Harbhajan's Ban costs him 3 crores of Indian Rupees

Harbhajan Singh was banned for remaining of the IPL matches and also fined 100% match fee for the match against Kings XI Punjab. He slapped Sreesanth after the Mumbai Indians loss to Kings XI Punjab. The TV cameras captured live pictures of Sreesanth who was uncontrollably crying.

The match referee inquired the incident where Bhajji pleaded guilty and apologized for his behavior. Despite his apology and both Sreesanth and Harbhajan down playing the incident, match referee Farooq Engineer slapped him by imposing a ban on Harbhajan for 11 IPL matches.

This meant, he cannot represent Mumbai Indians in this version of IPL and hence he lost all the money that he was supposed to earn by playing these matches. It was estimated that the loss for Bhajji would be Rupees 3 crores.

A SLAP THAT COSTS 3 CRORERS! A COSTLY SLAP!

Probably, he can earn the money by playing for India in the future, but the reputation that he has lost, will be hard to win again!

BCCI Rejected Akhtar's Claim!

The request from Akhtar to play in the current IPL has been rejected by BCCI. They have barred him from IPL.

He was banned for 5 years, which means he cannot represent Pakistan anymore. He was banned for criticising openly about PCB policies.

Harbhajan Slapped with 11 match Ban!

The match referre's inquiry into the slapping incident by Harbhajan has come to an end. Bhajji has pleaded guilty on the charges levied against him and match referee has slapped him back with 11 match IPL ban. Which means, he cannot play the remaining matches.

Though it is an enquiry by IPL match referee, BCCI will set up its own enquiry into the matter. It will completely dig out what happened on and off the field.

In addition to the 11 match ban, he has been fined 100% of his match fee. Lalchand Rajput has been fined 50% of his match fee for not controlling Harbhajan.

We have to see how Mumbai Indians are going to plan for the remaining games. Can Sachin come back in time to save them?

Harbhajan pleads guilty!

In today's hearing with the match referee Farooq Engineer, Harbhajan pleaded guilty of slapping Sreesanth.

The decision is not yet out but Bhajji has accepted the mistake and said that he felt sorry for what had happened.

Thackery lashes out on usage of Cheerleaders in IPL!

In his editorial Samana, Thackery has lashed out at the usage of Cheer leaders in the IPL! He said, in the olden days when Gavaskar, Ajith Wadekar, Salim Durani, Polly Umrigar, Dilip Sardesai were playing, no cheer leaders were used. Didn't people come and watch the game? Was there no cheer during those times?

But, in today's cricket, in the name of cheer leaders, the organisers and promoters are trying to seduce the spectators. He said in an editorial of his party newspaper, "I am a lover of good sports and music. It is the secret of my cheerfulness. I have a special affinity towards cricket. But till now only cricket was played in the field. However, now things are changing with the bringing of cheergirls to seduce the crowd."

He added political color to it by saying, "At a time when farmers in Vidarbha and Marathwada region are committing suicide because they are burdened by debts, it is not clear what the people, who are pumping money to bring cheergirls, want to convey."

I think he is absolutely right in whatever he said. There is no need for cheer leaders for Cricket. Already T20 (Twenty-Twenty) is a big hit a fast paced game. Hence there is no need for cheer leaders. Can they bring them for Test Matches--for five day cricket? Probably it would help both spectators and the cricketers because they play for 5 days and need some energy. I am sure they won't do it because it costs money.

Guys, please change! Leave the game as it was! Do not spoil the sanctity of the game!

Harbhajan to get fair trial!

The match referee Farooq Engineer said that he would give a fair trial to Harbhajan Singh. He said, nothing will go under the carpet. He will be given a chance to explain his side of the story.

All the evidences will be seen and both the parties will be heard before a decision is taken. IPL is a good success and it has earned a good reputation which should not be spoiled by these bad behaviour.

He said, nothing will be put under the carpet. Everything will be openly discussed and whatever needs to be given to the public, those will be released.

Harbhajan has been assured that he will be given a fair chance to explain his stand! Good luck!

Mumbai played without Harbhajan and Sachin!

Mumbai Indians have already lost all of their 3 matches in the IPL. In all the matches, Sachin did not play and Harbhajan Singh was leading the side.

It was a crucial encounter for Mumbai Indians when they take on Deccan Chargers on Sunday at 8 PM IST. They were eagerly waiting for opening their winning account.

But, to everyone surprise, Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after their defeat against Kings XI Punjab lead by Yuvaraj Singh. It was their 3rd continous loss and sure that everyone was disappointed.

No one is clear on why he did that? Sure that he won't do it without any provacation from Sreesanth, but regardless of what he said, he should not have slapped him, if he did that. Only Sreesanth knows what he said until he comes out public!

With the proof from the offical broadcaster Sony, BCCI has suspended Bhajji from Mumbai Indians next match against Deccan Chargers. Sachin is not yet ready for playing Cricket and with Harbhajan also not playable due to the suspension, it would be difficult for Mumbai Indians! Sure their morale would be low! Can they pull out of this problem? Well, wait and see!

Harbhajan's hearing today!

The match referee Farooq Engineer will hear both sides of story today and take a decision on the incident. As the cricketing world knows, Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after the match. Not knowing the reason why he did it, BCCI, based on the video footage provided by the offical broadcaster Sony, suspended Bhajjai for the Sunday match against Deccan Chargers.

Sreesanth cried uncontrollably after the match which was captured live by the televison channel broadcasting the match. Not knowing why he was crying, the entire crowd watching the match live in stadium and tv were stunned.

Later, the news channels flashd the news saying Sreesanth was slapped by Harbhajan.

We have to wait and see the decision to be taken by Farooq Engineer!

Harbhajan and Sree downplay the event fearing Punishment!

After the slapgate incident between Harbhajan and Sreesanth, match referee Farooq Engineer was asked to conduct the enquiry. Before that, both Harabhajan and Sreesanth downplayed the incident as if nothing had happened between them.

Sreesanth said:

Bhajji and him are like brothers; He is an elder brother and I have forgiven him;
He has the right to do what he did;
It was just a handshake in the wrong side
He need not apologize

Bhajji said:

He is like a brother;
He did not slap him;
They both will play together;
He spoke to Sreesanth after the match;
He is not sure about the complaint to be lodged by Kings XI Punjab!

After the scene and hype created by both the players and media, both of them were saying, everything is okay and nothing wrong happened. Looks like both of them fear about the action that would be taken against each of them. Something should have provoked Bhajji and hence both would be punished. Is that reason for going back on the statements?

Only official enquiry can reveal what has happened!

Harbhajan Suspended for until Hearing!

A BCCI press release has just landed: "Based on prima facie video evidence as seen and reviewed by the match adjudicator and referee Mr. Farokh Engineer from the tapes provided by Sony & TWI. A decision has been reached to suspend with immediate effect Mr. Harbhajan Singh of the Mumbai Indians pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, April 28th 2008"

After the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, the televsion camera captured the live pictures of Sreesanth crying uncontrollably. He was bursting tears from emotion and Kings XI Punjba team members helped him to calm down. No one knew what had happened, but later the news channels flashed the news saying "Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth"

Both the players denied the incident during a quick invidiual interview. They both said they are brothers and a full stop can be put to the incident. Sreesanth does not want to complain, but his team was not ready to do that. They have launched the complaint.



The IPL is tournament of BCCI and hence BCCI has the right to investigate it and punish the players, if required. The official broadcaster Sony TV has captured the incident and based on that, suspension has been forced on Harbhajan. This means, he will not play the match against Deccan Chargers, which is a crucial tie, considering both the teams are trying to open their winning account.

During the post match interview, the captain of Kings XI described the incident as "ugly."

Harbhajan has been given time till Monday to respond to the notice issued by BCCI.

Bhajji Slapped Sreesanth?

The recent controversy in the recently started IPL and the cricketing world is the clash between Harbhajan and Sreesnath. After the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, which was on by the latter, the TV screesn captured live pictures of Sreesanth crying.

The commentators describing it as "uncontrollable tears. What's wrong with Sreesanth? Is it the win? It looks like something more than the win."

Later, the private news channels flashed the news saying "Bhajji slapped Sreesanth" Though there were no direct evidence shown by these channels, they repeatedly published the news and increased the tempo and attraction in the incident.

In the post-match interview, Bhajji, very arrogantly replied "I'm here to talk Cricket" You're in the ground to play cricket--which means, bowl, or hit the ball with the bat, or field. You're not in the ground to hit somebody, Mr. BHAJJI!

Later in the interview to private channel, Harbhajan said:

he pushed Sreesanth, but did not slap him.
He is like a brother
They will play together in the future;

He is not sure about the complaint to be launched by Kings XI Punjab

Sreesnath said:

He did not slap me;
He burst hit because he was running fever in the morning, an important match, and the incident in the end, everything triggered his emotions.
Bhajji is like an elder brother and he has the right to do what he did
He need not apologize
No need to file an official complain
They will play together

We have to wait and see what actions will be taken against Bhajji and Sreesanth, if at all action is taken!

Kolkata Pitch Not Good - Ganguly!

After the win against Deccan Chargers in Kolkata, skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, Ganguly has agreed with Laxman that the pitch was not a good wicket to play cricket.

The board is also looking into the issue and they may delay the next match scheduled in Eden Gardens.

The wicket was not conducive for good cricket and hence it would only spoil the spirit of the game.

We have to wait and see the decision on further course of action.

Afridi and Warne Exchange Words!

In the 9th match of the IPL between Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals, Shaid Afridi and Warne exchanged some words.

Chasing a target of 215 in 20 overs, Afridi bagged 3 of the Royal Challengers wickets. When Warne was facing Afridi, the quick delivery was missed and Warne was beaten by the pace. Afridi said few words and Warne followed him to find out what he said.

The next ball also was no run and the last ball was sent to point boundary. Again few words were exchanged.

Not sure and no one understands the need for exchanging words! Just play your game and carry on with the spirit. This day may belong to others and some other day may be yours. So, why do you need to exchange unpleasant words and create a scene out of it.

The match was won by Rajasthan Royals and sure that Afridi would have felt why he did it. The last over required 17 runs and Shane Warne hit Symonds for a four and two sixes before the first two balls were scored 2 runs.

Cheer Leaders are Distraction - Afridi

Shaid Afridi, who is representing the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers has come out openly and critized the role of Cheer Leaders. He has said it has been a distraction to the cricketers especially the batsman.

The way they dress and dance for every run scored or wickets taken is distracting the cricketers.

Cricket is already a big sport and IPL is a big success. It has got the attention it required and the spectators are always there to cheer the players and no special cheer leaders are required!

It looks like the cheer leaders are carrying the game than the spectators and the game itself.

Warne finds no fault in preparing spinner friendly tracks!

Instead of cribbing about the turning tracks in India, visiting teams should learn to play on them as there is nothing wrong in the host side's insistence on having wickets that work to its advantage, feels Australian spin legend Shane Warne.

India drew the three-match Test series against South Africa 1-1 after winning the third match in Kanpur on a crumbling track that invited the Proteas' ire.

But Warne, who is in Jaipur to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Rajasthan Royals team, said visiting teams should come prepared for turners.

"I see nothing wrong in this. Every team visiting India expects such kind of wickets. Every team tries to take advantage of the home conditions and their strengths. I would love to have a spinning track right here if it suits Rajasthan Royals," Warne said on Monday.

"Don't the Indians have to play on hard and bouncy wickets in Australia or South Africa? That is the whole fun in cricket. You have to play on different kind of surfaces and have to prove yourself on them. It is a great challenge," he added.

In the past we have seen India struggle in Australia, especialy Pitches like Perth. Also, in West Indies and South Africa, the bouncy and pacy wickets have put India in the back foot. So, what is wrong in preparing a spinner friendly wicket and expect the team to play both pace and spin. Bad luck South Africa!

Mikey Arthur Slammed Kanpur Pitch! Opens Controversy!

South African coach Mickey Arthur has opened up a new controversy saying that the Kanpur wicket was below standards. He said, his team deserved better wicket and facilities in the final test match against India.

He said all the visiting teams complained about the Kanpur wicket because of the poor facilities offered.

He said the wicket was assisting spinners and the most dangerous was the uneven bounce.

Though Ahmedabad wicket helped South African pace bowlers and gave a win to South African in the 2nd test. He praised both Chennai and Ahmedabad wicket, but slammed the Kanpur wicket.

Many cricketers have come in support of India and said that it is normal to prepare a wicket that helps the home team. It is always a pratice to create a wicket that help home team and the visiting teams are expected to take up the challenge of playing in different conditions.

Sachin Withdraws from Carrying Olympic Torch!

In a surprise move, the master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, has withdrawn from carrying the olympic torch citing his fitness has the reason. He earlier volunteered to participate in the run, has cited the groin injury that he is suffering as the reason for withdrawing.

He has been advised rest by the Indian physio after the down under tour of Australia. Though he played the first test against South Africa in Chennai, he did not play the remaining two test, which India lost and won respectively.

ICC Seeks Explanation on Kanpur Pitch!

The ICC has received a copy of the match referee's poor report on the Kanpur pitch and is now waiting for a response from the Indian board on the same. But the BCCI played down the issue of what Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, called a "poor cricket wicket".

"It's a normal process where the match referee submits a pitch report to the ICC at the end of the match, a copy of which is also given to the board," said Ratnakar Shetty, the board's chief administrative officer.

South Africa beat India by an innings and 90 runs in Ahmedabad on a bouncy track but lost the Kanpur Test by eight wickets after their batting line-up crumbled on an under-prepared surface. Both matches ended in three days.

"This is not the first time that a match ended in three days," Shetty said. "Definitely there were suggestions for some corrective measures but I don't think it was a notice to the BCCI."

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said a letter had been sent to the BCCI seeking an explanation on the pitch.

Shoaib to be questioned by ICC.

The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of ICC to be questioned by ICC is the unofficial news. Already couple of officers are in Pakistan to question him.

Shoaib mentioned that he was approached by match-fixing brokers during the tours of South Africa and India.

Earlier a local channel here reported that an ACU official was in Lahore to probe the claims made by Akhtar.

The ICC has officially said that its officers would talk to Akhtar for his statements on a television show that he was offered money to under-perform in matches on several occasions but he turned them down.

ICC Code of Conduct states that any player who fails to report an approach to fix games or under-perform to his captain, team manager, board or ACU officers may face a minimum ban of one year and maximum of five years.

Akhtar never reported these approaches to any team official, the board or ACU officers.

Shoait Cannot Play in IPL

Based on Pakistan Cricket Board's decision of banning the Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for five years, the Indian Premier League committee also said that, Shoaib cannot play in the IPL.

He was banned for five years as a disciplinary measure for speaking against the Pakistan Cricket Board's policies. He was also not happy for not providing him a contract.

Mr. Bindra, a member of the IPL governing body during his interview to an online media said that, "if he can't play for Pakistan, how can we play him? There will be no discipine left in the game and it will set an unwanted precedent."

Kolkatta Knight Riders spokesperson confirmed that they have received a communication about Shoaib's situation and he should not be included in the team until he is cleared or the ban is stayed.

Meanwhile, the owner of Knight Riders Sharukh Khan said that "he can hire another player, but he wanted Shoiab Akthtar."

Shoaid to Play in IPL!

Shoaib Akhtar announced that he will play in Indian Premier League despite his ban in playing cricket in Pakistan or for playing Pakistan.

We have to wait and see whether he will be eligble to play because Pakistan Cricket Board has banned him for 5 from playing for Pakistan or in Pakistan.

Only yesterday, Shoaib had claimed that the willingness of the Knight Riders to play him confirmed there were no disciplinary issues. "If I had been so indisciplined and had an attitude problem as the Pakistan board claims do you think that Shahrukh Khan or [Sourav] Ganguly would want me to play for their team in the IPL," Shoaib said.

Good luck Shoaib!

PCB Chairman files Suit against Shoaib Akhtar

Based on the statement by Shoaib Akhtar in a television interview against the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf, that he was trying extract money from him and the players. Shoaib, though did not go against chairman in most of his interview, his recent interveiw added as a fuel to the existing controversy.

He said that the ban was a punishment in return for refusing to give the chairman a share of his salary from the Indian Premiere League. He also charged Ashraf against trying to get money from other Pakistan players.

The notice was issued by the board's legal firm on behalf of Ashraf who said the statements by Shoaib were "not only utterly outrageous, fabricated, and manifestly baseless" and aimed at asssinating his character.

The notice called upon Shoaib to "retract" his statements against Ashraf, and "tender an unconditional apology". The notice also sought damages of Rs100 million (approximately US$1.6 million) to Ashraf for "defaming him personally" and another Rs100 million to the PCB for "sullying the name of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket team."

Akhtar to Appeal agaisnt the Ban!

Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akthar has said that he will be appeal in the court against the ban imposed on him couple of days back. He was banned for speaking against PCB.

He said that he is innocent and has apologized already for all his mistakes. He is also not a contracted player with the PCB and there is no reason why he should answer PCB. He does not follow in the code and conduct rules and regulagations.

Shoaib was banned for comments he made after not being offered a contract by the PCB, in which he lashed out at domestic tournaments, pitches and the administration. He was already in probation following a dispute with Asif and for hitting him with bat.

Akhtar said that he was deeply disappointed and hurt and he would go to court and fight against the ban. He said that he was demoted from central contract 'A' category, which was very hurtful and as a reaction he said something. He said that he still wants to play for his country.

Shoaib has been plagued by injury and controversy since he began his international career in November 1997. He was twice sidelined over throwing allegations and was also banned for a breach of code on tour and ball-tampering.


We have to wait and see whether he will be successful in his appeal against the ban and the fight with the Pakistan Cricket Board.