Kapil Dev honoured with the C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award

Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni exchange the World Cup trophies

Former India captain Kapil Dev was on Saturday honoured with the C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by the BCCI at its seventh annual awards ceremony on Saturday.

IPL7 may be held in two halves

IPL7 may be held in two halves 2014 general elections

Cricket lovers of the country may miss out on some matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year as the seventh edition of the league is likely to clash with the 2014 general elections.

IPL 7 Retention rules

IPL 7 Retention rules leave Mumbai, Chennai worried

NEW DELHI: The new Indian Premier League (IPL) retention rules are pinching big teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Virat Kohli retains 2nd position in ODI

Virat Kohli retains 2nd position in ODI ranking

 

DUBAI: Virat Kohli retained his second position to be the highest-placed Indian batsman, while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan also maintained their respective sixth and 10th spots in the latest ICC ODI rankings issued, on Saturday.

IPL 7 auction to be held 12th February

IPL 7 auction to be held 12th February

  NEW DELHI: IPL franchises will be allowed to retain five cricketers during the 2014 Indian Premier League auction to be held on February 12 with the option of buying back a limited number of players through the newly introduced 'right to match' provision.

After a series of discussions, the IPL Governing Council today came up with a number of regulations related to Players' Contracts, Squad Compositions and the Retention of Players in advance for the 2014 Auction.

"The Pepsi IPL 2014 Player Auction will be held on 12 February, and if necessary, 13 February 2014. The venue of the auction will be announced soon," BCCI said in a release.

"A franchise may sign up to a maximum of 5 players (either capped or uncapped, no more than four of whom may be capped Indians) who were in its squad in 2013, including those who were unavailable during the season and those who were taken as temporary replacements."

Regarding the Salary cap, the Governing Council said the franchises will be charged Rs 12.5 crore, Rs 9.5 crore, Rs 7.5 crore, Rs 5.5 crore and Rs 4 crore for respectively the first, second, third, fourth and fifth capped players retained and it would be "irrespective of the IPL league fee that is agreed between the two parties and which is set out in the player contract."

Apart from the cricketers who are retained in advance, all other players will have to enter the 2014 player auction process if they want to play in the IPL in 2014, the release said.

NEW DELHI: Banned for life from India's cricket establishment, a beleaguered former IPL boss Lalit Modi is not ready to throw in the towel yet and declared that he would indeed have the "last call" in this entire issue.

"They (BCCI) will have their day and I will have the last call. I am not going anywhere. I will be right here," Modi told 'Times Now' after BCCI imposed a life ban during a special general meeting (SGM) in Chennai today.

Modi also took a veiled potshot at BCCI's controversial president N Srinivasan accusing BCCI members of protecting the Tamil Nadu strongman.

"I think fans are a little disappointed on this match-fixing issue and also the persons involved. It is really sad that they banned the person who created the league but people who are fixing matches and those who are running the Board are being protected by the BCCI members," Modi said.

"The issue is very simple to me. The brand itself is bigger than any one person. But my name is married to IPL. I am the architect of IPL. It was a difficult dream but I realized it.

"I did a few things but I wanted the league to improve. But it's now going in backward direction. Hope BCCI get their act together. I wanted to tighten the rules but at the same time make it transparent," the former IPL czar said from his London residence.

Modi feels that it's imperative that one makes all the owners "responsible for running the game" but at the same time said that "BCCI probably doesn't want to lose control".

However on the issue of financial irregularities, Modi didn't come up with a concrete answer.

"I don't what they are saying. I brought USD 8 billion for BCCI," he claimed.

"I tried to protect the interest of BCCI and they accuse me of arm-twisting a franchise! After I left two franchises had to quit the league (Deccan Chargers Hyderabad, Kochi Tuskers). BCCI lost USD 700 million. Since I didn't toe their line, I was accused of financial impropriety," Modi said.

Modi didn't stop short while terming Srinivasan as a "Master match-fixer."

His family had been supportive during crisis period but the maverick administrator declared that he is "ready to move on."

"I have moved on and I will soon be associated with a global league. There are a lot of people in sporting fraternity across the world, who want me on board."

Lalit Modi banned for life by BCCI

CHENNAI: A pariah in Indian cricket for three years now, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was on Wednesday slapped with a life ban by the BCCI after its disciplinary committee found him guilty on eight charges of "indiscipline and misconduct".

On a day of high drama, which was marked by legal tug of war between Modi and the BCCI, a special general meeting of the Board took less than half an hour to unanimously impose a life ban on the controversial 49-year-old administrator.

"The BCCI, at its special general meeting on Wednesday considered and discussed the report of the disciplinary committee of the BCCI on the show cause notices issued to Mr. Lalit Kumar Modi, in accordance with Clause 32 (iv) of the Memorandum of Rules and Regulations," the Board said in a statement.

"...Mr. Lalit Modi is guilty of committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline, and therefore, in exercise of powers as per Regulation 32 of the Memorandum and Rules and Regulations of the Board, Mr. Lalit Modi be and is hereby expelled from the BCCI.

"He shall forfeit all his rights and privileges as administrator. He shall not in future be entitled to hold any position or office, or be admitted in any committee or any member or associate member of the Board," he added.

Modi, the brain behind the highly successful IPL, made a last-ditch effort to avert the impending sanction by writing a letter to the BCCI members requesting them to refrain from any decision till the matter was sub-judice.

"Not a single member in the meeting supported Modi and the House took a unanimous decision to impose a life ban," a top BCCI official said.

The BCCI disciplinary committee, comprising Arun Jaitley, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, submitted a 134-page report in July in which it had found Modi guilty on eight charges, including financial irregularities, indiscipline and "actions detrimental to the interest of the BCCI."

Wednesday's meeting could take place only after the Delhi high court vacated a lower court stay order and it turned out to be a brief since all the members had already been submitted the disciplinary committee report.

The hearing into the charges against Modi, who is currently based in London claiming a threat to his life in India, started in July 2010 and the disciplinary committee conducted several hearings over a period of two years, none of which were attended by Modi in person.

Modi was suspended under Rule 32(iv) of the Board's constitution on April 25, 2010, seconds after the IPL final held in Mumbai. The Board then slapped three show cause notices on him. He replied to all of them.

Modi's decline started after the 2010 IPL bidding which saw the creation of two new teams -- Pune and Kochi. Modi revealed the ownership details of the Kochi franchise on twitter leading to the resignation of the then Minister of State for foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor.

Modi's act allegedly breached the confidentiality agreements between the Board and the IPL franchises.

Modi was suspended as chairman and commissioner of the IPL in April 2010. A suspension notice and a 34-page letter stating 22 charges of impropriety were served via email to Modi.

He claimed innocence all through, defending himself mostly on twitter and television channels but never appeared in person to face the BCCI committee.

Initially, the three-member disciplinary committee also included BCCI President N Srinivasan but he recused himself and erstwhile IPL chairman Chirayu Amin was made a member.

However, Amin also recused himself and it became a two-member committee.

N.Srinivasan wants to be BCCI chief again

Embattled but defiant nonetheless, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President N Srinivasan on Thursday declared that he will contest for the top post in the upcoming Board elections in Chennai on September 29.

"I am going to stand (for re-election as president). You are press, all of you are giving the numbers (in support and against me)," said Srinivasan after attending BCCI's marketing committee meeting here.

Srinivasan is bidding to get re-elected as the president of the BCCI for the third year running under the Board's two plus one year tenure rule after having completed two years at the helm.

Srinivasan has been under a lot of pressure since the spot-fixing scandal broke out and his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan's name cropped up in investigations into betting during the Indian Premier League's sixth season held in April-May.

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's president stepped aside in June as the BCCI chief and let former president Jagmohan Dalmiya take over the day-to-day work.

However, he chaired the meeting of the disciplinary committee held in Delhi earlier this month that imposed life bans on cricketers S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan following a probe by BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Sceurity Unit chief Ravi Sawani for indulging in spot-fixing in IPL6.

Srinivasan also said the report of south units holding a meeting in southern region Chennai recently was not correct as the media got the venue wrong.

Two units of south zone, Goa and Andhra CA, did not attend the meeting, according to the reports.

"First of all the information is wrong. The meeting did not take place (at the venue) where media is saying," said the BCCI chief.

"I don't know what bearing it has (on the upcoming elections)," he added.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/n-srinivasan-bcci-chief-shashank-manohar/1/310596.html

Can Sehwag reinvent himself in middle order ?

                                                                               With a lot of international cricket coming up for the Indian team, the team management must be bracing for selectorial headaches. Skipper MS Dhoni has his task cut out what with four batsmen gunning for the openers' slot, three for the middle-order and two in the all-rounder's position — all formats included.

The announcements of the India 'A', India Red and the India Blue squads last week have Delhi batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, along with Tamil Nadu's M Vijay and Mumbai's Rohit Sharma in the fray top of the order while lower down, Yuvraj Singh is back giving competition to Suresh Raina.

On Saturday, matters got just a little more complicated when reports suggested that Sehwag, who has been opening for India for almost a decade now, informed the cricket board that he's ready to be considered for the middle-order too.

Sehwag's willingness to bat down — which he's done only 10 times in his 180 innings as a Test batsman and 33 out of 245 times in One-dayers — shows how the competition has toughened. For Dhoni, it's a tough one too, because he'll have to take the call.

However, Sehwag's possible desperation and Dhoni's decision-making abilities aside, the question begging attention is if Sehwag deserves a slot in the middle-order or the comeback, when it happens, needs to be in the position that he's batted at for close to nine years now?

"Middle-order? No, never," says Sehwag's early coach AN Sharma. He is clear that Sehwag needs to come back into the Indian team, and that too in the opener's position. "I haven't spoken with him of late but there's no doubt in my mind about that," he says. "He's a special player, one who can win matches at the top of the order and has a proven record. He needs to bat in a position that he's best at and that is the opener's position," adds Sharma.

On that count, the selectors too seem to have little doubt because they've included the senior batsman in the India 'A' squad to open the innings. For Dhoni, while it's still a decision to make, the fact of the matter remains that at 33 going on 34, the right-handed batsman doesn't quite make the cut in the opening position.

"Given his stature, if he thinks he's in that frame of mind, then he should be given a chance. Because he started off as a middle-order batsman and had proved himself. But that can be considered only after he first makes himself available for selection. So, first you have to wait for that and then consider the next step," says former India selector Kiran More.

                               

BCCI to oppose two new balls ODI rule

CHENNAI: The BCCI is set to push for some rule changes in the forthcoming chief executives committee (CEC) meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) next week.

On the sidelines of the Asian Cricket Council meeting here on Saturday, it was decided that the sub-continental boards will ask to abolish the two-new-balls rule for One-dayers. As per present playing conditions, two new balls are used from two ends and that is creating major problems for the spinners.

"The teams are spin dependent and when two-new-balls are used, the potency of the spin attack comes down significantly. So it has been decided to oppose the two new ball rule," a BCCI source said.

The umpires' decision to take the players off due to bad light without consulting the batting or bowling teams was criticized during the Ashes and there might be a proposal to change that as well.

"There are options of offering the light to the batting team and there's a possibility that we could revert to that. Other options of extending play at the end of the day with the help of floodlights by an extra hour will also be discussed," the source added.

The cut-off date for the four teams qualifying for the World Test Championship is Dec 31, 2016. There will be some Test series that will be going on during that time and the BCCI will propose to the ICC that the points should be calculated only at the end of those series.

"But no Test series after 2016 will be taken into consideration," the source added. There was no discussion about the rumoured India-Pak-Lanka tri-series in December in India instead of India going to South Africa.

Though there are no legal hurdles for BCCI to break the FTP because they haven't signed it yet, it's understood that the board is ready to go ahead with the proposed curtailed series in SA. It was also decided that the Asia Cup will be played in Bangladesh from Feb 24-March 7.

PCB hoping for tri-series invite in India

KARACHI: Desperate for regular cricket clashes with India, the PCB is hoping to convince the BCCI to host a tri-series later this year when the officials from the two boards come face to face during an Asian Cricket Council meeting in Chennai on Saturday.
Reliable sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board said that chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad will not only attend a meeting of the ACC but also hold discussions with BCCI officials.

India refuses visa to a Pak team for CLT20

NEW DELHI: India has refused visa to Pakistani team, Faisalabad Wolves, to participate in Champions League Twenty20 tournament scheduled to begin from September 17 in view of abundance precaution.

The government's decision not to give visas to the Pakistani team to participate in the limited over cricket tournament comes in the backdrop of recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LOC) creating tension between the two countries.

"As a matter of abundance precaution and caution in terms of safety and security, the government did not give green signal for the cricket team's visit," government sources said.

The Faisalabad team, led by national team skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, was invited to play in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League T20 in India, starting on September 17.

The Faisalabad team's participation in the CLT20 was confirmed until the LoC issues arose and that led to tensions between the two countries.

Last year, the BCCI had invited Pakistan to send its domestic T20 champions -- Sialkot Stallions -- for the Champions League which was held in South Africa.

The Sialkot Stallions, however, failed to qualify for the main round.

This year Faisalabad Wolves, by virtue of emerging as the national T20 champions, had earned the honour of representing Pakistan in the Champions League.

Last month, India had not granted visa to a Pakistani religious group to attend Urs here and suggested that they defer their visit in view of their safety and security.