Indian news round-up

Although there might be a lot wrong with Indian cricket at the moment, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is flush with funds. The balance sheet for the last financial year shows a surplus of around half a million US dollars. Interestingly, the last decade has seen the Board generate over 14 million US dollars in revenue.

The Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Board, SK Nair said that this was mainly due to the quantum leap in revenue earned from selling of television rights. He added "It was the story of prince charming." The change in fortunes for the board began when Inderjit Singh Bindra and Jagmohan Dalmiya got together many years back and saw the potential market in India.

Ajay Sharma is back in the news. The Delhi all rounder who once made a name for himself by scoring heaps of runs in the domestic competitions has in the recent past made the headlines for reported links with the world of matchfixers and betters. While he was playing league cricket in England he was contacted by officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation and a statement from him was recorded.

It now turns out that Sharma has not filed Income Tax returns for the last financial year despite being in a position where he would be certainly earning enough to be in the highest tax bracket. Sharma's house was raided earlier in a nationwide move when the residences and offices of various cricketers and officials were searched

Manoj Prabhakar opened up a Pandora's box when he claimed months ago that Kapil Dev offered him Rs 25 lakhs to underperform in a One Day international in 1994. Since then investigations into betting and matchfixing have gained momentum world wide. However, no conclusive proof has emerged so far. It has been a case of taking one man's word against another. Prabhakar, the man at the centre of it all, told a website that he was ready to take a lie detector test at any time.

Prabhakar added that his lawyers had told him that it was well within his rights to decline, but he was ready to go ahead with the test anyway. The former Indian cricketer seems very keen to substantiate his claims. In an unrelated happening, Income Tax authorities told agencies that they would be speaking with Kapil Dev again in the near future.