Indian news round-up

Super sleuth slips past CBI this time: He did it again. Manoj Prabhakar secretly video recorded his statement before the CBI during the match-fixing probe. When confronted about the report, Prabhakar said his lack of faith in those investigating the match-fixing scandal had forced him to video tape his deposition before the CBI in May, quotes a news agency. Prabhakar said, "I did this because of my past experience with the Chandrachud committee. I do not trust the CBI either. Whatever I have done is to safeguard my own interest."

While CBI sources said they were not aware of any such recording by the former Delhi player, they added that even if he had done so, it did not cause any alarm. Sources close to the agency said "We treated him as a gentlemen and allowed him to appear before the investigating team without any frisking. We are not aware if he recorded the proceedings."

Expressing surprise on how Prabhakar managed to do it, the former joint director of the CBI and BCCI appointed anti-corruption commissioner K Madhavan to whom the former allrounder had handed over the tape said "there was normal questioning going on." On the impact of the tape on CBI's investigation, he said, "the tape is of no consequence. It is neither going to help Prabhakar, nor put the CBI in the dock. The CBI already has a signed statement by Prabhakar and that is going to stand." Madhavan opined that there was nothing illegal in Prabhakar's smuggling the camera and recording the entire interrogation by the CBI. It may be remembered that earlier, Prabhakar had handed over clandestine tapes on statements made by cricketers and officials to the CBI.

Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said he missed the services of ace Indian spinner Anil Kumble. Talking after the match ended in a draw in Nagpur on Wednesday, Ganguly said "Kumble would have loved to bowl on this wicket which had some bounce even on the last day."

Ganguly had a special word of praise for Andy Flower. He said "Andy Flower changed the whole complexion of the match with his unbeaten double century. I have not seen any visiting batsman play the way Andy played here and his reverse sweep was breathtaking to watch." Andy Flower, who won both the man-of-the-match and the man-of-the-series awards, deserved them, Ganguly added.

From the Indian camp, Ganguly had a special mention for both SS Das and Sharandeep Singh. The Prince of Calcutta said "I was very much impressed by Sharandeep Singh's bowling and I hope they will serve the country well in future as well." Looking ahead to the one-dayers, Ganguly said "It is good to win the Test series 1-0 and now we are looking forward to the one-day series," adding "The Zimbabweans are a good one-day team and I hope it will be an interesting series when we take on the visitors in the five-match series."

Rahul Dravid will not return to play for Kent in the English County Championship next season. The decision was taken by Dravid keeping in mind India's busy international schedule. Dravid said "I'm obviously very disappointed not to be able to return. The proposed schedule for the Indian team makes it impossible for me to participate in county cricket. I've enjoyed every minute of my time with Kent and am very grateful for all the support I've received."

Kent are now forced to look at a new option and are obviously disappointed. Kent captain Mathew Fleming, re-appointed for the third successive year said "Rahul made an outstanding contribution to the team both on and off the field. He was a great example to all of us and it is a great pity that he is not able to return. We have already started to examine the options available to us." Dravid had a successful season finishing 12th in the list of averages scoring 1221 runs in 16 matches at an average of 55.50.

Vijay Bharadwaj will lead the state side in Subbaiah Pillai Trophy matches to be played in Chennai from December 5 to 12 while C Raghu will lead the under-19 team for the All India Cooch Behar Trophy knock-out tournament to be held at Pune from December 1 to 3.

The Subbaiah Pillai squad: Vijay R Bharadwaj (capt), B Akhil, Ameeth Kumar, Anand Yalvigi, J Arun Kumar, D Ganesh, AR Mahesh, Mansur Ali Khan, Mithun Beerala, KN Ramesh, Santhosh Vadeyaraj, Shyam Ponnappa, VS Thilak Naidu and Sunil Kumar. Coach: SMH Kirmani. Manager J Abhiram.

Under-19 side: C Raghu (capt), Vamsy Krishna, Deepak Chougule, Stuart Binny, Sachin Kadadevarmath, Vinay Uthappa, S Santosh Kumar, HT Sudhir Rao, Keerthi Vishnu Bhat, Steve Lazarus, MS Vageesh, G Sendhil Kumar, SN Ameet, CR Sachin, Dharmichand. Manager: Sanjay Desai, Administrative Manager: GNR Manay.