A dancer performs during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Drummers perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
An artist in a space suit performs during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Fireworks explode over the National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium on August 8 in Beijing. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Artists perform during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest", on August 8, 2008. The three-hour show at Beijing's iconic national stadium was set to see more than 15,000 performers showcase the nation's ancient history and its rise as a modern power. (AFP PHOTO / Olivier Morin)
Percussionists take part in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on August 8, 2008. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)
Percussionists hit their Fou drums at the start of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on August 8, 2008. (AFP PHOTO / Joe Klamar )
Percussionists hit their Fou drums at the start of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on August 8, 2008. (AFP PHOTO / Joe Klamar )
Artists perform around an illuminated Globe during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Artists perform during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony on August 8, 2008 at the National Stadium in Beijing. Over 10,000 athletes from some 200 countries are going to compete in 38 differents disciplines during the event, between August 9 to 24. (WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)
The Olympic rings are illuminated during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
Artists underneath movable boxes perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Martial arts dancers perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Lighted dancers perform during the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Friday, Aug. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/David Phillip)
Drummers perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Artists perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Performers cheer during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Fireworks light the sky over the National Aquatics Center (L) and the National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
An artist performs, suspended by wires during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Drummers perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
A musician performs during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony on August 8, 2008 at the National Stadium in Beijing. (WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)
Performers are pictured during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
A dancer is silhouetted as she performs during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Anju Bobby George broke a billion hearts on Tuesday when she failed to qualify for the final of the women's long jump at the Beijing Olympics after three consecutive foul jumps.
It was a big disappointment not only for Indian fans but also the athlete herself, as she failed to register even a single clean jump, stepping over the board in all three chances.
It required an out of the skin showing to make it to the final as the qualifying cut out was as high as 6.75 metres or the 12 best jumps.
Since attaining her best of 6.83 metres at the Athens Games, where she placed sixth, four years ago, Anju hasn't been in the best of form, but was at least expected to go past the qualifying mark.
Now Indian medal hopes from the track and field rest in the 4 x 400 metres relay team, comprising Mandeep Kaur, Chitra Soman, S Geetha, Sini Jose, M R Povamma and K Mridula.
Karachi: Controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was on Saturday asked by Pakistan Cricket Board to pay the fine of seven million rupees imposed on him or forget playing in next month's Champions Trophy.
The fast bowler was served a legal notice on Saturday by the legal counsel of the board who said the fine had to be paid as per court orders or else Akhtar would be dropped from Pakistan's squad for the mega tournament.
"We have asked him to pay the fine or it would not be possible for us to retain him in Champions Trophy squad," PCB lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi said.
Akhtar was picked in the 15-member Champions Trophy squad by the selectors with the board saying it had decided not to link the fine payment issue with his selection.
But Rizvi said Akhtar will have to pay the fine as Lahore High Court which has suspended the 18-month ban on Akhtar had not waived fine payment nor given any stay order against it.
"There is no court order saying he should not pay the fine. Even if the court upholds his petition against the ban and fine it will be refunded to him but he has to pay the fine now," Rizvi said.
The fast bowler had responded to an earlier board notice that the court had not set any deadline for paying the fine and he would wait for the court decision on his petition which will be heard next month.
Akhtar, who has not played for Pakistan since last December, was banned for five years by the board in March on various counts of indiscipline but an appellate tribunal in June reduced the ban to 18 months.
He then filed a writ petition in Lahore High Court asking for the ban and fine to be overturned. The court suspended the ban but has not passed any order on the fine.
Karachi: Desperate to probe his innocence in the Indian Premier League doping scam, embattled Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif and his lawyer have left for Geneva, on Friday night, where his "B" sample test would be conducted on Monday.
Asif, who tested positive for a performance- enhancing drug during the IPL, would come to know whether he faces more disciplinary action or not only after the "B" sample test.
Asif's lawyer Shahid Karim has informed that they have hired a British sports medicine specialist Dr Graham who would accompany them to ensure that the test is conducted under specifications of the World Anti-Doping Agency rules.
"We have obtained the best possible help to assist us in the case as Asif is adamant he is innocent," Karim said.
Although the pacer -- who spent 19-days in detention in Dubai airport for carrying a banned substance while returning home from India after playing in the IPL -- has a tainted past, he said he was mentally prepared to face every situation and insisted that he never did anything wrong in his career.
"We are having the 'B' sample test for the reconfirmation. And we have to be present there. Inshallah! I will be cleared," said Asif, who had tested positive along with fellow paceman Shoaib Akhtar for banned substance - Nandrolone in 2006 before the Champions Trophy, but escaped bans after an Appellate Tribunal cleared them on technical grounds.
Asif is presently suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board and was not selected in next month's Champions Trophy squad, but he maintained he would come out clean and earn his place back in the national team.
"If I am cleared which I am confident I will be, I will try to make a place for myself in the Pakistan team as soon as possible," he said.
Dubai: Indian ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni can inch closer to top spot of ICC batting chart if he continues his good form of the Asia Cup in the five-match series against Sri Lanka starting on Monday..
Dhoni, who was on top of the batting list for a week in April 2006, is 19 points adrift of table topper South African Graeme Smith in the latest ICC ODI batting list with 773 rating points to his kitty.
Sixth-placed Sachin Tendulkar is likely to lose ground after an elbow injury has sidelined him for the ODI series. A player loses one per cent of his rating for missing every match.
Yuvraj Singh (15th) and Gautam Gambhir (19th) are the other India batsmen in the top 20. Both are well placed to move upwards if they perform well in the forthcoming matches.
Sri Lanka's 10th-placed Kumar Sangakkara can cause some reshuffling in the top 10 while veteran teammate Sanath Jayasuriya (15th) also has a top 10 spot firmly within his sights.
In the bowlers' list, headed by Australian Nathan Bracken, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is the highest ranked Indian at 24th and is well placed to enter the top 20.
Mumbai: Sri Lanka’s Dammika Prasad’s recent success in Test cricket has earned him double offer from two Indian Premier League (IPL) teams – Team Hyderabad and Team Bangalore – for the next season.
"I have been approached by Hyderabad and Bangalore and that is quite exciting," Prasad has been quoted as saying in The Times of India on Saturday.
The new ball bowler who had an interesting Test debut scalping the prize wickets of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid among others, left for South Africa to play a series of matches for the Sri Lankan A team.
Bangalore
The experienced Indian Test team may have come a cropper in Sri Lanka
but ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday hoped that his boys
will not let the country down in the shorter version of the game
against the island nation starting August 18.
"It is a
different side. We hope to do better," Dhoni told reporters after
winding up a two-day skill orientation and conditioning camp at the
National Cricket Academy here.
He said the team would focus on spin and fast bowling in the upcoming five one-dayers against Sri Lanka..
"Some
pitches in Sri Lanka help spinners and in some others fast bowlers do
well," said the Indian captain who leaves for Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Dhoni, who
has recently been chosen for the Rajiv Khel Ratna award, refused to
share the team's plans against mystery Sri Lankan leg spinner Ajantha
Mendis, who played a big role in his country's 2-1 Test series win
against India.
"Let us see," he replied, when asked what the team would do to keep the young Lankan at bay.
Dhoni said the camp, also attended by six of his teammates, focussed on bowling, batting and conditioning aspects.
On Tendulkar being ruled out of the ODI series, Dhoni said, "We will certainly miss him. Nobody can replace Sachin Tendulkar."
Tendulkar
opted out of the ODI series after injuring his left elbow during the
third Test while attempting to take a catch to dismiss Chaminda Vaas.
Karachi:
India will take on defending champions Australia at Karachi on
September 13 in their first match under the revised fixture for the
Champions Trophy tournament, beginning on September 12.
The event will kick off with hosts Pakistan facing off against runners-up the West Indies in Lahore.
India and Pakistan will meet only in their last group match on September 20.
The new
schedule was today sent to all participating nations after the Pakistan
Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council agreed to drop
Rawalpindi as one of the three venues for the eight-nation tournament.
Lahore and
Karachi will host the semi-finals while the final will be staged in
Lahore on September 28 with the reserve day on the 29th, as per the
changed schedule.
However, the schedule for the warm-up matches was yet to be confirmed.
India are
placed in Group A alongside defending champions Australia, Pakistan and
West Indies while the Group B comprises South Africa, New Zealand, Sri
Lanka and England.
Karachi: Even as the PCB waits for a response from New Zealand Cricket on their plans of touring Pakistan later this month, national cricket coach Geoff Lawson says he would like to see the Kiwis here as it would give his team valuable exposure before next month's champions Trophy.
New Zealand is supposed to tour Pakistan from August 20 where they would play three ODIs before the Champions Trophy and the director cricket operations, Zakir Khan said they were expecting a firm response this week.
"Things are getting a bit difficult for us as we have to sell television rights for the series and make other logistical arrangements, " he said.
Although, sources in the board say the tour is unlikely Lawson said he would like to see the New Zealanders tour Pakistan as otherwise it might affect Pakistan's preparation for the Champions Trophy.
"I hope they come because I have kept on saying it is safe to play in Pakistan. But even if they don't come there is nothing anyone can do and we will just have to go into the Champions Trophy with our own preparations, " Lawson said.
Lawson said his players needed to play some competitive games before the Champions Trophy as every other nation was busy in engagements at the moment and would reach Pakistan for the tournament well prepared.
New Delhi: Cricket Australia believes that China has the capability of becoming a cricket power to rival India.
According to The Age Cricket Australia is all set to take a leading role in teaching the Chinese to play the game and see the world's most populous nation as a vital frontier in the sport's expansion plans. And Twenty20 is seen as the best way of getting the Chinese hooked on it.
The Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland and chairman Creagh O'Connor will visit Beijing during the second week of the Games, but the board's manager of global development, Ross Turner, began working with the Chinese through the Asian Cricket Council in 2005.
"With its population of 1.3 billion people and its changing economy, China can one day be a cricket power to rival India," Turner was quated as saying by the newspaper.
"It may not be in five years, but it will certainly be within a decade. China has such a strategic approach to everything. They won't be benchmarking against some atoll in the Pacific, they will be saying what is the world standard and trying to better it, seeking prominence and world recognition. "
Meanwhile, a leading corporate and commercial lawyer Ian McCubbin, an expert in Chinese-Australian affairs, believes that the aftermath of the Olympics will present a crucial opportunity to capitalise on the Communist country's widening interest in western sports.
"I don't think the success of cricket in China depends on having hundreds of thousands of people playing it in the park on a Saturday afternoon. I think it depends on promoting it as a television product," said McCubbin, who is also a legal adviser to China Central Television Network.
"Look at India, and the commercialisation of cricket there. There is no reason why that can't happen in China. It's a growing economy, it's a changing economy, but it's also an economy that is becoming an avid consumer of western culture," McCubbin said.
In fact, Guangzhou will host the 2010 Asian Games, where China will compete in cricket and for which two cricket grounds conforming to ICC standards will be built.
Mumbai: West Indies' batting great Brian Lara named his daughter 'Sydney' because he scored his first Test century, a majestic 277, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) which Aussie cricket lovers fondly call 'Sachin Cricket Ground'.
It may be a coincidence that the third and final Test of the ongoing three-match series between India and Sri Lanka is being played at the P. Sara Stadium in Colombo and the name of Sachin Tendulkar's daughter is Sara, too. However, naming his daughter had nothing to do with the ground.
Tendulkar who needed 97 runs at the beginning of the match to surpass Lara's record of most Test runs, was dismissed for six in the first innings.
"After losing his wicket to rookie fast bowler Prasad leg before on Friday, he sat in the dressing room for a while, apparently disturbed.. But he came back to his normal mood after listening to music," a member of the Indian team said from Colombo. "He was confident of setting a high score in this match but...," the source added.
"Sachin then called Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma in the dressing room and all three started practising in the dressing room itself.
"The batting maestro is determined to break the record in the second innings and perhaps the day is not far off," the source added
Kapil Dev: 'If we can replicate what happened last season, I would say we are doing well'
The next phase of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) will start on October 10, Kapil Dev, the chairman of the ICL executive board, has said. The number of teams and the venue of the tournament, which will be held days after the BCCI-backed Champions Twenty20 League ends and during Australia's of India, are yet to be decided.
The ICL has yet to find backing among the national cricket boards around the world but its status has become a contentious point among the ICC members. England allowed ICL players to play in the County Championship and therefore Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and a major force behind the Champions League, ruled out Kent's participation in the tournament because they had fielded ICL players Azhar Mahmood and Justin Kemp.
Kapil hoped the current deadlock would be broken for the betterment of the game. "We are giving jobs to people - to scorers, to administrators, to groundsmen - and more chances to young players. If anyone can convince me of doing something wrong and against the country, I will quit the ICL right away," he said. "The door should be open to everybody. If players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar emerge from the league, don't they deserve to play for the country?"
It was a sentiment shared by Steve Rixon, the former New Zealand coach currently in charge of one ICL team, the Hyderabad Heroes. "The IPL is an event. Ours has a bit more substance - more emphasis on our kids, on the local Indian players performing well and being as good as they can be and getting ready for the greater challenges. In our Hyderabad team, five Man-of-Match awards last season were bagged by Indian players. The ICL is promoting domestic talent more than the IPL. We started first and I guess we had the first crack at the best of the young talent in this country."
The existing situation, Rixon said, was "hypocritical" and hoped for recognition and an amicable settlement with the ICC. "There is a bit of hypocrisy. Sachin Tendulkar played in Lashings with an ICL player [Dinesh Mongia]. Will the BCCI ban Tendulkar? It's time to sit down and have a rethink. You can't be hypocritical and say the players can play in English leagues but they can't do it here. And you can't ban ICL players from playing in the counties and leagues."
However, he was hopeful of a peaceful closure. "I still believe that at some stage the ICL will be recognised, and it would be in the best interests of all the young cricketers. They have to be ready when it happens and part of my job is to ensure that. Everyone would like to play in the Ranji Trophy again, especially the longer version."
The October tournament will be the first since the hugely successful debut IPL season, but Rixon didn't believe the ICL would suffer by comparison. "It is only going to get bigger," he said. "More people are getting exposed to the game and I think they will say, 'I have seen IPL, let's see how ICL respond'."
"The players' motivation has only got stronger. They know, if they don't perform here and if they are dropped, they can't go back to play under the BCCI. You can be rest assured that ICL performances are going to get even better this season."
Both Kapil and Rixon believed that the quality of cricket would eventually judge the success or failure of ICL. "If we can replicate what happened last season, I would say we are doing well," said Kapil. "If the cricket is interesting and of good quality, the ICL would be a success."
As players from around the world backed former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist's call for Twenty20 cricket to become an Olympic sport, officials said it would take another 12 years at least for it to get on the Games roster.
But a spokesman for the International Cricket Council, the global governing body, said that if cricket decided it was intent on pursuing Olympic ambitions, then "Twenty20 cricket in 2020 does have a certain ring to it".
Cricket was part of the Olympics just once, in 1900, but last year it was again recognised as an Olympic sport -- the first step towards full admission.
"Our strategic objective was to obtain IOC recognition for the benefit of our members," the ICC spokesman also told AFP.
"We achieved this at the first time of asking in December 2007.. Now that we are in a position to compete for a spot on the Olympic programme, it's only right that we now look at
whether cricket and the Olympic Games would benefit from being reunited."
Gilchrist, in his column for Indian daily the Deccan Chronicle, said Monday: "It doesn't matter where the 2020 Olympic Games are held but many of us who've experienced international Twenty20 cricket and the IPL (Indian Premier League) are convinced that cricket should bid to become an Olympic sport in time for the Games."
And Gilchrist insisted that for all the prizes on offer in cricket, players would still be motivated to compete at an Olympics.
"Take it from someone who has won almost everything cricket has to offer -- the Olympics is the absolute pinnacle in sport.
"Cricketers won't care about the money. The chance to stand on top of the Olympic
podium, to wear an Olympic gold medal and the pride of belting out your national anthem would be a life-changing money-can't-buy experience," he said.
Cricket is far from alone in considering becoming an Olympic sport, with golf also pondering a place at the Games.
But reigning US Masters champion Trevor Immelman said: "I don't think golf should be an Olympic sport. To me the Olympics were founded on amateur sport. Guys go in there and train for four years putting their whole lives on the line to win a gold medal."
However, his fellow South African Graeme Smith, captain of the Proteas cricket team, that has just won a Test series in England, was enthusiatic about cricket being played at the Olympics.
"From a player's perspective it would obviously be a fantastic thing to be part of an Olympic Games," said
Smith. "We've always just watched from the side and seen how special the event is."
The programme for the 2012 London Olympics has already been determined and with a decision on the schedule for the 2016 Games expected next year, that may be too soon for cricket.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge, who played cricket during summer vacations in England in his youth, met with ICC officials in Lausanne last year.
The inagural World Tournament of Twenty Twenty witnessed lots of amazing records by teams and individual players in terms of runs, longest sixes, wickets, margins and the others. Find in this section the latest and updated records made in Twenty20 Cricket world Cup 2007..
Karachi: The Indian Premier League has extended the date for the 'B' sample test for Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif to August 18.
Shahid Karim, lawyer for Asif confirmed they had received an e-mail from the IPL accepting their request for the extension of the date.
This is for the second time that the IPL has accepted a request from Asif to extend the date for his 'B' sample test after it was originally scheduled for July 28 and then changed to August 6.
Asif has been suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board after he tested positive in dope tests conducted by the IPL during its inaugural edition in India.
Asif asked for his 'B' after failing the dope test but has so far been unable to secure visas to travel to Geneva, Switzerland where the test would be conducted.
Karim said he was hopeful that they would now get visas by Friday.
"From the word go I have said the tests should be held in mid August as it will give us appropriate time to prepare our case and travel to Switzerland," Karim said.
"The Swiss embassy conducted Asif's interview on Monday and have agreed to issue the visa so that is a big burden off us as we want to be present for the 'B' sample tests that is our right," he said.
Irfan Pathan and his brother Yusuf could be competing for the same spot in the one-day squad
Current form and fitness will be the key criteria for India's selectors when they meet in Mumbai on Thursday to pick the squads for the one-day series against Sri Lanka, which begins later this month, and September's Champions Trophy. The meeting will also discuss the return of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the one-day captain who pulled out of the Sri Lanka Test series, and Yuvraj Singh, who was left out.
Cricinfo learnt that the players under scrutiny include Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa. It's understood that indifferent form is the main reason why it could be touch-and-go for Irfan, who had also nursed an injury during the Asia Cup last month, and Uthappa, who has been a key figure in Dhoni's gameplan.
The selectors feel that Pathan's problem is his ineffective bowling on flat subcontinent pitches. He took only four wickets in three matches during the Kitply Cup in Bangladesh and, despite not being completely fit, played the Asia Cup in Pakistan where his three wickets cost 71 apiece. Pathan was subsequently omitted from the squad for the Sri Lanka Test series.
"Irfan is not being so influential and, in addition to his loss of pace, he is not even able to cut the ball and bowl well at death", one member of the selection panel said. It's a view which is shared by the other selectors too. If Irfan has any support it might come from Dhoni who has strong belief in the allrounder.
It's likely that Irfan will be competing against his brother Yusuf for a place in the squad. Yusuf made his ODI debut during the Kitply Cup and has played seven matches without a spectacular performance. His ability to score quickly and part-time offspin make him a direct competitor of Irfan.
Uthappa's case is equally weak, considering he's scored only one half-century in his last 20 innings. His loss is likely to work in favour of Suresh Raina, who was among the highest run-scorers in the Asia Cup. Raina made his comeback to the one-day squad for the CB Series in Australia but didn't play a game. He failed to make a significant score in the Kitply Cup but Dhoni's confidence in Raina paid off and he played a crucial part in India making the Asia Cup final.
The selectors are unlikely to make any drastic changes to the existing ODI squad unless forced to by injuries to players. It has also been learnt that Sreesanth's fitness report is not convincing and he continue his rehabilitation for a side strain.
Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan will also return to the squad. Tendulkar last ODI appearance was the CB Series final in Australia after which he played for the Mumbai Indians during the IPL before opting out of the Kitply and Asia Cups in order to recover from a groin injury. Zaheer, whose tour of Australia was cut short by a heel injury, has successfully recovered and is currently playing the Test series in Sri Lanka.
Considering the spinner-friendly pitches in Sri Lanka, the selectors are likely to consider Piyush Chawla as the third spinner in the squad in addition to Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. However, Chawla is likely to miss out on Champions Trophy selection the squad will have only 14 members and Ojha's left-arm spin offers variety. The pace-attack will comprise Zaheer, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh and Praveen Kumar and the rest of the 15 will be made up by seven specialist batsmen.
Probable squad
Sri Lanka one-day series Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Yusuf Pathan/IrfanPathan, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Piyush Chawla.
Champions Trophy Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Yusuf Pathan/IrfanPathan, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has asked for his B sample test, which had been scheduled for July 28, to be postponed. His lawyer, Shahid Karim, wants more time to prepare for the case and make travel arrangements.
Karim said Asif has yet to receive the required documents from the Indian Premier League authorities relating to the A sample test, without which he could not prepare for the case.
"From the IPL we certainly want the documents that relate to the procedures they adopted for the 'A' sample test and we are entitled to have them," Karim told PTI. "We also want certain documents from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that might be relevant to the case."
ICC anti-doping regulations provide players and/or their representative the right to be present when the B sample is opened and analysed. That means Asif and his lawyer will have to travel to Switzerland, where the testing will be done in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory. "We will not be able to make all the travel arrangements to Switzerland by July 28," Karim told Cricinfo. "The visas have to be processed and documents have to be obtained."
The IPL announced on Monday that Asif had tested positive for a banned substance, following which the Pakistan Cricket Board suspended him.
June 2008: Mohammad Asif is detained
by authorities at Dubai Airport on suspicion of possessing drugs. He is
released, but the PCB begins its own inquiry.
October 2006: Mohammad Asif and
Shoaib Akhtar are withdrawn from Pakistan's squad a day before the
Champions Trophy in India after they test positive for nandrolone in an
internal PCB test. Asif and Akhtar were banned, but are let off after
appealing.
June 2005: Scotland bowler Asim Butt is banned for a year after he tests positive for Ecstasy, a recreational drug.
May 2005: Keith Piper, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper, is banned for the remainder of the season after failing a drugs test.
October 2004: Graham Wagg, the
Warwickshire and England A allrounder, is banned from cricket until
January 2006 after being found guilty of cocaine use.
February 2003: Shane Warne is sent
home from the World Cup in South Africa after it's revealed that he
tested positive for banned diuretics in samples provided to the
Australian Sports Drugs Agency in Sydney.. Warne is later handed a
one-year ban.
A sample taken from random testing at the inaugural season of the
Indian Premier League has tested positive, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi
has confirmed to Cricinfo. This is the first step of the verification
process, Modi said, and there are several stages before a player is
deemed to have failed the test.
The tests were carried out by IDTM, a
Sweden-based independent agency, in accordance with World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA) standards after the IPL adopted the ICC's anti-doping
code. The samples were forwarded to a WADA-approved laboratory in
Switzerland for testing. "Two days ago the IPL received a letter from
the lab, mandated by WADA, which said one sample had tested positive,"
Modi said. "The IPL will follow set procedures from now on."
The first step, he said, is to match the
identity of the player with the sample. Next, the player's form, filled
out before the match, will be scrutinised for any pre-declared or
prescribed drug by the IPL medical committee, consisting of an IDTM
representative and Dr Anant Joshi; if that matches the drug found in
the sample, the matter ends there and the player's name won't be
revealed.
If the medical committee investigation
reveals the player had not applied or been granted an exemption for
using the drug found in the sample, the player, the concerned IPL
franchise and national board will be informed in writing of the
positive test that violates the anti-doping code. The player then has
the right to request that his 'B' sample [supplied at the same time as
the one that tested positive] be sent for analysis, which he and his
representative can attend along with an IPL representative.
If that, too is positive, the matter will be
taken up by the IPL's drugs tribunal, comprising of Sunil Gavaskar, Dr
Ravi Bapat (ex-Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health
Sciences) and lawyer Shirish Gupte. The tribunal will study the issue
and take a decision in accordance with the anti-doping code. "This is
just the procedure," Modi said, "as of now we are at the first stage
where one sample has tested positive. The issue is now with the IPL's
medical committee. The identity of the player will matter only after we
check on the pre-declared drugs."
The ICC, in a release, said it had been
informed of the "adverse analytical finding" and that it was the
responsibility of the ICC member, in this case the BCCI, to deal with
the process. The ICC stated it will "be closely monitoring the
situation to ensure the correct action is taken by the BCCI", and
"retains a right of appeal if any penalty that may be imposed is
inconsistent with the WADA code".
Anil Kumble, India's Test captain, has been cautioned by the BCCI for divulging details of the Sri Lanka tour selection meeting to a newspaper.
Kumble told Mumbai Mirror that he had
asked the selectors to pick two specialist wicketkeepers for the
three-Test series.. "As captain I am aware that there could be problems
if the specialist were to pull a muscle or have a runny stomach on the
morning of a Test," Kumble said. "There was a suggestion that Rahul
[Dravid] be the second wicketkeeper, but I persuaded the [selection]
committee to view things from Indian cricket's point of view and
advantage."
Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, censured
Kumble for his remarks. "I have been informed by the chairman [Dilip
Vengsarkar] that Mumbai Mirror, a newspaper in Mumbai, has published some story about the selection meeting which is attributed to you.
"You are aware that proceedings of the selection committee are not
supposed to be divulged and are certainly not meant for public
discussion. As a senior player, you should have restrained from such
interviews."
India had included wicketkeepers Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel in the Test squad for Sri Lanka after Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted out of the series.
WV Raman, the former Indian batsman, has been retained as coach of
Tamil Nadu for the next two seasons. Top officials in the Tamil Nadu
Cricket Association (TNCA) have expressed satisfaction with Raman's
work over the 2007-08 season, after he took over an inexperienced team
hit hard by an exodus to Indian Cricket League.
Raman had been offered the coach's position at Bengal as well, but he
had informed the TNCA that Tamil Nadu would be his first priority.
Tamil Nadu finished sixth in the Ranji Trophy
Elite Group A with one win, four draws and two defeats. The TNCA has
also, for the first time, expanded the coaching staff by appointing the
former allrounder D Gokulakrishnan as the assistant coach and TS Mohan
as the fielding coach. The move was primarily to ease the burden on
Raman.
"Raman is dedicated to cricket," N Srinivasan, the TNCA president, told the Hindu. "And he is dedicated to Tamil Nadu. We have decided to continue with him."
The association added that Raman will no longer be a part of the
selection panel he chaired for the last two years. Former Tamil Nadu
batsman R Madhavan will take over as chairman while M Senthilnathan,
also a former Tamil Nadu player, has been drafted into the panel.
"There was too much load on Raman and there
was a need to reduce some of it," KS Viswanathan, the TNCA secretary,
told the paper. "We believe we have done that. We have a good system in
place and the results should start coming. We have lost several players
over the last two years due to retirement and the ICL. We are happy
with the effort Raman has put in."
Giving international fixtures the priority, the PCB has said it won't
allow its players to take part in the next IPL season if it coincides
with Australia's rescheduled visit to the country next year. There are
11 Pakistan players in the IPL, including captain Shoaib Malik,
vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq, and Sohail Tanvir, one of the key players
in Rajasthan Royals' triumph in the inaugural season.
"We don't see any confrontation with the
players over the clash of dates, the IPL is a domestic tournament,"
Shafqat Naghmi, the Pakistan board's chief operating officer, told PTI. "International commitments take precedence over the domestic tournaments and the IPL is no exception."
Naghmi's comments come a few days after Sri Lanka Cricket
allowed its key players to feature in next year's IPL despite a clash
with proposed dates of the tour to England. SLC's decision even
prompted Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, to hint at the need
for an IPL window in the international calendar.
"We will work strictly under a principle that has been decided at the
ICC level," Naghmi said. "Obviously the home series against Australia
is very important for us and nothing will take precedence over it."
Australia postponed
their tour to Pakistan in March this year after several bomb attacks in
the wake of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination in
December 2007. Pakistan are to hold the Champions Trophy in September,
subject to the ICC determining the situation is safe for the tournament
to go ahead.
Besides ICC's security consultants, the
Australian, England and New Zealand boards have hired an independent
expert to assess the situation. Players such as Andrew Symonds have
already expressed their reservations, and Cricket Australia is yet to decide on the fate of those who refuse to tour.
Dale Steyn has called himself an 'idiot' for the comments he made about the Indian Premier League a few days ago.
Steyn said that "the IPL was only four overs a game and it was like a
paid holiday; you only had to work hard if you felt like it, which is
probably why we finished second-last." However, in response, he was
unreservedly apologetic.
"I was speaking just moments after being
named as South Africa's cricketer of the year at a gala banquet and I
was pretty emotional," he said. "I was trying to be funny and just
ended up being stupid - I was an idiot.
"I was asked whether the IPL had been hard
physically and I said 'no' because I only had to bowl four overs per
game.. The rest of my comments were meant to reinforce the fact that
Twenty20 cricket is very, very different from Test cricket as far as
wear and tear on the body is concerned.
"The truth is, I
tried my absolute hardest for Bangalore in every game and I was as
disappointed as anyone that we fared so poorly. I desperately regret my
naivety and look forward to the opportunity of helping the franchise
reach the semi-finals next year.
"I have written to
the franchise to express my unreserved regret and apologies and tried
to explain the circumstances of my comments. Sometimes, when you lose,
you try to make a joke of it to lessen the disappointment. It was a
stupid thing to say and a painful lesson for me to learn."
The ICC has taken the first significant step towards resolving the
contentious issue of unauthorised cricket - including the status of the
Indian Cricket League (ICL) - by setting up a high-powered committee to
study its legal aspects. It has also discussed the issue of global
agreements to prevent cricketers from appearing in such games, Cricinfo
has learnt.
The committee, which was formalised during
the ICC's annual meeting in Dubai last week, includes Giles Clarke, the
ECB chairman, Norman Arendse, the Cricket South Africa president,
Shashank Manohar, the BCCI's president-elect, Lalit Modi, a
vice-president of the BCCI [and the IPL's chairman and commissioner]
and David Becker, the ICC's senior counsel - business and commercial.
The committee was set up after officials were
made aware the ICL may explore the possibility of coming under the
governing body's umbrella as "a kind of authorised unofficial cricket"
under a specific rule that deals with exhibition matches and other
games of a similar nature. It is understood that preliminary
discussions took place in Bangalore during a meeting of key ICC board
members on April 18, before the inaugural IPL game.
When asked about the committee and its
objectives, an ICC spokesperson said, "The purpose of the group is to
ensure that whatever conclusion is reached is in the best interests of
the game."
The issue of the ICL and its status came into
focus on the sidelines of the ICC annual meeting last week when
officials from India, England, Australia and South Africa met for a
discussion on the proposed Twenty20 Champions League.
While India, Australia and South Africa are
clear that players associated with the ICL cannot take part in the
league, England will have to take a tough call on the issue as around
25 ICL players are currently playing for 15 English counties.
Officially, the ECB does not support any involvement with unofficial
cricket but, in this situation, has to operate within the stringent
trade laws in England.
The ICC, meanwhile, has also sent a letter to
the ICL seeking details of its correspondence with the BCCI on the
issue of their status in the game. An ICL official told Cricinfo the
letter was received last week and added the league is yet to send its
response. Himanshu Mody, the ICL's business head, confirmed the
development to Cricinfo but declined to comment on it. When asked about
the letter, the ICC spokesperson said, "Dialogue and correspondence on
the subject is ongoing."
According to ICL officials, they had first
written to the BCCI in April 2007 informing them about their plans to
hold a city-based Twenty20 league. "But they reacted harshly to the
issue," an official said.
The BCCI is very clear it would not budge on
the ICL. "We had received two or three letters from the ICL, but we
made our position very clear early that they cannot be recognised," a
BCCI official said. The BCCI has barred all official contact with
players associated with ICL and expects all other members of the ICC to
align with them on the issue.
The ICL has already organised three Twenty20
tournaments and a 50-over competition but its status was placed on the
international cricket stage this April by Malcolm Speed, the former ICC
CEO, who said the governing body had received a letter
from the league seeking clarity on their existence. Speed, who was
since told to go on "paid leave" by the ICC before his successor Haroon
Lorgat took charge last week, had also said that the issue was being
handled by the ICC's lawyers.
Later, Dave Richardson, who took over from
Speed on an interim basis, said the ICC would go by the BCCI's policy
towards ICL. "The ICL is a domestic event that takes place in India so
our rules prescribe that any decision as to whether an event be
regarded as official or not must be made by the country that event is
played in," Richardson had said.
The multi-billion-dollar Indian Premier League appears to have netted
another big name with Dilip Vengsarkar, the former India captain and
current chairman of selectors, reportedly set to join the league as its
Director of Operations.
Reports suggest Vengsarkar, whose tenure ends
in September, will join the IPL for a two-year period and is expected
to be paid an annual salary of around US$ 235,000.
The move will come as a major step in the
Indian board's relationship with Vengsarkar, one that has been strained
in the past. Vengsarkar had his share of run-ins with the BCCI,
including one over writing columns in newspapers. He even demanded a
hefty compensation for having to stop writing.
Now Vengsarkar is set to join two other former India captains in the
IPL roster - Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri are already part of the
IPL governing council.
Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has said franchises will be allowed
to trade players before the 2009 season gets underway. He added that
the season could welcome more innovations, including that of the orange
neon ball.
"There will be a transfer window open early next year just ahead of the
2009 season to enable franchises trade players and bring in the ones
they require," Modi told PTI.
Following a highly successful opening season which concluded last week,
Sharad Pawar, the Indian board president, had ruled out Modi's proposal
to conduct two IPL seasons in a single year, owing to the busy
international calendar. Modi agreed that the Future Tours Programme
(FTP) made it difficult to implement the plan and that it could be
possible only after the 2011 World Cup. The first season lasted 45
days, though several international stars only made brief appearances
for their franchises, owing to national commitments.
"The second season as of now is a very distant possibility and will not
take place definitely until after the 2011 World Cup, given the FTP
commitments of the Test playing nations," Modi said. "By then, I firmly
believe, the IPL would have already established itself as a major event
and carved a niche for itself on the international cricketing
calendar."
Looking ahead to the second season, Modi said
the existing innovations will continue and that the use of the orange
balls - to help players sight the ball better under lights - will be
approved only after trials.
"One of the innovations to be introduced next
year would be orange neon ball," he said. "This would, however, depend
on how successful the trials of the same are.
"This year we already introduced the Orange
and Purple Cap innovations (for the top run-getter and wicket-taker
respectively) and the Kingfisher Team Fair Play award and will look at
continuing with this tradition of innovation in the subsequent
leagues."
Modi said he was overwhelmed with the success
of the league so far. "The TRPs that we have garnered in India are
quite frankly staggering to say the least. And all this is because we
have had some of the best cricketers from around the world. Frankly I
could not have envisaged a more successful inaugural season than this
year."
Sourav Ganguly has brushed off suggestions of his retirement after
being left out of India's preliminary squad of 30 for the Champions
Trophy in Pakistan in September.
"I've been out of India's one-day team for
the last three months and I am not going to play one-dayers for the
next three. So I'm not thinking about ODIs at the moment," Ganguly told
reporters in Kolkata. "I'm concentrating on Tests and the upcoming Sri
Lanka series.
"I'm still enjoying cricket," he said, "and as long as I do that, I'm not going to hang up my boots."
One of the challenges ahead would be facing
Ajantha Mendis, who rattled India's ODI team with figures of 6 for 13
in the Asia Cup final in Karachi. Mendis is also contracted with the
Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, captained by Ganguly..
"He [Mendis] is an excellent prospect. Has a
lot of variety," Ganguly said. "But I have faced him in the nets when
he came here to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Also, players like
Sachin [Tendulkar], Rahul [Dravid], [VVS] Laxman are very good against
spin bowling.
"I'm doing some home work to counter his
bowling," Ganguly said. "I have special plans for him. We have to read
him off the hand. It will be too late if you start picking him off the
wicket.
"Watching him on TV, I got the impression
that he relies more on change of pace ... his legspinner doesn't turn
much." Ganguly also pointed out Sri Lanka had Muttiah Muralitharan in
their ranks. "But I think Murali would be a bigger threat. He has
variation and pace and can turn the ball a mile. He is in a different
league altogether."
On Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to sit out
of the Test series in Sri Lanka, Ganguly said: "It's his personal
decision. Being the captain and a wicketkeeper-batsman, Dhoni takes a
lot of pressure. So it's natural to feel fatigued. But very few
cricketers can afford to take a break.
"I don't remember pulling out of a Test
series because of fatigue when I was the captain," he said. "It also
depends on your position in the side; I'm sure not many players, with a
place in the side not guaranteed, will be able to do that. I know only
one player who has been able to do it successfully -- Sachin
Tendulkar."
Ganguly, though, played down the IPL factor. "I don't think it opens up
the IPL versus country debate." He also disagreed with the view that
ODI cricket was on the decline thanks to Twenty20. "I was in England
recently. I went to watch a one-dayer between New Zealand and England.
It was a full house.
"So I don't think people don't like ODIs
anymore. I'm sure when the ODI format returns to India, we'll see the
same packed house as it was earlier."
Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has insisted the US$5 million salary
cap on franchisees will remain in place for at least the next two
years. Modi said in a statement that the players are legally bound by
their three-year contract with franchises.
"The three-year contractual clause was made
public to both the franchisees and players prior to the auction (on
February 20 this year) and the player's participation," he said. "All
the parties will abide by the terms and conditions laid down by the
governing council and it is only up to the franchisee to trade players
as and when the trading window opens next year."
Ricky Ponting, Australia's captain, had earlier expressed concerns
that lifting the salary cap would be "detrimental to the whole set-up"
as franchises with deep pockets could end up with the best players,
leading to a loss of competitiveness.
Modi also said that rules for trading of
players will be issued early next year. "The IPL will issue a fresh set
of guidelines on the player transfer protocols for the next season
keeping in mind the transfer window," he said. "It would however, be
the prerogative of the franchisee alone to take a decision to trade
players, when the trading window opens in the early part of 2009 just
prior to the second season."
India have announced a 30-member probables squad for the Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan in September.
The squad includes players on the fringe of national selection like S
Badrinath and Manoj Tiwary and also those on the comeback trail like
Mohammad Kaif and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik. Two members of the
Under-19 World Cup-winning team - captain Virat Kohli and allrounder
Ravindra Jadeja - get their first call-ups to the senior squad.
Several players who impressed during the
Indian Premier League and in the last domestic season such as
Rajasthan's fast bowler Pankaj Singh and Mumbai's allrounder Abhishek
Nayar have been included. Another Mumbai player Ajinkya Rahane, who
slammed a 142-ball 187 - the highest score by an Indian in a List A
match - is also in the squad.
Experienced batsmen
and former captains Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid are among those who
did not make the cut. Dravid has not been a part of the one-day setup
since the home series against Australia last October while Ganguly's
last ODI was against Pakistan in Gwalior in November. Fast bowler Munaf
Patel was also omitted.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir,
Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan
Singh, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, RP Singh, Irfan
Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Manpreet Singh Gony, Pragyan
Ojha, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath, Mohammad Kaif, Manoj
Tiwary, Abhishek Nayar, Pankaj Singh, Murali Kartik, Virat Kohli,
Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Yusuf Pathan, S Sreesanth
Haroon Lorgat, the new ICC chief executive, has raised concerns over
the future of international cricket given the growing financial
attraction of the Indian Premier League and hinted at the need for a
window for the league in the international calendar. His comments were
made during a media interaction at Lord's on Thursday, the day Sri
Lanka Cricket said it allowed its players to participate in the Indian
Premier League next year though it coincided with a tour of England.
SLC had agreed
to the series earlier this week as a replacement for Zimbabwe but gave
in after their players lobbied hard - involving the country's president
- for the right to play in the IPL. "If we don't manage this situation
we could be threatening the lifeblood of all member countries," Lorgat
said. "International cricket generates revenue that is essential to our
survival.
"My folks always told me to be careful
because money is the root of all evil. The root of this issue is the
sums of money involved - it is far more attractive financially to play
in the IPL."
With the status of the Sri Lanka tour still
unclear, he added: "It is up to Sri Lanka to sort out the situation. To
satisfy players financially by relying on their payments from IPL is
not sustainable. Players have short careers and they want immediate
rewards but we have to educate them about the development of the game.
All of us, players included, must be responsible during this time of
enormous opportunity.
"There is no doubt that there are inherent
conflicts in the situation. Each country would rather look after its
own interests and then you also have to get together to look after the
global interests. I would hope that the ICC has people with the
integrity to look after the game globally."
He also said that one of the solutions to the
problem could be the creation of an IPL window. "I suspect that the
prospect of a window for IPL is a subject that will not disappear from
the radar."
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