Indian news round-up

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed on Thursday by Kamani Kanta Mohanty in the Orissa High Court against Indian Coach Kapil Dev and three other Indian cricketers namely Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia.

Mohanty in the petition said that there were allegations of matchfixing and betting against all four of them and asked for restriction of Kapil Dev, Azharuddin, Jadeja and Mongia from associating with any national and international cricket tournament. Mohanty in his plea has said in view of the pending inquiry by CBI into the match-fixing scandal they should not be allowed to participate in the forthcoming Asia Cup.

The petioner while referring to the list of 25 probables announced by the BCCI for the Asia Cup said the selection of such persons to represent India was against the national interest.

Unseasonal rains on Thursday morning curtailed the practice session during the fourth day of the on-going Asia Cup probables camp in Pune. Pre-monsoon rains which lashed the city since May 17 evening has left the ground unplayable at the Pune club.

In the morning Kapil Dev managed to have a stretching exercise session with the probables at the indoor badminton hall before calling off the day's session. Then, the team physio Andrew Leipus kept the probables busy at the hotel's swimming pool conducting some physical fitness exercises followed by a session of water polo.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary JY Lele on Thursday claimed that the raging match-fixing controversy had not affected the morale of the Asia Cup probables. Before leaving to New Delhi for attending the BCCI working committee meeting, Lele said ``The boys are doing well. The match-fixing controversy has not affected their morale. They are in good spirits.''

Uttar Pradesh Ranji captain Gyanendra Pandey has been granted bail on Thursday night in Lucknow. Pandey was arrested on Tuesday after a FIR was filed by his his father-in-law on charges of torturing his wife Pratima for dowry.

Pandey was produced before District and Sessions Judge KS Rakhra on Thursday night and was granted the bail on two personal bonds of Rs 50,000 each. On Wednesday Pandey had denied charges of "wife-bashing". He said that a deep-rooted conspiracy was emanating due to professional rivalry trying to implicate him in a false case.

In the mean time, the State Laxman award which was to be presented to Pandey for his achievements in the field of sports, has been withheld until the final verdict in the case has been given, a State Government spokesman said.

Former Indian spinner Arshad Ayub clarified on Thursday in Hyderabad that he has filed his nomination for the post of vice president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) on behalf of the Enconse Cricket Club. The HCA elections are slated to be held on May 21.

Ayub said that his nomination for the post has also been declared valid after the returning officer's scrutiny. An offspinner, Ayub is currently the coach of Hyderabad. He made his debut in the first test against the West Indies in 1987-88 and went on to represent India in 13 tests.