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Sony to telecast Test series Ranbir Singh — a no-nonsense cricket administrator
It’s board team, not Indian team, BCCI tells SC
India Seniors chase 387 for win
Hayden starts with half ton
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Punjab, Bengal cruise into semis
Punjab Police, PSB in Gurmit hockey final
Punjab Police players
felicitated
Patiala eves in volleyball final
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Sony to telecast Test series
Kolkata, September 30 “The general body has decided that the board would itself produce, distribute the feed and sell the telecast of the cricket matches on a revenue sharing basis,” he told newspersons. He said under this arrangement, Ten Sports would produce the feed while Sony Entertainment Network would be responsible for “telecast, distribution and marketing.” Mr Mahendra also said, “The telecaster would have to ensure live and delayed telecast of matches by the terrestrial network of Doordarshan.” This arrangement would cover the four-Test series between India and Australia beginning on October 6, the Platinum Jubilee one-day match between India and Pakistan on November 13 and the two-Test series between India and South Africa in November-December. These decisions had been taken based on recommendations of its marketing committee, which had met here on Tuesday and discussed the telecast issue in detail, he said, adding that, however, the grant of this right was subject to any order passed by the Supreme Court. He also announced that the cricket board, at today’s meeting, had decided to grant associate membership to Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal, provided all the requirements were fulfilled. He said his first task would be to set up a cricket academy for players and umpires at least in four zones and upgrade junior-level cricket. He felt that much needed to be done to improve Indian cricket. Mr Mahendra made it clear that he would consult everyone in the BCCI for taking any decision and if needed, he also would not hesitate to take advice from Mr IS Bindra and Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, both arch-rivals of the Dalmiya camp. Meanwhile, on the second day of the AGM, Mr Dalmiya once again showed his strength by getting his nominees — Rajiv Shukla (East Zone) and Kamal Morarka (Central Zone) — elected to two of the five zonal vice-president’s posts. The other vice-presidents elected were CK Khanna (North Zone), Ranga Reddy (South Zone) and Chirayu Amin (West Zone). Kiran More, national selector (West), took over the reins as the chairman of the national selection committee from Syed Kirmani. The committee features three new faces — Yashpal Sharma, VV Chandrasekhar and Gopal Sharma. Pranab Roy, national selector (East) continues in the post for the second year running. The annual general meeting of the BCCI was adjourned till October 26 to take up two pending agenda items. Mr Mahendra said the two points on the agenda were related to the confirmation of the minutes of the board’s special general meeting on September 12 and representation of the board at the International Cricket Council, Asian Cricket Council and other international bodies. The SGM in Chennai had earlier decided to appoint outgoing BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya as the Patron-in-Chief for three years with authority to represent the board at all international fora. The appointment had to be confirmed by the AGM. The AGM, however, could not take up the agenda as a Chennai court stayed its confirmation till October 11 on a petition filed by Bharathi Cricket Club of Chennai. The board has already filed a revision petition before the Madras High Court against the order. The matter would come up for hearing tomorrow.
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Ranbir Singh — a no-nonsense cricket administrator
He could be unknown to many, but Mr Ranbir Singh Mahendra, elected President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at Kolkata yesterday, brings with him over 30 years of experience in cricket administration.
Many people might identify him as the younger son of Haryana strongman Bansi Lal, but Mr Ranbir Singh, or Chaudhury Sahib as he is popularly known in cricketing circles, has learnt to walk on his own and developed his own identity. With his election, continuity will be maintained in the cricket board since Ranbir Singh and the outgoing President, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, have worked together as President and Vice-President in the year gone by. The new board President has inherited most of the office-bearers who worked with Mr Dalmiya and this augurs well. But then the Bhiwani-based Ranbir is an old BCCI hand and knows fully well how the board functions. A lawyer by profession, Mr Ranbir Singh first came on the national cricket scene in 1980-81 when he was elected Joint Secretary of the board. He served in this capacity right till 1984-85 before he was elevated to the post of Secretary in 1985. It was during his tenure as Secretary of the board that India (together with Pakistan) conducted the first cricket World Cup outside of England in 1987. When Mr Ranbir Singh gave up the post of Secretary in the 1989 elections held at Gwalior, the post went to Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, the man whom he replaced as President yesterday. Incidentally, at the Gwalior meeting, it was the President of the Punjab Cricket Association, Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, who was elevated to the post of board President. In between, Mr Ranbir Singh has been a member of the BCCI finance committee and Vice-President of the National Cricket Academy. He also played a key role in probing the bribery scandal which had surfaced in Indian cricket last year. Besides the administrative posts he has held in the board, Mr Ranbir Singh was the manager of the Indian cricket team that took part in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and the Test series against Australia that preceded the tournament. It was in this tournament that the current India captain Sourav Ganguly made his international debut. Mr Ranbir Singh has been never afraid to take his opponents head-on, be it in the state or anywhere else. In the mid-eighties, when an attempt was made to dislodge him as secretary of the Haryana Cricket Association by a very senior IPS officer, he thwarted the challenge by using every means at his command and came out triumphant. Then in 1998 former India captain Kapil Dev made a concerted effort to dislodge him from the office of Secretary of the Haryana Cricket Association but came out second best. And while the fight between Kapil Dev and the powers that ran Haryana cricket was on, Mr Ranbir Singh never uttered a word against the former Indian cricket star. One aspect which gives an insight into his administrative skill is the fact that in his home state of Haryana he has never interfered in cricketing matters, especially team selection. When Haryana won the National Cricket Championship for the Ranji Trophy in Mumbai in 1991, he gave the team members full credit for the performance and not once did he bask in their reflected glory. |
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It’s board team, not Indian team, BCCI tells SC
New Delhi, September 30 “We do not play for the nation, the team plays for the BCCI. We do not fly the Indian flag when the team participates in an international match. The position is like Indian competitors participating in the miss world contest where the participants are though known as Indian participants but in real term it is purely a private event organised by private parties,” BCCI counsel K.K. Venugopal said. This explanation from the BCCI counsel came in reply to a specific query from a five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde, hearing arguments on Zee TV’s petition seeking defining of the status of the BCCI, whether it is a “state instrumentality” or a private body for managing the affairs of cricket in the country. Venugopal said the “external regulations” like grant of visa to players, providing foreign exchange to them and board offcials for playing in foreign countries, entertainment and luxury taxes by the government would not make the BCCI subject to Centre’s control to the extent to render it a “state instrumentality”. This would be more
relevant when the “board has neither applied for any recognition from the government, nor has it ever been granted such recognition by the Centre or any of its agency,” the BCCI counsel argued. “It will not be a good day for the game of cricket in the country if the BCCI is brought under the control of the government. The day government decides to bring sports bodies under its control in the strict sense of a body of the state, it will be a bad day for the sports,” he contended. It has to be kept in mind that the BCCI has never submitted its accounts for audit to the government, nor had it ever got any financial support from the Centre, he said. This came in reply to the arguments of government counsel Mohan Prasaran and P.P. Malhotra, who said the BCCI came under the 2001 guidelines regarding regulating various sports federations in the country. Since it was the only body in the country with “exclusive authority” over the affairs of cricket, it was a “recognised apex” body for the game in the country. |
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India Seniors chase 387 for win
Bangalore, September 30 At close of play on the penultimate day today, India Seniors were 35 for no loss with Yuvraj Singh (23) and Virender Sehwag (12) at the crease and another 352 runs to get in a minimum of 90 overs tomorrow. The left-handed Jadhav, who resumed on the overnight score of 27, was the anchor of the India A second innings, making 113 runs in his 276-minute stay at the wicket, which included 11 fours. Jadhav was also involved in a third-wicket partnership of 155 runs with Kaif and a 52-run second-wicket stand with skipper Dinesh Mongia. Scoreboard India A (Ist innings) 302 India Seniors (Ist innings) 213 India A (2nd innings) Jadhav lbw Kumble 113 Gambhir c Ganguly Mongia c Dravid Kaif not out 103 Dhoni c Harbhajan Joginder c Dravid Rao not out 20 Extras (8 b, 3 lb, 2 nb) 13 Total
(for 5 wickets dec, Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-58, 3-213, 4-234, 5-253. Bowling:
Pathan 13-2-55-1, Zaheer 12-3-31-1, Trivedi 20-4-52-2, Harbhajan 20-3-61-0, Kumble 19-2-57-1, Sehwag 7-0-24-0, Yuvraj 2-1-6-0. India Seniors (2nd innings) Yuvraj not out 23 Sehwag not out 12 Total
(for no loss in Bowling: Bhandari 2-0-14-0, Paul 4-0-18-0, Kartik 3-1-3-0, Rao 1-1-0-0.
— UNI |
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Hayden starts with half ton
Mumbai, September 30 Australia (1st innings) Langer c Samant b Agarkar 24 Hayden c & b Bahutule 67 Katich c Indulkar b Kulkarni 30 Martyn not out 28 Hodge not out 6 Extras
(lb-1 nb-3) 4 Total (3 wkts) 159 FoW: 1-69, 2-108, 3-146. Bowling:
Agarkar 10-3-23-1, Powar 12-1-56-0, Salvi 9-2-24-0, Kulkarni 9-2-22-1, Bahutule 12-2-33-1.
— PTI |
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Punjab, Bengal cruise into semis
Chandigarh, September 30 Karan Goyal, playing his first match of the tournament, remained unbeaten on 135 off 152 balls. Replying to the huge PCC total, Air-India were put on the back foot by medium pacer Gagandeep, who removed Vinayak Thapa and Paul Valithaty for zero. Kanitkar was run out for three, reducing Air-India to 5 for 3. Karan Goyal was declared the man of the match. Brief Scores: PCC:
302 for 4 in 50 overs (Ravnet Ricky 111, Karan Goyal 135 not out, Amit Unyal 25; Uday Karkera 2 for 49). Air-India:
131 all out in 31.4 overs (Naman Ojha 52, Suresh Raina 21, Gaurav Dhiman 15; Gangandeep 3 for 39, Karan Goyal 2 for 5). In the second match played at the Sector 16 Stadium, Bengal defeated last year’s winners ONGC by nine wickets. Bengal won the toss and elected to field. ONGC were well served by their opener Sandeep Sharma, who scored 55 off 37 balls, inclusive of 10 fours. Later, Mithun Minhas scored 91 off 122 balls with four fours and a six. In reply, Bengal lost their first wicket at 21 when Pankaj trapped opener A. Chakarborty for 9. Brief scores: ONGC: 252 for 9, Sandeep Sharma, 55, Mithun Minhas 91, Amit Sharma 38; Sabir Ali 4 for 47, S. Sanyal 2 for 32. S. Lahiri 2 for 43. ONGC:
254 for 1 in 44.2 overs(Arindam Das 120 not out. A Mazumdar 113 not out; Pankaj 1 for 41). |
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Punjab Police, PSB in Gurmit hockey final
Chandigarh, September 30 In the semifinals played today, Punjab Police edged out a fighting Namdhari XI 2-1 thanks to a superb goal by star forward Gagan Ajit Singh a few seconds after the hooter following a penalty corner that was awarded just before the end. Later, Punjab and Sind Bank mauled Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd 7-3 to set up a title clash with their arch-rivals from Jalandhar. Led by World cupper Daljit Singh Dhillon, Punjab Police were ably assisted by Olympian Baljit Singh Dhillon, Tejbir Singh and Gabbar Singh upfront while the veteran Balwant Singh lent strength to the defence. Namdhari XI relied on skipper Harvinder Singh and penalty corner expert Didar Singh, who had represented India in the Asia Cup as well as the Champions Trophy at Amstelveen. With the score tied at 1-1, the match appeared to be heading for the tie-breaker when Gagan Ajit did the star turn, slamming in the match winner off the last penalty corner. Punjab Police commenced the proceedings on an aggressive note, forcing a short corner in the very second minute but the subsequent hit was saved by Namdhari XI goalkeeper Swinder Singh in the nick of time. Another move engineered by Gabbar Singh and the veteran Baljit Singh Dhillon proved abortive as Sarabjeet’s subsequent hit was saved by goalkeeper
Swinder. Namdhari XI earned a penalty corner in the 21st minute but unluckily short corner specialist Didar Singh was on the bench. Nevertheless, the brilliant move subsequent to the hit nearly resulted in a goal but the Punjab Police goalkeeper rose to the occasion to thwart the Namdharis’ designs. The first goal for Punjab Police came in the 26th minute when they were awarded a free hit just inside the 25-yard line. Prabhjeet’s hard hit was deflected into the goalmouth by Gabbar Singh giving Punjab Police the vital lead. At the stroke of half time, Namdhari XI had a good chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty corner. Following Harvinder’s push, Didar Singh attempted a drag flick but a goal-line save by Punjab Police defender Jaskaran Singh denied them an opportunity to restore parity. In the second half, Namdhari XI eventually succeeded in wiping out the deficit following a short corner in the 45th minute. Following Harvinder’s push, Didar, instead of attempting a drag flick, took a hard hit which was bang on target (1-1). In the last minute, Punjab Police earned a penalty corner. Before it was taken, the long hooter was sounded but as per rules, the short corner was allowed. Following Daljit’s push, Baljit Singh Dhillon left a dummy followed by another dummy by Daljit before Gagan Ajit sounded the boards much to the relief of his team-mates (2-1). Daljit Singh Dhillon was declared ‘man of the match’. In the second semifinal, BPCL took the lead in the 15th minute through Ajay Saroha who found the target off a penalty corner. However, three minutes from the interval, Punjab and Sind Bank found the equaliser when Parminder Singh scored a field goal. Five minutes into the second session, Punjab and Sind Bank forged ahead through a short corner conversion by Sandeep Singh. Thereafter, the bank men added three more field goals in quick succession to widen the margin. The scorers were Ajit Pal Singh (44th), Kulwinder (45th) and Mandeep (57th). Thereafter BPCL retaliated with two quick goals. First local lad Saurabh Bishnoi converted a penalty corner and then Amar Aiyamma made it 3-5 through another short corner. In the last three minutes, Punjab and Sind Bank added two more goals through Navpreet Singh and Ravi Pal. Olympian Baljit Singh Saini, skipper of Punjab and Sind Bank, was declared ‘man of the match’. The final will be played at 3 pm tomorrow. |
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Punjab Police players
felicitated
Jalandhar, September 30 The Director General of Police, Punjab, Mr A.A. Siddiqui, distributed the prizes. Members of basketball and handball team were honoured for winning the gold medal. Parminder Singh (senior), captain of the basketball team, alongwith other members, received the prizes. Aman Saini, who won the silver medal in the 12 km cross country and Mohinder Bilore, who won the bronze medal in 1 m springboard diving during the All-India Police Aquatic and Cross Country Championship- 2004 at New Delhi were also felicitated. Others, who were honoured include the member of the 4 km cross-country (bronze medal) and freestyle relay (swimming) (bronze medal). |
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Patiala eves in volleyball final
Patiala, September 30 In the boys section, Patiala entered the last four by virtue of their convincing victory against Sangrur while the other teams to battle it out for a spot in the final are Bathinda, who downed Muktsar, Ropar, who beat Fatehgarh Sahib, and Ludhiana, who triumphed over Moga. In the basketball event for girls (U-17), Gurdaspur, Muktsar, Gurdaspur wing and Amritsar reached the
semifinals. In the boys section, Moga, Muktsar, Patiala and Ludhiana academy made the last four grade. |
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Bokaro school lifts Subroto Cup Hockey trials CBSE kho-kho |
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