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Jaitley ‘not fully satisfied’, says Manohar was his first choice
Umesh, Karthik shine as India thump Oz
Ex-players attack Dhoni for conflict of interest
Team fit and ready, says Sardar
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Shetty says MCA ban is due to vendetta
Ashraful suspended for fixing in BPL
Tsonga knocks out Federer, Serena survives
Indian challenge in French Open ends
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Jaitley ‘not fully satisfied’, says Manohar was his first choice
New Delhi, June 4 Bowing to all-round pressure, N Srinivasan had on Sunday agreed to “step aside” as BCCI President under a compromise formula that brought back former chief Dalmiya as head of a four-member “interim arrangement” to run the Board, more than a fortnight after the spot-fixing scandal rocked Indian cricket. “I won’t say that I am fully satisfied. The game of cricket is synonymous with fairness and when you have three players being arrested because they are involved in unfair practice which graduates into fixing or a relative of the senior board official is allegedly involved in betting, it casts very serious doubts and calls for a very strong action,” said Jaitley. “I would have been happier if the time of arrangement had been cordially arrived at on Day 1 rather than on Day 8 or 9,” Jaitley said. Jaitley said he had proposed the name of ex-president Manohar even without taking his consent. “I would have personally liked to see him and therefore even without his consent suggested his name. Shashank has impeccable credentials; he said he has no intention of coming back as he has retired from the Board. He is an honourable man. Most of the members agreed on Mr Dalmiya’s name, who is an experienced person. It’s not the occasion for us to squabble over names,” he added. The Working Committee of the Board decided that former president Dalmiya will conduct its day-to-day affairs after Srinivasan announced that he will not discharge his duties as the President till such time the probe is completed. When asked specifically what his main concern was, Jaitley said, “When insiders get involved in betting, it transforms into fixing and I think this is a very serious challenge to the fairness of the game in India. I would like to know whoever is responsible for it... by a fair mechanism the accountability process has now been set into the motion and it should be taken to its logical end,” he said. Jaitely informed that he was the one who made most of the suggestions in the meeting which were accepted by a majority of the Board members. “I made few suggestions like the president must step aside; a credible alternative must be there; the inquiry must be absolutely fair; and we must respond to various elements of public accountability of the Board. Most members did support it and my suggestions did find overwhelming support in the meeting. The president yielded to it and stepped aside,” he said. He, however, refused to comment on former BCCI president and Punjab Cricket Association chief I S Bindra’s allegations that the senior BJP leader has had his way in the meeting and it was the ‘Delhi Gang of four’ comprising of Jaitley, Rajeev Shukla, Anurag Thakur and Sneh Bansal which saved the day for Srinivasan. “I don’t want to get into the exchange of words. Maybe I did not hear something which he claimed to have said. He is a very senior administrator himself.” Asked whether he suggested the word “step aside” or “step down” to Srinivasan, Jaitley said he had used the word “step aside” when they first met in Kolkata on the eve of IPL final. “I had initially suggested him to step aside; that was the demand raised by the large number of members when I met him. I asked him to wait till the inquiry is done. I also said that the alternative must be a credible one because cricket has a level of public accountability and that time my suggestion did not find favour.” “It took a couple of days before I think wiser sense prevailed. Effectively, he is, on paper, in office but not there. Therefore, I don’t want to squabble over what words were used ‘aside or down’,” Jaitley said. Jaitley said one can’t always find an ideal solution to a given problem. “This was more doable under the present circumstances. The ideal situation is not always achieved for a problem. We put an alternative into place and I would like to give that alternative a chance to see whether they can clean up the situation, whether they can get independent probe and accountabilities can be fixed,” he said. Jaitley expressed his confidence in Dalmiya and said the veteran administrator is capable of restoring the credibility of Indian cricket. — Agencies |
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Umesh, Karthik shine as India thump Oz
Cardiff, June 4
Yadav took five for 18 as Australia collapsed to 34 for six wickets by the end of the 12th over and were eventually bowled out for a paltry 65 in 23.3 overs.Gangly paceman Ishant Sharma supported Yadav well by taking three wickets for just 11 runs in his five overs. Before that, India rattled up a challenging 308 for six as Karthik smashed an unbeaten 146 and added 211 runs for the sixth wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91). India scored exactly 100 runs in their last 10 overs as Australia failed to turn the screws after polishing off five top Indian wickets for only 55 runs at the Swalec Stadium. It was India's second consecutive win, having beaten Sri Lanka earlier and it gives them the confidence ahead of their tournament-opener against South Africa on Thursday. Yadav bowled at the right lengths as Australian batsmen played loose strokes too early in the innings. Matthew Wade (5) and Phil Hughes (14) were bowled playing across the line to fuller balls while David Warner (0) was caught at first slip playing an expansive drive. Australia missed their injured captain Michael Clarke as stand-in skipper George Bailey (1) was beaten by pace and late movement while the in-form Shane Watson (4) dragged the ball onto his stumps while trying to cut. Mitchell Marsh (0) got a faint inside edge that landed in the keeper's gloves as the Australian procession confounded pundits of the game. Except Hughes and Adam Voges (23 off 49 balls), none of the top seven batsmen got into double digits. Earlier, like India's first warm-up game, the lower middle-order batsmen saved the blushes with both Karthik and Dhoni magnificently pacing their innings on a track that had plenty for the batsmen. Their stand came off 191 balls. Karthik faced 140 balls and hit 17 fours and a six while Dhoni took 77 balls for his knock, laced with 10 boundaries, including four sixes.Karthik's back-to-back centuries, he scored an unbeaten 106 in Birmingham against Sri Lanka, will help him improve his chances for a slot in the playing XI when begin their campaign on Thursday. The quality of the Australian attack was always going to be a challenge and India's top batsmen failed to take the fight into the enemy camp after Dhoni opted to bat. Predictably, Australia unleashed their fast bowlers with Mitchell Starc and Clint McKay doing the early damage with two wickets apiece in their first spells. Except for Murali Vijay, who was unlucky to be ruled out LWB after getting a faint edge (there is no DRS in warm-up games), India's top batsmen paid for poor shot selection. In a warm-up game, it was important to spend time in the middle but India's young turks preferred flamboyance over pragmatism. Meanwhile, West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 17 runs in their warmup match at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Scoreboard
australia
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Ex-players attack Dhoni for conflict of interest
New Delhi, June 4 Dhoni found himself in a controversy when it came to light that he had 15 percent stake in Rhiti Sports, which also manages Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Pragyan Ojha, besides the Indian captain. However, the firm has made it clear that Dhoni was a shareholder only for a brief period, and currently has no stakes. But former Indian cricketers and sports management executives feel that Dhoni should not put himself in a position where questions could be raised about a possible conflict of interest. “Obviously, the documents that have come out indicates that it has been a conflict of interest as far as Dhoni’s involvement with Rhiti Sports is concerned,” former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad said. “I don’t mind if an ex-cricketer is acting as an agent for a living. But when I see Pragyan Ojha being relegated to second choice left-arm spinner suddenly and Ravindra Jadeja being valued at US$ 2 million after being banned for trying to cut underhand deals in IPL, I guess something is wrong. Also if the company didn’t have sufficient money, how did they issue shares and paid it back,” Azad pointed out. Latika Khaneja of Collage Sports Management said there was an obvious conflict of interest and also raised questions about Rs 210 crore deal that was struck between the captain and the company. “Obviously there is conflict of interest. The first question that crops up is Rs 210 crore minimum guarantee money which is huge. Ravindra Jadeja was managed by my company from 2006-2011. But if a player comes and wants to join another firm, you can’t stop him and especially if the firm is also managing the Indian captain,” Khaneja said. Another former cricketer Maninder Singh also felt if the captain indeed had shares it was a clear case of conflict of interest. “But who do you expect to stop the rot when the BCCI President has gone against everyone who has stood up for the game...basically the President has been saving the captain who is also vice-president in his company,” he said. Former India opener and currently DDCA Vice-President Chetan Chauhan said ethically it was not correct for Dhoni to have stakes in the company that manages him. “Ethically this is not correct. It seems to be trickling down from the President. The Board officials need to take harsh decisions and make it clear what business the players and officials can float of their own,” he said. Another former Indian player Madan Lal said that it was not proper for Dhoni to have stakes in the company but did not think he could manipulate team selection. “There is no question that if it is true, there is a conflict of interest,” he said. VVS Laxman, Dhoni’s teammate till recently, felt that the Indian skipper should sell off his shares, if he had any, as it could drive him into a compromising situation. “When such a problem arises, stakeholder should come out of the company by selling his shares off,” he said. — PTI The rise of MSD’s Agent Arun
As he manages a lot of India players with the star draw being his best buddy Dhoni, a lot of cricketers and officials jokingly call him “Agent Arun”. When BCCI talks about players maintaining a distance from their agents during cricketing commitments, a small-time left-arm spinner Pandey, clad in Chennai Super Kings’ practice gear was rolling his arm over at the Feroze Shah Kotla nets in 2012. This was prior to Delhi Daredevils’ IPL home game against the Chennai Super Kings. Pandey, who certainly wasn’t a part of the support staff, was seen bowling for close to 45 minutes. Pandey came in touch with Dhoni when he played a couple of matches for Bihar in the early part of last decade. — PTI |
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Team fit and ready, says Sardar
New Delhi, June 4
Sardar said the players were fully fit, and the strong point of the team was their solid midfield and defence. The return of Shivendra Singh, who had been cast away after the disastrous performance of India in the London Olympics, will add variety to the attack though he could get a recall only because of injuries to Danish Mujtaba and Gurvinder Singh Chandi. Sardar said the foreign experts, headed by Michael Nobbs, had been putting a lot of thrust on the fitness aspect. As a result the team were fit and raring to go. He said during their recent tour of Holland, they got to play some good matches against good clubs and the Dutch national team, which has instilled confidence in the team as they embark on the tough assignment of the World League, which is a qualification round for the 2014 World Cup. He said all the top teams would be there in Rotterdam, and India were not expecting any easy match. “We have to face the tough situation in the league head-on as there would be no easy way out,” Sardar explained. The men’s event will have eight teams, divided into two pools. Pool A consists of Australia, Spain, Belgium and France while Pool B comprises of India, hosts The Netherlands, New Zealand and Ireland. The Indian women have also been clubbed in Pool B, along with New Zealand, Germany and Belgium while Pool A consists of The Netherlands, Korea, Japan and Chile. Women’s team captain Ritu Rani said the team were well-tuned up for the contest, though she too echoed the views of Sardar that the event would be an acid test, as India strive to gain a place in the World Cup. Three teams each will qualify for the World Cup from Rotterdam, while the other qualification matches will be played in Malaysia (men) and England (women), from there too, three teams each will make the cut. At an impressive function organized by Hockey India here today, a new range of team uniforms of pleasing hues were unveiled with the men and women players, and the coaches too, walking the ramp, wearing the jersies and track suits like professional models. On the occasion, Sardar Singh and Ritu Rani were awarded Rs 1.5 lakh each for winning the Asian Hockey Federation Player of the Year titles in 2011. Sardar, along with Jaspreet Kaur, were also given Rs 1 lakh each for winning the Player of Tournament awards in the FIH World League Round 2, held in Delhi in February this year. Ex-Olympian Allan Schofield was presented a cheque for Rs 2 lakh for being part of the gold-winning Indian hockey team of the 1980 Moscow Olympics — India’s last Olympic gold in hockey. Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra said the teams were well-prepared after attending regular coaching camps for the past few months, along with a two-week preparatory tour of Europe.
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Shetty says MCA ban is due to vendetta
Mumbai, June 4 “I have raised an issue at the AGM of the Association pertaining to the misuse of MCA funds and have done nothing wrong,” said Shetty. “This is a personal vendatta by people who want to make sure that I do not contest the next elections and also because their ego was hurt that the two anti club resolutions proposed by the managing committee had to be taken back by the Chairman after he sensed the mood of the house after I raised the issue on behalf of the members,” he said. “I will fight this undemocratic decision legally,” Shetty added. — PTI
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Ashraful suspended for fixing in BPL
Dhaka, June 4 "I confessed to all the charges...in the interest of cricket. I'll accept any punishment given by BCB," the glum-looking, 28-year-old batsman said. "I always tried to give my best in cricket. I'm feeling guilty for my wrongdoings, please forgive me." BCB president Nazmul Hassan said the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit was conducting an inquiry into allegations of match-fixing in this year's Bangladesh Premier League and would report back within a week. — Agencies under scanner *
Ashraful suspended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), until the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit submits its report on investigations into suspected match-fixing and spot-fixing allegations while representing Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League
(BPL). * Ashraful played 61 Tests and captained the national side in 13 Tests, 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is between 2007 and 2009. From 2001 to 2013, he scored 2,737 runs in Tests at an average of 24. He has also played 177 ODIs and scored 3,468 runs at an average of 22.23 |
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Tsonga knocks out Federer, Serena survives
Paris, June 4 Twelve months after blowing four match points at the same stage against Novak Djokovic, Tsonga made sure he had a much easier ride as he sparked wild jubilations on Chatrier Court by downing a player who is used to being a fan favourite no matter where he plays. A backhand long from Federer on match point handed Tsonga a place in the last four at Roland Garros for the first time as Federer made a quick exit from the arena where he had held aloft the Musketeers’ Cup in 2009. Earlier, Serena Williams came back from the brink and extended her winning streak to 29 matches, beating Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the quarterfinals to continue her run towards a second French Open title. The world number one, who won her only Roland Garros title in 2002, saw off three double break points in the decider and played some beautiful tennis to set up a semifinal meeting with fifth seed Sara Errani. The Italian beat fourth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 7-6(6). After strolling through her first four rounds and the opening set, Williams came up against a streak of forehand winners from Kuznetsova, the 2009 French Open winner. The American fell 2-0 behind in the third before winning five games in a row, wrapping up victory with a forehand volley after nearly two hours of a see-saw contest. There was no escape this time for comeback king Tommy Robredo as he lost an all-Spanish French Open quarterfinal against ruthless fourth seed David Ferrer 6-2 6-1 6-1. The 31-year-old had recovered two-set deficits in all three of his previous rounds at Roland Garros but Ferrer was rock solid as he thrashed his countryman in one hour 25 minutes. Ferrer, the second-best claycourter in Spain behind defending champion Rafa Nadal, was all over Robredo from the start, producing a near-perfect display to reach the semi-finals for the second successive year. — Reuters |
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Indian challenge in French Open ends
Paris, June 4 Paes and his Serbian playing partner Jankovic were defeated by eighth seeded American Liezel Huber and Brazilian Marcelo Melo 7-5 6-7(1) [10-2] in their second round match. Sania and Bethanie, seeded seventh, had annexed the first set but the American encountered a groin injury in the second set and they pulled out with score reading 7-6(0) 3-5 against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova. Sania and Bethanie, who had encountered a back problem yesterday, had overcome American pair of Lauren Davis and Megan Moulton-Levy 1-6 6-3 6-0 in their second round match. — Agencies |
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Punjab, Delhi register big wins in hockey Nationals Siddharth holds top seed Mikheil in Chess tourney Aniruddh emerges fastest man in National athletics
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BCCI Vice President Arun Jaitley is not “fully satisfied” with how the Working Committee meeting panned out in Chennai, saying he would have preferred Shashank Manohar in place of Jagmohan Dalmiya as the head of the four-member “interim arrangement”.
New Delhi, June 4
