IANS Wednesday, April 30, 2008 10:14:56 PM
The Pakistan Cricket Board media advisor Wednesday said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) doors are closed for Shoaib Akhtar as the contract clearly mentions that a player who has been banned from his respective board cannot appear in the IPL.'They (IPL) will not allow him to play unless they make an exception or make amendments in the contract,' said Aamir Bilal talking to IANS by phone from Islamabad.
'And if they can take action against Harbhajan Singh and allow Shoaib Akhtar to play, that would create quite a dichotomy,' Bilal said.
An appellate tribunal Wednesday upheld the five-year-ban imposed on Shoaib by the PCB, which cracked the whip on the fast-bowler after he breached the players' code of discipline on several occasions.
The tribunal's verdict came a day after Akhtar tendered an unconditional apology to the country and the chairman.
According to an eyewitness at the meeting where Akhtar apologised, 'he seemed far from repentant'.
'It (apology) has all got to do with the few crores he may earn at the Twenty-20, for he is now a spent force and his glory days are over,' said Bilal.
'If the IPL allows him to play, he will be alright, but if they take a decision to the contrary, he is going to stir up quite a storm and politicise the issue, like he always does,' predicts Bilal.
Bilal said the board had already taken a 'lenient view' of the breach of the code of conduct and slapped just a five-year ban instead of a life-time ban.
'He signed the statement that if he breaches the discipline conduct, then the PCB was liable to ban him for life,' said Bilal.
'From a marketing point of view, Akhtar is still a saleable commodity, specially in the 20/20 he can probably perform as well.'
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Next on-field row will end Bhajji's career: Bindra
Article from Yahoo
Indian Express Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:49:06 PM
Indian Premier League (IPL) governing board member I S Bindra has cautioned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to watch his on-field behaviour after the slapping row with S Sreesanth as another spat with fellow players could spell the end of his career.
"There is no question for any repetition, we cannot have tolerance of any repeat actions of this nature," Bindra told The Herald.
"Once punished for such an offence, a player cannot make the same indiscretion again," he added.
Harbhajan was banned from this edition of the IPL for slapping India teammate S Sreesanth and Bindra said he has been left deeply disappointed by the off-spinner considering that he had been urged to control his temper after the racism row in Australia.
"He has disappointed all of us. I personally warned him after Australia, I told him he needed to be all the more careful because 'you are under watch, you are under probation'," he recalled.
"He has had problems on a couple of occasions in the past. He was warned by the association that if he doesn't listen to the advice then next is a hard knock on his knuckles," he added.
The slap-gate, as it has come to be described, has cost the tweaker almost Rs three crore in match fee and his woes do not end at that as he is still awaiting the BCCI disciplinary committee verdict on the matter.
Bindra said the BCCI and IPL's tough stance on the matter showed that Indian cricket was not willing to take a lenient view of the misconduct by its players.
"People have accused the board of being soft, but this shows we're not trying to sweep things under the carpet," he said.
The former BCCI chief said it was unfair to compare the racism row in Australia with the slapping incident in IPL as Harbhajan's conduct was markedly different in both cases.
"As for the case in Australia, the overwhelming view from the Indian team was that he was not guilty of what he was accused, and therefore we supported him," he explained.
"On this occasion there was no question he was guilty, and we have punished him. We cannot mix the two incidents, we will punish players if they are guilty," he added.
Indian Express Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:49:06 PM
Indian Premier League (IPL) governing board member I S Bindra has cautioned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to watch his on-field behaviour after the slapping row with S Sreesanth as another spat with fellow players could spell the end of his career.
"There is no question for any repetition, we cannot have tolerance of any repeat actions of this nature," Bindra told The Herald.
"Once punished for such an offence, a player cannot make the same indiscretion again," he added.
Harbhajan was banned from this edition of the IPL for slapping India teammate S Sreesanth and Bindra said he has been left deeply disappointed by the off-spinner considering that he had been urged to control his temper after the racism row in Australia.
"He has disappointed all of us. I personally warned him after Australia, I told him he needed to be all the more careful because 'you are under watch, you are under probation'," he recalled.
"He has had problems on a couple of occasions in the past. He was warned by the association that if he doesn't listen to the advice then next is a hard knock on his knuckles," he added.
The slap-gate, as it has come to be described, has cost the tweaker almost Rs three crore in match fee and his woes do not end at that as he is still awaiting the BCCI disciplinary committee verdict on the matter.
Bindra said the BCCI and IPL's tough stance on the matter showed that Indian cricket was not willing to take a lenient view of the misconduct by its players.
"People have accused the board of being soft, but this shows we're not trying to sweep things under the carpet," he said.
The former BCCI chief said it was unfair to compare the racism row in Australia with the slapping incident in IPL as Harbhajan's conduct was markedly different in both cases.
"As for the case in Australia, the overwhelming view from the Indian team was that he was not guilty of what he was accused, and therefore we supported him," he explained.
"On this occasion there was no question he was guilty, and we have punished him. We cannot mix the two incidents, we will punish players if they are guilty," he added.
IPL takes the life out of cinema, theatres, TV
Article taken from Economic Times
MUMBAI: The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches have virtually taken the life out of cinema theatres and television programmes.
With Yashraj films much-talked about 'Tashan' hitting the dust at the box office, theatre owners say that their revenues have also been hit bad time.
"The evening shows have been affected due to the matches. Otherwise too, we had high hopes on 'Tashan', but it is such a bad film that it found no takers in the first week itself," said a spokesman for Eros theatre here.
"We are screening 'Khuda Kay Liye', 'U me aur Hum' and Marathi film 'Ghartyasaathi Saare Kahi' these days. In fact, the Marathi film is drawing a satisfactory crowd," he added.
A Liberty cinema spokesman, while talking to PTI, agreed IPL had affected weekend shows. "At present, I am screening a film called 'Sirf' which is an extremely bad one. Normally on Saturdays and Sundays, my 810-seater theatre is full. Last week, there were only 150 people," he said.
Even Shah Rukh Khan's new game show 'Kya Aap Pachvi Paas se Tez hain' on Star Plus could not manage to get attention of the cricket crazy audiences.
Star Plus sources said the fresh Television Audience Measurement (TAM) ratings are expected in a day or two. However, till April 22, the IPL dominated the TAM ratings.
Howver, Zee TV said that their prime time shows have not suffered the IPL onslaught.
The IPL matches came as a breath of fresh air for television audiences bored with saas-bahu sagas and reality shows.
Says Mahesh, a banker who is mighty pleased that the television remote is now in his hands. "I normally come home by 1930 hrs. Hence, I can see all matches which start at 2000 hrs. Both me and my children enjoy the matches. Besides, every match ends in three hours. So it makes viewing more interesting," he said.
"It is such a relief from soaps and song and dance programmes which have dominated television for quite some time. IPL has come as a refreshing change as it is a new concept. It was so surprising that crowd at Wankhede stadium did not acknowledge Rahul Dravid's batting when his Bangalore team took on Mumbai in the IPL encounter," said Ankita, a media professional.
However, homemakers, not to be left behind are catching up on their favourite soaps in the afternoons.
"I too watch the matches with the rest of my family. Since it is only for three hours and get over by 2300 hrs, I don't get bored," said Sunita, a homemaker.
Even television producers admit that they have lost a chunk of viewers to IPL. They feel that IPL is a temporary phase and they will get back their audiences once the tournament is over.
Harbhajan temporarily suspended from IPL
Article taken from Rediff.com
April 26, 2008 21:46 IST
Controversial spinner Harbhajan Singh, who finds himself in a fresh controversy for allegedly slapping S Sreesanth after an IPL match, was on Saturday temporarily suspended from the tournament pending inquiry.
"Based on prima facie video evidence as seen and reviewed by the match adjudicator and referee Mr Farokh Engineer from the tapes provided by Sony & TWI, a decision has been reached to suspend with immediate effect Harbhajan Singh of the Mumbai Indians pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, April 28, 2008," IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said in a statement.
"The inquiry into the incident at Mohali in the game between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians will now take place at the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi on April 28th 2008.
A final verdict would be announced by the adjudicator Farokh Engineer post hearing at New Delhi", he said.
April 26, 2008 21:46 IST
Controversial spinner Harbhajan Singh, who finds himself in a fresh controversy for allegedly slapping S Sreesanth after an IPL match, was on Saturday temporarily suspended from the tournament pending inquiry.
"Based on prima facie video evidence as seen and reviewed by the match adjudicator and referee Mr Farokh Engineer from the tapes provided by Sony & TWI, a decision has been reached to suspend with immediate effect Harbhajan Singh of the Mumbai Indians pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, April 28, 2008," IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said in a statement.
"The inquiry into the incident at Mohali in the game between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians will now take place at the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi on April 28th 2008.
A final verdict would be announced by the adjudicator Farokh Engineer post hearing at New Delhi", he said.
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