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Two Tests into the Ashes and England are up 1-0. It could very well have been 1-1 but for a stirring fight-back by Strauss, Cook and Trott in the first Test at the Gabba. At least, that’s how the optimists in the Australian camp would like to look at it.
That’s not how the realists see it. The selectors pressed the panic button in the run-up to the series when they announced a squad of 17 for the first Test. They compounded their folly by dropping Mitchell Johnson after the initial Test performance. What if the selectors had dropped Hussey from the squad? Not quite a vote of confidence in the players who have served you well in the past three years.
The BCCI created some kind of legal precedent by forcing former Justice BN Srikrishna—the court-appointed arbitrator for the legal battle between BCCI and Kings XI—to seek recusal from his engagement.
The legal luminary represented the Wadia group over 35 years ago when he was a young lawyer. Ness Wadia is a stakeholder in Kings XI Punjab.
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The Kochi consortium have no glad tidings for even their most die-hard supporters. The investors in the franchise have struck the death blow ,communicating their inability to work together to the BCCI. The IPL Governing Council meet on November 28, 2010 to perform the last rites. The Gaikwads refused to play ball with the other investors leading to the current impasse.The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) are the sole believers in a miraculous turnaround.
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The BCCI, of late, are more than a little adventurous in their selection of the Indian cricket team for the ODIs.
The line-up for the India – New Zealand ODI series is along expected—and unexpected—lines.The resting of seniors for the ODI series—namely Sehwag, Tendulkar, Zaheer,Harbhajan Singh and skipper Dhoni— was expected.Unexpected is the naming of Gambhir to lead the ODI team and the drafting of Wriddhiman Saha as the sole wicket-keeper in the ODI side. The rumour mill had Sehwag in the captain’s role.
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The BCCI have been roundly criticised for their decision to abstain from the 16th Asian Games at Guangzhou. India are the only major Asian cricketing superpower to not send a team. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have squads representing their respective countries.
The BCCI bailed out claiming that they did not want to send a second string team since the Games clashed with the India – New Zealand Test and ODI series. The Ranji trophy is also scheduled around the same time—sending a team would rob the tournament of it’s sheen.
Suresh Raina has made strides in more ways than one. Besides making it to the Test eleven at the expense of Yuvraj Singh, his success at the highest level has resulted in the demotion of Yuvraj Singh from a Grade A contract to a Grade B one.
The BCCI has sprung a few other surprises in its revised structure of payments to Indian cricketers.
The types of graded contracts has been fixed at A,B and C. Grade D has been scrapped.The number of players contracted to the BCCI has also been reduced from 41 to 24.
The retainers for each contract type have been upwardly revised.
A Grade A player receives a crore (Rs. 100 lacs) up from Rs. 60 lacs;Grades B and C cricketers receive Rs. 50 lacs (up from Rs. 40 lacs) and Rs. 25 lacs respectively.
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The news channels have been handed a respite by the 30 day extension (or notice) to the Kochi franchisee.
Kings XI Punjab will join the Rajasthan Royals by filing a petition against the BCCI for terminating their franchise.
Rajasthan Royals are embroiled in a court hearing that will happen after the Diwali vacation.
Gavaskar has slammed the press for subjecting him to a “trial by media” and said “In the eyes of the Indian media you are guilty till you are proved innocent”.
One man happy with the IPL —specifically Chennai Super Kings— is former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming. The New Zealander has renewed his contract with the current IPL champions for another three years. Fleming guided CSK to the IPL trophy and the Champions League title.
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It’s true that geniuses and champions are never satisfied with what they have achieved.
They are always thinking of the next level, the next summit, the next goal.
They dare not rest on their laurels.
There’s always the next mountain to climb, the next peak to scale.
And so it is with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
14,000 Test runs in test cricket, over 30,000 international runs and 49 Test centuries to his credit.
Yet, the gentleman talks about yearning to reach the next level.
"I’m really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?"
What else does Tendukar have to say in his interview to The Guardian?
On dreaming, Tendulkar has this to say:
"Life would be flat without dreams. I think it’s really important to dream — and then to chase those dreams.”
2010 has been Tendulkar’s best year in recent times, reminding us of the young Sachin, unburdened by the cares of the team and varied niggling injuries.
Tendulkar is also back at the top of the ICC rankings, the first time since 2002.
It is said that all’s well with the world when Tendulkar is in full flow and so it is for cricket fans.
The full interview will be published this Saturday.
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If the BCCI is not quite open to having private equity from foreign investors in the IPL,that is not quite the case with the Australian version (The Big Bash League) of the IPL scheduled to begin in the 2011-12 Australian summer season.
New South Wales and Victoria have allegedly already sold shares in their state associations to two giant Indian corporations.
Brisbane-based Adani Group and Jay Mehta, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, have been named as Indian corporates with possible interest in the Big Bash league.
Gautam Adani recently bid unsuccessfully for an IPL team.
In breaking news, Cricket Australia (CA) has approved minority private ownership paving the way for Indian investors.
The Australian Cricketer’s Association had backed the entry of private overseas investment saying that it will not only bring in much need investment into the sport but also raise the profile of the sport Down Under.
Each Big Bash franchise is valued initially at $20 million each which is expected to rise to $80 million over the next few seasons.
The Australian cricket calendar is being punctured to accommodate the new entity; tests will be foregone for the period of the tournament to ensure the availability of top Australian cricketers for the duration of the tournament.
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If the BCCI bigwigs were in a tearing, unholy hurry to terminate the Lalit Modi-associated franchisees — Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab — they are now dragging their feet and going by the book in their dealings with the Kochi consortium.
The IPL governing council met this morning , October 27, 2010 . After due deliberations they issued a thirty day termination notice to the alliance partners.
Shashank Manohar — a lawyer by profession — pronounced that the Kochi franchise’s case is quite different from the other two expelled franchisees. Since there were no new partners added to the shareholding structure , it is considered a ‘remedial breach’ of the agreement. The Kochi franchisee lives on for another thirty days.
"The Governing Council has invoked clause 12 (1) and given them a 30 days notice that in case they don’t remedy these disputes in the 30 days, the franchise would stand cancelled on the 31st day," he said.
The infractions by the other two franchisees have been termed ‘intermediary breaches’.