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Zaheer Khan’s long-term coach, Sudhir Naik, is not very optimistic about the pacer making a comeback for India

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2014Zaheer Khan’s long-term coach, Sudhir Naik, is not very optimistic about the pacer making a comeback for India. Speaking to following Zaheer’s exclusion from the India squad for the England Tests, Naik said he does not think the selectors will consider him for national duty in future.Zaheer had injured his back while playing in the IPL for Mumbai Indians. Following a visit to London for treatment, he is now back home, in Mumbai.His only chance of being recalled, Naik said, was if the group of younger bowlers selected for the England tour failed “miserably”. “I don’t think the selectors will consider Zaheer again. It will be very, very difficult for Zaheer to make a comeback into the Indian team,” Naik said. “The only possibility is if the younger lot of pace bowlers selected fail miserably. Then, the selectors might consider Zaheer again. Otherwise, there is no chance.”The BCCI had not specified why Zaheer had been left out of the 18-man squad that included six pacers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron and Pankaj Singh – whether it was due to his injury or whether he had been dropped. Naik said in his opinion it was because of doubts over whether Zaheer could last the duration of the five-Test series.”Although he would be fit for the Test series, the selectors would not like to take a risk with Zaheer’s fitness,” he said. “Their major concern would have been whether he could last for the full series. So, that is why they did not select him.”Zaheer, 35, is currently fourth on India’s wicket charts, with 311 scalps from 92 matches. The previous time India went to England, in 2011, Zaheer’s hamstring gave way on the first day of the first Test, and that set the tone for a disastrous series for the visitors. Thereafter his fitness remained a talking point and his form fell away, culminating in him being dropped during the home Tests against England in December 2012.In his time away from the national team, he underwent rigorous fitness training in France with Yuvraj Singh, and returned looking in much better shape. He was recalled for the South Africa tour in December last year. In the New Zealand series that followed, he further dispelled the worries over his fitness when he bowled extended spells – 107 overs over two Tests. However, the latest injury will not be easily overcome, Naik said.”His dream was to complete 100 Tests and then retire. But I guess now that will not happen. I was confident that he could achieve his goal when he returned to full fitness after a nearly one-year injury lay-off. But unfortunately, this injury has practically ended his international career. There are only 25% chances of him making a comeback now.”

Yorkshire’s captain Andrew Gale has become the first county cricketer to be accused of a racism offence after he was charged on Wednesday by the England & Wales Cricket Board for a disparaging use of the term ‘Kolpak’

David Hopps17-Sep-2014Yorkshire’s captain Andrew Gale has become the first county cricketer to be accused of a racism offence after he was charged on Wednesday by the ECB for a confrontation with Ashwell Prince in the Roses match which included a rejoinder to return to his own country, followed by a disparaging use of the term “Kolpak”.ESPNcricinfo revealed that the Kolpak term was part of the issue under investigation by the ECB hours after Gale was barred from collecting the Championship trophy on Yorkshire’s behalf following their clinching of the title with victory against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.Now the has confirmed that the ECB intends to press ahead with the charge in defiance of Yorkshire’s fury that their captain’s reputation has been tainted.The ECB’s charge will be that Gale used abusive language with racist connotations when the case the governing body laid itself is heard by its own disciplinary committee.The Kolpak insult

Andrew Gale referred to Ashwell Prince disparagingly as a Kolpak – the catch-all term for a player in English domestic cricket who qualifies by virtue of EU free-trade agreements with third-party countries, a qualification that has since been tightened to include goods and services but exclude people.

Gale has been found guilty of a Level 2 offence but a Level 3 offence (at least) will now be lodged. The difference is perceived racism.

Level 2 offence: Using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or of a seriously insulting nature to another player, umpire, referee, team official or spectator.

Level 3 offence: Using language or gesture that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion or belief, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation or background.

Yorkshire are assembling a legal team to contest the charge, which has left relationships between the county and the ECB – historically, often shaky – at their lowest levels for years and soured celebrations of their first Championship title for 13 yearsThe hearing could take place next week with Gale anticipating a Level 3 charge.Gale’s outburst came against Prince, Lancashire’s South African batsman, who qualifies to play domestic cricket by virtue of the Kolpak rule, on the third evening of the Roses match on September 3.Gale had become increasingly incensed at OId Trafford by Prince’s sledging and timewasting as Yorkshire pushed for victory. As tempers flared, Prince told Gale to get back to his fielding position, Gale’s rejoinder to Prince was that he should get back to his own country and included a reference to Prince’s Kolpak status. There was a dose of bad language on both sides.The umpires brought a Level 2 charge and Gale was suspended for two matches but the ECB was not satisfied that the affair had been sternly enough dealt with. The night before Yorkshire won the Championship at Trent Bridge, they were instructed that Gale should have no part in the trophy presentation ceremony as further charges could be laid.Prince’s immediate on-field gesticulations indicated that he viewed the outburst as having racist overtones, and as a Cape Coloured South African immersed in South Africa’s apartheid history, his response was perhaps not altogether surprising. But there are no indications that Prince himself has pressed for the matter to be taken further.Yorkshire will contend that there is no country, nor racial origin for Kolpaks – it is simply a descriptive term for those players from many countries who are able to play in county cricket because of reciprocal EU trade agreements – and it therefore cannot be construed as racist.The ECB itself has lobbied hard against Kolpak registrations, with some success, and some senior officials have not always referred to their presence in county cricket in a decorous manner. They, though, are not on trial.Gale’s rejoinder to Prince that he should “eff off home” will also have lawyers thumbing through the Race Relations Act and the Equality Act to decide whether, in such a context, that constitutes racism or merely the sort of all-too-common abuse, perhaps tinged with xenophobia, that has already been punished by a two-match ban?The ECB, led by the chairman Giles Clarke, is adamant that its task is to uphold behavioural standards in the game. No right-thinking person would question the general view that removing the scourge of racism from cricket is a noble aim.Whether Gale’s outburst can be fairly regarded in that vein will be fought out by the lawyers. But whether this case – unusual to say the least – is an appropriate occasion on which to make a stand on such a sensitive and important issue, an issue where reputations can be damaged for life, is a wider debate altogether.

The Portuguese is fighting for his future at the moment but not everybody is convinced he should go, with arguments to be considered on both sides

Barely a single word was uttered on Valencia on Monday as Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was instead left to field countless questions about his future and the demeanour of his squad ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with the Spanish outfit at Old Trafford.

Saturday's 3-1 defeat to West Ham increased the pressure on the under-fire Portuguese, with United slipping to 10th place in the Premier League table after a shambolic showing in the capital.

But while some have claimed that Zinedine Zidane has been lined up as a potential replacement, Mourinho remains in the job for now as the Red Devils look to fight their way out of a full-blown crisis.

Is now the right time to pull the trigger, or does Mourinho deserve more time? Goal runs through the reasons why United should sack him and those why he should be saved.

Getty1SAVE HIM: The costly pay-off

Even if a consensus is reached that firing Mourinho is the right thing to do given the context, the Portuguese’s exit is set to cost Manchester United a huge amount of money. With the best part of two years left on his Old Trafford deal and a club option for a further 12 months, the manager stands to gain a further £33 million during his United stay thanks to his £12m agreement.

It is believed that there is a clause in his deal though which would allow the club to pay him a £12m settlement should they decide to sack him before the end of the 2019-20 season, cutting between £9m and £21m off their total expected outlay.

But that would mean the club having to fork out £12m to pay off Mourinho even before considering the cost of taking on a new manager’s salary and signing-on bonuses, which would make it one almighty outlay for the miserly Ed Woodward to countenance.AdvertisementGetty2SAVE HIM: This is hardly a surprise to United

What exactly did United expect they were going to get when they appointed Mourinho in 2016? They sacked Louis van Gaal within 48 hours of winning the FA Cup because they wanted the closest thing they could find to guaranteed success at whatever cost.

They knew what Mourinho had got up to in the past, but they bought into it. They knew he’d demand costly changes to the squad to get them competing, but they bought into it. They knew they risked alienating those fans who want more than anything to see flowing football, but they bought into it.

Changing now would abandon yet another strategy – a third different vision in little over five years – and the need to develop a new one could be further damaging to a club which is desperately looking to pick a direction and stick to it.GETTY3SAVE HIM: Can a successor be expected to make a huge difference?

Which brings us to the replacement. United should only sack Mourinho if they are certain they can bring in an upgrade, and that is not necessarily the case right now. Of course, Zinedine Zidane’s name has been widely linked and Mourinho was even asked on Monday whether the Frenchman had called to say he was not after the United job.

But while Zidane comes with a pedigree having won three straight Champions Leagues, he took the job at Real Madrid with a squad of superstars already waiting for him. At United he would have a promising first XI but not too much else beyond that, leaving him with a far different proposition than the one which saw him achieve unprecedented success at the Santiago Bernabeu.

United were keen on Mauricio Pochettino before selecting Mourinho in 2016 and the Tottenham boss would be a fair target come next summer. But an immediate change in boss could rule out the Argentine, and the chance to make a considered appointment of a man who puts football first might be spurned as a result.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty4SAVE HIM: Mourinho is not the start and end of United's problems

While there is a clear issue with Mourinho, it is not United’s only area of concern right now… not by a long chalk. Bringing in a new manager will not do anything to resolve the fact that the Glazers’ takeover continues to cost the club around 80 per cent of its operating profit. It will also not address the fact that there is a serious lack of football-savvy decision-makers knocking around the club and executive vice-chair Ed Woodward gives the impression of a man out of his depth in the transfer arena.

And similarly a change of regime will not automatically fill the gaps in United’s anaemic squad, nor will it bring the bigger names into line without the perfect appointment being made upon Mourinho’s exit. The manager has fought for more care to be placed into the upkeep of the playing staff but the board have not been willing to do that, so why wouldn’t more of the same be in store for the next incumbent without greater support from the boardroom?

Charlotte Edwards scored 80, and Danielle Hazell and Natalie Sciver shared six wickets to help England Women rout Bangladesh Women by 79 runs, boosting their net run-rate and enhancing their semi-final chances

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2014
ScorecardBangladesh had England three down early, before Charlotte Edwards took the match away from them•ICCA 69-ball 80 from Charlotte Edwards and six wickets shared between offspinner Danielle Hazell and pacer Natalie Sciver helped England Women rout Bangladesh Women by 79 runs, boosting their run rate and enhancing their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals. The loss, their second in as many games, means Bangladesh are languishing at the bottom of Group B.England won the toss and opted to bat but suffered a few jolts early on when Sarah Taylor, Tammy Beaumont and Lydia Greenway were dismissed for single-digit scores. Edwards and Sciver then shared a 50-run fourth-wicket partnership to boost a flagging scoring rate and push England’s total to a competitive 137 for 5.Bangladesh were insipid in response, tied down by a miserly Hazell, who conceded only four runs in four overs for three wickets. Their top and middle order ate up deliveries without contributing too many runs to the score, reflected in a run rate of 2.90 at the end of their innings. After Hazell removed the top order in three of her first four overs, Sciver routed Bangladesh’s middle and lower order, finishing with 3 for 10. England’s dominance with the ball was evident in the fact that only three Bangladesh batsmen made double-digit scores.

Mumbai Indians have signed up the right-arm seamer Praveen Kumar as their replacement for the injured Zaheer Khan

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2014Mumbai Indians have signed the right-arm seamer Praveen Kumar as their replacement for the injured Zaheer Khan, who played six games before he was ruled out for the rest of the season because of a side strain (left latissimus dorsi muscle).Praveen will be available for Mumbai’s next game against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.Praveen went unsold in the auction in February. He was a regular for Kings XI Punjab in the 2013 IPL, taking 12 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 6.62. He picked eight wickets in six games for Uttar Pradesh in the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before the IPL. He last played for India in a T20 against South Africa in 2012.Since his exclusion from the Indian team, Praveen has struggled with fitness and disciplinary issues. He couldn’t play a full domestic first-class season in 2012-13 due to injury and his comeback was marred by a suspension, earned by an angry outburst against a player during a Corporate Trophy match in February 2013. Following a full season with Kings XI in 2013, injuries kept him out of the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy.Praveen, who was a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008 to 2010, moved to Kings XI Punjab in 2011.

India born Ish Sodhi is looking forward to the challenge of bowling against India, who are fine players of spin

Abhishek Purohit in Auckland04-Feb-2014Ish Sodhi was born in India and spent his childhood years in the country before migrating with his parents to New Zealand. He could be playing his first match against the Indians at Eden Park in two days’ time, and his parents could be watching from the stands. While he feels that will be a special moment, he makes it clear it means a lot to be able to represent New Zealand. Sodhi is only 21, and says it will be his hardest challenge so far to bowl to the Indians, who are such fine players of spin.”First and foremost the main thing is I might get a chance to play for my country and that is the biggest thing for me,” Sodhi said. “And any chance to play India, obviously I was born there (Ludhiana) and it is special being able to play against India because I have a massive Indian heritage. But I am playing against the best players in the world. That is the big thing to come out of it. The players are also very good players of spin. In general Indian batsmen do come hard at spin. It is quite exciting. Emotion is always going to be there.”It is a very big challenge. Obviously you want to be playing against the best in the world and you want to be challenged, and that is the way you find yourself as a cricketer and a person. Also as a person you put yourself in tough situations. Playing at Eden Park is also special to me.”Sodhi grew up idolizing Anil Kumble and has recently spent some time talking legspin with Shane Warne. He said the biggest takeaway from the meeting was Warne’s ability to focus. “As a child you always like to copy bowlers, you try to be Shane Warne, you try to be Anil Kumble. He was my hero growing up. But it is different because you get to a point where you sort of tell yourself ‘I can’t be like Anil Kumble, I can’t be Shane Warne because I’m not built the same way, my mind doesn’t work the same way’. So I have to take into account the bigger things they do and sort of make them the best I can make them with the ability that I have.”The biggest thing for me was that he (Warne) was so balanced about the approach to the game. Whether that be, inside the cricket field or outside the cricket field. He was never really clouding his mind with too many thoughts. But when he did bowl everything he took into account how he was going to bowl that day. That was massive to me, kind of relaxed. You are not the only person under pressure.”As a young bowler, advice comes from all corners, and Sodhi said one had to learn how to filter out the useful bits, although he would keep talking to people who were close to him. “A lot of people do offer you advice, and the way you use that advice is up to you really. Some stuff is really good and some is not helpful. But being young you sort of listen and depending on how tough you are you sort of list things you should and shouldn’t do. That is how I am learning as I grow. As I say I am still young and I have quite a lot to learn before I can feel like a whole package.”I have spoken to a few people like Daniel Vettori, we have spoken a few times about it but not in too much detail. In the next two days I will have a few conversations. Otherwise a lot of people in this team have played a lot of cricket and I will be able to pick their brains.”Sodhi goes into the Tests on the back of a five-wicket haul for Northern Districts against Canterbury. While he said his rhythm was good, he admitted he would have to perform a defensive role as well, especially in the first innings. “(With) legspin you see yourself as an attacking weapon. But I think there are going to be times in the Test series there will be the holding job and I might have to do that. It will be the pace bowlers in the first innings and if it does spin later in the second innings then I might have to (attack). It is about adjusting between those two modes.”

Ever since he blitzed the fastest ODI hundred, Corey Anderson has had to face constant questions about the price he expects to fetch at the IPL auction. While admitting it’s been hard to keep his mind off the auction, he says he’s excited about it

Abhishek Purohit10-Feb-2014It was all Corey Anderson’s fault. He blitzed the fastest ODI hundred weeks before the IPL auction, and since then, no one’s stopped asking him how much he thinks he’ll be bought for on February 12. Not only him, the 23-year old’s team-mates have also been asked the same question about him in press conferences on this India tour. The series has moved on from the ODIs to the Tests, but the question hasn’t gone away. The man himself knows there is no getting away from it; he has generated so much attention. He is trying to stay in the moment, and wants to achieve plenty across formats in his career, but admits it is hard not to think about the auction.”Can’t say I am ignoring it, the way it keeps coming up,” Anderson said. “Some stage you are going to yield to it. I am excited about it.”I haven’t been in it before and haven’t experienced it. I am looking forward to it. I don’t know what it’s all going to be about. When it happens I don’t know what it’s going to feel like. It’s just one of those things. Goes on in the background. Being going on for a wee while. I just have to deal with it.”While saying he was focused on the “red-ball stuff” for now, Anderson admitted he would be watching the auction, but said he would skip the part when his name comes up. “Luckily enough it’s between the Tests.”So yes there’s been a bit of talk between the boys to watch the auction over dinner and stuff but I don’t want to watch my one. Rather watch the others. It will be quite exciting.”Anderson does not have a particular franchise he would like to be part of but says it will be a “cool” experience playing in India. “I still don’t know if I am going,” he said. “If I go I’d love to play. Obviously some teams have picked up, retained some big players. You always want to go there and experience it. So I don’t have a team that I’d like to [be in]. Just excited about the auction. I’ve been to India once and I did ok there.”If I can go over again, it will be awesome and a cool experience.”Anderson’s “ultimate goal” is to be the best allrounder in the world, but right now, the world’s focus is on his power-hitting. He knows he has increased expectations manifold after that hundred, and says the pressure to deliver has also gone up. “You tend to feel that pressure a little,” he said. “The expectation now is that people want to see me try and do that all the time. Spoken to a lot of people and you try and forget that expectation and just bat.”It does help that Anderson is inherently a powerful, aggressive batsman, but he knows how fickle success can be for those of his kind.”I am probably lucky that it’s sort of my natural game,” he said. “I don’t have to change any ways to try and do that. Just one of those things. Comes off one day and doesn’t come off the next. When you do it for a period of time gives massive confidence but you are always one game away from having no confidence at all, so it is a great leveller. And you just try and ride the highs.”There may be highs and lows. However, Anderson wants to keep playing his strokes and dominate the bowlers. He does not have a particular preferred shot, although he likes to swing over midwicket. “Not too sure to be honest,” he said. “I tend to like going to cow corner. That’s a pretty favourite shot. But I like hitting straight. I guess anything that comes out of the middle of the bat is a favourite shot but I am always (looking) to go straight.”The start has been bright. Having played only six Tests and 12 ODIs so far, Anderson already has centuries in both formats and also a four-for and a five-for in one-dayers. He acknowledges, though, that this is only the beginning and there is a long way to go. “I still have a lot of work to do,” he said. “I have had a few scores. It doesn’t make a summer, just like a shot doesn’t make a career, so I guess I just got to keep working, testing and always know that there are guys behind me trying to knock down the door and get my position, so at the moment I still got a lot to do. I am just happy with the way I am playing cricket at the moment.”In all probability, it is not only the cricket he will be smiling about after February 12.

A round-up of Momentum One Day Cup matches played on October 30, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Charl Langeveldt’s four-wicket haul secured a 30-run win for Cape Cobras•AFPCape Cobras moved to No. 1 in the Momentum Cup standings after securing a 30-run victory (D/L method) over Lions in Johannesburg. Lions won the toss and put Cape Cobras in, a decision that was justified when opener Andrew Puttick was bowled for 4 in the third over by Chris Morris. Dane Vilas and Stiaan van Zyl then combined for an 84-run partnership. With Cobras at 88 for 1 in the 24th over, they seemed set to put on a big total, but the Lions bowlers were too good. Vilas fell for 36, followed by van Zyl who was bowled by Hardus Viljoen for 52, the top score of the innings. Despite Justin Kemp’s 45, the rest of the batting order failed to provide resistance, and eight out the ten batsmen to fall were bowled. Viljoen was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 51 as Cobras stumbled to 201 in the 49th over.Rain intervened before the chase began and Lions were handed a revised target of 184 in 40 overs. Things started horribly for Lions when Rory Kleinveldt trapped Stephen Cook off the first ball of the innings. Opener Rassie van der Dussen didn’t pose much of a threat either as he went out in the 6th over. Alviro Petersen, the captain, could only resist so much as Lions were reduced to 27 for 3 inside 10 overs. Innings from Neil McKenzie (24), wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile (36) and Morris (35) helped Lions keep abreast for part of the innings, but Charl Langeveldt and Shaheen Khan combined well to take seven wickets between them as Lions were dismissed for 153 in the 36th over. Langeveldt finished with innings figures of 4 for 22.
ScorecardKnights gave themselves a four-point lead over last-placed Lions with a two-wicket victory (D/L method) over Dolphins in Durban. After choosing to bat, Dolphins made a poor start when they were 43 for 3 inside 11 overs, with Quinton Friend removing both openers. A 70-run partnership between Cameron Delport and Cody Chetty steadied the innings, but both batsmen fell within three overs of one another to leave Dolphins at 121 for 5 in the 30th. Play was stopped because of lightning in the 43rd over and when the match resumed it was shortened to 48 overs per side. Khaya Zondo’s unbeaten 50 off 58, along with Daryn Smit’s 39, pushed Dolphins to 223 for 6.With the revised target set at 232 for victory in 48 overs, Knights found themselves in a bit of a bother when they were 20 for 2 in five overs. Aside from Lefa Mosena, the bulk of the batting order failed to contribute meaningful scores as Knights were reduced to 141 for 8 in 38 overs. With Mosena going out on 55, the chase looked a tall order, but whirlwind innings of 56 off 31 by Dillon du Preez and 34 off 14 by Friend wrested the game back for Knights. Their 91-run stand helped Knights to victory, with 2.5 overs to spare.

England are set to tinker with their top three again by dropping opener Alex Hales for the first warm-up match of their Sri Lanka tour

Alan Gardner20-Nov-2014England are set to tinker with their one-day top three again by dropping opener Alex Hales for the first warm-up match of their Sri Lanka tour. Moeen Ali is expected to take Hales’ place alongside Alastair Cook, with Ian Bell also coming back into the side after missing England’s previous two ODIs against India.The absence of Hales does not necessarily mean he won’t start the Sri Lanka series as Cook’s opening partner but it is a further evidence of uncertainty around the top order.Moeen opens the batting for Worcestershire and has shown himself to be a languid striker of the ball but he is a left-hander like Cook, which could help opposition bowlers find a line to test both. Bell and Cook were England’s previous opening partnership and enjoyed a steady association between 2012 and 2014 but they were broken up to accommodate the more explosive talents of Hales.Hales is currently ranked the No. 3 T20 batsman in the world and his hundred against Sri Lanka at the World T20 earlier this year is the only time an England batsman has achieved three figures in the format. He only managed 92 runs in four ODI innings against India at the end of the summer but had been touted as a possible matchwinner at the World Cup.Moeen made his England one-day debut on the tour of the Caribbean ahead of the World T20, opening the batting alongside Michael Lumb and scoring one half-century from three innings. He made 67 off 50 balls against India at Edgbaston batting at No. 7, before moving up to No. 3 with Bell out injured. His offspin provides another facet, one which could be particularly useful in Sri Lankan conditions.”At the moment, we’re trying to find a settled combination as a team,” Peter Moores, England’s head coach, said. “I think anyone who’s watched us play – we haven’t played as well as we want to. There are certain slots up for grabs, and it’s a case of people getting a chance to go out and grab them.”Hales, initially viewed by England as a T20 specialist, had a breakthrough season in 2014, scoring more than 1000 first-class runs along with four List A centuries at an average of nearly 50. However, Moores and Cook seemingly continue to value circumspection at the top of the order, with the aim of providing a platform for powerful hitters such as Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler lower down.Whether that will work anywhere outside of England is a well-worn subject for debate but the benching of Hales is another rebuke for those calling for a change in ethos. While Moeen’s more dexterous batting may be better suited to the subcontinent – despite Hales’ T20 ton coming in Bangladesh – Moores confirmed that England’s planning goes beyond the Sri Lanka series.”We’ve got to try to win this tour first,” he said. “But it would be daft not to be thinking forward to the World Cup. We’re trying to move to be a more positive side, with both bat and ball, take every opportunity to score runs and put pressure on the opposition. It’s not a simple process to say ‘I’m going to walk out and whack it’.”

Lalit Modi’s plan of returning as a cricket administrator in India, via the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, has been put on hold because of confusion over the election dates

Amol Karhadkar and Nagraj Gollapudi19-Nov-2013Lalit Modi’s plan of returning as a cricket administrator in India, via the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, has been put on hold because of confusion over the election dates. The association is split into two factions, each of which has announced an election date, and the dispute over who controls the RCA is now being contested in various courts across Rajasthan.Modi had been banned for life by the BCCI from all cricket matters in India but the ban was stayed by the Rajasthan High Court in October, following which he announced his intention to run for the RCA president’s post. His appeal before the court exploited a technicality – since the RCA is governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act, the BCCI ban cannot be applied to him – and the court agreed with his contention.The incumbent, CP Joshi, then advanced the election date from December 7 to November 24 while the opposing faction announced it would hold the election on November 23. Those dates, however, are now a matter for the courts to decide.The Rajasthan Sports Act

When the Rajasthan Sports Act was passed by the state cabinet in 2005, it was the first sports act in India. The Act, with Sanjay Dixit as its key formulator, had suggested drastic measures for sports administration, like one-term rule for principal office bearers for sports bodies.

The Act makes it mandatory for every sports body registered in Rajasthan to follow its guidelines. Had it not been for the Act, Lalit Modi wouldn’t have been able to become the RCA president, nor recontest despite being banned for life by BCCI. Before the Act was framed, RCA elections included votes of 32 district associations and 66 individual members. The new Act nullified individual members’ votes and that paved the way for Modi to head the RCA.

According to the Section 8.2 (c) of the Act, only the secretary can call for an election. Since Sanjay Dixit, the former secretary general, was sidestepped and KK Sharma was appointed as officiating secretary early last year, both the warring officials have announced separate dates for elections.

Though it was initially welcomed by the cricket fraternity, slowly virtually all the sports associations started opposing the Act. In fact, in June 2013, a delegation of various sports bodies in the state met with the sports minister and asked him to repeal the Act which was “brought in only for cricket”.

Modi said his decision to make a comeback – he became the RCA president in 2005 – was because of the way Joshi had ignored cricket in Rajasthan. “Cricket has taken a beating in Rajasthan. My opponent has not done anything for the game. I was hoping as a federal minister he [Joshi] would have done a lot but I am disappointed. We had worked very, very hard and it is about time we start getting our act together,” Modi told ESPNcricinfo from London.He said he’d been in touch with various district associations within Rajasthan and was expecting healthy support on the elections. “I have good support from various associations and we are looking forward to the elections on November 23 and 24.”Modi’s ally in the current campaign is Sanjay Dixit, a senior bureaucrat who had helped Joshi defeat him in a bitterly fought RCA election in 2009. Dixit, who was elected RCA secretary, was a vocal critic of Modi’s autocratic style of functioning but he and Joshi too fell out. Dixit was then replaced by KK Sharma as the officiating secretary at RCA.On Monday, Dixit issued a press release pointing out to an order passed by the RCA election officer that stated that he had returned to function as the secretary while deciding to “divest KK Sharma of all functions with effect from October 28”. Dixit himself announced the elections on November 24.Asked why he had decided to join hands with Dixit, Modi said both men were on the same page as far as cricket was concerned. “Sanjay and I were together as far as cricket is concerned. Then we had differences on certain issues. But he is a strong cricket administrator without doubt, which we had seen when I had left and he came in briefly at RCA. But he had a difference of opinion with Joshi and he was disappointed by the non-performance of the RCA,” Modi said.Modi and Dixit might be positive about their alliance but there is no clarity and certainty about the poll dates. The biggest hurdle surrounds the legitimacy of the list of candidates and voters. There are 33 voters, one from each of the affiliated district units of RCA. Even though both Joshiand Modi are in both lists, their alleged attempt to push their own supporters into the final lists has only worsened the situation.”What most of the voters have been demanding is a free and fair election and I am ready for that,” Dixit said. “But the other party is not agreeing to, which has caused confusion. The voter list is being changed by them to suit themselves and it has resulted in multiple litigations. In a field of 33, if you change seven voters, it is as good as sealing the fate of theelection.”The Sharma faction’s response was similar as it blamed the Modi-Dixit combine for creating the mess.