people and police.

As many as 32 teams will take part in the tournament and the first match will see Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana among those playing the game.

According to Makarpura Police Inspector R M Bhadoriya the cricket matches will be played from the evening till night and they have been named Qaumi Ekta Cricket Tournament, signifying communal harmony in Vadodara. “Incidents such as that in Ahmedabad’s Shahpur area creates a bad impression regarding our state. Cricket will

act like a bridge between communities and between the police and the public. We hope to turn this

into an annual event,” said Bhadoriya. He added that after the 2002 riots, cricket matches served the role of icebreakers between two communities.

Police officials said Rs 5,000 is being charged from the teams as registration fees.

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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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Despite Qaeda threat, New Zealand set to axe psychologist for Delhi Games

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, Mar. 24 (ANI): New Zealand is set to axe the psychologist from its Commonwealth Games team despite an Al Qaeda threat looming large over the championship to be held in New Delhi.

In February, al Qaeda commander Ilyas Kashmiri had threatened to target the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the ongoing Indian Premier League cricket matches and the now successfully concluded Hockey World Cup.

Soon after its threat, New Zealand hockey star striker Simon Child pulled out of the World Cup in Delhi, saying: “The heightened security does not create an ideal high performance environment”.

While the final composition of the support team has yet to be announced, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) has decided against sending a psychologist on the tour.

The NZOC’s decision to take its athletes to Delhi without a mental safety net has been labelled as an irresponsible move by mental health specialists.

Sports psychologists learned, who learned the decision only last Friday, have expressed disappointment at NZOC’s decision.

“This could be the one Games where mental health support is vital. It would be irresponsible not to have some mental health support in place, should there be threats to athletes, or a crisis occur,” Stuff.co.nz quoted one psychologist, as saying.

“Delhi will be a difficult, distracting and unsettling environment, and athletes will need every tool available if they are to produce their best,” she added.

Meanwhile, NZOC communications adviser Ashley Abbott has said that no decision had been made on who would be in the Games support team, with the final call depending on how many athletes were selected. (ANI)

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ICC to pay PCB 18 million dollars as World Cup dues: Butt

August 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug.28 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hopes to receive up to 18 million dollars from the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the stripping of hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup, its chairman Ijaz Butt said on Friday.

“At the moment the figure is around rupees one billion (12 million dollars) but I hope it could go up to rupees 1.5 billion (18 million dollars) by the time World Cup begins in 2011,” Butt told reporters in Lahore.

Butt returned home from Dubai after signing an agreement with the ICC president David Morgan according to which Pakistan will retain its host fees – 10.5 million dollars – and will receive additional compensation for the loss of hosting rights.

“It’s a confidential document which we both (ICC and PCB) signed, but I can tell you that much that I hope the total earnings of PCB might go up to rupees 1.5 billion,” the Dawn quoted Butt, as saying.

In return the PCB will withdraw all its legal cases against the ICC and all its 14 World Cup matches will now be distributed among India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – the three co-hosts of the World Cup.

“Within the next 15 days, the PCB will withdraw all its legal cases against the ICC,” Butt said.

Pakistan lost the right to host international cricket matches after gunmen attacked Sri Lankan cricketers and their security detail on March 3, leaving six police officers and a van driver dead.

Butt said a clause had been added to Thursday’s agreement, saying international cricket will return to Pakistan when the ICC and other teams are satisfied the security situation had sufficiently improved.(ANI)

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Super eight win against Kiwis turning point for Pak fortunes: Akmal

June 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, June 24 (ANI): Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has said that the thumping win against the New Zealand in the ‘super eight’ match of the ICC Twenty20 World Championship was the turning point of the tournament for his team.

Akmal, who emerged as one of Pakistan’s star performers during the championship, said that it was captain Younus Khan and the team management, who motivated him and asked him to open the batting after initial hiccups in the tournament.

“I should say the credit goes to the team management and our skipper Younus Khan who backed me up. In team meetings, he backed all senior players, indeed, he backed every player which eventually translated into our performance,” The Nation quoted Akmal, as saying.

Thanking the people of the country for their support and love, Akmal admitted that Pakistan was not the favorite team to win the trophy, but added that his side was a serious contender.

“I have to thank our nation. It was their prayers that played such a great role in our victory,” he added.

Commenting on the 2011 World Cup hosting rights issue, Akmal said the event should not be shifted from Pakistan, and expressed hope that international cricket would soon return to the country.

“World Cup is our right and other international cricket matches should also be arranged here,” he said. (ANI)

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India playing Pakistan, a must for world cricket: Younis Khan

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Abu Dhabi, May 1 (ANI): Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said that cricketing ties between India and Pakistan are a must for cricket fans worldwide and both teams should play each other more frequently.

Comparing the matches between India and Pakistan with the Ashes, Khan said both the countries should also play in regular bilateral series.

“It not only provides excitement but also gives a chance to players to prove their mettle. “I think India playing Pakistan is a must for world cricket,” he said.

Attributing his name and fame in the cricket world to the 2005 series against India in which he scored a century in the second Test and a brilliant 267 in the third, Khan said: “Whatever fame and name I have earned is primarily after my performance against India in 2005.”

He said he would appeal to Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful to join hands in the difficult situation that the region is facing currently, because of which foreign teams have been expressing reservations about touring the sub-continent.

“I will definitely meet (them) on the sidelines of T20 World Cup in England and tell them that we need to join hands, as the situation in all four countries is not good, so we must stand up for each other,” The Daily Times quoted Khan,as saying.

Expressing disappointment over Pakistan not being able to host any foreign team and the ICC’s decision to shift the 2011 World Cup matches from the country, Khan said all the cricket playing nations of the region must join hands to tackle the issue together.

“The Asian countries will have to plan together, and stand up for each other in difficult times, otherwise cricket matches will not take place in our part of the world,” he said. (ANI)

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Elections are important, not IPL: Qureshi

April 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Elections are ‘of ultimate importance’ for the country and the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament – which had to be shifted out of India due to a clash of schedules – ‘stands nowhere’, says Election Commissioner S.Y. Qureshi.

‘For India, elections are of ultimate importance and IPL stands nowhere. It’s not that we’re anti-IPL; we too have a keen interest in cricket matches and do check scores in-between work,’ Qureshi told the Zee news channel in an interview to be telecast Saturday.

The second edition of the IPL, beginning April 18, will be played in South Africa, since necessary security personnel could not be deployed for it as they would be busy with the April-May election duty.

However, Qureshi said there should be less dependence on forces for conducting elections. ‘We should use it only as per the requirement and without compromising the nation’s security,’ he said.

Replying to a query, Qureshi said there were no major disputes among the three members of the Election Commission.

The poll panel was gripped by controversy after Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami wrote to the president to remove Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, accusing him of partiality. The government rejected the recommendation.

‘There are no major disputes amongst us. We agree on 95 percent of the topics and disagree on the remainder, which indicates that democracy exists even inside the Election Commission!’ he said.

Asked to comment on the action against Varun Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee for the Pilibhit seat, for his hate speeches, Qureshi said: ‘I will not say anything but there’s a lot to say. People are saying that you did a good job with Varun Gandhi.

‘Yes, the office of the Election Commission is a toothless tiger because we can’t comment on criminal politicians,’ he added.

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Vijay Mallya hails BCCI’s gesture

April 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Apr 3 (ANI): Vijay Mallya, owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers thanked the Indian Premier League (IPL) management and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for agreeing to contribute towards the extra expenses incurred in travelling to South Africa.

“I am very glad as a franchise owner that we are playing here. 95 per cent of the IPL is watched on the television. I think the television viewership will not suffer because we have kept the time at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the same time. As far as the cost element is concerned, it will cost us more to go to South Africa and play. But, the BCCI and the IPL organisation have assured us that we will be adequately compensated,” said Mallya while addressing a press conference here on Thursday.

It may be recalled that the IPL decided to stage the second edition of IPL Twenty20 cricket matches in South Africa instead of India as the dates of certain ties clashed with general elections. The government expressed its inability to provide security to the players and also at the venues of the matches.

Consequently, the franchised owners of the teams had become a worried lot and sought drawbacks from the BCCI and the IPL to make up the cost of travelling to South Africa.

The BCCI has agreed to compensate the IPL franchisees the money spent on air travel to South Africa and also any extra expenditure incurred towards accommodation of their teams.

Whereas the commercial success of the first edition saw the IPL contribute close to rupees one billion to the exchequer last year, the BCCI doesn’t expect much profits this year due to huge supplementary costs in staging the matches abroad.

Meanwhile, in Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly said that he was satisfied with the choice of Bloemfontein as the base camp for the team in South Africa.

“The population is much less. It is an open city. I have been to Bloemfontein many number of times. The facilities are very good. They say the best cricket wicket in South Africa is Bloemfontein. Adrian Le Roux comes from Bloemfontein. So he had a major say in this decision (of South Africa hosting the second edition of IPL),” said Ganguly.

The IPL tournament will start on April 10 and continue till May 24 in which 59 matches will be played at various venues in South Africa. (ANI)

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India a safe country to play in: Ganguly

March 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Mar.12 (ANI): Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly today said that as far as he was concerned India was a safe country to play in and was hopeful that the second edition of the Indian Premier League(IPL) would take place without any problems.

On the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls coinciding with IPL fixtures, Ganguly said it was for the Home Ministry and the IPL authorities to take a decision regarding dates if required.

The Kolkata Knight Riders captain said the recent attacks on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan was unfortunate, but it did not mean that cricket matches should be forgone in India on grounds of security concerns.

Speaking to the reporters at the launch of a motor cycle in Kolkata, Ganguly said that the present Indian side is good and the most important thing is that the team is now playing well overseas.

In an oblique reference to Sachin Tendulkar’s recent statement that the present One Day batting line up was the best India ever had, Ganguly pointed that everyone was entitled to their personal opinion, but no one could rule out the era of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar who were superb players of their time.

After that came the era of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, of which he himself was captain, Ganguly said, adding that there should be no comparison between players of different times.

Ganguly also said the this was now the era of Dhoni, Sehwag and Gambhir. By Ajitha Menon (ANI)

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BCCI sends a revised IPL schedule to Home Ministry

March 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Mar 5 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent a revised schedule for the second session of Indian Premier League (IPL) to the Union Home Ministry on Thursday.

According to sources, the new schedule starts from April 10 and ends on May 24.

“We have taken care to ensure that host cities are not allotted a match two days before and after the polling day. We have submitted the schedule to the Home Ministry. It is up to them now to advice us,” a top IPL source said.

The organisers are not in favour of postponing the tournament as it may lead to massive financial losses for franchise owners and tournament organisers.

Earlier, the Home Ministry had urged the IPL to alter the dates as they were clashing with the election schedule.

Security for players during the tournament has assumed significance after Tuesday’s terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

The Ministry had earlier requested the Directors General of Police of all host states to provide additional security because private security could not complete the requirement.

Police also maintained that they can provide extra cover to the players, provided the tournament dates are extended.

The second edition of 20-over cricket matches will take place in Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi and two other venues, which are yet to be decided.

Both West Bengal Police and Delhi police are in support of the extension of match dates.

On the other hand, polls in Delhi are scheduled on May 7 and the IPL matches are on May 5, 11, 14 and 16.

Maharashtra votes on April 16, 23 and 30 while the IPL matches will be played on April 12, 17, 19, 24, 28 and May 2.

Voting in Karnataka is on April 23 and 30 while IPL matches are on April 14, 19, 23 and May 3.

More than 21 lakh security personnel will be pressed into service during the upcoming General Elections. (ANI)

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Victoria Police to issue wristbands to curb underage drinking during cricket matches at MCG

February 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Jan.14 (ANI): Wrist bands have been added to the police armoury in an attempt to stop underage drinking during cricket matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Fans who want a cold one at Friday’s One Day International will have to produce photo ID and collect a wristband as part of the new ystem being introduced to prevent underage drinking.

According to the Herald Sun, there will be eight wristbands booths at the MCG. It is hoped the new system will assist staff in establishing proof of age, and means patrons will no longer have to produce ID every time they want to purchase alcohol at the bar.

Any underage patrons flashing fake ID for a wristband will face an on-the-spot fine, with Victoria Police and Vic Roads on-site to identify bogus IDs.

Patrons arriving at the booth drunk will also be refused a wristband, and could face possible ejection from the ground.

Superintendent Trevor Parks from Major Events said Victoria Police has been working very closely with Cricket Australia to introduce the new measures.

“This procedure has already been extremely successful at other major events throughout Victoria and has assisted police in identifying underage patrons,” Parks said.

One booth will be located outside the MCG near gate five, with the other seven booths located inside the ground in the Olympic, Ponsford and Great Southern Stands.

All booths inside the ground will be located on level one.

Superintendent Parks said in addition to the new wristband procedure, police would continue to eject any troublemakers from the ground and issue them with on-the-spot fines where possible.

Police can issue fines for using profane, indecent or obscene language, using threatening, abuse or insulting words, and behaving in a riotous, indecent, offensive or insulting manner.

Each penalty notice carries a 227-dollar on-the-spot fine that will be processed at the mobile police facility located outside gate six. (ANI)

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PCB not to seek compensation from BCCI for canceling tour

January 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, Jan 21 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board will not be seeking any compensation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for canceling their India’s tour of Pakistan in wake of the Mumbai terror strikes.

The Nation quoted a senior PCB official as saying that since the BCCI only followed the policy decision of its government not to tour Pakistan in the wake of Mumbai attacks, there was nothing the PCB could do.

“Once a board adheres to a policy decision of the government, that matter cannot be taken to the disputes committee of the ICC,” the official said.

Pakistan suffered a revenue loss of around 40 million dollars, because of the cancelled tour, but relations between the two boards remains good.

“I don’t think our relations are such that we would like to claim any compensation in the disputes committee,” the PCB official said.

The official said Pakistan is hopeful that once relations between the two countries improved cricket matches would resume.

“Indian board has assured us that when things are normal and their government gives them clearance to play against us they will try to adjust this cancelled FTP tour somehow in their calendar,” he added. (ANI)

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