Shukla, Bindra quizzed
New Delhi: The IPl Probe Committee headed by Justice (Retd) Mukul Mudgal has interacted with BCCI vice-president and union minister Rajeev Shukla, BJP heavyweight and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley along with former BCCI president IS Bindra. Another person with whom the committee interacted was lawyer Rahul Mehra. The interactions with the following people took place on January 4th and 6th. According to a media release issued by the BCCI, the IPl Probe Committee will next head to Kolkata where they would conduct the probe on January 16 and 17 followed by probe in Bangalore on January 18 and 19. When Bindra was contacted, he refused to divulge any information about his interactions with the committee. “I can’t say anything as this is a judicial probe going on and the findings will be submitted to the Supreme Court,” Bindra said.
Balance T20 & Tests: Jaffer
Mumbai: Veteran batsman Wasim Jaffer on Monday asked the youngsters to strike a right balance between Twenty20 cricket and the traditional formats of the game for reaping rewards. “If you ask any cricketer, the hardest form is Test cricket because there are no short-cuts. The shorter the game gets, it gets a lot easier. That is probably one thing. “I won’t say it’s a concern because players get rewarded financially, but at the same time they need to find the balance. They need to keep the hunger to play Test cricket,” Jaffer said here at a media conference organised by his employers, Indian Oil Corporation. The seasoned and prolific Mumbai batsman observed that most of the younger players did not look keen to bat the entire day or bowl a lot of overs, which are essential to succeed in first class cricket, post the success of the Indian Premier T20 league. “A lot of youngsters are playing T20 cricket. The IPl obviously is kind of a short-cut route. When you play first class cricket, you play four days of hard cricket. Not many bowlers want to bowl 25 overs in a day or the batsmen probably don’t have the temperament to bat the whole day or have the patience to bat the whole day. But in IPl, the shorter the game, the easier it is,” he said.
I need some time to get fit: Manoj
New Delhi/Kolkata: Recuperating from a knee surgery, Manoj Tiwary, who wanted to play the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Railways, will have to wait for some more time before he gets 100 percent match-fit. Tiwary was named as a 17th member in the squad, won’t be available for Bengal’s quarterfinal against Railways here from January 8-12. “The physio here told me that I need to have atleast four to five running sessions which will be an indicator of how much strength has returned in my knees. Today, there wasn’t any fitness test but only fitness assessment. As of now I am not available for the quarter-final. I will only make a comeback when I am fully match-fit,” Tiwary said.
Watson feels vindicated
Sydney: Australia allrounder Shane Watson says the 5-0 Ashes clean sweep against England and the team’s sharp improvement under coach Darren lehmann had vindicated his own opposition to the methods of previous coach Mickey Arthur. Watson had well-publicized issues with Arthur and said on Monday that international cricket had become fun again since lehmann took charge last year. “Personally it makes it more sweet,” Watson said. “To know that there were times when I knew I had to stand strong with my beliefs. “I certainly would never take back how I stood and voiced my opinions at certain times. It makes it all worthwhile.”