Indian news round-up

Former Indian all rounder Manoj Prabhakar, reacting to media reports that his name was among those figuring in the CBI report on match fixing, said ``I don't know on what basis my name is being bandied about.''

Talking to PTI, Prabhakar said, "if serving the nation is a crime, I plead guilty. As far as I am concerned, now the ball is neither in the CBI's court nor in the Government's court but it is in the people's court. It is for the people of the country to decide whether I am guilty or not.''

Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele has said that "suitable action" could be taken against the players and officials named by CBI in its match-fixing report depending on the "quality of charges" against them. In a TV interview, he said that the Board's Code of Conduct Committee would study the report and may recommend suitable action depending on the quality of the charges. He added that any wrong-doing by the players was in their individual capacity and the board could not be held responsible for it.

India's humiliating 245-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the final of the Coca Cola Champions Trophy in Sharjah on Sunday proved too much for one fan, who promptly died of a heart attack, an Indian newspaper reported.

Jiya Ram, 65, collapsed in front of the television set at his New Delhi home on Sunday after watching India slump to 54 all out and suffer the biggest margin of defeat in a one-day international.

Ram's wife called the emergency services and he was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, the Indian Express said.