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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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Indian pacer S Sreesanth has slammed England all-rounder Ben Stokes for questioning MS Dhoni's intent during a World Cup match, saying that the former captain will end Stokes' career.

Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' had questioned Dhoni's intent during India's 31-run defeat at the hands of England in the premier tournament last year.

"For Ben Stokes, I will only say that you should pray that Dhoni does not play against you in the future. Dhoni does not forget things easily," Sreesanth said during a Live session on Helo.

"I wish Stokes all the best for whenever he faces Dhoni again, be it IPL or an England vs India match. You must be earning in millions now, Dhoni Bhai will end your career. Dhoni will strike the ball everywhere and he (Stokes) can never dismiss Dhoni. Before he (Stokes) opens his mouth, he should make sure to wear a helmet," he added.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding had also come out in support of Dhoni and said that the wicket-keeper batsman wanted to win the match against England.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding had said on his official YouTube channel.

"...It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 percent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," he had added.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

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News Network
May 4,2020

May 4: Yuzvendra Chahal is among the best leg-spinners in international cricket right now but he can be more effective with better use of the crease, says former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

Ahmed picked Chahal, Australia's Adam Zampa and Pakistan's Shadab Khan among the top leg-spinners in white-ball cricket.

"Chahal as been impressive. He is definitely among the top leg-spinners of the world. And I feel he would be more effective if he uses the crease a lot more," Ahmed said.

Ahmed, who has coached all around the world and is currently a consultant for his native team, said India's ability to take wickets in the middle-overs in the limited overs format through Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has been a game-changer for them.

Both the wrist-spinners were brought into India's limited overs set-up following the 2017 Champions Trophy. Though, of late, both Chahal and Kuldeep havn't been playing together.

"He (Chahal) can go wide of the crease at times. You got to be smart enough to understand pitches. If it is a flat pitch, you can bowl stump to stump," said Ahmed, one of the best leg-spinners Pakistan has produced.

"If the ball is gripping, you can go wide of the crease because you can trouble even the best of batsmen with that angle. That way your googly also doesn't turn as much as the batsman expects and you end up taking a wicket."

Chahal has taken 91 wickets in 52 ODIs at 25.83 and 55 wickets in 42 T20s at 24.34. He is not a huge turner of the ball but uses his variations very effectively.

Ahmed also feels the likes of Chahal and Kuldeep have benefitted immensely from former captain M S Dhoni's advice from behind the stumps.

"You have got to be one step ahead of the batsman. You should know your field position as per the batsman's strength. I always say attack with fielders not with the ball. If you understand that theory, you will always be successful," the 49-year-old, who played 52 Tests and 144 ODIs, said.

"India has become a force to reckon with in all three formats as it uses its bowlers really well. Dhoni was a master at getting the best out of his bowlers in limited overs cricket and now you have Virat Kohli."

He also said the art of leg-spin remains relevant more than ever.

"You need leg-spinners and mystery spinners in your team as they have the ability to take wickets at any stage of the game. I see a lot of them coming through in the next 10-15 years.

"Most batsmen now like playing express pace but with a good leg-spinner in the team, you are always in the game," added member of the 1992 World Cup-winning squad.

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