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Dhoni under fire for conflict of interest
Cricket no more a gentleman’s game, says Prasanna
Dress rehearsal for batsmen as they face Australian seamers
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MS Dhoni receives the ICC Shield from ICC president David Morgan in Cardiff on Monday. — PTI
BCCI should come under RTI Act: SAI DG
‘BCCI image has taken a beating’
Pakistan beat South
Africa by 6 wkts
Djokovic, Nadal find their A game
Novak Djokovic makes a difficult backhand return during his win on Monday; and Maria Kirilenko, who beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 7-5 6-4, checks herself out (inset). — AFP
How Tiger sunk low once again
Brazil, England play out a dull draw
Paulinho scored the equaliser in the 82nd minute to rescue Brazil against England in their international friendly on Sunday. — Reuters
Mourinho returns to Chelsea
New Barcelona player Neymar in front of the club’s office close to Camp Nou stadium on Monday. — Reuters
U-19 team to be picked in Bangalore
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Dhoni under fire for conflict of interest
Chandigarh June 3 This conflict of interests has been the stuff of gossip and speculation over the last two years at least, and finally today the company that manages him has admitted that there was some truth in it. It was reported today that Dhoni has a 15 percent stake in Rhiti Sports Management, which had signed a management deal with him for Rs 210 crore in 2010. The conflict of interests lay in the fact that Rhiti Sports also managed Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Pragyan Ojha. Which meant that if Raina, Jadeja and Ojha were in the Indian team and their commercial value increases, Rhiti Sports and, indirectly, Dhoni would stand to gain financially. In a statement today, Rhiti Sports confirmed that this state of conflict of interests did exist until April this year. “As on date, MSD holds no shareholding in Rhiti Sports Management (P) Ltd. However, it is made clear that shareholding was allotted to MSD on 22.03.2013 only to secure certain old outstandings which were due for more than one year," Rhiti Sports Management chairman Arun Pandey said in a statement today. “Further, the payments were cleared in April 2013 and the shareholding was transferred back to promoter of the company on 26.04.2013," the statement added. “We at Rhiti Sports Management Pvt Ltd are greatly aggrieved at the widespread media reports regarding alleged conflict of interest of MSD," he added. “Though not obligated to but in order to put at rest these widespread speculations, we are issuing the following statement to bring in knowledge the correct factual matrix. It is made clear that the Management of Rhiti Sports Management (P) Ltd understands its obligations to the field of sport and the country and adheres to the laws of the land.” Over the years, there had been speculation that RP Singh, the left-arm pace bowler, had also signed up with Rhiti Sports. There was controversy over this when, during the tour of England in 2011, Singh had been called to play a Test match after a very long hibernation. Singh today clarified that he has no association with Rhiti. “Don't know what exactly is running in the news but just to clarify I am not with Rhiti Sports,” Singh said on his twitter feed today. Kirti Azad poses tough questions
Former cricketer Kirti Azad suggested that Dhoni could be guilty of conflict of interest, as was the case with N.Srinivasan. In an interview given to ANI, Azad, who has been at the forefront of the criticism over the functioning of the BCCI and the spot fixing that is taking place in the IPL, said: “I have come to know that Dhoni has a 15 percent stake in Rhiti sports, which has contracted some Indian players. He is also the vice president of Indian Cements, the company owned by N.Srinivasan. Now, we have to see whether it is a matter of conflict of interest.” It spawns a tangled web of business associations, raising issues of propriety and conflict of interest in at least two situations. The first situation is in his position as the captain of the Indian cricket team in all three formats of the game. This puts Dhoni in the conflicting position where he has a 15 percent share of the profits earned by Rhiti Sports from managing these four players, even as he opines or votes on them in team selection meetings as the Indian captain. “There is definitely a conflict of interest in this case,” says former cricketer Kirti Azad, who was also a selector in 2002-03. Dhoni did not respond to an email questionnaire sent to him on May 31.“I have heard it for the first time,” says Anurag Thakur, joint secretary of the BCCI. “If there is a concern, we may look into the matter," he added. The second situation is in Dhoni's position as the captain of the CSK, the IPL franchise for which he, Raina and Jadeja play and whose team principal Gurunath Meiyappan is currently in custody on charges of illegal betting and sharing team information with bookies.
— Agencies Deal or no deal?
Dhoni has, reportedly, 15 % stake in Rhiti Sports Mgmt, which had signed a deal with him for Rs 210 cr in 2010. The conflict of interests lay in the fact that Rhiti Sports also managed Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Pragyan Ojha. Which meant that if Raina, Jadeja and Ojha were in the Indian team and their commercial value increases, Rhiti Sports and, indirectly, Dhoni would stand to gain financially. |
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Cricket no more a gentleman’s game, says Prasanna
New Delhi, June 3 “The entire controversy is not going to affect the popularity of cricket in India as we have seen packed stadiums in IPL. Followers of the game are immense here but I can see the gentleman's approach in the game is zero now," Prasanna said. “Money is ruling the game now and it hurts as cricket has been a glorious game of uncertainties. During our times if a batsman was out but umpire was in dilemma, the batsman himself used to walk out. That was called a gentleman's game but now nobody is bothered. “Cricketers think that umpires are paid well and it is their duty to judge. The whole approach has been changed," the former off spinner, who has taken 189 wickets in 49 Tests between 1967 to 1978, said. Prasanna insisted that BCCI's working committee meeting yesterday was nothing more than a sham. “It is a simple step of manoeuvring and sham. It was expected that Board chief N Srinivasan would resign but it did not happen. He has 'stepped aside' and I don't know what will be his powers now," he said.
— PTI |
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Champions trophy
Cardiff, June 3 It will be a test for Kohli and Co against Australian seamers who are relatively better than the Lankans. The left-arm seam troika of Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner could prove to be a handful if conditions favour swing bowling. While Starc is coming back from an injury, Johnson and Faulkner have been in fantastic form in the recently concluded IPL in which both were among the top-five wicket-takers. Team India would surely take a lot of confidence from the fact that it successfully chased down a mammoth Lankan total of 333 with consummate ease. Kohli plundered 144 while comeback man Dinesh Karthik, by scoring a fine century, staked a strong claim for a place in the playing XI. What might be a worrying factor for Dhoni is the performance of 'IPL Specialist' Rohit Sharma. Despite enjoying a fine IPL, Rohit as usual flattered to deceive in India colours as he was out in a pathetic fashion during the first warm-up game. Non-performance for India is nothing new with Rohit but it will be interesting to see how long Dhoni carries the Mumbaikar based purely on his talent. Suresh Raina, Dhoni and the two openers would expect that they get some more time before the real action starts on Thursday. Dhoni will also be a touch worried with the performance of his bowlers in the first warm-up game. The Sri Lankan batsmen seemingly didn't do anything special yet notched up a score in excess of 325. — PTI
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‘Can’t pose like Nadal, this shield belongs to team’
Cardiff, June 3 |
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BCCI should come under RTI Act: SAI DG
New Delhi, June 3 “We don't want match-fixing to take place in cricket.Cricket has such a good set-up and why to spoil the entire beauty of the game with such wrongdoings. The spirit of the game has suffered,” Thomson said. “I am of the view that BCCI should come under the RTI act,” he added. Indian cricket was rocked by the spot-fixing scandal, leading to the arrest of three cricketers including India international S Sreesanth and Chennai Super Kings's Team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, who is also the son-in-law of BCCI President N Srinivasan. It also led to Srinivasan agreeing to “step aside” as BCCI President under a compromise formula that brought back former chief Jagmohan Dalmiya as head of a four-member “interim arrangement" to run the Board. Meanwhile, Thomson said SAI needed to set up a system to monitor the activities of national campers and coaches at various training centres across the country. He was referring to the case of Olympian boxer Vijender Singh who went on an extended leave from the National camp at NIS Patiala following a drug scandal without informing the concerned officials. "C-DAC, which is a scientific society under the Department of Information Technology, is coming up with a same kind of system to track the activities of national campers. The study of the project is going on. The system is currently under check," he informed.Thomson said Beijing Olympic medallist Vijender, who is presently training at SAI's Sonepat Centre, can join NIS Patiala whenever he feels like going. "He has joined Sonepat. It's a temporary arrangement. Whenever he feels like, he can go and join NIS Patiala. But to my knowledge, has has not applied for the Patiala camp," he said. Vijender was hesitant to travel for the national camp at the NIS Patiala citing personal reasons. On the government decision to set up one Centre of Excellence each for Sports Medicine and Sports Coaching, Thomson said, "The project report is yet not ready. The preliminary report will come by June end and the final report by December. By this year end, we will come to know where both need to be located."
— PTI |
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‘BCCI image has taken a beating’ The board's image has taken a beating and in all my years of association with it I have never seen its reputation plummet to rock bottom. Soon after calling the meeting to order, president Narayanaswamy Srinivasan shocked the gathering by saying the meeting was an informal one as a board affiliate questioned its validity since the mandatory 72 hours notice was not given as required under the constitution. Many members felt that the best course for Srinivasan was to quit as a first step to restore peoples' faith in cricket. They were only left whispering whereas I stood up to tell Srinivasan more than once during the meeting that he should gracefully quit. I am surprised to find that Srinivasan had the gall to say that I did not ask for his resignation! The members who attended the meeting should now stand up and say who was telling the truth. Then the a series of steps were initiated violating the board's constitution. The first and foremost was the constitutional validity of asking Jagmohan Dalmiya to manage the day-to-day affairs of the board in the absence of president Srinivasan who reluctantly agreed to step aside, refusing to step down.The BCCI constitution has no provision for an interim or acting President and how could an eminent legal brain like Arun Jaitley propose Dalmiya's name in violation of board's constitution. The second shocker followed soon, this time the constitution of the probe panel to go into the alleged betting and spot-fixing involving Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan. No one in the board seemed to know who actually constituted the panel and I wanted to find out which organ of the board chose the members of the panel. I was told not by President but another official that the probe panel was selected by the IPL Operations Committee comprising Sundar Raman (CEO, IPL), Peter Griffiths (IMG), Rahul Mascarenhas, BCCI legal assistant, and P. R. Raman, BCCI legal adviser and the brother of Meiyappan's counsel). I was told that Prof. Ratnakar Shetty acted as convener for the panel. The appointment of the probe panel is void ab initio (to be treated as invalid from the outset) because the committee had no power or authority to appoint such a panel. The power of appointing a panel to take decisions regarding serious matters like spot fixing, match fixing and violation of franchise contractual obligations is vested with with the Working Committee/Special General Meeting of the BCCI. I insisted on recording my dissent on all the issues – Srinivasan's refusal to step down, the unlawfully constituted probe panel, the board's constitution itself not inspiring public confidence and the unconstitutional interim arrangement. I also suggested that the only competent authority is the Special General Meeting. To restore people's faith in the game, I suggested the following steps:
(Courtesy: isbindra.com)
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Pakistan beat South Africa by 6 wkts Excellent swing bowling from Wahab Riaz and Asad Ali set up Pakistan's six-wicket victory over South Africa in a Champions Trophy warm-up match at The Oval on Monday. The game did not carry full one-day international status as the teams used their full 15-man squads. Sent into bat, South African managed just 202 for nine in their 50 overs and Pakistan cruised to their target with six wickets and 27 balls to spare. Ali claimed three for 30 in his 10 overs as he produced prodigious movement through the air early in the South African innings, figures matched by Riaz who bowled an over less. Ryan McLaren (55) and JP Duminy (43) were the only batsmen to find form as they battled against the moving ball. Pakistan never looked in trouble in their reply, with opener Imran Farhat (56) and Mohammad Hafeez (54 retired) laying the platform. Brief Scores: SA: 202/9 (McLaren 55, Duminy 42,Miller 26, Asad 3/30,Riaz 3/30, Junaid 2/41); Pak: 207/4 in 45.3 overs (Farhat 56, Hafeez 54, Tsotsobe 2/43). — Reuters
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Djokovic, Nadal find their A game
The top-seeded Serb opened up sluggishly as German Kohlschreiber fired on all cylinders. Djokovic quickly regained control though, breaking early in each set and saving a few break points on the way to a somewhat uneventful victory. Later in the evening, Rafael Nadal earned his second straight sets victory in succession as his challenge for an eighth title gathered pace with a 6-4 6-1 6-2 defeat of Japan’s Kei Nishikori to secure a quarter-final spot. Troubled in his first two rounds where he had to come from a set back, Nadal celebrated his 27th birthday in style with a brutal demolition of 13th seed Nishikori. Only in the first set did Nishikori offer any sort of challenge to the defending champion. Nadal broke serve with the aid of a fortunate net cord in the fifth game of the opener and that proved enough for him to take the first set. Nishikori had a glimmer of a chance when he had a break point in the second game of set two but failed to convert it and was broken in the next game when he flailed a high backhand volley into the tramlines. From then on Nadal was in total command and finished the match by hooking a forehand winner down the line after a little over two hours before waving to the crowd as they sang happy bithday to the the king of clay. “To celebrate my birthday here on centre court in Paris is a very special moment for me,” Nadal said courtside before a huge birthday cake was wheeled on to court. “Today I played a bit better than in the previous days.” Djokovic next faces German Tommy Haas, the 12th seed, for a place in the semi-finals as he bids to land the trophy at Roland Garros for the first time. Speaking in French to a courtside interviewer, Djokovic said: “It was tough for me today against an opponent who has the qualities to play well on clay. After the first set I played well. I’m satisfied.” Djokovic, who ended Nadal’s eight-year reign on Monte Carlo clay last month, was broken in the fifth game as he became unsettled by Kohlschreiber’s crosscourt backhand. The German held firm, saving a break point with a forehand winner down the line before sealing the opening set with a sliced backhand that clipped the net. Djokovic then found his range and despite his best efforts and a few exquisite drop shots, Kohlschreiber could not disrupt the six-times grand slam champion. The 16th seed threatened with a few break points but Djokovic remained focused and saw them off with relative ease. Kohlschreiber cancelled out one of two breaks in the fourth set and saved a match point with yet another crosscourt pass. Djokovic then drilled a forehand winner to go through after producing some solid tennis. Maria Sharapova showed American Sloane Stephens how far she has to go to become a grand slam contender, scoring a 6-4 6-3 victory to reach the quarter-finals. The defending champion produced a no-nonsense display to leave Stephens in the shade on Chatrier Court despite the 20-year-old’s choice of flourescent yellow outfit. Sania Mirza and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands reached the third round of women’s doubles after beating the American duo of Lauren Davis and Megan Moulton-Levy 1-6 6-3 6-0. — Agencies
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How Tiger sunk low once again
Chandigarh, June 3 Rory McIlroy did not have a much better week either. He carded a 78 in the first round but shot 69 in the second round to survive the cut and play over the weekend. “Its a matter of going to the range and working on it and committing to it on the golf course,” Rory said. The PGA Tour players will head to the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis this week in order to fine tune their games before the U.S Open. Amongst other news coming from the Memorial Tournament on the PGA tour was the tournaments decision to honor Annika
Sorenstam. Each year the organizers of the Memorial honor a prominent golfer or contributor to the game. And a winner of 89 tournaments worldwide and ten major championships in just 15 years,
Sorenstam, will be honored in 2014. She holds the record for the most number of tournaments won by a female golfer as well as the lowest round carded on the LPGA Tour,a 13-under 59 in the second round of the Standard Register PING. Though retired now and enjoying family life with her husband and two children, she tweeted that she was “very excited” about being the 2014 Memorial Tournament honoree. Meanwhile, Michael Putnam carded back-to-back wins on the Web.com Tour, winning the Mid-Atlantic Championship on Sunday. For the Indian fans, the point of interest was that Daniel Chopra finished tied third. On the European Tour Mikko Illonen won the Nordea Masters while India’s SSP Cowrasia finished 52 with a total of three-under-par for the week. The Kolkottan made 5,700 Euros and said,”I am happy that I made the cut and played all four days as that is very important to do at this stage. The playing conditions are very tough on the European Tour as each week is different.” The Ladies European Tour is in Munich and though the beginning of the week saw the practice round interrupted due to rain with the temperatures dropped to just three degrees, Sharmila Nicollet played well enough to make the cut and finish tied 49th. However, Smriti Mehra missed the cut but has another week of golf on the European Tour. While the PGTI Tour is enjoying some time off, local golfer and tour rookie Angad Cheema won the second event on the feeder tour, which was played at the Rambagh Golf Club in
Jaipur. Cheema carded a total of five-under-205 to bag his maiden professional title while Dehradun’s Richard Stephen Hilton was the runner-up as he finished one stroke behind the winner. “I knew I would do well at the Rambagh Golf Club as I had won a team event at this venue during my amateur days,” said an overjoyed
Angad. |
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Brazil, England play out a dull draw
Rio De Janeiro, June 3 The 2014 World Cup hosts produced probably their best 45 minutes since Luiz Felipe Scolari took over as coach last November as they pulled England apart in the first half but failed to score. The second half was a different story and they needed an 82nd minute equaliser from midfielder Paulinho to rescue them, three minutes after Wayne Rooney gave England a shock lead on their first visit to Brazil since their famous win at the old version of the stadium in 1984. Fred had put Brazil ahead in the 57th minute and teenage substitute Alex Olade-Chamberlain pulled England back into the game with a superb goal only five minutes after coming on. Brazil, whose last match at the old Maracana was a goalless draw against Colombia in a World Cup qualifier in 2008, have drawn four of their six games since 2002 World Cup winner Scolari returned for a second stint. Their only win was against Bolivia and their only defeat against England at Wembley in February. With Brazil’s preparations for next year’s tournament plagued by delays and political rows, attention was focused as much on the venue as the match itself. England’s visit marked the end of a long drawn-out, $500-million programme to modernise the arena which will host seven matches at the 2014 World Cup, including the final. Although the pitch was in good condition, the atmosphere was hugely disappointing, with large parts of the game watched in near silence, a far cry from the passionate crowds at big domestic games. The crowd was also fickle, viciously booing Scolari and cries of “donkey, donkey” echoed around the stadium during the second half. Brazil opened up the England defence almost at will in the first half, forcing goalkeeper Joe Hart to make a series of brilliant saves. Neymar, who has struggled against top European sides, this time lived up to his billing as Brazil’s great hope for the future, tormenting the England defence with his running and trickery. Oscar was also inspired as Brazil created chances almost at will and Hulk added a powerful presence. Fred’s goal, from a rebound after a looping Hernanes shot struck the crossbar, appeared to put Brazil in control but instead England came to life after Oxlade-Chamberlain entered the fray in the 62nd minute. He equalised within five minutes when he fired in a low shot from the edge of the area after the ball was teed up by Wayne Rooney. England then enjoyed a purple patch, creating several chances, before Rooney collected the ball near the touchline, cut inside and scored with a looping, deflected effort from around 25 metres in the 79th minute. Brazil were heading for their first home defeat since they were beaten by Paraguay in 2002 until Paulinho cleverly hooked in the equaliser. — Reuters
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Mourinho returns to Chelsea
London, June 3 “I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate,” said chief executive Ron Gourlay in a club statement. “It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that. He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again.” The news came as no surprise, with Mourinho earlier telling a Spanish TV soccer show that he hoped to take charge at Chelsea by the end of the week. Mourinho ended his three-year reign at Real Madrid with a 4-2 home La Liga win over Osasuna at the weekend. “I feel the people there love me and in life you have to look for that,” said the 50-year-old, who first joined Chelsea in 2004. “Life is beautiful and short and you must look for what you think is best for you,” added
Mourinho. Mourinho will be accompanied by three staff — Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais — as assistant first team coaches working alongside current first team staff Steve Holland, Christophe Lollichon and Chris Jones.
Mourinho will be officially presented in a news conference on Monday, June 10. Terry and Torres unsure of future
Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea throws up a host of thought-provoking sub plots, none more intriguing than the question of whether the new coach feels John Terry and Fernando Torres have a future at the club. Captain Terry was relegated to fourth-choice centre half under interim boss Rafa Benitez last season and, although Torres had his best season in Chelsea blue, the Spain striker has only bagged one goal in the Premier League in 2013. Terry’s season was blighted by a knee injury he sustained in November and he was also forced to miss the 2-1 Europa League Cup final win over Benfica in Amsterdam last month because of an ankle problem. The 32-year-old former England skipper’s creaking joints seem to be catching up with him although vice-captain Frank Lampard has no doubts about his value.
— Agencies |
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‘Leo will make Neymar better and Neymar will make Leo better too’
Madrid, June 3 Neymar will be presented to the media for the first time on Monday since agreeing his move to the Catalans last month and Iniesta doesn't think there is any need to worry that a partnership between the 21-year-old and Messi will not work. “The great players always understand each other,” he told a press conference on Monday. “Leo will make Neymar better and Neymar will make Leo better too. It is a team game and it is the collective that makes the club win. “Neymar will offer a lot, he has spectacular talent, much greater than the norm, he has a long way to go and he is coming to the ideal club.” The Brazilian will only be making a quick stop in the Catalan capital, though, as after helping his country to a 2-2 draw with England on Sunday night.
— Agencies |
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U-19 team to be picked in Bangalore
Mumbai, June 3 The under 19 selection panel comprises Chandrakant Pandit (Chairman), Aman Kumar, K Jayaraman, Arup Bhattacharya and Pritam Gandhe with Anurag Thakur as its convener. India would compete against New Zealand and hosts Australia, with a game against Papua New Guinea also thrown in for practice, in the series to be held in Darwin up to July 12. The series has been conceptuatlised by Cricket Australia in preparation for next February’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Dubai.
— PTI |
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On the day a newspaper reported that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a serious conflict of interests in his roles as captain of the Indian team and a celebrity endorser, it has been clarified by his management company that this conflict does not exist “as on date”.
There has been speculation that Dhoni owned the whole or part of the company, and that his good friend Arun Pandey — himself a former cricketer — was only managing it for him.
Paris, June 3
Rio De Janeiro, June 3
London, June 3
If a majority of cricket fans are disappointed with the outcome of the so-called emergency meeting of the BCCI’s working committee on Sunday, I can only offer my sympathies to them. It was a colossal waste as all we got was a drab statement issued from Delhi by the board's joint secretary who, along with two other politicians did not think it important enough to fly down to Chennai.
Paris, June 3
