Indian news round-up

Indian team coach Kapil Dev on Wednesday blamed ill-luck for India's poor performance in the Asia Cup tournament in Dhaka. He said ``luck somehow deserted the Indian team. Losing the toss in all three matches was an indication of that.''

Speaking to a news agency in New Delhi, Kapil said ``the players were determined to do well and win and, in their anxiety, they made mistakes. Sometimes when you are too keen, you tend to make mistakes. It was also unfortunate that all our batsmen did not click together.''

Though Kapil admitted that the Indian team was inexperienced, he defended them saying ``they were the best talent available and they need time to get their act together. They can only improve now.''

The Madhya Pradesh Police have registered a case of fraud and cheating against former Indian all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar on Tuesday, charging him of swindling public money through his company `Apace savings and Mutual Benefits Ltd.' This is the second case registered against him after the Uttar Pradesh police filed a similar one earlier.

Prabhakar had denied the charges on Saturday and told the media that there is an attempt to implicate him in a false case. He also produced documents quoting the department of company affairs that his name did not appear in any of the six Apace companies namely Apace Savings and Mutual Benefits Ltd, Apace Indian Corporation Ltd, Apace Housings and Constructions Ltd, Apace Plantations and Resorts Ltd, Apace Indian Marketing Ltd and Apace Nidhi and Finance Ltd.

The Dainik Bartaman reporter, Rahul Ghosh was forced by the Bangladesh authorities to leave the country on Monday afternoon. Two officials from the High Commission Office had to escort him to the airport as he left for Calcutta.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had initiated the investigative process against Ghosh since he was unable to substantiate his claims that the Indian team had taken it upon themselves to ensure that Bangladesh got close to 250 runs in their Asia Cup match.

Ghosh was reportedly grilled upto 3 am. on Sunday and then taken for questioning on Monday as well. He was not allowed to leave the hotel and had to call the Indian High Commission in Dhaka for help in making the trip back to India.