Call it bad luck or sheer irony, Ravindra Jadeja was part of three Indian Premier League franchises that were mired in controversy. Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks at the lighter side of things
'Not every county plays county cricket in England and not every state plays shield cricket in Australia'
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not to release funds until the state associations file an affidavit implementing recommendations of Justice (Retd.) RM Lodha-led- panel. Issuing the direction, the apex court said the state associations cannot get any money from the national cricket body till the time they follow the Lodha committee's recommendations.
It has been learnt that, as of now, the CoA will not hand over the matter to the IPL's Ethics Commitee comprising acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry.
The under-fire Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) will hold its Special General Meeting on December 2 in New Delhi to discuss the Status Report filed by the Supreme Court appointed Justice RM Lodha Committee.
MS Dhoni will play for Pune in the next edition of the Indian Premier League.
Former India batsman Pravin Amre has tendered his resignation from the managing committee of the Mumbai Cricket Association after being appointed head of Talent Hunt for IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils.
The Ethics Officer has ruled that the former India players have to choose between CAC, IPL jobs
Reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India will not pull the cash-rich body back, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday and made it clear that it does not intend to reduce the popularity of the BCCI or hinder its growth but wants structural reforms which would make the cricket body more transparent.
'The BCCI is one of the best administrative bodies in the world.' 'In a democratic set-up there will always be a power struggle, that is part of every society or every association, but it does not mean we have done something bad.' 'We have done everything possible we could for the game.'
BCCI President Anurag Thakur on Sunday made it clear that unlike his predecessor Shashank Manohar, he is not "interested" in any ICC post and his sole focus at present is to protect the rights of Indian cricket. Hinting at Manohar, Thakur said, "One who had to go to ICC have already gone long back. I have no interest and I am happy here with BCCI and nothing is more important for me than India. We have to protect the rights of India. If you don't think about India then it will be difficult to think about any other country. "Today there is India, so world cricket is growing," Thakur said.
The IPL, all of a sudden, may have some catching up to do with the Big Bash.
'There should be total transparency in the system.'
'At that time the Delhi police was reeling under various controversies. This case was more of an attention diversion.'
India's limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, along with his teammates Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin, among others, will be up for grabs for the two new IPL teams in the draft to be held in Mumbai.
Indian cricket's fortunes ebbed and flowed in 2015 with Virat Kohli successfully leading the national side in Tests and Mahendra Singh Dhoni appearing to be losing his midas touch, while in off the field drama Shashank Manohar returned as the president of Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Differing from the views expressed by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, his predecessor Mohammed Azharuddin today said Mahendra Singh Dhoni has achieved so much in his career as a cricketer and he should be allowed to take a call on his future. "It's Ganguly's personal decision (opinion) and I respect it. At the same time it all depends on Dhoni, on what he thinks about his future. I respect Ganguly's opinion, but I feel Dhoni should be given the chance to decide when to retire," said Azhar on the sidelines of a function to announce the joining of racer Nayan Chatterjee with Meco Motor Sports. "He (Dhoni) deserves that chance. He has been one of the finest captains ever. He has won all major tournaments, got India to the no.1 position in all formats of the game. I think we should not forget his performances," said Azhar in support of the current ODI and T20 captain, who has retired from Test cricket. "It's very hard for me to say. It totally depends on Dhoni, how he feels mentally or how demanding the sport is going to become. We have to give that chance to Dhoni to take the decision on his retirement," the former wristy batsman said.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said that disbursement of financial grant even in cricket's global body International Cricket Council has always been performance based where the top Test playing nations got more share compared to the associate members.
Indian cricket, it seems, pays overwhelming obeisance to a vapid, old adage: The more it changes, the more it remains the same.
CAB secretary Aditya Verma wrote to BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya, questioning N Srinivasan's election as TNCA President and his proposed presence at the ICC Board meeting as BCCI representative.
Having cut off the "umbilical cord" that tied him to the Board, the former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) spoke to PTI on a range of issues from "giving a free hand" to the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri duo, Anil Kumble's exit as national coach, his frosty relationship with colleague Diana Edulji, sexual harassment allegations against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and difficulties in implementing the Supreme Court-mandated Lodha recommendations.
The duo will be joined by their former team mates Aakash Chopra and Rahul Sanghvi as they would chalk out the roadmap for Delhi cricket along with powers to select coaches, selectors and other issues related to the game.
Keeping the soul of the Lodha reforms in mind -- one person one post -- former Supreme Court judge Jain last month ruled that ex-India batsman Laxman and former captain Ganguly will have to choose one of the multiples roles they are performing at the moment including their commentary stints during the ongoing World Cup.
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India president Jagmohan Dalmiya's widow Chandralekha, on Saturday, said she has been 'deeply hurt' by the Supreme Court's observations on her late husband during the hearing on Justice R M Lodha-led committee recommendations to revamp cricket.
'The moment you increase the possibility of making a team winning or losing a game that's where match-fixing happens. And whenever match-fixing happens, it can only happen at the players' level. If a player is not fixed to perform a particular task then how can one generate money?'
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India president Narayanswami Srinivasan cannot represent the Board at the International Cricket Council's meeting next week as he has been held guilty of conflict of interest, the Supreme Court said.
The ban on Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals is over officially and a top CSK official said the franchise will look to retain as many players and support staff it had in 2015.
A vital member of Chennai Super Kings for last five years, West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo called Mahendra Singh Dhoni one of the world's best captains and said he will miss playing under India's skipper in IPL-9.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has filed a 238-page writ petition in the Supreme Court in order to get clarity about whether its former president N Srinivasan should be allowed to attend the Board meetings.
The Committee of Administrators is facing practical problems in implementing the Conflict of Interest guidelines on the day-to-day BCCI operations, CoA member Diana Edulji conceded.
The Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI has proposed six major amendments to the existing constitution which was adopted last year keeping in tune with the reforms suggested by the Justice Lodha committee.
More runs from Virat Kohli. India winning the World T20 at home. A controversy-free IPL and more is what Harish Kotian/Rediff.com wants this year.
Test series victories over Sri Lanka and South Africa ensured Virat Kohli could justify the team's failures earlier in the year.
'This is the only country where success seems to be viewed as a bad thing.' 'Other governments and countries go out of their way to protect a successful organisation. Here we find ways of destroying it.'
Earlier this month, former Supreme Court judge Jain had asked Dravid to respond in writing after receiving a complaint from Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) life member Sanjeev Gupta.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was admitted to hospital few days back after he complained of chest pain, passed away at a city hospital this evening following a massive cardiac arrest.
Secretary of the Indian cricket board, Anurag Thakur, on Saturday, sought to play down health issues of the Board of Control for Cricket in India president Jagmohan Dalmiya, stating that rumours of a communication gap between the duo is a figment of imagination.
Narayanswami Srinivasan suffered a major setback on Thursday as the Supreme Court barred him from contesting any election of the Board of Control for Cricket in India on grounds of conflict of interest.
The 41-year-old Thakur replaced Shashank Manohar who quit the position to take up the ICC chairman's job. The Maharashtra Cricket Association chief and business magnate Shirke expectedly filled in the Secretary's post which was left vacant by Thakur's resignation on Saturday.
'Whatever the reforms the Supreme Court has approved for BCCI, it won't be possible to implement it all.'