SC allows Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI chief

October 8, 2013

BCCI_chiefNew Delhi, Oct 8: India's Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated N. Srinivasan as the country's cricket chief, but ordered him to stay away from a fresh spot-fixing probe to be monitored by it.

"Srinivasan can take over as BCCI president, but we have also formed a new probe panel to investigate the case," ruled A.K. Patnaik, one of the two judges who heard the case.

The court appointed a three-member panel headed by a former judge to investigate the scandal that has rocked the popular Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Srinivasan, 68, widely regarded as the most powerful man in world cricket, had been barred by the court from taking charge since his election as the BCCI chief for a third year on September 29.

Earlier, rejecting the BCCI's suggestion for a probe by a special committee into the scandal, the court on Monday had said it wanted an independent panel that will not only investigate the scam but also give recommendations to the Indian cricket board.

Senior BCCI office-bearers welcome Supreme Court order

The committee will be headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court chief justice Mukul Mudgal, with its other two proposed members being additional solicitor-general N. Nageshwar Rao and senior advocate Nilay Dutta, who is also vice president of the Assam Cricket Association.

The bench said the new panel will hold an independent inquiry into the spotfixing issue and submit its report to the apex court.

Top court says no to Arun Jaitley on panel

It may be recalled that earlier a probe panel comprising two former judges of the Madras High Court had been formed by the BCCI and IPL governing council, which gave a clean chit to BCCI president N. Srinivasan, his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and Mr Srinivasan's company India Cements, which is the owner of IPL team Chennai Super Kings.

This report, which had raised eyebrows, was quashed by the Bombay High Court. The SC had later upheld the HC's order. In their quest to paint a rosy picture about the health of Indian cricket, BCCI president N. Srinivasan and former treasurer Ravi Savant’s note in the Board’s Annual Report doesn’t have a single mention of IPL-VI spot-fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket.

Secretary Sanjay Patel’s two-page note has a passing mention of the spot-fixing and betting scandal involving big names and the BCCI president’s tainted son-in law Gurunath Meiyappan.

The Annual Report that has a dedicated page on Anti-Doping Methods and Age-Verification Process, also doesn’t mention IPL’s first Indian dope cheat Pradeep Sangwan’s name while it stated that “364 U16 cricketers failed age verification tests.” Former treasurer Savant’s note in the report also has ample indications that IPL-6’s sponsorships as well as ticket receipts have seen a drop from last year.

The 128-page Annual Report of BCCI has the controversial Tamil Nadu strongman terming the year as “memorable and eventful for Indian cricket”.

However, Page-3 of the report that carries the president’s note, only waxed eloquent about the achievements of the various cricket teams including the senior, ‘ A’ team, U-19 and U-23.

Srinivasan concluded his note stating, “IPL, in its sixth year, was a great success in terms of cricket content and attendance at all matches”.

Patel, in his secretary’s report (on Pages 5 and 6), never used the word “spot fixing” anywhere.

Instead, Patel wrote, “The BCCI responded strongly to crisis arising out of IPL-VI. The concerns have been addressed and continue to be dealt with and BCCI will do whatever is necessary to protect the game.” Only in Page 17 of the report, which contains the decisions of the Working Committee during the whole year there is a mention of a probe panel being formed to investigate into charges against Meiyappan.

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July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

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June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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