Many questions remain unanswered in Afridi’s case

While the raging dispute between Shahid Afridi and the Pakistan Cricket Board has come to a close, the governing body of the game in Pakistan has succeeded in avoiding many important and pertinent questions which were raised during the last two weeks.

This was stated by Mehmood Mandviwalla who appeared as counsel for Shahid Afridi in the case.

Mehmood felt that the main question is whether there is a link between the grant of the NOC to play for Hampshire with the disciplinary proceedings since the ICC clearly lays down the guidelines for refusal of NOC by a home board.

"The question is whether the PCB follows such guidelines or again uses its own judgement to grant, refuse or take away an NOC that has already been given," Mehmood pointed out.

He added that the ICC recognises that players have a fundamental right to earn a living and hence cannot be deprived of an NOC by a home board and that an NOC is only a guarantee that the player should remain available to play for the national side and the player’s fitness should not be comprised while playing county cricket.

He further stated that the PCB does not appear to have a permanent disciplinary committee and it functions on a need-basis with excessive authority that is delegated to them. 

Read more >>

I am not against DRS, says Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is not against the controversial Decision Review System (DRS) but he wants it to be more consistent, the Indian batsman said.

The general perception is that the powerful Indian cricket board's steadfast opposition to DRS stems partially from the apprehension that Tendulkar and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, share about the technology's accuracy.

Tendulkar, however, said he was not altogether against the technology.

"I am not against DRS, but I feel it will be more effective with the support of the Snickometer and Hot Spot technology. This will give more consistent results," he told a cricket website.

The Snickometer is used detect edges, while Hot Spot gives more convincing indications of the ball's point of contact. Hawk Eye technology, used more often, replicates the ball's trajectory.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recommended the mandatory use of DRS, under which teams currently can make two unsuccessful appeals against an umpire's decision per innings, in all formats of the game but the Indian cricket board have vowed to oppose it.

Incidentally, Tendulkar's one-day opening partner Virender Sehwag is an admirer of it while former India coach Gary Kirsten has also backed the technology which, the ICC claimed, has improved correct decisions by seven percent.

"I have even told the ICC that we have no problem with Hot Spot. Our objection is to ball tracking," Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar told website.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan shot off an angry letter to the ICC in March, claiming the technology's "inadequacy" had been exposed in this year's 50-over World Cup, which was won by India.

The BCCI's opposition meant the DRS would not be used in India's tour of England starting next month.

Read more >>

IPL 4 Final : Chennai vs Bangalore Photos

Gambhir in doubt for West Indies

Gautam Gambhir may not be able to play the entire tour of the West Indies after being diagnosed with a shoulder injury that could keep him out for 4-6 weeks.

Andrew Leipus, the Kolkata Knight Riders physiotherapist, submitted a report to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in which he stated that the India opener sustained the injury during the World Cup final against Sri Lanka and aggravated it further during the final league game of the IPL against the Mumbai Indians in Kolkata.

Leipus also said in his report that Gambhir was feeling better before the final IPL league game but felt pain while throwing a ball from the deep during the game.

Leipus, who was also with the Indian team previously, further added in his report that Gambhir underwent medical scans in Mumbai before the elimination match against the Indians on Wednesday under the supervision of an expert.

Leipus stated in his report that Gambhir is advised 4-6 weeks of rest during which time he will not be able to throw or bat so that his should recovers completely.

Gambhir was to lead the Indian side in the West Indies for the ODI series after skipper MS Dhoni was rested along with Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

It is expected that Suresh Raina, who was made the vice-captain, will lead the team in his place. Gambhir's absence also means that India will go into the series without any of the regular specialist openers.

Read More >>

Gambhir draws positives from loss against Mumbai

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said they have positives to take away from their final round-robin game of the IPL what if the home team lost to Mumbai Indians in an unlikely fashion at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

After setting Mumbai Indians a tall 177-run target, the Knight Riders lost the match in the last over when, needing 21 runs, Laxmipathy Balaji conceded 23 including four fours and a last ball six to end their round-robin campaign on a disappointing note.

But Gambhir was in no mood to be bogged down by the defeat and said they have many positives to take away into the playoff stage of the tournament.

"Getting 176 itself was a big effort. It was more than a par score and we were very happy with the total. Spinners and Brett Lee bowled well. We have positives to take away from this game barring the last over. Getting the total was a fantastic effort," Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.

"You should see the performance of every player. I can't mention one area, we have done well in all departments. We have more positives to take than negatives," he said about the Kolkata outfit's round robin campaign, where they finished fourth with 16 points (eight wins) from 14 matches.

Gambhir also defended under-fire Balaji, who turned out to be the villain for Kolkata towards the end.

"Balaji dismissed Kieron Pollard in the previous over. (The loss) does not mean he was not good. We have all the trust in him. I am sure he will comeback harder." Finishing fourth behind Mumbai Indians, the Knight Riders will now have to face the same opponents in the elimination round to be played in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Gambhir said they would have to do things in hard way from here on as even after winning the eliminator, they will have to get past the loser of the first playoff to make it to Saturday's title clash.

"It will be a different ball game in the playoffs. We have to do the things in the hard way now," he said.

Gambhir said in Sunday's match Mumbai played fearless cricket as they had nothing to lose.

"They (Mumbai) had less pressure than us. They didn't have chance to get into top two. There was no pressure on them so they played freely."

Gambhir also credited James Franklin and Ambati Rayudu for pulling off the spectacular chase in the last over.

"They are quality players no doubt. All credit to them. It is such a format that anything can happen. It was one of those bad days for us," the left-hander said.

New Zealand all-rounder Franklin, who earned the man-of-the-match award for his match-winning unbeaten 45 that came off 23 balls, said "We were just trying to get the ball over the rope. Fortunately, we got a couple of lucky ones. Rayudu played a hell of a shot in the last ball."

Franklin also credited the Eden pitch for staying firm after Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh had set the tempo for the run chase with their 57-run second-wicket stand.

"Outfield was fast and the wicket played pretty well. Sachin (Tendulkar) and Harbhajan provided the momentum. In the last couple of overs, the asking rate got steep but overall it was quite achievable," he said.

"A great feeling in the camp now especially after getting the confidence back following the hat-trick of losses," Franklin added.

Read More >>

IPL Moves on to Football

The Indian Football Association (IFA) plans to start on an Indian Premier League tournament from next year, bringing a mass of World Cuppers and well-known foreign coaches on board.

The 7-week tournament - christened as Premier League Soccer (PLS) - has been slated for February-March and will be held across the state among six franchisees to be based in Kolkata, Howrah, Barasat, Midnapore, Siliguri and Asansol.

It's a partnership between the IFA and Celebrity Management Group (CMG), with Mahuaa TV joining in as telecast rights holder. The first round cost has been fixed at Rs 25 crore.

According to organizers, each team will be led by one main player, while playing XI must consist of maximum three foreigners as well as another of Asian origin. The team will be managed by renowned overseas coaches with Fifa/Uefa 'A' licence.

The bidding and auction processes are expected to be over by July-August this year. Only limited companies with a minimum of Rs 10 crore can bid for a franchisee license.

Australia won the series

Michael Hussey scored his first one-day century in 4 years to help Australia complete a 3-0 clean flounce against Bangladesh with a 66-run win in the final match on Wednesday.

The middle-order batsman cracked two sixes and nine fours in a 91-ball 108 for his third one-day hundred, and his first since February 2007, as Australia posted a huge 361-8 in the day-night match.

"It was a good series and an outstanding effort from the boys. As a captain I need to keep learning," said Australia skipper Michael Clarke, leading in his first one-day series after being named captain last month.

A disappointed Shakib said: "We batted really well and executed our plans, but we haven't bowled well in three games. It's a learning process and we will learn from it."

Man-of-the-series: Shane Watson who hit 185 not out in the previous match on Monday, earlier put Australia on course for a big total with a 40-ball 72.

Man-of-the-match: Michael Hussey who hit 89 for the fourth wicket with Clarke (47) and 70 for the sixth wicket with Mitchell Johnson, who hammered 41 off just 24 balls