New Delhi, May 18
BCCI President N Srinivasan has not ruled out filing a criminal complaint against the arrested “dirty cricketers”, insisting that no one is hurting more than him because of the crisis. “If permitted, we will file a criminal case against them,” he said on being asked whether the BCCI would file a case against the arrested players.

“The person who is hurting the most is me. We are hurting like anything,” Srinivasan said in a TV interview.

A special cell of the Delhi Police arrested S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan for indulging in spot-fixing in at least three IPL matches as per arrangements in collusion with bookies. The players, later suspended by the BCCI, were brought to Delhi and charged under section 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. Facing criticism for not keeping a check on the menace of fixing despite warnings from various quarters, the defiant BCCI chief insisted that it is the greed of individual players that has created the ongoing crisis.

“IPL has not let down people, it is the dirty cricketers who have let down people. We feel bad that such a thing has happened. But I don’t have to personally apologise as long as people can see that we are acting against the problem,” he said. “We are really shocked. I have no words to condemn what has happened. We want it never to happen again. We are an honest organisation.”

Srinivasan defended the league which, according to some experts of the game, has created fertile ground for fixing and manipulation.

“That’s a very big generalisation. We have to admit that three players have been arrested. Their lawyers are saying they are innocent. We have to wait for the Delhi Police to substantiate these allegations,” Srinivasan said.

Asked whether the Board is in a state of denial given that corruption was exposed in the league even last season, a defiant Srinivasan said, “I am not in a state of denial. There was some evidence, police have made their statement fine... All I am saying is the players are innocent till proven guilty.

“The BCCI has issued a showcause notice to them but I concede that it is a shock. I never expected that a Test player like Sreesanth and others would be accused of such wrongdoing,” he added.

Srinivasan, in fact, lost his composure when he was repeatedly questioned on the IPL’s credibility and asserted that some players going haywire should not be seen as evidence of the entire league being fixed.

“For the last two days, everybody has asked me the same question but I would say, it is the biggest tournament in the world, we should be proud of.

“The point I am making is that everybody is berating IPL saying that IPL is finished. But I am saying that yes players have been arrested and naturally it will have some impact,” he added.

“Not only does it worry me but I have to sit here and listen that IPL finished. Three players have done something is wrong but the entire IPL is not bad.” Asked how would the BCCI react if the speculation of more players being involved comes out to be true, Srinivasan said, “If that evidence comes out, we will deal with it. The BCCI is very concerned but I cannot go out and tell what our committee will do. No one can say nothing has happened when three players have been arrested. But we have to focus what we we have to do. BCCI will look into it in great detail.”

Srinivasan also brushed aside sacked IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi’s recent statements that his warnings of corruption in the IPL were ignored by the Board.

“I do not give credibility to what Modi says. He is under enquiry for some very serious acts which he has committed against the BCCI. I do not want to comment on what Mr Modi says,” he said.

When asked whether the BCCI also ignored warnings from the ICC Srinivasan said the governing body was supposed to act on the menace and not warn of it.

“Excuse me, ICC is in charge of it (IPL) and they are supposed take steps to prevent fixing. Whatever has been specifically requested has been dealt with by the BCCI. We are not going to keep quiet,” he said.

Srinivasan, who owns the IPL team Chennai Super Kings, rebutted accusations of conflict of interest. “This matter is before the Supreme Court. I cannot comment on it. I do not own the team, I happen to be a shareholder in the company which owns the team,” he said.

He promised a fair enquiry into the matter, insisting that nothing would be brushed under the carpet. — PTI

Jaipur, May 18
Jaipur police will share with their Delhi counterparts the call details of mobile phones seized during raids to assist with the ongoing IPL spot-fixing probe.

"Over 250 mobile phones, some laptops and other items were seized during 16 raids in the city during the IPL season this year and call details of the mobile phones will be shared with Delhi police to assist them in the ongoing probe in spot fixing," a police officer said.

"This is to ascertain whether there was any connection of the bookies arrested in Jaipur," the officer said, adding, that the city police was unaware of any spot fixing but action on large scale was taken against betting.

Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested in in Mumbai on Thursday by Delhi Police for spot-fixing IPL matches for payments of upto Rs 60 lakh just for giving away pre-determined number of runs in an over.

Additional Police Commissioner Girraj Meena said a BCCI officer had contacted Jaipur Police to collect details about a betting racket which was busted on May 5 during the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Pune Warriors here.

"A BCCI officer came to us seeking details of the persons arrested in betting. After checking credentials, we provided him the information," he said.

He clarified the city police was not informed whether the inquiry was related to the spot fixing scandal.

"BCCI officer was keeping watch over the activity of betting, and had sought details from us about those who were arrested for betting in the season," he said.

On May 5, the police had busted a betting racket with the arrest of eight persons from an apartment here, and had seized around 150 mobile phones along with other items from there, he said. — PTI

Melbourne, May 18
Cricket Australia is to investigate an extraordinary Twitter outburst by opening batsmen David Warner that attacked two senior Australian cricket journalists. The 26-year-old Warner criticised News Limited journalists Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn in an expletive-filled tirade, which has created headlines in Australia.

"Cricket Australia is aware of comments made on David Warner's Twitter account overnight," Cricket Australia stated on Saturday.

"Cricket Australia is attempting to contact Warner and will continue to investigate the matter. We will make further comment once a thorough investigation has been conducted."

It was unclear whether Warner's Twitter account had been hacked. Several other high-profile Twitter accounts have been hacked in recent weeks, including some run by the Financial Times, the Guardian and the BBC.

News Limited, however, reported that Cricket Australia had contacted Conn to apologise for the tweets.

"I know that Cricket Australia aren't very happy with the language he's used to express himself this morning," Conn said.

"Cricket Australia have touched base with me and apologised and said that it was inappropriate and they'll be taking action."

Several Australian websites published Warner's tweets in which he took issue with a story by Craddock, which was highly critical of the IPL, before he embarked on a running battle with Conn, who had come to the defence of his colleague. — Reuters

New Delhi, May 18
When S. Sreesanth made it big in international cricket, the tiny Southern State of Kerala rejoiced the most, as it was for the first time that a true son of the soil had done well in a sport that was not very popular in the State. The State was famous for producing international athletes, football players and volleyball stars, but not true blue cricketers. Before Sreesanth burst on the cricket scene, medium-pacer Tinu Yohannan had played for the country in a home series against Australia, but despite doing well in his debut Test, he was banished after the series never to return. But then Tinu was not of Sreesanth’s class.

Though the state could trace its cricket connection to some other famous players like Ajay Jadeja (his mother hails from Alleppey where he reportedly owns a resort), Sunil Walson, K.P.Bhaskar and Abhay Kuruvilla, they all grew up and played their cricket in Delhi and Bombay, and had very little cricket-connection with the state. But the arrival of Sreesanth gave a big boost to the game in Kerala, and with the Cochin International Stadium getting international matches, the state was firmly put on the cricket map, hugely popularising the game there.

Even the formation of the Kochi Tuskers IPL team was inspired by the following Sreesanth commanded in the state. But soon, his fans and backers got disillusioned with his callous behavior, as his constant clashes with players and officials became a big embarrassment for the state. People in the state was dumb-founded when the slap-gate incident involving Sreesanth and Harbhajan happened, and the spot-fixing scandal has made them scurry for cover, as they now feel betrayed by a cricket idol who was worshiped by the teen-agers, cricket fans and officials as a demigod.

And the revelation that he had played a role in Kochi Tuskers defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL match at Cochin on April 1, 2011 has added to their misery, as that particularly match has also come under the scanner of the investigators in which Sreesanth conceded four runs in the second over, nine in the fourth and 15 in the ninth, to facilitate a six-wicket victory for RCB, who virtually snatched the win from the jaws of Tuskers.

Surprisingly, Sreesanth is a multi-faceted talent who could have made it elsewhere if had not made it big in cricket. He could sing and dance, and had a flair for business too. He is reported to have bought many villas and apartments not only in Cochin, but also in other cities, and also dabbled in restaurant business with Robin Uthappa by setting up branches in Bangalore and Cochin, with cricket as the leitmotif. But that venture failed to take off, following which he formed a music band named “S 36”, which earned instant fame by composing the theme song for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But that too folded up soon, and he then tried to setup an event management company called “Music Café”, and also made attempts to dabble in sports goods trade.

But all these business moves could not take off as expected, to sink his money in unproductive ventures. His cantankerous behavior also robbed him of many lucrative endorsements(the latest being the Karunya Lottery of the Kerala government), which perhaps drove him to a financial precipice. All these setbacks perhaps made him an easy prey to the money and honey trap laid out by the spot-fixing, match-fixing mafia to ruin a career, which had much to look forward to.

Dharamsala, May 18
A consolation win and a wicket off the first ball of his cricketing career, which also came to an end here, summed up the season for Kings XI Punjab and captain Adam Gilchrist.

The way Gilly leaped in joy and performed the half-Gangnam dance seemed to suggest as if this is what he had been aspiring ever since he came back from his retirement, announced here last year. This time however Gilchrist confirmed he has bid his goodbye to the Indian Premier League for ever.

Kings XI Punjab beat Mumbai Indians by 50 runs in an inconsequential league match of the domestic T20 championship, at Dharamsala on Saturday, but that hardly made any difference to their play-off chances. Mumbai, despite their massive loss, maintain second position on the points table.

Going into the playoffs, Mumbai took the game more as an experiment, giving chance to new players, trying out new combinations and chasing rather than setting the target. Mumbai made eight bowling changes but it did not work out today.

Mumbai let Kings XI Punjab post 183/8, despite sending off Punjab’s openers in the third over. Azhar Mahmood (80) and Shaun Marsh (63) did the bulk of the scoring even though the lower order failed to provide the final punch.

Mumbai had a task at hand and as the overs passed by it became a daunting one. Aditya Tare (22), Ambati Rayudu (26), Rohit Sharma (25) chipped in but took their time to score, and that made it increasingly difficult for the lower order.

Brief scores

Kings XI Punjab: 183/8 (Mahmood 80, Marsh 63; Malinga 3/39) Mumbai Indians: 133 all out (Rayadu 26, Rohit 25, Pollard 22; Chawla 2/20, Mahmood 2/24)

Dharamsala, May 18
While the HPCA Stadium is proudly referred to as the KXIP homeground, the Mumbai Indians have been shown great courtesy, for the last three days.

The HPCA officials have been breaking their backs to ensure that the ‘God of Cricket’ and his teammates have a comfortable stay, ensuring they got the best accommodation. The hourly updates (only about Mumbai Indians) read something like this: “Sachin is out on the field and the crowd is going ga ga witnessing the ‘God Of Cricket’ here in Dharamshala for the first time. We are waiting for the teams to be announced, and everyone in the ground is wishing Sachin’s name is on it.”

Well nothing wrong in it! Not even in sending Mumbai Indians practice session pictures well before time. But the uneasy truth is that their poorer counterparts, Kings XI Punjab, might be feeling neglected at home. Remember the KXIP’s hospitality woes at Wankhede. Ask Azhar Mahmood's wife.

Now that’s what we call hero worship.

Bangalore, May 18
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Chennai Super Kings in a rain-hit match here tonight to keep alive their hopes of making the playoffs.

In a match reduced to eight overs a side after persistent rain, Bangalore made 106 for two in their allotted overs as Virat Kohli (56 off 29 balls, six fours, four sixers) and Chris Gayle (28 off 13 balls, four sixers) did the bulk of the scoring. Chennai Super Kings made 82 for six to lose by 24 runs.

This was the 16th and final league match for both the teams. Chennai had already qualified for the playoffs while Bangalore needed to win this match to remain in contention with Sunrisers Hyderabad for the fourth playoff spot.

Bangalore now have 18 points from 16 matches. Hyderabad too have 18 points, but they have to play one match, against Kolkata Knight Riders, tomorrow.

Brief scores

Royal Challengers Bangalore:106/2 in 8 overs (Kohli 56, Gayle 28; Bravo 1/26) Chennai Super Kings: 82/6 in 8 overs (Vijay 32, Dhoni 24, Bravo 11; Zaheer 4/17)

Dharamsala, May 18
It was expected that Rishi Dhawan would get a game at his home ground. The expectations were high from the local lad and the vociferous support from the crowd only egged him on.

Dhawan did not disappoint the fans with a creditable performance. The right arm medium pacer bagged one wicket but more importantly he proved out to be the most economical bowler for the team.

However, Rishi might be termed as bit unlucky at his homeground. Azhar Mahmood was dropped by Coulter-Nile on the first ball of the 13th over at backward fine leg. To make matters worse, Harbhajan Singh dropped a simple catch at the long off in the same over. The Mandi-lad could only grimace in deseration.

Prior to today’s’ match, IPL-6 has not been very good to this young lad, having played only three matches.

Patiala, May 18
In what may be termed as their best performance in almost two years, Indian women compound archers bagged a bronze medal in Stage 1 of the World Cup that is underway in China. They defeated Italy by a 5 point margin (228-223). Korea drubbed the US by a 15 point margin to win the title in the same event.

The Indian team, of youngsters Trisha Deb, P Lily Chanu and experienced Gagandeep Kaur, was in strong form since the beginning of the Olympic round but lost to the US by one point in the semifinal round.

From the start of the match, the Indians held their nerve and got a two point lead in the first round. Their consistent shooting helped them increase the lead to four points in the second round.

The Italians did try to make a come back in the third round but could not cope with the pressure and the rhythm of the Indian archers, losing in the end by five points.

Speaking to The Tribune over the phone, World Cup and Commonwealth Games medallist Gagandeep Kaur, who is working as a senior clerk in the sports department of Railways (DMW, Patiala), expressed excitment over the win. “I was playing with new partners as far as the World Cup was concerned but since we have played in a couple of other tournaments together, we were very comfortable with the combination. Trisha and Lily played remarkably well and we have finally been able to win the prestigious medal,” she added.

First timer Trisha Deb, who is a student of Khalsa College, Patiala, was overjoyed with the success in her debut tournament. She was the highest scoring Indian woman in the tournament and had recently become the individual compound round champion in the All India Inter-University Archery Championship.

Giving the credit of her success to the director sports of Punjabi University, Dr Rajkumar Sharma, coach Jiwanjot Singh, her parents and particularly her team-mate Gagandeep Kaur, Trisha said that finally, luck favoured her. “Gagandeep ensured that I remained calm,” she added.

Meanwhile, K.S. Kang, Punjab Archery Association president, congratulated the winners.

Rome, May 18
Rafael Nadal set up a potential Rome Masters final with Swiss rival Roger Federer after dominating Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Berdych had caused the first major upset of the tournament when he ousted world number one Novak Djokovic on Friday. However, despite an improved second set performance against the fifth seed, the Czech could not match Nadal's power.

Berdych was given little chance by six-time champion Nadal, who after back-to-back three-set matches looked keen to get this semifinal over and done with as quickly as possible. Nadal, who has now reached eight finals in as many events since his return from a seven-month injury lay-off, broke Berdych twice in the opening set, including in the opening game.

Nadal will meet Federer on Sunday if the Swiss second seed beats French upstart Benoit Paire in the second semifinal.

New Delhi, May 18
Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar and reigning national champion Mandeep Jangra led the charge as three Indian pugilists assured themselves of medals at the FXTM International Limassol Boxing Cup by entering the semifinals in Limassol, Cyprus.

Manoj (64kg) defeated Frank Urquiaht of Spain in splendid fashion to advance into the semi-finals of the event. Manoj beat his Spanish rival 15-13. Mandeep (69kg) beat Ahmad Al Naboudhe of Lebanon after the contest was stopped due to his domination.

Jagroop Singh (81kg) beat Egypt’s Ahrahim Ibrahim, who retired hurt in the second round.

Thokhom Nanao Singh (49kg) and Dilbag Singh (69kg) gave a flying start to India's campaign by entering the semifinals in the International Boxing Tournament in Khabarovsk, Russia.

Nanao crushed Ladon Rogen of the Philippines in a one-sided contest. He will now take on Ri Chung Hyok of DPR Korea. Later, Dilbag Singh beat Szilvai Laszlo of Hungary. — PTI

Sandnes, May 18
Riding high on confidence, world champion Viswanathan Anand outsmarted Jon Ludvig Hammer of Norway to jump to the joint second spot in the Norway chess super tournament. The penultimate round victory turned out to be an important one for Anand as it brought him within striking distance of victory.

Trailing the leader Sergey Karjakin of Russia by one and half points and second placed world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway by a full point with two rounds to go, Anand comes to the party as both Karjakin and Magnus lost to Peter Svidler of Russia and Wang Hao of China, respectively. — PTI

Chandigarh, May 18
In the last month, Chandigarh’s Jeev Milkha Singh has played in Japan, Korea, China. Then a quick visit back home and a week later a flight back to the Japanese Tour. The coming month will see him head to Europe where he will play for a few weeks.

Players at his level — he is a multiple winner on the European Tour and Asian Tour Order of Merit winner — have no dearth of tournaments to play. However, while most prefer to play a few weeks at a time, like Masters winner Adam Scott does not like to play more than three weeks at a go, Jeev prefers to be on the road constantly, though even he is trying to slow down now.

All this adds up to a lot of flying hours and constant travel, which can be quite a strain on the game. “I now try to plan my trips so that I play a few weeks at a time within the region as this cuts down the flying time. There was a time when I played a week in Europe then a week in America or a week in Asia, but I found that I spent most of my time just getting from one venue to the next and did not have time to practice,” says Jeev. “Then there is the jet lag and the physical strain.”

However, Indian professionals playing only in the Sub-continent have long stretches of time when they are free. “We have a very hot summer and the tour has to break for a month at least,” says Uttam Singh Mundy, Director PGTI.

“We use this time to prepare and work on different aspects of the game, something we would not do when tournaments are on,” adds local professional Harendra P Gupta.

The Asian Tour also has to break for a month — the 2013 calendar has no tournaments from the first week of May till the second week of June. “The weather in Asia is usually always hot and humid but it is quite unbearable and physically impossible to play during this time each year,” says Gurbaaz Mann.

So the ideal scenario for a pro golfer is to play in Asia in the winter and head off to Europe in the summer. The European Tour figured this out quite early and now has co-sanctioned events with India, China, Singapore and many other Asian countries.

“I think the best thing one can do is to try and keep playing in Asia in the winter and play the European Tour or any of the feeder tours in the U.S. during the summer. I personally feel that emerging professionals need to continue playing throughout the year and this is one way to ensure that,” adds Jeev.

In the past, youngsters like Gurbaaz and Sujjan Singh have travelled to the U.S. to play smaller tournaments on the feeder tours where the participants pay an entry fee, which is then put up as the prize purse. “It is a great way to sharpen your game and the exposure is excellent,” adds Mann. “You get to play various golf courses and the competition is tough.”

Going by Jeev’s schedule one thing is certain — Indian pros can never have too many tournaments to play.