VIJAYAWADA: The dust has barely settled on Team India's sorry exit from the ICC World Twenty20 in London when a new controversy has raised its ugly
head. The team's manager and Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) secretary V Chamundeswaranath has been suspended for various misdemeanours, including allegedly seeking sexual favours from women cricketers.
The ACA satrap was still in London along with Dhoni's men when, after an emergency executive meeting here on Thursday, ACA president Gokaraju Gangaraju said the decision to suspend Chamundeswaranath was taken in view of the serious charges levelled against him.
"A few women cricketers have approached the association with a complaint that the secretary had been harassing them for sexual favours in return for a place in the team. It has been decided to issue a show-cause notice to Chamundi to prove his innocence and keep him under suspension till the case is finalised,'' said Gangaraju.
The meeting, attended by 25 of its 32 members, also resolved to ask Gangaraju to act as secretary till July 26 when the extraordinary general body meeting will look into the explanation -- if Chamudeswaranath gives one.
Sources at the meeting said an enquiry committee report found irregularities in the purchases made by Chamundeswaranath for the stadium in Visakhapatnam. The report apparently claimed that a chair which he bought for Rs 1,350 does not cost more than Rs 600. Chamundi had bought 24,000 chairs at that price and the executive decided to seek an explanation from him for misuse of ACA funds.
Speaking to TOI from London, Chamundeswaranath wondered how he could have been involved in the affairs of women's cricket when a former India player, Poornima Rau, works with the ACA as a consultant as well as its selector.
"I don't get involved in selection matters, least of all that of women's teams. And then I have a proven record of helping sportswomen. When I can help Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza who are not cricketers, how can I have such an attitude towards cricketers?" he said.
Chamundeswaranath felt that the timing of the emergency meeting betrays the desperation of some members to engineer such a decision in his absence as they know they can't do it in his presence.
"Even if the report submitted by the enquiry committee has proved my guilt, is it not fair that I was given a hearing before a decision was taken," asked Chamundi, adding that he is confident that he will come clean of all charges.
"I come from a zamindari family and I don't need to make money through illegal means," he said, adding that he does not need much time to turn the tide.
According to Chamundeswaranath, a conflict between players and non-players in the association has led to this situation. "I have involved all former cricketers in the affairs of the ACA and this has caused heartburn among the zonal secretaries who feel that they have little say in cricketing matters."
The charges and rebuttals notwithstanding, trouble has been brewing for some time now and ego clashes between Gangaraju, an industrialist with political clout, and Chamundi only fuelled the fire. Interestingly, the former was installed by the latter two years ago when the long-standing ACA chief N Venkat Rao was ousted from office.
Gangaraju has since been unhappy, with Chamundi running the show his own way and not surprisingly, the axe he wielded on `Mr Quickfix' came quicker than the BMW Chamundi drives.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Deccan Chargers win IPL Title
JOHANNESBURG: For the second year in a row, the Indian Premier League was won by a team that had a fairytale run to the title.
If it was Team Jaipur that went from underdogs to champs last year, this time it was the turn of a squad that could do nothing right last year, Team Hyderabad, to pull off an amazing turnaround.
Hyderabad rose from rock bottom, shaken and stirred, to pull off a sensational victory in the final here at the Wanderers, thus adding another chapter to the sweet irony of last-year’s wooden spoon holders.
If 2008’s number seven and eight teams were destined to make the final, it was perhaps only apt that the number eight won the title. Knight Riders may well derive some hope for next year.
The IPL ended in spectacular fashion as one IT city barely held off the other in a match that went down to the wire. Defending a mere 143 runs, Adam Gilchrist’s men provided the much needed spark to swing their side’s fortunes in an exceptional manner.
Some electric fieldwork by Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Herschelle Gibbs, excellent left-arm spin from Pragyan Ojha and aggressive captaincy by Gilchrist worked wonders.
Gilchrist’s hurricane innings in the semifinal had single-handedly given his team a ticket to the final. But it burdened his team with the expectation of a repeat performance.
It seemed as if the third ball of Hyderabad’s innings had decided the fate of the final when Gilchrist was clean bowled by Anil Kumble, trying to come down the track and missing the line.
Kumble deserves a mention despite his team losing. He reserved his best for the all-important clash, but even his superb spell of 4-16 could not see his squad through.
The IPL final on Sunday yet again showed the virtue of someone staying put and anchoring the innings. After Adam Gilchrist left, scoring runs became tough hell for a seemingly mentally-subdued side.
Herschelle Gibbs, normally flamboyant, batted through the innings, keeping one end intact. But there was no acceleration forthcoming from the other end. Andrew Symonds briefly flourished, but Anil Kumble cut his innings short. Rohit Sharma too did his bit, but Hyderabad's 143/6 seemed barely adequate.
The Challengers began their chase well. with Jacques Kallis providing a stable start, Roelof van der Merwe's run-rate boost adding meat to the effort and Ross Taylor indulging in some sensible strokeplay.
However, to hold your temperament in a crunch situation, inside the Bullring, with a frenzied atmosphere adding to the tension, can never be easy.
For the fielding side, 11 players getting into a huddle every other moment is a way to derive confidence. For two batsmen out in the middle left to fend for themselves, watching the run-rate increase with every ball can be horrifying. That's precisely what was happening to the Challengers as the chase began to lose its way.
143 from 120 balls came down to 100 from 82, 65 from 48 and the sequence remained in that order till the end. There was always the need to surge but a vigilant Hyderabad, also a bit lucky, never provided the chance.
Two stumpings by Gilchrist, the second one a stunner, along with excellent spells from Ojha and Symonds sealed Challengers' fate.
If it was Team Jaipur that went from underdogs to champs last year, this time it was the turn of a squad that could do nothing right last year, Team Hyderabad, to pull off an amazing turnaround.
Hyderabad rose from rock bottom, shaken and stirred, to pull off a sensational victory in the final here at the Wanderers, thus adding another chapter to the sweet irony of last-year’s wooden spoon holders.
If 2008’s number seven and eight teams were destined to make the final, it was perhaps only apt that the number eight won the title. Knight Riders may well derive some hope for next year.
The IPL ended in spectacular fashion as one IT city barely held off the other in a match that went down to the wire. Defending a mere 143 runs, Adam Gilchrist’s men provided the much needed spark to swing their side’s fortunes in an exceptional manner.
Some electric fieldwork by Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Herschelle Gibbs, excellent left-arm spin from Pragyan Ojha and aggressive captaincy by Gilchrist worked wonders.
Gilchrist’s hurricane innings in the semifinal had single-handedly given his team a ticket to the final. But it burdened his team with the expectation of a repeat performance.
It seemed as if the third ball of Hyderabad’s innings had decided the fate of the final when Gilchrist was clean bowled by Anil Kumble, trying to come down the track and missing the line.
Kumble deserves a mention despite his team losing. He reserved his best for the all-important clash, but even his superb spell of 4-16 could not see his squad through.
The IPL final on Sunday yet again showed the virtue of someone staying put and anchoring the innings. After Adam Gilchrist left, scoring runs became tough hell for a seemingly mentally-subdued side.
Herschelle Gibbs, normally flamboyant, batted through the innings, keeping one end intact. But there was no acceleration forthcoming from the other end. Andrew Symonds briefly flourished, but Anil Kumble cut his innings short. Rohit Sharma too did his bit, but Hyderabad's 143/6 seemed barely adequate.
The Challengers began their chase well. with Jacques Kallis providing a stable start, Roelof van der Merwe's run-rate boost adding meat to the effort and Ross Taylor indulging in some sensible strokeplay.
However, to hold your temperament in a crunch situation, inside the Bullring, with a frenzied atmosphere adding to the tension, can never be easy.
For the fielding side, 11 players getting into a huddle every other moment is a way to derive confidence. For two batsmen out in the middle left to fend for themselves, watching the run-rate increase with every ball can be horrifying. That's precisely what was happening to the Challengers as the chase began to lose its way.
143 from 120 balls came down to 100 from 82, 65 from 48 and the sequence remained in that order till the end. There was always the need to surge but a vigilant Hyderabad, also a bit lucky, never provided the chance.
Two stumpings by Gilchrist, the second one a stunner, along with excellent spells from Ojha and Symonds sealed Challengers' fate.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Royal Challengers beat Deccan Chargers by 12 runs
CENTURION: The IPL has thrown its first unknown Indian superstar. Manish Pandey came from nowhere to smash an unbeaten 114 that helped Royal Bangalore Royal Challengers celebrate victory against Deccan Chargers at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
It not only helped Royal Challengers beat Team Hyderabad by 12 runs, but also allowed them a day’s breathing space before the semis. They will now take on Team Chennai on Saturday while Gilchrist’s men will be up against Team Delhi, the table toppers, on Friday.
The game was all about the little-known Pandey, who became the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. Royal Challengers coach Ray Jennings took a gamble by sending Pandey to open the batting, and the 19-year-old, after the initial struggle, cut loose.
He made a little room for himself and anything pitched in his zone kept vanishing into the stands. Pandey was an absolutely unknown quantity for Hyderabad captain Adam Gilchrist and he just didn’t know how to contain him.
He shuffled his bowlers around, but the Karnataka batsman simply marked his spots and found the gaps with effortless ease. There were a couple of dropped chances, but that doesn’t take anything away from the stupendous effort of the teenager in such a pressure game.
He only got a little quiet when he was past 95, but Pandey made that up brilliantly once he crossed his century.
A couple of huge hits followed and as he finished the innings off with an over-boundary, Gilchrist was the first one to come up and congratulate him.
The Aussie legend, though, got his team off to a whirlwind start, and along with Herschelle Gibbs, they put on 68 runs off 6.5 overs.
Even after Gilchrist got out, Gibbs kept up the chase with some breathtaking batting. When Robin Uthappa dropped Gibbs at long-on, the Hyderabad fans believed it might just be their day, but that was not to be.
Gibbs departed soon after and when Symonds and Rohit Sharma got out a little later, it was all over for Hyderabad.
Royal Challengers were once again well served by the bowling of captain Anil Kumble and B Akhil who both got two wickets each while giving away very little.
It not only helped Royal Challengers beat Team Hyderabad by 12 runs, but also allowed them a day’s breathing space before the semis. They will now take on Team Chennai on Saturday while Gilchrist’s men will be up against Team Delhi, the table toppers, on Friday.
The game was all about the little-known Pandey, who became the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. Royal Challengers coach Ray Jennings took a gamble by sending Pandey to open the batting, and the 19-year-old, after the initial struggle, cut loose.
He made a little room for himself and anything pitched in his zone kept vanishing into the stands. Pandey was an absolutely unknown quantity for Hyderabad captain Adam Gilchrist and he just didn’t know how to contain him.
He shuffled his bowlers around, but the Karnataka batsman simply marked his spots and found the gaps with effortless ease. There were a couple of dropped chances, but that doesn’t take anything away from the stupendous effort of the teenager in such a pressure game.
He only got a little quiet when he was past 95, but Pandey made that up brilliantly once he crossed his century.
A couple of huge hits followed and as he finished the innings off with an over-boundary, Gilchrist was the first one to come up and congratulate him.
The Aussie legend, though, got his team off to a whirlwind start, and along with Herschelle Gibbs, they put on 68 runs off 6.5 overs.
Even after Gilchrist got out, Gibbs kept up the chase with some breathtaking batting. When Robin Uthappa dropped Gibbs at long-on, the Hyderabad fans believed it might just be their day, but that was not to be.
Gibbs departed soon after and when Symonds and Rohit Sharma got out a little later, it was all over for Hyderabad.
Royal Challengers were once again well served by the bowling of captain Anil Kumble and B Akhil who both got two wickets each while giving away very little.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Michael Clarke to join $1m IPL club
Last year, Michael 'Pup' Clarke chose to skip the Indian Premier League in order to spend time with his ailing father. This year, he's set to make a big bag entry, with a reserve price of $1 million - the minimum that the franchisees will have to bid for him at the second IPL auction on February 6.
The Australian vice-captain is thus set to become only the second foreign player to breach the $1 million mark, after Andrew Symonds got a fee of $1.35 million last year.
Clarke's reserve price puts him way ahead of the other 88 players on the list for this year's auction, with his colleagues Brad Haddin, Stuart Clark and Jason Krejza being priced much lower at $250,000.
Howver, Clarke might not eventually end up as the biggest buy. Now that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed the availability of its players for a three-week window, the players' list will be updated and there is a strong likelihood of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff drawing bigger bids than Clarke.
There are some other 'hot picks' like South Africa's JP Duminy, who is there in the preliminary list, although no reserve price has been earmarked for him just yet.
Last year, Indian skipper MS Dhoni drew the highest price at the inaugural auction, with Chennai Super Kings forking out a whopping $1.5 million. In contrast, this year's auction, a one-day affair in Goa, is expected to be relatively low-key, unlike last year when it had extensive TV coverage and Bollywood presence.
Though there are players from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and a player from Zimababwe, the franchisees don't sound too excited about the names. Also, this year each IPL team has a $2-million budget in contrast to $5 million last year.
However, there are a few new names which have created interest among the franchisees: Rory Kleinveldt of South Africa has a base price of $225,000, above some tried and tested players like Australia's Brad Hogg who is pegged at $200,000.
Although every player wants to be a part of the IPL, only 15 to 20 per cent are likely to be sold, with the IPL not liable to pay any payday money to those who fail to find a buyer, according to the new rules.
The recession coupled with the fact that most teams already have their lineups more or less in place has meant reduced clamour for new players this year. "Where is the money? Some of the players from Australia are not even available for the entire season, so what is the point," a team official said. Teams are likely to go for just a player or two, or a maximum of four in some cases. The eight teams are now waiting for the final updated list, with the inclusion of England players.
The Australian vice-captain is thus set to become only the second foreign player to breach the $1 million mark, after Andrew Symonds got a fee of $1.35 million last year.
Clarke's reserve price puts him way ahead of the other 88 players on the list for this year's auction, with his colleagues Brad Haddin, Stuart Clark and Jason Krejza being priced much lower at $250,000.
Howver, Clarke might not eventually end up as the biggest buy. Now that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed the availability of its players for a three-week window, the players' list will be updated and there is a strong likelihood of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff drawing bigger bids than Clarke.
There are some other 'hot picks' like South Africa's JP Duminy, who is there in the preliminary list, although no reserve price has been earmarked for him just yet.
Last year, Indian skipper MS Dhoni drew the highest price at the inaugural auction, with Chennai Super Kings forking out a whopping $1.5 million. In contrast, this year's auction, a one-day affair in Goa, is expected to be relatively low-key, unlike last year when it had extensive TV coverage and Bollywood presence.
Though there are players from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and a player from Zimababwe, the franchisees don't sound too excited about the names. Also, this year each IPL team has a $2-million budget in contrast to $5 million last year.
However, there are a few new names which have created interest among the franchisees: Rory Kleinveldt of South Africa has a base price of $225,000, above some tried and tested players like Australia's Brad Hogg who is pegged at $200,000.
Although every player wants to be a part of the IPL, only 15 to 20 per cent are likely to be sold, with the IPL not liable to pay any payday money to those who fail to find a buyer, according to the new rules.
The recession coupled with the fact that most teams already have their lineups more or less in place has meant reduced clamour for new players this year. "Where is the money? Some of the players from Australia are not even available for the entire season, so what is the point," a team official said. Teams are likely to go for just a player or two, or a maximum of four in some cases. The eight teams are now waiting for the final updated list, with the inclusion of England players.
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