Parnell among ‘wanted accused’
Mumbai: The charge-sheet submitted by police in connection with the May 2012 Juhu rave party case shows South African cricketer Wayne Parnell among the “wanted accused”. Police had raided a hotel in the posh Juhu area of Mumbai where the rave party with drugs and alcohol flowing freely was going on. As many as 86 people, mostly youth, and around two dozen foreigners were rounded up.
A majority of the foreigners had left the country after their medical tests were carried out. Many are now named as “wanted accused” in the case. The other accused in the case include Indian cricketer Rahul Sharma, and actor-couple Apoorva and Shilpa Agnihotri, in the charge-sheet submitted by the police last fortnight to the Special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court.
Somdev humbled by Djokovic
Miami: Fighting a far superior opponent, Somdev Devvarman suffered a straight sets defeat against world number one Novak Djokovic to bow out of the ATP Miami Masters, here. Top seed and defending champion Djokovic took 28 of his 31 first serve points in his 6-2, 6-4 win in the third round. Somdev won 17 of his 28 first serve points in his one hour and eight minute battle. Somdev earned a break choice in the second set but Djokovic saved that without any problem. Disappointment was in store for India in the doubles event also as leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi crashed out with their respective partners. Bopanna is now the only Indian surviving in the men’s doubles with Rajeev Ram. The unseeded Indo-American duo is up against second seeds Spaniards lopez Marc and Granollers Marcel.
row over Batra in Working Group
New Delhi: India’s Olympians have launched a strong protest against the inclusion of the Hockey India secretary general, Narinder Batra, in the 12-member Working Group that the Sports Ministry has constituted for re-drafting the National Sports Development Bill. In order to bring about transparency and good governance in the National Sports Federations, the Sports Ministry last week had decided to establish a group under the chairmanship of Justice Mukul Mudgal to prepare a revised draft of the bill, which was initially drafted in 2011. In a letter to the Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, as many as 22 Olympians expressed their concerns about the nomination of Batra in the committee. The Olympians, including Padma Shri awardees Mohammad Shahid and V Bhaskaran, questioned Batra’s inclusion in the committee despite the fact that the affiliation of HI was under dispute at the Indian Olympic Association and FIH (International Hockey Federation).
India maintain top spot in ODis
New Delhi: Team India maintained their top position in the latest ICC ODI ranking list with 119 points followed by England and Australia. According to the fresh list issued on Monday, India is closely followed by England on 117 points and Australia are third on 116 points. Since India top the table as per cut-off date, they will receive the shield and will collect a cheque of $175,000, while England will receive $75,000 for finishing second. Rising star Virat Kohli and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni maintained their third and fourth rank in the list with 812 and 784 points respectively. South African batsmen AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla are first and second on the list. In the ODI bowlers’ list, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja moved two slots up the order to grab the seventh place with 663 points. The table is headed by Pakistan’s off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.
Chandhok to race in FIA GT Series
New Delhi: Indian racer Karun Chandhok will now ply his trade in FIA GT Series as he sealed a last-minute deal with Seyffarth Racing. The former Formula One driver will be joined in the car by Jan Seyffarth who has been competing in the German GT series for his family-run team. The newly reformed FIA GT Series is promoted by the Stephane Ratel Organisation and will include six rounds, with the first race taking place in Nogaro, France on April 1. Chandhok will join Ricardo Zonta as the only two former F1 driver’s on the grid, alongside nine-time rally champion Sebastien loeb.
Snakes found after I-league match
Kolkata: Mohun Bagan had some unlikely ‘supporters’ during their I-league match against Pailan Arrows at the Kalyani Stadium on Sunday: around half a dozen poisonous snakes. The snakes were seen on the field after Mohun Bagan’s 3-2 win and fortunately the snakes were put aside by the local authorities before it could cause a panic. Blame it on the searing heat, about 10-15 snakes had emerged out of their pits as they roamed around freely near the dressing room staircase and on the field before the creatures were caught and put aside.
Keeping fingers crossed: Clarke
Sydney: Recuperating from a back problem, Australia skipper Michael Clarke kept his “fingers crossed” as far as participation in the upcoming IPl is concerned, and said he would “do as I’m told” by the medical staff in deciding whether or not to play in the cash-rich T20 league. “I’d be silly to make that decision (on the IPl) right now, I think I need to wait on the results, listen to the experts and then make a plan from there,” Clarke said on landing here from India, where his team was whitewashed in the four-match Test series. “I’ll have scans this week and spend plenty of time with the physio, fingers crossed it turns out okay. Sitting down for 12 hours has made it a little bit stiff, but I’m really confident that I’m in good hands with my physio here in Sydney.”
incentives for outright winsIJ
New Delhi: The BCCI technical committee under the chairmanship of former India captain Anil Kumble has discussed the possibility of introducing monetary incentives for teams that put in an extra effort to register outright wins in Ranji Trophy. The technical committee met in Mumbai last Friday to discuss domestic cricket and the Ranji Trophy format. The members agreed that most teams playing for first- innings lead opt to take the safer route making the four-day matches drab. “Punjab and UP had four outright wins and champions Mumbai had only one outright win in first eight games. We’re looking at options which can encourage teams to go for the maximum. The committee is mulling on ideas to introduce monetary incentives for states which record maximum number of outright wins,” a member said.
PNS/Agencies