Indian news round-up

Former Indian cricketer and Member of Parliament Kirti Azad and excaptain Bishen Singh Bedi on Thursday welcomed the Indian Government's decision not to send the national side to Toronto for the five match seires against Pakistan.

Quoting Bedi, The Deccan Chronicle said that there was no point in participating in the tournament with so much tension prevailing in the Kashmir valley. The paper also quoted Azad, who was vehemently opposed to sending the team, saying that cricketing relations should be stopped in all one-to-one affairs until Pakistan gives up terrorism in the valley.

Azad implored the Board of Control for Cricket in India to be more patriotic. The newspaper reported that Azad criticised the BCCI's intention of sending the team with the situation in Kashmir deteriorating at an alarming rate.

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association on Thursday announced the MAC-TNCA XI and the TNCA President's XI teams for the forthcoming MRF Buchi Babu All India invitation tournament scheduled to held in Chennai from August 20 to 22. MAC-TNCA are slated to meet Indian Airlines while the TNCA President's XI are to meet ONGC.

MAC-TNCA XI: Robin Singh (captain), C Hemanth Kumar, S Reuben Paul (wicketkeeper), WD Balaji Rao, S Ramesh, S Mahesh, S Sharath, MR Shrinivas, Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan, K George John, JR Madanagopal, J Hariesh and JJ Honeymen.

TNCA Presidents XI: DJ Gokulakrishna (captain), SS Viswanathan, S Suresh, Satyajit Medappa, R John, Vikram Kumar (wicketkeeper), SP Lakshmi Kumar, KS Veeranan, D Dhandapani, Aditya Srikkanth, KD Devanand, R Raghuram, R Prasanna and S Aravind.