Supreme Court refuses to grant BCCI access to audio recordings of Srini and Dhoni's depositions before Mudgal committee

April 12, 2014

Supreme_BCCINew Delhi, Apr 12: The BCCI on Friday suffered a major blow ahead of the crucial hearing in the IPL betting-fixing case on April 16, with Supreme Court refusing to direct justice Mukul Mudgal committee to hand over to it audio tapes of depositions of India captain MS Dhoni and Board president N Srinivasan.

BCCI lawyer Aryama Sundaram vehemently argued before a bench of justice AK Patnaik and JS Khehar that they desperately needed the tapes before the hearing on April 16 when the court will continue hearing on plea for action against Srinivasan and Dhoni for their alleged involvement in the bettingfixing and further scrutinise their roles.

"We needed the audio recordings to prepare ourselves before the hearing on April 16. Only then we can satisfy your lordships regarding various aspects raised by opposite parties in the court and also to answer the questions which will be asked by the bench," Sundaram told the bench.

But Justice Patnaik retorted: "We will take up the plea on April 16 and if we feel that you need the tapes for your defence we shall adjourn the hearing by a day or two. At present we are not inclined to entertain the plea."

When BCCI sought the tapes, the lawyer of Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma submitted that the Board cannot seek copies of the transcripts on behalf of Srinivasan and Dhoni.

"How does the BCCI have the locus standi to ask for the tapes on the behalf of Srinivasan and Dhoni," Verma's lawyer Ajeet Sinha told the court.

He submitted that if the transcripts are supplied to BCCI then those should also be given to the CAB. BCCI had also sought the transcripts of statements by Sundar Raman, the Chief Operating Officer of IPL.

The bench had on the previous date of hearing on March 27 directed Srinivasan to keep away from the affairs of the BCCI till investigations against him was over and appointed former captain Sunil Gavaskar as the working president for IPL.

Former Test player Shivlal Yadav has been asked to look after the other affairs of the Board. It is to be noted that the Mudgal panel which probed into the spot fixing and betting in last year's edition of IPL stated: "MS Dhoni, N Srinivasan and officials of India Cements took the stand that Mr. Meiyappan [son in law of Srinivasan] had nothing to do with the cricketing affairs of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and was a mere "cricket enthusiast" supporting CSK."

It is these very comments that the BCCI wanted to verify from the tapes.

The panel which went deep into the malice of fixing and betting issues found that Meiyappan had placed bets, which was an offence as a team official had shared confidential information.

The court had said the panel was right in terming as "serious" the questions being raised on conflict of interest in Srinivasan being the BCCI president and CEO of India Cements when his son-inlaw Meiyappan is under a cloud.

Dhoni's name had cropped up for the first time on March 27.

Senior lawyer Harish Salve who represented petitioner Verma, the petitioner in the case who demanded a probe into the scandal argued that Dhoni was "corrupt" as he indulged in "cover up" and "gave false statement" before the Mudgal committee regarding the role of Meiyappan with the CSK.

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News Network
June 23,2020

Karachi, Jun 23: Pakistan cricketers Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and rookie Haider Ali on Monday tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed three players - Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan - have tested positive for Covid-19," said the PCB in a statement.

"The players had shown no symptoms until they were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men's national cricket team's tour to England."

The infected players will go into self-isolation.

"The PCB medical panel is in contact with the three who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation," the statement said.

Earlier this month, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was tested positive for the deadly virus.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Christchurch, Mar 2: India captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the under-fire Rishabh Pant has got a "lot of chances" but the team is not looking to try someone else in the youngster's place just yet as one player can't be singled out in a collective failure.

Pant has been under the scanner for the past one year because of his inconsistent run. His tally of 60 runs across four innings in the 0-2 Test series loss to New Zealand, which concluded here on Monday, has only amplified the debate whether it was prudent to leave out a keeper of Wriddhiman Saha's calibre and back Pant.

"...we have given him (Pant) a lot of chances in the home season as well starting from Australia. Then he was not playing for a bit. In turn he really worked hard on himself," Kohli came to Pant's defence after the series here.

"You need to figure out when is the right time to give someone else a chance. If you push people too early, they can lose confidence," he added.

"...collectively, we didn't perform. I don't believe in singling him out. We take the hit together as a group whether it's the batting group or as a team."

When asked if he believes Pant has taken his place in the side for granted, Kohli made it clear that the culture of this team doesn't encourage anyone to think along those lines.

"I don't see anyone taking his place for granted in this team. That's the culture we have set. People are told to take responsibilities and work hard. Whether it happens or not is a different thing. Then you can have a conversation with the players," he said.

"But no one has come here thinking I am going to play every game or I am indispensable," he added in no uncertain terms.

Kohli, just like head coach Ravi Shastri, made it clear that Pant can make a difference in overseas conditions and he won't like to deviate during future tours.

"The time that he didn't play, he really worked hard on his game. So we thought this is the right time because of his game and the way he plays because he can make a difference lower down the order.

"That was our planning behind it. We can't really fluctuate when it comes to what we planned," he added.

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Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

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