Indian news round-up

Press Trust of India reported on Friday that the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), AC Muthiah was yet to take a decision on the future of the present Indian coach Kapil Dev. Muthiah met Kapil Dev briefly on Friday in New Delhi but expressed a desire to meet him again before arriving at a decision.

Speaking to PTI, Muthiah said that he held a brief meeting with Kapil but it could not be an extended one as he was in a hurry to leave for Mumbai. Muthiah however said that he wanted to find out what Kapil really felt about the issue and what prompted him to make comments critical of the board before taking a decision on Kapil's tenure.

The BCCI working committee, which met in Bangalore on August 19, had authorised Muthiah to talk to the Indian coach and take a decision as to Kapil's future.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday submitted a copy of the Code of Conduct report for the Indian cricketers and officials to the Government. Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that the submission of the report turned out to be a low key affair with only the BCCI president AC Muthiah and vice president CK Khanna present when it was handed over to the Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, SS Dhindsa.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Dhindsa, Muthiah said that as promised, the BCCI had submitted the Code of Conduct report to the Union Government after it had been passed by the BCCI working committee during the meeting in Bangalore on August 19. Muthiah added that the Minister expressed happiness over the promptness of the BCCI in submitting the report.

Speaking about the enforcement of the code, Muthiah said that the BCCI had appointed the former CBI joint-director K Madhavan as the inquiry commissioner and added that in case of any breach of code, he would be entitled to look into it.

The secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), JY Lele said on Friday that the Board's selection committee is slated to meet in Chennai on September 2 to select the probables for the ICC Knock-out tournament to be held in Nairobi from October 3.

Speaking to Press Trust of India (PTI) in Mumbai, Lele said that the selectors would choose a list of probables who will attend a ten day long camp which is likely to commence on September 10. Lele said that the exact dates of the camp would be decided in Chennai during the selection committee meeting. He added that the captain and the final team would be selected during the camp.

The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, AC Muthiah said in New Delhi on Friday that the BCCI has written to the Government seeking permission to play a full series in Pakistan in January. Speaking to Press Trust of India after meeting the Sports Minister SS Dhindsa, Muthiah said that the BCCI expected to get a reply from the government in 10 days' time.

Meanwhile Dhindsa said that the letter was general, seeking permission for the tour. He added that the Government would like to go into the details about the tour and only then would the Government be in a position to take a decision.

Across the border, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Tauqir Zia while speaking to the Dubai based Khaleej Times said that he would still like to see cricket being viewed separately from politics. He added that he wanted to see India play Pakistan keeping in mind the game and millions of fans in the sub-continent.

Rahul Dravid put up a poor performance with the bat and even tried his hand at bowling but Kent scored a upset 15 run victory over Hampshire in the PPP Healthcare County Championship Division One match at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury on Friday.

Hampshire came into the final day requiring 62 more runs to win with four wickets intact. But their plans went for a toss when Martin McCague ran through the lower order with figures of 5 for 52. Dravid turned his arm over for two overs of off spin on Thursday to pick up the wicket of opener Graham White.

Meanwhile, Lancashire drew their match with Leicestershire at Grace Road in Leicester. Ganguly after his fine batting display in the first innings bowled three overs without any success while conceding only eight runs.