Indian news round-up

Former Indian batsman Ajay Jadeja on Wednesday challenged in the New Delhi High Court the Board of Control for Cricket In India's (BCCI) decision to ban him for five years from playing cricket for the country. He petition also challenged the notice served by the Indian Government regarding the withdrawal of the Arjuna Awards bestowed on him,

Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on Wednesday that Jadeja, in his near 800-page petition, also sought the quashing of the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) report, which had indicted him for his alleged involvement in the match fixing scandal. Jadeja filed the writ through his counsel Vineet Malhotra stating that the CBI had come to a "wrong conclusion" about his alleged nexus with the bookies.

Jadeja also challenged the findings of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Commissioner K Madhavan, saying that it was entirely based on the CBI report. The petition was listed before Justice Vijender Jain, who posted it for hearing on February 9 after the Additional Solicitor General KK Sud said that the Government needed more time to study his voluminous petition.

Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Thursday that the Indian cricketers banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would not be picked for the Indian team for the home series against Australian even if the court upheld their appeals to play for the country.

Quoting a BCCI source, the AFP report says "I can say with some certainty that Azharuddin and Jadeja will not play against Australia." The source added "Picking the national teams is the prerogative of the selectors. None of these players is on their short-list for the series."

Both Azharuddin and Jadeja have gone to court challenging the decision to ban them from playing, and asked for a temporary suspension of the bans till the cases were decided. While Jadeja's plea for a temporary suspension of the ban will be heard in the Delhi High Court on Friday, Azharuddin's plea will come up before a civil court in Hyderabad next Wednesday.

Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar joined hands with the top-notch television programme Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) to raise funds for the quake affected victims of Gujarat. His contribution was to the tune of Rs 50 lakhs that he won while answering the questions posed by anchor Amitabh Bachchan.

Tendulkar appeared along with well-known actress Madhuri Dixit, who also won a similar amount and contributed to charity. The special show is to be aired on Saturday, February 10 on Star Television channel. Tendulkar answered 11 questions right. He appeared for the programme along with wife Anjali, daughter Sara and childhood friend Vinod Kambli.

Speaking to the press after the shoot, Tendulkar said "I can only plead to all Indians and people abroad who have helped, not to stop helping. We have to be with the victims, even after the stories about the earthquake stop appearing in the front pages of newspapers."

Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Wednesday that the Kenyan Cricket Association (KCA) has sacked the entire national team, accusing them of indiscipline and cancelled the proposed tour of India and Bangladesh.

The Chairman of the KCA Jimmy Rayani while addressing a press conference said that the players had held the country at ransom when they threatened not to honour an international match against the visiting Sri Lanka A side last month.

Rayani said "The unwarranted action by the players resulted in negative publicity for Kenyan cricket. It is surprising to note that they failed to take into consideration that holding the KCA to ransom prior to international commitments does not help them or Kenyan cricket," and added "These actions may result in international teams shying away from agreeing to be involved in matches in Kenya." The KCA chairman further said "It is against this background that Kenya's tour of India and Bangladesh due to start on February 11 has now been cancelled."