Team that handles pressure better will clinch series: Dhoni

Neither India nor South Africa will have an edge as they clash in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) here Sunday to decide the closely-fought series.
South Africa beat India by 48 runs via Duckworth/Lewis law in a rain-washed fourth One-day International Friday to level the series 2-2. India, after being humbled in the first ODI in Durban, came back to win two cliffhangers, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
With nothing much to choose between the two teams, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rightly pointed out that the side which handles pressure better will clinch the series. 'The team that handles pressure better will win the match,' Dhoni said.
If India win, it will be their first series win in South Africa. In the absence of key batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who are nursing injuries, the victory will be special and a big morale-booster ahead of the World Cup.
Dhoni pulled up the middle order for their inconsistent performance in the series. 'The middle order has not clicked for us and I think the same goes for South Africa.'
Like on three previous occassion, Indian batting crumbled at Port Elizabeth. Chasing a total of 266, India were reeling at 137 for six in 31.3 overs when rain stopped play. At resumption, the revised target required India to make 123 runs off 87 balls. But barely eight balls were bowled when the skies opened up again and South Africa were declared the winners.
The silver lining for India in the match was Virat Kohli's unbeaten knock of 87. Dhoni complimented the flamboyant batsman who has been India's key batsman in the series. 'Virat's effort was a big positive. He is proving to be consistent and, more importantly, he is carrying the innings through.'
The Indian skipper used as much as eight bowlers to contain the Proteas' batsman but barring Yuvraj Singh none was effective. 'They were scoring at a healthy pace. And that meant if they batted for 50 overs, they will get to a good total. And that is what happened. I tried the fast bowlers, spinners, part-timers but things don't go your way always.'
The South African batting, too, has not clicked barring in the first match, and their batsmen have struggled to play the spinners in the middle overs. Jean Paul Duminy has batted well and pulled the team out of trouble.
The bowling has been the hosts' strength with pacers Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe getting good purchase of the wicket and troubling Indian batsmen. Off-spinner Johan Botha has complemented the seam attack.
'We have done well with the ball in this series. We have generally fielded well. The intensity has been good. We are excited to go to Pretoria. The teams have been trading blows for 2 months now and it has been a competitive series,' said Smith.

Team that handles pressure better will clinch series: Dhoni

Neither India nor South Africa will have an edge as they clash in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) here Sunday to decide the closely-fought series.
South Africa beat India by 48 runs via Duckworth/Lewis law in a rain-washed fourth One-day International Friday to level the series 2-2. India, after being humbled in the first ODI in Durban, came back to win two cliffhangers, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
With nothing much to choose between the two teams, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rightly pointed out that the side which handles pressure better will clinch the series. 'The team that handles pressure better will win the match,' Dhoni said.
If India win, it will be their first series win in South Africa. In the absence of key batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who are nursing injuries, the victory will be special and a big morale-booster ahead of the World Cup.
Dhoni pulled up the middle order for their inconsistent performance in the series. 'The middle order has not clicked for us and I think the same goes for South Africa.'
Like on three previous occassion, Indian batting crumbled at Port Elizabeth. Chasing a total of 266, India were reeling at 137 for six in 31.3 overs when rain stopped play. At resumption, the revised target required India to make 123 runs off 87 balls. But barely eight balls were bowled when the skies opened up again and South Africa were declared the winners.
The silver lining for India in the match was Virat Kohli's unbeaten knock of 87. Dhoni complimented the flamboyant batsman who has been India's key batsman in the series. 'Virat's effort was a big positive. He is proving to be consistent and, more importantly, he is carrying the innings through.'
The Indian skipper used as much as eight bowlers to contain the Proteas' batsman but barring Yuvraj Singh none was effective. 'They were scoring at a healthy pace. And that meant if they batted for 50 overs, they will get to a good total. And that is what happened. I tried the fast bowlers, spinners, part-timers but things don't go your way always.'
The South African batting, too, has not clicked barring in the first match, and their batsmen have struggled to play the spinners in the middle overs. Jean Paul Duminy has batted well and pulled the team out of trouble.
The bowling has been the hosts' strength with pacers Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe getting good purchase of the wicket and troubling Indian batsmen. Off-spinner Johan Botha has complemented the seam attack.
'We have done well with the ball in this series. We have generally fielded well. The intensity has been good. We are excited to go to Pretoria. The teams have been trading blows for 2 months now and it has been a competitive series,' said Smith.

Sehwag is my inspiration, says Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan, whose terrific counter-attack gave India hopes of a win from a near hopeless position in the fifth and final one-day international against South Africa at the Centurion on Sunday, has said dashing India opener Virender Sehwag is his inspiration.

Speaking to MiD DAY after arriving in Mumbai yesterday, Pathan, who scored 105 in 70 balls and hit eight boundaries and sixes each during his knock at the Centurion, said while Tendulkar has been an inspiration, his daredevil approach at the crease has come from Sehwag. "The obvious answer to that is Sachin Tendulkar, but the daredevil approach has come from Virender Sehwag," said Pathan.

Chasing a revised target of 268 in 46 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, India had collapsed to 60 for 5 when Pathan strode out to the middle at the Centurion, before soon slipping to 119 for 8. Pathan then took centre stage as he put the South African attack to the sword during his 100-run partnership with Zaheer Khan for the ninth wicket before he was dismissed. But Pathan's heroics were in vain as India lost the match by 33 runs and the series 2-3.
Pathan, who scored 166 runs at an average of 55.33 and strike rate of 134.95 in the three matches he played in the series, also told MiD DAY that he has always been inspired by Sehwag. "I was always inspired by the way Viru kept backing his own game despite people talking about the so-called shortcomings in his batting," he said.

South Africa survives Pathan scare, seal series

South Africa survived a real scare from Yusuf Pathan to finally beat India 3-2 in the five-match One-Day International series at the SuperSport Park, Centurion on Sunday.
South Africa posted 250 for nine in 46 overs as rains interrupted play. India had to chase 268 in 46 overs thanks to the Duckworth and Lewis Method in 46 overs.
India looked to have lost its way at 119 for eight and were in for a massive defeat. But Yusuf Pathan smacked eight sixes and eight boundaries to revive India's innings.
Yusuf added 100 runs for the ninth wicket with Zaheer Khan, as he scored a 68-ball hundred. In the end Yusuf fell with India needing 49 more runs and it was not long before South Africa completed the last rites.
Morne Morkel ended with 4 for 52, Dale Steyn (2-32) and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (2-52) were the other successful bowlers for South Africa.
Earlier, Hashim Amla smote his way to his seventh One-Day International century as South Africa scored 250 for nine in a rain-restricted innings.
Opening batsman Amla made an unbeaten 116 in an innings which was interrupted when South Africa were strongly placed at 226 for three after 42 overs.
The rain caused a delay of more than an hour and the match was reduced to 46 overs a side. South Africa lost six wickets for 24 runs in the remaining four overs of their innings, with a succession of batsmen falling to ill-judged strokes and two run-outs in a chase for quick runs.
With the series locked at two-all, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni sent South Africa in, hoping to take advantage of expected early morning life in the pitch - and also to have the option of revising his team's strategy in the event of predicted rain interruptions.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith fell once again to left-arm opening bowler Zaheer Khan - for the 11th time in international cricket - edging a catch to second slip in the third over.
But Amla played a calm, unflurried innings, content to play the supporting role in a second wicket stand of 97 with Morne van Wyk, who made 56 off 63 balls, then picking up the pace in an unbeaten stand fourth wicket stand of 97 with JP Duminy (31 not out).
There were only four boundaries as Amla reached fifty off 72 balls, but he added another five fours as he needed just 41 more deliveries to reach the first century by a batsman of either side in the series.
India opted to play only two seam bowlers, bringing in leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in place of Ashish Nehra.
For the second match in a row, Dhoni used eight bowlers, mainly in short spells.
As in the fourth match in Port Elizabeth, left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh was the most effective of the slow bowlers, taking two for 45 in eight overs - the longest unbroken spell by any of the players. But when Yuvraj conceded nine runs off his eighth over Dhoni immediately took him out of the attack.
Amla and Duminy were starting to dominate the bowling and were picking up the scoring rate going into the closing overs of the innings when the rain started to fall during the first over of the powerplay, halting play before the next over began.
Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel took advantage of rash South African stroke play as they caused a collapse after the rain delay.

Batting has let us down: Dhoni

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni  attributed the ODI series loss against South Africa to the batting failure but refused to believe that it will be a cause of worry for his side with the World Cup less than a month away.
"I think our batting department did not do well in the ODIs. That was the main reason why we lost the ODI series. But, hopefully with the World Cup coming up all will be set right," he said at the post-match conference after India lost the fifth and final ODI by 33 runs and the series 2-3.
"Throughout the series our batting department has not scored a lot of runs. It is Virat Kohli who has done well and it's Yusuf down the order who has done well. We really need to perform as a unit. But it is a matter of one innings or two and some of the batsmen did not get enough preparation time, quality practice sessions. It always plays in your mind but at the end of the day experienced players have gone through a phase like this. It happens in cricket and specially with us as we play 30-35 ODIs a year. So you see the form going up and down in the year. We are used to deal with situations like this," Dhoni said.
Indian top order collapsed while playing rash shots but Dhoni defended his batsmen, saying it was part and parcel of the game. "It is part and parcel of cricket. You get off to a start, 10 overs, 28 runs one wicket then you are asked why was there no hurry? At the end of the day we were suppose to chase close to six runs an over and it is always a difficult task. You want to take the opposition on and times you lose wickets and that is what happened in this game," he said.
"At times it really works because if you see Yusuf's innings, he played a few deliveries and then went after the bowlers. He was really successful that's his main strength. In a similar way some of the batsmen played their strokes and got out," he reasoned.
Talking about the positives from the series, Dhoni said, "The full tour was good for both the sides. They won the ODI series, we won the T20 and the Test matches were draw. But overall good cricket was played. The biggest positive out of this game - when we go to the World Cup - the last 10 overs we can chase anything if we have got wickets in hand. I think learning is more than just loss of the game," said Dhoni.

Dhoni to lead India in 2011 World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced India's dream team for the 2011 World Cup, which would be led by wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The national cricket selection committee led by its chairman K Srikanth, which picked India's final 15-member squad for the ICC cricket World Cup, has named opening batsman Virender Sehwag as Dhoni's deputy.
The others selected in the squad are Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Virat Kohli, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, R. Ashwin and Piyush Chawla.
"We have the confidence the team will win the world cup and do the nation proud. Injuries are not a worry for us. We have selected the best probable squad," Srikanth told reporters after announcing the squad.
Mumbai's middle order batsman Rohit Sharma and pacers Ishant Sharma and S. Sreesanth have not made it to the squad, which comprises, seven batsmen, four pacers and three spinners. (ANI)

Tendulkar ruled out of ODIs with hamstring injury

India's Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the last three one-day internationals against South Africa due to a hamstring injury, the Indian cricket board said on Sunday.
Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, who has opened for India in ODIs in the past, will fly to South Africa as Tendulkar's replacement

BCCI questioned for $13mn bank guarantees

The IPL of 2009 has come under sharp scrutiny of a Parliamentary Committee which has questioned the BCCI's decision to extend bank guarantees worth $13 million to foreign players allegedly without the RBI's nod, which amounts to violation of the foreign investment norms.
The BCCI top brass, including President Shashank Manohar Secretary N Srinivasan and IPL Commissioner Chirayu Amin, were grilled by the Parliamantery Standing Committee on Finance, which quoted reported findings of the Enforcement Directorate that the permission of RBI, as required under FEMA, was not taken for extending bank guarantees, sources told PTI.
The Committee, at its hearing on Wednesday, confronted the BCCI officials with the "findings" that the board had extended 72 guarantees amounting to $13,437,143 to foreign players, assuring them of paying the base fee irrespective of the outcome of the bids, the sources said.
The MPs questioned whether it was permissible under Foreign Exchange Management Act. They also questioned the reasons for extending the bank guarantees for foreign players without RBI permission.
The BCCI top brass was asked as to who took the decision for extending the bank guarantees to the players for the IPL T20 series held in South Africa and whether any any responsibility has been fixed in the matter.
The Committee told the BCCI officials that RBI had discovered "violation of norms" by the board with regard to foreign direct investment (FDI), transfer of money and opening of some accounts.
The Committee also asked the BCCI officials if they were aware of a government report that investments made by IPL franchisees such as Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians were routed from outside India, through entities located in countries such as Mauritius, Bahamas and British Virgin Island.
The BCCI was also asked about the funding pattern of the highly popular IPL and the methods adopted for payment to foreign and Indian players.
The Committee sought details of the expenses incurred on the conduct of the second edition of the Twenty20 tournament in South Africa in 2009.
IPL was held in South Africa following a clash of dates with the general elections in India.
Based on the lines of the English Premier League (EPL) and the National Basketball League (NBA), the IPL was introduced in India in 2007.
Afterwards, its founder Commissioner Lalit Modi fell out with his cricketing and political bosses and was forced to quit the BCCI.
Sans Modi, BCCI is trying to host the fourth edition of the IPL matches.

Battered India need to sort out problems

Thrashed in the first game in Durban, India would hope to put up a far more inspired display as they go into the second one-dayer against South Africa here tomorrow with a few problems to sort out in both the bowling and batting departments.
The Indians did well by drawing the Test series 1-1 and then winning the only T20 game on Sunday, but the humiliating 135-run defeat in the first match came as a big blow for the visitors who have to regroup before it's too late.
Already plagued by injuries to key players, nothing seemed to have gone right for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men in Durban as both the batting and bowling left much to be desired.
The Indians have a track record of not doing too well in the first match on tours and Dhoni and his men will be looking to bounce back and level the five-match series 1-1 at the New Wanderers ground which is likely to aid the pace bowlers.
Already missing key players such as Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the injury list has only grown longer with paceman Praveen Kumar also returning home because of an injury.
Paceman S Sreesanth is also recovering from an elbow injury, which forced him to sit out of the first match, and it remains to be seen whether the Kerala speedster is fit enough to take the field on the morrow.
Batting has been India's strength but the top order collapsed like a pack of cards to be reduced to 43 for four in the first match, and the team could never really recover from that jolt.
Sachin Tendulkar, returning to the Indian one-day fold after close to a year, has a big role to play and the champion batsman has to take up the responsibility of giving India a competitive total on the board.
The Indian line-up has a number of young but talented players such as Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina but they have to fire when it matters most.
Kohli was the only batsman to score a half century in the last game unlike the South Africans who had three batsmen coming up with substantial contributions. The failure to build partnerships made India's chase all the more difficult.
For the off-colour Yuvraj Singh, it is the final chance to convince the selectors that he is the same destructive force who won India many a matches before the stunning slump in form.

IPL: Indian uncapped players get the short end of the stick

An international cap is on top of every cricketer's wish list, and the importance of playing for India even once was exemplified in Bangalore over the last weekend during the auction process for the fourth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This, however, was only one of the issues that raised people's eyebrows during and beyond those two days.
Manoj Tiwary, who has played only one-day international for India, was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for $475000 as compared to his base price of $100000. But, it was Saurabh Tiwary and Umesh Yadav, who have both played three ODIs each for India, who were the main beneficiaries of the contentious capped vs uncapped rule for Indian cricketers. While Tiwary's services were finally secured by Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.6 million after an intense bidding process; Delhi Daredevils bought Yadav for a hefty $750000.
Tiwary's base price was $100000 and Yadav's was $50000 - but, the duo literally reaped the rewards for making their international debuts in a tri-series in Zimbabwe last year. The price tag for Tiwary can be justified to an extent considering he finished as the eighth highest run-scorer in IPL-3; but Yadav took only six wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 7.66 for the Daredevils last season and he would be thanking his stars that he has played three ODIs for India.
This is in stark contrast to the fortunes of the likes of Manish Pandey, T Suman, Shadab Jakati, Monish Mishra and Ambati Rayudu, all of whom haven't donned India colours yet. However, all these five players have had successful IPL careers, but they will now have to be content with mere peanuts when it comes to their worth in the lucrative T20 tournament. Pandey and Rayudu would have dearly loved to be on that flight to Zimbabwe, more for the pride and honour of representing India. But, in hindsight, they would look at the Zimbabwe tri-series now as a dual missed opportunity.
Pandey, who is the first Indian cricketer to score a century in the IPL, scored 569 runs in 24 matches at an average of 31.61 and a strike rate of 119.78 for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and impressed in most of his knocks across the first three seasons of the IPL. Rayudu, who made his IPL debut last season for Mumbai Indians, played some crucial knocks for the franchise as he not only built on the starts provided by the opening batsmen but also consolidated and provided the finishing kick when he was required to. Rayudu finished as the 13th highest run-scorer in IPL-3 with 356 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 144.71, and further proved his utility by doubling up as the wicket-keeper for most of MI's matches in IPL-3.
Suman has scored 559 runs in 28 matches for Deccan Chargers and was crucial to his franchise's success in IPL-2. Jakati has impressed in the opportunities he has got for Chennai Super Kings and has taken 27 wickets in 21 matches at an economy rate of 7.53; and Mishra provided some good starts to the Chargers last season.
The five afore mentioned cricketers will now have to be content with paycheques in the region of $44,000-66,000 based on their first-class experience. According to the uncapped players' rule of the IPL, those cricketers who made their debut in the last two years will be paid Rs 10 lakhs ($22,000); those in the field for two to five years would get Rs 20 lakhs and those with more than five years' experience would pocket Rs 30 lakhs.
To further illustrate the sheer unfairness of this entire situation, the much-criticised Ravindra Jadeja was bought by Kochi for a hefty $950000. With all due respect to Jadeja, the likes of Pandey, Rayudu and Suman are not only better cricketers but also have had tremendous success in the IPL, and would have pocketed at least the same as or even more than the Saurashtra all-rounder had they been in the auction pool. Jakati and Mishra would also have earned more than the $66000 they will now get, especially taking into consideration the clamour for Indian cricketers in the auction - not surprising taking into consideration there were only 48 Indians in the pool, which in itself should have ideally raised concerns among the franchises before the auction.
Another point of debate is the inclusion of foreign uncapped cricketers in the auction pool. If even the most obscure overseas cricketer was allowed to register himself for the auction, why were the Indian uncapped players prevented from doing the same? This, especially, taking into account the low number of Indian cricketers who were included in the auction pool.
Some of the overseas uncapped cricketers who benefited from this discrepancy in the rules were Australians Aaron Finch (he made his T20I debut on January 12) and Matthew Wade who were bought by the Daredevils for $300000 and $100000 respectively, and Mitchell Marsh who will be paid $290000 by the Pune Warriors for his services. South Africa's Faf du Plessis was bought by Chennai Super Kings for $120000 and his counterpart Alfonso Thomas, who played his lone T20I in February 2007 went to Pune for $100000.
Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian, who has only played three T20Is, was snapped up by the Chargers for $900000; his base price was only $50000. Ironically, Christian is not part of Australia's squad for the ongoing T20I series against England, and this hefty pay cheque for him will only leave Pandey, Suman and Rayudu wondering what could have been had they also been included in the auction pool.
An important point to note here is that in September 2010, it had been decided that Indian domestic cricketers, who had played at least 75 percent of their franchises' matches in IPL-3 would be part of the auction pool. But, this decision was reversed following a Mumbai Indians' suggestion to the IPL Governing Council. MI suggested that franchises be allowed to retain uncapped players and they are not included in the auction pool; the IPL GC decided in December that these cricketers would not be in the auction and instead franchises would be allowed to sign domestic uncapped cricketers through a tripartite agreement involving the player, franchise and the IPL.
If one has been following events this week, the holes in this rule have been blown apart by a some franchises; the most notable case being Pandey's who is reportedly being pressured by his erstwhile franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore to sign for them instead of shifting his allegiance to Sahara Pune Warriors. Pandey, apparently, is being threatened with dire consequences if he refuses to tow the party line, and this could easily be repeated in the case of other talented uncapped Indian players, who are bound to be in demand because there are only a few of them around. Franchises and the IPL GC need to be conscious of the fact that they can't sidetrack a cricketer's career to placate their own egos.
This entire business of downgrading a capped player to the uncapped category after five years of last playing international cricket makes no sense to me personally. The likes of Aakash Chopra, Hrishikesh Kaniktar and Hemang Badani, are and will remain international cricketers in the record books. How can the IPL for its own benefits deem them uncapped players - it surely devalues the contributions that they made to the Indian team during their international careers?
Venugopal Rao should be thanking his stars - he last played for India in May 2006 - and was bought by the Daredevils in last weekend's auction for $700000. Ajit Agarkar, who hasn't played for India since 2007, was bought by the same franchise for $210000. This then begs the question - if T20 cricket is touted to be tailor-made for youngsters, why are most of them, read the cream of Indian domestic players placed in the 'uncapped' category where they will get peanuts for their skills and talent. To take this point further, when the next round of IPL auctions comes up, and should Shane Warne and Brian Lara, for the sake of argument, put themselves up for auction, will they also be placed in the uncapped category, because by then they wouldn't have played international cricket for five years!
The IPL auction process has a few loopholes that weren't plugged initially, but due care needs to be taken now to ensure that uncapped domestic cricketers don't have to bear the brunt of the lack of foresight on the Governing Council's part. This has to be the priority for the IPL's governing council in the lead-up to the league's fourth season.

Senior cricket official armtwisting uncapped players

Close on the heels of Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey's travails with his erstwhile team, two other uncapped players are under tremendous pressure to sign for a powerful franchise in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
While Pandey, who was the first Indian to hit a century in the league, has upset Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by keeping them in suspense over his joining them, another southern franchisee is armtwisting a left-arm spinner and a flamboyant batsman, who can keep wickets, and with a strike rate of 144 in IPL III.

Both the players have received an SMS from a senior Indian cricket board official, warning them of severe consequences if they negotiate with any other franchisee.

Pandey, who is reportedly negotiating with Sahara Pune Warriors, said he is in a fix.

'I am not in a position to say anything much as I am yet to make up my mind and I have to be careful in taking any step,' Pandey told IANS from Bangalore.

Asked if he is under any pressure from his state association to sign for Royal Challengers, Pandey said: 'I don't want to say anything now, but certainly people are in touch with me.'

As per IPL rules, uncapped players can be paid a maximum of Rs.3 million, depending on the length of his first-class career. The 21-year-old Pandey, however, is eligible for Rs.2 million, which is for cricketers who have played up to five seasons.

Pandey was not fortunate like his India under-19 teammate Saurabh Tiwary, who by the virtue of three ODIs, was bought by RCB for a whopping $1.6 million.

Pandey has already presented his case to the IPL, and the Governing Council made it clear that the player will have final say in choosing the team.

'We are keeping a close watch as it is a very complex situation. But at the end of the day, the player should have the final say. Franchises have full rights to scout for players in their catchment area, but uncapped players have the right of choice,' said Niranjan Shah, a member of the Governing Council and a board vice-president.

Some of the franchisees are apparently livid with the Governing Council rule on uncapped players since they do not have a strong catchment area to scout for players.

Teams like Pune Warriors and Kochi are facing problems in recruiting uncapped players. Kochi has a limited area to operate as Tamil Nadu, Bangalore and Hyderabad have their own city franchisees. Pune's problem is that they cannot poach into Mumbai Indians' territory and can look at teams in Gujarat.

Modi questions Chennai Police statements

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has shot off a letter to Chennai Police Commissioner T. Rajendran questioning his recent statements on the police's inability to serve summons to him.
Modi has also questioned media reports quoting Rajendran that since he refused to accept the summons, the Chennai Police was planning to prosecute him under the stringent Indian Penal Code Section 172.
When contacted, Modi's legal advisor Mahmood Abdi confirmed the development, but declined to elaborate on the issue.
Through his solicitors, Modi has said that the comments attributed to Chennai Police are not only inaccurate, but highly prejudicial to him.
"The reported comments are inaccurate since (this) is the first time time that Modi and his advisors were aware that the Chennai Police were seeking to serve any form of process on him, the exact nature of which is not known," the letter said.
The solicitors further said that if the police wanted him for questioning in Chennai, then it is a process which has to be served personally to Modi, but no such attempt has been made so far.
Moreover, they pointed out that as is known to all official Indian agencies, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and others, Modi has been living in Britain since May 2010.
The letter reiterated that Modi has never sought to avoid any opportunity to explain his position and even offered to take part in a video-conferencing process, provided the investigating authorities are "entirely objective and uninfluenced by outside considerations".
Modi's solicitors pointed out if the police continued with its action under IPC Section 172, then such prosecution would be "unlawful, oppressive and an abuse of the process of the courts".

BCCI top brass grilled over FEMA violations in IPL

The top brass of the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI), including President Shashank Manohar, on Wednesday appeared before a Parliamentary panel to answer queries related to the organisation of the cash-awash Indian Premier League. Apart from Manohar, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and IPL chairman Chirayu Amin were grilled over Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) violations during the conduct of the highly popular Twenty20 tournament.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, had also summoned IPL Governing Council member former cricketer Ravi Shastri for a hearing.
The issue was with the Committee for long and it had spoken to the Finance Ministry in the recent past. It called the bigwigs of BCCI for clarifications on Wednesday.
The BCCI was asked about the funding pattern of the IPL and the methods adopted for payment to foreign and Indian players.
The Committee asked BCCI officials if they were aware about a government report that investments made by IPL franchisees such as Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians were rooted from outside India through entities, located in countries such as Mauritius, Bahamas and British Virgin Island.
They asked why the BCCI did not take approval from RBI, SIPB and other agencies for the above mentioned foreign exchange transactions. It also asked how does the BCCI ensure that FDI received by the franchisees is not tainted money.
"Do you agree that large scale Fema violations have been committed by the IPL Franchisees and their associates? If so what are the reasons thereof? What is the approach of the BCCI in this issue?," was another query.
The BCCI was also asked to explain the ownership and shareholding pattern of the IPL franchisees, saying that it has noticed that in certain cases the investment have been made by some person/entity but share for corresponding money have been issued in the name of some other persons/entities.
The Committee also sought details of the expenses incurred on the conduct of the second edition of the IPL in South Africa in 2009. The IPL was held in South Africa in 2009 due to a clash of dates with the general elections here.
It asked whether BCCI followed Fema and RBI guidelines for organisation of the second edition and how much money was credited into the Cricket South Africa account.
Making another case of Fema violation against the BCCI, the Committee said the Board had not taken permission from RBI and Income Tax Department for opening and operating foreign current account in South Africa.
It said opening and operating of the account through an explicit agreement with the CSA could be construed as Fema violation as the operations of the account were controlled by the BCCI.

Last chance to stake World Cup claims

South Africa and India enter a five-match one-day international series at Kingsmead on Wednesday with at least half an eye on the Cricket World Cup which starts in Asia next month.

For both teams it will be the last chance to settle on combinations ahead of a global showpiece in which both have special reasons for wanting to shine. South Africa have yet to reach a World Cup final, despite being among the favourites at every tournament since they surprised the world by reaching the semi-finals in their first appearance in 1992.

This will be Graeme Smith's last chance to lead a winning team in an International Cricket Council event as he will be giving up the one-day captaincy after the World Cup. Speaking at a recent function to mark 50 days to the start of the World Cup, Smith said: "We are looking to make sure we head into the showpiece with the best preparation possible. The series against India will be our last chance to make sure we are fully prepared."

At the same function Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni spoke of his dream to lead a successful campaign on home soil, with the final scheduled for Mumbai on April 2. "Every one of us in the India dressing room wants to lift that cup, not only for ourselves but also for the billions of fans supporting us around the globe." Although the squads selected for the series in South Africa are unlikely to differ greatly from the final 15-man parties for the World Cup, fringe players in both camps will want to cement their places.

The competition for places in the Indian squad is likely to be particularly keen as the tourists have a group of 16 players in South Africa, of whom at least three are likely to miss the World Cup because room will almost certainly be found for two key batsmen, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who are not playing in the current series because of injury.

The South African selectors will be anxious to see whether Pakistan-born leg-spinner Imran Tahir can take the step up to international level. Tahir, newly eligible for South African selection after acquiring citizenship, has been in prolific form in domestic cricket.

He took his total of wickets in five first-class matches for the Dolphins franchise to 42 with a 12-wicket match haul against the Warriors last weekend. Andrew Hudson, the convener of the South African selectors, announced on Monday that Tahir had been added to the country's 30-man preliminary World Cup squad in place of batsman Jonathan Vandiar. "We feel that we need to widen our bowling options," said Hudson.

Another newcomer seeking to impress is Francois 'Faf' du Plessis, a free-scoring batsman, athletic fielder and part-time leg-spin bowler who was the leading run-scorer in South Africa's domestic 40-overs competition which ended last month.

Although the 14 players in the South African squad have an inside track for World Cup selection they will be well aware that some capable, experienced players, including all-rounders Albie Morkel and Ryan McLaren, could be contenders despite not being picked for the forthcoming series.

A batsman from outside the squad who could take advantage if the batting does not fire against India could be Morne van Wyk, who is in the preliminary squad of 30 and top-scored in a Twenty20 international at the Moses Mabhida football stadium on Sunday on a slow, low pitch - conditions more akin to India than is usual for South Africa.

Squads:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (wkt), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

India: Mahender Singh Dhoni (capt/wkt), Sachin Tendulkar, Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

Umpires: Brian Jerling (RSA), Simon Taufel (AUS) TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA) Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Fixtures: January 12, Durban (day/night) January 15, Johannesburg (day/night) January 18, Cape Town (day/night) January 21, Port Elizabeth (day/night) January 23, Centurion (day)

Bengal cricket association sore over Ganguly's IPL exit

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Monday expressed shock at all the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises spurning former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly at the two-day players' auction in Bangalore.

'This news has come as a shock to us. I think the crowd support which the Kolkata Knight Riders got in the last three editions of the IPL will be affected,' said CAB joint secretary Sujon Mukherjee.

Mukherjee said with Ganguly - the star local draw for KKR in the previous IPL games at the Eden Gardens - being not around, the crowd could lose interest in the side.

'No IPL team possible in Kolkata without Dada'

 After being heavily criticized from almost all quarters for ignoring former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly in the recently held Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, Bollywood actor and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan has said that there is no IPL team possible in Kolkata without Ganguly.

"I would love it. I would love Sourav to be an integral part. You don't have a team in Kolkata without him," Times Now quoted Shah Rukh Khan, as saying.

Shah Rukh also said that he will talk to Ganguly and that his team will try to take him onboard, since he remains unsold in the recently concluded IPL auction.

Ganguly, who led Kolkata Knight Riders in the last three editions, failed to get a buyer in the two-day IPL players' auction in Bangalore.

Ganguly's name, in fact, did not even come up in the second round of bidding, the players for which were handpicked by the franchises, prompting angry fans to stage protests against his former team Kolkata Knight Riders in the Bengal capital.

A total of 241 of the 353 players in fray went unsold in the first round of auctions, which spanned over two days. 28 players came up for a re-auctioning on the request of the franchises but again some of them strangely went unsold. (ANI)

IPL-4: Little-known Christian top buy; veteran Jayasuriya unsold

Little-known Australian medium pacer Daniel Christian notched up the highest price in the first session of the second day of Indian Premier League (IPL)-4 auction here Sunday.

Christian, who is also a handy batsman down the order, was bought for a whopping $900,000 by Deccan Chargers, 18 times his base price of $50,000. However, Sri Lanka's swashbuckling veteran batsman Sanath Jaysuriya went unsold.

Among the Indians, pacer Umesh Yadav fetched $750,000 from Delhi Daredevils.

'Monkeygate' foes Symonds and Bhajji now Mumbai Indians dressing room IPL mates

 Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds and Indian off-spinnerHarbhajan Singh, who became arch-enemies following the infamous Monkeygate scandal during the 2008 Test series Down Under, will share the Mumbai Indians' dressing room during this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).

Symonds was bought by the IPL franchise for 850,000 dollars during the first round of bidding in an action held in Bangalore on Saturday.

Harbhajan had already been re-signed after playing with them for the first three years of the competition.

Harbhajan and the Australian all-rounder were the key protagonists in the Monkeygate affair, which threatened to fracture relationships between India and Australia, the Courier Mail reports.

It was that alleged Harbhajan had called Symonds a "monkey" in the Sydney Test held in January 2008.

Match referee Mike Procter, following an Australian complaint, had banned Harbhajan for three Tests under Level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

The ban faced severe Indian protests and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sharad Pawar's threat of India pulling out of the tour.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) later cleared the off-spinner of racial abuse. The three-Test ban was lifted, but he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee. (ANI)

Gambhir gets top price in IPL auction

Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir fetched the highest price on the opening day of bidding for Indian Premier League players, heading to Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.4 million.

IPL franchises spent liberally on Indian players Saturday ahead of the fourth edition of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, but there were no takers for big foreign names such as Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs.

Kolkata spent $2.1 million to pick up allrounder Yusuf Pathan. Pune spent $2.1 million to get Robin Uthappa while Mumbai Indians splashed out $2 million on Rohit Sharma.

Others to attract big investments included all-rounder Irfan Pathan (Delhi Daredevils, $1.9 million), Yuvraj Singh (Pune, $1.8 million) and Saurabh Tiwari (Bangalore Royal Challengers, $1.6 million), completing a list of seven Indians at the top of the table.

Gambhir, who led Delhi Daredevils in the last edition, was surprisingly not bid for by his former team, even as others clamored for the left-hander.

Gambhir's record tag was 12 times his base price of $200,000, as new franchises Pune and Kochi as well as Mumbai Indians bid aggressively for him before Kolkata clinched the deal.

The highest bids before this auction were the $1.55 million each for England players Kevin Pietersen (Bangalore Royal Challengers) and Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings) during the second edition, in 2009.

Ten franchises are participating in the two-day bidding, including Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab _ teams banished by the IPL for breaching ownership regulations but readmitted for the auction following a court order.

More than 350 players were up for grabs for the next three seasons, with the sequence of players coming up for auction decided by drawing of lots.

Surprisingly, no one bid for former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who was a leading player for Kolkata and among 21 players with the highest base price of $ 400,000.

Those not bid for are likely to go under the hammer again towards the end of the auction on Sunday.

Among the foreign players, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene (Kochi, $1.5 million), David Hussey (King's XI Punjab, $1.4 million) and South African express paceman Dale Steyn (Deccan Chargers, $1.2 million) formed the top rung.

South Africans A.B. de Villiers (Bangalore Royal Challengers), Jacques Kallis (Kolkata Knight Riders), newly named Australia Twenty20 captain Cameron White (Deccan Chargers) and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan (Kochi) were sold for $1.1 million each.

New Zealand's Ross Taylor was the other player who touched the $1 million mark.

Australian veteran Adam Gilchrist moved from Deccan Chargers to King's XI Punjab for $900,000, while his compatriot Andrew Symonds was taken for $850,000 by Mumbai Indians and will now play alongsideHarbhajan Singh, whom he accused of racial abuse three years ago.

Twelve players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings), Sachin Tendulkar(Mumbai Indians) and Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals), were retained by their original franchises.

Teams are allowed a maximum of $9 million to spend, which includes money for those players retained from previous seasons.

The 2011 IPL season will be held from April 8-May 22.

Gambhir gets top price in IPL auction

Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir fetched the highest price on the opening day of bidding for Indian Premier League players, heading to Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.4 million.

IPL franchises spent liberally on Indian players Saturday ahead of the fourth edition of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, but there were no takers for big foreign names such as Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs.

Kolkata spent $2.1 million to pick up allrounder Yusuf Pathan. Pune spent $2.1 million to get Robin Uthappa while Mumbai Indians splashed out $2 million on Rohit Sharma.

Others to attract big investments included all-rounder Irfan Pathan (Delhi Daredevils, $1.9 million), Yuvraj Singh (Pune, $1.8 million) and Saurabh Tiwari (Bangalore Royal Challengers, $1.6 million), completing a list of seven Indians at the top of the table.

Gambhir, who led Delhi Daredevils in the last edition, was surprisingly not bid for by his former team, even as others clamored for the left-hander.

Gambhir's record tag was 12 times his base price of $200,000, as new franchises Pune and Kochi as well as Mumbai Indians bid aggressively for him before Kolkata clinched the deal.

The highest bids before this auction were the $1.55 million each for England players Kevin Pietersen (Bangalore Royal Challengers) and Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings) during the second edition, in 2009.

Ten franchises are participating in the two-day bidding, including Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab _ teams banished by the IPL for breaching ownership regulations but readmitted for the auction following a court order.

More than 350 players were up for grabs for the next three seasons, with the sequence of players coming up for auction decided by drawing of lots.

Surprisingly, no one bid for former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who was a leading player for Kolkata and among 21 players with the highest base price of $ 400,000.

Those not bid for are likely to go under the hammer again towards the end of the auction on Sunday.

Among the foreign players, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene (Kochi, $1.5 million), David Hussey (King's XI Punjab, $1.4 million) and South African express paceman Dale Steyn (Deccan Chargers, $1.2 million) formed the top rung.

South Africans A.B. de Villiers (Bangalore Royal Challengers), Jacques Kallis (Kolkata Knight Riders), newly named Australia Twenty20 captain Cameron White (Deccan Chargers) and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan (Kochi) were sold for $1.1 million each.

New Zealand's Ross Taylor was the other player who touched the $1 million mark.

Australian veteran Adam Gilchrist moved from Deccan Chargers to King's XI Punjab for $900,000, while his compatriot Andrew Symonds was taken for $850,000 by Mumbai Indians and will now play alongsideHarbhajan Singh, whom he accused of racial abuse three years ago.

Twelve players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings), Sachin Tendulkar(Mumbai Indians) and Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals), were retained by their original franchises.

Teams are allowed a maximum of $9 million to spend, which includes money for those players retained from previous seasons.

The 2011 IPL season will be held from April 8-May 22.