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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 22nd March 2014
1st leg of IPL to be played in UAE
United Arab Emirates will stage the initial phase of the IPL while Bangladesh was kept on standby for some of the matches by the BCCI, ending weeks of speculation over the venues of the high-profile event which was scheduled from April 16 to June 1. The tournament, which had to be partly shifted out of the country owing to the general elections, will return to India for the final phase from May 13 though the BCCI has sought the government's permission to stage matches in the country from May 1 itself. The early return to India would be possible only if the government agrees to provide security to the tournament in states where polling would have concluded at that stage. "The BCCI is pleased to announce that the 2014 Pepsi IPL season will start on Wednesday 16th April 2014, and conclude on Sunday, 1st June 2014," board secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement. The initial phase of the tournament would be played out at three venues in the UAE -- Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah from April 16 to 30.
"From Wednesday 16th April to Wednesday 30th April, at least 16 matches will be held in the United Arab Emirates. BCCI is very grateful to the Emirates Cricket Board, its Chairman, HH Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, and the government of the UAE for their offer of wholehearted support to host the Pepsi IPL for this period," the BCCI stated. The second half has been tentatively kept in Bangladesh but could be held in India if the BCCI manages to get the government's clearance. "For the period from Thursday 1st May to Monday 12th May, BCCI has approached the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, seeking permission to play IPL matches in India in cities where the polling
R. Biswaal and Sanjay Patel
has concluded in the respective state. "BCCI is extremely conscious of the various complexities involved, but hopes for a favourable consideration. BCCI will abide by the decision of the authorities in this regard. If it is not possible to play in India during this period, IPL matches will be held in Bangladesh and BCCI is thankful to the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the government of Bangladesh for their support," the Board said. But there is no ambiguity for the final leg, which will be held in the country. "From Tuesday 13th May (once polling has concluded in all states), the remaining league matches plus the Playoffs will be played in India. There will be no matches scheduled on the counting day of Friday,
16th May. BCCI will take the advice of the authorities if any further restrictions are required around the counting day. "A detailed match schedule for the Pepsi IPL 2014 season will be sent out soon," the BCCI said. The general elections are scheduled to be held in nine phases from April 7 to May 12, owing to which the government had refused to provide security for the IPL. This is the second time that the event has had to be forced out of the country due to elections. In 2009, the entire tournament had to be shifted to South Africa, a country which was in contention to host the event even this time. The BCCI officials and IPL chairman Ranjeeb Biswal had been holding discussions with the home ministry for the past few days to work out the schedule of the league which will have eight teams this time around. Due to the lesser number of teams, the duration of the league has also been shortened this time to 47 days and 60 matches much less than the 76 games played last season which was spread over 54 days.
Troy Justice visits Chennai Wheelchair Basketball Development
Choice International (UK), YWTC Charitable Trust and the Chennai Wheelchair Basketball Players welcomed Troy Justice, Senior Director of Basketball Operations International, National Basketball Association (NBA) India, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, in Chennai. As a strong humanitarian, basketball player and coach, with keen interest in Wheelchair Basketball Development in India, Justice met with local players in Chennai, to learn more about the progress being made and
to explore support. The Chennai players sought inspiration and further guidance from Justice. This visit comes at a time of crucial development for Wheelchair Basketball in Chennai, as recently the International Seminar on Disability Sports and Social
Inclusion was successfully delivered at the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai on the 25th of February 2014. “Sports can be a great equalizer in life, but civil society, corporates, the media and the government must all collaborate, in the case of people living with a disability, to make this possible� Michael Rosenkrantz, Wheelchair Basketball Coach, and Livelihoods Advisor at VSO Nepal, said.
This seminar was followed by a three-day Wheelchair Basketball training workshop at the SDAT outdoor stadium, supported by Michael Rosenkrantz. Updates including photos from the seminar and sports workshops can be found online at: http://www.choiceinternational.com/events/ events-2014/feb-chennai2014/gallery Choice and YWTC continue promoting disability sports and social inclusion in India, with further activities planned for 2014.
Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth is now India's highest ranked men's singles shuttler at No.20 as Parupalli Kashyap dropped seven places to No.25. Kashyap's shoulder injury has resulted in a recent dip of form, leading to his exit in the early
rounds of several competitions since December. Mumbai's Ajay Jayaram, however, gained a place to No.24 and is ranked just above Kashyap. This is the first time since the 2012 London Olympics that Kashyap is not ranked as India's top male shuttler and has fallen behind Jayaram. No Indian figures in the top25 of the doubles - men's, women's and mixed.
Saina Nehwal drops to World No.8
The quarterfinal exit at the All England Open B a d m i n t o n Championships has led India's leading shuttler Saina Nehwal dropping a place to No.8 in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) women's singles rankings. Saina is now only a spot ahead of World No.9 P V Sindhu, who despite her first round exit last week, still retained the position.
BCCI has no plans to remove India coach Fletcher now
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made it clear that under-fire coach of the Indian team Duncan Fletcher has its "full backing and support" and there was no immediate plans to remove him despite calls for his ouster from batting icon like Sunil Gavaskar. Fletcher was summoned by the BCCI chief N Srinivasan for a meeting to discuss the team's sagging performances of late but no warning was given to him that his job was on line. "Let me set the record straight. Duncan Fletcher has the wholehearted backing and support of BCCI. There has been no discussion on his removal. We told him that we have a lot of faith in his coaching abilities and he should not be worried about anything else", BCCI Secretary Sanjay Patel said. "There is no truth in reports that Fletcher was given a warning by the president (Srinivasan)," Patel said. Asked about Gavaskar's comments that Fletcher should be removed immediately, Patel said, "Mr Gavaskar is entitled to have his opinion just like I have an opinion. It is not necessary that the BCCI is in agreement with what Mr Gavaskar thinks. It's his opinion and the BCCI has nothing to do with it." Fletcher's trip to Chennai a day before the team's departure to Bangladesh gave rise to speculation about BCCI boss making it clear that the board was not happy with his performance after India lost back-to-back Test and ODI series in South Africa and New Zealand. Fletcher's one year contract extension ends on March 31 this year."Many people are not aware that BCCI routinely holds meeting with the coach and the support staff after each and every tour. This is an age-old norm. This meeting would have also been held at the Cricket Centre in Mumbai but our president had a cataract operation and was unable to travel. That's why, I also flew down to Chennai for this meeting," Patel said.
Jayawardene to retire from Twenty20 format
Former Sri Lanka captain and batting great Mahela Jayawardene announced on Monday that he will be retiring from the shortest format of the game after the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. The news comes a day after compatriot and wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara said that he would hang up his boots from T20 Internationals after the showpiece event. The announcement came through the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Twitter handle. The tweet also had a photo attached of Sangakkara and Jayawardene posing together with "Last World T20. Let's make it count" written in the background. The 36-year-old Jayawardene said that the reason behind the decision was the same as Sangakkara's. "The rationale behind retirement is pretty much the same as Sanga's. When it is clear that I can't see myself playing in the next ICC World T20, there wasn't much point in me occupying a spot. It makes more sense for a youngster to come into the mix and establish himself," Jayawardene said. Jayawardene has played 49 T20Is and is Sri Lanka's leading run-scorer in the format with 1,335 runs at an average of 31.78 and a strike rate of 134.17. "While I enjoy all formats of the game, and Test cricket is certainly the pinnacle for any player, the journey in Twenty20 cricket has been fascinating. In many ways it helped me get back to my roots, to bat like I used to when I was a schoolboy, for the sheer love of playing attacking shots and expressing myself with full freedom," Jayawardene added. The former skipper also led his side to the 2012 World T20 final where they lost to the West Indies. His decision comes exactly 18 years after Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup.