Indian news round-up

Press Trust of India reported on Tuesday that the former Indian Test cricketer Ajay Sharma was grilled by the Income Tax authorities in connection with the raids that were conducted at his New Delhi residence on July 20.

The agency said that officials had summoned Sharma to the IT department on Tuesday afternoon and questioned him for nearly four hours. Quoting department sources, PTI also reported that a preliminary statement was recorded and Sharma was also confronted with the documents that were seized during the raids.

Sharma returned only on Monday night from London. He had been playing in the English league during the season and was not present in the country when the IT Department conducted the nationwide raids on cricketers and administrators.

Wasim Akram's latest comment that India does not want to play Pakistan because it is afraid of losing has surprised Indian captain Saurav Ganguly. In an interview to a vernacular daily in Calcutta from Lancashire, Ganguly has stated, "I am surprised that an intelligent cricketer like Wasim Akram could have made such a comment. I do not know about the past. However, in the last three-four years that I have been playing, we have defeated Pakistan in England, Australia, Toronto and even in Pakistan. So I have no idea as to why Akram made such a comment."

Ganguly in fact is shocked simply because to him Akram is the best bowler that he has played. "I have played most of the fast bowlers. To me, Akram is the greatest. So it is all the more surprising as to how an intelligent person like him could make such a comment."