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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Deshpande denies keeping IPL in dark about ”individual bid”

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) The twists and turns in the Pune bid row continued today with City Corporation MD Aniruddh Deshpande refuting allegations that he kept the IPL in dark about his “individual bid” for the franchise but conceded that the company”s name was used in his bid documents. Deshpande”s denial comes in the wake of media reports that the Pune-based Real Estate firm City Corporation had authorised him to bid on the company”s behalf in a January board meeting.

The firm, in which Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar”s family has 16 per cent equity, had earlier denied being part of the bid but BCCI President Shashank Manohar yesterday rejected its claim, saying the failed bid came in the company”s name. Deshpande said he had told the IPL that he would float a new company after winning the bid, which was eventually clinched by the Sahara Group.

Deshpande said the City Corporation allowed him to use the company”s name on the documents as very little time was left for the bids to open. “All the documents were in the company”s name and a letter to that effect was also submitted to the IPL Governing Council on March 21 before the bid.

I told them that the stakeholders will change if we are successful bidders,” Deshpande said. “Since we were not successful bidders, nothing further had to be done,” he added.

City Corporation”s involvement had been vehemently denied by Pawar and his Parliamentarian daughter Supriya Sule. The duo had said that the Pawar family was not involved in any bidding process but had admitted that Deshpande was allowed to go ahead in his “individual capacity”.

Deshpande said the company”s Board backed out of bidding for the team after a March 17 meeting where a fresh resolution allowing him to go ahead individually was passed. .

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Chirayu Amin part of unsuccessful bid for Pune franchise: Modi

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 4 (ANI): IPL bidding row got murkier with suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi today claiming that Chirayu Amin was part of the consortium that made an unsuccessful bid for the Pune franchise.

Amin is the Twenty20 league’s interim chairman after Modi was suspended over charges of mismanagement of funds.

Modi said Managing Director of City Corporation Aniruddha Deshpande made the bid in March for a new consortium, which included Amin.

“There were three members in the consortium that was part of the bid. They were Aniruddha, Akruti and Chirayu Amin. It’s a fact of life and I cannot change or distort facts. They were the bidders, one can”t change that,” said Modi.

Earlier in the day, former BCCI President and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar dismissed reports of his family’s involvement in the bid for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees.

He rubbished a newspaper report linking his family to the IPL bid.

Talking to reporters here, Pawar said: “Neither I nor my family is involved with any IPL team or with the bidding process.”

“Whatever has been reported in the newspaper today was reported two months back also. At that time also I explained my position, which remains the same now. Neither me nor my family has direct or indirect involvement in any IPL team or in the bidding process,” he added.

Commenting on the report that his family holds shares in the Pune-based construction company City Corporation that made an unsuccessful bid for a franchise in March, Pawar claimed that the MD of the company, Anirudhha Deshpande, had made the bid in his individual capacity.

He also reiterated that the IPL is clean and that there is nothing murky about the ownership patterns and financial transactions in the league. (ANI)

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Pawar should resign immediately: BJP

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 4 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused former BCCI President and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of misrepresenting facts on IPL bidding and demanded that he should resign immediately.

Addressing mediapersons here, Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “Sharad Pawar has mismanaged the food inflation as well as the cricket too, and he should step down from the post.

He said that City Corporation”s MD had bid for the IPL Pune team, was a false claim by Pawar, and added that he should answer that why he mislead the country by giving wrong information.

He further demanded for probe in the IPL Pune”s bidding process.

A newspaper report on Friday said Pawar family owned 16 per cent stake in City Corporation, a Pune company that the report claimed had bid for an IPL team in March this year.

Earlier, Pawar dismissed reports of his family”s involvement in the bid for IPL franchisees.

He rubbished a newspaper report linking his family to the IPL bid.

Talking to reporters here, Pawar said: “Neither I nor my family is involved with any IPL team or with the bidding process.”

“Whatever has been reported in the newspaper today was reported two months back also. At that time also I explained my position, which remains the same now. Neither me nor my family has direct or indirect involvement in any IPL team or in the bidding process,” he added.

He also reiterated that the IPL is clean and that there is nothing murky about the ownership patterns and financial transactions in the league.

“The government agencies are inquiring and anyone who has done anything wrong, will be punished,” he added. (ANI)

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Time to bet on spin

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

India’s young captain Suresh Raina has managed to get what Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not.

First, he got leg-spinner Amit Mishra and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who have been playing musical chairs in the last one year, in the team for the tri-series in Zimbabwe. And as icing on the cake, the selectors picked R Ashwin, a talented off-spinner from Tamil Nadu, following his decent showing in the IPL

The skipper, thus, has an enviable variety in his spin arsenal.

While the squad to Bangladesh for the Test series in January had three spinners, it is after a fairly long time that the Indian team is travelling abroad with three spinners, covering all varieties, for a one-day series.

Though skipper Raina said the young bunch of pacers would shine in the outing, the spin department will be his best bet. “We have a bunch of talented youngsters and it will be good opportunity for all of us,” the 23-year-old said at a press conference here before the team’s departure. “We have experienced players in the spin department and are keen to do well in Zimbabwe.”

For Mishra and Ojha, who have been pushing hard for the second spinner’s spot in the Asia Cup team, the next two weeks will play a crucial role in checking in for the Asia Cup, starting June 15.

Young and restless

Amid the Mishra-Ojha rivalry, Ashwin would hope for a tweak in his fortunes. But he is rooted to the surface. “I am not thinking about the Asia Cup at the moment – my focus is only on this tournament,” he said. “We have three good spinners in the team, so it’s not about hoping for a place in the next series but about doing your job and cashing in on any opportunity that comes your way (in Zimbabwe).”

The 23-year-old opened with the new ball for his IPL side, Chennai Super Kings, and added a new dimension to his bowling. And though he said that “helping each other is more important” while playing for the country, Ashwin is shrewd enough to realise the importance of that move. “When someone talks about me, they will know I can even open the bowling as an off spinner. That opens up a lot of options,” he said.

But the trip will be a point to prove for all three, as they will get a chance to firm up their place on the international stage, according to Ashwin.

Calm with experience

Being the most experienced among the trio, Mishra, making a comeback, knows the huge expectations and therefore wants to keep things simple. “There is no point in thinking too much ahead,” he said.

“One needs to be calm and just try to bowl properly using variations. If you keep thinking about your place in the team and lose focus, chances are you may end up nowhere,” Mishra added.

Performance matters

Ojha, meanwhile, rubbished the idea that the performance in Zimbabwe may not count for much. “There is also another team – Sri Lanka,” he said, “and this is an international tournament, so taking wickets won’t be easy.”

All three, though, are aware that only one of them will pass the test for the Asia Cup. With Harbhajan Singh set to retain his spot in the trip to the Emerald Islands, the trio will hope to make the most of this low-key event.

Besides the May 28-June 9 tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka, India play two T20 internationals against hosts Zimbabwe on June 12 and 13.

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Manohar pushed Kochi bid, Srinivasan attempted to ‘fix’ match: Modi

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In a fresh development, suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has made strong allegations against the BCCI President Shashank Manohar and Secretary N Srinivasan, and asked the duo to exclude themselves from the proceedings of the show-cause notice served on him by the cricket board on April 26.

He has also asked the board to appoint an independent body to look into the issue. In a long email sent to the IPL governing council Tuesday evening, Modi has alleged that Manohar and Srinivasan were party to all the developments, including the drafting of the tender documents inviting bids for the two new IPL teams this year, the contract between broadcaster Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd and sports marketing company WSG.

Giving the ongoing battle an interesting twist, Modi has insinuated in his letter that Manohar manipulated the entire bidding process to make sure that the two new franchisees go to the Sahara Group and the Kochi consortium.

“… the ITT (invitation to tender) itself was drafted by the corporate lawyers of BCCI and approved by the in-house counsel Akhila Kaushik, who also happens to be an ex-junior of your father Honorable Mr. VR Manohar and also your confidante having been appointed on your recommendation,” he has said in his email.

He has said the criteria of net-worth of the bidder being $1billion and deposit was specifically discussed between him and Manohar and it was confirmed by Manohar in the meeting of the Governing Council held on March 7. He has described the sequence of the entire bidding, cancellation and the re-bidding process as follows: Till 5th March 2010, which was the deadline for submission of bids, only two bids had been received from Videocon and the Adanis. After the deadline for submitting bids, late in the evening and into the night of March 5 and the morning of March 6, he received calls from former minister of state for foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor and his Secretary Jacob, informing him that a third bid was coming from Delhi.

On March 7 evening, he has said in his email, he was sitting with Manohar at the Four Seasons hotel where a representative of the Kochi franchise came to submit the bid, which Manohar asked him to accept but it could not be accepted because of some technicalities.

Modi has further alleged that because Manohar could not ensure the inclusion of the Kochi bid, he unilaterally decided to cancel the bid process. Modi has said Manohar, then, used his phone to call two executives from the Sahara Group and Dainik Jagran group and asked them to send protest letters seeking a fresh bidding process.

Modi has made allegations against Srinivasan as well. These include using his influence to appoint umpires of his choice, among others. Srinivasan’s attempt to appoint umpires of his choice for a Super Kings’ match, Modi said, was a clear attempt at umpire fixing/match fixing.

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Out in the cold, Irfan vows to come back

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It took one Australian tour in 2003-04 to make a curly-haired teenager a household name. Once he began swinging the ball both ways, comparisons with Wasim Akram followed. A few impressive knocks later, he was destined to be the next Kapil Dev. The fall for Irfan Pathan though, has been as quick as his climb was.

Having lost his swing and a considerable amount of pace, Pathan is no longer the blue-eyed boy of the selection committee. Despite scoring 397 runs at an average of 49.62 and scalping 22 wickets in the 2009-10 Ranji season, followed by a five-wicket haul in the Duleep Trophy final, Pathan didn’t make the cut for the Zimbabwean tour or the India A side — touring England — as a pool of fresh faces was preferred by the selectors.

Working on errors

The disappointment is clear, but Pathan does his best to conceal it. “I really don’t know what to say. I was hopeful. Every cricketer thinks of where he is going wrong and tries to work on his errors. I’m playing well but need to do better. I’m still hoping to make a comeback,” Pathan says, while speaking to The Indian Express.

While cricket pundits attempt to deconstruct where the downfall began, Pathan isn’t sure himself. Could it have been because of the drop in pace? “But I have never been a 140-plus bowler,” he says.

“I don’t know what people are expecting from me. Do they want to see me to bowl at 140-plus and take no wickets? Or do they want to see me swing my way to wickets and give away fewer runs?” he asks, adding, “I was a bowler who could take wickets and perform whenever the team required.”

The long season has finally come to an end after the IPL, and Pathan has planned his next three months in advance.

“At the moment I’m working on my body, hitting the gym. These three months will be crucial as I will work on my pace. It all depends on how I maintain my body,” he says.

The 25-year-old has more plans in place but is reluctant to reveal them, though he is tugging at the leash to return into the senior side as it’s been a year since he was last part of the Indian team. Pathan is aware of his statistics this season, and rattles them off like a student giving his oral exams.

“It all depends on how my next season goes, I’m ready to do well again. Ready for more hard work, ready to learn everyday, ready to come back.”

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Prakash Karat on ways to tackle Maoist menace

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Guwahati (Assam), May 19 (ANI): Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat has said that socio-economic issues need to be tackled first, while dealing with the Maoist menace in the country.

Prakash Karat said the problem posed by Maoists has to be looked from the socio-economic point of view besides counter operations by security forces.

“Steps must be taken in the Maoist affected regions to see that the tribal people”s socio economic problems are also solved. We can tackle the problem by this approach. There is no doubt that the whole country condemns the sort of Maoists violence, said Karat.

“We must also go forward to see how they can be isolated and they can be defeated,” he added at a meeting, which was attended by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.

Apart from Maoist extremism, Karat also spoke about the issue of price rise.

The CPI-M leader also expressed his views on the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, asserting that black money and politics is getting involved in it. (ANI)

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IPL’s role in T20 to torn tee, the post-party debate has begun

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

If somebody is saying behind me that somebody tore my shirt then what can I say? I didn’t even take any shirt to West Indies. I had taken only T-shirts

Ashish Nehra has his defence in place on his alleged involvement in a pub brawl

Nothing like that has happened. It’s all media’s imagination. One channel carries a story and others follow. We were all together near the team hotel’s swimming pool before departing for home

Indian team manager Ranjib Biswal dismisses all talk of brawl as a figment of imagination

Every player involved in it (IPL) has only got good words to say. But I am pleased I had the rest this time. At the time my body needed a bit of a break after a tough winter in South Africa and Bangladesh and I feel fresh. That was much required… (but) it would have been fantastic to learn some more skills in different conditions.

England seamer Stuart Broad is one of the few lucky ones to come into the World T20 fresh

I think it is a very poor excuse to say IPL parties were the reason for the team not performing here. If that was the case then Sri Lanka would not have been in the semis, nor England and Australia. I don’t think that is an issue at all

Sunil Gavaskar is clear that the IPL had nothing to do with India’s dismal show in World T20

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My team preparing to add more to my reply: Modi

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) After handing over his reply to the Indian cricket board’s chargesheet, suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi said Saturday his team is readying to add more to the already voluminous response.

Modi said that he will soon hold a press conference on the issue.

‘I will do a press conference at an appropriate time. Its best to allow my colleagues time to go thru my reply. We spent weeks putting it,’ Modi tweeted hours after his lawyer Mehmood M. Abdi submitted six cartons of documents to BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty at the Board headquarters in Mumbai.

‘When anyone is falsely accused – it is their duty to respond and not react. So one responds by making all that. The reply is by my last count around 15000 pages. The Team may have added more. Or getting ready to add more as we print thousands of mails.’

‘Now that the reply is done. 2nd reply still to be worked on. I plan to reply to that shortly. Just got into Monaco to enjoy the F1 tomorrow. Will spend it with friends and family,’ Modi said.

Abdi submitted a voluminous reply to the chargesheet slapped on Modi by BCCI over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the cash-rich IPL.

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Modi’s voluminous reply virtual chargesheet against GC members

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi/Mumbai, May 15 (IANS) Lalit Modi, the suspended chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), is believed to have put its entire Governing Council (GC) in the dock in his reply Saturday to the showcause notice slapped on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Modi, in his reply, supported by tomes of documents running into over 9,000 pages, is a virtual chargesheet against all his GC colleagues, as reported by IANS Friday, and it turns the tables on his principal opponents in the Board as well.

Ever since the controversy broke out after he tweeted the names of IPL’s newest franchise Kochi, Modi has maintained that all decisions were taken with the concurrence of the entire GC and he might have carried the argument forward in his reply to say that if he was guilty of any wrongdoing, then all his comrades are as much guilty in okaying hem.

Modi’s reply was collated by three highly reputed companies of solicitors and a battery of lawyers headed by legal luminaries like Ram Jethmalani and Harish Salve. It was submitted to the Board by Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi.

The Modi camp wants an independent panel to go through his reply, not any GC or Board member who is party to the decisions as that amounts to sitting in judgment over their own decisions.

Modi’s reply, packed sleekly in six cartons and delivered at the BCCI Cricket Centre headquarters in Mumbai, contains close to two lakh SMSs exchanged between GC members and him, thousands of e-mails, agenda papers and the minutes of the meetings, revealing the names of all those who attended and appended their signatures to the decisions.

Modi may have also demanded in the reply that an independent committee to sit in judgment over his reply, not anyone from the GC as they are all party to every decision he has taken.

Based on the reply, Abdi is confident all charges against Modi will be dropped.

‘The charges were based on allegations and gossip. BCCI can never prove its allegations. We are confident that all the charges against Modi will be dropped. In fact, BCCI president Shashank Manohar is an well-known lawyer and it will take him few hours to go through the reply. It can be done even today,’ said Abdi.

When asked to reveal the contents, Abdi said: ‘It is for BCCI to share the reply with you. But there are some interesting perspectives of the issues and controversies.’

A Board member, who till Friday argued that the suspended IPL commissioner did everything single-handedly, said Saturday on condition of anonymity: ‘If what Modi seeks to prove is correct, then the entire GC is guilty of abetment and they, too, should be suspended along with him.’

‘Going by what Modi has been hinting at from time to time, it is now clear that the decisions were involuntary for the GC members, including the three former India captains, to back off. In any case, how can any GC member sit in judgment as part of disciplinary/standing committee over his own decision?’ the member asked while speaking to IANS Saturday night.

‘The law doesn’t make exceptions for the ignorant’, he added.

Modi questioned the Board basing its chargesheet on unsubstantiated allegations, complaints and innuendos like the Kochi agreement being signed only after a directive from the Board chief, some of the deals being finalised without the knowledge of the IPL Governing Council and his holding proxy stakes in three IPL franchises.

Modi also questioned the veracity of the information supplied by a ‘reliable source,’ saying the Board has come up with ‘fiction’ to justify its charges against him, giving the information a ‘privileged and confidential’ garb.

BCCI secretary N. Srinivisan brought the very public e-mail exchanges with Modi to an end by assuring him that he could reply only on the ‘basis of the facts and documents, which have been referred to’ him in the chargesheet and not on any other material.

Modi, who was to submit his reply Monday, had sought a five-day extension and Manohar agreed to it.

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Modi files voluminous reply to BCCI chargesheet

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, May 15 (IANS) Lalit Modi, the suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner, Saturday submitted a voluminous reply to the chargesheet slapped on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the cash-rich league.

Modi’s lawyer Mehmood M. Abdi submitted six cartons of documents, with over 9,000 pages, to BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty at the Board headquarters here.

Abdi said a team of eminent lawyers, including Ram Jethmalani and Harish Salve, prepared the reply.

‘It has been a teamwork and we are confident that we have been successful in preparing the reply.

‘The charges were based on allegations and gossip. The BCCI can never prove it. We are confident that all the charges against Modi will be dropped. In fact, BCCI president Shashank Manohar is a well-known lawyer and it will take him only a few hours to go through the reply. It can be done even today,’ Abdi added.

Asked about the contents of the reply, Abdi said: ‘We cannot reveal anything about the documents. It is for you to impress upon the authorities (BCCI) and ask them to share the reply with you. But there are some interesting perspectives of the issues and controversies.’

‘The showcause was of 35 pages. Our report (reply) is of 159 pages and there are around 8,500-9,000 pages of written documents along with it. Two sets have been prepared, one has been sent to Mr. Manohar and one to BCCI secretary Mr. N.Srinivisan. Professor (Ratnakar) Shetty has received the documents.’

‘We have addressed all the charges. There is nothing left to be answered from our side. We want all the charges against Mr. Modi to be dropped and he should be reinstated as IPL chairman and commissioner.’

Abdi said that Modi had asked for more documents to formulate his reply but BCCI could not provide them.

‘Mr. Modi has been writing to BCCI to supply the documents that they (BCCI) will rely on. In response, BCCI provided some documents and we came back to BCCI for more documents because there was nothing new in it. Two days back BCCI wrote back to rely on documents supplied.’

‘Charges were made on Mr Modi’s behavioural conduct based on hearsay and gossip. BCCI has not been able to substantiate it. Mr Modi told BCCI: ‘I reserve the right cross examine about the allegations.”

‘He has even tried to explain the oral allegations,’ said Abdi, who flashed a victory sign before leaving the BCCI headquarters.

Shetty said he has received the documents.

‘We have not gone through the number and pages and BCCI will follow the procedures and duly respond.’

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Modi’s lawyer to submit show-cause reply

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, May 15 (IANS) Lalit Modi, suspended chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), will not personally submit his reply to the chargesheet slapped on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

In an e-mail to BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan, Modi said his lawyer Mehmood M. Abdi would deliver the reply to the show-cause notice with relevant documents at the BCCI headquarters at Wankhede Stadium here Saturday between 2.30 and 3.30 p.m.

Modi requested Srinivasan to depute some authorised person to ‘receive and acknowledge the documents by providing adequate receipt.’

Modi was earlier considering handing over the reply personally if the Board chief or the secretary were there to receive it.

The chargesheet, giving him 15 days to reply, was served on Modi April 26 after he was suspended at midnight soon after the IPL final. The BCCI later agreed to give Modi time to reply till Saturday.

The showcause lists charges of financial irregularity, but Modi has maintained that all decisions were taken collectively by the IPL Governing Council.

The five main charges against Modi include receiving kickbacks for allotting TV broadcast rights and manipulating bids.

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PCB mulling IPL-like T20 tournament in UAE

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 15 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly mulling to launch a T20 cricket tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the lines of the much famous Indian Premier League (IPL), and the proposal has already been approved by President Asif Ali Zardari, who is the PCB’s chief patron.

According to well-informed sources in the PCB, the board had sent a proposal of starting a T20 tournament in association with Abdul Rehman Bukhatir’s led Bukhatir group of companies.

“President Asif Zardari has given his consent to the proposal,” The Daily Times quoted sources, as saying.

The proposed league, named the Middle-east Cricket League (MCL) is likely to be launched in October, and the matches would be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

“The concept is the same as the IPL. The cricket league will have franchised teams around five or six who will be allowed to sign on and play overseas players,” sources added.

Sources said that efforts were on to get clearance and support from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its member boards and try to find a window for the MCL later this year.

Bukhatir has been associated with cricket for the past many years, and is primarily known for his Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) venture in Sharjah. The CBFS series was suspended in 2003 following a match-fixing scandal. (ANI)

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BCCI grants Lalit Modi five days reprieve to file answers

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 10 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday granted suspended IPL Chairman Lalit Modi five more days to respond to a showcause notice served to him on April 26.

Modi was given a showcause notice by the BCCI on charges of financial irregularity.
There are five main charges against Modi, ranging from receiving kickbacks for allotting TV broadcast rights to indiscipline and leveling baseless charges against the BCCI.

He is also facing charges of rigging the bidding of two new IPL teams, which were eventually won by Sahara and the Kochi IPL consortium and also for being a ghost owner in three IPL teams. .

Modi has claimed that he has submitted most of the relevant IPL documents.

They include all franchisee agreements, global media rights agreements, the global media rights packages, bid documents, media rights licensee agreements, eligibility letters of all bidders with details and all sponsorship agreements entered into by IPL.

The board, however, has denied receiving all documents. The BCCI”s chief administration officer Ratnakar Shetty said there are still a few documents that have not been handed over by Modi. (ANI)

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Clarke hails Australia openers as best in world

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Captain Michael Clarke said Australia had the world’s best Twenty20 opening batsmen after his team crushed India by 49 runs on Friday.

Shane Watson and David Warner blasted a 104-run first-wicket stand in 10.5 overs to set up a convincing victory over one of the tournament favourites.

“I believe we have the best two openers in Twenty20 cricket in the world at the moment,” Clarke told reporters.

“I think they bat fantastically together, left-hand, right-hand combination, both very aggressive but if they need to take their time they don’t seem distressed too much.

“They are two wonderful players and I am blessed to have them on my team,” added Clarke.

The pair peppered all four corners of the ground — and beyond — hitting 13 sixes between them.

After Watson went for 54 muscular left-hander Warner, a Twenty20 specialist, went on to make 72 from 42 balls.

Australia’s pace bowlers, led by Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait, then ripped through the Indian top order to ensure they were never in a real run chase.

“If we continue to make totals like that, with our bowling and the way we are fielding, it is going to be hard for opposition teams to beat us,” said Clarke.

“I think the growth of T20 cricket has helped every country. The IPL (Indian Premier League) has played a big part, guys are now learning more and more about how to play this game and how to be successful.

“I think you are probably learning as you go. I am certainly learning as I go as captain in this form of the game but having a squad like this certainly makes my job easier,” he said.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Ex-BCCI chief moves apex court against office bearers stake in IPL

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Chennai, May 8 (ANI): Former Board of Control for Cricket in India President A C Muthaiah has filed a case against present BCCI Secretary N Srinvasan and moved the apex court against office bearers holding stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“My whole case is that I have been saying there is conflict of interest. Srinivasan has violated and there is conflict of interest. According to our rules, no administrator can have any commercial interest. Now that is being amended, so I have challenged the amendment of the rule,” said Muthaiah.

“Prior to the rules were amended, the office-bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were not allowed to engage in activities that conflicted with its commercial interests,” he added.

The noted industrialist has challenged the decision of the single-judge bench of the Madras High Court that had earlier dismissed his plea.

“When I filed the case it was only against Srinivasan. Now, I find that Pandora”s box is opened so there are so many, who have fallen in this trap of the conflict of interest so others also are responsible,” said Muthaiah.

He has also challenged the legality of the April 26 meeting of the Governing Council of the IPL that suspended its chairman Lalit Modi, accused of financial irregularities.

“There should be an independent probe, all the interested members should be out of both the BCCI and the IPL. When there is an independent member they will be able to take bold decisions. When I was the president, I took a bold decision against match fixing,” said Muthaiah.

“I was able to do it because I was quiet independent I was not involved with any player or any team or anything like that,” he added.

Srinivasan is the Managing Director and Vice Chairman of India Cements Limited that owns Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

Tax authorities are probing the three-year-old IPL, valued at an estimated 4.1 billion dollars, after Shashi Tharoor resigned from the Union Council of Ministers being accused of using his influence in the formation of a newly franchised Kochi IPL team from Kerala. (ANI)

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Nannes happy to cash in on T20 riches up for grabs

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, May 8 (ANI): Leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 World Cup, Dirk Nannes, has said that Australian cricketers who no longer are in contention for Test and Sheffield Shield selection should cash in on the T20 riches on offer.

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He, however added that young players should persist with goals to wear the baggy green.

“It would be disturbing if the younger blokes did it, (but) I see it certainly as a good option for people getting close to the end of their career who no longer see themselves as a fixture in the longer forms,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Nannes, as saying.

Nannes, a Twenty20 specialist who retired from first-class cricket last season, said: “It would be a worry if it happened at a younger age. Everyone says David Warner is a Twenty20 specialist. It would be wrong for someone like that to just be a Twenty20 cricketer.

“He’s got so much of his game to develop. There’s no reason he can’t play Test cricket and be a good player over a long period of time. People like that would be making the wrong decision. What happens if the IPL falls over? Who knows?”

“For someone who is on the outer of Test cricket, why not make the right business move and play the shorter form? You have to get out of cricket what you can, if you strip the emotion away,” he said.

The most unlikely of Australian cricketers, Nannes, after only nine internationals, T20s has become a key member of the team’s World Twenty20 campaign.

“I’d always play a couple of games (of cricket) before and after I went skiing. Skiing was December until the end of February,” said Nannes, who always wanted to be a skiier or a musician, a sax player.

“I don’t know how it happened. It was funny. It wasn’t like everyone else who has come through the representative system. I had never played a representative game until I played for Victoria and I never really actually wanted to be a cricketer. I had just played cricket in the backyard with my brother,” he added.

Nannes said he has had no more than 10 coaching lessons on his bowling action through his career, and yet has become one of the most potent short-form bowlers in the world. (ANI)

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Mitchell Marsh dubbed as next Jacques Kallis of cricket

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, May 7 (ANI): Australian teenager Mitchell Marsh has been dubbed as the next Jacques Kallis of cricket by former South Africa coach and now in-charge of Western Australia, Mickey Arthur.

Marsh emerged as a key player with the bat for the struggling Western Australia last season and also showed a glimpse of his bowling prowess, taking 4-6 with his medium pacer in a Twenty20 win over New South Wales.

Arthur is confident 18-year-old Marsh has the ability to emulate the feats of South African all-rounder Kallis, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“I haven’t seen him (Marsh) perform live but I’ve watched him closely on TV. I watched a lot of his games in the IPL. He looks a fantastic talent and I don’t want to get ahead of myself when I say it but I can only think of Jacques Kallis,” Arthur said.

“I often sat there and thought about Jacques Kallis and who in the world could ever replace him and there”s nobody. There’s nobody who can bat in your top five and be your fourth seamer in world cricket and only Mitchell Marsh has that ability and potential.

“If he can be three quarters of the player Jacques Kallis is he’s got a huge future ahead of him,” Arthur said.

Arthur took over the reins of WA after Tom Moody stepped down.

Western Australia has not won a Shield title since 1998-99 while their last one-day title came back in 2003-04.

Arthur, who guided South Africa to the No.1 ranking in both Test and one-day cricket during his four-year stint as coach, said WA would aim to win some form of silverware next season. (ANI)

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Pakistan must bring ‘trump card’ Asif back for T20 survival: Akram

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 4 (ANI): Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has raised questions over the team management’s decision of not playing fast bowler Mohammed Asif in the game against Australia in the ICC World T20 Championship.

Akram said that Pakistan’s team composition in the match, that the defending champions lost by 34 runs, was not right and he was amazed to find Asif missing from the final eleven.

“Pakistan’s combination was not right. I do not know why Mohammed Asif is not playing. Mohammed Sami is a talented bowler and he did well against Bangladesh, but against the Kangaroos his length was not up to the mark and that’s why he conceded so many runs. Asif has proved time and again his class and should be brought back without further ado,” The Daily Times quoted Akram, as saying.

He said Pakistani bowlers gave away too many runs in the match, which gave the Kangaroos an advantage.

Akram, one of best fast bowler of his time, said he was also baffled by skipper Shahid Afridi’s move to make part time bowlers like Mohammed Hafeez to bowl a full quota of four overs, which proved costly.

“The defending champions did not look prepared for the match, which is quite understandable as they have not played much cricket in the last couple of months or so. But Pakistan soon have to adapt to the challenges in the Caribbean,” he said.

Akram also lauded India for its comfortable win against South Africa.

He also showered praise on left-hand batsman Suresh Raina, whose blitzkrieg knock of 101 of 60 balls helped India register a comprehensive win 14-run win against the Proteas.

“For me, he (Raina) is the best young batsman in the world. He did well in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and is keeping up the good work in the Caribbean,” Akram said. (ANI)

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