Srinivasan steps aside: Win, draw or end of innings?

June 3, 2013

N_SrinivasanChennai, Jun 3: So, N Srinivasan has "stepped aside" as BCCI president, not "stepped down". What does this really mean? How much of his powers have been abridged and for how long? There are two versions on this: One that Srinivasan has merely, so to say, gone on leave and will be back; the other, that once he's out of actually running the board, he's virtually gone for good.

The Jaitley-Shukla camp claims there's hardly any possibility of Srinivasan's return. The probe into the betting-fixing scandal and Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's alleged role in it is unlikely to take anything less than two months, they say. By that time, it will be close to September and time for the BCCI presidential election, where the chances of Srinivasan being re-elected are slim, according to this camp.

Srinivasan is reported to have suggested that this interim arrangement should be for a month. Jaitley countered by saying it would be for as long as the probe lasted. In other words, there was no agreement on there being a time bar on the probe.

In the meantime, will Srinivasan continue to represent India at the ICC, as he is reported to have demanded? While the Jaitley-Shukla camp says he won't go to the ICC, there must be a formal process to replace Srinivasan at the ICC with someone else. How will that happen? Will the working group headed by Jagmohan Dalmiya be empowered to do so?

Which raises another crucial question - what is Dalmiya's statutory/legal position as working group chief?

In the BCCI constitution, there's no provision for an interim president while the president is still around. Former BCCI president Shashank Manohar is reported to have said that a diarchy would never work.

'No one challenged my decision'

Denying I S Bindra's claims that he "fought tooth and nail" to get the BCCI chief to resign, N Srinivasan told a TV channel that the meeting was "without any acrimony" and that not a single person challenged his decision to step aside and ask Dalmiya to take over. He also said that Ajay Shirke and Sanjay Jagdale would return to the BCCI on Monday.

In the clubby set-up that BCCI is, perhaps the constitution can be ignored if the majority decides on something, but will Dalmiya get to take money decisions ? Will banks recognize his power , for instance, to sign a cheque without a formal communication to this effect from the board?

Indeed, if the claims of the Jaitley-Shukla camp prove to be right, it would appear that Srinivasan has been tricked into believing that he has merely gone for a sabbatical while the truth is that he's been shafted and banished for good. So in the coming days, there is likely to be more acrimony as one "understanding" clashes with the other. While this might turn out to be a clever, clever way of getting Srinivasan out, the Indian cricket fan might still have a final question - this entire exercise was also meant to fix accountability and making people pay for their acts of omission/commission. That won't be the case. After all, Srinivasan is not going out in disgrace.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?

Since then the Olympic silver-medallist -- and strong contender for her country's first Games gold -- has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.

Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics when much of the world locked down against the virus in March.

"I thought (distribution) would be impossible because I'm not physically present," Diaz, 29, told news agency.

"It's a good thing that I have trusted friends and trusted family members who understand why we need to do a fundraising."

That circle of supporters has handed out the packages, which include vegetables, eggs and rice, to more than 400 families.

The food was bought with donations from about 50 people who joined sessions that lasted up to three hours, and gave them a rare chance to train with an elite athlete.

Diaz rose to fame in 2016 after snagging a surprise silver in the 53 kilogramme category in Rio, becoming the Philippines' first female Olympic medallist and ending the nation's 20-year medal drought at the Games.

Two years later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

However, her quest to qualify for Tokyo is on hold ahead of the Games' rescheduled opening in July 2021.

"I thought all the hard work would soon be over... then it was extended," she said. "But I'm still thankful I can still continue with (the training) I need to do."

Still, the lockdown broke her daily training regimen, keeping her away from weights for 14 days for the first time in her career.

"I felt like I was losing my mind already. I've been carrying the barbell for 18 years and all of a sudden it's gone. Those were the kinds of anxiety that I felt," she said.

But she got access to some equipment, and with her coach's urging, got back to work. She was relieved to find her strength was still there.

Instead of a Tokyo berth, the past months have been about a different kind of accomplishment for Diaz: helping her countrymen get through the coronavirus crisis.

Rosemelyn Francisco's family in Zamboanga City, Diaz's home town, is one of the first to get help from the athlete's initiative, and is deeply grateful.

Her family was not wealthy to begin with, and the pandemic has cost her husband his construction job.

"The food she donated has all everything we need, including eggs," said Francisco, 27.

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