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India to bid for 2011 World Cup
Wright calls for right people to pick players
‘Sachin can score 100 tons’
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Yousuf Youhana to undergo shoulder surgery
Pele acknowledges son’s involvement with drug gang
Atwal misses US Open spot
Indian players lack fitness, says
Korean ex-captain
AIFF softens stance on foreigners
Snooker team leaves for Pak
Punjab emerge kabaddi champs
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India to bid for 2011 World Cup
Chandigarh, June 8 On the previous two occasions, when the cricket World Cup was held in the sub-continent in 1987 and then again in 1996, India and Pakistan (on the first occasion) and India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (on the second occasion) had hosted the event jointly. Mr Ranbir Singh declared that much would depend on the stand taken by the Asian Cricket Council, where these four countries had a major say. If the council so decided, then the bid would be a joint one. “Otherwise India will bid independently for the World Cup,” the BCCI President asserted. Mr Ranbir Singh said the decision to bid for the World Cup was taken after the Central Government decided to amend the Income Tax Act to give tax exemption to international sports events in the country. This was the first press conference addressed by the BCCI President in Chandigarh after assuming office. On the issue of ordinances brought in by the state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh to regulate sports associations and federations, Mr Ranbir Singh said the board was clear that it would not bow to any pressure. He, however, said the board was negotiating with these state governments on the proposed sports regulatory Act. “The BCCI does not like the way the governments are moving ahead on the sports regulatory Act.” He said if the Act was implemented by these states, the board would stop extending facilities like allotment of matches, subsidies and assistance for infrastructure development to such associations. He agreed that such a step might harm cricketers. Mr Ranbir Singh, however, clarified that the BCCI was not in confrontation with any state government on the issue. He urged the state governments to withdraw such ordinances in the interest of the game. The BCCI President denied that the board was coming up with its own channel for telecast of matches. “The BCCI neither considers to have such a channel, nor is there any such proposal before the board,” he said. He added that he was not in favour of such a channel. “The main objective of the board is to promote cricket in the country. If we go for our own TV channel, our interest may shift from the game and our focus may become commercialised,” the BCCI chief said. This would not be in anybody’s interest. He said the proposal to have a bowling coach to assist newly appointed coach Greg Chappell was under consideration. “If the coach says he needs a bowling coach, then the BCCI will support him,” he added. On the issue of TV rights, he said the matter would be sorted out by the newly constituted marketing committee of the board. The members of the committee, as announced by him today, are Mr Ranbir Singh (chairman), Mr Kamal Morarka, Mr Ranja Reddy, Mr C.K. Khanna, Mr Rajiv Shukla, Mr Chiru Amin, Mr S.K. Nair (BCCI Secretary), Mr Gautam Dasgupta, Mr Jyoti Bajpai, Mr Arun Jaitley, Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra and Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya. This committee would make its recommendations on the issue of TV rights after examining all aspects of the issue and the recommendations would be discussed by the working committee before a final decision was taken. Mr Ranbir Singh said this marketing committee would also consider the issue of sponsorship. The last working committee meeting of the BCCI, held earlier this month, had decided to invite fresh tenders for TV rights for international matches played in the country. The apex court had last month dismissed Zee Telefilms’ appeal challenging a Madras High Court order. |
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BCCI to protest to ICC again
Chandigarh, June 8 The Indian captain has already sat out in two one-day matches, having missed the ties played against Pakistan at Kanpur and Delhi. He will also not be eligible to play in the first four matches of India's engagement in the away series in Sri Lanka in July and August. An indication to this effect was given to The Tribune today by the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Mr Ranbir Singh. Speaking exclusively to The Tribune he said the modalities for making a formal protest to the International Cricket Council (ICC) was being worked out, although the issue did not come up for discussion at the last working committee meeting of the board held at Kovalam earlier this month. Mr Ranbir Singh did not say on what grounds the BCCI would protest to the ICC. Even earlier, the BCCI President had ridiculed the stand taken by Mr Ehsan Mani, President of the ICC, on the ban handed out to the Indian captain. Mr Mani had held that the ban on Ganguly was in accordance with the regulations approved by the member countries and as such the punishment was neither mild nor harsh. “As per the rules, one can be banned for a minimum of four matches or a maximum of eight matches. Ganguly got a middle-level ban,” Mr Mani was quoted as saying. However, Mr Ranbir Singh had then said that no such rules had been adopted by the member countries of the International Cricket Council. With the spotlight now away from the Indian captain — and today speaking to the media at the Chandigarh Club here — the BCCI President took pain to declare that Ganguly still was the Indian captain and would remain so until the selection committee decided otherwise. With the Indian captain now away to England, where he was playing county cricket, the BCCI’s exact appeal to the ICC would be worked out shortly, Mr Ranbir Singh indicated. But it must be remembered that the Indian captain had a number of international players speaking in his favour, including Pakistani captain |
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Wright calls for right people to pick players
New Delhi, June 8 The former New Zealand captain advocated a more professional approach in team selection matters, saying it was imperative to get the right people to do the job. “You can have the best coaching system and your best coaches, but if you don’t get your selections right you are making it very difficult for yourselves,” Wright said. He said the system of picking national selectors on zonal basis may have lived its duration and urged the BCCI to look into the situation. “I feel the system of picking your national system panel may have done its course, and I would urge the BCCI to study the situation. I have a personal opinion that it should be a professional position, the way it is in a number of countries,” Wright said in an interview published in the latest issue of ‘Wisden Asia’ magazine. “What is the right number I am not quite sure. I think its a tough job, its a critical job, its about getting the right people in the room.” Wright stressed that a selector should have a tenure, quite like a coach, and should be removed if he failed in delivering the goods. “...Its a performance role. If people think you are doing a bad job as a coach, you will have the door shut on you. If you are picking bad teams, the same will happen.” Wright was pained that he did not have a voting right when he was the coach although he attended the selection committee meetings. Asked whether he was bothered that he did not have a vote, the affable former opening batsman said “at times yes. If you attend the meeting and give your views, it does not make sense that you sign a piece of paper but don’t have a vote. “Players think that you are at the meeting and you are part of those decisions. So if I
don't have a vote, may be I would rather not go to the meeting.” On whether he thought it was right time for a change in captaincy, he said, “The selectors have to make that decision. To me it’s always been very simple. I come from a point a view that you pick your best team and then you pick the captain. Your captain has to fit into your best team, whatever that is.” At the same time, Wright said Rahul Dravid was ready to captain the side. “Certainly Rahul is ready for that role. I hope he gets the opportunity, whenever it is, because he will be very good. “I think that’s immaterial because Sourav is the captain and I think he will carry on. You know he’s had a rough time lately, but at the end of the day, he’s delivered results.” Wright described his experience in India as both exhilarating and exhausting and said he had enjoyed every moment of it. “Its the best job I had ever had. Two things stand out for me. There is the passion for cricket and there is the humility, wisdom and the humour of people... I will miss the boys, country and the people of India.” |
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‘Sachin can score 100 tons’
New Delhi, June 8 With many doubting the 32-year-old player’s ability to reach the dizzy heights of the past in the wake of a career- threatening injury, Wright said the cricketer was capable of reaching the milestone. Wright said he loved the on-field attitude of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was hard hit over the controversy over the way he bowls his doosra. “He’s a fighter, just loves the competition. There have been a lot of people in India who tell me that Harbhajan is not a great off-spinner. Well, I think he is one of the great bowlers.” “The whole doosra issue is extremely hard on him. I’ve always though that if someone’s throwing, it’s best called by the square-leg umpire.” “I find this whole area very confusing. He went down to Perth, cleared all the tests, he comes back, and a game later he’s reported again. I hope they sort it out.”
— PTI |
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Ricky Ponting shrugs off Ashes pressure
Ashford (England), June 8 Alan Border was skipper when Australia last lost to England in 1986-87 since then Border himself, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh have presided over eight straight wins over their oldest enemy. Ponting took over from Waugh when the latter retired in 2004 and when he landed in England to prepare for this year’s renewal, he insisted he was not fretting about being the one to lose Australia’s proud record. Ponting said: “I’m not looking at it as being the first to lose the Ashes; I’m looking at being another Australian captain to retain them. “It comes back to us being here and preparing well. There is no more pressure on this team than in any other series. In every series we have played for the past 10 years, we have been favourites and it might be the same this time. It is not something we have thought about — we are here to play the best possible cricket.” England’s resurgence in form in the past two years, under the captaincy of Michael Vaughan, has seen them move up to the second place in the ICC world rankings. In the hugely unlikely event of them beating Australia 5-0 in the Ashes series, they will take over at the top of the table. But several of the Australians have played county cricket in England and Shane
Warne, who will just be playing in the Test matches, is currently captaining Hampshire, who are top of the English County Championship. Ponting added: “From the outside, looking in it seems that they deserve to be number two in the world. They have beaten everyone they have come up against in the past couple of years and that indicates they have improved quite a lot. That makes it exciting for us. I was asked about this series 12 months ago and that shows how big it is.” Two new faces the Australians will face this summer are Andrew Strauss and Andrew
Flintoff. Strauss has had a dream start to his career, scoring five centuries in his first year of Test cricket while Flintoff has never played in an Ashes Test because of a mixture of poor form and injuries. His form in the past two years, however, sees him come into the Ashes series — that starts at Lord’s on July 21 — as one of the world’s premier
allrounders. “I’ve not played against Strauss,” said Ponting. “But our team enjoy the challenge of playing against very good opposition. Strauss has done very well at the top of the order and every side in the world would like to have an allrounder of Flintoff’s class. We have Adam Gilchrist as our allrounder but most sides would like to have
Flintoff.” Australia will play England in an international Twenty20 game in Southampton on June 13, then take part in a triangular one-day series with the hosts and Bangladesh. After three more
one-dayers against England, the Ashes series will eventually get under way.
— AFP |
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Yousuf Youhana to undergo shoulder surgery
Islamabad, June 8 The 29-year-old batsman said two MRIs and an ultrasound carried out in Lahore last week had shown that he had muscle and tissue ruptures in his right shoulder, which required to be repaired urgently. “For the last few months I have had great difficulty in gripping the bat properly or making long-distance throws while fielding as the shoulder hurt a lot. But because of the team requirements I didn’t have time to go for a proper treatment,” Youhana told local daily ‘The News’. “But now with Pakistan’s next series scheduled in October against England I think this is the best time to get the shoulder treated so that I can play comfortably again.”
— PTI |
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Pele acknowledges son’s involvement with drug gang
Sao Paulo, June 8 “Like any father, it is sad to see your son involved with groups like these, being arrested, because he will have to suffer the consequences,” Pele said at a press conference at the state police narcotics division headquarters. Edson Cholbi Nascimento, 35, a former professional soccer player known as Edinho, was among about 50 people arrested on Monday in the seaside city of Santos, about 70 km south-east of Sao Paulo. “Those who know Edinho and lived with him could hardly imagine that this would happen,” Pele said. “Unfortunately, I was perhaps working too much and did not notice. It is regrettable, because I have always fought intensely against drugs and I did not notice this in my own house.” Nascimento was charged with criminal association with drug traffickers. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. In a press note released to the press, Nascimento said he began using drugs out of curiosity after he quit professional soccer and regretted having set a bad example. Nascimento was a second-string goalkeeper for eight years on Santos, Pele’s former club. He retired from professional soccer in 1999. The same year, Nascimento was convicted of vehicular homicide for taking part in a 1992 car race on a city street, that killed a motorcyclist. He was sentenced to six years in a work-release programme.
— AP |
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Atwal misses US Open spot
Westerville (Ohio), June 8 The qualifier was played at the par-72 Brookside Golf and Country Club and The Lakes Golf and Country Club where Atwal, who is having a great season on the US Tour, despite playing on limited exemption, had a first round of par 72, which made things difficult. The last qualifier from Ohio, which had 144 players for 20 spots, was at seven-under 137, just two shots clear of Atwal. Daniel Chopra, also playing in the same qualifier, withdrew after his first round of three-over 75. Atwal and Chopra chose to play at Ohio, after the Memorial competition, where Atwal finished tied 45th. Making it to the US Open through various qualifiers was Ted Purdy, a former Hero Honda Masters winner in 1997, and who had a breakthrough victory at the EDS Byron Nelson Championships. Another former Asian Tour graduate qualifying was Simon Dyson, who finished third at the qualifiers in Tadworth, England.
— PTI |
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Indian players lack fitness, says Korean ex-captain
Kuala Lumpur, June 8 “India is our leader and Asian hockey looks up to them. They are the torchbearers of Asia and their place is in the world’s first four, but of late they have been consistently slipping,” the 37-year-old former striker, who led South Korea to the Sydney Olympic silver medal and the gold at the Busan Asian Games with a win over India in the final, said. Kang was inducted into the senior squad immediately after the Barcelona Olympics and hung his boots at the Busan Asiad, a career that spanned over a decade of 250 international caps studded with 50 goals. He felt that while there was no dearth of skill and art amongst the Indians, they lacked the motivation and fitness levels. Kang said they needed far more agility and athleticism with lasting power. “Modern hockey has seen a turnaround and to match the Europeans you must be an all-rounder and able to play in most positions,” Kang said. “India needs to look ahead immediately and work on a plan. They need a good coach and remain with him till the 2010 Commonwealth Games”, he said. “If resources are not a constraint then they must get the best in the business. Look at our former captain and FIH master coach Kim Sang Ryul. He’s now the chief coach for China till the Beijing Olympics in 2008.”
— PTI
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AIFF softens stance on foreigners
New Delhi, June 8 After the meeting, AIFF Secretary Alberto Colaco said , “It was decided to allow three foreign players in the National Football League and the Federation Cup and two in the Durand Cup, the IFA, other state leagues and the second division.” Foreign players would not be allowed in the third division, he said. He announced that national coach Sukhwinder Singh would continue till the Doha Asian Games next year.
— UNI |
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Snooker team leaves for Pak
New Delhi, June 8 “We are very confident that if we play to our potential, we will easily retain the cup, which we won at home last year,” reigning national and Asian champion Alok Kumar told reporters before the team’s departure to Pakistan. Three members of the team — Alok, former IBSF world champion Pankaj Advani and local boy Manan Chandra — left here this afternoon while the fourth member, Devendra Joshi, and national coach Michael Ferreira boarded the flight from Mumbai. This is the third year of the event, billed as the ‘Friendship Series’, and both the countries have shared the honours once each.
— PTI |
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Punjab emerge kabaddi champs
Patna, June 8 In a close men’s final, the men from Punjab scored 37 points to Haryana’s 33. In the women’s section, Punjab defeated Haryana 44-36 to retain the title.
— UNI |
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