Meiyappan, Kundra get clean chit; Srinivasan may return as BCCI chief

July 28, 2013

Gurunath-MeiyappanKolkata, Jul 28: BCCI president-in-exile N Srinivasan seems set to return to the helm of affairs after a two-judge probe panel found no evidence against his team Chennai Super Kings in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal which rocked the sixth edition of the event.

The two-member panel, comprising former judges T Jayaram Chouta, R Balasubramanian, submitted its report to the BCCI working committee which met on Sunday, which cleared the decks for the Tamil Nadu strongman to make a comeback.

The panel was mandated to enquire into the roles of Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was the team principal of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and its co-owner Raj Kundra.

"There is no evidence of any wrongdoing found by the judges against Raj Kundra, India Cements and Rajasthan Royals. The report will now be forwarded to the IPL governing council which will take a final decision when it meets on August 2 in New Delhi," BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah told reporters.

Addressing a brief press conference, BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said that the inquiry report will be forwarded to the IPL governing council as per the operational rules of the Board.

"IPL governing council will meet on August 2 in New Delhi to take a decision on these issues," Dalmiya said.

Asked whether India Cements have been given a clean chit in the report, he said, "The final call will be taken in the IPL GC meeting.

Srinivasan could be reinstated as the president as early as August 2 when the working committee meets in New Delhi.

There was no clarity on Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's role in the scandal and it is learnt that the inquiry commission has not given him a clean chit.

Shah, when asked whether Meiyappan has been given a clean chit, did not give any answer.

According to a source, Meiyappan has been cleared of spot-fixing in the inquiry report but could be involved in betting though there was no clear evidence.

Dalmiya said that the order of the probe commission was received only this morning and speculation that it had come to the BCCI earlier was not correct.

"The order was received by secretary Sanjay Patel here and it was placed in the afternoon before the Working Committee," he said.

Asked who will chair the August 2 meeting, Dalmiya said, "Let Mr Srinivasan decide. Let Srinivasan take his decision."

Dalmiya also said that BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit chief Ravi Sawani's report was discussed but since one player -- Ajit Chandila -- is in police custody, the probe could not be completed.

"We will wait for some time and then proceed accordingly. Sawani is currently on leave because of his son's marriage. Let him come back," Dalmiya said.

On who will chair the IPL GC meeting since chairman Rajeev Shukla has resigned, Dalmiya said, "I have requested him to continue. I have not accepted Shukla's resignation.

Dalmiya said the BCCI was in the process of finalising the itineraries for the tours of South Africa and New Zealand.

"It is under process. There are other tours also. We will come to you in due time," he said.

Regarding the controversy over India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's alleged conflict of interest issue, Dalmiya said nothing will be swept under the carpet.

"I had said nothing will be swept under the carpet, many were asking what happened to that...," he said.

"We have changed our mode of working. We don't believe you to be after any player or anybody. Therefore, the players will have to declare their interest in sports management companies."

The IPL spot-fixing scandal broke out when India pacer S Sreesanth, along with two other Rajasthan Royals players Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan and 11 bookies, was arrested for alleged spot-fixing in the IPL.

The contracts of the tainted players were terminated by their franchise, which also lodged a criminal complaint against them.

It snowballed into a crisis for the BCCI when Board president N Srinivasan's son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings team principal Meiyappan was arrested on charges of betting on May 26.

A internal probe panel, originally comprising former judges Chouta, Balasubramanian and the then BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale, was constituted on May 28 to investigate the allegations against Meiyappan, who maintained his innocence after getting bail.

Srinivasan, who owns the CSK franchise, remained defiant through the turmoil and refused to resign but had to step aside as BCCI President after a stormy emergent Board meeting on June 2 where Dalmiya took charge of an interim arrangement to run the Board's affairs pending the inquiry.

The upheaval led to the resignations of Board secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke, who asked for Srinivasan's resignation on moral grounds.

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News Network
April 7,2020

London, Apr 7: Bowling coach Waqar Younis feels that it was the absence of pacers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir which saw Pakistan getting whitewashed during Australia tour last year.

Amir and Riaz had quit the red-ball format ahead of the matches against Australia in 2019.

"Just before the Australia series, they ditched us and we had the only choice to pick youngsters.

We were the new management and decided to go on with taking in the younger lot and groom them. ESPNcricinfo quoted Younis as saying.

Pakistan was not able to win a single match in Australia as they got defeated both in T20Is and Test series.

"It's not like we have lost a lot, but yes they left us at the wrong time. But anyway, we don't have any grudge against them," Younis added.

"We cannot control players' choice on what they want to play, but then there should be a mechanism so we all are on board. "It's not like I am saying we could have won in Australia but we could have done better than what we have done," he opined.

Amir gave up the red ball format in July in order to manage his workload and extend his white-ball career for Pakistan as well as in T20 leagues around the world, while Riaz took an "indefinite break" from Test cricket in September last year.

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January 27,2020

Auckland, Jan 27: : K.L. Rahul made an unbeaten 57 Sunday to steer India to a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international and to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer put on 86 for the third wicket as India cruised past New Zealand's total of 132-5 with 2.3 overs to spare. Shivam Dube (13 not out) hit a six from the bowling of Tim Southeein in the 18th over to lift India to 135-3.

Iyer made 58 not out and Rahul 56 as India beat New Zealand by six wickets with an over to spare in the first match of the series.

New Zealand made 203-5 batting first in that match but on Sunday, on the same pitch, it struggled to achieve any real momentum. During the second match the pitch played much slower and India bowled expertly to restrict New Zealand's total.

Martin Guptill made 33 in a 48-run opening partnership with Colin Munro and Tim Seifert made an unbeaten 33 at the end of the innings but New Zealand wasn't able to reach a total that could stretch India's deep batting lineup.

Rohit Sharma (8) and captain Virat Kohli (11) were out relatively cheaply but Rahul and Iyer (44) sped India towards a comprehensive victory.

Dube came to the crease shortly before the end and quickly brought the match to a conclusion.

"I think we backed up the first match with a very good performance today, especially with the ball," Kohli said. "We demanded that the bowlers stood up and took control of what we wanted to do out there.

"I think our line and length and the way we wanted to bowl on that wicket, sticking to one side of the wicket and being shorter was a very good feature of us as a team and helped us restrict a very good New Zealand team."

New Zealand's total was inadequate, even on a slower pitch, and India almost toyed with the home side as it made its way to a comfortable win.

New Zealand named the same team that lost the first match of the series and batted after winning the toss, just as it batted when it was outplayed in the first match of the series.

The match raised further questions about the coaching and captaincy of the New Zealand team after its humiliating test series loss in Australia last month. New Zealand showed again Sunday it hasn't the talent to compete with the best teams in the world.

"As a batting unit we probably needed another 15 or 20 to make that total more competitive," said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. "But credit to the way the India side bowled, they're a class side in all departments and they put us under pressure throughout that middle period."

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News Network
May 8,2020

New Delhi, May 8: India skipper Virat Kohli believes cricket in empty stadiums is a real possibility in post COVID-19 world and though it is unlikely to have a bearing on the intensity of players, he feels the magic would certainly go missing.

Cricket Boards across the globe are exploring the option of resuming the sport in empty stadiums. There is speculation that fans could be kept away from stadiums in a bid to salvage the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is currently under threat due to the global health crisis.

"It's quite a possible situation, it might happen, I honestly don't know how everyone is going to take that because we all are used to playing in front of so many passionate fans," Kohli said in Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.

"I know it will be played at a very good intensity but that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are very difficult to recreate," he added.

Kohli said the many moments which are created because of the passion brought in by fans, would be missing.

"Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created.

"We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by," he said.

Cricketers such as Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Pat Cummins have backed the idea of playing behind closed doors.

However, legendary Australian Allan Border has said it would defy belief to host a World Cup without spectators.

Another Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and some other cricketers have also expressed similar sentiments.

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