Indian news round-up

Former Indian captain Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar is to be felicitated on the second day of the second England-West Indies Test at Lord's by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The second Test would be the hundredth to be played at Lord's.

The MCC has drawn up a list of ten international cricketers who have etched their names at the `Mecca of Cricket' to be felicitated on the occasion. Apart from Vengsarkar, the MCC has also invited Australia's Sir Don Bradman, Bob Massie and Glenn McGrath, West Indies' Sir Garfield Sobers and Gordon Greenidge and England's Ian Botham, Allan Lamb, Derek Underwood and Graham Gooch.

Vengsarkar represented India in 116 Tests, scoring 6868 runs at an average of 42.13. He also led the country in ten Tests. But his main claim to fame was that he became the first cricketer to score three consecutive centuries against England at Lord's. Vengsarkar made 0 and 103 in 1979, 2 and 157 in 1982, 126 and 33 in 1986 and 52 and 35 in 1990 finishing with an aggregate of 508 runs at Lord's.

Friends and well wishers of former Maharashtra Ranji Trophy player Shaikh Mohammed Abbas Hussain have set up a `Abbas Shaikh Medical Fund' in order to help him financially to undergo treatment. Shaikh has been suffering from a chronic tubulo-intestitial disease and chronic renal failure. He has been advised haemodialysis on a biweekly basis.

The approximate cost of the treatment comes to Rs 15,000 per month. Shaikh has also been advised a liver related donor transplant, which costs approximately Rs 1.50 lakh. He has been undergoing treatment only since February this year because of the financial support from his friends and well-wishers.

Speaking to an Indian newspaper in Pune on Monday, Shaikh thanked former cricketers like Chandu Borde and Hemant Kanitkar, who have been instrumental in setting up the fund. Shaikh, who is currently employed with the Pune Cantonment branch of the Bank of Maharashtra, represented Maharashtra in 67 matches from 1968 to 1976.

The Dronacharya Cricket Foundation was officially inaugurated in New Delhi on Monday at the DDA Yamuna Sports Complex by the former Union Home Minister Buta Singh. The academy has been launched by `Dronacharya' Gurcharan Singh and former Indian left-arm spinner Maninder Singh.

The inaugural function was graced by the present Indian team coach Kapil Dev and middle order batsman Ajay Jadeja. Also present on the occasion were Nikhil Chopra, Gagan Khoda, Rahul Sanghvi, Gursharan Singh, Vivek Razdan and several Ranji Trophy players and cricket coaches.

The academy plans to conduct a fortnight long `talent hunt camp' in order to shortlist the trainees for the academy. The foundation has already prepared three turf and two cement wickets for the trainees.

The Calcutta High Court on Monday passed an interim order refraining the International Cricket Council (ICC) from re-opening the bids for the offer of telecast rights to international cricket events to be held over the next five years for the next seven days.

Justice Basudev Panigrahi issued the order after a writ petition was filed by Jatin Talwar, a share-holder of Zee Television. Panigrahi also directed the petitioner to serve a notice on the ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya. The case is to be heard next Friday.

Talwar's counsel Sudipta Sarkar argued that in November, 1999, Dalmiya had invited the bids for telecast rights for the following five years and that Zee TV, TWI and World Sports Group bid for the offer and Zee TV offered 600 million dollors for the bid. Zee TV, however, were not granted the rights though their offer was the highest, Sarkar said.