Muthiah can raise cricket board's issue, apex court told

Published>Thu, Sep 09 10 08:57 PM

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) The Supreme Court was Thursday told that former Board of Control for Cricket in India president A.C. Muthiah under the cricket body's rules was its administrator and entitled to move the court to check any irregularity in its functioning.

The court was told this in the course of the hearing of petitions moved by Muthiah seeking the removal of the BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan allegedly involved in a conflict of interest.

Muthiah's plea before the Madras High Court was declined on the grounds of his locus standi in the matter.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Muthiah told the apex court bench of Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra that Srinivasan was involved in a conflict of interest.

He said Srinivasan was the secretary of the BCCI and also the vice-chairman and the managing director of India Cement company - the owner of IPL team Chennai Super Kings.

The court was told that this was specifically barred under the BCCI rules until they were amended to rescue Srinivasan from conflict of interest situation.

Referring to the manner in which the rules were watered down to mitigate the conflict of interest, Singhvi said that this was recommended by a committee that was mandated only to frame rules to prevent doping, racial discrimination and use of abusive language in the game.

The mandate of the committee remained 'untouched and unaddressed', he said.

The senior counsel told the court that his client has even challenged the amendment to the BCCI rules which were affected after Muthiah wrote to the board about the untenable position of Srinivasan.

Seeking directions of the court, Singhvi said: 'We have demanded an inquiry against Srinivasan and till that was completed he should stay away from the BCCI.'

When Singhvi told the court that Srinivasan should not continue with the BCCI even for a day, Justice Panchal said that if the apex court were to decide this question then what would be left for the trial court to do.

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Despite monsoon, CWG preparations in full swing: Gill

Published>Thu, Sep 09 10 08:51 PM

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Sports Minister M.S. Gill Thursday said preparations for the October Commonwealth Games were in full swing despite the unusual monsoon playing spoilsport.

Gill met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the morning and discussed the Games preparations at length. He also visited two of the Games venues.

'There was a Cabinet meeting in the morning. I had detailed discussion with the Prime Minister. I visited the Nehru Stadium after that and it is ready. The helium balloon is ready,' said Gill after launching the song on Shera, the official mascot of the Commonwealth Games.

'I also went to the swimming pool complex. The scoreboards have been placed. The work is complete there as well. The Indian swimmers will start practising there from tomorrow. The work at the Yamuna Sports Complex owned by the Delhi Development Authority is also near completion,' said Gill.

'I had a discussion with the prime minister on the arrangements made for the 12,000 athletes and officials who will stay at the Games Village. Ten people have been specially assigned to oversee the Games preparations. The work will be done before the athletes arrive.'

The sports minister said heavy rains in the last two weeks have affected the pace of work at the venues but was hopeful the weather will change in the next ten days.

'The month of August was unusually wet. The normal monsoons are likely to be there by Sep 20. It rained in this month as well. But we expect the weather to be fine by Oct 3.'

He also announced that the money earned from the Shera song will go to the national sports development fund.

'I like the song. I am not going to compare it with A.R. Rahman's theme song. The people of India will decide. The money earned from the Shera song will be put into the National Sports Development fund,' said Gill.

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Kalmadi, Gill assure no need to press panic button

Published>Thu, Sep 09 10 08:37 PM

New Delhi/Pune, Sep 9 (IANS) With incessant rains causing havoc with the final leg of preparations for the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and sports minister M.S. Gill Thursday insisted there was no need to press the panic button, even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit the Games Village Tuesday to take stock of the situation.

The prime minister's visit to the Village -- with the Games barely 21 days away -- comes in the wake of apprehensions expressed over its readiness as the first contingent of officials and athletes from 71 participating teams is expected to arrive Sep 16.

A government source told IANS the prime minister is reviewing the entire Games preparedness at a high-powered meeting Friday.

The source pointed out that though the village will be officially opened Sep 21, it is expected to be fully operational Sep 16, two days after the prime minister's visit.

This is the prime minister's second visit to a Commonwealth Games site. He had earlier inspected the facilities at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field events, on Aug 29.

Kalmadi said the preparations for the final phase are in full swing.

'There are no issues before us. Everything is being done in proper manner,' Kalmadi said in Pune during the arrival of the Queen's Baton relay there.

On the charges of corruption that have been levelled against the Games organising committee, Kalmadi said he is ready for any probe and is accountable for the Rs.1,600 crore the CGOC has taken as loan from the government.

'I am ready for any probe, any judicial probe. I am only accountable for the Rs.1,600 crore the organising committee has taken on loan and not the Rs.40,000 crore spent on infrastructure and other projects. We have got a good broadcast deal. The Games will be even shown in America for the first time,' Kalmadi said.

Gill said he met the prime minister in the morning and discussed the Games preparations at length.

Gill said they are hoping there will be clear skies when the Games start.

'The month of August was unusually wet. The normal monsoons are likely to be there by Sep 20. It has rained in this month as well. But we expect the weather to be fine by Oct 3,' said Gill, after the launch of the song on Shera, the official mascot of the Games, in New Delhi.

'There was a Cabinet meeting in the morning on the Commonwealth Games. I had detailed discussion with the Prime Minister. The position is that Nehru Stadium is ready. The aerostat balloon is ready. I also went to the swimming pool complex. The scoreboards have been placed. The work is complete there as well. The Indian swimmers will start practising there from tomorrow. The Yamuna Sports Complex owned by the Delhi Development Authority is also near completion.'

'I also had a discussion with the Prime Minister on the arrangements made for the 12,000-plus athletes who will stay at the Games Village. Ten people have been specially assigned to oversee the preparations. The work will be done before the athletes arrive.'

CGOC secretary general Lalit Bhanot said all venues are ready.

'International bodies (concerned) have certified that all venues are fit to host events,' Bhanot said in an interaction with reporters.

'Though there was some delay in the completion of some venues, every stadium is completely ready now,' he stated.

Chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent Bhubaneswar Kalita said that chefs-de-mission of all the participating teams are impressed with the venues.

'I too have been regularly visiting the venues,' he added.

To a query about the reported flood threat following the release of 600,000 cusecs of water in the Yamuna from a barrage in Haryana Wednesday, Kalita said that all necessary steps have been taken in this regard.

'We have been in touch with government agencies. Everybody is on alert and all necessary steps have been taken,' he stated.

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Three cricketers will come back but Riaz will be interrogated: Butt

Published>Thu, Sep 09 10 08:27 PM

Lahore, Sep 9 (IANS) Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt said Thursday that the three tainted cricketers -- Test captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif -- will come back to the country while fast bowler Wahab Riaz will be questioned by the Metropolitan police in London Sep 14 in connection with the spot-fixing scandal that has rocked world cricket.

'They were interviewed for nine hours. There are no police charges against them nor have their movements been restricted. If there was anything against them they would have been arrested. They did not arrest them. We have informed the police that they will be travelling back to Pakistan in the next few days,' Butt said.

'Police have also asked that Wahab Riaz should be made available to them for an interview on Sep 14 and we have arranged for the interview in London,' he said.

Riaz will be the fourth Pakistani player to be questioned by the Metropolitan police after the International Cricket Council (ICC) provisionally suspended Salman, Asif and Aamer last week.

British tabloid 'News of the World' alleged that the three players took bribe for bowling deliberate no-balls during the Lord's cricket Test against England.

Butt said that PCB was not in a position to launch its own inquiry since the case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police and the Scotland Yard in London.

'We are also concerned about this and we also have zero tolerance on corruption. We cannot launch a parallel investigation because the matter is already under investigation. Rest assured, we will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the issue.'

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Butt, Aamer and Asif.

'We wrote a letter to ICC on behalf of the players but they want individual replies from the players which will be given to them in the allowed 14 days. On the fourth day of the Lord's Test Yawar Saeed (team manager) called me and said police have warrants to search the players' rooms. On Friday the players were interrogated for nine hours but no charges are levelled against them,' said Butt.

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Oz defence officials seek Indian Army''s assurance on CWG

Thu, Sep 09 10 12:57 PM

Melbourne, Sep 9 (PTI) Australia''s defence officials have sought assurances from the Indian Army about the security of of Australian athletes during the Delhi Commonwealth Games next month. The chief of Australia''s Defence Force Angus Houston met Indian Army chief General V K Singh last month and the issue of security at the Commonwealth Games came up for discussion. "The Chief of Defence Force and the Chief of Army discussed a wide range of issues during General Singh''s visit," the Defence spokesman was quoted as saying by ''The Daily Telegraph''. "During General Singh''s visit the Chief of the Defence Force sought an assurance that the security for the Commonwealth Games would be effective. General Singh provided an overview of the security capability that would be in place for the Games and gave an assurance that appropriate actions were being taken to counter the risk," he added. Apart from Houston, Australia''s Chief of Army Ken Gillespie, and secretary of the Defence Department Ian Watt, also met General Singh in Canberra. "There were no discussions between the Chief of Defence Force and the Chief of Army with General Singh that linked our contribution in Afghanistan with the Commonwealth Games," the spokesperson said. The Games, scheduled from October 3 to 14, have been marred by construction delays and corruption allegations. There were security concerns as well but they have gone down considerably in the past few months.

Source: Published>

Pak bookies rake in cash on England match

Published>Thu, Sep 09 10 12:53 PM

In a tiny room overlooking a slum, four men work a dozen or so phones, struggling to keep up with calls from Pakistanis placing illegal bets on a cricket match in England.

Some phones are rigged to tape-recorders to ensure that gamblers do not renege on their wagers later on.

The men are small-time gangsters, but sit on the lower rungs of something much larger: an underworld betting industry that spans the cricket world and has been implicated in a match-fixing scandal engulfing Pakistan's national team.

While there is little by way of evidence, these Lahore bookmakers and others close to the trade say notorious Indian crimelord Dawood Ibrahim sits atop the global syndicate. The United States accuses Ibrahim of supporting al-Qaeda and funding attacks in India.

The bookmakers said fixing in the sport, especially in the Pakistani team, had been common for years.

Such is the variety of bets available on every aspect of the game - not just the outcome - a player can perform to order and not necessarily affect the result.

Knowing what will happen in any match can be extremely valuable information to gamblers and bookies.

"Almost each match is fixed in some department,"

said one of the bookies, who asked to be identified only as "PK." He added, however, that neither he nor his customers was aware of this information, suggesting scams on that scale went far higher up the syndicate.

"It goes right to the top," he said.

Business was brisk yesterday night, when Pakistan's disastrous tour of England hit a new low as Shahid Afridi's depleted lineup was bowled out for 89 - its worst total ever in a Twenty20 international - and ultimately lost by six wickets.

Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were suspended by the International Cricket Council last week for allegedly being involved in "spot fixing" after a British tabloid newspaper sting uncovered evidence that some players were being secretly paid to deliver no-balls at set times.

The invitation was given by the bookmakers to see them at work for Tuesday's match.

PK and his fellow bookie, "Amer," insisted that their real names not be used or their faces photographed or filmed because their work is illegal.

And this is despite warnings of a crackdown on illegal gambling by Pakistani authorities and the International Cricket Council.

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Oz defence officials seek Indian Army''s assurance on CWG

Thu, Sep 09 10 12:37 PM

Melbourne, Sep 9 (PTI) Australia''s defence officials have sought assurances from the Indian Army about the security of of Australian athletes during the Delhi Commonwealth Games next month. The chief of Australia''s Defence Force Angus Houston met Indian Army chief General V K Singh last month and the issue of security at the Commonwealth Games came up for discussion. "The Chief of Defence Force and the Chief of Army discussed a wide range of issues during General Singh''s visit," the Defence spokesman was quoted as saying by ''The Daily Telegraph''. "During General Singh''s visit the Chief of the Defence Force sought an assurance that the security for the Commonwealth Games would be effective. General Singh provided an overview of the security capability that would be in place for the Games and gave an assurance that appropriate actions were being taken to counter the risk," he added. Apart from Houston, Australia''s Chief of Army Ken Gillespie, and secretary of the Defence Department Ian Watt, also met General Singh in Canberra. "There were no discussions between the Chief of Defence Force and the Chief of Army with General Singh that linked our contribution in Afghanistan with the Commonwealth Games," the spokesperson said. The Games, scheduled from October 3 to 14, have been marred by construction delays and corruption allegations. There were security concerns as well but they have gone down considerably in the past few months.

Source: Published>