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Pune Warriors exited without telling us, says BCCI
Warner fined for tweets
Loyalty in selection is the key: Fleming
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Royals sail into qualifier
Murray pulls out of French Open through injury
Hamilton could rule Monaco
Punjab basketball coach Subramanian passes away
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Pune Warriors exited without telling us, says BCCI
Chandigarh, May 22 “The BCCI has read in media reports that Sahara has purported to terminate its franchise agreement and to pull out of IPL, the 2014 season onwards. The BCCI has had no direct communication from its franchisee, Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, in this regard,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in an emailed statement. Jagdale, though, did say that the BCCI had encashed Sahara’s bank guarantee of Rs 120 crore. This was done, he said, “in order to satisfy the balance of the 2013 franchise fee of Rs 120 crore, which was overdue and owing to BCCI since 3 April 2013, it has encashed part of the bank guarantee put in place by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited.” Sahara has, over the last couple of years, tried to renegotiate its franchise fees — $370m, or Rs 1702 crore, payable over 10 years. Sahara was the most expensive IPL team, and their valuation fell down significantly, first, when the Kochi IPL team was suspended, and then when the Hyderabad franchise was bought by Sun TV Network for $159m. Sahara had to pay Rs 120 crore to the BCCI as a bulk of its yearly franchise fee before the start of IPL-6. Their failure to pay up has resulted in the encashment of their bank guarantee, Jagdale said. “The IPL Governing Council met with representatives of the franchisee on 21 February 2013 and received assurances that the franchisee would settle all obligations as they fell due,” Jagdale’s statement added. “Once the 3 April 2013 due date had passed, the Governing Council had two letters sent to Sahara Adventure Sports Limited — one on 12 April 2013 and the second on 24 April 2013 — requesting settlement of the overdue amount. No payment was made and no response was received to the second letter and so, in order to protect its interests, the BCCI was forced to encash the guarantee.” Though Sahara has had some cause to be upset at the unfair and unequal treatment by the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council, its exit seems to be a purely economic decision. Even if Sahara had renegotiated a lower fee with the BCCI, they would have had to pay a fee reduced only by up to Rs 30 crore. Compare this with the Rs 3.4 crore fee they pay the BCCI for every Test, One-day or T20 match played by the Indian national team. So, say, for the 34 matches — Tests, ODIs and T20s — the national team has played over the last 12 months, Sahara have paid the BCCI around 115 crore. And these numbers are not big by Sahara standards. Clearly, the reduction of Rs 30-odd crore, if they had been able to renegotiate to a lower sum, is not a massive reduction for Sahara. Rather, it suggests Sahara wanted to save money, probably because of their financial trouble in other businesses and with the trouble the company has had with the Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI). The BCCI and Sahara had been holding arbitrations, and Sahara has blamed the BCCI for the delay in its resolution. Jagdale said: “The BCCI cannot be held responsible since every one of the eminent retired judges suggested by the BCCI was not found acceptable by the franchisee.” “In order to break this impasse, a letter was sent to Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, proposing that as the claimant to the arbitration, it should approach the court to appoint an arbitrator so that the process could move forward. Again, no response was received to this suggestion,” Jagdale explained. “The BCCI has at all times acted in accordance with its franchise agreement with Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, and is not able to enter into a private negotiation on the quantum of the franchise fee which was offered by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited in its response to the Invitation to Tender floated by the BCCI in March 2010,” clarified Jagdale.
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Sydney, May 22 The 26-year-old, who was playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he tweeted the insults, faced a disciplinary hearing on his arrival back in Sydney on Wednesday, charged with “unbecoming behaviour”. Warner was angered that a newspaper had used a picture of him next to an article on corruption in the IPL written by Robert Craddock. Another journalist, Malcolm Conn, was attacked when he entered the conversation in support of his colleague. “In hindsight, clearly I let my frustrations get the better of me and posted some inappropriate tweets last weekend,” Warner said in a CA statement. “While I disagreed with the story and my image being used alongside the story, I could have chosen my words better and I apologise for any offence that my language may have caused. I’ll continue to have honest conversations with all my followers and I will be mindful of the language I use in future.” The flamboyant left-hander looks likely to open the batting for Australia in back-to-back Ashes series against England starting in July. Earlier on Wednesday, he received backing from Australia captain Michael Clarke, who suggested the incident may not harm his chances of one day captaining his country. “He’s apologised and made it very clear it was unacceptable. I think Davey has great potential to be a leader of the Australian cricket team,” Clarke said. Clarke, also said there were no plans to restrict the use of social media by players, although they needed to recognise there was “a line that cannot be crossed”. — Reuters
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Loyalty in selection is the key: Fleming
New Delhi, May 22 “We have shown consistency and loyalty in team selections. Moreover, the composition of our side and the kind of mix we have. The combination of selection policy, quality of players, their maturity and above all a good franchise, everything has been fantastic,” Fleming said. “We have been lucky to have had the same team for six years and have played only finals and semi-finals. We have been conservative in our approach and often been criticised for being boring. But in a tournament where results can be emotionally driven, we have had a solid base,” he added. Chennai Super Kings entered the final of the Pepsi IPL for the fourth straight time with a thumping 48-run win over Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier here last night. Fleming said that introduction of Ravindra Jadeja was a ‘Game Changer’ as the left-arm spinner got rid of the dangerous Dwayne Smith, who hit a blazing 28-ball 68. “We were a little bit on the backfoot as the bowling came under a bit of pressure from Smith. We needed to quickly turn around things. Bringing in Jadeja was the right move,” said the coach. “Dhoni is a captain who always has an open plan and I back his judgement,” he said. — PTI
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Sydney, May 22 There was more talk of aspiration than expectation as the Australia squad officially bid farewell to the country in a ceremony at Sydney airport before their departure for England at the weekend. England hold the Ashes after a convincing 3-1 series win in 2010-11 and Australia’s recent 4-0 drubbing in India has not persuaded many that they have much chance of wresting back the trophy. “I think it’s a fair indication of where both teams are at,” Clarke said of the underdogs tag. “England have a lot of experience. A lot of the guys have been involved in Ashes series before and they’re playing some really good cricket. “Our recent series in India wasn’t nearly as good as we would have liked so I accept that we are the underdogs but we’ll be doing everything in our power to have success. “Our goal is to win the series, we know it’s going to be tough, but we’re going to have a red-hot crack at hopefully winning the Ashes for the Australian people,” he added to reporters in a chilly hangar. While Australia’s pace attack will be licking their lips at the prospect of bowling on English wickets, the batsmen had a torrid time in India and, despite his own excellent form over the last two years, Clarke said they all must improve. — Reuters
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Royals sail into qualifier
New Delhi, May 22 Tight bowling and the difficulty to score runs at a fast clip on a wicket that did not yield to any game plan saw tense action, though eventually Royals prevailed, with Hodge hitting Darren Sammy for two consecutive sixes off the first two balls of the last over to win with four balls to spare. Royals needed ten runs from the last over, and Hodge’s massive hits ensured that the contest did not stretch to the last ball. Chasing Sunrisers’ modest total of 132, Royals were in a spot of bother when captain Rahul Dravid fell for 12 to Ishant Sharma. But Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson shook off the setback to take the score to 50. But from there on, the script changed as Royals lost four big wickets in the space of seven runs, with Darren Sammy’s shooters uprooting the stumps of Dishant Yagnik and Stuart Binny which sent the bowler into a frenzy. Sammy gave away just 15 runs in his first three overs for two wickets. When it looked that Royals were losing the plot, Karan Sharma leaked 18 runs in the 14th over which kept them in the hunt, and then Sammy’s last over blemish ensured Royals a place in the qualifier. It was the decisive 33-run partnership between Hodge and James Faulkner that eventually decided the winners. In a match that almost put the packed stands to sleep, Hyderabad crawled to 132 for 7 after opting to bat. That the first six of the innings came in the 15th over, bowled by Shane Watson, was a clear index of the slow-pace of scoring, as the runs came in a trickle, with even boundaries coming only in fits and starts. That the top-scorer Shikhar Dhawan could make only 33 off 39 balls with three fours in 70 minutes put the pace of scoring in proper perspective. It was because of Sammy’s late flourish, scoring 29 off 21 balls, that gave the Sunrisers’ total a semblance of respect. Scorecard Sunrisers Hyderabad
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Murray pulls out of French Open through injury
London, May 22 “It’s a really tough decision and I love playing in Paris, but after seeking medical advice, I am not fit to compete,” Murray said in a statement released by his management company. “Apologies to the organisers and thanks to everyone for the messages of support. Now my complete focus is on getting back on the court as soon as possible.” Murray retired injured in the Italian Open second round in Rome on his 26th birthday last Wednesday after levelling his match with Spaniard Marcel Granollers by winning the second set. “I’d be very surprised if I were playing in Paris,” he said after having treatment on court. “I want to make sure that it’s something that I can sort out. It’s not enjoyable to play now.” The French Open, which starts on May 26 at Roland Garros, will be the first grand slam Murray has missed since Wimbledon in 2007 when he had a wrist injury. He will now focus on preparing for the grass court season and set his sights on being ready to play at Queen’s Club, the warmup event for Wimbledon starting on June 10. World number seven Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina has also pulled out of the Grand Slam after failing to recover from a virus, Argentine media reported on Wednesday. Del Potro, who reached the quarter-finals at the claycourt grand-slam event last year, flew home after losing to Frenchman Benoit Paire in the Rome Masters event last 16 last week. “I am sad to miss such an important tournament, one that you always dream of winning,” he said. — Reuters
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Monaco, May 22 The sceptics who doubted McLaren’s 2008 world champion would stand on top of the podium this season after his move to Mercedes, face a moment of truth with Hamilton’s team arriving in the Mediterranean principality on the back of three pole positions in a row. Mercedes have faded in races so far, unable to control their car’s insatiable appetite for tyres on a Sunday afternoon, but Monaco’s tight and treacherous streets are kinder on the compounds. Hamilton, a winner in what is now his home in 2008, loves the circuit. Champions Red Bull have won the jackpot for the past three years, with Australian Mark Webber triumphant in 2012 after also winning in 2010, but Mercedes’ qualifying form threatens their run. "They (Mercedes) will arrive as favourites for Monaco," said Ferrari's Fernando Alonso winning in Spain. — Reuters
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Punjab basketball coach Subramanian passes away
Patiala, May 22 Known as the Madurai Marauder among the Indian cagers for his commanding game inside the basketball court and the technical expertise he had over the game, he will always be remembered as the man who took Punjab basketball to great heights. The 73-year-old was credited with Punjab’s spectacular resurgence in national basketball — which culminated in the state hoopsters reclaiming the national title after a dozen years in 2011-12. Subramanian, in clear reversal of the typical migratory trend from north to south, went headlong into the heart of Ludhiana, and for 43 years — first as a kinesiology expert at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, and later as Ludhiana Academy’s coach — desisted from cribbing about north India’s chill. He passed away silently on Tuesday night leaving behind his legacy, the basketball players he trained. Terming him a legend, former India player Gurkirpal Singh Dhillon said that the loss will be deeply mourned. “His death is a big loss to India, especially Punjab. Having produced a large number of international players in the Ludhiana Basketball Academy, he was one of the most dedicated coaches I have come across in my life. His day began and ended with basketball and his passion had taken basketball to new heights in Punjab. While he was the coach of the India team, the team had achieved some extraordinary feats,” Dhillon said.
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A cracker of a knock by Brad Hodge, whose 29-ball 54 with five sixes and two fours, powered Rajasthan Royals to a four-wicket victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator of the domestic T20 league at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here tonight. Royals will now take on Mumbai Indians in the qualifier to be held in Kolkata on May 24.
Britain’s world number two Andy Murray has pulled out of the French Open after failing to recover from a lower back injury which he aggravated at the Italian Open last week.
