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D-day for tainted teams of the IPL Cricket circles are abuzz with speculation that Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will be suspended, but leading sports writer Ayaz Memon predicted that the two would get away with heavy fines
NEW DELHI: Two teams from cricket’s Indian Premier League could be banned from the glitzy Twenty20 tournament when a Supreme Court-appointed panel hands down its sentence on Tuesday on a corruption scandal. Officials from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Rajasthan Royals have already been found guilty of betting on matches and their respective teams now face heavy sanctions after an inquiry that also tainted International Cricket Council supremo Narayanaswami Srinivasan. An outright ban on the two former champions would be a devastating blow to what is only an eight-team tournament, and observers say former chief justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, who heads the three-man panel, is more likely to announce heavy fines. Lodha was appointed head of the sentencing panel in January after the Supreme Court had found Royals’ co-owner Raj Kundra and CSK’s Gurunath Meiyappan guilty of betting on the outcome of matches in 2013. The court had rejected the claims of Meiyappan, who had previously been described as team principal, that he was merely an enthusiast. The court also ruled at the same time that Srinivasan, who is Meiyappan’s father-in-law, would be banned from holding any post in the
Officials from the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals have already been found guilty of betting on matches and their respective teams now face heavy sanctions after an inquiry that also tainted ICC supremo Narayanaswami Srinivasan Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), where he served as the president for three years from 2011. Stars await verdict The outcome could have major financial consequences for some of cricket’s biggest names as CSK are captained by India’s ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni while Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith is at the helm of the Rajastan Royals. The Royals are coached by Indian great Rahul Dravid. Cricket circles are abuzz with speculation that the two teams will be suspended, but leading sports writer Ayaz Memon predicted that the franchises would get away with heavy fines. “I can’t see them being banned because that could ruin the entire tournament and have a ripple effect on sponsors and broadcasters,” Memon told AFP. “There is too much at stake. My thinking is they will be fined heavily.” The 2013 IPL season was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceedings against several officials and cricketers, including former Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, for illegal betting and spot-fixing.
The IPL, a domestic tournament which began in 2008, features the world’s top players signed up for huge fees by companies and highprofile individuals in a mix of sport and entertainment. But it has been continuously dogged by corruption allegations and Hiken Shah, a player from Mumbai, was suspended indefinitely on Monday over an approach he made to an unnamed team-mate before this year’s tournament in April-May. The hugely popular Chennai Super Kings are also the most successful team in the IPL, having won the tournament in 2010 and 2011, and finished runners-up in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2015. Rajasthan won the inaugural event in 2008 under the captaincy of Shane Warne, but have failed to make the final since then. The Lodha panel has also been empowered to recommend changes in the BCCI constitution, but this is expected to be taken up at a later date. International news organisations including Agence France-Presse have suspended on-field coverage of matches hosted by the BCCI since 2012 after the board imposed restrictions on picture agencies. - AFP
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C O M M E N TA RY
Needed: At least a Sehwag lookalike
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ow that India have wrapped up the ODI series against Zimbabwe 2-0, now that the second victory the tourists have posted is more convincing than the last-ball win in the first match, and now that the third and final game of the series scheduled for today is an opportunity to drive home the Indian point a bit more ruthlessly, it’s perhaps time to take a look at what has been on offer and how that’s going to help Team India plan, prepare and perform against better opponents and on bigger stages. From a cricket fan’s point of view, the last two matches were so boring to watch that one could take as many coffee breaks as one liked without really feeling guilty of missing the action. These are times we hope against hope to spot at least a Virender Sehwag lookalike walking out to the middle with whoever it’s to open the innings. There was little in terms of fun and excitement as both Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane played to their plan, which actually was about doing themselves well to send a message to Indian team selectors. Having completely messed up the opportunity in the first ODI, Vijay was so determined to hang on that he scored just 11 runs off the first 30 balls he faced in the second. Rahane, on the other hand, knew his best chance to make the selectors rethink their Shikhar Dhawan-Rohit Sharma formula was not by way of being a Sehwag but by simply being himself, trying to spend time in the company of everyone in the Indian eleven and until the last ball of the innings was delivered and dealt with.
PENALISED
BCCI suspends domestic player for fixing approach MUMBAI: The Indian cricket board suspended Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah with immediate effect on Monday for offering money to a player to influence a game in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). Shah, who does not play in IPL, made the approach to his unidentified first-class cricket team mate who represents Rajasthan Royals in the lucrative Twenty20 league, the Indian board (BCCI) said in a statement. The player, identified by local media as Mumbai leg-spinner Pravin Tambe, reported the approach to his team, who forwarded the case to BCCI’s AntiCorruption and Security Unit. “His involvement in any form of cricket affiliated with the BCCI stands suspended till the time the disciplinary committee of the BCCI passes appropriate orders,” the board said. Shah, 30, has played 37 firstclass matches for Mumbai, averaging over 42 with six hundreds. “BCCI has zero tolerance for corruption in the game of cricket,” board president Jagmohan Dalmiya said. “We have and we will take swift action against such incidents to set a precedent and control the menace of corruption in the game.” Rajasthan is not alien to the threat of spot-fixing after former India paceman Sreesanth and two others from the team were arrested in 2013 on suspicion of taking money to concede a fixed number of runs. — Reuters
In the end, the strategy adopted by the openers seemed to have paid off as India went past the 100-runs-milestone without losing a wicket even after the half way mark of the innings. If anyone thinks it’s no big deal, he needs to take a glance at the scoreboard in the first game to enjoy a pleasant shock: India were five down at the end of the 25th over for a soulless, spineless 89 runs. Still, the question is: has Vijay or, for that matter, Rahane been able to wake the selectors up? Their innings were tasteless enough to put even the staunchest supporter of Team India to sleep. Such lackluster displays of purpose suck the life out of the game: it’s about winning when it’s against Australia, true, but it’s about how you win when it’s against teams like Zimbabwe. I’m not suggesting this forgetting the fact the series against Bangladesh was about losing, and how meek you could get when what you thought was lamb turned out to be lion. That shock factor, orchestrated and delivered left-handedly by that tall, lanky guy who made his debut (Mustafizur Rahman), was what spiced up the series after India had lost the first game by 79 runs chasing a target of 308. The opening pains part apart, the bench-strength being tested now showed disappointing results. Manoj Tiwary and Kedar Jadhav will need a lot more international match
experience before they come good, but how they are going to squeeze themselves even onto the bench seems to be a distant dream when guys like Rahane and Ambati Rayudu find themselves sitting in the change room visualizing themselves, as Rayudu would confess, “playing out there”. The best bet to emerge from this Zimbabwe tour experiment is that much-maligned guy called Stuart Binny. Of all those who had said, before they boarded the flight to Harare, they would make the best out of the opportunity handed to them, Binny seemed to have played his part, though not with the kind of perfection that could spice up his life in the middle. He thoroughly enjoyed the chance to get to the wicket with a mouth-watering 25 overs still to go, and used his bat to offer the best entertainment so far of the tour that, incidentally, helped India post a target in excess of 250. In the second match, his breezy knock added the needed punch to the scoreboard. If only he could do better with the ball so he could walk into the No7 slot vacated by Ravindra Jadeja. Disgusting for fans who hoped for massacres. Disappointing for the players who wanted to tweet some messages. That’s the story so far. Could today’s final ODI game and the two T20 matches put some fizz into this African soft drink? The writer is a freelance contributor based in India. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman
BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mustafizur earns maiden Test call-up DHAKA: Bangladesh’s teenage fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has been rewarded for his strong limited overs performances with a call-up to the squad for next week’s first Test against South Africa. The 19-year-old left-arm paceman made his international debut in the three-match series against two-time world champions India in June and his 13 wickets meant Bangladesh won their first series against their neighbours. Mustafizur stunned the top Indian batsmen with his control and change of pace, winning the man-of-the-series award, and on Sunday it was the South Africans who found themselves on the receiving end in their second ODI. He took 3-38 as South Africa were bundled out for 162, their lowest score against the hosts. Bangladesh went on to thrash the tourists by seven wickets and level the series at 1-1. Mustafizur will replace Abul Hasan in the squad that was named for last month’s drawn test against India. “He (Mustafizur) has shown already what he is capable of and possibly he has been the brightest find for us in recent times,” Bangladesh chairman of selectors Faruque Ahmed said. “He has also been playing all versions of cricket this season including four day games and we are confident that he will adjust quickly to the demands of test cricket. “His inclusion means that Abul Hasan has to miss out from the squad that we had in our last test but Mustafizur deserves his call.”
TEEN TALENT: Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh
Spin-bowling all-rounder Mahmudullah, who missed the India series with a finger injury, replaced Shuvagata Hom as the only other change in the squad. “Obviously his return adds depth in the batting order and some vital experience,” Faruque added. “His off-spin can also be effective and he can do the job that was expected of Shuvagata Hom who played against India. “We have a reasonably settled squad and we prefer to give the young players a good run. “The bowling has variety in pace and spin. “As we are playing at home therefore we have the luxury of picking squads test by test but this is the best combination we have.” The first Test is in Chittagong from July 21 before the second and final match in Mirpur begins on July 30. - Reuters