PCB arbitrator lifts ban on Malik

ISLAMABAD: Shoaib Malik's one-year ban from international cricket is over after the Pakistan Cricket Board arbitrator on Saturday quashed his suspension.

PCB advocate Talib Rizvi said the cricket board had recommended to arbitrator Irfan Qadir to rescind the ban, and he also agreed to halve the fine on the former Pakistan captain to one million rupees ($11,750).

"We (PCB) had watched Malik's attitude and conduct over the last three months and proposed that ban should be lifted," Rizvi told reporters after the hearing.

The PCB initially imposed the suspension and fine for ill-discipline during Pakistan's winless tour of Australia earlier this year.

"Both parties had a reasonable stand, but it's my decision (to lift the ban and reduce the fine)," Qadir said.

Malik is among six players who have filed appeals against the fines and suspensions.

The selectors have already included Malik among 35 probables for next month's Asia Cup and twin test series against Australia and England.

"Malik is now free to be selected in any squad of Pakistan team, but we want the players to follow discipline in future," Rizvi said.

Also on Saturday, Younis Khan's appeal against an indefinite ban was adjourned until June 9 to allow his lawyer Mohammad Ahmed Qayyum more time to consult his client.

Qayyum was not happy after arbitrator did not allow two independent observers to sit in Saturday's hearing.

"It was my client's request that two observers should be allowed to sit in the hearing, but the arbitrator did not allow it.

"I did try to contact Younis but couldn't contact him on telephone."

Qayyum said the proceedings were unnecessarily delayed and Younis was being victimized.

Younis and another former captain Mohammad Yousuf were indefinitely banned by the PCB for an alleged infighting which disturbed the team on the Australian tour.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and his younger brother Umar sent requests to Qadir on Saturday for adjournments in their hearings against fines.

The arbitrator said he wanted to wrap up the hearings of players as quickly as possible.

Afridi was fined three million rupees ($35,200) for ball tampering during the one-day series against Australia. wicketkeeper Akmal was fined three million rupees ($35,200) and his younger brother Umar was handed fine of two million rupees (US$23,500) for ill-discipline.

Srinivasan also altered auction rules, got backdated players'

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan kept mum on whether he would recuse from proceedings against Lalit Modi but lashed out at the suspended IPL commissioner for his "habit of leaking information" to the media.

In a 14-page letter to BCCI president Shashank Manohar, Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Srinivasan, saying the BCCI secretary should not be part of the panel adjudicating charges of financial irregularities against the suspended IPL commissioner.

Asked if he would stay away from the proceedings and oblige Modi, an annoyed Srinivasan said, "I'm afraid I cannot discuss these issues in the media.

"Mr Modi has this habit of leaking information and letters to selected press but I cannot comment on these issues," Srinivasan said over phone.

In his letter, Modi said Manohar too should stay away from the proceedings, since it would "tantamount to being a judge, witness and a potential co-notice" in the case.

Manohar, however, was not available for comments. Charged with allegations of bid-rigging and proxy investment, Modi first sent a staggering 15,000-page reply to the show cause notice served to him and he followed it up with another letter on Tuesday in which he targeted Manohar but came down more heavily on Srinivasan with a series of allegations including that of "match-fixing".

Modi, in fact, requested Manohar to serve a show cause notice to Srinivasan and also suspend him pending an investigation.

Modi alleged Srinivasan has grossly misused his power as BCCI secretary and said there was a clear case of "conflict of interests" since he was also owner of the Chennai Super Kings team in the IPL.

Modi said if allowed to be part of the panel deciding his fate, Srinivasan would have an axe to grind against him.

"This stems from the manner in which I have consistently frustrated and exposed his attempts at misusing his position as Honorary Secretary of the Board so as to confer a wrongful benefit to his team (Chennai Super Kings) at the cost and expense of other teams and the BCCI," Modi said.

Modi accused Srinivasan of trying to "fix" matches by hand-picking a panel of umpires to officiate Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) matches in the IPL.

"This constituted a clear attempt at umpire fixing/match fixing. Upon my coming to know this I objected to the same and removed them in the interest of the League," Modi said.

Srinivasan also pushed "tailor-made policies" to suit CSK's interest, Modi alleged.

According to Modi, Srinivasan ignored his objection and pushed for the proposal that would allow IPL teams retain seven players -- four Indians and three foreigners.

"The only reason for doing so was to ensure that Chennai Super Kings retained its players," Modi said.

The BCCI Secretary allowed a bank guaranty given by a broadcaster to lapse and tried to scuttle Mumbai Indians' signing of West Indian player Kieron Pollard, Modi alleged.

Srinivasan also altered auction rules, got backdated players' contract accepted and cancelled a player's contract to ensure that CSK retained their full purse of $2 million for players' auction, alleged Modi.

"I have consistently pointed out that the Honorary Secretary's wearing of two hats (administrator and team owner) had placed him in a clear conflict of interest position, which he had misused and exploited," Modi wrote.

"Since I have been opposed to this manner of functioning from the very inception, it is obvious that to protect his position, the Honorary Secretary has good reason not just to defame me but also to find me guilty of these imaginary wrongdoings alleged in the show cause notice," Modi added.

Hockey India's claims meaningless, says KPS Gill

NEW DELHI: KPS Gill, president of the court-reinstated Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), Sunday trained his guns at Hockey India (HI) after the ad hoc body decided to go ahead with the election, and said whatever the HI does after the Delhi High Court order is "meaningless."

HI secretary general Narendra Batra, who Saturday said that the court judgement would not in anyway affect HI's existence, reiterated his stand in a statement Sunday that the IHF was disaffiliated by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in 2000.

Gill, disagreeing with Batra, said the IHF was never disaffiliated by the international body.

"It is completely wrong. The IHF was never disaffiliated by the FIH, only its name was changed to Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC)," Gill said on Sunday.

Asked about HI getting ready to hold the election, Gill said: "Whatever they do is meaningless because there is something called the law of the land and it applies to everyone."

"I am told that there are a number of court cases against HI across the country. They have also been de-recognised by the government."

"Let us see what steps they take. We will do whatever is required," Gill said when asked whether the IHF would take legal course if the HI went ahead with the election.

Batra had said on Saturday that decks have been cleared for HI election in June or early July and the election notice will be issued in four-five days.

He said the Delhi High Court's order to reinstate the IHF does not affect the functioning of the HI.

"IHF was disaffiliated by the FIH in 2000 and the IHC was formed consisting of both men and women units. This was necessary since the FIH had made it clear that if both units are not merged as per the IOC Charter, India would not be allowed to participate in international events," Batra said.

"The IHC was disaffiliated by the FIH in 2008 and the HI took over from the IHC in 2009. As of today it is only the HI which has the affiliation of the IOA, AHF and FIH," Batra said.

"The court order has no bearing on HI status as it is recognised by the FIH after it disaffiliated the IHF," Batra added.

"The judgment deals with the fact that while suspending/ disaffiliating the IHF, the IOA and the sports ministry did not follow the course of natural justice. This issue can be best clarified by the IOA and the sports ministry as to how they plan to follow the course of natural justice again."

Nadal, Henin return to favourite stomping ground in Paris

Rafael Nadal will seek to erase his shock fourth-round exit last year from the memory banks when the mighty Mallorcan makes his tournament bow at the French Open on Tuesday.

World number two Nadal, who won in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid in the weeks leading up to the year's second slam, will be third on Court Suzanne Lenglen against French wildcard Gianni Mina, who reached the final in the boys tournament last year.

The French crowd will also be treated to another four-time champion when Belgian Justine Henin, back after 20 months in retirement, returns to Court Philippe Chatrier three years after her last title.

Dubbed the Queen of Roland Garros in her heyday, the 22nd seed will open proceedings against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova as storms are expected in the French capital after a couple of searingly hot days.

Former world number one Dinara Safina, finalist last year, will be on Lenglen as the Russian starts her campaign against Japan's Kimiko Date Krumm, who is four months short of her 40th birthday and made her debut here some 21 years ago.

Maria Sharapova, another former world number one, will be up against fellow Russian Ksenia Pervak as she chases the only grand slam to have eluded her, three days after winning the warmup event in Strasbourg.

Spain's Fernando Verdasco can expect a wary reception from the locals in his first-round match against Russian Igor Kunitsyn after waving ironically at the crowd in the Nice final he lost to home favourite Richard Gasquet on Saturday.

Ronaldinho, Adriano out of Brazil's initial squad

SAO PAULO: Ronaldinho, Adriano and Neymar have been left out of Brazil's preliminary World Cup squad.

Coach Dunga announced 23 players and will later on Tuesday include seven more to complete the squad. Ronaldinho, Adriano and Neymar may be among the seven chosen, but would only be on standby in case of injuries.

Kaka, Robinho, Maicon and Julio Cesar were picked in the squad, but three-time FIFA world player of the year Ronaldo and veteran left back Roberto Carlos were not included as expected.

Dunga is sticking to most of the players who helped Brazil win last year's Confederations Cup and finish top of South American World Cup qualifying.

"These players are winners," Dunga said. "There is no doubt that they are prepared to help Brazil reach its goal. They are ready to give their best for the country."

One of the biggest surprises was the absence of Adriano, who had been constantly called up by Dunga in recent matches. But there had been doubts because of recent off-the-field problems that caused him to miss several training sessions with Flamengo.

"We gave Adriano numerous chances," Dunga said. "But it came to a time when we had to make a decision."

Wolfsburg's Grafite was called up to take Adriano's place. Ronaldinho, a two-time FIFA world player of the year, hadn't been called up for the national team since April 2009, but had been playing reasonably well this season with AC Milan and many wanted him to be included in the squad.

Brazilian fans and local media had also been pushing for Dunga to summon Santos young sensations Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso, who have been among the hottest players in Brazilian football this year.

The 18-year-old striker Neymar has dazzled fans with his speed and balls skills, being called by many as the new Robinho. The 20-year-old Ganso, or Goose in Portuguese, attracted attention for his maturity and ability as a playmaker. Along with Robinho, they led Santos to more than 100 goals in some 30 matches this year.

"Some players are extremely talented, but we have to test them before taking them to a World Cup," Dunga said. "Maybe they are ready to play in a World Cup now, but maybe they are not."

None have been called up to the senior team so far. More than 500 Brazilian and international journalists were accredited for the announcement of Dunga's list in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil squad:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Gomes (Tottenham), Doni (AS Roma, Italy).

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Michel Bastos (Lyon), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (AS Roma), Luisao (Benfica), Thiago Silva (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Elano (Galatasaray), Kaka (Real Madrid), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (Wolfsburg), Ramires (Benfica), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Kleberson (Flamengo), Julio Baptista (AS Roma).

Forwards: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nilmar (Villarreal), Robinho (Santos), Grafite (Wolfsburg).

Modi gets four evidences of 'wrongdoings' from BCCI

MUMBAI: Suspended IPL commissioner Lalit Modi on Tuesday received four documentary 'proofs' of his alleged wrongdoings from the BCCI, which said it could not offer other evidences since those were of verbal nature.

Modi's lawyer Mehmood S Abdi told reporters after receiving the documents from the BCCI headquarters that out of 10 references in the show-cause notice, for which the suspended IPL chief wanted documentary proof, only four were given while the rest, it has been told, were by nature of oral communications only.

"We had asked for some documents from the board. We needed documentary support for at least 10 references made in the show-cause notice out of which four have been provided to us today," Abdi said.

"Board secretary (N Srinivasan) has written in an email to Mr. Modi that other references made in the show-cause notice for which we wanted documentary support were oral transactions or verbal communications and there is no documentary proof for those," Modi's counsel said.

Modi had asked for documents from the BCCI for mounting his defense against the first show-cause notice that has charged him with financial irregularities and bid-rigging in IPL.

Abdi said the four documents handed over to him included an agreement, two letters, one email and a copy of shareholding pattern of an IPL franchisee.

It was learned that the letters and emails pertained to Nimbus communications who are the BCCI's broadcast right holders for international and domestic cricket organised in India.

Abdi also said that Modi, on his part, had handed over all the documents that were asked for by the BCCI following the voluminous second lot that he had delivered to the board on Monday.

"So far they have not asked for anything more. In fact only last evening I had given them the second lot of documents which, from our side, is full and final. Still if the BCCI want anything more from us we are ready to give," he said.

Modi, who was suspended by the BCCI on April 26, has been given an extra five days by the BCCI to reply to the charges that includes alleged irregularities in broadcast and internet deals.

The new deadline for Modi is May 15. Queried about Modi's future course, Abdi said, "Let's go through the documents what we have got right now and then we will decide. As of now, yes, we are ready to file by 15th."

"This development has given a very interesting twist to the story. This much I can say," he added.

Viswanathan Anand wins World Chess Championship

CHENNAI: The pressure should have been on world champion Viswanathan Anand. But in fact, it was challenger Veselin Topalov who showed nerves in the decisive game of the World Chess Championship duel to hand over the world champion the most important victory he needed to protect his title on Tuesday.

Game 12 proved to be the Game of Death and so the contest was decided in favour of Anand, who won 6.5-5.5 with a 60-move win over the Bulgarian in Sofia. Anand's victory was worth one million euros (around Rs 6.8 crore).

Game 12 looked destined to end in a draw from the start but Topalov, eager to seal his first match victory in his career, took risks with white pieces and lost in 56 moves. This was Anand's second consecutive World Championship victory in match format after he demolished Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in Bonn two years ago.

There is a saying in chess that if black is hell bent on going for a draw (of course, in top-flight competition), there is nothing white can do about it. The Bulgarian found a determined black in Anand, who was solid as a rock in defence. A draw was looming ever since Anand made his second move going for the extra-solid Queen's Gambit Declined, which has hundreds of lines analysed deep into the endgames.

But there was a dramatic turnaround in around move 30 when Topalov stretched the position by going all out.

With black, Anand did not want to do anything special, except bore Topalov to death. The Bulgarian, known for his attacking chess and also for scoring points in the last rounds when it mattered the most, tried to break through the Lasker Defence put up by Anand, a line that has been played time and again for a century. Expectedly, the players reeled off the first moves quite fast and then on move 16, Anand followed a road less travelled by posting the knight in the sixth rank. It was time for Topalov to take a break and analyse the position. Whether it surprised him or not, it was clear that Topalov was not completely comfortable with his preparation anymore.

After move 18, it was almost an endgame: just the Queen, rooks and knight versus bishop with six pawns each. It looked a draw but Topalov had other ideas. He started chasing the white bishop and got himself into a mess. Around the first time control, Anand got a good counter-attack with his Queen and rook chasing away the white King to a corner and in the process, Topalov had to give his Queen for Anand's rook and bishop.

Anand had already achieved what he wanted and the rest was a matter of technique. The Queen was deadly and by move 56, Anand was about to win a piece. Topalov gave up and shook hands.