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Fifteen players given contracts
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Dungarpur is manager for
ICC concerned over govt’s decision on TV rights
Deepak Thakur scores hat-trick
Uppal, Ashutosh lift doubles title
I’m not a beast, says new champion
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Ganguly happy to be back
Kolkata, December 24 “I am very happy to be back in side just like any other player in a similar situation,” Ganguly told newspersons at his residence here soon after being picked in the team. Asked whether he was going to open the innings, Ganguly said, “I haven’t heard anything of the sort. All I can say at this moment is that I am very happy.” Recalling that India had won both the Test and one-day series during their last visit to Pakistan, he said, “I hope we will all play well.” Ganguly refused to draw any comparison between now and his earlier return to the Test team in 1996. Fans celebrates
Kolkata: Jubilant scenes broke out on the streets of Kolkata with delirious crowds streaming on to the streets to distribute sweets as news of Sourav Ganguly’s return to the Indian team spread like wildfire today. Minutes after television channels beamed the news that the Kolkata batsman was picked in the Test team for the tour of Pakistan, large crowds gathered at various pockets in the city to kickstart impromptu celebrations. Having held up trains and set up road blocks for days in protest against Ganguly’s exclusion from the Test side earlier this month, cricket buffs sprinkled ‘gulal’ on each other and shouted ‘Sourav Ganguly zindabad’. A large number of people gathered before Ganguly's home at Behala in the southern outskirts of the city, displaying the cricketer’s posters and beating drums, as Christmas seemed to have descended a day in advance in the City of Joy. The local television channels, which had been beaming programmes on Ganguly’s chances of returning to the national side for the last few days, started showing scenes of mirth and conducting ‘vox pops’. From Shyambazar in the north to Naktala in the south, from Beleghata in the east to Gardenreach in the west, the joy on the faces of Ganguly’s fans was for all to see. Dalmiya welcomes
decision
Kolkata: Former BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya today welcomed Sourav Ganguly’s inclusion in the Indian Test squad for the tour of Pakistan while stating that undue pressure should not be put on the left hander. “In the first place, Sourav should not have been dropped from the Ahmedabad Test despite playing reasonably well in Delhi. It is good that better sense has prevailed and selectors realised their mistake and have corrected it,” Dalmiya told PTI here. “Sourav has a lot of cricket left in him. I am confident he will be given his due chance and hope that undue pressure will not be put on him,” said Dalmiya who is the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). He also said the CAB was delighted that Ganguly was back in the Indian team. Sourav is the right
choice: Pawar
Mumbai: Throwing his weight behind Sourav Ganguly, BCCI President Sharad Pawar today said the former captain deserved a place in the squad and that reports questioning his conduct were not true. “It looks like that he is definitely a proper person who should be included (in the team),” Pawar told reporters minutes after the Test squad for the tour of Pakistan was named here. “What was appearing in the papers that he was not cooperating and his relationship with his colleagues was not good, I myself went to his senior colleagues, there is not a single complaint against him. And whatever reports appeared in the media is unfair on any player and especially for the person who has got victories for India,” he said. Pawar had met Ganguly last week in Delhi where the player is assumed to have discussed his exclusion from the team.
— PTI |
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Fifteen players given contracts
Mumbai, December 24 “We have contracted 15 players with eight in grade A, four in grade B and the rest in grade C,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters here today. The contracted players, who have been offered the same retainership as last year, are as follows:
Grade A (Rs 50 lakh retainers): Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan. Grade B
(Rs 35 lakh): Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Ajit Agarkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Grade C
(Rs 20 lakh): Murali Karthik, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan. Last season 17 players were offered contracts and from that list four players — Akash Chopra, Laxmipathy Balaji, Ashish Nehra and Parthiv Patel — have not made the cut. The match fees for contracted players as well as non-contracted ones have been enhanced for Tests. The contracts are awarded based on the performance and utility of the player to the Indian team in the new season. If a player is injured during the period of the contract, he will continue to get the retainer for the remaining period, Shah said. The new match fees for contracted and non-contracted players are as follows: Contracted Players: Tests: Rs 2.50 lakh (Old Rs 2 lakh) (Playing 11) ODIs: Rs 1.60 lakh (same as last season) (for playing 12, including Super Sub). The reserves would get 50 per cent of the fees. Non-Contracted Players: Tests: Rs 3.20 lakh (Old Rs 2.70
lakh) (for playing 11) Reserves: Rs 1.60 lakh (Old Rs 1.35 lakh) ODIs: Rs 2.20 lakh (same as last
season) (for playing 11) Reserves: Rs 1.10 lakh. — PTI |
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Dungarpur is manager for tour to Pakistan
Mumbai, December 24 Dungarpur was the manager of the Indian team on its tour of Pakistan in 1984 which had to be cut short after two drawn Tests following the assassination of Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. After formally announcing Dungarpur’s name as the team manager, Cricket Board secretary Niranjan Shah said there would be a media director and assistant manager accompanying the team on the 46-day tour set to conclude on February 19 when the team is slated to return to India. The team is scheduled to play a warm-up three-day match at Lahore from January 7 before plunging into the three-Test series commencing on January 13 and to be played at Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi. The Tests would be followed by the five-match limited overs series from February 6 with Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan and Karachi as the
venues. “The itinerary is subject to final approval of the Government of India”, Shah said. The
Indian team’s Pak tour itinerary (subject to govt clearance): — PTI |
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ICC concerned over govt’s decision on TV rights
Dubai, December 24 “I wouldn’t like to speculate on how much money it would cost us, but I know it would be substantial,” ICC President Ehsan Mani said. “Cricket boards like the West Indies, Sri Lanka and others might not be able to survive without this revenue,” he said. The amount of income from matches is seriously affected by the exclusivity of the broadcast. By demanding that matches can be seen across a number of channels, the value of the rights is significantly reduced. Many boards are heavily dependent on this revenue stream to survive. India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi had said: “The sports channels having TV broadcasting rights shall, with immediate effect, share their feed with the (state-run) Prasar Bharti for national and international sporting events held in India or abroad. In case of cricket events, these shall include all matches featuring India and the semifinals and final of international competitions.” Given that matches involving India are among the biggest income-earners for overseas boards, a senior executive of a broadcaster described the decision as “financially devastating”.
— PTI |
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Punjab & Sind Bank lift hockey title
Chandigarh, December 24 The winners led by a solitary goal at half time. Led by Olympian Baljit Singh Saini, Punjab and Sind Bank remained under considerable pressure in the first half as the Namdharis, making their maiden appearance in the final, went all out to seize the initiative. Pitted against experienced rivals, the Bhaini Sahib outfit with international Harpal Singh in their ranks, gave a scintillating display of stickwork but were unlucky to go down by a big margin. The first half witnessed a strong Namdhari resurgence with centre-forward Joga Singh initiating some dangerous moves. In the 18th minute, he dodged past several PSB defenders and relayed the ball back from the goal-line but unluckily none was present to provide the finishing touches. Another golden opportunity was lost when Joga initiated a move on the right but Gurvinder Singh missed an open chance. Midway through the first half, the Namdharis missed two sitters. A brilliant move down the middle by Sardara Singh saw Jaswed Singh enviably positioned but the latter failed to tap the ball home from hand-shaking distance. Earlier, Sher Singh’s pass to Jaswed went waste as the latter failed After surviving a flurry of attacks, PSB went on the offensive shortly before half time. A defence-splitting pass from the centre saw Parminder lunging forward to connect but he only managed to deflect the ball out of play. The first goal for the bankmen came two minutes before the breather. A pass by Mandip to Ajit Pal saw the latter despatching a hit towards Parminder who struck like lightning to deflect the ball into the goalmouth (1-0). The second goal followed in the 42nd minute when Navpreet Singh converted a penalty stroke following a stick-check (2-0). The lead increased to 3-0 in the 55th minute when Gurvinder Singh Chandi provided the finishing touches to a move initiated on the left flank. The Namdharis managed to pull one back through Gurcharan Singh, whose drag flick off a short corner beat Maninder Singh under the PSB bar (1-3). Thereafter, it was PSB all the way as Mandip Singh boosted the tally to 4-1 with a hard hit while turning around after the custodian had rushed out of charge to check an advancing Rajinder Singh (4-1). A minute from the long whistle, Parminder Singh provided the icing on the cake by guiding the ball home off a move by Mandip on the left (5-1) Sardara Singh of Namdhari XI was adjudged the best forward while Jasbeer Singh of PNB won the best goalkeeper’s award. Harpal Singh of Namdhari XI was declared the best full back. The best half-back award went to William Xalco of BPCL. Canara Bank were adjudged the most well-behaved team. Teams: Punjab and Sind Bank: Teja Singh, Sharanjit Singh, Davinderpal Singh, Baljit Singh Saini (capt), Davinder Singh, Sandeep Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Baljit Singh Chandi, Parminder Singh, Navpreet Singh, Ajit Pal Singh, Maninder Singh, Rajinder Singh, Naginderjit Singh, Mandip Singh and Gurvinder Singh Chandi. Namdhari XI: Swinder Singh, Avtar Singh, Harpal Singh, Ajmer Singh, Rajinder Singh, Gurcharan Singh, Jaswed Singh, Sardara Singh, Karamjit Singh, Anmolak Singh (capt), Gurwinder Singh, Harwinder Singh, Joga Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Sher Singh, and Harjinder Singh. Umpires:
Satinder Sharma and Varinder Bahadur |
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Deepak Thakur scores hat-trick
New Delhi, December 24 PNB led 3-0 before conceding a goal. Navdeep Singh, Parmod Kumar and Jitender Saroha were the Bankmen’s
marksman while Ghanshyam Das pulled off the consolation goal for the Army team. In another match, five goals, including a hat-trick, by Olympian Deepak Thakur, enabled Indian Oil whip Tamil Nadu XI 8-1. Internationals Deedar Singh and Prabhjot Singh (2) were the other scorers. Suresh reduced the margin for Tamil Nadu. Army Red defeated Border Security Force by a lone goal scored by Ignatius Tirkey. |
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Uppal, Ashutosh lift doubles title
New Delhi, December 24 The experience of Vishal Uppal and Ashutosh Singh, both of Delhi, seemed to look inadequate in the face of the sustained aggression by 17-year-old Sanam K. Singh of Chandigarh, who last week won the Futures title at the same venue, though on hard courts, and Jeevan Nedunchezian of Tamil Nadu. The boys duo played with smart and fast court craft which gave no scope for their crafty opponents to push them hard. And the teenage champions, both former Asian junior titlists, then almost took the wind out of Vishal’s game when the former champion was cornered on his serve in the seventh games. But despite leading 0-40, and then gaining another five break points, the young pair could not break Vishal who cashed in on this ‘escape’ to flourish and eventually win the set and the match. |
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I’m not a beast, says new champion
London, December 24 “I’m really not a beast,” said the Russian fighter. “I’m a very calm person. I even used to write poetry.” Valuev took John Ruiz’s WBA heavyweight world title on points in a controversial fight in Berlin last weekend. But the man dubbed the ‘Beast from the East’ has shrugged off the row and has been feted as a hero back in his native St Petersburg. “What I like about boxing is the feeling of danger, all that adrenalin. I don’t get enough of it in my normal life.” Everyone in Russia wants to see the champion and the belt. But there’s one problem. “I don’t have it,” Valuev told the BBC. “It wasn’t big enough — it didn’t fit round my waist. They’re having to make me a larger one.” Valuev, the first Russian heavyweight world champion, as well as the tallest and heaviest, now wants to inspire more and more youngsters in the country to take up the sport.
— AFP |
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Cricket trials@@Tribune News Service@@Ropar, December 24 @@Trials to select the Ropar district team for Punjab under 18 cricket tournament will be held at the Government College cricket grounds, Ropar, on December 25 at 11 a.m., according to Sandeep Bhudiraja, secretary, Ropar District Cricket Association.@@@@
Women hockey tourney begins@@Our Sports Reporter@@Patiala, December 24@@The 8th Dhanoa Rural Women’s Promotion hockey league commenced at Kay Kay International Public School at Baran village, near here, today.@@In the first match of the tourney, Baran (Patiala), aided by a fine display by Vijeyta and Nitu Bala, got the better of Chiniawala (Sangrur) 4-0 while the second match saw Moonak (Sangrur) overwhelming Tibba (Kapurthala) 2-0.@@The two-day meet was inaugurated by Mr Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), in the presence of Mrs Harjit Kaur, Principal of the school, and other international and national level women hockey players.
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