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
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)."

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 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.

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.