Indian news round-up

Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Tuesday that the Australian opener Matthew Hayden, who has been in supreme form with the bat in the ongoing series against India, might be retained for the forthcoming five match ODI series as well.

The chairman of selectors, Trevor Horns said in Brisbane that he would speak with captain Steve Waugh in Chennai before deciding on whether Hayden should stay with the team. He said "I need to talk to the captain to make sure he is comfortable with that situation if we decide to go that way."

Horns said "Normally the (Test and one-day) squads are fairly cut and dried but when there is a fellow in form and used to the conditions, it might be sensible to retain him." Meanwhile, Hayden's Queensland teammate Andrew Symonds was declared fit for the forthcoming series after passing the second and final fitness examination in front of Hohns.

A Hyderabad city court on Tuesday posted the hearing of former Indian skipper Mohd Azharuddin's case for April 3. Azharuddin challenged the life ban imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on him.

Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that the second chief judge J Shyamsunder Rao had adjourned the case to April 3 following requests from the counsel of defendents seeking two weeks time to furnish details on the appointment of K Madhavan as BCCI commissioner.

The report added that Azharuddin had filed a writ petition on March 7 seeking relevant documents of the appointment of Madhavan as BCCI enquiry commissioner to be produced in the court and the judge had asked the respondent BCCI to file a counter in this regard on March 20.