Dhoni silent on fixing; Scindia demands Srinivasan's resignation

May 29, 2013
Mumbai, May 29: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday was forced to join the silent brigade on the spot-fixing scandal even as calls for the resignation of BCCI?President N?Srinivasan began to emanate from within the board.

dhoni1Dhoni was bombarded with questions regarding the spot-fixing issue during Indian team’s departure press conference in Mumbai ahead of the Champions Trophy. But Dr R N?Baba, media manager of the BCCI, parried the queries, acting according to the diktat of the cricket board to not entertain any questions on the episode.

Ever since the scandal broke out, Dhoni, captain of the Chennai Super Kings team owned by Srinivasan, has not said anything on the issue and he did not address the media even at the IPL?final in Kolkata. On Tuesday, media personnel hoping to get the captain’s views were left disappointed lot. But the BCCI?could not prevent one of its own influential members from speaking out against Srinivasan.

Step down: Scindia

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Power Minister and the head of BCCI’s Finance Committee, urged Srinivasan to step down from the top job, at least till the enquiry against Gurunath Meiyappan — son-in-law of the board chief — was completed. Meiyappan was arrested last week for his alleged link with bookies.

“From my point of view, not for a second am I assuming that anybody is guilty. In the interest of propriety and in the interest of the game at this point of time when there is a question mark surrounding an individual, surrounding the team (CSK) and surrounding the manager of that team who happens to be a family member, I believe in all sense of the word propriety that Mr Srinivasan must step aside,” said Scindia.

Three-member panel

The day also saw the BCCI forming a three-member panel to probe the allegations against Meiyappan, India Cements Ltd (owners of CSK) and Jaipur IPL?Pvt Ltd (owners of the Rajasthan Royals). The three-member panel includes Sanjay Jagdale, secretary of BCCI, Justice Jayram Chouta, former judge of Karnataka and Madras High Courts, and Justice R?Balasubramanian, former judge of the Madras High Court.

Scindia was scathing in his criticism of Srinivasan. “If you consider the conflict of interest he is in, as one of his family members is alleged of wrongdoing, then propriety demands that he should step aside. I would have done the same had I been in his place. Willy-nilly we are responsible for the wrongdoing of our family members to some extent. Example has to be set from the top,” Scindia, who also heads the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, said.

“Let the inquiry take place and in the event that he is completely clear, certainly let him be reinstated. But at this time when cricket needs to be cleansed and when there is a question mark at the top, it would be in the interest of the game that Srinivasan steps aside,” Scindia added.

Former BCCI?president IS Bindra too had demanded Srinivasan’s resignation terming the Tamil Nadu strong man “an arrogant person and administrator.” However, Scindia’s comments might have come as a shock for Srinivasan as he became the first member within the BCCI?hierarchy to speak against the board president.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 23,2020

Dhaka, Jan 23: Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who is part of the Bangladesh squad traveling to Pakistan, posted a cryptic tweet before team's departure which raised a few eyebrows.

On Wednesday evening, Rahman took to Twitter to post a selfie along with his teammates before the team's departure and asked his followers to pray for them, writing: "Heading to Pakistan. Remember us in your prayers."

Bangladesh were earlier reluctant to travel to Pakistan. However, the officials of both the teams met in Dubai and it was after many deliberations, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) agreed to send their team for a cricket series.

Bangladesh will be playing three T20Is, two Tests and an ODI in Pakistan between January and April. The T20I series will be played from January 24-27 in Lahore, followed by the first Test from February 7 to 11.

Bangladesh will then return to Pakistan in April for the one-off ODI which will be played on April 3 and the second Test from April 5-9.

Senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim decided against traveling to Pakistan citing personal reasons. After that, five members of the Bangladesh coaching staff also pulled out of the tour.

Pakistan have also recalled the experienced duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, along with pacer Shaheen Afridi for the T20I series.

Squads:

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Kumer Das, MD Mithun, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: West Indies flamboyant batsman Chris Gayle has lashed out at former teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan calling him 'worse than coronavirus'.

Gayle, the colossal figure in the shortest format of the game blamed Sarwan for his departure from Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Jamaica Tallawahs.

The left-handed batsman joined St Lucia Zouks as their marquee player for the 2020 CPL season after Tallawahs chose not to retain him.

Gayle has played for Tallawahs and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the past. He has won the CPL title twice with the Tallawahs and played in the final with the Patriots in 2017.

"The owner of the franchise is a very nice man, I have no problem with him. I think he was actually persuaded to get rid of Chris Gayle," Gayle said in three parts on his YouTube channel.

"So someone has to be in his years telling him to get rid of Gayle. Sarwan, you are worse than the coronavirus right now. What transpired with the Tallahwahs, you had a big part to play.

Sarwan, you are a snake. You know, you are not the most loved person in the Caribbean. You are still stabbing people in the back," he added.

Gayle is the leading T20 run-scorer of all time as well as the man with the most centuries in the format. He is also the leading CPL run-scorer of all time, having amassed 2,344 runs in the tournament.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.