Business Council of Cricket in India (BCCI) [Archive]

littlemaster1982

9th December 2009, 03:00 PM

Team India may play more Tests, after all (http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_team-india-may-play-more-tests-after-all_1321667)

Even the MS Dhonis can breathe easy. India may get to play a few more Tests than expected, after all.

For the record, the Indian Board officials are careful to cite the current FTP obligations which, approved in 2006, runs till May 2012 but according to highly-placed sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India, moves are afoot to explore possibilities if a few Test matches can be squeezed in the existing Future Tours Programme (FTP).

The BCCI seems to have taken note of the media reports -- national and international -- against its 'reticence' to play Test matches. Sources say negative press apart, the Board itself is keen to give its team the best possible chance to maintain the newly-acquired No.1 status in ICC Test rankings.

The Board is trying to figure out the feasibility of tweaking the FTP. Everything is still at a planning stage and consent of other boards is also a necessity but recent history shows that few boards oppose a BCCI proposal.

Barring a two-Test series in Bangladesh next month, India are not scheduled to play any five-day games till the November 2010 home series against New Zealand. However, the BCCI has spotted windows of opportunities in the two home ODI series -- against South Africa in February-March and Australia in October when the sides are to play five and seven ODIs, respectively.

The options being thought of are conversion of both series into a two-Test and three-ODI arrangement.

Whether the BCCI officials have touched base with their counterparts in Cricket Australia could not be ascertained but Cricket South Africa has confirmed to DNA that it has received such a proposal from India.

"We have received a proposal from the BCCI to play two Tests and three ODIs when we visit India. We are looking into it," said Gerald Majola, the CEO of the South African board. When contacted, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said he is "aware" of the concerns but did not elaborate.

India have a packed schedule till the 2011 World Cup. Following the current Sri Lanka series, they are off to Bangladesh to play a tri-series besides the two Tests followed by a five-match ODI series against South Africa and also the IPL in March-April. Thereafter, the team is off to the West Indies for the World T20, followed by a likely tri-series in Zimbabwe and Champions League T20 in September. India then host Australia and New Zealand before going to South Africa in December for three Tests and five ODIs.

__________________________

There is some hope.

Plum

9th December 2009, 08:38 PM

Good!
This is the time to play more tests with oz and SA. With the combined might of experience(SRT, VVS, RSD, VS, MSD, ZK) and ambitious youth(GG,MV,IS, SS,MSD) and...er...the usual suspects(HS, YS), we can build up a good record over them
(as in "varalaaru miga mukkiyam")

littlemaster1982

10th December 2009, 12:09 PM

India’s tryst with history (http://www.tssonnet.com/stories/20091212500800400.htm)

Scaling the summit of Test cricket is a significant moment for India. Test cricket, the most complete and challenging form of the game, is back in the forefront of the nation’s cricketing consciousness, writes S. Dinakar.

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The Indian huddle after reaching the summit.</center>
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The wave of emotions that swept the arena after India’s epochal 2-0 series triumph over Sri Lanka overwhelmed even some of the battle-hardened senior Indian cricketers.

Sachin Tendulkar was hard-pressed to hide his joy. It almost seemed the maestro had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He would comprehend the sacrifices, the suffering his body had undergone, the mental effort that went into his cricket every day.

Rahul Dravid, the architect of several famous Indian triumphs abroad that proved so crucial in the team’s climb up the Test ladder, laughed and rejoiced.

The gentle V. V. S. Laxman, who along with Dravid orchestrated India’s revival in Tests on a magical day at the Eden Gardens in 2001, smiled from ear to ear, his teeth gleaming.

[html:fc0867e26e]<center>http://www.tssonnet.com/images/20091212500800402.jpg

Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan...spearheading the Indian attack.</center>
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Virender Sehwag, who once again raised the bar for attacking batsmanship with his spirit-lifting 293 at the historic Brabourne Stadium, was pleased as punch. And skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, an emerging leader of men, could not quite stop grinning.

There were high-fives and much back-slapping. The bowlers, often the neglected lot, were also in the thick of the celebrations. And the man who took five Sri Lankan wickets in the second innings, Zaheer Khan, was the toast. So was his pace partner, the rejuvenated S. Sreesanth.

Harbhajan Singh, his eyes seldom without a hint of mischief, and Pragyan Ojha joined in the merriment. Yuvraj Singh was gung-ho, while the young M. Vijay was soaking up the atmosphere.

Tendulkar invited the support staff to the arena. The huddle at the summit was a tightly bonded one.

Being No. 1 can be a heady feeling. This was a historic moment for Indian cricket. Test cricket, the most complete and challenging form of the game, was back in the forefront in the nation’s cricketing consciousness.

[html:fc0867e26e]<center>http://www.tssonnet.com/images/20091212500800403.jpg

Sehwag and Tendulkar’s commitment has been exemplary.</center>
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India’s place at the top in Test cricket, though, is tenuous. Considering the side is slated to play only a handful of Tests in 2010, it could be overtaken by the second and third placed teams, South Africa and Australia.

But then, Dhoni was in no mood to allow the moment to fly away. “We want to enjoy the occasion. We do not want to think too far ahead,” he said.

The Indian captain admitted that his team needed to play more Test matches to have a fair chance of maintaining its lead at the top. The Indians will stay No. 1 till the end of the year but the South Africans could regain the top spot if they overcome England 2-0 in the forthcoming Test series at home.

India’s achievement is the result of some committed work put in by the various coaches, the support staff, captains and a team that is now a fine blend of youth and experience. Significantly, India has begun winning away from home and away from the sub-continent. There has definitely been a turnaround in Indian cricket.

The period under Sourav Ganguly’s leadership put India on the path to the acme. Ganguly instilled the side with self-belief and understood the importance of building a worthy pace attack for India to compete hard and win outside the sub-continent.

Ganguly and John Wright had their differences but formed a healthy working relationship based on mutual trust. Indian cricket gathered momentum during this phase.

[html:fc0867e26e]<center>http://www.tssonnet.com/images/20091212500800404.jpg</center>
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In a series of dramatic swings in fortunes, India held Australia to a 1-1 draw in 2003-04. The Indian pace attack stung, while champion leg-spinner Anil Kumble picked heaps of wickets.

On pitches where the ball seamed and bounced, Dravid and Laxman conjured masterpieces. Tendulkar came into his own in the final Test at the SCG. Yet, what provided the Indian batting the psychological edge was Ganguly’s promotion of Sehwag to the opening slot.

Sehwag could demoralise attacks upfront, provide India the momentum and make batting easier for the other batsmen as well. He was a heavy-hitter who could badly bruise the new ball bowlers and carry on to make big scores. The run-rate when he was at the crease could rattle the opposition.

India, by now, had the batting might to put up match-winning totals on seaming tracks with bounce or in conditions where the ball swung. The victory over England at Headingley — Dravid batted in a masterly manner under cloud-cover on the first day at Leeds where there was appreciable movement for the seamers — is a case in point.

[html:fc0867e26e]<center>http://www.tssonnet.com/images/20091212500800405.jpg</center>
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India batted big in the first innings and then the combination of pace and spin ambushed England. Zaheer Khan, Kumble and Harbhajan all played their roles well. India’s world class spin combination of Kumble and Harbhajan was now backed by a telling pace pack led by Zaheer. India made significant strides in 2004. Defeating Inzamam-ul-Haq’s men 2-1 in Pakistan was a stirring achievement.

Sehwag’s astonishing triple hundred in the first Test in Multan is now a part of Indian cricketing folklore. This innings put India on course for a historic series win.

This was again a series where India struck with both pace and spin. And Dravid built an edifice, a monumental series-clinching double hundred, in the final Test at Rawalpindi.

Greg Chappell, an engaging personality, took over as India’s coach and the team continued to impress away from home. The pace pack was on the ball while Harbhajan and Kumble struck in the final Test of the 2006 series in the Caribbean to hand India a 1-0 win. On a spiteful Jamaica pitch in the decider, Dravid scripted a series-winning innings of great skill and character. Under Dravid’s captaincy — his contribution as skipper is often ignored — India won Test series in the West Indies and England.

Then India won its first Test on South African soil with Sreesanth sending down a probing spell of precise out-swing bowling at the Wanderers in 2006. These were significant steps for Indian cricket.

[html:fc0867e26e]<center>http://www.tssonnet.com/images/20091212500800406.jpg

M.S. Dhoni... leading from the front.</center>
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The Indian pace attack was humming with the likes of Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and R. P. Singh adding depth and quality.

Dravid abdicated his post as captain but Kumble led with dignity and cricketing nous. His leadership on the rather acrimonious tour of Australia in 2007-08 was admirable. By now, India had another young promising paceman in its ranks — the lanky Ishant Sharma.

He was sharp, extracted bounce and had a telling off-cutter. He made a distinct impression during India’s campaign down under. It was a series where India won the third Test at Perth, considered a paceman’s bastion. Ishant & Co. made life difficult for the Australian batsmen. Though India went down 2-1 in the controversial series, teams were now wary of preparing seaming tracks against India.

[html:fc0867e26e]http://www.tssonnet.com/images/20091212500800407.jpg[/html:fc0867e26e]

When India toured New Zealand last season, the pitches were batsman-friendly. India won the series 1-0. By now, another star had emerged. The left-handed Gautam Gambhir was making both match-winning and match-saving centuries, home and away. In a crucial verdict for India, the Australians were beaten 2-0 at home. Zaheer and Ishant probed and consumed front-line Australian batsmen with conventional and reverse swing, and the Aussie bugbear, Harbhajan, was also among the wickets.

Importantly, India’s top seven were putting runs on the board. And India had serious options with the ball. When Ishant went off the boil, Sreesanth was ready to step in.

Dhoni has been a strong captain and his Test record as skipper — 10 matches with seven wins and three draws — is an impressive one. And his chemistry with coach Gary Kirsten is just right.

India’s achievement is significant since only Australia and South Africa had become No. 1 since the ICC Test ratings were introduced in 2001. India has never clinched a Test series in Australia and South Africa, and winning in these two tough cricketing terrains is its next challenge. But first, India should play enough Test cricket.

The top slot brings with it responsibility as well. There can be no let-up in the levels of intensity.

littlemaster1982

10th December 2009, 12:09 PM

IN PRAISE OF TEAM INDIA

India must be very excited about the achievement which they should be extremely proud of. They have done really well over the last 12-18 months and deserve this position. Test cricket deserves a team like India to reach the top at some point of time and you cannot reach there without performing well.

— Haroon Lorgat, ICC Chief Executive.

This is a reflection of what we have been able to achieve in the last 20 months or so. It is great to be sitting on the top. We have worked hard and Gary has been very instrumental. The other support staff also deserve credit. Along with all this was the leadership of (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni and the team’s effort, so I would say that the whole team got together and worked hard.

— Sachin Tendulkar

This was not achieved through one or two individuals, but it was a long process and everyone has contributed, whoever has been a part of the side for the last 18 months. It has been a hard-earned achievement and it will be tough to maintain that at the same time.

— M. S. Dhoni, India captain.

Getting to number one is hard work. But they would have to work harder to stay there because others would try to knock them off the pedestal. They would have to be a lot more consistent but it’s not beyond them. They have got the skills and talent and it’s application which is not always 100 percent.

— Sunil Gavaskar, former India skipper and opening batsman.

Congratulations to all members of Team India for their superb performance. They have made it possible. It has taken a long time for them. Right now, it’s a proud moment to cherish and not look at the shortcomings.

— Bishan Singh Bedi, former India captain.

It is a wonderful victory. It is gratifying to witness a great effort by the team especially since it’s coming for the first time in history. There is going to be added pressure on the team now. We need to do a lot of home work now (in order) to sustain that position with the knowledge that other countries are also developing faster.

— E. A. S. Prasanna, former India off-spinner.

Dhoni and his men have realised the dream of past masters of the game like me. Each of us who has played for the country had dreamt of achieving the feat of being world number one in Test cricket. I congratulate the current bunch of Indian cricketers.

— Ajit Wadekar, former India captain.

They have grabbed the number one spot convincingly. In Kanpur they won it on a flat track. It was Sreesanth who won us the Kanpur Test and it is Zaheer Khan who has brought glory for Team India in the Mumbai Test. India has been pretty good in these last 3-4 years. I am very pleased with the effort they have put in to become the number one Test side in the world. Now, I want them to continue with their good run and maintain the ranking for the next couple of years.

— Javagal Srinath, ICC match referee and former Indian fast bowler.

Congratulations to Dhoni and his boys. Dhoni is as good as his team. The kind of team he has, it’s great. Had this team not been there, he would not have been that successful a captain that he is today.

— Ajay Jadeja, former India batsman.

It is well deserved and reflects the depth of talent of our cricketers.

— Pratibha Patil, India’s President.

ajithfederer

12th December 2009, 01:02 AM

South Africa in India 2009-10
India ask South Africa to play two Tests

Ken Borland

December 11, 2009

India claimed the No. 1 Test ranking, India v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Mumbai, 5th day, December 6, 2009
India became the No. 1 Test side after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 and are keen to play more Tests © AFP

Related Links
Analysis : India's spell at the top not in their hands
Series/Tournaments: South Africa tour of India
Teams: India | South Africa

Widespread fears over the future of Test cricket have been partly assuaged by the news that the BCCI has asked South Africa to play two Tests in India during their tour early next year, dropping two one-day internationals from the schedule to make space for the five-day matches.

India's change of mind - the tour was just going to comprise seven ODIs before being cut to five - came about after they ascended to the ICC's No. 1 ranking in Tests for the first time. Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola confirmed the request and said they were now trying to make space for the Tests, which would lengthen the tour by a week.

"They [India] have requested we play two Tests and three ODIs and we are still considering it," Majola said. "We still have to consult with the South African Cricketers' Association, the team management, our playing regulations and fixtures committees, as well as the board. It would extend the tour by another week, but we would like to accommodate them and I don't foresee a problem with it."

The dramatic about-turn came only four days after Majola was forced to issue a statement saying the Tests in India had merely been postponed, after a storm of criticism in South Africa that the No. 1 and 2 sides in the premier version of the game would not meet in that format.

It is believed CSA is calling on the sponsors of their Twenty20 domestic competition - the Standard Bank Pro20 - to agree to a postponement of their semi-finals and final by a week in order to accommodate the Tests in India and ensure the country's top players are back for the knockout stages of the Pro20.

The first round of Standard Bank Pro20 semi-finals are due to start on February 24, with the second round beginning on March 3 and the final on March 12. Those dates would all need to be shifted back by at least a week now, meaning the last two rounds of the four-day Supersport Series would have to be moved into April.

The two teams that advance to the Standard Bank Pro20 final land themselves a lucrative place in the Champions League Twenty20, so the franchises are understandably eager for their best players to be available.

India's newly-acquired position atop the Test rankings was under threat because they were only scheduled to play two Tests in the next 11 months, which explains its sudden interest in playing more Tests. Cricket South Africa has invariably tried to ensure they don't land on the wrong side of the BCCI, so it is likely India will get its wish and Test cricket will have a stellar showdown to look forward to.

http://www.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/current/story/438958.html

2 Tests is better than Nothing!! :clap:.

BCCI, Appadiyae pull the Oz's for a 4 test series :yes:.
[tscii:230888bb29][/tscii:230888bb29]

ajithfederer

12th December 2009, 01:16 AM

BCCI - Anybody with catchy or lollu abbreviations for BCCI and kusumbu poll ideas are most welcome.

ajithfederer

13th December 2009, 01:04 AM

South Africa in India 2009-10
South African players in favour of new schedule

Nagraj Gollapudi

December 12, 2009
Comments: 9 | Text size: A | A
CJ de Villiers took two early wickets to undermine England, South Africa A v England XI, Bloemfontein, November 10, 2009
According to SACA, the South Africans are keen to play less one-day cricket on their tour of India © Getty Images
Related Links
News : India ask South Africa to play two Tests
Series/Tournaments: South Africa tour of India
Teams: India | South Africa

The South African players have come out in support of the new schedule for their Indian tour next year which proposes two Tests and three ODIs instead of the originally planned five-ODI series. Following Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola's admission on Friday that it was possible to accommodate the BCCI's request, the South African Players Association [SACA] said the players were open and happy to play more Tests instead of ODIs on the tour scheduled for February-March 2010.

"We as players are actually in favour of that," Tony Irish, SACA's CEO , told Cricinfo. "We would prefer to go there [India] and play two Tests and three one-dayers rather than playing five-ODI series." Irish also said SACA had been aware of the BCCI's request because the players' body was closely involved in the planning and finalising of tour schedules.

Explaining the reasons behind the players favouring the new proposal, Irish said the most important factor was that the teams would get to play more Test cricket, which would be a boost for the longer form of the game. "Firstly we played so little Test cricket this year [2009] so we are keen to play [more] Test matches. Then we also want to play because India are No. 1 and we are No. 2. It is also good for Test cricket as this shows support for the longer version."

Players have been up in arms against the existing Future Tours Programme due to the the dearth of Tests in the calendar. This year India played just six Tests and are scheduled to play seven in 2010 (not including the proposed two matches against South Africa). That figure could be trimmed to five as the two Tests against Zimbabwe are yet to be finalised. South Africa are scheduled to play five more Tests in 2010 compared to the six in 2009. "We believe that it is vital to play as much Test cricket as possible because the players believe it is the pinnacle of cricket," Irish said.

Irish admitted that the last-minute request from the Indian board was not "ideal" but felt it was necessary to "compromise" for the betterment of Test cricket. "It is not ideal but scheduling in cricket is not ideal because of the way everyone is packing more and more cricket in. But there has to be a set of compromises and we are making some now in order to play Test cricket."

Asked if there were any concerns the players had Irish said they did not want to miss out on playing the Pro20, South Africa's domestic Twenty20 competition, and hence were keen that both boards try and work out the right dates to enable the players to get back in time to play the tournament. "One of the downsides is that our national players might miss the semi-finals and the finals of the Pro20 domestic competition," said Irish. "If that can be accommodated that will be good."

The first round of Standard Bank Pro20 semi-finals are due to start on February 24, with the second round beginning on March 3 and the final on March 12, so the CSA is trying to push back those dates by at least a week to accommodate the BCCI request. "There are a couple of issues about getting the dates right: we would need to arrive earlier than what was proposed by India," said Irish. "We would also need to get our ODI specialists early because there is a very small gap between the end of the proposed Test series and the ODIs."

Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo
RSS Feeds: Nagraj Gollapudi

http://www.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/current/story/439117.html

BCCI similarly pull the OZ's for a test series by scrapping the ODI Series next year :yes: [tscii:642d1f3a97][/tscii:642d1f3a97]

ajithfederer

13th December 2009, 01:45 AM

http://cricketsbestvideos.blogspot.com/2008/10/cricket-highlights-india-vs-australia.html

Laxman, Gambhir - :clap: :clap: :thumbsup:

Sourav

13th December 2009, 07:03 AM

Belated b'day wishes to modern cricket's michael beven yuvraj singh! :P

Dinesh84

13th December 2009, 11:50 AM

BCCI - Anybody with catchy or lollu abbreviations for BCCI and kusumbu poll ideas are most welcome.

Bank of Convicted Criminals in India :noteeth:

ajithfederer

15th December 2009, 03:26 AM

Pakistan keen on playing 'home' series in India (http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/439410.html)

The PCB is looking for ways to recover the US$47 million loss from the cancelled series against India.

Hell No!-

:lol:. Let's wait for some more nominesans!.

BCCI - Anybody with catchy or lollu abbreviations for BCCI and kusumbu poll ideas are most welcome.

Bank of Convicted Criminals in India :noteeth:

Plum

15th December 2009, 03:35 AM

AF, pls consult aNNan Bala Karthik for creative inputs immediat.

ajithfederer

15th December 2009, 03:36 AM

littlemaster1982

28th December 2009, 11:52 AM

[html:981adb8154]http://static.cricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/111900/111966.jpg[/html:981adb8154]

[html:981adb8154]http://static.cricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/111900/111967.jpg[/html:981adb8154]

MS Dhoni with ICC Test Championship Maze 8-) 8-)

hamid

28th December 2009, 03:12 PM

thread title :thumbsup:

Sourav

31st December 2009, 06:53 PM

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/441771.html

Kalyasi

1st January 2010, 07:53 AM

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/441771.html

Thala Ajith Maadri ye annanum Dressed for the Occasion...

Dinesh84

14th January 2010, 09:01 PM

BCCI 'not charitable', has to pay Rs 120 crore

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), world's richest board, will have to shell out a whopping Rs 120 crore in tax and pay a penalty too. The Income Tax department has revoked tax exemptions to the board saying there is nothing charitable about it.

An order to this effect was served on December 30 by the Exemptions unit of the department in Mumbai.

Tax exemptions had been granted to the BCCI on the grounds that promoting cricket was a charitable activity. The I-T department, however, said the board has now become totally commercial and its activities cannot called charitable as it has shared the profits of the commercial activities only on players salaries and operation of other ventures which bring in more business and money.

"The BCCI has become totally commercial and it is more into prize money for every run or wicket," the department said.

While revoking the exemptions, the I-T department has also accused the BCCI of changing its rules to include T20 matches without informing the department of this new commercial venture.

It further bolstered its case by pointing out that the BCCI had done little to develop infrastructure for cricket.

"The element of benevolence and promotion of the sport (cricket) was not found after the scrutiny of tax related returns," sources said.

The withdrawal of exemptions will happen from the assessment year 2006-07 and the amount of penalty will be calculated accordingly, sources said.

Howver, the Indian cricket board has said it will to appeal against the order of the I-T department.

"BCCI is a registered charitable institution. I am not aware under what circumstances they (the I-T Department) have made this assessment that we will have to pay Rs 120 crore as tax. However, we are yet to receive their order and once we get it, we will appeal against it," Board treasurer MP Pandove said.

The BCCI official said as of now, he had only learnt about the order through media reports.

"Once we get the order, we will study it and then go in for appeal," he said.

http://cricket.ndtv.com/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20100125766/story14012010_131900.html

Dinesh84

14th January 2010, 09:03 PM

"BCCI is a registered charitable institution. I am not aware under what circumstances they (the I-T Department) have made this assessment that we will have to pay Rs 120 crore as tax."

:banghead:

ajithfederer

18th January 2010, 11:34 PM

A taxing question for the BCCI

Does cricket make money to exist or exist to make money? The BCCI's dispute with the Indian tax authorities throws the old question into focus again

Gideon Haigh

January 18, 2010
Comments: 19 | Text size: A | A
Vijay Mallya speaks at a press conference during the IPL auction as Lalit Modi looks on, Goa, February 6, 2009
A significant line was crossed when the BCCI invited corporates to participate directly in the commercial exploitation of Indian cricket by owning IPL franchises © AFP

The name Kerry Packer is often invoked in the context of modern Indian cricket, the revolution being led by the BCCI being paralleled to the made-for-television spectacular conceived 33 years ago by the Australian plutocrat. It turns out that the parallels run deeper: like Packer, the BCCI doesn't like paying tax.

Packer spent much of his life fighting a running battle for the Australian Taxation Office, on the premise that anyone who didn't minimise their tax "wanted their head read". Now the BCCI is being challenged over tax exemptions claimed on the basis that its promotion of cricket is a "charitable" activity - a proposition as sustainable as the idea that the United Nations is about democracy, or that India is about curry.

Chances are, of course, the issue will fade away: someone will talk to someone, and some luckless official will have his arse kicked. The BCCI, insouciant as always, is simply saying nothing, leaving the Times of India to surmise that they "don't seem too worried". But to go with its challenge, the tax authorities have issued a fascinating and scathing assessment of the BCCI that raises a host of questions cricket has been studiously avoiding.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] has become totally commercial and all its activities are being carried on commercial lines," argues additional director of exemption Rita Kumari Dokania. "Cricket is only incidental to its scheme of things. It is more into prize money for every run or wicket, which is nothing short of a gimmick."

The BCCI has apparently twice altered its constitution to broaden its permissible activities - to, as Dokania adds, an utterly unsurprising end: "The conduct of certain activities and receipt of income from these activities clearly show that these activities are totally commercial and there is no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI. The characteristics of volume, frequency, continuity and regularity of the activities accompanied by profit motive on the part of the assessee have been held to indicate an intention to continue the activity as business." To the actual promotion of Indian cricket, the tax authorities estimate, the BCCI allocates just 8% of its stupendous revenues.

On the detail of the assessment, it is impossible to comment, because the BCCI's financial statements circulate only among its members - which, again, hardly savours of an open, inclusive and public-spirited institution. But the taxation position of the BCCI resonates with the philosophical dilemma of all modern cricket administrations, which can be condensed to a single question: does cricket make money in order to exist, or does it exist in order to make money?

Cricket in its history has done both, sometimes simultaneously, although generally one or other predominates. When English cricketers first came to Australia 150 years ago, it was primarily to make money; when Australian cricketers began reciprocating those visits, it was chiefly to satisfy a colonial longing to express both rivalry and fealty. Generally speaking, however, the boards of control that came to administer international cricket in the first half of the 20th century ran rather like the cricket clubs that provided their governance models, treating money as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. They did not build up reserves, they did not acquire assets, they did not even seek to maximise returns. On the last of these, in fact, did the diffusion of cricket depend. Had return on funds employed been a paramount concern to Australia and England, they would simply have played each other every year. There was a general acceptance that spreading the game was A Good Thing - even if it was not always done with grace and judgment or without a whiff of condescension. Nor was this creed honoured without a certain hypocritical piety, for honorary administrators believing themselves best placed to judge what constituted cricket's benefit looked severely on players agitating for better than subsistence incomes. If there was an end, however, it was chiefly that of national honour: on-field success, particularly in Test cricket. And the surprising aspect of this model is that, although some boards knew financial exigencies and some players led hardscrabble existences, there was always enough money to go round.

Everyone can suggest a date when this model bumped into modernity: 1963, with the abolition of amateurism; 1977, with the incursion of Packer; 1987, with the coming of the World Cup to the subcontinent; 1995, when the Indian supreme court freed the BCCI from the archaic Telegraph Act, enabling it to sell broadcasting rights to the highest bidders. But a very deep Rubicon was clearly crossed when the BCCI invited corporates to participate directly in the commercial exploitation of Indian cricket by owning IPL franchises, essentially issuing them licences to participate in a massively lucrative oligopoly. Reliance, India Cements, Kingfisher, Deccan Chronicle and other owners are not solely motivated by profit: ego, vanity, competitiveness, a gluttony for glamour, and even a spirit of adventure play a part. But a philanthropic concern with the long-term welfare of cricket? Would Shilpa Shetty have bought a minority interest in the Rajasthan Royals if she had expected its value to dwindle? And even if you did not regard the IPL as being about the enrichment of a privileged commercial and media elite rather than of cricket per se, the idea of the BCCI operating with charitable intent is so preposterous that only… well… a well-heeled tax lawyer could argue it.

There isn't a cricket board in the world reluctant to prostitute itself to Twenty20, with the most aggressive being those who need the money least: the England Cricket Board, happy to snuggle up to any spiv with a big billfold and a new helicopter, and Cricket Australia, eager to squeeze the Sheffield Shield for the sake of an even Bigger Bash

Yet these questions should not only be piled at the BCCI's door. There isn't a cricket board in the world reluctant to prostitute itself to Twenty20, with the most aggressive being those who need the money least: the England Cricket Board, happy to snuggle up to any spiv with a big billfold and a new helicopter, and Cricket Australia, eager to squeeze the Sheffield Shield for the sake of an even Bigger Bash. The BCCI at least had a rival, the Indian Cricket League, to counteract; the ECB and CA have no such rationale, except for some glib management-speak about "growing the game", building "new markets", tapping "cricket consumers", whereupon expenditure will presumably rise to meet income. To the question of how much money cricket needs in England and Australia, the answer seems to be: always more. This is the logic of late capitalism, mouthed unthinkingly; mixed with vestiges of muddle-headed paternalism and sentimentality, it persuades administrators that they are somehow acting in "cricket's best interests".

Running cricket in the era of KPIs and TRPs is a great deal more complicated than in the days when what mattered was winning the next match, the next series, the next tour. The temptation to set great store by perceived financial acumen is a great one - it provides a straight answer to the straight question of "How are we doing?" In fact, in key business disciplines such as disclosure, corporate governance, financial controls, strategic planning and contractual fidelity, the administration of cricket worldwide is generally abysmal. Until a week ago, the most recent set of ICC accounts on its website was for the year of 2007; there are now three cursory pages for 2008. But when the Pakistan Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board are among your rivals, it's not that difficult to look good by comparison.

All the same, the game's administration is becoming so absorbed in what it is doing that the reasons it is doing it seem to be slipping from consideration. It takes a reality check from a disinterested observer, in this case India's tax authorities, to convey the essence of change, as distinct from the fact of it. And for all that he perceived a "little bit of the whore in all of us", Packer himself grasped that not everything of value could be priced. What, an interviewer once tackled him, would he have given to represent Australia at sport? A million dollars? A billion dollars? "Anything," he said. Nobody had to ask him whether that was before tax or after tax.

Gideon Haigh is a cricket historian and writer
RSS Feeds: Gideon Haigh

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/444442.html[tscii:beb28812fe][/tscii:beb28812fe]

littlemaster1982

19th January 2010, 10:25 AM

The great Indian machismo crisis (http://www.cricinfo.com/page2/content/story/444066.html)

Krish Ashok

Indian cricket has a lot of lots of things. It has lots of money, lots of superstars, lots of victories in recent years, and lots to decide who gets to play, given the amount of young talent that's coming through the ranks from domestic cricket. What it lacks is machismo. Like with water in the Sahara, mortgages in the US, and sporting spirit in Australian cricket, Team India has had a machismo crisis.

Kapil Dev was the last Indian Randy Savage. They say that in his home state of Haryana, there is only one kind of culture: agriculture. But what does Kapil do? He gives us those shaving-cream ads and loses every last bit of his aura courtesy the sheepish grin exposed in them.

Every Indian from my generation has a series of iconic images imprinted in his mind, and none exudes machismo.

Take this famous one (http://www.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/story/281251.html) for instance. Aamer Sohail, World Cup 1996, sideburns and all, spanks Venkatesh Prasad for a boundary through cover in that uniquely inelegant style that he was famous for. He then walks down to the bowler and gives him the house number, street address and pin code for the location of the ball.

Amiable Venky gives Aamer a glare that could melt… um, already melted butter. He then walks back to his mark and prepares to bowl again.

Aamer uses the time to undergo a temporary lobotomy and the 12th man carries the part of his brain that was responsible for common sense, back to the pavilion.

Venky runs in to bowl… a toe-crushing, stump-dislodging yorker? No. Unplayable jaffa? No. 160-kph bouncer aimed at the head? No. Slowish, short-pitched, eminently hittable lollipop? Yes.

But thanks to the surgical procedure Aamer underwent prior to the delivery, the stumps fly, and India collectively thump their chests. Yeah. Take that, Pakistan.

There is more machismo in Aamer's "Go fetch" gesture a delivery earlier than Prasad's "Go back to the pavilion" point of the finger, despite the fact that India go on to win the match.

Contrast that episode with Shoaib Akhtar's yorkers to dismiss Tendulkar and Dravid in Kolkata (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63830.html), or Michael Holding's wicked over to Geoffrey Boycott at the Kensington Oval (http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/390871.html).

Look at our bowlers. All chocolate-boy 130-140 kph employees of the hospitality industry. Some of you will point to Harbhajan Singh, and I will point to his mien. Is that the face of machismo? Sorry. Get a bigger turban and reapply. Same advice to Sreesanth. I'd like to see a Karl Marx-like beard, true to Kerala tradition, and a little more consistency please. Sreesanth should also start competing with Andrew Symonds in beer-drinking contests and win. Till then, their antics come under the category "chutzpah".

Some will point out that Sachin's brutalisation of Shoaib (http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/390871.html) at the 2003 World Cup was as macho as it gets.

No. You don't get it.

Sachin may be the greatest batsman since Bradman, but he is no Viv. No chest hair, no chewing gum. Sachin uses a sniper rifle. Viv, on the other hand, walked over to his victim and clubbed him on the head. Repeatedly.

India has one of the greatest batting line-ups in the history of the game, and they are all humble, polite murderers of the cricket ball. One sometimes thinks they take prior permission from the bowler, with forms filled out in triplicate and duly notarised.

I want unseemly gloating, taunting, and shamefully shallow aggression.

Some will point to Sehwag, but till he starts wearing MGR-style tight t-shirts, making faces at the fielding team, and starts taking his helmet off against fast bowlers, just to let them know their offerings fall under the spin category as far as he is concerned, he will remain an avuncular assassin, not a bulldozing badass.

Barring Stuart Broad's over to Yuvraj Singh (http://www.cricinfo.com/twenty20wc/content/story/311684.html), and the spat with Freddie Flintoff an over earlier, there's mucho left to be desired on the macho front.

When we had manly bowlers, we had a talent problem. Madan Lal's run-up was faster than his delivery, and Chetan Sharma was born in the wrong continent, playing the wrong bat-and-ball game. Now we have the talent, and with it the advertising industry insisting that India has a preference for clean-shaven ad models.

Where's the guttural caveman growl when a wicket falls, or the enquiries about a batsman's lineage when he fishes outside off stump? I also propose that the team's shirts feature macho imagery - of wolves, Bengal tigers and marauding zombies, for instance.

I think I know how this problem can be fixed. How machismo can make a comeback.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Yes.

When he came on the scene, he was like Pantera's lead guitarist, wielding both axe and his spectacular mane. Somewhere along the way he let himself be unmanned. Now that he's the captain of the team, I want the hair back on MSD. And with it, the return of India's machismo.
__________________________________

:rotfl3: :rotfl3: :rotfl3:

Dinesh84

19th January 2010, 10:45 AM

:rotfl3:

ajithfederer

2nd February 2010, 10:34 PM

Opening Up: VVS Laxman
'Quite tough to be a Test specialist'

India news
India struggling to find quality spinners - Laxman

Cricinfo staff

February 1, 2010

India face a serious dearth of spin options, barring the three currently in the national side © AFP

Related LinksPlayers/Officials: VVS Laxman
Teams: India

VVS Laxman, the Indian batsman, has expressed concern over the lack of quality spinners on India's domestic circuit, a problem he feels will be a "worrying factor" for the Indian team. Speaking on Cricinfo's latest video show Opening Up, Laxman was more optimistic about India's batting reserves and was bullish on the survival of Test cricket.

However, his comments on India's spin talent pool will cause concern, given how large spinners loom in India's Test legend. Speaking on the gap between international and domestic cricket in India, Laxman said: "The Indian cricket team is struggling to find some quality spinners, apart from the guys who are playing. You will find that there is no bench strength as far as spinners are concerned. So definitely the quality of domestic cricket has come down in terms of the bowling department."

Later, speaking about young talent, Laxman repeated his concern. "I am really not happy with the bowlers I am seeing. I think the quality of bowlers, especially the spinners will definitely be a worrying factor for the Indian team."

Laxman was optimistic, however, about India's talent in batting, the likes of Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, who've had international experience, and Ambati Rayudu of Hyderabad. But he emphasised the key to success lay in the ability to play long innings. "I think Rohit and Raina are very good. Ambati Rayadu from Hyderabad has got very good potential," he said. "It's good that he has come back now, after playing in the ICL. It's just a matter of time; if he plays to his potential then he will make it to the higher grade. Rahul Dravid keeps mentioning about some players from Bangalore who are very talented. So it is a good future for India, as far as batting is concerned.

"I think for any youngster, you have to practice right from the younger days to [play a] long innings. And that's something that I don't see nowadays in the Ranji Trophy. I don't see too many double-hundreds, too many big hundreds. When we started off, there were lot of double-hundreds, not only from the Test cricketers but also domestic cricketers. I would definitely advice them to play long innings in the four-day format. And once they have the temperament, they can adapt to any form of the game."

Amid the growing popularity of the Twenty20 format, Laxman said Test cricket still remained the most sought-after version in the eyes of the players and dismissed any threats over its future. He added that the current generation of cricketers still rated Tests as the best determinant of one's quality. Instead, he expressed doubt over the survival of the 50-over version with the advent of Twenty20 cricket.

"Test cricket is still a very important form of cricket for all cricketers," Laxman said. "Even though Tests are becoming fewer, all cricketers, even the present generation, want to play more Tests. Everyone knows Test cricket remains the real test of a player's character, skill and temperament.

"Irrespective of how many runs they get in Twenty20 or one-day cricket, everyone feels that only when they do well in Tests will they have a stature in the game. Everyone knows that their ultimate reputation is in Test cricket."

The dwindling interest in 50-over cricket among fans and players alike, Laxman said, was an issue of concern. "I think one-day cricket will be under threat, because people want to watch good quality of cricket," he said. "Over five days they will watch some quality players playing against each other, so definitely Test cricket will stay. But one-day cricket will be under pressure, especially after the advent of Twenty20. I am sure ICC will take necessary steps to make it more interesting."

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/446525.html[tscii:4590727f80][/tscii:4590727f80]

ajithfederer

21st February 2010, 04:29 AM

Now BCCI wants Oz to play Tests

Impressed by India's domination at the top of the ICC Test rankings, the BCCI is now rooting for more Test cricket.

After convincing South Africa for a change in itinerary and play two Tests while decreasing the number of ODIs from five to three in the ongoing tour, the Indian board is trying to squeeze in some more Tests this year.

India are scheduled to play a seven-ODI series against Australia this year. BCCI, however, is now mulling to host two Tests. It has already informed Cricket Australia (CA) about the plan.

"We're certainly committed to more Tests And we're also keen to honour ICC's Future Tour Programme. We've already requested CA for two Tests and the board is waiting for a reply. Hopefully, CA will agree," a top BCCI official told 'The Times of India' newspaper.

India will play three Test matches against Sri Lanka away and will host New Zealander at the end of the year. But before October, if CA agrees to BCCI's request, the Tests could be played, but only at the cost of a few ODIs. That is because CA only has a 25-day window, which is tailor-made for seven ODIs.

To accommodate two more Tests means extra days - at least 16 days - which the CA doesn't have. So, BCCI may be left with an option of curtailing the number of ODI matches. In that case, the ODI series could be reduced to five ODIs or may be curtailed to three ODIs if CA doesn't agree to extra tour days.

Also, the Australian team think-tank will have to give its consents to play Tests in India first before CA says 'yes'.

If CA agree for three ODIs and two Tests, the series will last for 25-days. "For every ODI you have to keep three-day and if India and Australia are playing five One-dayers and two Tests, it means 31 days," the official pointed out.

But seven ODIs and two Tests are perfect for BCCI. After all, it's through ODIs that a large part of the country gets to watch live action, as the matches are hosted on rotational basis. "We have to see how the Australian reply and based on that, we can plan the series," the official said.

http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/news/detail/item399958/Now-BCCI-wants-Oz-to-play-Tests/

Good initiative by BCCI :clap:.

ajithfederer

21st February 2010, 06:50 AM

The rot in rotation

India's rotation policy, which allocates Tests to venues, is obsolete and needs ruthless, radical change

Sidharth Monga

February 19, 2010
Comments: 60 | New! Login via | Text size: A | A
The Eden Gardens crowd erupts as another South African wicket falls, India v South Africa, 2nd Test, Kolkata, 1st day, February 14, 2010
Eden Gardens, unlike some other venues, was packed on all five days of the Test © Associated Press
Related Links
Matches: India v South Africa at Kolkata
Series/Tournaments: South Africa tour of India
Teams: India

Harbhajan Singh was low, beat up; he'd had a catch dropped off his bowling and couldn't buy a maiden, let alone a wicket. Then, in his 16th over, he got a top edge from Jacques Kallis, saw VVS Laxman take a catch running back, looked towards the crowd, raised his arms, and saw the crowd rise in sync.

In his next over, with 35,000 behind him, he took two wickets in two balls. The 35,000 appealed with him for both those wickets and celebrated with him when the appeals were upheld. Twice he went on celebratory runs, towards his friends, the Eden Gardens crowd, who made him believe he could get a wicket every ball. They were the fabled 12th man - intimidating the batsmen and making Harbhajan a completely different bowler from Nagpur.

Imagine Harbhajan getting on a similar roll in Nagpur, creating momentum, celebrating wildly, trying to get the crowd into the batsman's ear, going on those runs towards the stands. He would have been greeted by empty blue upholstered chairs, and the air-conditioned boxes, marginally better populated with the board president's guests.

Take his home ground, in Mohali. If he went on his celebratory run there, he would have seen sunlight bouncing off uncovered and unsurprisingly empty stands. Sachin Tendulkar knows that feeling: he broke Brian Lara's record for most Test runs in front of practically nobody in Mohali.

Add Ahmedabad, where the turnout is a little better, but still disappointing, and you have three regular Test-match venues in India where Test cricket gets short shrift. Play an ODI or a Twenty20 and people - despite the uncovered stands, despite the distance from the city - throng the same stadiums.

Between this last Kolkata Test and the one before that, at the end of 2007, six Tests have been played in Nagpur, Mohali and Ahmedabad. During those matches, Tendulkar overtook Lara, India completed a series win over Australia, Rahul Dravid engineered a stunning comeback from 32 for 4. Still this Kolkata Test alone was probably watched by more people than all six others put together.

To watch those six Tests was to find some merit in the view held by the rest of the world that India - the country, not the team - doesn't care about Test cricket. To watch the one at the Eden Gardens was a pleasant reassurance that India did. That Test cricket was alive and kicking in India, the only place able to draw more than 100,000 - the figure when Eden Gardens is not undergoing renovation - to a Test match.

Harbhajan paid his friends at the ground a fitting tribute: "In Test matches, we don't even get crowds, but Eden [Gardens] is probably the best ground, as you get the crowds for the whole five days. It does not matter whether India is batting or bowling."

That sentiment, doubtless shared by Harbhajan's peers, cuts no ice with the BCCI's rotation policy: The Test against South Africa was the second at Eden Gardens since March 2005. Whether this is because of board politics - the lack of Tests coincides with a shift in power from Jagmohan Dalmiya to Sharad Pawar and Shashank Manohar - is immaterial now: the policy is obsolete anyway and needs ruthless, radical change. The purest form of the game, generally reckoned to be an endangered species nowadays, should be played at venues that care for it.

So, it is time to strike Nagpur, Mohali and Ahmedabad off the list of Test venues. The logic is simple: There is a clear mismatch there between the crowds and Test cricket. The crowds in Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, even Kanpur, and to a lesser extent Delhi, support Test cricket with their presence in the stands and should each get a match every year. They are not necessarily the best stadiums but the players will trade in the advantages - the state-of-the-art facilities, the hospitality, the indoor nets - for a large, appreciative, knowledgeable crowd that creates atmosphere. And that's true of hosts and tourists.

It will, for one, restore some of the sanctity previously accorded to the Test-match schedule. In a recent piece in the Hindu, S Venkataraghavan, the former India offspinner, wrote about the Pongal Test in Chennai. "In Madras, this festival [traditionally in mid-January] used to be synonymous with Test cricket at Chepauk," he wrote. "Schedules were carefully drawn so that a Test match was played at Chepauk during the season."

That is like the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests in Australia and South Africa, annual events that people plan for months ahead. The last time Chennai saw a Pongal Test, though, was in 1988, and there have been only 10 Tests there since. With nine venues and only five or six home Tests a year, it is impossible to develop this sort of a certainty. Take out three venues and Test cricket can become an annual event in the venues where it is cherished: Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kanpur (with improved facilities) and Delhi.

Tendulkar is currently three short of 50 Test centuries. If he reaches the landmark in, say, Australia or England, thousands will stand and applaud. In Mohali, a couple of schools will promise their kids free lunch and send them to the staidum for a two-hour outing. The visiting team will be confounded by the callousness of the people. Let's rule out that possibility. Especially when there is another city willing to sell out a stadium meant to take in 90,000. Whether India is batting or bowling.

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/449096.html[tscii:4d048f27b8][/tscii:4d048f27b8]

Plum

21st February 2010, 08:25 AM

Glad to see the new-found test mania of bcci.
3 test-Avadhu irundhA nallA irukkum oz-Oda.
Let's hope acb agrees.

As for rotation, nothing can be done in thanks to the weaknesses of democracy. Actually, in the long term, it makes sense from marketing perspective to establish a tradition of, say,
Pongal test at chepauk
Durgashtami at eden
Maybe, christmas at mumbai
(While on that, the excellent dy patil is going waste)
??? at bangalore.

This ensures that even when the cricketing quality goes down, tradition drives people to buy tickets - like the ashes, where even when the quality is low like this year, hype and drama will bring in peoplem But bcci cannot think that long term
Just like WI's dominance in Cricket came to an end because of lack of long term planning, our financial dominance will also go suddenly due to the same reason. AppO aus and eng Eri midhippAnga and they'll humiliate india ruthlessly - and unlike now, there will be noone to complain or question that

Sourav

24th March 2010, 07:43 AM

Is there any thread 4 T20 WC?

Squad for T20 WC: M S Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, S Sreesanth, Sudeep Tyagi, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Piyush Chawla, Abhimanyu Mithun, Manish Pandey, R P Singh, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin.
Murali Vijay... :lol: Rayudu, S Tiwary, Utthappa, I Pathan... these guys r very promising... ipl mudinjathaum ivanga performance paathutu squad-la sertha cuppu namakku than. :yes: Mithun ellam BRC-laye sekka mattranuga. Munaf Patel? sreesanth, he gives 20 rpo in every match.... a nayar? ivanukku ennachu? injured?

sankara70

24th March 2010, 12:44 PM

BCCI ku ivlo profit varuthe

enna panranga-

Atha pathi news velia varamatenguthe

Therinchvanga solungalen

Sourav

26th March 2010, 07:05 AM

http://www.punemirror.in/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=7&contentid=2010032520100325233917383894a029f&sectxslt=

ajithfederer

15th April 2010, 06:09 PM

Enough with the secrecy

The Kochi franchise ruckus may finally force the BCCI into being transparent. About time too

Jayaditya Gupta

April 14, 2010

Shashank Manohar at the ICC's board meeting, Dubai, October 14, 2007

Shashank Manohar and the rest of the BCCI can't afford to sweep the latest mess under the carpet © International Cricket Council

Finally, it has happened - perhaps by accident than by design, but happened nonetheless. The world's fastest-growing sports league, recently valued at $4.1 billion, has revealed the shareholding pattern of one of its two new franchises. Lalit Modi has done the right thing in the wrong way - on his Twitter feed instead of in front of the media - and for reasons unknown, and there are at least three other franchises whose ownership pattern we would love to know.

But it's a start.

One of the main issues with the IPL has always been its transparency; not its threat to the rest of cricket, not its arrogance, nor even the obscene and slightly unreal regularity with which it announced multi-million-dollar deals, but its penchant for grey areas. So far the rest of the cricket world has played ball - and those who can't join 'em beat themselves in frustration. Now, though, the time has come for a change.

In its only official reaction to the Kochi case - the charges levelled by Shashi Tharoor against Lalit Modi, the letter from BCCI president Shashank Manohar to Modi and the latter's response - the BCCI has said it will meet within 10 days and discuss all pending issues. This is not good enough - and not just because one can predict the fate of such "discussions". There is, simply put, too much at stake - the reputation of some of the most powerful men in world cricket, to begin with - and too much muck flying around.

The charges against Tharoor are best handled by the political system; they are not really germane to cricket, except where they show up the inadequacies of the BCCI's/IPL's basic auditing and safeguarding process. Far more threatening to it are the charges levelled against Modi, a man who has, almost single-handedly, created a billion-dollar industry and changed the nature of cricket, a man whose genius - there is no other word - has transformed the lives of hundreds of people directly connected with the game, and thousands, millions, at several removes.

Yet such is the gravity of Tharoor's charges that, should they stick, all of that could be in danger - all those million-dollar deals, the billion-dollar valuations, the TV ratings, the de facto primacy of Twenty20 over other forms of cricket. Everything is at risk.

What does Tharoor - no ordinary member of the public but a minister in the federal government and formerly the No. 2 at the United Nations - accuse Modi of? These are extracts from his statement issued overnight: "Attempts were made by Mr Modi and others to pressure the consortium members to abandon their bid in favour of another city in a different state…" "His extraordinary breach of all propriety in publicly raising issues relating to the composition of the consortium and myself personally is clearly an attempt to discredit the team and create reasons to disqualify it so that the franchise can be awarded elsewhere." "The unethical efforts that have been made by Mr Modi and others to thwart the Kerala franchise which had been won fair and square in a transparent bidding process are disgraceful."

What Modi is being accused of is, effectively, subverting the rules of his own game, undermining the very system he had set up. It's one thing if he was the sole player - quite another when the stakes are as high as a $333.3 million franchise. It is for this reason that the BCCI - the custodian of the IPL and all Indian cricket - needs to act fast. This is a stone cast not just at Modi but at every individual on the IPL governing council, every member of the BCCI's working committee - and, by extension, every single person who has any stake in the IPL. And, indeed, the media.

For too long Indian cricket has been living in an unreal world. Unreal at various levels - the entire notion of the Indian board being a trust (and so saving millions of dollars in taxes), instead of a corporate entity sitting on a billion-dollar empire, or the notion of the IPL being a "domestic league"

This is not about one deal - the implications are far more serious. That is why it is important to get the truth out in the open, and get it out fast. This cannot - more importantly, should not - be brazened out, as is the BCCI's standard operating procedure in the face of any threat. This time the threat comes not from a clearly identified foreign board; it is from much closer home.

There are far too many questions surrounding the auction of the two franchises. Why was the auction deferred on the day it was supposed to have been held? The explanation for the deferment given at the time was that the financial clauses were too stringent. Was that not an issue in the days and weeks before that? The new bids were opened on March 21; the agreement with the Kochi consortium was signed on the night of April 10 - 20 days later. Why the delay? Correspondence between Shashank Manohar and Modi suggests the issue of ownership had been discussed - and questions raised - long before the shareholding pattern was revealed on Sunday afternoon. If there were doubts over the credibility of the successful bidders, could that not have been sorted out before the bids were opened? Could due diligence on the bidders not have been done? I am no legal or financial wiz, but it does strike me as common sense to do a basic fact-check before allowing someone to sit at your table and share in a very lucrative pie.

For too long Indian cricket has been living in an unreal world. Unreal at various levels - the entire notion of the Indian board being a trust (and so saving millions of dollars in taxes), instead of a corporate entity sitting on a billion-dollar empire, or the notion of the IPL being a "domestic league". It is time to get real, to play the part of one of the world's leading sports tournaments, among the most innovative and certainly among the richest. Forget the money, there are too many livelihoods riding on the IPL.

What should the BCCI do now? That's the tricky question. The Indian board doesn't have the credibility to ensure a thorough investigation of the Kochi case from within - that job could, given the money involved, be handed over to criminal investigators, as the opposition party, the BJP has suggested - but it could set the ball rolling by ensuring the nine other franchises declare their ownership structure. And making public its own accounts.

The regime of Manohar and Srinivasan, which has ruled over the Indian board for the past two years, has been likened to the Kremlin for the secrecy with which it operates. Well, now is the time for some perestroika and some glasnost.

Jayaditya Gupta is executive editor of Cricinfo in India
RSS Feeds: Jayaditya Gupta

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/456000.html

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MADDY

15th April 2010, 07:22 PM

sathya_1979

15th April 2010, 07:27 PM

MADDY

15th April 2010, 07:37 PM

its a shame that Mr.Manmohan hasnt still stepped up and dissolved IPL/BCCI in wake of clear proofs of prostituion/underworld/hawala money involved in IPL along with his external affairs ministry.........BCCI should be banned with immediate effect - ennayya nadakkudhu
Maddy, avarukku adhai vida pala mukkiyamaana velai irukku - Our patience is running out - statement no 12372437431475814759814 to Pakistan, India is growing at 451237% to Aam aadmi etc etc

:lol: really sorry state of affairs....

sathya_1979

15th April 2010, 07:47 PM

Yeah Yeah! Forget all these, watch IPL for time pass and let's get back to work. Ambuttudhaan naama seiyya mudiyum. We all know we cannot do more than this (Seiyya mudiyumnu nenaikkiravanga seiyyalaam). What to do, there is a proverb in thamizh:
ஆமை புகுந்த வீடும் அமீனா புகுந்த வீடும் உருப்படாது.
Change it to:
அரசியல் புகுந்த இடம் உருப்படாது

Thirumaran

15th April 2010, 07:51 PM

sathya_1979

15th April 2010, 07:54 PM

its a shame that Mr.Manmohan hasnt still stepped up and dissolved IPL/BCCI in wake of clear proofs of prostituion/underworld/hawala money involved in IPL along with his external affairs ministry.........BCCI should be banned with immediate effect - ennayya nadakkudhu

:shock: What is this about? Any Links Maddy?
Intha naattu nadapayae gavanikkaratha vittaachu :sigh2:
Nallathaa yethaachchum nadanthaa thaanae Gavanikarathukku :|
Vaasthavamaana pechu :D Vara Vara news channel, news paper edha paathaalum tension aagudhu. Munna ellaam oru vaarathukku oru breakingew news varum, ippo ovvoru secondkku oru breaking news, idha paathu tension aagi naama nervous break-down aagiduvom :D

Thirumaran

15th April 2010, 08:01 PM

Munna ellaam oru vaarathukku oru breakingew news varum, ippo ovvoru secondkku oru breaking news, idha paathu tension aagi naama nervous break-down aagiduvom :D

yeah..

Breaking news:
Gayle hits 10 sixes in IPL.

Breaking news :
Sania Mirza getting married Today.

Who knows, May be after 3 weeks..
Breaking News:
Sania Mirza is Pregnant. 5 more months for the baby to arrive..

Intha news Channels panrathellaam kaevalamaa irukku :sigh2:

ajithfederer

15th April 2010, 08:08 PM

:lol:

sathya_1979

15th April 2010, 08:13 PM

Thirumaran

15th April 2010, 08:27 PM

Yuvi

15th April 2010, 08:35 PM

Breaking news :
Sania Mirza getting married Today.

Who knows, May be after 3 weeks..
Breaking News:
Sania Mirza is Pregnant. 5 more months for the baby to arrive..
Intha news Channels panrathellaam kaevalamaa irukku :sigh2:
How is this possible? :shock:

I am not the right person to answer this :roll:
:lol:

Gounder: enda enna paathu andha kezhviya kettae..
...
...
Gounder: itthana paeru irukkumbodhu enna paathu endaa andha kezhviya kettae

sathya_1979

15th April 2010, 08:37 PM

:rotfl: TM senja postkkudhaan naan viLakkam kEttEn, vera edhuvum Kekkala!

ajithfederer

3rd May 2010, 02:02 AM

The IPL Mess
The charges against Lalit Modi

Cricinfo staff

April 26, 2010

Text size: A | A After the IPL governing council meeting, BCCI president Shashank Manohar was elaborate in his explanation of the charges against Lalit Modi, which compelled him to suspend the league's chairman. The allegations involved the bids for Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, the broadcasting deal and the reported facilitation fee, rigging of bids for new franchises in 2010, the sale of internet rights, and Modi's behaviour. Here is the excerpt from Manohar's press conference.

Shashank Manohar explained some of the charges against Lalit Modi © AFP

Related Links
News : BCCI meeting endorses IPL council decisions
News : Modi in Delhi, consults legal experts
News : Our structure transparent - Rajasthan Royals

In Focus: The IPL Mess
Players/Officials: Shashank Manohar | Lalit Modi
Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League
Teams: India

Initial bids for Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab: "There is a charge sheet already issued to him [Modi, by the IT department]. There was a company based in the UK by the name of Emerging Media IPL. The company was owned by a single individual - Manoj Badale. The company was started four months earlier to the bid. His bid was accepted. However the agreement is signed with Jaipur IPL [Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited]. There is an interesting fact to be noted: this is a company wherein there were only two stakeholders at the time the agreement was signed. The two stakeholders were one Mr Castelinho and Bal Thakur.

"Now the bid is given by A, the document signed by B, who had nothing to do with the bid. Then, separate companies have come in, who have registered in Mauritius. Mr Modi made a statement that the entire world knows [who the stakeholders] in the franchises are. But even the members of the governing council were not aware. As I said, in the Rajasthan Royal franchise, Jaipur IPL is the main company. The shares of these two persons are then sold and transferred to certain individuals and certain companies like Tresco and Blue Waters. Nobody knows what Blue Waters and Tresco is. Now, I did not find in the shareholders' register the names of Mr Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, who claim to be the stakeholders.

"There is a clause in the agreement, which is entered into with all the franchises, that in case you transfer your shares, the transfer has to be made with the permission of the IPL and the board is entitled to have 5% of the amount of the transaction as their fees. Now nothing of this [sort] has happened. So we are asking an explanation, if A gives the bid, how do you sign agreement with B? How does (sic) all these people get into this? None of us are aware and we don't know who these companies are."

Kings XI Punjab: "When the bids were given, it was signed only by Preity Zinta. She said she will form a consortium with three people: Mohit Burman, one Mr Karan Paul and one other name. When the franchise agreement was signed by her, she did not have a single share in that company. The shares were transferred to her after the signing of the agreement. Then Mr Gaurav Burman gets in and the rest (of the things happen). Again the same logic should be applied: you need to have the consent of the IPL and the fee. But once again nothing happened."

Broadcasting rights: "For example, there is an allegation that a facilitation fee was paid. But the board does not have the document. Now, this deal happened between MSM (Multi Screen Media) Singapore and WSG Mauritius, so there is no reason why this document would be present with the board. So since I don't have this document with me, I don't see any reason why we should be aware of this. Now, if you take Rajasthan Royals, people are saying there is benami (proxy) funding in the franchise. So if the funds are coming from Mauritius, or if the funds are coming from Virgin Islands, I do not have any machinery to find out where the funds are coming from. So I cannot see whose funds are coming from where. Now Income Tax (department) and Enforcement Directorate are investigating these matters and, when they gave us the notice, only then we became aware of it.

"The original document of the Sony broadcasting deal, we don't have in our possession. The income tax authorities are asking for it, but we can't supply it because we don't have it. All the documents of the execution are with Lalit Modi."

Rigging of franchise bids in 2010: "There is no question of irregularities with regard to the two new franchises. Because of the bid conditions, which were unreasonable when the first tender was issued, the governing council took a decision to cancel. As far as the two new bids are concerned, there is no irregularity as far as the board is concerned. There is a complaint made by the Kochi franchise that they were arm twisted by Modi to surrender their rights in favour of somebody else."

Internet Rights: (This was the only charge which Manohar was not asked about, and he did not dwell on its details.)

Behaviorial Pattern: "[This relates to] confidential information of the board being leaked to the media. I have always maintained this: the board functions within the four walls of this building (Cricket Centire, BCCI headquarters). If you have to leak everything to the media then you might as well hold this meeting at the Oval ground (Churchgate)."

http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/story/457373.html
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ajithfederer

3rd May 2010, 02:03 AM

The IPL mess
BCCI meeting endorses IPL council decisions

Nagraj Gollapudi

May 2, 2010

Text size: A | A
Jagmohan Dalmiya raised the issue of the distribution of the IPL's revenues © AFP

Related Links
News : Modi in Delhi, consults legal experts
News : The charges against Lalit Modi

In Focus: The IPL Mess
Players/Officials: Lalit Modi
Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League
Teams: India

The BCCI's working committee, meeting for the first time since the IPL controversies broke out three weeks ago, has unanimously approved all the decisions taken by the IPL governing council last Monday. Those include the specific decisions pertaining to Lalit Modi, the suspended chairman.

The governing council had, at that meeting, served Modi a showcause notice and given him 15 days - expiring on May 11 - to respond to the five specific charges pressed on him. The charges relate to the 2008 bids for Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, the broadcasting deal and the facilitation fee, rigging of bids for new franchises in 2010, the sale of internet rights, and Modi's "behavior".

While the endorsement of those decisions was said to be unanimous, an otherwise routine meeting took a surprising turn when Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, raised the issue of the distribution of the IPL's revenues. Dalmiya's control of the BCCI ended in 2005 when his candidate, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, was defeated by Sharad Pawar, with the help of Modi and Shashank Manohar, the current board chief, and he has maintained a relatively low profile since then.

At Sunday's meeting, held at the BCCI office in Mumbai, Dalmiya's is believed to have sought details on the mechanism of how the IPL money was distributed at various levels including the franchises and the staging associations. He was asked to submit a written query, which would be discussed in the near future. "Yes, what you heard is correct," Dalmiya told Cricinfo, when asked if he'd sought a break-up of the IPL monies.

It is also understood that Dalmiya held a separate informal meeting afterwards, with Manohar, N Srinivasan, the board secretary and Arun Jaitley, the president of the Delhi association and a member of the disciplinary committee that will handle the Modi issue. The discussion is believed to have included the controversial IPL broadcasting issue, which involved a facilitation fee of $80 million paid by Multi Screen Media Singapore to World Sports Group Mauritius (who had bought the original global rights when the league was formed). Dalmiya, it can be recalled, was the man who brokered the first big TV deals for the BCCI and organized the two World Cups to be held so far on the subcontinent.
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo

Feeds: Nagraj Gollapudi

http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/story/458202.html
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ajithfederer

8th May 2010, 02:55 AM

http://static.cricinfo.com/db/DOWNLOAD/0000/0055/show_cause_notice_dt_6_5_10.pdf

satissh_r

21st May 2010, 11:10 AM

BCCI needs to rethink county ban on players

Not so long ago, Ishant Sharma , S Sreesanth, R P Singh, Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan were an integral cog in the Indian bowling attack.

But things changed drastically over the last couple of seasons. All these fast bowlers were not only dropped from the Indian squad, but also ignored for the upcoming India A tour to England.

Worse, all of them, and a few others, were denied permission to play in the ongoing English county season.

Piyush Chawla (Sussex), Irfan Pathan (Essex and Yorkshire), S Sreesanth (Warwickshire), Ishant Sharma (Kent and Hampshire), Amit Mishra (Worcestershire) and Virender Sehwag (Northamptonshire) evoked interest from the counties, but were forced to turn down offers.

Over the years, Indian players, particularly fast bowlers, used English county cricket as a good tool to prove fitness after injury lay-offs or keep themselves in shape during the Indian off-season.

But, strangely, this year the Board of Control for Cricket in India refused all it's contracted players the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in England. Their reasoning -- a season of county cricket, which stretches to nearly three months, can take a toll on the players with a busy international schedule ahead and also keeping the 2011 World Cup in mind.

The BCCI want all its players to train at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under a team of specialised coaches and physical trainers.

"We want our players to use their time in training and fitness. That is why we have said no to all our contracted players.

"There is lot of pressure on overseas players in county cricket. And the fringe players will not get enough rest," BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty had told The Indian Express earlier this month.

But, if they don't get a chance to prove their fitness or form by playing in competitive tournaments like the English county, how will these pacers impress the selectors?

This same BCCI never asked any of the franchises to rest the contracted players during the hectic third season of the Indian Premier League last month.

A player, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he approached the Board several times for the NOC, but the powers-that-be did not budge.

"At the end of the day, I will go by whatever the BCCI decides. I was approached by an English county, but I rejected their offer thinking that I would be playing international matches for India.

"But that has not happened, so now I would be happy if they give me the NOC. If they allow me, I will go and play county cricket, else I will be training in India for the next few months to get myself in the best shape for the upcoming season," the player told rediff.com.

The player's expectations are not surprising, since the pleasant English summer provides the perfect stage to train and play cricket unlike India, where summer is burning hot and that follows three months of non-stop rain. To add to that are the benefits of playing in a professional environment, which cannot be discounted.

The best example that of Zaheer Khan , who returned to the national team after a successful season in 2006 with Worcestershire, where he took 78 wickets and since emerged the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack.

Even Piyush Chawla made an impact playing for Sussex last season, when he took 36 wickets and made important contributions with the bat.

Former selector Kiran More is if the opinion that players who are on the fringe of selection to the national squad should be encouraged to play county cricket, since there is no domestic cricket happening in the country at that time.

"Playing in county cricket helps to improve fitness. It also gets your bowling rhythm back, because you are playing non-stop cricket. It is very unfair on players like Irfan [Pathan] or Sreesanth that they were not given permission, because a fast bowler benefits a lot by playing in English conditions.

"County cricket is an excellent platform for the fast bowlers because the conditions are very helpful at the start of the season; if they pick a lot of wickets then they can take that confidence with them while playing for the Indian team," More told rediff.com.

"Everyone, including Sachin Tendulkar , Rahul Dravid , Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan, have tried their hand in county cricket to get their form back or keep themselves fit during off-season. So why suddenly has the BCCI stopped its players from going to England?" he asked.

Even Zaheer had admitted that it was the county stint that helped him make a comeback to the Indian squad.

"It (the county stint) helped me grow as a cricketer. You play six days a week and my bowling fitness improved a lot. It helped me get into a routine which is very helpful for your cricket. You get to experiment with a lot of things, and if you are doing things well you are able to continue those things over a period of time. It definitely gave me a boost in confidence and county is good, competitive cricket," Zaheer had said after a successful stint with Worcestershire in 2006.

With no domestic cricket taking place for the next few months, it is imperative that the BCCI does a rethink of its decision to disallow players from traveling to England. After all, playing even a few competitive matches in the county circuit is better than just lumbering up in the nets at the NCA.

http://cricket.rediff.com/report/2010/may/21/bcci-needs-to-rethink-county-ban-on-players.htm

raghavendran

21st May 2010, 12:37 PM

:froggrin:

ajithfederer

24th May 2010, 01:53 AM

Bounce isn't India's only devil

While the focus has been on India's inability to play short bowling, their poor preparation and the issue of player fatigue have been brushed under the carpet

Sidharth Monga and Nagraj Gollapudi

May 22, 2010

Ishant Sharma was given a hard time by the Australian batsmen, Australia v India, ICC Champions Trophy, Group A, Centurion, September 28, 2009

The BCCI has barred Ishant from playing county cricket, while making him play a series of meaningless ODIs that are not doing his bowling or confidence any good © Getty Images

So some Indian players stayed out too long, had a drink or a few, and apparently stood up for a team-mate who was being abused by "fans". In true God of Small Things fashion, the BCCI has slapped a show-cause notice on them. The fear, though, is that the real issues, the reasons for India's poor performance at the World Twenty20 - the weakness against the bouncer, the lack of fitness and intensity, the disappearance of fast bowlers, the crazy schedules - might, as usual, get swept under the carpet. Talk to people involved with this team of late and it reveals a lack of willingness to address such issues, both at individual and administrative levels.

Coach Gary Kirsten's dressing down of the team on their last day in St Lucia did not pertain to a new issue with the team. "While everybody is talking about lack of fitness now, I brought to the team management's notice the fitness problem - not only with bowlers, but the team as a whole - last year," says Venkatesh Prasad, India's former bowling coach who was sacked last October, no reasons given. "It wasn't taken in the right spirit." Kirsten's complaints last year weren't taken in the right spirit either, and he was subsequently gagged.

Something similar, only much more damning, can be said of some of the batsmen's troubles against short-pitched bowling.

"Everyone is now talking about how this started about 10 months ago," says a current India player. "Four or five years earlier, when they first came into international cricket, even then they needed to work on the short ball. You need to practise it in the nets, facing bouncers and getting good people to bowl at you. But they don't like facing bouncers and are upset about it."

It's easy to see why the bouncer was not top of the limited-overs side's agenda over the last year: there are players taking care of the issue in Tests, and only rarely in limited-overs cricket do Indian players come up against genuine pace in a Sri Lanka-Bangladesh-IPL-dominated schedule. "That is a dangerous route to take because you are masking a problem. In critical tournaments you need to win the crucial games: what if you run into Australia in the quarter-finals or semi-finals? Even Pakistan quicks are clever enough to challenge the batsmen."

Around when this new crop of Indian cricketers was coming through to the limited-overs side, the world's players had a major issue with boards - one that seems to have gone out of fashion of late. Player burnout is so early 2000s now, although schedules have only got tighter.

A fringe player has no doubt there is too much cricket happening, and too little care from the BCCI. "A player really burns out after a certain point," he says. "I believe we need to have a certain work ethic: you need time for preparation, performance and rest. Take the Australians - they spend at least four months a year resting and preparing."

How serious the BCCI is about preserving its resources is clear from an example during the IPL. Trainers from the ECB came down along with their players, and instructed the local trainers on how to deal with them. A couple of Indian national players, on the other hand, went to a miracle healer in Sri Lanka, without the permission of the board, so that they could play as many IPL matches as possible. Who will take the responsibility if the miracle healing goes wrong or involves substances on the WADA banned list?

The BCCI counters this by asking if any player is heard complaining about the schedule. No, they're not, except for Sachin Tendulkar, who applies for rest every now and then, but that can be put down to his age, and also that he has earned the right to pick and choose. Can an Ishant Sharma, considered by most experts a promising Test bowler, say no to yet another meaningless ODI series? Especially knowing that in India the money and fame come mostly through limited-overs cricket.

Every time the fatigue issue is raised, the BCCI says the same thing: nobody is forcing the cricketers to play. It is open to conjecture whether it is insecurity regarding their places in the side that makes players keep going even when not 100%. It is also open to conjecture whether the BCCI doesn't want to rest star players because of pressure from broadcasters, who have overpaid for the TV rights. What is sure, though, is what Prasad says. "When the schedules are so packed, the players have to become more disciplined, especially with fitness."

Preparation is not top priority with the board either. "You can't go into a big tournament without a warm-up because that would've also helped you look at your ideal line-up," says an India player. "We were always searching for the right combination throughout the tournament. Considering the schedule is so short and sharp, you can't do that during the tournament."

Every time the fatigue issue is raised, the BCCI says the same thing: nobody is forcing the cricketers to play. It is open to conjecture whether it is insecurity regarding their places in the side that makes players keep going even when not 100%

In the three years since their success in the World Twenty20, the catalyst for the Twenty20 revolution in the country, India have not only lost all their Super Eights matches but also a promising bench of fast bowlers. The way they have handled Ishant is an indictment of how the country's top talent is regarded. After having selecting him for almost all the meaningless ODI series played on flat tracks in recent times, they have barred him from playing county cricket - the one thing Wasim Akram thinks Ishant needs the most.

Akram, who worked with Ishant at Kolkata Knight Riders, believes his fast-bowling muscles will develop when he bowls 300 overs in a first-class season and learns to work things out by himself.

Another IPL coach believes Twenty20 is the worst thing to happen to an out-of-form fast bowler. "Good balls get whacked for fours and if you are not on top of your game it becomes difficult. For Ishant, playing the 50-overs game or the Tests is better. That would allow him to regain his rhythm, rather than the hustle and bustle of Twenty20."

On the surface of it, most players and coaches involved believe the IPL to be a fantastic tournament, and not one responsible for India's woes. They also concede, though, that when it teams up with a watertight year and a schedule that has the national team playing its first World Twenty20 match five days after the final, things don't look that rosy. "I would really like to know how many of these guys, while the IPL was on, thought about looking ahead to the World Twenty20," says a senior IPL player. "And saying, 'What we really are going to face is not this, so let's start preparing for that.'"

The World Twenty20 debacle has served the team a warning 10 months in advance. In February 2011 starts the 50-over World Cup. In May 2010, the fast-bowling cupboard is bare; the selectors seem intent on damaging the careers of both the back-up spinners, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra; the schedule is still just as ridiculous; and the outcricket - which this team does well when fresh - is in disarray. Yes, there will be more quality coming into the batting line-up for the 50-overs contests. Yes, the bouncer is not that much of a devil in 50-over contests, especially when playing in the subcontinent. Still, much work is to be done if the BCCI wants to avoid a similar inquest this time next year. One that won't involve just banning the IPL parties.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo. Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor
RSS Feeds: Sidharth Monga

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/460450.html
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satissh_r

25th May 2010, 02:21 PM

BCCI to decide on team sponsors on May 31

The Indian cricket board's marketing committee is to meet in Mumbai on May 31 to wrap up the much-delayed team sponsorship details for which the BCCI issued a tender notice inviting bids on Monday.

"The marketing committee of the BCCI will meet on the 31st to decide on the team sponsorship. It will be chaired by the President (Shashank Manohar)," BCCI sources said on Tuesday.

BCCI's deal with Sahara Group for team sponsorship is coming to an end next month-end and it has invited bids from companies for sponsoring four Indian squads, including the much sought-after men's outfit.

The Board has fixed Rs 2.25 crore as the base price per match for the bids for all three formats for the men's outfit - Tests, ODIs and T20s, it is learned.

The tender notice, issued by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, called for firms to bid for sponsorship of the men's, women's, India A and India under-19 teams, indicating the documents would be available from May 24 for a non-refundable payment of Rs 5 lakh.

It said all bidders need to fulfill the eligibility criteria set up by the Board as well as other requirements as mentioned in the bid document.

Submission of the bids has also to be done as per conditions outlined and the Board reserved its rights "to cancel or amend the entire bidding process at any stage and to reject any and/or all bids without providing any reasons, including calling for a re-tender."

Sahara, which has supported the Indian team for several years as its main sponsor, recently bid successfully for the new Pune IPL franchise for a staggering Rs 1700 crore.

Sahara will review its sponsorship to the Indian cricket team, Group chief Subroto Roy had said after winning the IPL franchise bid on March 23.

Sahara had bagged the sponsorship for the Indian cricket team for Rs 400 crore :frightened: for a four-year period ending December 2009, and agreed to continue for six more months as BCCI could not find any sponsors.

http://cricket.rediff.com/report/2010/may/25/bcci-to-decide-on-team-sponsors-on-may-31.htm

Sourav

31st May 2010, 12:08 PM

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Sahara-to-sponsor-Team-India/articleshow/5993736.cms

littlemaster1982

24th June 2010, 10:21 PM

Australia agree to India Test proposal (http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/464512.html)

Cricket Australia has agreed to the BCCI's proposal to convert the seven-match ODI series scheduled for October to two Tests and three ODIs. The Indian board's Tour, Programme and Fixtures committee announced the new itinerary today, with the first Test to be played at Mohali beginning October 2.

The second Test will be played in Bangalore, followed by three one-day matches to be held in Kochi, Goa and Vishakapatnam. Australia will also play a three-day practice match at Mohali in September to begin the tour.

This is not the first time the Indian board has made changes to a tour itinerary. Earlier this year, Cricket South Africa agreed to replace a five-match ODI series with two Tests and three ODIs. The board's determination to schedule more Tests has come in the wake of India ascending to the No.1 Test ranking for the first time.

The BCCI also announced the schedule for New Zealand's tour of India in November. The teams will play three Tests and five ODIs. The first Test starts on November 4 and will be played in Ahmedabad. The second and third Tests will be played in Kanpur (November 12) and Mumbai (November 20).

The schedule for the ODIs will be decided later based on logistics but the venues are Bangalore, Mohali, Chennai, Guwahati and Hyderabad.

Tour itinerary for India v Australia

October 2-6 First Test - Mohali

October 10-14 Second Test - Bangalore

October 19 First ODI - Kochi

October 22 Second ODI - Goa

October 24 Third ODI - Vishakapatnam
_______________________

AF :victory: :victory:

ajithfederer

24th June 2010, 10:22 PM

Appadi Podu aruvalaai.. The best test series at present is back. BCCI :thumbsup: :thumbsup:.

Thalaivar now has 11 test Matches before WC 2011. We can get to see a good amount of Dravid and Laxman also 8-).

Sourav

26th August 2010, 05:14 PM

India to tour England next summer
August 26, 2010 16:44 IST

India will tour England for Test, ODI and Twenty20 series after the cricket World Cup in the sub-continent next year.

The four-match Test rubber will begin at Lord’s on July 21 while the fourth and final Test at The Oval will be held from August 18, the ECB announced on Thursday.

A one-off T20 is scheduled to take place on August 31 and would be followed by the best-of-five ODI series between the two teams from September 3-16.

Sri Lanka would visit England prior to India for a similar tour.

ECB Chief Executive David Collier said that the fans in England can expect two high quality series against India and Sri Lanka.

“With India currently the number one ranked Test side in the ICC Test rankings and Sri Lanka in third place, England supporters can expect to see two exciting npower Test series against high quality opposition,” he said.

“Both teams will also provide a tough challenge for England in the shorter forms of the game in what promises to be a highly competitive and entertaining summer of international cricket all round,” he added.

The full India-England series schedule is:

npower Test series:

July 21-25: 1st Test, Lord's
July 29-Aug 2: 2nd Test, Trent Bridge
Aug 10-14: 3rd Test, Edgbaston
Aug 18-22: 4th and final Test, Brit Insurance Oval

Natwest limited overs series:

Aug 31: International T20, Old Trafford
Sept 3: 1st ODI, Emirates Durham ICG
Sept 6: 2nd ODI, The Rose Bowl
Sept 9: 3rd ODI, Brit Insurance Oval
Sept 11: 4th ODI, Lord's
Sept 16: 5th and last ODI, SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff.[tscii:88bec1c371][/tscii:88bec1c371]

Puliyan_Biryani

26th August 2010, 05:22 PM

Sourav, semma fast :thumbsup:

So we have tours to South Africa and England coming up :happydance:

Sourav

26th August 2010, 05:33 PM

So we have tours to South Africa and England coming up :happydance:ya, :boo: was expecting a eng tour 4 long time...

Sourav

14th September 2010, 01:00 PM

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/476777.html

The XI: Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Erapalli Prasanna.

Readers' XI: Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Vinoo Mankad, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Erapalli Prasanna.

littlemaster1982

29th September 2010, 02:37 PM

Team India's new jersey

[html:f36aa9f7f2]http://imgur.com/IDHeX.jpg[/html:f36aa9f7f2]

19thmay

29th September 2010, 02:53 PM

Not bad! But why can't they change that dark orange color?
Btw its like Sahara India :roll:

Vivasaayi

29th September 2010, 08:24 PM

Sahara size :clap:

yarukagapaa neengellam vilayadreenga???

Sourav

30th September 2010, 07:29 AM

Kumble is NCA chairman
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article802992.ece

Sourav

7th October 2010, 03:22 PM

No UDRS for NZ series - Srinivasan
BCCI remains opposed to system despite Mohali errors :argh:

http://www.cricinfo.com/india-v-australia-2010/content/current/story/480324.html

ajaybaskar

7th October 2010, 03:24 PM

Indha Srinivasan panna orey uruppadiyana vishayam CSK team form pannadhu mattumdhaannu nenaikkiren.

Plum

7th October 2010, 04:15 PM

Guys, until we have neutral(non-(anti-India-biased)) referees and umpires, I will support BCCI's move to not have UDRS. Infact, it is an open secret that the main opposition to UDRS comes from Sachin, Rahul, Dhoni, Kumble and Ganguly. They have seen this honourable gentlemen who sit as third umpires and match referees enough not to trust them.

In short, onfield umpires namakku Appu vekkaradhE pOdhum, thEdi pOi third umpire kittEyum Appu vechukka vENAm.

I only hope BCCI fills the umpires panel with competent Indian umpires who will interpret the rules intelligently in our favour, and have Gavaskar and RAntaunga as match referees for all matches involving England and Australia. If that happens, then I support implementation of UDRS.

Puliyan_Biryani

7th October 2010, 11:22 PM

Plum, agreed verbatim. IIRC, India used the UDRS in the away seres against SL and got 1 decision right out of > 15. And SL had a 80% hit ratio. namma aalunga annaikke mudivu pannittaainga, indha system othu varaadhunnu.

Tony Greig and Arun Lol were in commentary (SA series I think). One decision went against India and Lol was complaining what might have been. Mistake. Greig repeated and reiterated and reminded and then some more that it was India who refused to use UDRS. This went on for the whole 30 mins of his stint. Almost as if he was taking out his frustration against India. yen indha kolai veri.

ajithfederer

8th October 2010, 02:20 AM

http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/index/

The site finally looks professional and new features have been added.

Sourav

11th November 2010, 08:02 AM

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOICH/2010/11/11/20/Img/Ad0200006.png

Pls enable the pic! Thanx in adv.

littlemaster1982

11th November 2010, 12:30 PM

[html:52e75974f4]http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOICH/2010/11/11/20/Img/Ad0200006.png[/html:52e75974f4]

ajaybaskar

11th November 2010, 12:47 PM

:clap:

P_R

11th November 2010, 01:26 PM

mooNu pErum thookathulErdhu endhirichu vandhapOdhu photo eduthadhu maadhiri irukku

directhit

11th November 2010, 02:05 PM

kanavu kandittu vandhurukkaanga :huh: koodiya seekiram adhai meiyaakkiduvaanga :noteeth:

Dhakshan

11th November 2010, 02:11 PM

:yes:

Puliyan_Biryani

11th November 2010, 02:16 PM

'Jadeja-vai naadu kadathanum'-gara idea-va, Dhoni kanvula yaaraachum 'Inception' panni vidungalen, please :(

Plum

11th November 2010, 03:28 PM

:lol:

Sourav

11th November 2010, 05:45 PM

BCCI contract: Yuvraj drops, Raina rises
http://cricket.ndtv.com/storypage.aspx?id=SPOEN20100159709&nid=65780?trendingnow&cp

Grade A

Sachin Tendulkar
MS Dhoni
Gautam Gambhir
Virender Sehwag
Rahul Dravid
V V S Laxman
Suresh Raina
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan

Grade B

Yuvraj Singh
Ishant Sharma
Ashish Nehra
Praveen Kumar
Virat Kohli
M Vijay
Pragyan Ojha

Grade C

S Sreesanth
Amit Mishra
R Ashwin
Rohit Sharma
Cheteshwar Pujara
Ravindra Jadeja
Abhimanyu Mithun
Vinay Kumar

ajaybaskar

11th November 2010, 05:46 PM

Oh Yuviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..

raajarasigan

11th November 2010, 06:04 PM

feel sorry for Yuvraj.. tough time for him.. nevertheless, we desperately need Yuvraj in his best form (even in fitness / fielding)to win the WC...

ajaybaskar

11th November 2010, 06:05 PM

YES!!!

P_R

11th November 2010, 06:10 PM

we desperately need Yuvraj in his best form (even in fitness / fielding)to win the WC... appidi ellAm oNNiyum illai.

NainA kamaan :clap:

Dhakshan

11th November 2010, 06:13 PM

Innum Sadeja ve indha list le vechurukainga :x

raajarasigan

11th November 2010, 06:14 PM

we desperately need Yuvraj in his best form (even in fitness / fielding)to win the WC... appidi ellAm oNNiyum illai.

NainA kamaan :clap:P_R, Raina will be there in the 11 even if Yuvi is there... one major advantage is, WC is in Asia.. so we can still manage with Kozhi..

people are cursing Yuvi for his attitude.. but on a given day, he will be the man who can thrash any bowling attack in the world at least in the ODIs / T20s

Vivasaayi

11th November 2010, 10:52 PM

In an Indian track , in oneday matches...on his day ...shabaaa...yuvaraj is obviously the most dangerous batsman in the world

19thmay

11th November 2010, 11:21 PM

people are cursing Yuvi for his attitude.. but on a given day, he will be the man who can thrash any bowling attack in the world at least in the ODIs / T20s

Thrisha illana Dhivya...

P_R

11th November 2010, 11:33 PM

In an Indian track , in oneday matches...on his day ...shabaaa...yuvaraj is obviously the most dangerous batsman in the world :rotfl:

Puliyan_Biryani

12th November 2010, 12:10 AM

Kalyasi

12th November 2010, 02:05 AM

Avan thaan nalla velayadalaye... Nyaayamaana seleson
Nyaayamaana promosan

raajarasigan

12th November 2010, 10:50 AM

In an Indian track , in oneday matches...on his day ...shabaaa...yuvaraj is obviously the most dangerous batsman in the world
:lol:

2 parameter vittutteenga.

1) bandhu remba fast-a nenjukku mela varakkoodaadhu.
2) bandhu remba medhuva (spin) muttikku keele varakkoodaadhu.P_B, ippadi paartha indha condition almost ella Indian batsmen'kkum porundhum... if we look at his match winning abilities (Otthukkaren, ippo avan formla illa), I still wish he would be playing in the WC...

Sourav

12th November 2010, 10:58 AM

Ramakrishna

12th November 2010, 11:51 AM

Puliyan_Biryani

12th November 2010, 12:08 PM

raajarasigan

12th November 2010, 12:09 PM

In an Indian track , in oneday matches...on his day ...shabaaa...yuvaraj is obviously the most dangerous batsman in the world
:lol:

2 parameter vittutteenga.

1) bandhu remba fast-a nenjukku mela varakkoodaadhu.
2) bandhu remba medhuva (spin) muttikku keele varakkoodaadhu.

On an Indian track-nu Vivs soltaarey. So, intha rendu factors-um strike out aayidum.second parameter is possible in indian tracks... but Yuvraj played well outside subcontinent also...

Sourav

12th November 2010, 12:36 PM

satissh_r

12th November 2010, 12:37 PM

thaanai thalaivan Dinesh Karthi-kooda spin nalla aaduvaapla :lol2:.

Netlaya? enna ithuvaraikum entha matchlayum nan parkala :?

satissh_r

12th November 2010, 12:40 PM

DK sonnappuram than gnybhagam varuthu, he has omitted even from grade C... paavamya... ketta neram kummmi adiikkuthu avanukku....

20 matchuku oru match run adicha eppadi Sourav sethukuvanga, this includes domestic matches also. Avana selavu panni kuda oru season english county aditu varalam..

Puliyan_Biryani

12th November 2010, 12:54 PM

thaanai thalaivan Dinesh Karthi-kooda spin nalla aaduvaapla :lol2:.

Netlaya? enna ithuvaraikum entha matchlayum nan parkala :?
DK rasigar manra thalaivar pesura pechaa idhu? :argh:

DK-ku contract kudukkaadhadhu correct-dhaan. aana Jadeja-vukkellaam contract kuduthurukkaainga, but DK-ku kudukkalainnu nenaichadhaan varuthama irukku :-(.

satissh_r

12th November 2010, 12:56 PM

DK rasigar manra thalaivar pesura pechaa idhu? :argh:

DK-ku contract kudukkaadhadhu correct-dhaan. aana Jadeja-vukkellaam contract kuduthurukkaainga, but DK-ku kudukkalainnu nenaichadhaan varuthama irukku :-(.

ennaye pesa vechutannu nelama evvalavu mosama irukkunu paarunga :sigh2:

raajarasigan

12th November 2010, 01:02 PM

Puli, spin ok...short pitch-ma aada maatan?.... pull shot ellam supera aaduvane... :roll:
Sourav, Yuvi has a good pull shot and doesn't get out to short balls as much as say Raina. But genuine short ball (shoulder-high) potta, Yuvi tends to sit on the back foot. Expecting another short ball, his weight would be completely on the back foot and simply pokes at the ball without conviction. Agree that it is a weakness for a lot of batsmen (not only Indian), but a really good batsman's balance would never get affected because of the previous ball.

And spin ok-va? You mean you accept Yuvi is a bit iffy against spinners? Indhiya batsmen-oda trademark-e playing spin-dhaanpa. thaanai thalaivan Dinesh Karthi-kooda spin nalla aaduvaapla :lol2:.don't have any stats now (cricinfo blocked :( ) Yuvraj would have scored around 7000 runs.. most of them in Indian pitches.. he is still a good player against the spinners going by his stats..

He might struggle (OR struggled) against world class spinners like Murali...

In this WC, most teams will mainly depend on their pace attack..

Australia, SA, Pakistan, WI -- no world class spinners at the moment
Eng - Swann :roll: I think he is yet to prove in ODIs
NZ - Vettori
SL - MM

I don't see tackling spinners will be a problem for him...

directhit

12th November 2010, 01:28 PM

Sourav, Yuvi has a good pull shot and doesn't get out to short balls as much as say Raina. But genuine short ball (shoulder-high) potta, Yuvi tends to sit on the back foot. Expecting another short ball, his weight would be completely on the back foot and simply pokes at the ball without conviction. Agree that it is a weakness for a lot of batsmen (not only Indian), but a really good batsman's balance would never get affected because of the previous ball.

And spin ok-va? You mean you accept Yuvi is a bit iffy against spinners? Indhiya batsmen-oda trademark-e playing spin-dhaanpa. thaanai thalaivan Dinesh Karthi-kooda spin nalla aaduvaapla :lol2:. all this technique/balance talks are a bit overrated for success (aesthetic viewing etc kku ok).... vera madhiri sollanumnaa there have been lots of players whose technique is not book perfect but have been hugely successful, namma team laye Sourav/Sehwag madhiri... Yuvi is a definite bet in ODIs even outside India.. WC la sollave vendaam...

Sourav

12th November 2010, 01:32 PM

:clap:
All saying rohit is having great technique, DK plays spin well etc... but, output?! athane mattere....

Sourav

12th November 2010, 01:41 PM

directhit

12th November 2010, 01:54 PM

I read somewhere wen ever he score 50+ in chasing we have won most of the times. dunno how to get that stat... :oops: 50 and above chasing - 20 wins
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/36084.html?class=2;filter=advanced;innings_number= 2;orderby=default;result=1;runsmax1=200;runsmin1=5 0;runsval1=runs;template=results;type=allround

50 and above chasing - 6 losses
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/36084.html?class=2;filter=advanced;innings_number= 2;orderby=default;result=2;runsmax1=200;runsmin1=5 0;runsval1=runs;template=results;type=allround

Puliyan_Biryani

12th November 2010, 01:59 PM

Raja Rasigare, veetukku poi porumaiya idhai (http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/36084.html?class=2;filter=advanced;orderby=dis_dis missals;outs=1;template=results;type=batting;view= bowler_summary) open panni paarunga.

Apart from usual suspects like Murali, Vettori & Mendis, also look at some legends like Brad Hogg, Brian Murphy (yup, the captain who dropped himself), Symonds & Afridi who have a definite edge over Yuvi.

raajarasigan

12th November 2010, 02:26 PM

will check the link P_B.. :)

Murphy (from Zimb??), Hogg, Symonds -- ivanga ellam ippo illaye... but still, he is maintaining a pretty good average / strike rate... Yuvraj can MANAGE if NOT completely dominant...If Ganguly is vulnerable against Short Pitch deliveries, he would NOT have scored more than 10000 runs in both formats... in someway OR other, he managed it...

Puliyan_Biryani

12th November 2010, 02:29 PM

all this technique/balance talks are a bit overrated for success (aesthetic viewing etc kku ok).... vera madhiri sollanumnaa there have been lots of players whose technique is not book perfect but have been hugely successful, namma team laye Sourav/Sehwag madhiri... Yuvi is a definite bet in ODIs even outside India.. WC la sollave vendaam...
Agreed 100% with the bolded line. But all those who have succeeded without technique have a single-minded determination to make use of their limited abilities and punch above their weight (a la Steve Waugh). Does Yuvi really have that single-minded determination? nenjai thottu sollunga.

Picking Yuvi for WC is a gamble of long odds (since there are so many parameters for the gamble to pay off).

Sourav, andha record-laam 2007 time-la remba pamous-a irundhuchu. Indhiya eppo chase pannaalum adhai pottu kaamichuruvaainga. Usually When a No. 5 or 6 scores 50+, then more often than not the team will win. But just check his total average while chasing. It is pretty much the same as his overall average which means he has failed more times during the chase (some of his victorious chases are not outs, so it really would have needed some bad performances to bring the 2nd innings average down).

Puliyan_Biryani

12th November 2010, 02:35 PM

directhit

12th November 2010, 02:53 PM

Agreed 100% with the bolded line. But all those who have succeeded without technique have a single-minded determination to make use of their limited abilities and punch above their weight (a la Steve Waugh). Does Yuvi really have that single-minded determination? nenjai thottu sollunga. agreed, he does look largely disinterested in the proceedings and suddenly one day decides to bat well... attitude pathi vera ellarum pesarom - am not a fan of that as well.. (same as sreesanth, very good bowler spoiling his career)

but in the case of yuvi, off late its been more of injuries more than his attitude/determination thing imo.. he can bowl decent as well. I dont think we have someone to replace him immediately in the middle order.. Pujara yes but a long shot.. aerkanave Jadeja ellaam team la irukkaan :banghead: someone who can win us games singlehandedly on his day batting and who can also bowl a minimum of 4-5 overs - do we have someone else :?

satissh_r

12th November 2010, 02:59 PM

someone who can win us games singlehandedly on his day batting and who can also bowl a minimum of 4-5 overs - do we have someone else :?

S Raina :) athukaga nan Yuvi teamla venamnu sollala... Yuvi should be there in the WC squad for sure but Testku avan theva illa...

raajarasigan

12th November 2010, 03:01 PM

forget about his attitude.. I am also against him for that... practically speaking, only player who can replace him at the moment will be kohli...

raajarasigan

12th November 2010, 03:08 PM

will check the link P_B.. :)

Murphy (from Zimb??), Hogg, Symonds -- ivanga ellam ippo illaye...
My point being - These are not World class spinners and still they did well against Yuvi. It was a response to your earlier post about lack of world class spinners to trouble Yuvi at the WC.

Sorry for not being clear earlier RR :Dsorry ellam ethukku... I understood that point earlier... :D my point is, he can still manage if NOT dominating... also, most teams will have to depend on their pack attack...

Dhakshan

12th November 2010, 04:34 PM

forget about his attitude.. I am also against him for that... practically speaking, only player who can replace him at the moment will be kohli...

Forget abt the attitude in this case too.. But I dont think Kohli's bowling will be better than Yuvi's...

Ramakrishna

12th November 2010, 04:57 PM

Yuvaraj is a must.

ajaybaskar

12th November 2010, 05:01 PM

Yes.. No two ways about it...

19thmay

12th November 2010, 05:06 PM

No there is a way. Encouraging a better attitude batsman whose skill is on par or greater than Yuvaraj! 8-)

Escalating Raina's grade and decreasing Yuvraj's teaches all youngsters a lesson. Kudos BCCI!

directhit

12th November 2010, 05:06 PM

someone who can win us games singlehandedly on his day batting and who can also bowl a minimum of 4-5 overs - do we have someone else :?

S Raina :) . allov, he is already a mainstay in the lineup :D

forget about his attitude.. I am also against him for that... practically speaking, only player who can replace him at the moment will be kohli... yeah, a threat to yuvi/gambhir in the long run...

19thmay

12th November 2010, 05:09 PM

ACB dropped Bevan, Symonds when they were in peak form. Comparing which this is nothing. Let him fight back and gets a spot like others, who bothers :huh:

raajarasigan

12th November 2010, 05:14 PM

ACB dropped Bevan, Symonds when they were in peak form. Comparing which this is nothing. Let him fight back and gets a spot like others, who bothers :huh:don't compare ACB with BCCI... ACB had even decided Steve Waugh's last series / test.. BCCI will NOT have that courage...

Of course, Yuvraj is still in the playing 11 and come back strongly to regain his Grade...

19thmay

12th November 2010, 05:14 PM

Btw sambalam 1 KOdiyaame? Indha vayasukku apparam edhavadhu panni cricketer aaga mudiyuma? :roll:

directhit

12th November 2010, 05:19 PM

ACB dropped Bevan, Symonds when they were in peak form. Comparing which this is nothing. Let him fight back and gets a spot like others, who bothers :huh: symo's case was diff... for bevan's spot they had symo/watson etc i guess :?.. even otherwise bcci enga acb enga!
ofcourse he has to prove himself again... i think he is perhaps for the first time under threat with kohli/pujara and uthappa etc waiting ...

Vivasaayi

12th November 2010, 06:48 PM

P_R

12th November 2010, 06:54 PM

Btw sambalam 1 KOdiyaame? Indha vayasukku apparam edhavadhu panni cricketer aaga mudiyuma? :roll:

enna maapla vekkapadama sollitta..kirikatungradhu avlo sadharanamana vishayamaa? ... statelevel, zone level, nationala level...nenachale thala suthudhu.... oru ammaNi vandhu unnai paththi commentary sollum...nee irukkura range-ku ammaNiyai paththi nee dhaan commentary solluve

Dhakshan

12th November 2010, 07:45 PM

// :shock: P_R oada dp :shaking: //

ajaybaskar

14th December 2010, 12:48 PM

http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.yahoonews.com/ministry-may-take-india-out-bcci-20101213/

ajaybaskar

18th December 2010, 11:38 AM

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2011/content/current/story/492996.html

ajithfederer

20th January 2011, 05:20 AM

The ICC may well be the voice of cricket; the BCCI is an invoice

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi on the BCCI's financial clout but limited moral leadership
Dec 16, 2010

ajithfederer

24th January 2011, 11:39 PM

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/498154.html

The IPL Mess

BCCI controlled IPL 2009 finances.

ajithfederer

1st May 2011, 03:01 AM

''The IPL situation - we've got to be smart with that,'' Law said. ''India, they are big brother, we've got to look after them, we don't want to upset them. It's where a lot of the world cricket boards make a lot of their money, so we've got to keep India sweet.''

Stuart Law, SL Coach.

LM, Please unearth BCCI thread.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/srilanka/content/current/story/513158.html

Plum

1st May 2011, 08:24 AM

Who asked you to keep BCCi sweet? If you are koLgai vEndhan goyindasamy, spurn the bcci riches and starve. Don't partake of it and then complain, eh?

littlemaster1982

1st May 2011, 08:51 AM

Moved posts from World Cricket thread to here.

ajithfederer

1st May 2011, 08:55 AM

Thanks LM.

ajithfederer

1st May 2011, 01:41 PM

http://cricket.butjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/dharamsala-cricket-ground-picture.jpg

BCCI, Keep a test match here.

ajithfederer

2nd May 2011, 11:28 AM

http://bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/community/video/videoindex

Not bAD, BCCI website has a section for Vidoes with match h/l and other related stuff.

ajaybaskar

2nd May 2011, 11:29 AM

AF,

Is it Dharamsala?

ajithfederer

2nd May 2011, 11:40 AM

Yep it is dharamsala.

ajithfederer

3rd May 2011, 09:34 PM

Zaheeeerrr Khaan :victory: :2thumbsup:

ajithfederer

3rd May 2011, 09:35 PM

Zaheer's contribution deserves Arjuna Award

New Delhi Zaheer Khan is not just about an exaggerated jump on delivery, or a furious upper lip on seeing jellybeans on the pitch. If bowling Steve Waugh in the 2000 Champions Trophy was a pointer, leading India to the 2011 World Cup victory corroborates him as the worthy nominee for the Arjuna Award.

The BCCI has forwarded Zaheer's name for the distinguished award, giving just recognition to his contribution to Indian cricket in the last decade.

But his career hasn't been spared of familiar fast-bowling niggles. A peculiar injury Down Under in 2003-04 sidelined him for the best part of the next two years. But a leaner, fitter, consistent Zaheer – with a barely 13-pace run-up – returned in 2006 to catch the eye with 78 wickets for Worcestershire in England.

Since then, Zaheer's career took a fairytale turn and on way to World Cup glory in 2011 - where Zak was leading wicket-taker - added many feathers to its cap.

ICC World Cup 2003

11 ODIs - 18 wickets - 4/42 best – 20.77 average - 4.23 economy

India in England, 2007

3 Tests - 18 wickets - 20.33 average - 2.68 economy

India in New Zealand, 2009

3 Tests - 13 wickets - 30.76 average - 3.46 economy

Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia in India), 2010

2 Tests - 12 wickets - 5/94 best - 21.83 average - 3.43 economy

India in South Africa, 2011

2 Tests - 10 wickets - 3/36 best - 24.60 average - 3.08 economy

ICC World Cup 2011

9 ODIs - 21 wickets - 3/20 best - 18.76 average - 4.83 economy

What's striking in the above stats is that along with heaps of wickets, Zaheer's economy rate has been among the best in the business, both in Tests and ODIs. And it won't be a surprise if his name is among the final list of Arjuna Awardees, a deserving reward for a splendid service to Team India.

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/zaheers-contribution-deserves-arjuna-award/57051-13.html

Plum

3rd May 2011, 10:03 PM

Arjunar award Dravid, LaxmankellAm koduththAchA?

ajithfederer

3rd May 2011, 10:15 PM

Dravid in 1998 and Laxman in 2001.
Laxman has Padma shri this year :clap:.

ajaybaskar

6th May 2011, 12:45 PM

Ivanukkenna vandhadhu? (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-01/top-stories/29493195_1_indian-cricketers-sri-lankan-kumar-sangakkara)

ajithfederer

17th May 2011, 10:37 PM

Camaan Tiger Camaan tiger camaan camaaan

Ending India’s “domination” of the ICC and dismissing the “nonsense” idea of having a window for the IPL would top Tony Greig’s agenda if the former England captain is given charge of cricket’s world governing body.

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article2026075.ece?homepage=true

SoftSword

17th May 2011, 10:40 PM

ajithfederer

17th May 2011, 10:46 PM

No it is not. Window means IPL Will be made as an exclusive event like ICC World cup or Champions trophy ODI.

It means IPL Will be added in FTP. No countries will be having tours during the IPL. All players from all countries can choose to play IPL if they want to. Personally I applaud Tony for his stance.

SoftSword

17th May 2011, 11:16 PM

mm... thats too much of an ask.

Plum

17th May 2011, 11:34 PM

Perhaps you'd like to make India grovel before you, eh, Tony? :rotfl3:

ajithfederer

2nd June 2011, 10:14 PM

ICC news
BCCI too powerful, players believe

ESPNcricinfo staff

June 2, 2011

More than two-thirds of players polled in a recent survey believe the BCCI has an unfair influence on decision-making within the ICC. The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) has renewed its calls for a review of the game's governance after releasing the results of its 2011 player survey, which also revealed strong support for the decision review system and 50-over cricket.

Despite overwhelming approval for how this year's World Cup was run, the findings were not all positive for the ICC. Of the 45 players polled, only 6% believed that decisions at ICC board level were made "in the best interests of cricket", while 49% felt decisions were made according to "party lines or best interests of the country that they are representing". The remaining players were "unsure".

When asked if ICC decision-making was influenced unfairly by the power of the BCCI, 69% said 'yes', while 31% answered "don't know". None of the respondents gave a definitive 'no'. Despite those concerns, 63% said they had confidence in the ICC's ability to govern international cricket, although the FICA chief executive Tim May said the findings raised important issues, with 46% saying the structure and composition of the ICC executive board should be reviewed.

"Players have highlighted that the governance of the game is a serious issue," May said. "FICA have continually advocated for a review of the game's governance. Its present structure is outdated, full of conflicts, cronyism and far from best practice. FICA does believe though that the ICC day-to-day management has improved considerably and are unfairly tarnished as a result of decisions of the ICC Chief Executive and Board Committees."

The call for a review of the game's governance is not new. FICA have been pushing for change for several years, and the former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed this year said he would be in favour of an independent commission running the game, although he also said the idea that countries always voted in geographical blocs was, based on his time at the organisation, not accurate.

The FICA survey did reveal some good news for the ICC, with 94% of players rating the recent World Cup as "good" or above, compared to only 11% giving the 2007 tournament that level of support. However, the event is still too long, according to 74% of those surveyed, while 72% backed the decision to reduce the number of teams in the next World Cup to 10, and 91% felt the Associate nations should have a chance to qualify.

The majority (82%) of players said the DRS made for better decision-making from umpires at the World Cup, and 97% thought the DRS should be compulsory in all Test matches. Notably, FICA is not affiliated with players from India - the BCCI being the major opponent of the DRS - or from Pakistan or Zimbabwe.

The survey also showed:

* 32% of players would retire prematurely from international cricket to play exclusively in the IPL and similar Twenty20 tournaments
* 40% said that given the magnitude of salaries being offered by the IPL, they could envisage a day where they would rank their obligations to IPL and other T20 events ahead of obligations to their home boards
* 94% believed that superior salaries offered by the IPL would motivate younger players to hone their skills principally to T20
* 40% said their board schedules too much international cricket
* Only 24% of players favour a change in the format of ODIs
* 39% believe boards schedule too many ODIs, reducing the public's interest in the format

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/c...ry/517518.html

Plum

2nd June 2011, 11:17 PM

No players from india surveyed. Idhellaam oru survey - let the western powers whine as much as they want. Apdi thaan dominate pannuvom - ninga p,ningalla? Pahzikkku pazhi. Stuart Broad or Ponting ennikku life ban vaangaraano annikku dhaan I will accept that the bcci is dominating. Adhu varaiikkum it is just pay back. We'll not be in debit until that happens

ajithfederer

13th June 2011, 12:55 AM

FYI,
A couple of weeks back your favorite son of Asian soil and Warnie basher Arjuna Ranatunga lashed out at IPL calling it a monster, ICC a toothless tiger and SLC a puppet on strings. He actually complimented Tony greig for his above stand so it is not just western powers. More details here.

http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/item/174188-bcci-have-turned-icc-into-toothless-tiger-ranatunga

ajithfederer

13th June 2011, 01:01 AM

I think it was Prabhu Ram who came up with the most subtle and nonchalantly sarcastic analogy that ICC and BCCI are UN and US in world cricket to world affairs.

Plum

13th June 2011, 09:48 AM

Archunaru pangALinga. Avaru sollalAm. Avat pangai sariyA kdouthuttA vaaya mooduvAr.

Fact is it is all politics and nobody has the game's interest in mind - butonly bcci is being accused. If we gavepowers to ECB today, india will be decimated out of the game and only Ashes series will remain. That time will come soon when ECB shows its naked power but until thenn allow B CCI to destroy cricket as you know it. It is our turn now. Wait for the ECB's turn - and they'll do a much better job of destroying cricket than bcci does

ajithfederer

21st June 2011, 04:58 AM

India news
Global 'arm-twisting' scuttled ICL - Modi

Sharda Ugra

June 20, 2011

Modi's turnaround

In a slew of posts on Twitter, Lalit Modi claimed that the BCCI led a concerted campaign against the Indian Cricket League © AFP

* Lalit Modi's tweets playing down his role in the banning and subsequent closure of the IPL are at odds with his official response to the BCCI's show-cause notice to him last year. One part of his 15,000-page response related to the charge that he was involved in creating an unauthorised league; here's what he said:

* My effort to curb ICL, which was a rebel league, is well known and well documented and needs no repetition...I always held that Governing Bodies in cricket cannot grant permission to private parties to operate other than within the official fold.

* I have always stood for supremacy of ICC and domestic cricket boards and it was for this reason that I had always opposed any recognition for ICL and other unofficial cricket events.

* I have consistently taken an unambiguous, unqualified and tough stand, when it came to unauthorised cricket. In fact, all through-out, I am the one who has taken an unambiguous and unqualified stand in respect of unauthorized cricket.

* The same are well documented and minuted and notes from the participants who attended such meetings in the year 2008-09 with the Honorary President along with me were sent to various cricket administrators worldwide.

ajithfederer

21st June 2011, 04:59 AM

Global 'arm-twisting' scuttled ICL - Modi (Cont'd)

Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has in a remarkable outburst on Twitter revealed details of what he claims was the BCCI's sustained and widespread campaign against the privately-owned 'rebel' Indian Cricket League (ICL) that eventually led to its closure. Ironically, by his own earlier admission, Modi played the most high-profile and strident role in crushing the ICL.

The BCCI's opposition to the ICL, owned by Zee Telefilms, has been well-known but Modi's accusations - spread over 25 tweets in a four-hour span - would, if true, confirm the part it played, along with the ICC and cricket boards around the world, to isolate the ICL from international cricket.

Modi claimed that the BCCI had a "mandate to scuttle ICL" and, in order to do so, "arm-twisted every cricket board and the ICC" to change their constitutions. The ICL, he said, was made redundant by being deemed unauthorised.

BCCI president Shashank Manohar would not comment on Modi's allegations, telling ESPNcricinfo, "He sits somewhere and writes something ... it is not of concern to us. The media is fascinated by his comments, not us."

The ICL was born in April 2007 out of the debris of India's disastrous World Cup campaign. However, it seemed to have usurped a plan by the BCCI for a similar league, and that set off a series of events, court cases, failed negotiations and bans on players and officials that led to the ICL's closure; the league's last competitive match was in November 2008.

Modi's comments included an attempt to abdicate his own responsibility in those events but he was one of the most powerful men in Indian cricket, if not the global game, and has admitted (see sidebar) to playing a major role in the campaign. His tweets explained his role in the exercise by saying the anti-ICL drive was not his personal agenda and that his actions were only a reflection of his doing a job. "I have always done what's required by any organization I have worked with. Well, I guess I do my job well. That's why I give results." He admitted, though, that it was "a mistake to have systematically used everything in the BCCI's arsenal to finish the ICL."

Even as the head of the BCCI's marketing committee at the time, Modi said, he had "no personal issues with ICL" and that his "personal opinion that more competition in the game is good for the game and its Players."

Later, speaking to the TV channel Times Now, Modi said the timing of his relevations was prompted by the BCCI's attitude towards the fledgling Sri Lankan Premier League. The BCCI has barred Indian players from taking part in that tournament on the grounds - flawed, as ESPNcricinfo has revealed - that it was run by a private organisation and not the national board. "The ICL as an issue was dead and buried but now there is a related case of an authorised league being stopped," Modi said, while clarifying that he had no links with the SLPL.

ajithfederer

21st June 2011, 05:02 AM

Global 'arm-twisting' scuttled ICL - Modi (Cont'd)

If Modi's version of the anti-ICL campaign is true, it paints an unflattering picture of how world cricket toed the BCCI's line. His allegations on Twitter: The Indian board "called every member of the ICC to ensure that they all help in changing the ICC constitution to outlaw the ICL"; the ICC formed a three-member committee, including Modi, to draft the new constitution (though it is understood that the ICC's constitution itself has not been changed). There were, in fact, alterations to section 32 of the ICC's Operating Manual with the section on "unofficial cricket events" being replaced by that concerning "disapproved cricket" on June 1, 2009. The changes were made after member boards asked for clarity on the issue.

How did the BCCI exert pressure or "induce" other member boards to outlaw the ICL? By offering them a share of the earnings of the Champions League Twenty20. The ECB, he said, had lost out on "the right to be a shareholder" of the Champions League at the initial stage itself.

At home, the BCCI allegedly "called all and sundry to oppose the ICL." Domestic players were told they would be blacklisted if they played in the ICL, state associations were asked not to make their grounds available for ICL matches or "fear loosing (sic) matches", advertisers "were called and told if you advertise on ICL, then you will be barred from all BCCI cricket". Umpires and commentators were also pressured.

Modi, currently in near-exile in the UK, was suspended by the BCCI over financial irregularities relating to the IPL as well as charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England. To which Modi said, "To even suggest that I would hold out a plan which seems to destroy the world cricket structure or impinge upon the control of various Governing Bodies in their respective countries is not only farfetched but is clearly false to the knowledge of all concerned."

Sharda Ugra is senior editor at ESPNcricinfo
RSS Feeds: Sharda Ugra

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/519963.html

Plum

21st June 2011, 05:09 AM

Vedham satthaan Odhudhu :lol:
Idhaiyum nambura bcci veRuppALargaL vaazhga! EnyA BCCI enna amorphous entityA? Lalita, nee dhaaneppaa mun nindru icl-ai scuttle seidhaai.
Enga voottu kozhjaaila nethu thanni varalai. Idhukku bcci sadhi marrum thimiru dhaan kaaranam enbadbai aanitharamaga therivithu koLgirEn. Thalaivar Giles Clarke and Malcolm Speed vegu viraivil araajaga bcci-ai thookki eRindhu dharmathai nilai naattuvaar. John howard supportum engalukku undu. Cricket endraal english australian mudhalaaligal dhaan brown adimaigalai ALa vENdum. Adhai viraivil nilai naattuvom. Pazhuppu naaygalaa nammai ALuvadhu? Wisden mEl ANai - andha nativegalai Ottuvom

SoftSword

21st June 2011, 05:29 AM

plum, thoongave mateengalaa... 5 manikku alarm vechu elundhu england australia'va thitreenga... :)
unga kadamai unarchikku oru alave illama poittu irukku...

Plum

21st June 2011, 05:32 AM

Softie, flight pudikka vENdi irukku. Airportla waiting - illainA soorya udhayam, udhayasooriyanlAm namma thirumbi kooda pArpOmA? ;-)

ajithfederer

24th June 2011, 11:11 PM

India news
Border-Gavaskar scholarship cancelled

ESPNcricinfo staff

June 23, 2011

The Border-Gavaskar scholarship programme, under which three promising Indian cricketers would visit Australia's Centre of Excellence (COE) in Brisbane every year, will no longer be offered as the sponsors - the Australia-India council (AIC) - have pulled out of the project.

"The Border-Gavaskar scholarship is terminated due to lack of sponsors," Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI's chief administrative officer told DNA. "They (AIC) have informed us and as it is not funded by Cricket Australia and BCCI, no players will be going."

The scholarship, which was introduced in 2000, was named in the honour of former India and Australia captains Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border and was instituted to strengthen ties between the two countries across a range of sectors, including sport. Since then, every year, three young Indian cricketers, nominated by the BCCI, spent six-weeks at the COE. Mohammad Kaif, Shiv Sundar Das and Sridhran Sriram were the first batch of players to receive the scholarship. Other recipients include Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. Abhimanyu Mithun, who is currently part of India's Test squad in the West Indies, Punjab middle-order batsman Mandeep Singh and Madhya Pradesh's Harpreet Singh were the last players to receive the scholarship in 2010.

India middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara who received the scholarship in 2007, said the experience had benefited him greatly. "When I went to Australia, they were the No. 1 team," Pujara told Indian Express. "We learnt how one has to approach the game, their preparation was great. You would come across Matthew Hayden and others, who were practicing in other nets. What I learnt was how one has to prepare during practice sessions."

Shetty said the cancellation of the scholarship would not affect young cricketers as there were plenty of academies coming up in India. "We have batting, spin bowling, fast bowling and various other camps for youngsters now. We are giving the best of the facilities to our youngsters and there is NCA, which is doing a good job in helping this young lot learn better," he said.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/520468.html

ajithfederer

24th June 2011, 11:13 PM

Recipients of the scholarship
2000: Mohammad Kaif (UPCA), SS Das (Orissa CA), S Sriram (TNC)
2001: Deepak Chougule (KSCA), Parthiv Patel (Gujarat CA), Vinayak Mane (Mumbai CA)
2002: Gautam Gambhir (DDCA), L Balaji (TNCA), Thilak Naidu (KSCA)
2003: Siddharth Trivedi (Gujarat CA), Udit Patel (KSCA), Raiphi Gomez (Kerala CA)
2004: Shikhar Dhawan (DDCA), Suresh Raina (UPCA), Y Venugopal (Andra CA)
2005: VRV Singh (Harayana CA), RP Singh (UPCA), Fiaz Fazal (Vidarbha CA)
2006: Kshernal Waingankar (Mumbai CA), Gaurav Dhiman (KSCA), Pinal Shah (Baroda CA)
2007: DB Ravi Teja (Hyderabad CA), Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra CA), V Yo Mahesh (Baroda CA)
2008: V Kohli (DDCA), P Sangwan (DDCA), T Srivastava (UPCA)
2009: A Mukund (KSCA), J Patil (Maharashtra CA), B Kumar (UPCA);
2010: A Mithun (KSCA), M Singh (PCA), Harpreet Singh (MPCA)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

satissh_r

25th June 2011, 11:25 AM

V Yo Mahesh (Baroda CA) ??????
I don't think he played for Baroda before...

Seems to have benefited quite a few cricketers, sad that they can't find enough sponsors. May be a case for the Ambanis and Sreenivasans to look at...

ajithfederer

25th June 2011, 11:40 PM

Decision Review System
DRS technology expensive, unreliable - Niranjan Shah

ESPNcricinfo staff

June 25, 2011

BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah has criticised the Decision Review System (DRS) in its present form, saying it offers marginal gains for a technology that is exorbitant and not error-free. The Indian board's stand so far has centred on the perceived unreliability of the ball-tracking technology, but Shah has also questioned the economic feasibility of the system and the lack of competing technologies.

Shah's statements come ahead of the ICC's annual conference in Hong Kong, at which the cricket committee's recommendation that DRS be used in all Tests - a stand the BCCI disagrees with - will be considered.

"You have to look at the economics. Every board is not making money out of Test matches and ODIs. The system requires about $60,000 per match," Shah told DNA. "Last year, about 65 Tests and 170 ODIs were played around the world. Multiply those numbers with $60,000. It would be a staggering amount for one or two decisions in a match.

"The ICC can come up with such technology because the money is not going from its coffers. The member boards have to pay for it. There might be some matches in the world where the money coming in from the ticket collection will be less than the amount spent on DRS."

There are two companies that presently offer competing ball-tracking technologies, Hawk-Eye and Virtual Eye. Shah said more options were needed so that the technology could become affordable before it could be universally used. "I see some vested interests working here. Unless there are 10 different technologies and they become competitive and cheaper, we cannot adopt [the system]. A $1000 a day should be fine. Not $60,000 a day. That kind of money should go into the development of the game among the Associate members."

Shah also was not in favour of the manner in which the DRS is currently used, with teams allowed a maximum of two unsuccessful reviews per innings of a Test. "The DRS cannot be used for the whole game. If a team exhausts its options in the very first over, what happens then? For the rest of the innings, the team has to live without the system. If you can't have the system for the whole match, what is the use?

"If you want to use the technology throughout the match, then the game will never finish because the batsmen and bowlers will go on appealing. If there is a restriction, it won't justify the cost. Only the first few batsmen get the advantage. The others don't. Where is the fairness?"

Shah reiterated the BCCI's opposition to the ball-tracking technology, saying that it was the imagination of technology versus the imagination of the umpire. "They have to prove on what basis the tracking is going on, because every square centimetre of the pitch is different. If there is a human error, take the umpire to task.

"Even the accuracy level of the system is suspect. I'm told that the accuracy has gone up to 97% from 92%. It is not 100% still. I cannot fathom so much money spent for so little returns."

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/520736.html

ajithfederer

25th June 2011, 11:42 PM

Now these are some valid concerns but lbw's by nature are all not very conclusive, so i believe it is impossible to develop a 100% reliable system. May be in the future possible.

Plum

25th June 2011, 11:48 PM

I think his point is Cost vs benefit. Which as you observed is fair enough.

Karthikeya Date has cut the clutter and posted a blog post that sums up the DRS issue yesterday. Need to link it.
He poses the issue in a beautiful way that exposes some vested interests.
Nobody claims BCCI is an angel but they are being unfairly targetted on this issue by certain vested interests who believe they can manipulate the DRS system to their favour and hence it needs to be pushed even at the enormous cost - and probes must be conducted on the link between the UDRS technology companies and proponents of UDRS in media, ICC and among English and Aussie players and commentators. WHo is getting what percentage of the $60000*n*m (n and m are large numbers)

ajithfederer

26th June 2011, 11:30 PM

Indian cricket plots control of world game

World cricket could be hijacked by India for decades to come at the International Cricket Council’s annual meeting in Hong Kong starting on Sunday.

The ICC’s governance review committee, heavily influenced by the BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India), has proposed changes to the ICC constitution that would pave the way for the ICC president to rule indefinitely, and for two successive presidents to come from the same country.

Sharad Pawar, the former head of the BCCI, is the ICC president but under the present regulations, an Indian could not succeed him.

The proposal, which would allow India to impose their will on the cricketing world, needs the support of most of the 35 Associate members – and 38 votes out of 50 in the voting council – and it could well get voted in such is India’s financial muscle because of their vast television audiences.

The dangers of an Indian ruling ICC as a president-for-life are far-reaching for world cricket. India are opposed to the new umpiring Decision Review System, although it is approved by almost everyone else. The Indian Premier League would also be guaranteed a six-week window in March and April, so that no international cricket could be played in that period.

This would mean England’s schedule would be restricted – and potentially their income too.

The World Cup will also be affected. The ICC has stated the 2015 World Cup will be a 10-country event, but another motion at this week’s ICC meeting is for four Associates to be included in a 14-country event, like last time, in spite of far too many one-sided matches. Michael Vaughan, the former England captain said: “The Indians are basically taking over.”

David Morgan, the last ICC president, added: “I think the ICC has been well served by fixed-term presidencies. The dangers that arise from open-ended terms of office are well known.”

Geoffrey Boycott said: “Many countries that play cricket are frightened to death of India’s financial power. You’ve got TV stations queuing up in India to get the rights to beam the coverage [of their tours] in India and they pay a lot of money for that.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/india/8599061/Indian-cricket-plots-control-of-world-game.html

ajithfederer

26th June 2011, 11:33 PM

Britees polambal valakkam pola.

ajithfederer

8th July 2011, 11:34 AM

A scathing article in HT about Srikanth favoring his son Anirudha in the Emerging players tournament. Never knew that such a tourney happens at all.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Sacrificing-integrity-for-personal-gain/Article1-718642.aspx

Plum

8th July 2011, 11:38 AM

This is the tournament that Virat Kohli exploded into notice after or just before the disastrous IPL-1 I think.
Yeah, I noted Cheeka's cheeky infiltration of Anirudha in another thread. Shameful! There are probably more deserving candidates in the TN team itself, not to mention numerous other candidates from other states :(

Plum

8th July 2011, 11:40 AM

I'd say Arun Karthik has done well more consistently across all formats of the game than Anirudha. And he isnt exactly an Emerging player contender himself yet Anirudha jumps above him into the Indian Emerging Players team!

Yeah, Ani did better in the IPL than Arun - if you can call one fluky 50 as better than otherwise low scores by both of them.

ajithfederer

8th July 2011, 11:45 AM

Srikanth has done a most commendable job or in fact the best work as a selector in the last 3 years. Nobody can take that credit away. If I were in BCCI i would extend his tenure to at-least one more year.

Plum

8th July 2011, 12:01 PM

As long as N Cheenu is there nobody can touch Cheeka, AF. He has generally done a very good job, except for giving a longer rope to TN fellas, which is also not a big crime given that TN boys have never received that favour before. The northies hate him, ofcourse, and it is no surprise Hindustan Times pounced on the Anirudha thing. Saying that, this was a step too far - getting the average Anirudha into the Emerging players team.

He is now shrewdly praising Yuvraj Singh which should give him some brownie points with the northies. Clever man, our Cheeka, which is probably why he is in the top 2 successful TN Cricketers ever, the other being the sincere and straight-forward Venkat

ajaybaskar

8th July 2011, 12:33 PM

SLPL Postponed to 2012 (http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-premier-league-2011/content/current/story/522286.html?comments=all#comments)

ajithfederer

9th July 2011, 03:46 AM

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-premier-league-2011/content/current/story/522343.html

It's a bad idea from the start to mainly depend on Indian players to run the league. BCCI could have let its players play the league, although I am not sure who would that be as all the big players are in WI and will be in England when that happens. Totally depending on BCCI to run SLPL is a bad idea. Look at Australia how is running Big bash.

ajaybaskar

9th July 2011, 12:06 PM

Even if Indians dont watch Bigbash, it would survive considering the might of CA. But the SLPL organizers depended on the Indian audience and that was the mistake.

ajithfederer

9th July 2011, 12:32 PM

Do they show big bash in India??.

ajaybaskar

9th July 2011, 01:00 PM

Yes.. ESPN SS shows it..

ajithfederer

9th July 2011, 09:14 PM

Thanks ab.

MADDY

7th August 2011, 08:20 PM

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/bcci-ipl-evaded-tax-parliamentary-report/59173-13.html

BCCI slammed in the PAC report by Yashwant Sinha............IPL's death, in the next 3-4 yrs, will be due to legal reasons, surely :-)

MADDY

7th August 2011, 08:27 PM

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bcci-ipl-evaded-tax-parliamentary-report/172467-3.html

CNN-IBN has learnt that in the 55-page report, the committee has found BCCI has regularly refused to pay taxes. Even this year, they paid On Rs 5 crore out of Rs 160 crore of service tax.

BCCI paid no income tax in 2008-09 and only Rs 14.86 crore in 2009-10, when gross revenues earned by BCCI was Rs 661 crore only from IPL.

The committee also hints at connivance between Income Tax officials and BCCI.

The report says that the Income Tax Department has been lax and soft on BCCI, allowing them to enrich their coffers at the expense of the exchequer.

Not just that, the report says that India's cricket's money-spinner, the IPL, is mired in tax-evasion, several IPL franchises have funded their teams through Hawala transactions and round-tripping of money from foreign countries.

Four IPL teams: Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab have been named for getting foreign investments without necessary approvals.

All the four IPL teams have got investments routed through tax-havens like Mauritius, Bahamas and British Virgin Islands, yet they did not get any mandatory approval from either Reserve Bank of India or other agencies.

suthham......if (wo)manmohan singh has any backbone left in him, he has to shut the kona-vaai pawar and ban IPL.......

sathya_1979

7th August 2011, 08:36 PM

aNNan GM: hai, this is kONa vaai number 7 (Gentleman) :lol:

ajithfederer

27th August 2011, 02:18 AM

New-age funding, old-age spending
Nikhilesh Bhattacharya, Hindustan Times
Kolkata, August 25, 2011

http://www.hindustantimes.com/images/HTPopups/260811/26_08_pg17a.jpg

ajithfederer

27th August 2011, 02:20 AM

New-age funding, old-age spending (Cont'd)
Nikhilesh Bhattacharya, Hindustan Times
Kolkata, August 25, 2011

Would you like to earn in hundreds of crores but have little say in how the money is spent? That is the situation with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The world's richest cricket board distributes 70% of the money generated from its TV deals with Nimbus and the Indian
Premier League (IPL) among its member associations, but has no mechanism in place to monitor how the affiliates spend the money.

Long gone are the days of frugal existence when a Test or one-day venue acquiring a Super Sopper used to make news in the media. Indian cricket has also rapidly spread beyond major cities, with talent emerging from many small towns and the hinterland.

The BCCI spreads its wealth to its regional units to encourage them develop infrastructure and support young talent. However, the money is not always spent properly.

Windfall for states
Between 2006-07 and 2010-11, BCCI's 27 full members got around R60 crore each. But the board feels "many affiliated units don't utilise the money properly". Its officials admit the board "cannot have" a monitoring mechanism in place. Even if a system is put in place, the BCCI cannot hold back money from any unit as it can ill afford to offend its voters.

"If you are giving money, you should also check how it is used. There are clauses to check but they are not followed," says Kiran More, former international and an ex-secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association. "Everyone ends up blaming the BCCI for not following them. But the onus lies more on the state associations. They should strive to be the best and make sure the money is invested into cricket development."

Currently, all that an affiliate must do is submit its statement of accounts to the BCCI. According to the board's rules, it can hold back disbursements only if a unit had failed to submit accounts for the previous two years.

The HT investigated the affairs of three state associations, each headed by a top former or current BCCI official, and found many shortcomings.

Stadium dreams
"The board gives the money to develop infrastructure. If you keep it in the bank, then it is of no use," says BCCI vice-president Arindam Ganguly.

However, the Tripura Cricket Association (TCA), where Ganguly is the secretary, is focused on saving money so that it can build an "international stadium" costing no less than

Rs100 crore, while budding cricketers in the state are hard-pressed to find proper grounds, let alone turf wickets, to play on.

"If you go through our accounts, you will see a huge amount of money kept in the bank," Ganguly admits. "But that is because we have a plan."

The TCA has a bank balance of more than Rs55 crore. The plan is to build a stadium near the Agartala airport and expand the facilities at the MBB Stadium and convert it into an academy for the Northeast.

Land in both locations has been leased to the TCA for 20 years. The budget is "Rs125-130 crore for the two projects", says Ganguly. While the academy makes sense, the international stadium does not. Agartala does not even have the kind of hotels required to accommodate international teams.

The TCA gives each subdivision "no less than Rs1.5 lakh a year", says Ganguly. That includes Rs50,000 for ground preparation. "The grounds are used for all sports, and given the amount of rain Tripura gets, Rs50,000 is not enough," says Dilip Sarkar, secretary of the Udaipur subdivisional cricket association.

Village stadium
In what can be a cautionary tale to the TCA, Haryana Cricket Association (HCA), of which former BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra's son Anirudh Chowdhury is the secretary, wasted board's one-time infrastructure grant by building a stadium at Lahali village, about 15km from the nearest town, Rohtak. With the nearest airport in New Delhi and no suitable hotels even in Rohtak, the stadium can host only domestic matches. "It's a waste. You can't even host a camp there because players from Rohtak have to travel about 30km to and fro," said a former Haryana player on condition of anonymity. An HCA official, however, said: "The place has developed in the last few years, and we are sure it will have amenities like five-star hotel, and airport somewhere nearby."

Not even a ground
The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association has a bank balance of more than Rs100cr, but has yet to have a ground. It has had to let go opportunities to host international ties after being refused the use of the state govt-owned Green Park in Kanpur. To make matters worse for budding cricketers, a few junior selectors use the Kamla Club ground, leased to the UPCA, as a private academy & charge hefty fees.

(With inputs from Sharad Deep/Subhash Rajta)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/cricketnews/New-age-funding-old-age-spending/Article1-737750.aspx

ajithfederer

27th August 2011, 02:28 AM

60 crore each a year. That's 1620 crores, roughly put at 1 USD= 45 RS, that's 360 million$ in 5 years/72 mil a year.

P_R

7th September 2011, 05:51 PM

ஒண்ணியும் தெரியாது. ஆனாது தெரியாதது எங்க தப்புத்தேன் - என்.ஶ்ரீநிவாசன் (http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/531457.html)

Plum

7th September 2011, 06:56 PM

indha seenivasarai uLLa thookki pOttA nalladhu dhAn. Kanimozhikku pakkathu cell ready paNNunga.

With the power BCCI has over ICC, correctA payan paduththinA, Englandukkum Australiakkum thaNNi kAttalAm. Step Forward, Jagmohan.

I am not saying BCCI should be altruistic, note. Just nAsokkA nAdhArithanam paNNanum(not financial). Cunning use paNNi ECB/ACB-ai desparate AkkaNum. English playersku ellAm chinna transgressionku kUda ban paNNanu. Obnoxious weed paNdra azhichAttiyathukkellAm "bhagwan mujhe chod do' type excuse kodukkaNum.

England, Australia matchukku Ranatungavai match refereeyA pOdaNum.

adhukkappuRam avanga react paNNanum. appO avaingaLoda uthamathanathukku utharavAdham tharum Frabhu Rau moonjiya pAkkaNum.

adhukkappuRam, BCCI puzhuthu pOgaNum. ACB/ECB powerukku varaNum. So, the power equation is ACB/ECB have the financial power but match referee, committee, umpire levella Indian Bucknors and Indian Chris Broads irukkaNum.

BCCI irukkaRa Exact same situationla ECB/ACB irundhA enna nadakkumnu avar kaNNARa pArthu uNaraNum.

P_R

7th September 2011, 07:00 PM

England, Australia matchukku Ranatungavai match refereeyA pOdaNum. :lol:
Nesst macthukku irubathiraNdu players thEvaippaduvaanga

appO avaingaLoda uthamathanathukku utharavAdham tharum Frabhu Rau moonjiya pAkkaNum. en oruthanukkaaga, ivvaLavum... *kaNNeer*

P_R

7th September 2011, 07:05 PM

Usain intree part two.
About Fletcher

n our counties, it was like the England football team - Arsenal, Liverpool are bigger than England. That's how it was. We used to be in the England dressing room and players were still putting on Ceefax [to check] how's Essex going, how's Middlesex? And I was like, I'm not interested here, this is England, we're playing Australia. So Dunc used to ring up Somerset and say, "Sorry, Andrew Caddick is not playing next week." And they are trying to win the Championship, so it was a massive thing.

There was a Northants chairman who was asked which would he prefer: Northants winning the Championship or England winning the Ashes, and he said Northants winning the Championship. That was the mentality Dunc had to take on, and it made him very unpopular with counties. But he took them on and he rested the players. And look now, it's all moved on and that's just normal now. He changed our culture a little bit.

...every decision we made had to be voted on by the ECB cricket committee, which consisted of the counties. It was like turkeys voting for Christmas;
:lol:

ajithfederer

23rd September 2011, 10:28 PM

:rotfl2:

BCCI set to join the UN
If this application is anything to go by, the cricket board may pip the country of its origin to the Security Council
R Rajkumar

September 23, 2011

A In an unprecedented move for a sport governing body, the BCCI yesterday applied for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Governments, think tanks, and other observers were generally in agreement that the power-hungry cricket board's move was inevitable in hindsight, and that, in the words of one diplomat who wished not to named, "we're all pretty much f****d now".

"And as an added bonus, you can remove Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from the General Assembly, because we make all the decisions for them anyway" © Bangladesh Cricket Board

The following are excerpts from the petition letter.

To Whomsoever It May Concern (But let's be honest here, who wouldn't it?):

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India, not that we really have to spell it out to you) hereby submits its application for permanent member status at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

It is our opinion that, given how much the BCCI has grown as an entity which holds absolute sway over the lives of pathetic little ordinary people, it is only natural that the next logical step is to join the UNSC, from where we can expand our hold over a much larger swath of the world's population.

It should be noted that while the Republic of India has been kept waiting for inclusion into the elite clique of five nations that holds veto powers in the UNSC, experts have long tipped the BCCI to be successful where the country it purports to work for has failed:

"This organisation, if I can use the term loosely, has all the requirements and characteristics required to be a successful permanent member." We quote none other than Henry Kissinger, a patron and old friend of the board, true, but also, we're sure you will agree, a man whose integrity and honesty can never be called into question.

We have also taken the liberty of listing a few characteristics that any nation or entity worth its name must possess to even be considered a permanent member on the UNSC, points the BCCI already adopts as a matter of course:

•Plenty of experience dealing with the ICC (International Criminal Court).

•A healthy disregard for the interests of any entity other than one's own. Case in point: making cricketers play as many matches as they can, fitness and performances notwithstanding, as long as they bring in the dollars.

•A constructively hypocritical attitude towards which states to help and which to leave to their own devices come crunch time (example: Pakistan, the SLPL)

•A trigger-happy veto finger when faced with scenarios a member state is not convinced will benefit itself enough (example: Implementation of the DRS as and when we like it)

Furthermore, you will be pleased to note the BCCI has already started to formulate resolutions for the UNSC to consider adopting once it becomes a permanent member:

1. We find there are more effective ways than sanctions or military action for getting reluctant states to do your bidding. If any of the other member states (say, the UK) was to veto a resolution we supported - say, for argument's sake, doing away with Test matches altogether in favour of holding the IPL every other month instead of once a year - we would persuade the offending state to see our way by naming a hastily drafted IPL team after them (the Queen's XI UK, anyone?), only to promptly threaten to sever their participation in future editions of the tournament. Of course, sadly, we would also have to fine them for subsequent non-participation. This has worked very well for us in the past. (Please refer to Case History #23461: Kochi Tuskers)

2. A resolution that makes it illegal for rogue states to brazenly display their unrecognised name or flag. A cricketing analogy would be forbidding the national team's name ("India") from being more than half the size of the sponsor's name on team jerseys. Regrettably the name of the country can still just about be seen on camera, even if it is dwarfed by the name of the sponsor. This is not fair to the sponsors, who deserve to see their name and their name only. Besides, it's not like India paid to have its name visible. If India wants to talk about working out a fair deal for having its name displayed, then we can talk. Fair is fair, after all.

3. Finally, we promise to use our veto power sparingly and only when needed. For example, we might use it to negate a certain team's claim that they are the No. 1 team in Test cricket. We intend to accomplish this by banning Test cricket altogether (see No. 1). We sincerely believe the security and prosperity of the world will benefit immeasurably from the absence of Test cricket.*

We are confident you will agree that we are primed to be accorded full membership status and privileges at the UNSC, more so than our pretender, India.

Should you deny us, we will name an IPL team after you.

Sincerely,

Jaywant Lele
(former BCCI secretary, current Chairman and Commissioner of UNSC Application)

*You're welcome, Obama.
R Rajkumar hopes that writing about cricket helps justify his watching it as much as he does to the people in his life who wonder where the remote control's disappeared to. All quotes and "facts" in this article are made up, but you knew that already, didn't you?

http://www.espncricinfo.com/page2/content/story/533461.html

littlemaster1982

27th September 2011, 04:17 PM

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/301499_10150837870290232_707275231_21338897_712149 358_n.jpg

8-) 8-)

Courtesy: a poster from ICF

wizzy

29th September 2011, 03:04 PM

Weed dropped for the Eng series!!:rotfl:

raajarasigan

29th September 2011, 03:10 PM

Weed dropped for the Eng series!!:rotfl:kodi aethi kondadi kuzhandhiagalukku choclate kodukkurom da.. :redjump:

Siv.S

29th September 2011, 03:50 PM

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2011/content/current/story/534294.html

Harbhajan dropped for first two ODIs :clap: :clap:

Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, S Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

Plum

29th September 2011, 05:09 PM

:shock: - bcci will pay for this. Dhoni will suffer without a reliable spin bowler to turn to when Ashwin leaks runs, unless Sharma steps upIndian cricket edhirkaalam iruttil

scorpio

29th September 2011, 05:44 PM

Bhajji is the captain of India Green. Adhula perform paNNi micha series-kku thembha thirumbhi vandhuruvaan eppadiyum. Ella sandhOshamum short lived thaan!

Plum

29th September 2011, 06:11 PM

Oh apdi oNNu irukkulla. Ok, some hope for dhoni/india then

wizzy

29th September 2011, 07:24 PM

^ When Dhoni opts for a break..Weed will be back as captain for the last 3 odis against Eng :thumbsup:

raajarasigan

30th September 2011, 11:31 AM

^ When Dhoni opts for a break..Weed will be back as captain for the last 3 odis against Eng :thumbsup:appo Gambhir'oda vaazhkkai..

wizzy

30th September 2011, 12:05 PM

^ before the Eng series he will be injured again :-)

scorpio

30th September 2011, 01:10 PM

Bhajji has been a great help: Rahul Sharma

"It is an irony that I walk in the team as Bhajji goes out. I wanted to play with him and bowl in tandem with him," he said.

He then spoke about Harbhajan's influence on his career. "I hail from Jalandhar in Punjab and Bhajji has been great help for me. I see this opportunity as a new challenge and I wish to give my hundred per cent because that's what matters the most," he said.
http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/45046/bhajji-has-been-a-great-help-rahul-sharma

Apdi pOdu aruvaaLa!

Plum

30th September 2011, 03:00 PM

This is good n a way - because if anyone can come with a spicy bitching on saala madrasi mafia at the top of bcci, Bhajji can.Looking for some reaction from him along madrasi conspiracy lines...

wizzy

2nd October 2011, 07:23 PM

Umesh yadavuku oru OZ visa parcel..to maintain speed of 140s after bowling 9 over spell in a desert and then to hurry the batsman on a dodo wicket:thumbsup:

satissh_r

2nd October 2011, 07:32 PM

Umesh yadavuku oru OZ visa parcel..to maintain speed of 140s after bowling 9 over spell in a desert and then to hurry the batsman on a dodo wicket:thumbsup:

Vinay Kumar oda first four overs pathingala? PK xerox mathiri pottan... Prodigious swing :shock:

wizzy

2nd October 2011, 07:57 PM

^Vinay Koomar is a very good trier but he is in mould of erstwhile karnataka phast bowler Dodda Ganesh..mast romba kami.. also oru teamla 2 kumars numerology padi set avathu..Also PK for all his skills isn't effective in subcontinental conditions..with Ishant's impending ankle surgery there is a good chance that Yadav/Aaron sharing the new ball in OZ.

Plum

2nd October 2011, 08:55 PM

Aaronin kAval nallA irukkA pArppOm.I think a revolutionary selection approach is required for indian medium pacers - select when they are young, get a good tour or two out of them and move on to the next youngster - just cut out the useless rigmarole of giving chances to injured, pace reduced youngsters, which is inevitably their state two years after debut.Let them play ipl and earn money.Also, that way video analysts of oppn think tank will be baffled. Esp the video analysis fuelled English coaching setup.

wizzy

2nd October 2011, 09:55 PM

^read the reports about alleged altercation between Dhoni/Jimmy on dropping Weed? expect a Shastrival/Sunil column on TOIlet about injustice meted out to India's no. 1 spinner :lol:

sathya_1979

4th October 2011, 01:38 AM

489

Cricinfo Poll

wizzy

5th October 2011, 11:05 AM

Ojha seems to have developed a kink in his bowling action..any one feeling the same? are my eyes playing tricks :-)

sathya_1979

9th October 2011, 07:19 AM

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/59/20111008201110080303526866c52a07/Players-vs-Politicians-debate-gets-another-spin.html

K (http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/59/20111008201110080303526866c52a07/Players-vs-Politicians-debate-gets-another-spin.html)umble? :roll: I now know why Vinay Kumar is getting call-ups :lol2:

wizzy

9th October 2011, 02:30 PM

Gavaskaroda PmG sports pannathaiya kumble pannitar :lol:

sathya_1979

9th October 2011, 11:49 PM

My point: People know and had bashed Gavaskar and Shastri etc here. They WILL NOT do the same against Seenu Mama or Kuyil Kumble! Selective amnesia I say :lol2:

ellaa teamlayum thiruttu pasanga irukkaanga!

littlemaster1982

26th October 2011, 09:48 AM

http://www.itimes.com/files/rsz/fit_s_400x600/files/07-2011/234/6e713a12e4b46d17718f4aeba6159056_1311830880.jpg

http://www.itimes.com/files/rsz/fit_s_400x600/files/07-2011/234/609ac761b92d05a31bf1766f56340949_1311830798.jpg

http://www.itimes.com/files/rsz/fit_s_400x600/files/07-2011/234/22b1c3ba02eff25e664f6fa72881edb3_1311830909.jpg

http://www.itimes.com/files/rsz/fit_s_400x600/files/07-2011/234/6e7f5da8dbe8e2e1d9f52fd0ce8f7ed1_1311830750.jpg

Rare pics :)

littlemaster1982

26th October 2011, 09:51 AM

3rd pic is Gavaskar, btw.

Puliyan_Biryani

1st November 2011, 12:23 AM

2nd pic Raina-va :confused2:?

littlemaster1982

2nd November 2011, 03:08 PM

Yes :thumbsup:

sathya_1979

30th November 2011, 07:22 AM

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/542921.html

Government sends BCCI 19 show-cause notices

(http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/542921.html)

wizzy

1st December 2011, 11:27 AM

Eppo Dave Richardson PF vanguvaro

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_ratnakar-shetty-sundar-raman-linked-to-icc-chief-executive-post_1619712

ajaybaskar

1st December 2011, 12:23 PM

Dhoni hasnt changed much.. :)

ajaybaskar

1st December 2011, 12:23 PM

Who is the 4th one?

sathya_1979

1st December 2011, 08:49 PM

Dravid

sathya_1979

8th December 2011, 03:33 AM

For Plum

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/543717.html

ajithfederer

15th December 2011, 10:14 AM

India news

Kumble quits as NCA chief

ESPNcricinfo staff

December 12, 2011

Anil Kumble, the former India captain, has resigned as chairman of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) over what he says was a lack of "alignment" between his vision for the NCA and the rest of the committee's.

An official statement from the BCCI for the reasons for Kumble's decision is awaited. He is tipped to be replaced, at least on an interim basis, by MP Pandove, the chairman of the BCCI's specialised academies committee and a member of the IPL governing council.

"I had a three-year vision, a holistic approach for the NCA that was not in alignment with that of the rest of the committee," Kumble told ESPNcricinfo. "It didn't make sense to me to just be a figurehead in this kind of a situation. So I thought it was better that somebody else take over." In his role as chairman, Kumble told PTI, he had made 10 presentations to the committee about his vision for the NCA.

The NCA committee, as listed on website, is made up of 14 members including Kumble. The other committee members are BCCI president N Srinivasan, joint secretaries Sanjay Jagdale and Anurag Thakur, treasurer Ajay Shirke, chief-administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty, vice-chairman Ranjib Biswal, NCA Board members Anirudh Chaudhry, TC Mathew, Rakesh Parikh, Bikash Baruah and Gyanendra Pandey, director, NCA cricket operations Sandeep Patil and administration manager AK Jha.

Kumble is president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and chief mentor of the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team. The post of NCA chairman, an honorary post, was Kumble's first official BCCI position since being elected KSCA president last year. He denied that his decision to quit a day after an NCA meeting in Chennai was due to arguments in Monday's BCCI working committee meeting over apparent conflict of interest issues concerning him. Board rules require that any resignation must be tabled before a working committee.

Two months ago, controversy arose over Kumble's co-ownership of a talent management firm called Tenvic that has on its books several young players including R Vinay Kumar and S Aravind, both of whom have been part of recent India squads and also play for the Royal Challengers. Tenvic - named after Kumble's ten-wicket haul against Pakistan in 1999 - looks after the commercial interests of the players but Kumble has consistently denied any conflict of interest between his administrative and mentoring roles.

He said at the time that "less than 2%" of Tenvic's business was related to "mentoring cricketers", and that too without any commercial benefit.

COMMENT - An opportunity lost

Anil Kumble's resignation from the post of NCA chairman has only strengthened Indian cricket's status quo. By suggesting changes to the NCA structures, Kumble walked into no-man's land. There is little doubt that Indian cricket needs to alter, streamline and professionalise its injury-management system, a fact reflected by repeated selectoral faux pas. BCCI posts are largely figurehead positions; power and decision-making rest in the hands of very few. For the BCCI to accept what Kumble was offering, even in theory and irrespective of cost, required humility and recognition that their status quo required changing.

Kumble could have been the best man for this job, based on his experience, work ethic and empathy of player hardship. In an ideal world, Kumble should have been the NCA's fully-paid professional CEO. It would, however, have made his KSCA position untenable and shrunk his real influence. As much contempt as he may have for the BCCI's functionaries today, it is only by working with them that he will wrestle change out of the status quo. A seasoned policy wonk would have told Kumble that in this high-profile BCCI post the wickets do not fall easily. Patience and persistence, his strengths as a bowler, needed buffeting by new skills of negotiation, diplomacy and an acceptance that progress will come not in sessions or in days but in years. It would seem both sides have lost this one. - Sharda Ugra

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/545098.html

ajithfederer

15th December 2011, 10:21 AM

I hope that guys like Tendulkar and Dravid take cue from this incident and never be involved with this Mafia organization. Even Mafia had honor and respect.

ajithfederer

24th December 2011, 03:13 PM

Well its about friggin time. BCCI :clap:. Hope they devise a method to improve out of form bowlers as well.

BCCI asks selectors to create 'a pool of bowlers'
New Delhi:

At a time when there is a question mark over the fitness of two of India's best fast bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma ahead of the 4-match Test series vs Australia, NDTV has learnt that BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale has written a letter to the BCCI Selection Committee.

Jagdale has proposed a pool of bowlers who will be monitored at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

"It is proposed to create a pool of bowlers and keep them under monitoring at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) throughout the year," said the letter signed by BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

He has also requested the members to suggest 10-15 names of current talents who are representing the Indian team and those who can, in future.

"You are requested to kindly suggest around 10/15 names of current/promising/potential talents who are representing the Indian team and those who can, in future.

"In this regard please get in touch with the Chairman Selection committee Mr.Srikanth at the earliest and forward your suggestions to him," the letter added.

This is being seen as a long term method to try and cut down on paying a heavy price on overseas tours due to unfit bowlers.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/sports/b...lers-182879&cp

wizzy

18th February 2012, 06:23 PM

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bcci-set-to-give-tv-rights-to-ipl-broadcaster-sony/1/174021.html

Mayanti Langer/Archana Vijaya to do the honors :mrgreen:

sathya_1979

6th March 2012, 03:48 AM

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/556232.html

enna ezhavu idhu? BCCI, CSA and ICC - kadainjeduththa muttaa pasanga :banghead:

Plum

6th March 2012, 09:30 AM

South Africa is playing its cards well in exchange for the one vote in ICC table that they have. Muttaal NZ doesn't know to bargain like this. If not with India, those guys can bargain with Aus/Eng atleast. To Australia: oru rendu moonu player engalukku vittu thaanga ungalukku vote podarom; to England: januaary 1 annikku vandhu oru t20 velayaadittu ponga aucklandla.

wizzy

6th March 2012, 09:50 AM

all in preparation for World T-20..BCCI has even scrapped all the tests in Lankan tour and are planning T20s instead :2thumbsup:

ajithfederer

30th March 2012, 04:12 PM

http://p.twimg.com/ApMrFJYCEAAGIyO.jpg

ajaybaskar

31st March 2012, 01:03 PM

'It's all about pushing yourself'

The followers of the Indian cricket team are one of the most religious ones around and they cling on to any little detail that comes their way. But these players, or rather stars now, were once humble and naive little boys working hard in their school playgrounds and backyards, trying to get their techniques in order. Some good examples of cricketers who made it big at the senior level after excelling at the U-19 stage include Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh. So while their current exploits might be fascinating, understanding how they started out at the various age group levels gives us an insight into what actually goes into transforming them into what they are today.

The India U-19 squad is leaving for a quadrangular series in Australia which begins on April 5th. This tour will be an important preparatory tour for the U-19 world cup, which will also take place in the same country, later this year. Their previous outing was also a quadrangular series at home in October 2011 where they had emerged victorious. But a tour Down Under poses a different set of challenges ranging from the mental aspect to the playing conditions involved. In preparation for that, the squad is undergoing training at a special camp at the NCA. We had a chance to witness one of the practice sessions and have a chat with the captain, Unmukt Chand and the coach, Bharat Arun.

While we began our chat with the coach, the 16 man squad was seen playing, in what we felt, was a practice match. We stayed around to observe the session and found out that it was not a match per se, but something more intriguing. When we inquired further, Arun told us that it was a simulated practice session to test specific skills of the players. The players were actually tackling some pre-determined scenarios. For example, the first one involved three top order batsmen getting to a fixed target in stipulated overs. The first two out in the center were Baba Aparajith and Unmukt Chand. Aparajith was playing the role of a sheet anchor while Chand, and later Vijay Zol were in the attack mode. Zol, who recently shot to fame by scoring 451 in an encounter against Assam, impressed with his fluency and range of strokes. Zol and Aparajith managed to accomplish the target, but only in the last allotted over. Next, three lower order batsmen were given a scenario which they would face in the death overs while batting first. They were instructed to bat accordingly and to keep in mind that only 2 wickets were in hand. This time the bowler, an off spinner, emerged triumphant as he dismissed two batters in the space of four balls. The whole experience was engrossing and entertaining while at the same time serving a purpose as well.

We noticed that the wicket on which this practice session was underway, was on the bouncier side, and a lanky left arm pacer, Rush Kalaria, was peppering the batsmen with short pitched stuff. Chand failed to connect an attempted pull and the rising delivery crashed into the helmet grill. There was a lot of concern from all the on field players when Chand removed his helmet to reveal a bruised jaw. The physio ran in with an ice pack but the coach remained unperturbed as it was all part of the training session. Chand later revealed that this was something specific they were working on, with respect to the difficult batting conditions in Australia. "It will take us time to adapt, but we have got wickets at the NCA (in Bangalore) which are grassy and have good bounce. We have been practicing on these wickets. We are also training with plastic balls and trying to play more on the backfoot, especially the cut, hook and pull shots."

One of the key aspects that has to be taken into consideration for a tour Down Under, is the size of the grounds, which are in complete contrast to those in India. When quizzed about this, the clarity in Chand's answer showed that this was already on their minds. "Yes, we have been working hard at that aspect (running between the wickets) as well. For example, in the practice matches, when the ball is hit in the outfield, we try to convert the ones into twos. It's all about pushing yourself. "

Chand, who hails from Uttaranchal, has already played for Delhi at the domestic level. He belied his age with his mature answers, something that the coach had enunciated earlier. "These Under 19 cricketers are pretty smart. Most of the guys here have, sometime or the other, been part of their state squads or at least have been in the state camps". Chand has also been part of the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, where he had the opportunity to rub shoulders with players of the caliber of Virender Sehwag. Chand considers this as an enriching experience which would certainly help him in the long run. "You learn a lot just by watching these greats. Just by sharing the dressing room with them, we get an insight into the overall routine that they follow. We get to spend about two months with them and watch them practice and observe them off the field as well".

Overall the session gave the impression of being well planned and in sync with the requirements for the tour. The players were in good spirits even at the end of a demanding session and soon after the coach, who had been taking mental notes all the while, addressed the group. The training was hard but none of the players seemed to feel the pinch. Call it the exuberance of youth or just the atmosphere created by the coaching staff, it did give an impression that these youngsters were on a solid platform at the moment and that is something that should help them when they try to step up to the next level.

Arvind Srinivasan

31st March 2012, 11:20 PM

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bcci-set-to-give-tv-rights-to-ipl-broadcaster-sony/1/174021.html

Mayanti Langer/Archana Vijaya to do the honors :mrgreen:

not yet confirmed.....there's gonna be a bidding.....

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/bccis-tv-mobile-internet-rights-on-sale/64798-13.html

Arvind Srinivasan

31st March 2012, 11:22 PM

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bcci-set-to-give-tv-rights-to-ipl-broadcaster-sony/1/174021.html

Mayanti Langer/Archana Vijaya to do the honors :mrgreen:

not yet confirmed.....there was a bidding.....most likely we will know by 2nd april

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/bccis-tv-mobile-internet-rights-on-sale/64798-13.html

wizzy

2nd April 2012, 04:23 PM

not yet confirmed.....there was a bidding.....most likely we will know by 2nd april

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/bccis-tv-mobile-internet-rights-on-sale/64798-13.html

domestic cricket in HD :2thumbsup:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/559538.html (http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/559538.html)

Arvind Srinivasan

2nd April 2012, 05:47 PM

great news.....:)

P_R

2nd April 2012, 06:16 PM

England tests to be held in Kolkota, Mumbai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad :shock: No test in Chennai
There is going to be an ODI at Dharmasala (Dec lightA kuLurA irukkAdhu?)

Chennai will host test versus Australia after

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/bcci-announces-four-new-international-venues/64829-13.html

Arvind Srinivasan

2nd April 2012, 06:43 PM

Bloody dogs....aen ipidi panraanunga.....chepauk deserves more......:twisted:

P_R

2nd April 2012, 06:51 PM

adhulayE pOtrukkE- two tests in aidharabaadh and bengaluru.
Two T20s in Vizag and Chennai.

wizzy

2nd April 2012, 06:52 PM

^rotation..Chepauk hosted Eng last time..about time we get a OZ test..:lol: @ Kiwis tour of South India

Arvind Srinivasan

2nd April 2012, 08:55 PM

Does this chennai test match scheduled in jan indicate the return of the pongal day test matches that used to take place earlier....if so it would be better if they kept a match for chennai every jan....

ajithfederer

11th April 2012, 02:03 PM

:clap:

http://www.e-brochures.com.au/cricketaustralia/annualreport2011/

Enna panam irundhu enna priojanam check out CA's Annual report from their site.

ajithfederer

13th May 2012, 01:11 PM

BCCI doling out nearly 15 mil$ in benefit packages to ex-players. Paarattapada vendiya vishayam :clap:. Well done BCCI 8-). Plum, what'dya thinkin???

India news

BCCI confirms benefit of $13m to ex-players
ESPNcricinfo staff
May 12, 2012

Some players who stand to benefit
100+ Tests, Rs 1.5 crore: Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar
75-99 Tests, Rs 1 crore: GR Viswanath, Syed Kirmani, Ravi Shastri
50-74 Tests, Rs 75 lakh: B Chandrasekhar, Mohinder Amarnath, S Venkataraghavan
25-49 Tests, Rs 60 lakh: Erapalli Prasanna, Salim Durani, Maninder Singh

The BCCI has ratified a one-time benefit payment to former national and domestic players, totalling approximately Rs 70 crore ($13 million), for their services to Indian cricket. The decision, first announced at the IPL opening ceremony, was confirmed at the board's Working Committee meeting in Chennai today.

The scheme, applicable to players who retired before the 2003-04 season, stands to benefit around 160 cricketers. The payments will be made in seven categories, with the top payments going to players who have played more than 100 Tests. Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar fall under this category, and will receive Rs 1.5 crore ($280,000 approx) each.

Other retired Test players will get between Rs 35 lakhs and Rs 1 crore, depending on the number of games they have played. Domestic players who have played 100 and more first-class games will be awarded Rs 30 lakhs, while those who have played 75-99 first-class matches will get Rs 25 lakh each.

It is not yet clear, though, whether Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma, who were both banned for life on match-fixing charges, will benefit from the scheme.

The announcement was welcomed by two India greats, Chandu Borde and Bapu Nadkarni. "Good Lord, it's fantastic," said Borde, who led India in one Test on the 1967-68 tour of Australia, when the regular captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was injured and unavailable to play. He played 55 Tests between 1958 and 1969 and stands to gain Rs. 75 lakh.

Borde's team-mate, the allrounder Bapu Nadkarni, said he had been expecting this sort of an announcement for some time now, having pursued the matter with other former cricketers and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar.

"To be frank, we have been discussing this with Sharad Pawar for the last two to three years. He had promised us it would be done. I heard after the last meeting of the Board that something was coming," Nadkarni said. He will receive Rs 60 lakh for his 41 Tests, played between 1955 and 1968.

"It was time we got something like this as expenses have been mounting with the price rise and medical expenses too going up," Nadkarni said. "We are living on what we had saved from our jobs which, you are aware, were not high-paying in those days."