Nehra bags BCCI contract; Irfan demoted

Ashish Nehra, the left-arm fast bowler who made a remarkable comeback to international cricket after a gap of four years has bagged the retainer contract from the Indian cricket board for the year 2009-10. While Nehra was given a Grade B contract worth Rs. 40 Lakh, all-rounder Irfan Pathan who is spending time on the sidelines for the last one year has been demoted from Grade B to Grade C.

Praveen Kumar and reserve wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik are the ones to benefit in this year’s contract by moving up one grade to Grade B and Grade C respectively. According to reports, Irfan Pathan’s name was first missing from the original list but the BCCI officials said his name has been “erroneously” left out. Two other players who were demoted are Subramaniam Badrinath from Grade B to Grade C and Piyush Chawla from Grade C to Grade D.

There are four new faces in this year’s retainer contract list. They are Dhawal Kulkarni, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary.

Grade A (Rs 60 lakh): Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.

Grade B (Rs 40 lakh): Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra.

Grade C (Rs 25 lakh): S Badrinath, Wasim Jaffer, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthik and Amit Mishra.

Grade D (Rs 15 lakh): Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Robin Uthappa, Parthiv Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Ashok Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha, M Vijay, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary.

IPL extends deadline for Pak players

Indian Premier League (IPL) has extended the deadline set for Pakistan players from November 20 to December 7 to submit their applicable documents to be eligible to play in the third edition of the tournament to be held in India coming March–April.  According to reports, Pakistan’s sports ministry has approach foreign and interior ministry for clearance for their players’ participation in India.

It is also understood that it will take more time for the paper work to be ready as they players are currently playing in New Zealand. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already issued No Objection Certificate (NOC) for three of their players – Abdul Razzak, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul. Pakistan’s sports ministry spokesperson Faik Ali said, “The ministry has referred the NOC cases of these players to the foreign office and interior ministry for political and security clearance. We processed the cases of these players on the very same day on urgent basis and we do hope to get the reply from both ministries by next week. The sports ministry has no objection that its players go and compete in IPL, but we have to seek the government’s clearance. Our ministry has forwarded the cases to the concerned ministries and now we will wait for their response.”

Meanwhile, there is still uncertainty hanging over the possibility of players crossing the border as National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports head Jamshed Ahmed Dasti raised questions over providing NOC to cricketers. Dasti said, “The NOCs issued to the cricketers for participation in the IPL is without the approval of the federal government hence they are illegal. Who will be responsible for security of the players, not least the federal government, because it was never consulted for issuance of the NOC.”

Pakistani players were asked to stay away from travelling to India by their government following unhealthy relationship between the two governments after the Mumbai terror attacks. However, later the tournament was shifted to South Africa but even before the start of the tournament many franchises terminated their contract with many Pakistan players leaving only four of them eligible to play in the coming edition.

No invitation from IPL – Bari

Wasim Bari, chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that no player has received an invitation yet from the Indian Premier League (IPL). Apparently the IPL had set a deadline of November 20 for Pakistan players to get their clearance from government, and NOC and visa ready, however according to Bari the players need the invitation letters from IPL to proceed further.

Wasim Bari said “As far as I am concerned not a single player, who is interested in the IPL gave me an invitation letter of the IPL. Though the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has already been in contact with the government to seek guidelines on this issue, whether to allow the players to play in the IPL or not, an invitation from the IPL is nevertheless mandatory. I only want an invitation letter from the players and the guideline of the government and that is all from my side.”

Pakistan players didn’t figure in the second edition of the IPL following Pakistan government’s disapproval over its players travelling to India over Mumbai terror attacks. The third edition of IPL starts March 12, 2010.

Strauss won’t reconsider his T20 decision

England’s Test and ODI captain Andrew Strauss said that he doesn’t have any intention to reconsider his decision of not playing Twenty20 cricket. Strauss said that his style of batting doesn’t suit the requirements of Twenty20 cricket. “Never say never. But at this stage, I’ve got no plans to play Twenty20 cricket.”

“My reasons for not playing Twenty20 cricket are firstly that there are some limitations in my game in that format and secondly I believe strongly that for me to continue playing well in the 50-over format and Test cricket something’s got to give. You’ve got to remain reasonably fresh as an international captain, to be able to motivate people. For me, it just makes sense that I step aside from the Twenty20 and give myself the time to prepare properly for 50-over and Test cricket.”

Earlier Strauss was considered to fill in for a injury ridden England side to play against South Africa in a one-off T20, however Strauss said, “ There were some considerations given. But ultimately, me playing in a one-off capacity is not going to help the team long term. I’m not going to be there in the West Indies (for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20), so if there are injuries there, or ‘Colly’ (Paul Collingwood) gets injured, someone needs to step up and take over.”

ICL issues notice to ICC, BCCI and ECB

The rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) has issued its first legal notice to International Cricket Council (ICC), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after the official cricket boards banned the players associated with the unofficial league. In its notice the Essel Sports Private Ltd (ESPL) has claimed that the unlawful ban has deterred and prevented prospective players from involving themselves with ICL.

The notice was issued by London based legal firm Ingram Winter Green on November 16, and has asked the ICC, BCCI and ECB to respond before December 7. In it’s the ICL has named ECB as the first respondent, while the BCCI is the second and ICC is the third respondent. According to the notice, the ESPL is the first claimant, while the player, termed as ‘professional players’ are the second claimant. The reason for unnamed professional players, the notice claims “The names of those individuals have been withheld to prevent retaliatory measures ahead of possible pending litigation.”

According to the notice, “From the inception, the ICL has received a hostile reaction from the BCCI. Early approaches in correspondence in which the ICL aimed to achieve co-operation (with the BCCI) were rebuffed by BCCI. BCCI has since engaged in a range of activities clearly calculated to deter and prevent prospective players from involving themselves with ICL, and intended to obstruct the activities of the ICL. The boycott of the ICL has had a serious effect on the players. The boycott of the ICL prevents the players carrying on their trade as professional cricketers in the UK if they also enter into contracts to play in the ICL. In the premises, the ECB is committing an unlawful restraint of trade by implementing the boycott of the ICL in the UK.”

An ICL spokesperson said “We want just justice, that’s all. There are a lot of issues involved including the restraint of trade and threatening of players who were part of the ICL.” ICL floated its cricket league in 2007 and managed to run it with little success for two editions before as many as 150 players opted for amnesty offered by BCCI and other national boards earlier this year.

Lee to miss first Test at Gabba

Australian pacer Brett Lee is set to miss first Test against West Indies in Gabba after being ruled out of the Sheffield Shield match at the SCG due to elbow injury. Lee was forced out of the Australian team that toured India for a seven match ODI series recently after taking part in the first match due to elbow problem and is yet to recover fully. Of late Lee’s career is on and off as he missed major part of the Ashes series and earlier the South African tour this year.

New South Wales team was announced for the Sheffield Shield match and another name that will find attention during the match is of vice-captain Michael Clarke who is making a return from a back problem that kept him out for the last two months. New South Wales coach Matthew Mott said, “There’s nothing like being out in the middle and he’ll be better for the run. He’s keyed in for a lot of batting tomorrow and the Shield game will suit him. He can take a bit more time.”

Squad: Simon Katich (Captain), Phillip Hughes, Phil Jaques, Michael Clarke, Usman Khawaja, Brad Haddin (Wk), Steven Smith, Steve O’Keefe, Stuart Clark, Josh Hazlewood, Burt Cockley, Doug Bollinger.

Langer is Australia’s batting coach

Former Test opener Justin Langer is appointed as Australia’s new batting coach. Langer will work alongside Tim Nielsen, the head coach on a monitoring capacity during Australia’s home series against West Indies.  The left-hander retired from Test cricket a few seasons back in 2006-07 after donning the baggy green 105 times.

Australia’s general manager of Cricket Michael Brown said, “Justin Langer will join the Australian Test squad and provide specialist skills in assisting the batters prepare for Test match cricket. He’ll also develop plans to assist players cope with the rigours of the Test match game. We are thrilled to have a player of Justin’s experience working with the Test team. Justin was renowned for his professional approach to preparation and his commitment to play for his country. He will help many young players as our team continues to develop.”

After retirement Langer captained English county Somerset for three seasons and recently took retirement from domestic cricket after leading the side in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in India. On his new job Langer said “When CA approached me about this appointment, I felt privileged to be considered. I have been passionate about Australian cricket for many years so I am excited about playing a ‘hands-on’ role in the continued development of the Test team, particularly in the batting and leadership departments.”

Vettori fit, Mills to miss out

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has been declared fit for the first Test against Pakistan after sitting out two Twenty20 internationals against them after being hit on helmet during the ODI series in UAE. On the other hand, Kyle Mills will undergo a surgery on his left shoulder as well as his right knee which will keep him out of the entire season ahead.

Vettori who has been combating shoulder injury for a while however it is unlikely to stop him from bowling. Vettori will lead the side in the first Test starting Tuesday at Dunedin. Mills will now hope be fit for the ICC World Twenty20 in April 2010 in West Indies.

Middlesex signs Gilchrist, targets Tendulkar

Middlesex County has signed a contract with former Asutralian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist to play for them in the Twenty20 cricket in 2010 domestic season. The county is also in talks with Indian great Sachin Tendulkar, who recently completed 20 years of international cricket.

Sharing his delight Vinny Codrington, the chief executive of the Middlesex County said, “We’ve worked extremely closely with the MCC to ensure that Adam comes on board with us next season and this signing is great testament to how well our two clubs are working together to guarantee that Middlesex supporters and MCC members alike are rightfully treated to the very best world talent that Twenty20 cricket has on offer.”

Codrington also said that Sachin’s busy international schedule has delayed the signing, however he sounded confident to get Sachin on board. “As a result of Sachin’s busy schedule of late however; representing India in the one day series against Australia, playing in the current Test series against Sri Lanka and celebrating his twenty years in international cricket, this is yet to be confirmed. He is due to be speaking to the BCCI about playing for us next season when the time is right.”

Sachin last played county cricket as a 19-year old for Yorkshire, when he became their first overseas player while Adam is yet to play for a county. Middlesex is confident that the expense of signing Tendulkar can be compensated through the means of gate revenue by targeting South Asian population in London and television revenue as the English domestic season is telecasted live in India.

Pakistan welcome to play WC final in India – Pawar

Sharad Pawar, ICC vice-president and Chairman of the 2011 World Cup organizing committee sounded positive that India would welcome Pakistan to play at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai should Pakistan qualify for the final. The statement from Pawar came as there were doubts on Pakistan players playing India following the Mumbai terror attack last year after which the bilateral ties between the two countries were banned. As the tension between the two countries developed, the Pakistan government had also asked its players not to travel to India.

While announcing the World Cup fixtures in Mumbai, Pawar said “There is no exception whether it is Pakistan or any other country. I am confident the sport-loving population of this country (India) will welcome anybody who reaches the stage (the final).” Pawar was optimistic when asked about the chances of issuing a common visa for fans to enter the three countries hosting the tournament. “That is a suggestion. We are discussing this with the government to offer a common visa for all three countries hosting the event.”

The format of the tournament is similar to the one in 2003 where 14 teams were split into two groups which also gives more opportunities for teams to stage a comeback whereas in 2007 teams like India and Pakistan were knocked out in the first stage after having one bad day in the field.  Commenting on the tournament format ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said, “It is fair to say that it is almost a week less than the previous edition and that in itself should help make it more concise. But we have done everything, bearing in mind that there are 14 teams competing across three countries so you’ve got to take logistics into account, so I hope it is a slicker than the previous World Cup.”

Lorgat also defended the participation of associate member teams saying they have shown improvement in qualifiers. “There is a balance between providing opportunities for all of our members to get to the flagship event. We have reduced it from previous six Associates teams qualifying down to four now. But we have to be mindful about finding a balance between the length and an opportunity for all our members to participate.”

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