New Delhi, April 20
Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and match commissioner Lalit Modi’s goose seems to have been cooked as the top bosses of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are determined to make his head roll. A top source said BCCI president Shashank Manohar and secretary N.Srinivasan were dead against Modi’s continuing as the IPL boss.

The source said the move was to give the IPL powers to Shashank Manohar as the Board members have full faith and trust in him. “Modi must go as he has exceeded his brief. There is nothing in the IPL, which we cannot do sans Modi”, the source added. Though Modi has been keeping a brave front and insisting that he would not step down, the source said the noose was tightening on him, though he may not be completely cast away.

But if Modi acts tough in the IPL Governing Council meeting, tentatively scheduled for April 26 in Mumbai, the BCCI may play the venue monopoly trump card to bring him under its domain. The agreements between the IPL franchisees and the match-staging associations are up for renewal after the expiry of the three-year contract period with the conclusion of the third edition. No event can be staged in the Test and ODI cricket venues of the country without the permission of the BCCI, as these staging associations get financial assistance from the profits of the BCCI to keep their cricket activities going, and also for the upkeep of the stadiums.

The BCCI can put a spanner in the IPL works by refusing to allow holding of IPL matches at its cricket venues. As it is, the franchisees would have to shell out more money to renew the contracts with the staging associations. GMR, the franchisee of Delhi Daredevils, not only did the repair works of the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium to confirm to IPL standard, but also reportedly paid a sum of Rs 50 lakh per match to the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

And DDCA would look for a considerable enhancement in the rental of the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, when GMR seek renewal of their contract with Delhi. The Delhi scenario would apply to each IPL venue, though some IPL franchisees may hold much clout with the local cricket associations, to have their say and way, like Mumbai Indians’ franchisee Reliance Industries of Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallaya’s UB Group, the owners of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Modi would also have to explain how some of the franchisees with no cricketing credentials, nay any sports, got to own the IPL teams, barring the exception of a few teams. Reliance, who were the title sponsors of the 1987 World Cup jointly staged by India and Pakistan, have been sponsoring cricket and other sports for a long time.

Sahara Adventure Sports, the franchisee of the Pune team, have not only been sponsoring the Indian cricket team for the past 15 years, but have also been sponsoring other sports in a major way. In fact, the revolt by the Indian hockey players before the World Cup, demanding clearnce of their outstanding dues by Hockey India, could be stemmed only when Sahara came up with a Rs 1 crore help.

The UB Group too has been involved with sports promotion for quite some time, and they are not only the major sponsors the big soccer clubs of Kolkata, but also own Force India, the Formula One team. GMR are into construction business, and their known association with sports is that they are constructing the Commonwealth Games village in Delhi, and also the Delhi Airport.

India Cements, franchisee of Chennai Super Kings, have also sponsored cricket and other sports, while the sports promotion record of franchisees like Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab are unclear. Even Kochi franchisee Rendezvous have no known association with sports, though it is learnt that some former cricket stars have direct or indirect interest in the team, other than the interest evinced by “mentor” Shashi Taroor, who was an avid cricketer when he was a student of St. Stephen’s College in Delhi.

Obviously, some of the corporte teams had niche interest other than cricket, though it’s a big question how some of the film stars took the plunge by supposedly investing crores in a venture which was not expected to generate the kind of frenzy which it eventually did. Who are the real investors of these teams?

Modi and some of the government agencies may get into a bind for serving of liquor at IPL venues. Those who paid big sums for fancy tickets were not only treated with booze during matches, but also got to enjoy post-match bashes in the company of glamour dolls and the high and mighty in five-star joints. How did the government allow serving of liquor at match venues when there is a rule in place against serving of liquor at sports venues?

The IPL bosses apparently had bigger clouts to get around their way as they had made no secret of the fact that serving of liquor was the USP of IPL matches, to attract spectators to fill coffers of the franchisees to recover the crores they had invested in the teams. But all these matters will come under close scrutiny and action when Modi puts up his defences in front of the BCCI, to save not only his head, but also his brainchild, the Indian Premier League. 

Mumbai, April 20
Having made to the last four stage in three attempts, Mumbai Indians (MI) will be banking on skipper Sachin Tendulkar’s sensational form and home advantage against last year's finalist Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first IPL semi-final here tomorrow. The Mumbai team not only has an extra advantage in home support but also a leader in Tendulkar, who has been in prime form in the tournament leads the run-getters chart.

Tendulkar, by and large, has been the fulcrum around which the Mumbai batting has revolved. With 561 runs with five half centuries and a strike rate in excess of 136, the master batsman has led the team from the front. Mumbai would again be depending on the start provided by orange cap-holder Tendulkar. They rested some key players, including their captain, for the inconsequential last league fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders last night and promptly slid to a huge defeat.

Tendulkar, however, has lacked a good opening partner with veteran Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya lacking confidence and Shikhar Dhawan being inconsistent. Ryan McLaren was tried out against Bangalore and the experiment clicked with the all-rounder making 40 and Mumbai would be tempted to try it out again tomorrow.

Mumbai youngsters have, by and large, provided good support with the duo of Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu accumulating over 360 runs so far in the tournament. South African J P Duminy - after being drafted into the side in the last few matches - and Kieron Pollard has been a key figure in the Mumbai middle order and to add to it feisty Harbhajan Singh has proved more than handy with the long handle.

If batting has been their cornerstone, the all-round effort in the bowling and fielding department has been the highlight of their successful IPL III campaign. Harbhajan (15 wickets), Zaheer Khan (14) and death-bowling specialist Lasith Malinga (13) have done superbly both in terms of penetration as well as in economy while Pollard (11) too has chipped in nicely.

The fielding too has been brilliant, thanks mainly to the efforts put in by South Africa great Jonty Rhodes, who is the fielding coach of the outfit. Bangalore, on the other hand, has slight edge in terms of experience with their array of battle-hardened international veterans in captain Anil Kumble, tournament's second-most run-getter Jacques Kallis and veteran Rahul Dravid.

With the likes of Manish Pandey, Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor and Kevin Pietersen up its rank, Bangalore boats of a formidable batting line-up. Apart from Kallis, who has aggregated 542 runs with six fifties at a strike rate of close to 120, it has been Uthappa’s pyrotechnics that come to the side’s rescue on more than one occasion.

Bangalore’s bowling department, meanwhile, rests mainly on the shoulders on Kumble (12 wickets), pace spearhead Dale Steyn (12) and Kallis (11) with Praveen Kumar (8) contributing at crucial times even though he has been expensive. The match also provides Kumble and his men a revenge opportunity as Bangalore, playing at home ground, lost by 57 runs to Mumbai in their last encounter three days ago.

But Kumble would be drawing heart from the fact that their previous visit to Mumbai, when they played at the Brabourne Stadium, was a successful one as the bowling clicked superbly to restrict the home team to 151 and won with five wickets in hand. — PTI 

New Delhi, April 20
India’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign suffered a body blow today with hard-hitting opener Virender Sehwag being ruled out of the tournament because of a shoulder injury. The selectors named in-form Tamil Nadu batsman Murali Vijay as his replacement, while naming Gautam Gambhir the new vice captain.

“Virender Sehwag has sustained a shoulder injury and has been advised rest for three-four weeks. He has therefore been ruled out of the ICC World T20,” BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement. “The ICC’s Technical Committee has permitted a replacement for him. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has accordingly picked Murali Vijay,” he added.

Incidentally, Sehwag had been injured in the 2009 edition of the T20 World Cup as well when he travelled to England with the squad but did not play a game. The swashbuckling opener has been rather subdued in the ongoing Indian Premier League where his team Delhi Daredevils could not reach the semifinals.

Sehwag did play the Daredevils' last IPL match against Deccan Chargers on Sunday but his contribution with the bat was a mere eight before Chaminda Vaas removed him. In contrast, Chennai Super Kings batsman Vijay has been in tremendous form in the IPL and the highlight was his breathtaking 56-ball 127 against Rajasthan Royals. — PTI 

Chandigarh, April 20
After the comprehensive home win in their last match against Viva Kerala, JCT will look to keep the momentum going when they take on formidable fourth place holders Chirag United in an important I-league fixture here on Wednesday. Though the visitors suffered a loss at the hands of table toppers Dempo in their last match at Goa, they are expected to come back stronger to claim full points.

For JCT who have lost Baljit Sahni, Balwant Singh and Gurinder Singh for the most of the season due to injuries will look to recreate the form they showed in the last match against Viva Kerala, which also was reminiscent of their first home game this season against Lajong FC. JCT had won that game by the 5-1.

JCT will be pinning their hopes on N Henry and Okoro who showed enough signs of coming into their groove in the last match. Henry scored three goals in the last match will be a player to look out for. For Chirag it will be equally important to put the last match defeat off their minds as soon as possible and come out all guns blazing.

They currently have 31 points from 21 matches with eight wins and are placed fourth on the league table and a win for the visitors will take them the the third place, while hosts who have 25 points in the kitty form 21 matches are currently lying seventh in the groupings.

BRIEFLY

CHANDIGARH
Yuvraj asked to furnish payment details: After a notice to owners of Kings XI Punjab on payment of service tax, the central excise department here has asked its five players, including Yuvraj Singh, to furnish details of the payment received from the IPL franchise. “We have sought details from players to furnish details regarding the payment they have received from the franchise,” a senior official of Central Excise department, who did not wish to be named, said here. — PTI