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IPL: Sunny Gavaskar hits the headlines, Kochi decision on Wednesday
Sunny Gavaskar hits the deadlines once more; this time it is his links with the Kochi franchise that have drawn flak from all quarters.
The Indian batting legend , the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs and surpass Don Bradman’s 29 tons, is mulling over an offer from the Gaikwads, the Rendezvous group owners, to handle all matters cricketing.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise and there exists speculation about Gavaskar’s role in the bidding process as a possible conflict of interest ; the master batsman was then on the IPL governing council.
(The fallout between Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor was the result of allegations that Tharoor sought Modi’s interference in the bidding process to ensure that the Kochi group’s bid would be successful.)
Gavaskar is no longer a part of the IPL set-up; he quit the re-constituted governing council citing differences with the BCCI.
Was the conflict of interest a reason for the differences? If yes, why then was just the super accumulator penalised?
IPL: A Sea Of Storms For Kochi, Kings XI and Rajasthan Royals
Image by kdewhunter via Flickr
The route to IPL4 has never seemed as foggy as it is today.
And there seems to be no one sounding the fog horn either!
The three vessels SS Kings XI Punjab, SS Rajasthan Royals and SS Kochi are stranded in the stormy seas seeking a lighthouse to guide them to safety.
But their distress signals , their SOSs, have received little response from the current keepers of the beacon.
The IPL seas are still uncharted waters and the reefs are mapped as they are traversed.
Three voyages in three seasons and it was Heigh Ho! Life’s a bottle of rum!
Life’s not so rummy any more for the voyagers.
Nor quite so profitable!
The treasure hunt continues!
Indian cricket: More cricketing mores
Image via Wikipedia
The third one-day between India and Australia was rained off. A similar fate befell the first one-day at Kochi.
It just goes to show that cramming in a series in what’s usually the off-season requires detailed planning. Though we had a wonderful Test series, the fans and spectators were left short-changed by the washout of the two ODIs.
Rain, rain, go away, the Ozzies and Indies want to play!
The Australians are probably left a little shell-shocked by the way their curtailed tour of India turned out. A winless tour for a team of their calibre will rankle for a long time.
I don’t envy the Poms when they meet the kangaroos down under.
The Australians will be doubly motivated to move up the rankings and prove that their recent losses are just an aberration.
Ponting, undercover agents and acclimatisation
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A non-IPL post, for a change. Some ramblings on the latest happenings in the cricketing world.
IPL: Kochi still up in the air, Shilpa Shetty lets fly at the BCCI
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I must admit that the IPL going-ons have all the makings of a soap opera.
It has all the ingredients – money, glamour and sex appeal (courtesy the Bollywood biggies), a decamping honcho, exotic locations, politics and more twists and turns than a pot-boiler.
Add much needed melodrama and you have a hit formula.
A few bytes on the continuing saga:
IPL Pay Packets May Get Thinner and the IPL Leaner and Meaner
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Pay packets in IPL4 will be much leaner than in the past three editions.
The simple reason is that supply now exceeds demand.
With the reduction in the no. of IPL teams to eight and Kochi showing no signs of having their house in order for the 6 pm deadline on Wednesday, 20th October 2010, IPL4 will be a much leaner, much meaner tournament.
IPL Road: Kochi dilly-dallies, Modi prevaricates
It has been ominously quiet on the IPL front over the past few days.
Except for news reports that the Enforcement Directorate is studying the BCCI filed FIR against the abrasive Lalit Modi, to fructify their case against his willingness (or unwillingness) to respond to their inquiries. There has been little to report in the Indian press or media.
Lalit Modi and his lawyer claim that they have yet to receive a copy of the FIR filed by the BCCI; this is, of course, a classic delaying tactic to fob off the media until they have studied the ramifications and can respond to the allegations in a coherent manner.
The jurisdiction of the Chennai police has been questioned by Modi and his lawyer.
The ED has issued a Look Out notice that will have Mr. Modi detained at all Indian ports if he attempts to enter the country; the IPL ex-honcho shows no inclination to oblige the authorities, preferring to remain in London with token noises about answering any queries via video conference.
Meanwhile, there still seems no resolution to the dispute within the Kochi consortium with the warring parties unable to come to any sort of arrangement as yet.
Rendezvous, who hold the major chunk of sweat equity are at loggerheads with the other co-owners, namely Anchor Earth, Parinee Developers, Anand Shyam Estates and Vivek Venugopal. Only Filmwave Combines are fine with letting Rendezvous continue in the Kochi consortium with management control.
Rendezvous are willing to buy their sweat equity as long as they retain a say in management matters but doubts are expressed by their partners about the source of their funding and whether the infusion of funds would pass muster with the IT department and ED.
Shashi Tharoor has not been consulted this time around; it is considered best to keep the politician at bay while discussing business matters.
The clock is ticking for the Kochi franchisee and the BCCI must be hoping for a quick resolution, or else it will be a case of even more mud-slinging in the media.
Sunanda Pushkar, now Tharoor’s spouse, has relinquished her stake and is thus no longer a factor in the mediation.
Is this the lull before the storm? Or is it the eye of the storm?
The road to IPL 4 has never seemed more bumpy or more full of obstacles and potholes. Will road rage win the day?
Note: This is an updated version of the earlier article.
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The BCCI Institute: Continuous Education (Satire)
In the wake of events that have transpired recently namely the Pak match-fixing scandal and the IPL mess, the BCCI (on advisement from the ICC) has decided to combat the malaise on a war-footing.
In addition to Anil Kumble mentoring the current Indian team, outside consultants are being invited to deliver seminars that will address the ills that plague Indian cricket.
These seminars are to be held under the auspices of the newly formed BCCI Institute whose mission is to provide and foster the continuous growth and education of its stakeholders.
The Indian cricket team: Pace bowling riches?
Dhoni’s troubles
On Saturday, the 14th of August, 2010 , Dhoni walked out of a practice session when Dinesh Karthik was struck on the thumb by a nastily bouncing ball. The excuse given was that the practice facilities were inadequate; the pitch was underprepared and dangerous to use.
On Sunday, the 15th of August, Dhoni sought to underline his independence from the BCCI requesting that the Indian bowlers be rotated more often to allow them more rest and time to recover from their many niggles.
So what gives? Is the pressure of arguably the hottest seat in the country getting too much for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to handle?
The weight of a billion expectations is overwhelming. Is Dhoni finding the captain’s kitchen too warm for comfort?
Or is Dhoni trying to cut manic expectations of his young, troubled side?
Is he beseeching the Indian cricket fan to be more understanding, more kind, more real?
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Corporate Governance
Corporate governance has been in the Indian news headlines quite recently in connection with the scam perpetrated by Raju on Satyam shareholders and employees. Interestingly, Satyam was the recipient of numerous corporate governance awards. Just goes to prove that just because processes are in place, does not imply that the processes are being followed. The spirit of the law is more important than the letter of the law. But then India is a nation that loves it’s forms, it’s idiosyncratic processes and customs,it’s bureaucratic ways and any change is greeted with derision, disdain and shock. Processes are meant to be traditionalized, embedded into the culture of the company and not uprooted without a by your leave! Who minds it’s clutter?
For more laid-back news followers, Satyam was just another scandal in just another family-run business.Satyam despite all its protestations , was just that – a family-run business though it’s shares were listed on the Indian stock exchange and available via ADRs.The more engrossing and entertaining corporate scandal has been the IPL imbroglio and it’s many running installments in the Indian media rumor mill.
Now, the IPL has a governing council which is equivalent to a corporate board of directors. In theory, a board of directors is an independent body that oversees the management of the corporate body or entity. It is there to make sure that the right processes are adhered to, that due diligence is carried out while executing strategy and no hanky-panky or unethical acts are carried out by any of the top management honchos.
But in practice, this is easier said than done. Most corporate boards are appointed with inputs from the incumbent management and thus cronyism is the name of the game. The typical board is populated with members who thus tend to be hand-in-glove with top management. This seems to have been the case with the IPL governing council. Despite the presence of luminaries such as Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar and M A K Pataudi on the governing council, the BCCI finds itself facing a scandal of gargantuan proportions with conflict of interest and high-handedness tarnishing the fabric of IPL governance.
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