Indian news round-up

Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Monday that the former Indian skipper Mohd Azharuddin has initiated legal proceedings against the life ban imposed on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after being accused of match fixing.

Speaking to AFP in New Delhi, Azharuddin's lawyer T Jagadeeshan said "We have taken the first steps towards fighting the injustice meted out to Azharuddin." He added "We will seek revocation of the ban as my client is innocent and the BCCI has not followed proper legal procedure in taking action against him."

Jagdeeshan said that the right procedure should have been an independent inquiry by a sitting judge, as was done in South Africa where judge Edwin King probed the Hansie Cronje affair. He said "Neither Madhavan nor the CBI have a legal standing," He added "We will question the legal credentials of the people who have investigated the case."

Ajay Ratra has been named skipper of the India Under-19 team for the forthcoming three match one-day series against the visiting England Under-19 team.

Meanwhile the three match series, which was originally scheduled to be played in Baroda, Ahmedabad and Rajkot, have been shifted in view of the earthquake in Gujarat. According to the revised schedule, two matches are to be played at Hyderabad (February 2 and 6) and one at Vijayawada (February 4).

India Under-19s squad for ODIs: Ajay Ratra (captain), Vinayak Mane, Gautam Gambhir, S Vidyut, Mulewa Dharmichand, Nitin Aggarwal, Sidharth Trivedi, Alind Naidu, Amit Mishra, Arindam Das, Maninder Singh, Manvinder Bisla, Arjun Yadav and Amit Deshpande.

The three day Vinoo Mankad Trophy match between the winners of the CK Nayudu Trophy (Under-19) tournament and the Rest of India originally scheduled to be held at Cuttack from February 4 to 6 has been indefinitely postponed.

Quoting Orissa Cricket Association sources, Press Trust of India (PTI) said that fresh dates for the match will be announced later by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). PTI also said that so far no reason has been given for the postponement.

The inter zonal CK Nayudu Trophy final between Central Zone and South Zone is presently on at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack.