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Shoaib Akhtar’s troubled career has taken yet another twist following a decision by the Pakistan board to send him back from Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 after a dressing-room scuffle in which he was alleged to have hit fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif with a bat.The Pakistan Cricket Board has responded by handing Shoaib an indefinite ban, pending a disciplinary hearing that will be conducted once the team returns from South Africa.”Shoaib’s ban is an indefinite suspension,” Nasim Ashraf, the board chairman, told Cricinfo. “There is no question of Shoaib returning to South Africa for the latter half of the tournament [in the event of Pakistan playing more than five matches].””When the team management returns [from the tournament], the board will launch a full investigation and disciplinary hearing into the matter. Further action based on that is likely,” Ashraf said.A press release issued on Friday by team manager Talat Ali in Johannesburg said, “The decision [to send him home] has been taken on an incident that took place yesterday [6th September] afternoon at the Centurion Park after the practice session of the Pakistan team. It was reported to us by Asif that Shoaib had hit him on his leg with a bat and abused him.”The bowler was already on six weeks’ probation following a breach of discipline last month after he left a training camp in Karachi without informing officials. Two hearings were held, after which it was decided that a monetary fine would be suspended pending his behaviour. Ashraf indicated that action would be likely.The sorry development means that Pakistan finds itself in the spotlight at a major international tournament once again for all the wrong reasons. Shoaib and Asif were sent back on the eve of their opening match at the Champions Trophy last year, after they had tested positive for banned anabolic steroids. During the World Cup in March, Pakistan’s disastrous performance took backstage to the death of Bob Woolmer.The decision will be a blow to the team’s chances at the tournament, as Pakistan’s strength was widely considered to lie in a pace attack that included Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum. AFP, citing team sources, reported the PCB has picked Sohail Tanvir, an allrounder, as Shoaib’s replacement.In any case, a replacement will also depend on approval from the ICC’s technical committee. The Participating Nations’ Agreement, which every team signs when taking part in ICC tournaments, refers to the replacement of players and there is provision for a player to be replaced for reasons other than injury: “Except for medical grounds, players may only be replaced in exceptional circumstances such as family bereavement or where a player is suspended and such suspension relates to an incident which is unrelated to the event.”

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif attended the preliminary hearing of the tribunal investigating the doping case at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters in Lahore today. Both players – suspended from the Champions Trophy after testing positive for nandrolone, a banned steroid – recorded their statements separately. They were asked to submit their written statements for the next hearing, scheduled for October 26, after a break in proceedings for .”The hearing lasted around four hours as we had to do some initial work and then heard Akhtar and Asif,” Shahid Hamid, the chairman of the tribunal, told reporters. “We have given them reports of their tests and have asked them to submit their written statements in the next hearing.” The tribunal consists of Hamid and Intikhab Alam while Waqar Ahmed, the third member and medical expert, was unable to attend the hearing.The tribunal is expected to return its findings in two weeks, after which the PCB will decide on a final course of action. Both players are liable to face bans of anywhere between one and two years. Hamid said that the players were briefed about the procedures and added that they had the option of bringing their lawyers in the next hearing.”I cannot predict any time frame but would try to reach the conclusion as early as possible. We will give fair chance to both the players and then submit our report to the PCB. Both Akhtar and Asif have been told about the procedure of the doping matters.”The PCB also stated that both players will have the opportunity to get their B samples tested after the tribunal hearings. The B sample is still with the laboratories and will be used for testing only if the players request for it.

If the teams fail to comply with the prescribed over-rates in the ICC Super Series, the match referee is likely to take a closer look at the umpires than the bowling captain. The matches between Australia and the World XI will serve as trial ground for on-field umpires to refer all decisions, barring catches close to the ground, to the television umpire thus leading to frequent stoppages.Not only can Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel, who will umpire the first one-day-international at the Telstra Dome at Melbourne on Wednesday, seek the opinion of Rudy Koertzen, the television umpire, in decisions involving nicks and the line and the height of the ball in case of lbws, they can also, if in doubt, ask the third umpire to adjudicate no-balls.In principle, this could mean every dismissal, including bowled and clear catches, can be referred to the third umpire. “In case of the no-balls,” said a ICC spokesperson, “field umpires will go to the television umpire only if a no-ball is in the realm of possibility. In most cases, umpires are quite clear about the no-ball.” However, going by the evidence of how reluctant most umpires are to rule on the clearest of run-outs and stumpings, it is not unlikely that umpires will choose to play safe and leave the decision to the television camera.In case of lbws, umpires can not only seek a ruling on where the ball pitched, but also obtain valuable feedback in determining the height of the ball and if there was a nick. However, the third umpire will have to make up his mind by watching only the television replay and not by using Hawkeye, the ball-tracking technology that is widely used by television channels.However, even though the third umpire will acquire a critical role in the Super Series, he will still not have the powers to reverse a wrong decision or give unsolicited advice. “The umpires in the middle will continue to be supreme,” the ICC spokesperson said. “The new regulations will only empower them to make more accurate decisions.”The matter was discussed at length at a meeting between the match officials and the two captains on Tuesday. “There were quite a few issues to discuss,” said Shaun Pollock, the captain of the World XI. “We had to make sure we understood where the players stood. We need to be able to tell our players what they can expect when they take the field tomorrow.”Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain was concerned that the frequent referrals could slow down the game considerably. He said, “Potentially every decision can be referred. We will have to see how it works out. The match referee will have to take these delays into account while ruling the over-rates.”All the three one-day matches will be played under a roof which, though retractable, will stay in place for the entire duration of the match. And this raises the possibility of a new regulation in the unlikely event of the ball hitting the metal roof. In which case, it will be a dead ball.

Ray Jennings, the South African coach, has been rebuked by Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the Cricket South Africa, for outspoken comments made to the media. The board was further embarrassed by the fact that the email found its way to reporters through Gerald de Kock, the media manager.Majola was apparently upset over comments that Jennings had made about Mark Boucher in an interview with South Africa’s . Jennings was quoted as saying that he didn’t know why Boucher, formerly Graeme Smith’s deputy, had been left out of the squad that toured India, and that he favoured his recall since “he had paid his dues”.According to the , Majola’s email reminded Jennings that he was coach and national selector, and hence forbidden from making any statements that would bring the game or the board into disrepute. It added that if he had any complaints or observations to make, they should be addressed first to the board rather than the media.As per the code of conduct, Jennings is not allowed to comment on the correspondence with Majola, but de Kock said that he would not face any sort of disciplinary action for the gaffe.

Brian Lara has said that his West Indian team learnt a lot by playing Australia in the recent Test and one-day international series at home. In Chennai to do a spot of promotional go-karting, Lara spoke to the press about how, despite losing, West Indies benefited by playing Australia.”Playing against Australia has improved our players’ performances,” said Lara. "We lost both the Test and one-day series against Australia, but we learnt a lot from them. They are a champion side."Lara’s young side won the final dead-rubber Test against the Australia, and then won the last three one-day internationals, after Australia had already clinched the series by winning the first four. One of the notable things about the series was that while most of the Australians were in their early 30s, West Indies had a side that was largely in its twenties, and on the upswing.”We’ve a good crop of youngsters in the team,” Lara said. “It’s good to have young players around you. They are inexperienced, but talented. Our side is improving.”One man who would no doubt have been glad to hear that is Steve Waugh, who was also in Chennai, to promote the same go-karting event as Lara, for their bat sponsors, MRF. Waugh had combined his promotional tour of India with a visit to Udayan, a home for leprosy-afflicted children in Kolkata. While there, Waugh was asked for his comments on Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain and Kolkata’s favourite local boy.Waugh, graciously, if predictably, was all praise for Ganguly. "His [Ganguly’s] captaincy has direction and he enjoys his team’s respect,”Waugh said. “Captaincy calls for tough decisions and he doesn’t go for soft options. Under his captaincy, the boys seem to be enjoying a fight. There’s a new toughness in the current Indian side."All sweetness in the off season. Just wait till the cricket begins again.

The Board of Directors of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union has agreedthat for transparency the findings by the Disciplinary Board ofInquiry be made public and accordingly the full report on theabove matter is now attached.DISCIPLINARY BOARD INQUIRY – ALISTAIR CAMPBELL : COMMENTS IN THE LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH CONCERNING RACISM IN CRICKETThe future of Zimbabwean Cricket depends on the integration ofblack players into the National Team. Apart from achieving theobvious benefit of having the cricket team properly reflectingthe racial diversity of Zimbabwe, the simple truth is that thepool of white players is far too small to sustain aninternationally competitive side. The selling of the game toblack Zimbabweans and creating and nurturing an increasing flowof black players through all levels into the National team, hasto be achieved if the game we love is not to wither and die inZimbabwe. The process of racial integration of the game ofcricket should have achieved much more given the 21 years ofZimbabwe’s life – it needs to be accelerated if the game is tosurvive.A balance, however, needs to be drawn. Success of the Nationalteam on the field is essential to spreading and selling the gameand providing the financial base to sustain and increasedevelopment and coaching programmes. If players are pushed ontothe field because they are black and not because they meritselection the process will be self-defeating. How then is thebalance to be achieved of increasing black representation in theNational cricket team while maintaining and improving performanceon the field? The answer is as with any human endeavour – by theexercise of commonsense, co-operation, understanding and lookingfor answers instead of problems.The ZCU’s implementation task force seeks the answer by settinggoals for racial integration and not quotas. Cynics always seemto look for problems instead of answers and are quick to saygoals really means quotas. That is by no means necessarily so. Anobjective look at the selection of the Zimbabwean team over thepast 6 months shows that goals means goals and not quotas. Thenumber of black players selected for the last 10 or so 1-dayinternationals, for example, has consistently been below the goalset – a situation which would not pertain if goals were quotas. Agoal which we would recommend achieving is to provide a quota ofone player representative to sit on the implementation task forcecommittee – that should help enhance communication andunderstanding between players and officials.Senior players in the National side need to understand andrealise the aims and goals of integration. They need to lendtheir experience, maturity and ability to making the programmework. The creation of harmony, team spirit and a necessarypositive attitude are vital components of success. That can onlybe achieved, and maintained, by the senior players. Negativity byeven a single senior player can destroy in days what has takenyears to build. Senior players need to realise that while theymay have made Zimbabwe cricket what it is, Zimbabwe cricket hasalso made them what they are. Very few of them would have had theopportunity to play test cricket for any other Nation and theyshould see it as their duty to actively help create anintegrated, growing and developing National cricket team – astheir legacy to Zimbabwe cricket when their careers come to anend.Those who misinterpret goals and quotas also, to our minds, tendto misunderstand merit. The truth of the matter, we believe, andwe have followed cricket in Zimbabwe and across the world forclose on 40 years, is that only two Zimbabwean players currentlycan claim to be selected truly on merit – with merit meaning aconsistency of performance meeting the minimum standard expectedfor a test class of cricketer. Those players, to our minds, areAndy Flower – who is in a class of his own -and Heath Streak. Athird player, though just at the start of his career, has made abeginning which shows the potential to scale the same heights asAndy Flower. That is Hamilton Masakadza. But the three tests this18 year old has played, is far too soon to make a proper judgmenton merit.Other current Zimbabwean cricketers have reached the plateau ofconsistent performance at a level to merit automatic selection -but have sadly fallen away. Here we think of Grant Flower and GuyWhittal. Hopefully they will regain that plateau by pushing theirtest batting averages above the unacceptable minimum of 30 aroundwhich they now hover. The erratic and injury prone Paul Strangalso falls into the category of a player who has in the pastmerited automatic selection. Henry Olonga is another such player.Stuart Carlisle is, in our view, approaching the plateau ofautomatically warranting selection on merit – but he is not yetthere and needs to make more scores of substance. With all theother players there is real potential, occasional performance atthe level required, but a frustrating lack of anythingapproaching the consistency necessary for automatic selection onmerit.Players whose claim to merit selection is that although they areperforming badly and without consistency they are the bestavailable – should not be surprised if selectors give other upand coming players the chance to test their mettle at the highestlevel. If those up and coming young players include as many blackas white players, that is only commonsense given a diminishingpool of white players, an increasing pool of black players andthe needs of the future. But once again there needs to be abalance. Young players, be they black or white, need to benurtured and not thrown into the unforgiving cauldron ofinternational cricket too soon – as that can result in a careerof promise being stillborn.What then of Alistair Campbell in this mix? He is an enigma. Hehas the natural talent to be a batsman of world class. At hisbest he stirs memories of David Gower, and at his very best thereare even echoes of Graeme Pollock. But he lacks the necessarydiscipline and concentration. His test batting average of 26,93after 50 tests would see him long since dropped from almost everyother team in the world. We emphasise that by stating that anaverage of 40 is regarded as the bench mark for a frontline testbatsman of world class. An average of 35 is regarded as justacceptable. But once that average slips below 33 to 30 it becomesunacceptably low. Alistair Campbell’s average of 26.93 is waybelow the acceptable minimum for a frontline test batsman. Hecannot seriously regard that performance level as warrantingautomatic selection on merit. It saddens us to say that becauseAlistair Campbell is one of the few batsman in Zimbabwe with thenatural talent to be a world class test batsman. He needs to addapplication, discipline and concentration to that talent and toeliminate rashness to reach his potential. We, like everyZimbabwean cricket lover, hope that he will achieve that in thelatter part of his career. And it has been encouraging to notethat in the last year his performances at test level haveimproved. We should, perhaps, add that as a one-day batsman,Campbell’s record is much better. But his average of 31.14 for atop order batsman in one-day cricket can only be regarded asacceptable as opposed to world class.Regrettably the rashness and lack of discipline which punctuatesCampbell’s batting seems also to affect his comments to thepress.To blame Zimbabwe’s poor recent performances on a perceived quotasystem for black players is, in our view, not correct. Zimbabwehas done amazingly well given its very small pool of players tobe playing test cricket at all – let alone often beingcompetitive against nations with massively greater playingresources. A sense of reality needs to accompany assessments ofZimbabwe’s performance on the international cricketing stage.There will always be peaks and troughs, but in general, until theplaying base is broadened, Zimbabwe will always struggle tocompete. To an outsider the major difficulty in recent times hasbeen the failure of senior players (and here we include Olonga)apart from Andy Flower and Heath Streak to perform consistentlyat an acceptable level – and indeed to have retrogressed in termsof level of performance. Hopefully that will change.It is the duty of the senior players to mould team spirit andpull the team together, not to become a divisive force. They maynot always like selectors decisions but that is a factor commonto all players, all teams and all spectators across the world.They need to understand the aims and objectives of the selectorsand the need to maintain the best possible team on merit, whilealso enhancing and ensuring the survival of Zimbabwe cricket byracial integration. Selectors and officials for their part mustmake sure that they properly understand the players and theirconcerns and keep open lines of communication. We don’t pretendthat the necessary balance is an easy one to draw -but it can beachieved by reasonable men working together.We now turn to the specific comments made to the London DailyTelegraph by Alistair Campbell. Comments like those referring to”the race thing having spilt onto the field” and “the team beingtorn apart”, are completely unhelpful and counter-productive.They create disharmony and conflict where sensible, rationaldiscussion, understanding and agreement are necessary. They putinto the glare of media publicity, matters which can and shouldbe resolved by discussion in private between players andofficials.In fairness to Alistair Campbell he realises that. In a letter toMr Chingoka, the President of the ZCU, on 17 October, heapologises “unreservedly for having spoken to the Press aboutthese issues and affording them the opportunity of publishing thearticles in question.” He adds that it was exceptionally naive todo so, “knowing the subject at hand is so sensitive”. He addsthat “I must emphasise that I did not make any comments about theperformance of black players, nor did I say that the inclusion ofplayers of colour was adversely affecting team performance”. Heconcludes by again expressing his sincere apologies for any harmcaused to the ZCU and the game of cricket in Zimbabwe. AlistairCampbell has also assured the President of the ZCU and ourselvesthat he is not racist and believes in the racial integration ofZimbabwean cricket. We accept his assurances.We hope that these proceedings have focused Alistair Campbell’smind. We hope that he realises his shortcomings and worksdiligently to correct them. We hope that he uses the opportunitywe propose to give him to become a cohesive force in Zimbabwecricket. We would like nothing better than for Alistair Campbellto achieve his potential and reach the level of a world classbatsman which his natural talent allows. But to do that he willneed to show a maturity which he has not yet shown, to replacerashness with discipline and carelessness with concentration. Inview of the damage his loose words have caused, he will need towork tirelessly to help rebuild and nurture team spirit. Thatwill take humility, maturity, strength of character and anunderstanding of others. We propose to give Alistair Campbell thechance to achieve this and hope that he will. But he must realisethat no team or responsible cricket union can allow division anddisunity to be paraded across newspaper pages as opposed tosensibly resolved by rational internal discussion. We hope theobservations we have made will help enhance that process. But anyrepeat of similar ill chosen and ill considered words to thePress by Alistair Campbell could, in our view, only be regardedin a serious light.Balancing all the factors we have tried to rationally analyse, wefind Alistair Campbell in breach of Clause 4.1.12.1 and 4.1.12.2of the his contract with the ZCU and in breach of Clause C8(a)and (b) of the ICC Code of Conduct (November 2000).The penalty imposed is a suspension of Alistair Campbell for twotest matches and two one-day internationals, which suspension issuspended for 12 months on condition Alistair Campbell does notin that period breach Clauses 4.1.12.1 and 4.1.12.2 of hiscontract with the ZCU or the equivalent clause of any newcontract and on condition that he does not in that period breachClause C8(a) or (b) of the ICC Code of Conduct (November 2000).THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE S MUCHECHETERE – CHAIRMANTHE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE D G BARTLETT – MEMBERThis the 31st dayof October, 2001

Three weeks have passed since the BCCI stated its intention to initiate procedures for player-agent accreditation, but there is little clarity about how the board plans to go about it. While players and agents seem to be optimistic about the BCCI’s seriousness, it appears the board itself is yet to figure out the process more than two years after first announcing it.BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya had announced the plan on August 2 but little has moved since then and few officials are willing to talk about it. Ushanath Banerjee, the BCCI’s legal consultant, is understood to have been put in charge of formulating the policy and is believed to be studying various agent accreditation models – that of Australia and England along with effective systems put in place by FIFA and ATP.The BCCI is also believed to have approached some experts for their views. Banerjee along with the legal team will study the suggestions, compare it with all relevant cricket agent-accreditation systems and then hopefully finalise it along with the Code of Ethics before the next month’s annual general meeting.While almost every major cricketing nation has initiated an agent registration system, the BCCI has not taken a concrete step towards it. Cricket Australia and the ECB have been leading the way with the most advanced systems, and the PCB introduced an agent registration procedure after the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.However, the fact that the policy took a backseat after being announced in 2013 indicates the BCCI isn’t really keen to address the problem. There is a feeling that the announcement is a publicity move and its implementation would come as a surprise.The agent-accreditation plan was part of Dalmiya’s clean-up effort during his short stint as the head of BCCI’s day-to-day affairs in the aftermath of the IPL corruption scandal but it never took off. Srinivasan’s subsequent return to the president’s post a few months later saw Dalmiya’s announcements put on the backburner.The role of player agents had been at the forefront of the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. Jiju Janardhan, a friend of Sreesanth’s, was believed to have posed as Sreesanth’s agent to alleged bookies before the player’s arrest. It had led to the BCCI deciding to regulate player agents for centrally contracted players. In his report on that episode, which formed the basis for the BCCI’s stringent action, the then BCCI anti-corruption unit chief Ravi Sawani had underlined the need to regulate player agents.It confirmed to many the suspicions over the seemingly dubious role of the unorganised sector. Over the last two decades, player agents – despite not being recognised officially by the BCCI – have enjoyed a growing clout in Indian cricket. There have been instances of key player agents being marked on important BCCI communication. Similarly, the presence of “close friends” and “agents” accompanying established India cricketers, even being booked in the team hotel wherever the Indian team travelled, came under the scanner.Even before the Sreesanth-Jiju episode in 2013, the problem had been highlighted during the India TV sting operation in 2012. The expose, which resulted in five domestic cricketers being handed punishments – from a one-year suspension to life ban – was conducted with undercover reporters posing as player agents.Player agents have become an integral part of a professional sportsperson’s life. Murali Kartik, the former India spinner, said they were crucial to a player’s wellbeing in the modern era. “In any sport, agents allow players to concentrate on the game. It’s never easy to talk money with anyone, be it your boss or anyone else,” Kartik said. “While agents can take care of the financial well-being, more than that, the main reason player agents have evolved is to ease players to perform to the best of his abilities on the field.”With the IPL’s growth in popularity, random agents have cropped up in every nook and corner of Indian cricket. “Whether they do anything or not, every player likes to have an agent,” Kartik said. “That makes them [players] feel good about themselves. It’s like a clamour. I would like to have one who will make me feel important.”It is imperative that you have guys with solid background and who are clean so that players can blindly trust them. The players know if these are the recognised player agents and not get entangled with wrong or rotten individuals and bring their own.”Atul Srivastava, founder of Gaames Unlimited, a player management agency that represents 18 Indian cricketers including Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin and Umesh Yadav, hopes the recent announcement will lead to something concrete in order to recognise “player managers as an integral part of a player’s well-being off the field”.”The starting point could be for them (BCCI) to ask for company structure, area of expertise of its founders, that of the team of the agency, balance sheet of the company, statement of accounts of the founders, other businesses the founders are into,” Srivastava said. “This would mean they will know with whom the players are working and interacting on a daily basis. And it’s not just about the owners. It has to filter down to the employees. They are the ones who accompany players virtually everywhere they go.”Srivastava also hoped the BCCI would initiate periodical reviews with player managers to ensure registered agents are maintaining the prescribed standards. “There has to be an annual or a half-yearly review since I would be answerable or accountable to the Indian cricket establishment. Even the Anti-Corruption Unit officials can attend it and share their feedback with us. The tournament committee can perhaps let us know the schedule of the team in advance so that we can plan commercial announcements professionally once we know the likely dates of players being free from cricket.”

It has been some time since you last saw MS Dhoni with jet-black hair. While the greying of hairs around the temples can be masked by cosmetic methods, the more striking sighting is a visibly trimmer, fresher Dhoni. It was the Dhoni you saw during the seven matches he turned out for Jharkhand in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy.Dhoni has relished the mini-breaks he has earned in the past, often speaking of how they have helped heal niggles which would have otherwise developed into more serious injuries. But 2015 was the only year in recent memory where he had a substantial break without any cricket in between. Dhoni played 22 limited-overs games last year – he played 28 international matches, including nine Tests, in 2014 – but the real difference was the three-odd months of downtime after June.”Ideally I should lie so much that I should just talk about how much hard work I have been putting in to look a bit slimmer,” Dhoni began with a Dhoni-esque wisecrack before letting on what he had been up to. “Now with no more Test cricket, it gives me that extra time because what happens is when you are continuously playing cricket what you do is mostly top up your fitness and keep working, but now you can actually look to extend your fitness level.”By “top up”, Dhoni refers to the pastiche of quick fixes and not a comprehensive overhaul, which is what the chunky break afforded him. “You get that break, you know five, 10 or 15 days you can take completely off and slowly you can get into a mould, a routine. I feel that the break has helped me.”Dhoni, by his own admission in the past, has never been big on gym work. That side of him, he said, had changed over time, and that was part of a concerted fitness plan. “You have to do a few changes as you spend more and more time in international cricket,” he said.”I have been doing a bit of planning when it comes to my body and my fitness, but I look slimmer I am not lightweight. I have been 86, 87, 88 [kilograms] for the last 15 years. I have not lost weight. It’s just that I have tried to tone down myself, and I have enjoyed doing it.”He later told ESPNcricinfo that he had spent a lot of time playing “alternate sports”, including badminton, a sport he has always fancied playing.Dhoni said the break had helped him mentally as well when it came to detaching himself from the grind and revisiting his plans. “I feel switching on and switching off is very important in cricket and this break actually gives me ample time to do that. No point switching off for two days and straight away getting back. This break helped me get back into the groove with the one-day domestic tournament.”Looking ahead to the Australia series, Dhoni revisited one of his favourite themes – the need for quality seam-bowling all-rounders. “When it comes to performances at the international level they [other teams] have got good seam-bowling allrounders,” he said. “That is something we are lacking to some extent.”He was, however, happy with the competition in the spin-bowling department between the recalled Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. He reckoned that their batting abilities would eventually determine which one would feature in the playing XI. “You will have different criteria for judging performance when it comes to the players performing outside the subcontinent, and in India because the spinners will get a lot more assistance here.”I think Jadeja has been bowling really well, Ashwin has been our premier spinner irrespective of where we have played. We have two spinning allrounders who are competing for a spot which I feel will be very good for the team. It’s an open opportunity for both of them.”Dhoni typically played down speculations surrounding his retirement, opting to channel his energies towards the immediate challenges of the Australian series and the World T20. “I am somebody who has always believed in the present,” he said. “You won’t get answers regarding the future that’s too far ahead. As of now the Australia series is important and after that once we get in T20 groove we need to move in one direction as to what we need to do as a team so as to have the best chance of winning the WC. So those are the primary concerns as of now.”There are a lot of things you need to think about, and I don’t think this is the right time. All the energy needs to go there. It’s a very important three months and after that we will see what happens.”

The Indian Cricket League may not have identified a stadium where it can host its matches but they have made the first step by finding a ground to conduct their first training camp. Although the exact duration and logistics of the camp have not yet been finalised, has learned that ICL players will practice and train at the ground adjoining the Mayajaal complex on the outskirts of Chennai.Situated on the East Coast Road, about 15 kilometres from the heart of Chennai, on the road that connects Chennai to Pondicherry, the Mayajaal complex, an initiative of the Pentamedia Group, houses an entertainment complex that includes a video-game arcade, a multiplex cinema and a food court, among other things. Some years back a cricket ground was added to the facilities.Highly placed sources within the ICL revealed to that they had firmed up a deal with the Pentamedia group to use the facilities to conduct a training and preparatory camp for their players at the venue. The ground, which is spread over 18 acres, houses three turf wickets, and although the facilities are far from sufficient to host matches of the profile that the ICL proposes, it would be eminently usable for practice and training. It should not escape anyone’s notice that this modest facility – not used by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for any of its activities – was inaugurated in 2003 by Kapil Dev, who now heads the executive board of the ICL.The ground, which is available on rent for corporates to stage their in-house matches, has been used once for serious purposes with India and Australia clashing there in a women’s encounter in December 2004. The last match of a seven-game series was held at the Mayajaal Sports Complex with Australia winning 4-3 although they lost the last game.It is as yet unclear whether the ICL hopes to stage its matches at this ground. What is clear, though, is that the ICL will not be able to host any matches in Mumbai, and most likely all of the West Zone, given the signing of four Pakistani cricketers. In the past the Shiv Sena, a right-wing political party, has ensured that no Pakistan team could play in Mumbai or several other communally sensitive areas bordering the state capital. The last time Pakistan played a Test in Mumbai was in 1979. The last time they played in Mumbai in any ICC-recognised game was in 1989 when they squared-off with Australia in the Nehru Cup.With the Essel Group offering the services of its premises at Essel World on the outskirsts of Mumbai, a ferry ride away from the mainland, to the national football team recently, it has been suggested that they might try and take cricket to the same venue. However, the presence of as many as four Pakistani cricketers – Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammed Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat – has ensured that this is not a viable venue. After all, with the state and central governments unable to provide security guarantees to the Pakistan national team, it’s difficult to see how the ICL can assuage similar fears.

Whereas TV deals are the lifeblood of most countries’ boards, it has emerged that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has not got one in place, even though it only has a little more than two months until it hosts a one-day series in November.The previous five-year deal with ESPN-STARSport expired last April, and a committee was appointed by the BCB to conclude what were expected to be little more than the formalities of a new contract.But a report in the Dhaka-based Daily Star claims that the committee has done little and the BCB has been forced to form a new body to get things moving.”There was a long discussion about the TV deal,” explained Mahbubul Anam, the BCB’s general secretary, at a media conference. “The previous committee actually was not formalised that’s why we formed a new one and we are hopeful that it will work hard to settle the issue as soon as possible, as we have only two months time.””We can assure everybody that the new deal will be a transparent one because we will award the right in open tender. The committee will first appoint a law consultancy firm to negotiate the deal and it will also be appointed in open tender. We don’t want to disclose anything about the deal at the moment.”The man taking the blame for the failure of the old committee to make progress is Reazuddin Al Mamun, the board’s media chief. His name was a notable absentee from the new committee, but Mahbubul was unable to answer questions put to him about the reason for that.”Now everybody is looking forward to see whether the present board under the leadership of Asghar will be able to sign a transparent deal or make a shabby one like the previous one,” concluded the report in the Daily Star.