GANGUlY TO COMMENTATE IN CT
Dubai: Acclaimed international captains including India's Sourav Ganguly and Australia's Ricky Ponting are a part of a stellar line-up of commentators named by the ICC for the upcoming Champions Trophy scheduled between June 1-18. Some of the other former captains in the line-up include Brendon McCullum of New Zealand, Kumar Sangakkara of Sri lanka and Graeme Smith of South Africa — all of whom will be making their ICC TV debut. Shane Warne, Michael Slater, Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton, Shaun Pollock, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ian Bishop, Ramiz Raja, Simon Doull and Athar Ali Khan complete the list.
PRIZE MONEY DOUBlED FOR OZ SERIES WIN
New Delhi: The BCCI, at its Special General Meeting on Tuesday, has decided to double the incentive of the Indian cricket team from `50 lakh to `1 crore for their 2 -1 series win against Australia at home. The decision was taken reversing the COA's decision of paying Indian team members `50 lakh for the Test series triumph on a pro-rata basis (as per no of matches played). "The BCCI SGM today passed unanimous resolution that players who were a part of Australia series win should get double the incentive. Hence they will now be paid `1 crore instead of `50 lakh," a state unit functionary told PTI after attending the meeting. The decision to double the incentive was also a message to the COA that any decision on financial incentive would be taken by the general body.
INDIA U-17 TEAM lOSE AGAINST SETUBAl
New Delhi: India U-17 World Cup team lost 1 -2 to Portugal's Vitoria de Setubal U-17 in their first practice match of the exposure trip at the Jose Mourinho Training Center in Troia, lisbon on Tuesday. Setubal U-17 could take the lead only in the 38th minute after Bruno Ventura scored from a penalty kick that was awarded for a reckless Indian tackle inside the box. The Indians finally managed to equalise in the 67th minute with Aniket successfully scoring from the penalty spot this time around. India tried to take the lead but could not find the net, even as Setubal U-17 struck in the 85th minute to seal off the match in their favour.
MRIDUl NAMED EAST BENGAl COACH
Kolkata: Santosh Trophy-winning Bengal coach Mridul Banerjee was on Tuesday appointed East Bengal coach less than 12 hours after Trevor Morgan stepped down following the team's I-league debacle. The AFC-A license-holder was preferred over former Goan manager Armando Colaco, who was tipped to return to the red and gold camp on Monday evening. The 56-year-old recently coached Bengal to a record 32nd title in the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship stunning Goa in Goa.