Kapil Slams BCCI for Firing Prasad and Robin!

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev has slammed the BCCI for sacking the bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh.

"Both of them (Prasad and Robin) have done a good job for the team. The Board should have removed manager of the team also holding him responsible for poor performance of the team in Champions Trophy," Kapil told PTI.

"The basis of removal from the post should be on performance criteria. Why there should be a sword hanging over those who are giving good result?" he questioned.

He said Australia was the better team on the first ODI in Vadodara and deserved to win. Indian team should focus on the remaining ODIs to win the series.

No rift with Younus, says Afridi

Pakistan all rounder Shahid Afridi denid the media allegations that there is a difference of opinion with his captain Younus Khan. He said, few members are trying to create differences between them.

"There has been lot of speculation in the media and some people are also trying to create differences between me and Younus," Afridi said.

"We get along well and I am happy that he is captain and I will continue to support him wholeheartedly. I play with my heart and soul for Pakistan at every given opportunity," Afridi added.

Pak Players Not Ready to Accept Younis Khan as Captain!

Younis Khan quit captaincy with the recent match fixing allegations in the Champions Trophy. The PCB Chairman rejected his resignation and appointment him coach till 2001 world cup. The turbulance in the Pakistan camp was put to rest by the PCB!

But, the players had different opinion. A group of players did not accept Younis as their captain.

A section of Pakistani cricketers are reportedly miffed at the PCB's decision to retain Khan, and board insiders said some of the players have made it clear that they do not want Khan to continue as the skipper of the national squad.

"Younis was aware of what was happening behind his back with apparently the approval of manager Yawar Saeed and he played his cards right by using the match-fixing allegations to submit his resignation to Ijaz," The Daily Times quoted sources privy to the PCB, as saying. It was also quoted that Younis Khan's attitude and dominating behavior did not go well with few players.

Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh Sacked!

After the exit of the Indian team from the Champions Trophy, the BCCI has taken immediate step by removing the bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh. They're relieved from their services with immediate effect.

Both of them were removed becuase of the poor performance of the Indian team in the Champions Trophy. There were fielding lapses and the bowling of Ishanth Sharma was pathetic.

The bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad expressed shock but nothing was heard from Robin.

In a short statement the board said: 'The BCCI has decided to discontinue the services of bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh with immediate effect."

India fared badly in Twenty20 World Cup in England and the Champions Trophy in South Africa because of poor fielding and wayward bowling by the fast bowlers.

Venkatesh Prasad has taken over as bowling coach of Chennai Super Kings and Robin Singh as the fielding coach of Mumbai Indians.

Younis Khan Quits Captaincy!

After Pakistan's loss against New Zealand in the semi-final match of the Champions Trophy 2009, the media and the PCB questioned the captain and coach Iftikab Alam on the scandal.

Even before PCB questioned them, media published reports about the possible match fixing in the match against New Zealand. Skipper Yonis Khan missed a sitter for Elliott on 42 who went on to score more than 70 and took New Zealand to the final.

Irked by the questions raised by the PCB, Yonis Khan expressed shock and said that he has always given his best to the country.

He submitted resignatin to the Chairman of the PCB and said to have been walked away from the meeting.

Pakistan cricket is once again in crisis! PCB hopes that he will reconsider the decision as it was a emotional decision!

India fixed Pakistan New Zealand Match?

Muhammad Ali Shah, the minister for Sports and a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board governing council, suspected India's role in the sub-standard umpiring, leading to Pakistan's defeat against New Zealand.

"Definitely, it is clear that India were miffed at not qualifying for the semi-finals after Pakistan lost to Australia and they took their revenge in their own way. They influenced the umpires to favour New Zealand," Shah told reporters.

Australian umpire Simon Taufel had wrongly adjudged Umar Akmal leg-before-wicket at a crucial stage of the match and even admitted to the mistake and apologised later.

Shah said he would not refrain from pressing the PCB to see that the International Cricket Council impose at least a one-year ban on Taufel.

Case Registered against Sehwag!

A local court has registered a case against Indian cricket opener Virender Sehwag and his business partner following a complaint from a college teacher. The teacher accused the duo failed to grant him franchise for his restaurant despite taking Rs two lakh for the purpose.

Though the police did not register the case and file the FIR against the dashing Indian opener Virendra Sehwag, the court filed the case against him.

In a petition filed by a teacher, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the local court in Allahabad heard the matter.

The peitioner alleged that he had lodged a formal complaint against Sehwag and his partner Siddharth Dilawari at the Civil Police Station but the police was reluctant to register an FIR.

Police said that they were investigating the matter and expressed the opinion that even if an FIR were to be lodged, it had to be in Delhi were all the formalities and transactions had supposedly took place in 2006.

Jum Cubes Disappointed on T20 Cancellation!

The 2nd T20 match between host England and Australia was abandoned without being a ball bowled. The umpires made the decision after inspecting the ground. They said that the outfield condition is not good enough to play the game.

The crowd waited for over an hour to watch the match but to their disappointment, the umpires had taken this decision. The chief executive of Lancashire's expressed his disappointment and angry on this decison.

He said, "I'm angry and bitterly disappointed. I don't think it was unsafe. There's dampness there for sure and it's soft, of course it is, (but) there's no water. If that had been Lancashire against Yorkshire on a Friday night in front of 16,000 people, we'd have been playing. I know the umpires have tough decisions to make and player safety is important. But there comes a time when you've got to think about the people who have paid to come into this ground. Sometimes I think we'd rather play in front of empty stadiums."

The first T20 game was also cancelled but in the mid-way where Australia was the favorites to win. (image: msn.com)

Viru Slams DDCA!

Virender Sehwag sent a shock wave across the cricket fans by by threatening to walk out of the Delhi Ranji Trophy team, alleging corruption in the selection procedure. The charge was rejected outright by the DDCA officials. His charges were:

"In Ranji Trophy selection, it has often happened that four selectors get together and vote for 'their' players, leaving the chairman of the committee and me defeated. Especially when I am on national duty, they put pressure on the stand-in captains and the interference becomes more rampant. This manipulation has been going on for many years. What is the point in continuing to play for such an association where there is so much corruption?"

Though DDCA officials denied this, whether Sehwag will continue to play after he meets Arun Jaitley, DDCA president later this month.

Sehwag is out of the Indian team for the forthcoming tri-series in Sri Lanaka with NZ as the third country and also the Champions Trophy. He is under going treatment for his injury. He was also involved in a controversy which triggered skipper Dhoni to lose control in a press conference.

BCCI Backs Players! Refuses to Accept Norms!

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set the for a fight with the cricket's governing body--ICC on the doping norms for players.

Now, ICC has to wait till the next meeting with Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), other World Players' Associations and officals of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Indian players are also not happy with the norms as it conflicts with the security policy of the players!

The Indian players in the list are: (Men) Dhoni, Harbhajan, Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag, Yuvaraj Singh, and Zaheer Khan; (Women) Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj.

Late, but Sehwag admits the injury!

Sehwag has finally accepted the shoulder injury and put a full stop the issue. The BCCI yesterday issued a statement about Sehwag's return to home and replacing him with Dinesh Karthick.

The media reported a rift between Sehwag and Dhoni and the captain lost his cool. This is an unwanted situation if the responsible Indian opener and vice-captain admitted to his injury before starting the journey to England.

The BCCI has gone by the player's word rather than checking on the fitness and approval process. This shows lapse in the medical fitness process and created unnecessary problems for Dhoni.

The whole Indian team walked into the press conference to say that they are united and there is no rift between Sehwag and Dhoni.

Sure that the vice-captain has let Dhoni down and giving him more trouble! In future, BCCI should do a thorough test and clear each player without depending on players' word.

Dhoni's handwritten Letter to Media and Indian Fans!

Dhoni has given an hand-written letter to the media which talks about the unity in the team. The letter says that there is no rift between him and Sehwag as reported by some of the Indian media.

Dhoni also says that the team is united as it was before and each player is helping others. The rift message between him and Sehwag is false and they are getting along well.



source: Sify.com

Rift between Dhoni and Sehwag?

Few days agao, media reported a rift between Dhoni and Sehwag. Since Sehwag did not play in the both the practice matches--New Zealand and Pakistan, the media report an on-going rift in the team.

Team India lost to New Zealand in the first practice game by 9 runs while beat Pakistan in the second game. The team also announced that Sehwag will not play in the first group match Bangladesh and Rohit Sharma will continue to open the innings.

Virender Sehwag was injured during the recently concluded IPL 2009 and was ruled out of the practice games.

However, Dhoni ignored the media reports and said that the team is united and there is no rift within the team. He also said that he and Sehwag are mingling well and have no issues with one another.

It all started when Dhoni replied "may be you should ask his physio to issue a press release" to a question Sehwag's injuries.

PCB sues ICC!

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has filed a case against International Cricket Council (ICC) in a Lahore Court against the ICC's move to strip the World Cup hosting rights of PCB.

"The (ICC) board has no authority to move the secretariat and that's why we have filed the case," the PCB's legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi told AP. "We have to fight all out against a decision which is legally flawed and to step up our pressure, we have sued the ICC, IDI (ICC Development International) and the Central Organising Committee (for) World Cup 2011.

"The IDI gave the World Cup to four countries. So the ICC Executive Board was not entitled to take a decision on a World Cup move, only the annual general meeting can take such a decision."

Now, ICC has to respond!

source: cricinfo.com

Pak Threatens BCCI and India!

No Pakistani cricketer is happy with ICC's decision to pull out the rights to host World Cup 2011. The PCB also has threatened both ICC and India indicating that they will not play any worldcup matches in India.

They said that they have the right to decide the venue for their matches and they will not play in India.

With the two countries split in both politics and sports, it is becoming difficult for other countries. Australia skipped the tour to Pakistan, but agreed to play in neutral venue. They will play Pakistan in 5 ODIs and a T20 in UAE. NZ is shortening the tour schedule of Pakistan as they said they cannot host Pakistan for a full series.

India also skipped touring Pakistan and snapped all ties after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.

ICC took its decision after the recent attack in Pakistan against the Sri Lankan cricketers. Six players injuried and the tour was abandoned. The team travelling in the bus to the ground was attacked by a group of terrorists.

Considering the unstable security condition in Pakistan, ICC took the decision to strip all the rights to host the world cup matches in Pakistan.

Pak Removed from World Cup Venues!

Pakistan's rights to host the World Cup 2011 has been stripped off. The reason is very obvious--security. The ICC said quote "uncertain security situation" as the cause for this decision.

"It is a regrettable decision (but) our number one priority is to create certainty and deliver a safe, secure and successful event," ICC president David Morgan told reporters in Dubai.

"The uncertainty created by events in Pakistan created a huge question mark over our ability to do just that."

These decisions were taken considering the unstability in security and government in Pakistan. Sri Lankan players were attacked by terrorists during their tour to Pakistan. Six Sri Lankan players were injured and few Pakistanis were dead.

"It is extremely regrettable that the board has had to take this decision given the passion the people of Pakistan have for the game of cricket and for the ICC Cricket World Cup," Morgan said.

"It is highly unlikely that we will have the security clearance between now and the start date in 2011," said Morgan.

ICC Rejects ICL!

The International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected the ICL's application seeking approval for their T20 competition.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgan told reporters on Saturday that "The board considered that approval was not appropriate."

All the countries have banned their players pariticipating in the ICL. Though ICC has given the rights to the individual boards to decide the fate of their players, most countries have banned them.

It is clearly evident that BCCI's money power is playing. Though it looked nice when the BCCI backed Harbhajan in Australia and forcing ICC to change Steve Bucknor from umpiring, it looks really bad and ugly now. You can feel BCCI's hand in this episode.

While so many other countries are conducting severa tournaments, it is unfortunate that a private body is not able to do it in a democratic country like India.

TNCA banned players participating in private league organizers like Blue Star though it was not given importance later.

Lee not fit for Pak Tour!

The Australian stirke bowler Brett Lee, who is in South Africa, is still not fit. He has not been included in the Australian squad for the series against Pakistan.

His foot injury is still healing and needs some more time to make him fully fit. The coach said that he cannot bowl at his full speed and hence needs some time.

But, Stuart Clark, Shane Watson, and the controversial all-rounder Symonds have been called back to the side.

Already, Ponting and Hussey were rested for the series with Michale Clarke leading the side.

Lee is in South Africa currently and will stay there to continue with his recovery program.

Botha left out for final ODI!

The stand-in skipper of South African team was left out of the side for the final ODI against Australia. He was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action by the umpires and match referre after the fouth ODI.

Both has to undergo a test, but is eligible to play international cricket until results are announced. But the team management has decided to leave him undisturbed so that his actions are not put into lime-light.

In the meantime, both Both and South African coach have said that only a small tweaking is necessary to correct the action.

Botha Reported for Action!

South African stand-in skipper Botha was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action. After the fourth ODI, the match officials reported him for his action. He will undergo a bio-mechanical assessment of his action. Until results are announced, he is eligible to play international cricket.

The report was filed by the three umpires officiating Monday's one-dayer - South Africans Brian Jerling and Rudi Koertzen, and Sri Lanka's Asoka de Silva - who cited concerns over Botha's quicker ball and doosra. Botha will be tested within 21 days after CSA receives a formal notice from the ICC.

"I have put a lot of work into my action," Botha said during the recent one-day series in Australia. "It probably took 10 months from my first test to the one I passed. I still have (the doosra), but I probably don't bowl it as much as I used to. Definitely, it is possible to bowl it legally."

"My doosra actually tested lower than my off spinner for elbow extension. I think my doosra was at 9 per cent, and my offie was at 11 per cent, which are both well below the limit. With the doosra, your wrist cocks to a point where it is actually harder to extend your elbow. I just use it better than I did in the past."

(source: www.cricinfo.com)

So far, Muralitharan (from Sri Lanka) and Harbhajan Singh (from India) were already reported for illegal action. They were cleared and now Botha, another off-spinner has entered the list.

No Ganguly means no KKR: Sharukh Khan!

There were too many confusion in the KKR camp before the start of the season 2 of the IPL to be held in South Africa.

Coach John Buchanan said that he has plans to use four captains in a match--one each for toss, field setting, changing bowlers, and deciding batting order.

The current skipper Sourav Ganguly came out open and said that this plan was not discussed with him and he came to know only through media. He also said that he was not sure how his counter-parts will take it.

John replied saying that this was discussed, though not in detail, Ganguly knew that we are planning this option.

The team also did not announce the captain and the squad. It has plans to announce the squad and the captain once the team reaches South Africa.

In the mean time, to clear the air on all these confusion, the owner Sharukh Khan said the team's decision team to have multiple captains was in no way to insult or sideline Dada.

The Bollywood star did not mince words in ridiculing the concept.

"Let me tell you, there is no Kolkata Knight Riders without Dada. We love him," he said on the sidelines of a fashion show.

"We are a team and no decision is taken by one person. Twenty20 is a new format and new things are being tried. Too much has been said, we are not having four captains in one match. It's going to be one captain in one match," he said.

"But in case something goes wrong, we need to have a back-up," he added.

The plan was to field three others as captain along with Ganguly--Brendon McCullum of NZ, Chris Gayle of WI and Laxmi Ratan Shukla of KKR.

End ICL, Take a Franchisee in IPL: BCCI to Subash Chandra

The ICL (Indian Cricket League) cleared the air on the rumours on its future saying that league has not gone bankrupt. It will continue as scheduled.

They agreed on releasing few players to play for their countries, and also confident that the countries will release them to play in ICL after their national duty is over.

"There is no question of being bankrupt. We are committed to holding the ICL," ICL business head Himanshu Mody said in a statement.

He also came out openly on the BCCI's offer to take up a franchisee in IPL rather than continuing the ICL.

"The BCCI has been offering a peace deal to ICL promoter Subhash Chandra asking him to take up a franchise in return for winding up the league, but this is unacceptable to the Zee boss," Mody was quoted as saying.

He furhter said, "We are awaiting the decision on our application to the ICC on giving those playing in the league an official status. If a resolution does not come through at the next ICC Executive Board meeting, we will pursue legal options. Our stated position is that we will take ICC to court in the UK citing precedents--Tony Grieg vs Doug Insole (England) and Kapil Dev and other players vs BCCI in Indian courts."

To a question on releasing the players from ICL, he said, "Yes, we have told some of these players that they can play for their respective countries. We will give them temporary suspension letters for the same. You have to understand that they are far more valuable to us if they continue to represent their countries as well. In any case, one way or the other, the ICC has to take a stand on their status. ICL is keen that these players are allowed to do national duty and then return to play in the ICL. We have no problem with that."

"People are spreading canards about the ICL going belly up and that due to this we are releasing players. This is all nonsense. Yes, we cancelled one event due to 26/11 but that doesn't mean the ICL is defunct. We are looking at two tournaments in October-November, a league in 8-9 cities on the round-robin format followed by the World Series," he said.

I think we should give due credit to ICL without which we wouldn't be enjoying the IPL. Though IPL is much more famous and has lot of moeny than the private ICL, if ICL did not happen, I think there is no IPL as well.

Ganguly Knows about Captaincy - Buchanan

Reacting to the interview by Ganguly about the "four captains" theory, Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan has come out open and said that Ganguly is aware of the theory.

Earlier, Ganguly said that he was not informed about the plan to have four captains per match--the new idea from Buchanan.

I was not consulted: Ganguly

"I had discussed in detail with Sourav about his future role in the team after the last IPL season. It was not new to him at all," Buchanan was quoted as saying by a Bengali daily on Friday.

Buchanan said, "At least I can say that we had discussed the necessity for creating new leadership".

The former Australian coach said, "SRK has given me complete freedom". He said the whole controversy was a media creation.

IPL Schedule

PIL filed against moving of IPL out of India!

A public interest litigation has been filed in Rajasthan High Court against the move of IPL to South Africa. Due to security concerns during the general elections, the Government of India said that it will not be able to provide para-military forces and will not be able to provide adequate security to the event.

So, the IPL committee decided to move it out of India and had England and South Africa as alternate venues. Couple of revised schedules provided by IPL did not get the government's nod. So, consdering the continuity and the impact on commercials, IPL decided to move out of India. After Lalit Modi's visit to both the countries, IPL decided to conduct the event in South Africa starting April 18.

The petition was filed by the Rameshwar Nirvan, President of the All India Karate Federation. The petitioner claims that moving the event would create huge loss for the nation and also for the cricket fans.

The nation cannot come to a stand-still during general elections. He also said that this shows the incompetency of the government in handling terror threats. He demanded that IPL matches should be held in India and central government should be directed to arrange and provide necessary security including para-military forces, if required.

The matter will be heard on Monday.

Terror Attack in Pakistan! Sri Lankan Team Attacked!

March 3, 2009: Sri Lankan team was attacked by terrorists in Pakistan. This was similar to the 26/11 attack in Mumbai where two hotels and a residence were held by the terrorist.

Sri Lanka toured Pakistan for a two-test and 3-ODI series. Sri Lanka won the ODI series 2-1 with first ODI won by Pakistan and the remaining two matches by Sri Lanka.

The first test played in Karachi was drawn and the second test scheduled in Lahore. Sri Lanka scored 606 in the first innings and Pakistan were 110 for 1 at the end of day 2. The Sri Lankan team was travelling in the bus from the hotel to the ground to start day 3.

Due to the terror threat, the route from the hotel to the ground was changed everyday. The Pakistan team started 10 minutes later in the same route to the Gaddafi stadium.

When the sri Lankan team was on the way to the ground, their bus was attacked by 12 armed terrorists near Liberty market, Habibur Rehman, chief commissioner of police, said. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed.

"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Mahela Jayawardene said. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff]…"

The tour was immediately called-off and the team has decided to go back to Sri Lanka.

Unlucky Sachin - Hatrick Poor Umpiring!

For the third consecutive time, the poor umpiring costs Sachin very much. The inform batsman is going through a lean patch because of bad decisions by the umpires.

In the on-going 5 ODI Series Fortis Cup in Sri Lanka, India have won the first three games and leading the series 3-0. Indians are sure to take away the cup.

In the first match, Dharmasena was at fault for judging Sachin LBW. The first match was played in Dambulla on January 28th. India was chasing 248 and the start was very important for India. The delivery from Thushara clearly pitched outside the leg stump. Though TV replays showed that the ball would hit the leg stump, as per rules, the ball pitching outside the leg stump should not be given LBW. When Sachin was on 5, he was judged poorly for LBW. But, India won the match convincingly by 6 wickets with 11 balls remaining.

In the 2nd ODI in Colombo on January 31, batting first, Sachin once again was judged poorly by Jerling. The ball clearly missed the leg stump, in fact would have hit the fourth stump. This is high stupdity that umpires are making blunders in crucial games like this. Sachin was given out for 6, one run more than last match. India won this ODI too by 15 runs.

In the 3rd ODI in Colombo in February 3, batting first again, Sachin once again was judged very poorly by Gamini Silva. The ball clearly missed the leg stump and he was very unlucky. He added one more to the previous match to make it 7 in this innings.

As usual, he did not show any dissent. The TV replay showed the ball missing the stumps and the coach Gary Kirsten also was not happy. The TV camera caught him shaking his head after him watching the replay.

Can this poor decision be stopped? Can umpires stand-up to their expectations? Three decisions cannot go against the same batsman!

ICC Should do something to ensure that they talk to the umpires regarding this!

Bad Luck Sachin! We are sure you will bounce back and score runs for India. We are sure that you don't mind this as long as India wins, but we want you to score as well and be part of the winning team! All the Best!