Indian news round-up

Four Indian players to figure in CBI report
The interim report of the CBI on the matchfixing scandal in India is likely to contain the names of at least four Indian players according to a Press Trust of India release in New Delhi on Thursday. The news agency's sources suggested that the CBI was facing difficulties in bringing the activities of the players under the purview of the Prevention of Corruption act in the Indian Penal Code. The report is likely to be handed over to the Union Sports Minsitry later this month.

The report also includes advice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India on rooting out matchfixing from the game. One of the suggestions is to make it obligatory for players to declare gifts received from abroad. The report has narrowed down specific occasions when team compositions were altered at the eleventh hour at the alleged behest of bookies.

The CBI has also turned down Manoj Prabhakar's suggestion that the players he named as having witnessed the alleged bribe offer made to him by Kapil Dev also take a lie detector test along with him. The investigative agency is of the opinion that since virtually none of his ex-colleagues have supported Prabhakar's version of events, the onus is on him to take the test and substantiate his claim.

Sharma, Chopra dropped from Delhi probables
Ajay Sharma and Nikhil Chopra have been omitted from the Delhi probables for the forthcoming domestic season. According to India Abroad News Service the DDCA selection committee comprising Chetan Chauhan, Madan Lal and Sunil Khanna believe the two are not in the ideal frame of mind for the demands of Ranji Trophy cricket because of the allegations made against them. "Ajay Sharma's first-class career is virtually over as far as Delhi is concerned," a source in the DDCA said. Apparently the instructions not to pick the tainted players until they were cleared by the CBI came from Arun Jaitley, DDCA President and Union Law Minister.

The list of 25 probables will be reduced to 16 after a three week training camp which got underway on Thursday at the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi. Delhi opens its Ranji Trophy engagements this season with a home tie against Services from October 30. Vijay Dahiya, India's current ODI keeper has been named captain. The list of probables include two youngsters, wicketkeeper Pradeep Chawla and opening batsman Chetan Sharma, who were part of the second batch of trainees at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Departing from normal practice the DDCA has not released the full list of probables to the media.

Batohi denies receiving Cronje transcripts
An India Abroad report from Cape Town has quoted King Commission spokesman John Bacon as saying that chief prosecutor Shamila Batohi denies receiving the transcripts of the Hansie Cronje tapes from Indian police officials. The unexpected admission is contrary to previous statements in which she had suggested that her trip to New Delhi was 'very fruitful'.

Batohi had refused to give details of her confabulations with Indian officials stating that the sensitive nature of the information precluded her from talking to the press. "She says that she has nothing new to say to the media except for what she has already said at the earlier media conference," said Bacon.

"We need these documents or tapes to ensure that they are legally admissible as evidence and have therefore deferred the proceedings of the commission pending their arrival from India," Bacon added. He believed that greater involvement was required both from the South African justice and foreign ministries and the Indian High Commission to acquire the transcripts from India. Bacon was optimistic that King Commission would meet the Sports Minister, Ngconde Balfour's deadline for the report to be delivered by the end of the year.